Suffolk: County Exec. Romaine Talks Housing with Newsday, Gets $150M For MacArthur

In a must-read, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R) met with Newsday's editorial board for two hours to discuss his successful approach to governing and investing in Suffolk's housing future:

"Romaine has kept a low profile so far in his first term, emphasizing throughout the conversation the importance of day-to-day governing, of paying attention to details, and of mastering the intricacies of relationship-building across levels of government," said Newsday.

"Affordable housing remains a priority for Romaine, who said it 'should be a part of every community.' He noted that affordable housing is the ultimate answer to some of the county’s traffic issues, such as the clogging of Route 39 due to the daily trade parade. He pointed to a range of suggestions for housing in the county, from working with the Coast Guard to utilize land near Gabreski Airport to finally getting something done with Heartland Town Square at the former Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center property. A study, he said, is underway to evaluate sewer options for Heartland in particular."

To the County Executive's point about trying to work with all government partners, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has announced that New York State will invest $150 million to connect the Ronkonkoma LIRR station with Long Island MacArthur Airport.