Governor Cuomo

Celebrating Long Island Businesses and Embracing Opportunities

terrialessimiceliLeave a comment

One of HIA-LI’s primary missions, as most of you know, is to advocate for the growth and sustainability of the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge (LI-IHP), formerly the Hauppauge Industrial Park.

With the Park in mind, I’m pleased to share this upbeat progress report.

Some context: The Park’s enormous economic potential

The HIA-LI cooperated with the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency, the Regional Plan Association, Stony Brook University, and the Town of Smithtown to produce a 160-page “Economic Impact Study and Opportunity Analysis” that reported on the Park’s remarkable magnitude and impact and set forth a vision for further growth.

With 1,300 companies employing 55,000 people, LI-IPH is, amazingly, America’s second-largest industrial park. Delivering $4 billion in annual payroll and $14 billion in overall economic output, the Park accounts for one in twenty Long Island jobs.

58 percent of park tenants fall into the essential “tradeable” category: their exports and services bring new net dollars into the region. This figure contrasts with only 23 percent Island-wide and 36 percent nationally. LI-IPH’s wisest strategy is to help nurture and build out these competitive tradeable industries.

HIA-LI is advancing strategies for attracting the necessary facilities, amenities, talent pool, and knowledge base for further firm clustering – and we’re working to elevate the Park’s brand as Long Island’s premier hub for growing businesses.

Sign up for upcoming virtual events

To help shine a spotlight on the businesses at the LI-IPH, HIA-LI is hosting several virtual events. During these difficult times, we’ve waived attendance fees for these events:

  • Tradable Sectors and How They Impact the Long Island Economy
    Monday, September 14. 9:00am – 10:30am. Click here to register
  • Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge Update: Current and Future Growth
    Tuesday, September 22. 9:00am – 10:30am. Click here to register
  • HIA-LI Business Achievement Awards
    Tuesday, September 29. Networking at 11:00am. Event at 12:00pm. Click here to register
  • HIA-LI Annual Trade Show & Conference
    Wednesday, October 7 and Thursday, October 8. Attendees can click on virtual exhibit booths to schedule live appointments, “walk” the floor, and more.  Click here to register 

Workforce housing is coming to the Park  

To attract a competitive workforce, communities must offer housing for young professionals. To help fulfill the vision set forth in the “Opportunity Analysis” cited above, the Town of Smithtown recently and laudably voted to create a “zoning overlay” district within the Park, allowing for multi-use development, including workforce housing. The Town acted in response to advocacy by HIA-LI and other business and civic interests.

Providing health and safety education for the Park’s workforce 

As you may be aware, many production workers employed in the Park come from communities experiencing high rates of COVID-19. In many instances, workers would benefit by obtaining disease prevention information in their places of work. 

To make this happen, HIA-LI is coordinating with the Suffolk County Department of Labor to introduce workplace-based, COVID-focused health education programming. To learn more, contact: Angela.Ramos@suffolkcountyny.gov

We’re working to help create a workforce training center

In conjunction with the Long Island Regional Planning Council and the Suffolk IDA, HIA-LI is pursuing creation of a regional workforce training center to help businesses at the LI-IPH and elsewhere fill skills gaps among their employees. While the center’s location and syllabus are yet to be determined, its establishment stands to help boost the profitability of LI-IPH firms.

HIA-LI won an international marketing award

A 30-second video promoting the LIIPH has won an internationally recognized Telly Award, which honors achievement in the non-broadcast video industry. Watch the video at www.LI-IPH.org

HIA-LI delivers masks for member businesses

HIA-LI recently teamed up with Governor Andrew Cuomo and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone to distribute thousands of reusable masks for use by employees of firms at the LI-IPH and elsewhere across Long Island.  

Become a member

If your company isn’t currently an HIA-LI member, we’d love you to join! We offer vital, real-time information to help your business through this recovery – and to let the business community know you’re open for business. Contact Anthony Forgione at (631) 543-5355 or aforgione@hia-li.org to learn more.

During these unprecedented times, it’s more critical than ever to celebrate Long Island business – and to embrace opportunities to help us connect and do business.

Please join us!

Rooftops Provide Solar Opportunities

terrialessimiceli1 Comment

town hall pic solar me joe and scott (3)
Pictured at a recent HIA-LI Solar Initiative Town Hall Meeting are, from left: Scott Maskin, President, SUNation Solar Systems, and HIA-LI Solar Initiative Co-Chair; Terri Alessi-Miceli, President & CEO, HIA-LI, and Joe Campolo, Managing Partner, Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, and HIA-LI Board Chair.

What do you do when you have 20 million square feet of unused rooftops?

Go solar!

And why not?

  • There would be no negative environmental impact from trees having to be cut.
  • It would supply low-cost electricity for HIP businesses as well as to low and moderate income residential customers.
  • It would generate 50-100 construction jobs created during the build-out period as well as $40 million in total construction revenue.
  • And it would produce an estimated $4 million in annual payments to building owners in the Park.

That’s why HIA-LI’s Energy, Utilities, and Infrastructure Committee formed the HIP Solar Initiative.  This cooperative initiative will provide economies of scale previously unattainable and going solar will allow building owners to take advantage of substantial economic benefits.

As stated by Lifetime Board Member Jack Kulka, Chair of HIA-LI Energy, Utilities, and Infrastructure Committee, “The HIP Solar Initiative provides the unique opportunity to various businesses in the HIP to upgrade their aging roofs while concurrently installing state of the art solar systems at substantially discounted costs.”

According to Michael Voltz, Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewables for PSEG Long Island, PSEG encourages businesses to consider installing solar because it’s clean, renewable energy that helps reduce energy costs and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.

“The Hauppauge Industrial Park has vast roof area and vast untapped solar potential. Through this innovative program, the HIP has the potential to become a national leader in renewable energy while keeping Long Island dollars at home, said HIA-LI Board Member Scott Maskin, CEO of SUNation Solar Systems.  “It’s exciting to play a part in fortifying the PSEG grid, while delivering economic benefits to HIP building owners, tenants, and local residential ratepayers. It’s a win-win all around.”

The project would also differentiate the HIP as a leader in distributed energy generation in the United States.  It would also help to achieve Governor Cuomo’s initiative to have 50 percent renewable energy in New York State by 2030.

This is yet another example of how HIA-LI – formed 40 years ago with a prime directive in making the HIP the finest concentrated working environment on Long Island – is always on the lookout for ways to enhance members’ opportunities to positively impact their bottom line.

Building owners interested in participating in the program can learn more here.