Long Island now: Live work and play – one of America’s greatest places to live - by Schuckman

Kenneth Schuckman, Schuckman Realty

No longer a sequence of islands adrift a sea, Long Island has been reshaping itself for countless years and becoming one of America’s greatest places to live.

Indeed, Long Island is a new world, one in which consumers’ homes, offices and retail therapy are within a 20-minute radius of each other. With its continuous evolution, we see the growth and development of downtown trade areas throughout Nassau and Suffolk.

Downtown communities such as Huntington Village have become cities within themselves; now home to entertainment venues such as The Paramount with top performing artists, first-rate restaurants and high-end retailers has locals and non-locals flocking to these locations and no longer requiring the voyage to Manhattan. This has truly changed the landscape of what Long Islander’s call “home.”

Patchogue has also become the hip hangout that the south shore of Suffolk Country has been longing for. The New Village at Patchogue, built by TRITEC Real Estate Company, has brought a burst of energy to the streets of Patchogue, revitalizing a community with over 290 residential units and over 35,000 s/f of retail space.  The streets are lined with many great restaurants and bars; with The Emporium and Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts venues offering multiple performances a week, there is a constant flow of patrons attending and filling the streets.

Ronkonkoma is next in line for a revitalization.  A new development is in the works which will encompass a great place to live, work and play.   TRITEC is currently working on building an active mixed-use community, as they have done in Patchogue. 

Rendering of proposed new buildings on Main St. in the Ronkonkoma Hub project, near the Long Island Railroad’s Ronkonkoma station. Photo credit: TRITEC Real Estate.

According to the plan, as a Transit-Oriented Development, Ronkonkoma would feature 545,000 s/f, “a mix of higher density residential development, commercial, hospitality, institutional, office, and retail uses, conference, entertainment and exhibition venues, and public designated outdoor spaces.” In addition, there are over 1,400 residential apartment complexes planned near the train station.

Along with many other projects currently in development, Suffolk County is demonstrating that it is moving in the right direction that will counter the brain drain we have seen for so many years.  We have already seen the impact with the post-college demographic embracing the changes.

With Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum’s demolition complete, there is enormous change coming to Nassau County. The proposed plans include a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use development at the site with the first phase planned to include restaurants, hotels, parking garages, and a movie theater including a transit system, if approved.  This is the “shot in the arm” Nassau County and Long Island, as a whole, has long waited for. This project will redefine the county and keep many of the dollars that has been lost to the city here on Long Island.

In summation, the future of Long Island looks brighter than ever. There has been a shift from the NIMBYs to the YIMBYs and looks like that trend is here to stay. With over 2.8 million residents and an average household income of over $123,000, Long Island will continue its expansion and permanency preserving it as a great place to live, work and play for a very long time to come.

Kenneth Schuckman is the president of Schuckman Realty, Lake Success, N.Y.