Bethpage-Tribune_1970-01-22

              Island Trees
Serving Bethpage - Plainview T Island ! » • • * -TNHiWjaa - Saalord Old Bethpage
Vol. 4 No. 14 Thursday, January 22, 1970 10*1 per cop"
Guest Editorial
LONG ISLAND'S SOARING SIXTIES
by Frederick Hainfeld, Jr.
Chairman of the Board
Long Island Trust Company
The end of a decade provides a convenient as well as a traditional
point to review the past ten years and try to make some meaningful
observations on the next ten years. The tone of many of the ten-year
reviews has been dour with many observers implying that the sixties
were so bad that the seventies can only be better.
Actually, in the case of Long Island, the sixties were a period of
great growth, of fruitful beginnings, and of a realization that Long
Island was preparing a foundation to build one of the great regional
communities of the future.
By any standards, the sixties represented achievement for Long
Island. In 19(58. for example, Long Island was the fourth largest
marketing area in the United States in terms of sales, ranking after
New York. Chicago, and Los Angeles. Total retail sales, a good in­dicator
of economic vitality, were $6.:{ billion, or about $2,500 for each
person in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Consumer income per house­hold
was $12.DIM) for 1968; about 20 per cent greater than for New York
and almost 50 per cent'greater than Philadelphia..,
Both the population and the job opportunities have been increasing
at a rate far above that of the United States as a whole. Over the past
decade, total Long Island employment rose almost 50 per cent while
the New York State index of business activity-more than doubled
during the sixties. J^ijkn* iaiM» rieW manufacturing, plants and plant
expansions: were. recordt^^^BfH^HBHMHHMHHHSMMMVMManV -
Kar more important than the quantity of growth is the quality of
growth of Long Island industry. By and large. Long Island industries
are the newer, highly sophisticated firms such as electronics and
data processing, fields which are relatively immune to violent eyeIl­eal
fluctuations and Which require highly-trained, highly-skilled
people. In addition, there has been a tremendous growth in the
employment of people in service industries. The resnlt has been JI
huilt-in stability factor for the Long Island economy winch enahles
boll, its residents and its communities to plan with some assurance of
certainty over the years ahead. ,_,,_, ,.
Kducation is another "growth" industry which is overlooked in
economic projections. At present, there are about 85.000 students
attending Long Islands sixteen institutions of higher learning. These
include such schools as C.W. Post College, Adelphi, Hofstra, United
States Merchant Marine Academy. State University at Stony Brook,
State University at Old Westbury. Dowling College, and the New
York Institute of Technology. Conservative projections place the
number of students at these schools at about 100,000 in the near
future and the Island is moving toward becoming a recognized
center of learning.
The reason for the past growth of Long Island and for the future
growth which will most assuredly, occur during the seventies can be
stated in one word, "land." This is qualified, of course, by its fine
location near New York City and with the additional advantages of a
good climate and great recreational opportunities. During the I950's
and l!H;0's, the Long Island's 1200 square miles were available for
development, an attractive answer to the ever growing need for
space for the expanding population.
For all practical purposes, Nassau can be considered a developed
community. Its growth will be internal, representing a more in­tensive
use of already developed land, rather than a great expansion
of vacant property.
Suffolk, however, with its 920 square miles, offers one of the largest
major land areas available for development in the northeast. Within
the next two decades, the population of Suffolk is expected to surpass
that of Nassau, reversing the present ratio.
More important than mere physical growth for Suffolk is its
potential as the center of a great, northeastern transportation net­work,
a link between New England. New.York, and the rest of the
world. One factor in this future would be the creation of a fourth
jetport, serving overseas air travel, linked to New York via high­speed
rail and to New England by a Suffolk-Connecticut bridge.
At about this point during the rosy predictions, the question of Long
Island's problems comes up. There is no doubt that our problems are
as large as our growth potential.
Transportation is, perhaps, the most immediate problem. The
establishment of the Metropolitan Transit Authority may, in retro­spect,
prove to be one of the most important actions ever taken in
terms of Long Island development. Unless a comfortable, reliable,
convenient, high-speed public transit system is provided, the growth
of Long Island will require the sacrifice of additional priceless acres
of land for highway use which, in the final analysis, will still be
inadequate to handle the projected population of Nassau and Suffolk
counties.
To offer the necessary transit service may require immediate
expenses and, perhaps, subsidies resulting in higher taxes, but the
establish men t of a rational public transit system is a basic require­ment.
The costs of still heavier automobile traffic in terms of land
(Continued on Page 8)
The End 01 An Era-™
Photos by Jack Pokress
BEAUTY AND TRADITION makes way for progress as the project to widen
Central Avenue in Bethpage gets underway. The BEAU SEJOUR Restaurant a
landmark and reminder of the days when Bethpage was a sleepy hamlet looks
forlorn as the mighty oaks are cut down.
Nassau County Police today
released information on the
law concerning auto in­spection,
and the violation of
consuming alcoholic
beverages while in certain
motor vehicles.
m •
Automobiles must be in­spected
once a year. The
month of inspectlor. is in­dicated
by a punch hole in the
inspection sticker on the car's
windshield (the same month
each year), pefer to Section
:i01 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
The drinking of alcoholic
beverages in a motor vehicle
operated on the public high •
way is prohibited. This applies
to both the driver and his
passengers.
Refer to Section 1227
Vehicle and Traffic Law.
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