CIBS board member Magnani testifies before legislature

Mineola, NY John Magnani, a board member of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island (CIBS), told a Nassau County legislative hearing that Long Island’s largest commercial brokers organization supported a plan and a lease amendment that will give the operator of the NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum and the project’s master developer exclusive rights to propose building on the 72 acres of vacant blacktop surrounding the arena.

Magnani, the head of the commercial division of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, testified on December 17th before legislators voted on an amendment to the lease for the Nassau Hub site to allow RXR Corp. to join the Coliseum’s operator, BSE Global, as master developers.  

Magnani, testified as part of CIBS’ new Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) initiative. “This is a huge step in the right direction for CIBS,” said CIBS president Kyle Burkhardt said of Magnani’s testimony. Magnani was joined at the hearing by Michael Rosenfeld, chairman of CIBS’ EDAC.

“We are in constant contact with all of Long Island’s major employers and we hear their concerns, difficulties and desires,” Magnani told the legislature. “The most underlying and common topics are access to younger demographic employees, diversified housing stock and both transit and employment oriented districts offering more live-work-play communities.”

He said, “From an economic standpoint, the multiplier effect of a $1.5 billion development means years of good paying architectural, engineering and legal jobs, additional years of good paying construction jobs and subsequent permanent jobs. This development will increase local tax base revenues without shifting the burden of property tax shortfalls to the residents.”  

Lawmakers later voted 19-0 to approve the plan, a critical first step in the process of realizing the Nassau Hub in Uniondale.

Magnani, a resident of the Town of Hempstead, said the Hempstead town board should consider all that we have said before rendering any land use decisions.