(Long Island, NY) In an effort to curb the detrimental effects of young people leaving Suffolk County, Legislator Bill Lindsay III proposed a Business Leaders Task Force to attack the problem head on. Lindsay III’s proposed Task Force was unanimously approved 18-0 at the May 12thGeneral Meeting and signed by the County Executive on May 28th. From 2000 to 2010, Long Island lost 12% of its population in the age group of 25-34 years old, despite the national average of individuals in this age range increasing by 4%.
“Our region has seen a significant reduction in our highly skilled and talented young people who are leaving Long Island to take jobs in other major cities throughout the United States,” said Lindsay III. “For far too long we have talked about this problem; this task force will provide action to reverse this detrimental trend and deliver comprehensive growth strategies that we can implement on the County level to further address the needs of our young people and our region.”
Retaining and attracting young people to Suffolk County is crucial to rebuilding an economy with long-term sustainability and growth potential. Long Island has the lowest share of young people aged 25-34 in the entire region with just 10-11% of the population in that age group. By comparison, 18% of New York City’s population is in this age range.
Lindsay III’s task force will focus on bringing together business leaders and county officials to address the issues of affordable housing, job creation and expansion, and ending the impediments and redundancies of government red tape. In addition the task force will create strategies that retain our highly educated and talented graduates, while also attracting workers from out of state to Suffolk County. The task force will compile a report that will be presented to both the County Legislature and the County Executive.
“We need to create jobs and opportunities that attract and retain our young people in order to become a viable and sustainable region once again, said Lindsay III” “Young graduates can make a huge impact on a company and in many cases they can be the determining factor in the success of a business as they bring new and innovative ideas to a company which helps increase competitiveness and can lead to long-term growth.”
The Business Leaders Task Force will consist of Legislator Lindsay as the Chairman of the Economic Development Committee, the Commissioner of the Economic Development Department, 3 appointees named by the County Executive, and 3 appointees named by the County Legislature. The members of the task force will serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing authorities and without compensation.
*Suffolk County Legislator Bill Lindsay III is the Chairman of the Economic Development Committee and Vice Chairman of the Government Operations, Personnel, Housing, and Consumer Protection Committee. Bill represents the 8thlegislative district which consists of Bayport, Blue Point, Bohemia, Holbrook, Holtsville, Oakdale, Sayville, West Sayville and parts of North Patchogue.
