Arena: Long Island Association Backs Project; ABLI Still Opposes

Newsday reported today that the two biggest Long Island business groups were split on the issue of the Nassau Coliseum. The Long Island Association, headed by Kevin Law, is made up of mostly business owners. The Association for Better Long Island, which is led by Desmond Ryan, is made up of real estate owners. The LIA backs the project while the ABLI is steadfastly against it.

CH: This shouldn't be surprising at all. The business owners, who this directly benefits, are for the project and the guys that didn't get a piece of the pie, the real estate group, are against it. Both sides are looking out for their own self-interest here, but it seems more selfish from the ABLI side. Why else would real estate owners not like this project?  If one of the ABLI members were building it, I guarantee we would not hear a thing. The same goes for the LIA. This project clearly helps business owners, so they support it - in that sense, it's very similar to the Lighthouse project. This whole article is just a reminder that issues like this are all about self-interest. Which is exactly why the majority of the readers are making it a point to go out and vote YES on this referendum.

AT: This all boils down to the usual political turmoil everything turns into. I hate to get into a political discussion here, but this is about politics. Look at the fighting over the debt in Washington right now. The problem has always been the same - people want cuts, until it hurts what they care about. The same applies here. If it doesn't benefit them, they don't want it. If it does, they support it. It's always been the same game in any political arena. I'm just tired of it when it comes to a project like this that's so desperately needed to keep Long Island such a big destination for families and tourists alike.