Arena: Newsday Reports Coliseum Plan Will Raise Taxes $58 Per Year

Randi Marshall of Newsday is reporting analysis that the plan to redevelop the Nassau Coliseum will cost each household $58 per year. This number is based on the original investment as well as interest on the project. The complete plan is supposed to be released sometime this month by County Executive Ed Mangano and Islanders Owner Charles Wang.

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CH: We've been saying it for weeks, but this is why the plan needs to be released...now. The article in Newsday is slanted negatively, which has been par for the course recently. The fact is that if this $58 per year is true, it's not bad at all. Many will argue that Nassau taxpayer don't want to pay a penny more than they already do. That's 100% true. Realistically, you're looking at one meal for a family of four. You're looking at 3 one-way trips to Penn Station on the LIRR. You're looking at less than $5 a month, which means you won't get your Starbucks twice. It can and will work if the people of Nassau County make it work. Still, it's $58 that a lot of people won't want to spend.

AT: The argument will inevitably be: "But if this happens, what's to stop the bankrupt county from adding even more taxes?". I respond with a very simple retort: what's to stop the bankrupt county from adding an unimaginable amount of taxes from lost revenue on the Coliseum if it's demolished with no replacement?

CH: So in reality the big picture needs to be looked at here. That includes the result of the Islanders leaving. That's going to be a huge argument for either the opponents or proponents of this project. If the Islanders leaving and the Nassau Coliseum closing its doors means a higher tax increase, even in the short-term, it will be easy to sell this to the Nassau resident. Quite frankly, my opinion is that since the Islanders are the one non-shopping major revenue source for Nassau County, the economic benefits of having them around for Long Island are a lot higher than practically every other city/municipality in the United States.   All these cities have industry and corporate business. Long Island doesn't have that anymore, but they do have the Coliseum. So can the County really afford to lose $60-75 million in tax dollars from events held there? I don't think they can, at least comparatively to other cities.

AT: And that's what we need to hammer home. People need to look to the future, not just the short term for a project like this. Once more just another reason why the details need to be released now, and the longer Mangano and Wang wait, the longer the opposition will spread misinformation with no backing.

CH: That's going to be the major sticking point here. All we have right now are rumor and conjecture. We need absolutes, and soon. Attitudes are extremely hard to change and with each passing day and each negative article, more negative attitudes are being formed. It's time to get the ball rolling. It's time to show the residents of Nassau County than the Islanders mean a whole lot more to the area than just a team with four Stanley Cups won 30 years ago.

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