The following comments were delivered during a public hearing on NYMTC’s Plan 2045 on May 12, 2016 at the Nassau County Legislature.

My name is Richard Murdocco, and I am the founder and publisher of The Foggiest Idea, and am land use columnist who writes professionally on regional real estate development issues and urban planning.

NYMTC’s Plan 2045 is ambitious in scope, yet flawed in its execution. In Nassau, the plan identifies a series of Transit-oriented areas targeted for growth without any mention of how, exactly these areas would sustain such development.

In Suffolk, the picture is more troubling, with areas as far east as Riverhead and Greenport being identified as “transit-oriented”, when in reality commutation patterns and transit usage do not support the concept on the East End. Further, the reliance of Connect Long Island, a faulty BRT proposal that is not supported by population demographics or demand studies regarding transit usage, is concerning.

While the call to maintain current infrastructure and transportation assets is sound, the documentation for public review is difficult to interpret. The projects are listed without indication of their greater regional context or detail as to what they entail, with some entries being as vague as saying “Yaphank Development Zone” or “Sagtikos Regional Development Emphasis Area.”

Interestingly, Plan 2045 excludes any mention of the Governor’s ambitious call for an additional Long Island Sound crossing, or the proposed NEC Future High Speed Rail Link that The Foggiest Idea reported on in December 2015.

Moving forward, NYMTC should make the intent behind the goal of these projects clearer to the general public, and take measures to ensure residents and other vested stakeholders more fully understand their greater context in the development environment of the Nassau and Suffolk region.

The best plans are presented for public scrutiny in a manner that is easily understood for those outside of the policy arena. As such, the recommendations of Plan 2045 vary from easily executed to “pie-in-the-sky.” I am calling on the consortium of agencies to better communicate their vision, and allow residents to better understand NYMTC’s intentions.

Richard Murdocco
Founder/Publisher,
The Foggiest Idea