Word on the Lighthouse from – Gary Bettman?

Yes, Gary Bettman seems to be the only one NOT under a gag order when it comes to discussing the Lighthouse Project and the future of the NY Islanders franchise. After months of silence, Newsday has a small article by reporter Steve Zipay (their Rangers beat writer no less) who was able to obtain quotes from the Commissioner while he held a press conference with “sports editors from around the country.”

Mr. Bettman has been a staunch supporter of owner Charles Wang for years and believes very much in keeping the NY Islanders firmly planted where they are – ON LONG ISLAND. However, this week on his NHL Hour XM radio show and various other venues he has been vocal about the truth “The Islanders will not stay in that building one minute more than they have to.”

No news there. We’ve heard that for years and the lease with the county gets progressively closer to its end date. The only news we have been given is that the deal with SMG has been terminated and the Islanders will now gain revenue from the concessions and parking (whose prices have been raised) and has developed the “Islanders Entertainment” umbrella. Good for them. They’ve been stiffed for years. Now what about us?

When Chris Dey took over the helm of the listing NY Islanders ship he told us to take “emotional ownership” of the team. He invited us in, he held us close. We became involved. We rallied. We petitioned. We spoke out. We showed up. Sadly, the downturn in the economy caused us to not show up as much as we would have liked to, but we did the best we could. We answered the call as often as we were asked.

As the fateful day in October loomed, we chewed out nails wondering what would happen at the “deadline for the decision.” The deadline came and went. The election came – and went – right out the window with Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray retaining her stronghold on the office and friend of the Lighthouse Project Tom Suozzi being ousted by Republican Edward Mangano. Then the lights went out in Uniondale.

Coverage went black. Newsday’s Eden Laikin, the only MSM source for information from the town, left Newsday for a politically tied position and the Lighthouse Project spokespeople went mum. The bloggers who have covered the situation most closely were left to go deep underground searching for answers and mostly obtaining misinformation, speculation and fabrication.

However, Commissioner Gary Bettman is allowed to speak his mind to any outlet he wishes and is always genuine with his answers. But he poked the political bear when he said “There’s a new county executive, very nice guy, but he needs to get up to speed, which is unfortunate because Charles has now been at this for eight or nine years. I don’t think that anybody with the Islanders could have imagined that they’d still not have any answers. Hempstead hasn’t done anything but elongate the process and his attitude at this point is: ‘I’ve done everything I can and at some point they’ve got to come to me.’ If not, he’ll start looking at his options on Long Island first to see what he can do, but the club has to have a new arena.”

That is 100 more words than we’ve heard on the subject in months. It is also exactly what the Lighthouse Project has done. If you check their webpage today that is what it says. To paraphrase the posting “Thanks a lot. We’ve got nothing to say. We’re waiting on Kate Murray.”

And wait they shall. I personally lost interest after hearing that Kate Murray wanted the Town to have the property rezoned so as to make the Lighthouse Project plans that the developers have spent more than $15,000,000 on unacceptable. I scratched my head at that one trying to figure out how after winning the original RFP the Town could rezone the property making huge portions of the proposal the developers had worked for years on unsuitable. Huh? Can they DO that???

I asked around, no one answered me. I didn’t push. I do not have friends in the Town or informants in lower political ranks. I don’t play tennis with Mr. Wang or brunch with his partners. I straddle the world of fan mob and new media with others on the lower rungs of the journalistic food chain. If I send an email and it doesn’t get a response, that’s where I end my search. But I do listen and I do read.

I have been criticized on more than one occasion for not speaking out or speaking up especially as one who was involved in the battle early on. Okay, so here goes.
Sure, I’m a little hurt and disappointed about being kept in the dark for so long with no official word on where things stand. I don’t like it. But as a mother of a teenager I am quite used to it. Would it be great if there was word from both sides of the fence to let us know what was REALLY going on? Sure. But would that taint the outcome? It’s very possible. Would it make the slightest bit of difference? Uh, who knows.

I understand the need for silence when it comes to high profile situations, especially political or financial ones. However, after agreeing to “emotional ownership,” I just didn’t expect the Islanders to be one of those situations. It stings.

Thank you, Mr. Bettman, for at least saying SOMETHING on the subject. But I guess I'll hear something when they need me. Oh well, back to hockey.

The Town Hall Experience

Yesterday I received an email regarding a Town Board meeting in Hempstead for the Lighthouse Project that was taking place on 4/8 at 10:30 at the Nathan LH Bennet Pavilion. Originally I responded with “You want me to get fired, don’t you.” But then I kept thinking about it, and thinking about it. We know how important this Lighthouse project is to the NY Islanders as well as to Nassau County and Long Island. I’ve personally never been to any sort of town meeting except the one in Babylon Village when I owned a bar and the little old ladies told me what color I could paint the outside of the building I was renting. That was Mickey Mouse compared to what I was about to experience.

I couldn’t bear to lie to the Big Angry Man. Um…. I CAN’T lie to the Big Angry Man, he can see right through me. So when I attempted to leave the house in my tweed suit and freshly straightened hair he stopped me at the sink. “My… don’t you look great today…. WHERE are you going?”

DAMN IT!!! Busted! I try to make light of the fact that I’m way overdressed for work.
“Well, I figured I’d wear this before I have to put it away for the season…. AND THERE’S A TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT THAT I WANT TO GO TO.” Yep, a five year old with their hand caught in the cookie jar. I batted my eyelashes, smiled coyly and bolted out the door.

“DON’T GET FIRED!!!” He yelled behind me.

Why did I really want to go? For the most part, sheer curiosity. Were there hundreds of people protesting the project? Did the legislative panel look with disdain upon this grandiose project? I needed to know. I watched the clock on my wall at the office, and bolted at 10:15 as map quest said it was a 21 minute ride. I made it in 19. I parked in the municipal lot and nervously asked the security guard if I needed any special permits there. He told me No, just that I needed to pay for parking at the machines on the corner. What? Ok… Parking meters have gone high tech, but I can’t even imagine how they would know that you paid. But I’m honest; I couldn’t NOT pay for parking.

The pavilion was impressive. I wondered if I needed to walk through a metal detector and was thinking about what was in my purse. Would they confiscate my portable corkscrew? Was the Mace still in the car? Am I going to get arrested for something I haven’t done? Yes, paranoia runs deep. I filled out a piece of paper with my name, address and email address and walked right in.

It was impressive, and Kate Murray was presiding. I sat down and immediately opened my notebook to start writing. I was tapped on the shoulder and handed an orange ribbon on a pin by non other than the original NYI 7th Man, Roger Farina.

I was surprised that all the people who chose to speak were in favor of the project as something that can grow not only the economy of but as a center of focus, pride and interest. Even the last speaker, Rosalie Norton, a resident of Hempstead for the past 40 odd years, commended the Reckson Corp for reaching out to the communities and civic associations getting their input for the project.

Kate Murray and the Hempstead town board will be taking the leading agency role in the project and they “stand ready, willing and able to expedite this process.” There was one interesting tidbit that I thought was a good thing, until I brought it to the attention of others.

Ms. Murray made the oral option to the developers that the coliseum renovation could be segregated from the other developments so that not everything needed to be done together, and the process for approval of that could be streamlined. Sounds good, no? Um… No. By segregating out the Coliseum renovation, they could hold Mr. Wan hostage for the balance of the development while tying him to the county.

Mr. Paul Lancey, who has been with Mr. Wang for more than two decades, didn’t speak at the meeting. His name was called. But he didn’t seem to be there at the right time. However, Mr. Wang did address the panel. He mentioned that he was pleased to work with the panel to get this process moving and of course, would have liked to busy right now with a team in the Playoffs. (Us too… seriously… us too.) Mr. Wang in a way discounted the segmentation of the arena application, which shows you where his head is at.

There will be a separate meeting regarding the transportation impact of the project as one of the speakers was unceremoniously shut down from discussing it as it was part of another case. But they kept going explaining the benefits of the project. Interesting fact was that the Lighthouse project would be paid for with only 5% of public money. That is the lowest of most other arena development costs. And the Lighthouse project is the last arena project in the NY area, and has become a bit of a laughing stock for the amount of time its taking. Even Boston with the much maligned Big Dig project was able to build a new arena for the Celtics and Bruins. Yet, here, in one of the richest counties in the city, our team plays in a less than stellar building under adverse conditions.

When I look at the renderings of the project, it reminds me of what I saw in Columbus OH. I wanted to move there. It was perfect. This could be more than perfect. This could be Nirvana. The other item that I didn’t know was that the project not only adds to the Nassau County tax base, but it’s also a Green Project.

By 11:26 am, the Lighthouse project was done being presented to the panel and it was my time to leave. It was a good meeting, but there are many questions. Where will the get the power to run this new expansion? A substation needs to be built. That will shut down Hempstead Tpke for months. Knowing that there are numerous consultants working on the details of this project, they are sure to leave no stone unturned or question unanswered. Our questions should only be…

WILL THEY BE ABLE TO BUILD IT BEFORE I FREAKIN DIE????