Panico: ‘A Better Day Is on the Horizon’
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico served as the keynote speaker at the Long Island Housing Partnership’s (LIHP) 38th Annual Meeting on June 18 at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
More than 400 attendees, including representatives from regional banks, development firms, nonprofit organizations, community groups, and government agencies, gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities surrounding affordable housing on Long Island. The annual event focused on addressing critical affordable housing issues impacting the local economy and identifying solutions to expand housing opportunities for Long Island residents.
During his keynote address, Panico highlighted the urgent need to address housing affordability while outlining the town’s ongoing efforts to create attainable housing opportunities and revitalize communities. He discussed several transformative projects underway throughout the town, including the Ecke housing development in North Bellport — featuring 32 affordable homes with accessory dwelling units — as well as redevelopment initiatives in Coram that are designed to strengthen neighborhoods and expand housing options for working families and in Mastic Beach, in which the town — in partnership with the Beachwood Organization — is planning 37 acres of improvements to 140 parcels of land and scores of new retail stores, multi-family homes, and new town homes..
The supervisor emphasized the importance of collaboration among government, private industry, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders in addressing the region’s housing challenges. The theme of partnership and shared responsibility was central to the discussion as leaders examined ways to increase housing opportunities while supporting Long Island’s economic future.
“I’ve made it my mission in similarly situated communities like North Bellport to actually show government can improve people’s lives,” Panico said. “We are doing it in North Bellport, we’re doing it in Coram, we’re doing it in Mastic Beach with a tremendous redevelopment and a tremendously complex redevelopment with Beechwood, our master developer, to give people in the area that I grew up in true hope that a promise of a better day is actually on the horizon. That is what we do in the Town of Brookhaven.”
In addition to discussing local housing initiatives, Panico addressed broader affordability challenges facing Long Island residents and underscored the need for continued cooperation among all levels of government to ensure that Long Island remains an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family.
The annual meeting also explored emerging housing trends and reaffirmed LIHP’s commitment to creating sustainable and attainable housing solutions across the region.