New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo was on Long Island Tuesday afternoon for the latest in his series of State of the State addresses. His agenda for Long Island focused on jobs, infrastructure, lower taxes, renewable energy and combating addiction.
Cuomo said the middle class has been overlooked for too long. He called for major infrastructure investments to create middle class jobs, something that both President-elect Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer support.
“The Long Island agenda has five parts. We’ll start with jobs, infrastructure and transportation on what I call the 'Middle Class Recovery Act,'” Cuomo said.
Cuomo proposed $120 million in LIRR improvements at 16 stations in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. He also wants to connect economic hubs like MacArthur Airport and Brookhaven National Laboratory to the railroad.
Cuomo also pushed for the third track on the railroad’s main line between Floral Park and Hicksville and for a second track on the Ronkonkoma line.
“The Long Island Rail Road began in 1834 – Long Island’s population was 37,000 people – it is now 2.9 million people. The Long Island Rail Road has not kept to scale. Don’t mean that as an insult…I’m just sayin’. We need to make changes and we need to make them quickly.”
Another of Cuomo’s infrastructure concerns was Long Island’s water quality. He says the pipes are old and need to be replaced. He also expressed concerns about possible chemicals and carcinogens in the groundwater. Cuomo proposed $2 million in related improvements, including a state of the art water filtration system.
Cuomo also voiced support for an offshore wind energy project off Montauk Point, which would be the nation’s largest. He called on the Long Island Power Authority to approve it.
“It is up to us to continue our smart growth, and it is up to us to have the courage we need to make the changes to improve Long Island.”
