On Monday, January 13, 2008 I attended, along with a group of Huntington business people and government officials, a breakfast seminar to discuss the current and future role of Long Island as the economic engine for New York State.
Dottie Herman, CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman, with Corporate Headquarters located in Huntington Station, has first-hand knowledge of our area's diminishing residential housing sales and indicated at what may be a buying opportunity in a depressed market.
Democratic Congressman Steve Isreal discussed Long Island's history of economic strides, often setting the pace for the rest of the state, highlighting aerospace, manufacturing, construction and tourism. He stressed the need for the re-zoning of many Long Island areas, encouraged businesses and communities to add needed housing, and for local townships to revitalize depressed areas.
Jeffery Appel of Preferred Empire Mortgages reflected on mortgage defaults and related losses at some of the nation's largest financial institutions. Friday's agreement for Bank of America Corp. to buy Countrywide Financial Corp. "is a very good thing for the market." It signals confidence in a renewed housing market from what many feel is the worse time they have seen in the last 30 years.
For the most part I am encouraged by what I heard. If history repeats itself, Long Island may once again prove to be the engine to pull the rest of the State.