Real LI

Stablizing the Long Island economy is mostly about maintaining a strong workforce. So said Matthew Crosson, president of the Long Island Association, to members of the Long Island Builders Institute yesterday morning in Hauppauge.

Crosson says the declining population of Long Island -- and he had the stats to back up his claim -- means there will be even greater demand for affordable housing over the next decade. The Long Island population, Crosson said, is declining about five times faster than the rest of the United States.

While young people (ages 25-44) are leaving in waves, baby-boomers are starting their retirement process. Studies by the American Community Survey say more aging baby-boomers and more immigrant families will be looking for housing on Long Island in upcoming years. But that housing needs to be more affordable. Revitalizing run-down urban areas is crucial to the process, he said.

"The big thing is the baby-boomer retirement process," Crosson said. "This process is already starting, and we're seeing that fewer and fewer people are there to replace them in the workforce.The people are just not there."

A declining workforce means a declining economy, he told builders. Without workers filling good-paying jobs, who buys the houses? Who pumps money into the economy?

With affordable housing, preferably near transportation and downtown businesses, there is a chance for a future workforce. And if it does materialize, it will need affordable recreation, cultural improvements and ways to keep the educated young person on Long Island.

Crosson said that in previous periods of economic downturn, the theory has always been that Long Island will rebound -- that it will continue as it always has.

This time, the numbers say: "That's not true," Crosson said.