KATE MURRAY MAKES HER MOVE: With bogus petition, she gives thumbs down to Lighthouse
Today we finally learned where Kate Murray stands on the Lighthouse Project developed by Charles Wang and Scott Rechler and approved by Nassau County.
The Town of Hempstead Supervisor wants no part of it.
This may not seem like a revelation to most of you after all her stalling, but today Murray made it official. She sent out a press release. A petition in the form of a direct mail piece is also going out to Town of Hempstead residents this week (as a resident, I wonder who’s paying for that). I saw the piece today. It’s sad in every way.
Murray is attempting to sell Long Islanders on her idea of only renovating the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Shamelessly, she even played the veterans card in her press release.
Murray is “rallying all Long Islanders to support her efforts to convince county officials to pursue federal stimulus funds to renovate the Coliseum in Uniondale,” begins the press release. In an Eden Laikin article in Newsday tonight, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi calls Murray’s actions, “Very silly and amateurish. We don’t need petitions. We need Kate Murray and the town to help get this thing moving.”
The Town Supervisor, whatever big shots are pulling her strings (Mr. Mondello, is that you? Let me know) and her advisors clearly put a lot of time and effort into their press release. I believe they are owed the chance for you to read it in its entirety. The release follows after I make a few first-glance observations:
- As for her rallying cry of receiving stimulus funds to renovate the Coliseum, I really hope Murray did her homework. I don’t think she’ll get federal stimulus funds to renovate a sports arena. I hope she’s making a promise she can keep. I don’t believe she is.
- If you subscribe to my theory that the whole basis of her direct mail piece is misleading, then there is only one conclusion: Murray is trying to scare off residents on this “massive development” (her words) so she can push off a decision on the project.
- Why push off a decision? Because Murray thinks it will help her win the election for Town Supervisor in November.
- Saddest of all, it’s just more politics. No one wants to rise above it. For all of our community leaders, this is one giant fail they have to live with.
- Do not minimize Murray’s shot across the bow today. Whether you agree with her position or not, this is monumental.
- I’ve held back an opinion on this until now. If I’m Charles Wang, I don’t wait until October 1. If I’m Wang, I schedule a meeting in Queens for Wednesday.
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As a matter of equal time, here’s the release. Could they at least get the year of the Islanders’ last Stanley Cup championship right?
PETITION DRIVE IS “STIMULUS”
TO “SCORE” FEDERAL FUNDS TO RENOVATE NASSAU
COLISEUM AND SAVE HOMETOWN ISLANDERS
Supervisor Kate Murray is rallying all Long Islanders to support her efforts to convince county officials to pursue federal stimulus funds to renovate the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. “Built to memorialize those heroic veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and home to a treasured hockey franchise that has inspired regional pride and fostered a strong Long Island identity, the Coliseum is a “shovel-ready” project clearly eligible for stimulus funding,” commented Murray.
The focal piece of a massive development project proposed by the Lighthouse Development Group, the Coliseum’s future has been tied to the adoption of the entire multi-billion dollar proposal. With a unique opportunity to provide Long Island with an economic shot in the arm and create desperately needed construction jobs, Murray is urging the county to score the Coliseum’s biggest victory since the Islanders 1984 Stanley Cup Championship.
“It’s about hockey, but it’s not a game,” stated Supervisor Murray. “Long Islanders should not be held hostage and our beloved hockey team should not be used as a pawn in a high stakes game of profit-driven development. I call upon county officials to team up with the Lighthouse Group to give Islander fans the hope for a bright future in a magnificent arena.”
Lighthouse Development Group founder and principal Charles Wang has raised the specter of relocating the Islanders franchise if his massive Lighthouse Project is not given a green light. The project includes two 35-40 story office buildings, 17 apartment buildings, 2,306 apartment units, one million square feet of office space, 500,000 square feet of retail space and 612 new hotel rooms. The Lighthouse Group is presently seeking a “shortcut” through state-mandated environmental reviews covering the largest commercial development in Long Island history.
“Drawing upon available and applicable stimulus funds, we can pursue a prospective remedy to the logistical and financial impediments to both the Coliseum renovation and the grandiose Lighthouse proposal,” added Supervisor Murray. “By using stimulus funds to renovate the aging Coliseum, we can relieve the cost/benefit pressures cited by Islanders’ ownership.”
“Let’s replace the rhetoric of demands and deadlines with the realities of jobs and growth. We can put hundreds, if not thousands, of people to work right now, at a time when families are struggling and unemployment numbers rising. I call upon all Long Islanders to team up in a wave of public support to get to work now, to renovate the Coliseum, create jobs, stimulate the economy and keep our hockey team at home where they belong.”
“To demonstrate and articulate the public’s support for an immediate pursuit of stimulus funds to renovate the Coliseum and rescue our hockey team, I have organized a petition drive to encourage County Executive Tom Suozzi to pursue available federal monies. I know the County Executive shares my commitment to saving the Islanders. Together we can take bold and purposeful steps towards achieving that goal.”
“I call upon Mr. Suozzi and Mr. Wang to put Long Islanders first, put hockey fans first and put the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum first,” concluded Murray. “And first things first, let’s pursue the federal stimulus money immediately and allow state-mandated environmental reviews to continue on course for the remainder of the Lighthouse Project. Let’s win this thing together, for a better Long Island and a brighter future.”
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416 Responses to “KATE MURRAY MAKES HER MOVE: With bogus petition, she gives thumbs down to Lighthouse”
Please Wait
1984 Stanley Cup Championship? Did I miss something?
This is a joke. Your not getting stimulus money for the Coliseum. Are you kidding me?
Regardless of politics, Does Kate Murray not realize that the even with re-doing the coliseum, IT DOESN’T MAKE THE ISLANDERS PROFITABLE FOR ANYONE WHO OWNS THE TEAM. SMG is still there. The Lighthouse needs to go up. If it doesn’t, the team will go to Queens.
wars over boy’s! Murray Dropped the Big one!
Is anyone really surprised by this? I hope Mr. Wang takes that meeting in Queens. It’s more likely the Nets will move to Queens than Uniondale anyways. There’ll be public transportation. Ms. Murray just cost herself yet another 24-35 year old resident’s future defection from Nassau County. Queens is literally, geographically on Long Island; at least we won’t need to change logos, right?
i agree with chris. i would begin to negotiate with queens immediately. enough is enough. i really hope that dave denenberg runs against her in november. this crazy lunatic has no business holding public office.
QUEENS QUEENS QUEENS. Screw Kate Murray … she can build her giant, cavernous mansion in the soon-to-be empty lot in Uniondale.
kate murray is a classless american. we have someone willing to put majority of funding up for this massive investment into the hempstead/uniondale area, and instead of accepting it, she’d rather beg the federal government (already up to its eyeballs in debt) for funding from them.
she’s no better than other failed bank/auto ceo’s begging at congress’s tit for money. we have a financier, why would the federal government ever give money to renovate a hockey arena? keep dreaming kate murray.
Well Queens has their arms out to us, tell Kate Murray to go “Pound Sand” as they would say and go somewhere where the Islanders would be better off anyways.
Maybe we should start a petition to have her removed from office, she which petition gets more signitures
how long would it take to build an arena and whatever else Charles Wang wants to build in Queens? very interesting.
we will still be the ISLANDERS in QUEENS, right?!
she needs to get voted out in november! who is running against her? Why does everything related to the islanders always have to create so much misery for the fans..lol..
Queens or bust!
If the Islanders end up in Queens I will send Kate Murray a letter thanking her for her minimal efforts that led to the relocation. Our franchise will finally grow up and see some big market cash flow.
This whole release really puts the lie to her argument that she can’t show up at meetings because she’d be conflicted. She has likened herself to a judge in a trial meeting with the lawyers.
Well, if you really think that, you don’t put out press releases and start petition drives to short-circuit the issue upon which you are going to rule. If you really think that you need to be totally unbiased, you keep your mouth shut.
This reveals her utter hypocrisy, among other things.
has Kathy Bates aks Murray contemplated what becomes of the coliseum when the islanders leave? bring in a wrecking and some sod and those nigerian goats can have a party!
I believe that there is a process for a recall of the Town Supervisor. I will be back when I have a firmer grasp of what’s required.
This is exactly why I live in NJ now. I thougt it was pretty corrupt here in NJ, but its nowhere near LI in the realm of loser politicians. Whomever votes republican again is a fool.
Dear Ms. Murray,
YOUR AN IDIOT!
This woman is an @#&%*! (I hope that doesn’t violate any rules here). I just want to know who’s pocket she’s in - Simon malls must be putting an extension on the house.
You people are dreaming if you think that they are building an arena in Queens. That’s just a ploy by Wang to put pressure on the TOH to do something.
Although I am against the project as it stands now, it seems insane that nothing will be done with the vacant land.
Perhaps all this posturing is just negotiation through the media. It seems that Wang wants his project as is and that Murray wants it scaled down.
My guess is that some sort of compromise will be reached and cooler heads will prevail.
And please, enough with the hollow threats. Kate Murray will win re election by 25,000 votes without even trying. Just because it means something to you as a hockey fan doesn’t translate into anywhere near the votes you would need to unseat her………..SW
Is this the END for the Lighthouse????
If Kate DOES have the final say,
SHE BETTER BE PREPARED TO SEE HEMPSTEAD TURN INTO A SLUM!!!
Kate Murray=Biggest April Fool of all
““I call upon Mr. Suozzi and Mr. Wang to put… put hockey fans first…”
Thank you, Kate Murray. As a resident of NJ and an occasional visitor to the Town of Hempstead, I’ve felt like it has not been my place to chime in with my feelings on your short-sightedness and game-playing in regards to the Lighthouse project. As a hockey fan, though, I’m excited that you’ve decided to put ME first. I will return the favor and be making my feelings known to you first thing come business hours tomorrow.
Again, thank you for inviting me to involve myself in the process, and call you on your absolute nonsense.
She is a Ranger fan. Pure and simple. She wants the WolfPack to move to Hempstead.
Kate - your 15 mins are up. Time for Isles fans to get to work.
if im wang…i agree with you botta, schedule the meeting with queens….i love the colisuem but say queens is a viable option….its only around 30 minutes away from where the colisuem is and it would be in a facility where wang would get what he wants…im just so disappointed in our government right now..its rediculous
Bummer. I don’t get the intricacies of local Long Island politics, but how Wang’s non-public money, many more jobs proposal could be pushed aside in favour of a government-funded, fewer jobs proposal makes little sense.
Oh well, here’s hoping something good prevails. At least these actions will move the ball on all this, something that hasn’t been happening until recently.
Speaking as a former die-hard Montreal Expos fan, sometimes closure is better than hope.
I’m with you CB… I fix her wagon. Dial the folks in Queens and put together an agreement in principle (in advance of November’s election) w/the borough to move the team.
This gives the Isles what they need in terms of a new arena and ensures that the portly woman in the picture (sorry, I can’t recall her name) won’t be re-elected.
Let’s see how cute folks think that petition is after these acts.
wow….just wow
Wang should be at Willets Point right now.
I smell a payoff. Anyone here can see the big picture except her. I only support the Isles because of Bport. I am a Flyer fan at heart but have been following the Lighthouse project since day 1. I think its very unfair for 1 person to be able to decide the project and the fate of a franchise. Not to mention the fate of a town. She has basically put a giant nail in the coffin of the TOH`s finances and incoming cash flow.
Good luck getting re-elected in November.
This is a perfect example of why thousands of Long Islanders, who love Long Island and the Islanders, like me, have left Long Island. Moved out, bought a beautful house 10 minutes from the office and watch the Isles on the Center Ice package. I guess I can still root for them if they move too.
Sir William does have a valid point on the difficulty of beating Kate Murray. She won by about 36,000 votes last time. The job is hard.
So let’s get to it. She absolutely has to go. It’s going to be a tough haul, but it’s got to get done. This is about more than the Islanders. The vote for the Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead in November will be a referendum on whether the town — and by extension, the county — want to continue to bleed population, lose young people to others parts of the metro area and other states and see businesses reject growing or moving here, or whether it wants to embrace the future.
Sir William doesn’t want us to embrace the future. He wants it the way it is now, even though that’s not sustainable.
That’s the choice on Election Day. It’s never been more stark.
Queens isn’t a ploy by Wang. The Queens Chamber of Commerce expressed interest in the team; Wang did not express interest in Queens.
A convention center is going up in Willets Point, no matter if the Lighthouse gets built or not. It wouldn’t be difficult to build an arena in place of the convention center. There is no reason for the Isles to play anywhere else other than Queens if Murray succeeds at creating Long Island’s drug hub by blocking the LHP.
CB, can’t agree with you more. She just told everyone involved the answer they were asking for at the Marriot. Now Wang should be scheduling a meeting with whoever is in charge for Queens TOMORROW.
And yes people, this press release pretty much PROVES she’s been lying all along about her reasons for not showing up to all the meetings.
KATE MURRAY-MY BIG, FAT, LYING, CORRUPT POLITICIAN!!!!!
CB, i apologize if I’ve violated any rules, but this is just too much.
Throughout all of this, the ups and downs, I still can’t believe this woman has so much power concerning this issue. Unreal, it just boggles my mind.
John — #29 — I am more and more convinced that is the Republican strategy. (This from a registered Republican, BTW). They WANT you go to. They figure young people are not going to embrace the Republicans the way their parents did. So drive them away and then scare up all of the old 1960’s fear about the “sixth borough,” and win elections on the back of the 70 year olds who vote regularly and who actually accept that sort of logic.
And if the region falls apart in the interim? Well, they’ll have their nice state retirement package that they will be living off in Florida or somewhere. The wreckage they left behind? Somebody else’s problem.
I hear that Ms. Murray likes pistachios. Can we send her some? Either that or an errant slap shot to the head?
CB, I agree with you that Wang should meet with the Queens group immediately.
We’ll, we’re certainly going to see if Kansas City is an option for Wang or if it was just posturing.
I imagine Steve Levy would LOVE to have Wang, just as much as Queens.
This entire thing is sickening.
Just vote against her in November. I love the idea of the Islanders moving to Queens. I love any idea of them staying here. But lets be realistic. Its not about keeping the team here people. That is not what this is about. At least not to Wang. Completely secondary to his vision. If he was allowed to build with out the team I think he would.
CB - Your line “Do not minimize Murray’s shot across the bough today” It’s not “bough” it’s “bow” as in bow of a ship. LOL
Thanks. I think I had “borough” on my mind…CB
She’s a hack. Who wrote this thing? Hillery Clintons campaign people? What a load of tripe, drivle, pure out house material. You’re SO right, make that appointment in Queens immediately. Between the Mets and the Isles, and with the surrounding area needing renovation it’s a no brainer and a perfect fit.
Ms. Murray you’re condeming the TOH to a foot note in L.I.’s history.
this is sad. I really hope Mr.Wang and Mr.Rechler can wait until november so we can get this witch out of office.
Dear Long Islanders,
Look around at your Island. This is it. It is done. It has been built and will never change. It will not improve. you will have no tax relief, no jobs, no hope for young families. Short sighted politicians and NIMBY residents rule. Counties bordering on bankruptcy will be knocking on your doors and collecting more and more tax money. Just keep paying!There is no money to stimulate or improve the parks systems or fix roads or improve the overall quality of Life for residents of some of the highest taxes counties in America.
What? You have a vision? You want to convert vacant land, create jobs, create affordable housing, create a tax base, create a hub for LI? A tourist destination? And use your own money?? Sorry, visionaries need not apply!
I can only wonder what would Robert Moses been able to accomplish on Li in this day and age! His “massive” development changed Long Island forever, created parkways and parks and made Long Island a place to raise families. It would never have happened today.
If we lose this franchise, all Long Island loses! Very, very sad!
#38 - it is Hillary not with an “e”, please get it write…just kidding..please get it right.
isnt kate murray just the chairman of the BOARD?…is it still possible for the project to go through without her approval…kinda like congress if 2/3 vote of the board is for it, will it be approved?
I would like to slap Kate Murray accross her face for every time she said something like “our team” or “our beloved Islanders”. I think it is my right to slap her accross the face for each reference since we all know she is NO ISLANDER FAN. She isn’t even a capable public servant. She isn’t fit to serve on a PTA or a condo association.
Chris, call that guy you mentioned and ask him straight out if he owns Murray.
If she thinks this is going to save her in the election she is nuts. The ONLY hope she has of retaining her office is to green light the entire project RIGHT NOW. Anything else and she loses her office, I think she has played the fool so badly that that might not even save her job.
Hope ya like wearing a hairnet Kate because you’ll be working in the food court of that mall you love so much.
It is very clear Kate Murray doesn’t want the retail space. Someone commented before (months ago) saying they knew she was owned by the near by mall and that made sense to me. that is why she wants arena only. Fact is the county already said what they wanted. She is trying to get them to raise funds so Wang won’t pay for it and then won’t insist on the deal to cover his cost of renovation.
Then when that is over she thinks Wangs groups will lose the rights or give them up to redevelop the site (which is gonna happen anyway) but then maybe her dark masters will get the rights. I think that is really what her game is. She is tied into people who wanted to develop the site and she is trying anything to get Wang out of the way so her group can but she is stuck because with no Islanders that site is way less attractive and no one will renovate the NVMC without a pro tenant in there.
Hey, Kate Murray, wanna know what else is a shovel ready project? THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT!
Move the team to Queens Charles, let the town lose all the jobs and all the revenues. Without your Islanders the NVMC will cease to exist. It will be one big empty eye soar that neither the town or the county has the money to demolish.
put Long Islanders first, put hockey fans first and put the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum first,”
Now that’s rich.
A PR flak is only as good as his client.
Jeez, what a bush league move, she is an embarrassment.
I smell the b.s from my dorm room 300 miles away
35k votes is nothing. Turnout was probably around 20-25%. We MUST make her pay come november
Is there a process in place to recall her from office? Long Island deserves better. Who put a Republican in office anyway? This is a Democrat run state! We need to get going now on a recall…can someone find out information on how to stop this lunatic who is out for one person? Herself!
“With a unique opportunity to provide Long Island with an economic shot in the arm and create desperately needed construction jobs, Murray is urging the county to score the Coliseum’s biggest victory since the Islanders 1984 Stanley Cup Championship.”
Glad to see that Kate Murray is well versed on Islanders history…oh wait.
That is quite funny.
I gather from the majority of mail here that most of the writers are young and therefore have no idea who Joe Mondello is. Chris, why don’t you explain?
An idea of a new arena being built in Queen will have to go through the same vetting process that has taken 5 or 7 years here already.
How’s that Brooklyn project moving along?
The Dolans will not allow another arena to be built in NYC to compete with MSG.
Remember the West Side Highway Jets stadium.
Everyone here only sees one side of this issue. Wangs plan is TOO big. If it was scaled down a bit then I would support it. I think that most reasonable people would including Murray.
Wang has to give some, too….SW
Please go to the TOH board meetings and let your opinions be heard. There are other TOH board members. Let them know their jobs are on the line if they screw this up. Show up in force at the TOH meetings and confront Murray.
Can’t wait for the press release once the Islanders move out of the Coliseum.
Hempstead Plains Park - Opening Soon.
While we are greatly saddened by the decision of the traitorous heathen who have moved our precious Islanders from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, we announce the repurposing of the property as Hempstead Plains Park. This name reflects the return of the property to its glorious natural state — featuring an expanse of wild grass of the Hempstead Plain and a sampling of fauna reflecting the flocks of our colonial founders….
(press release translation: Don’t worry that the Coliseum is empty and overrun by weeds, we have lots of goats to keep it tidy, creating three to four, no maybe five, jobs)
When the time comes, Kate Murray will be johnny on the spot, what a planner.
Sir William this is truly the only thing that you and I ever agree upon. Its incredible how many people are sheep. How many times have I’ve been told to educate myself while the people telling me needed to be. Open your eyes people and look at it from a different perspective. We all want the same thing. The man you are cheering for does not have the same interest in mind. I honestly could care less as long as the damn team stays. I’ll keep going to that rat trap to watch my team play 10 years from now if I could. That is all I care about.
re: post 3
Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Heck no!
And it ain’t over now. ‘Cause when the goin’ gets tough…
…the tough get goin’! Who’s with me? Let’s go!
What the heck happened to the Islander fans I used to know? Where’s the spirit? Where’s the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you’re gonna let it be the worst. “Ooh, we’re afraid to go with you Staten Islander, we might get in trouble.” Well just kiss my butt from now on! Not me! I’m not gonna take this. Murray, she’s a dead woman! Murray, dead! Murray, Dead!
ok, i feel better now, well not exactly but its the best i could do. my heart is breaking
Hmm well at least we have an official stance from her now. We all knew in our hearts, whether we wanted to believe it or not, that she was against this project. The funny part is that she presents a completely false argument: by signing this petition you will help save the Islanders! Umm sorry Kate but there is no Islanders without the lighthouse and NEWS FLASH you have ZERO authority over that decision. It is not your building, it is not your team. You are in charge of zoning, that is all. And as far as saving jobs? How about giving TOH workers a new contract before they’re out of work as well? You’re batting a thousand today Kate. Sorry for the rant.
I’m thinking I agree with SW! This has become a big game of political chicken and the ball has been served into Wangs court. It is obvious that this plan as is will never be approved in it’s entirety. What does Wang do? He needs to respond! Court Queens, scale down or sell the team. Show the TOH he means biz! Put the pressure on! I’d like to see the town use some money to buy out that SMG lease. That is what is really crippling this franchise. Give an Islander owner an opportunity to make some money!!
25 yearfan that was brilliant!
At the end of the day it is just another reason why NY sucks and everyone is leaving. She is not doing what her constituents want..she is doing what she wants. I guess if they’re not going to build it the upside is that they would probably invent taxes for people to walk on that property since NY is BROKE and needs money!
Levittown was too big, building the Lunar Module at Grumman in Bethpage was too big, The Empire, WTC, and Chrysler buildings were too big.
This project is not too big. It is AMBITIOUS. And that is the problem with this country and all the politicians. It is better to say we gave it our best shot and tried to build the BEST the county had to offer rather than scale it back and shine a terd.
i’m with ya Staten Islander!!!!
That press release sickened me. I am making it my business to vote against her no matter what goes down.
I agree maybe a slightly less massive version could be worked out but by all accounts SHE WONT TALK TO ANYONE!!! I think shes stuck in the past w/ the GOP machine. LI and the LI GOP has to wake up.
This is terrible, it amazes me how she won’t talk to the other side and her lame judge analogies and all her manure she shovels.
Very disheartening and another way Nassau is slowly dying.
WHat’s amusing is for the NIMBY’s, be careful what you wish for as more and more stores and businesses close out here and more & more things leave that precious “lifestyle” you think you’re saving is dying and with depressed areas comes depressed residents and with that exits the “lifestyle” your protecting, NIMBY’s are clutching sand at the beach.
#49:
So now this is about political affiliation? If she was a democrat, then you’d approve of what she’s doing, right? Because that’s what you’re implying.
Trash is trash, no matter what party it is.
Staten Islander 57! LOL! There is never a bad time to quote the late great John Belushi and the famous Animal House line. Brings a smile all the time, Thanks!
Anthony, I had the kickback thought too
Best post 65. Thank you I couldn’t find the words. Last post. Good night.
This is rediculous…..So it’s basically queens or Kansas City now?
I hope Wang shoves this press release right down her throat by making some sort of retaliatory move. If she can send out this piece of crap why can’t Wang come up with something exposing just how much she is killing this town??
Lets be honest politics are politics. There is corruption and certain people have pull. But seriously, am i supposed to believe that Murray, a low level Town supervisor, can engender more pull than a former CEO and multi-millionaire?? Do something WANG!!!
Best to watch the language.
I would think everyone would be glad to see Murray lay down her cards. This move’s been rumored for a while. So now let’s get it on!
#69:
Thanks, mattnice. Some people are guilty of the same thing they accuse the hefty TOH woman of being. They say she won’t go for the Lighthouse because she’s Republican, and then go on some conservative-bashing tirade, which is the same unecessary hatred they accuse her of.
It has been scaled back ALREADY by the way. Anyone remember the 70+ story functional lighthouse and observation tower? Enough garbage, I hope Wang pulls out all the stops. AND OH BOY DO I WISH I WAS THERE WHEN THE ISLES BEAT THE OILERS IN THE FINALS FOR THE 2ND TIME?!?!?
I say jump to queens get a nice hook up then vote Kate out in November. Whoever replaces her lets Wang build his lighthouse project but keep the Islanders in Queens. What a shot in the nuts that would be for Murray. I think if all the Islander fans show up at the polls that Murray is as good as gone.
Where will the Cup victory parades be held when they’re playing in Queens?
In front of TOH offices!
Mike, no I would hate her no matter who she was affiliated with. Garbage is garbage. I just don’t like her…and trying to find something to say about her. You’re 100% right.
I think there’s a lot of overreaction here. Did anyone expect this to be pretty? Wang, Rechler and Suozzi drew the battle lines a few weeks ago, and this is the pushback. We should be so lucky that Kate Murray’s handling of this is as sloppy as everything else.
If the Islanders would like to make a statement, they have four more home games. Play that asinine video she recorded at each of them and watch how the crowd treats her _now_.
CB: Have you ever asked for an interview with her directly? I’m thinking about getting a buddy with a digital video camera and just going down to her office and asking to see her.
The cat’s officially out of the bag. We now know that Murray is against the project, and all her other statements re “conflict of interest” were pure lies. But is this really her counteroffer? Wang proposes the lighthouse project, and in response she proposes…NOTHING? I understand Sir William’s point re compromise, but this isn’t compromise. If they don’t like the towers or want to scale down the development, then they should negotiate with the developer IN GOOD FAITH. Don’t lie to your constituents and then offer a gimmicky proposal that would use government funds to provide fewer jobs and less tax revenue. Tomorrow I am calling all my relatives and friends who still live on Long Island and asking them to get involved. Murray and Mondello’s approach to this is truly insulting to the voters. Long Islanders have been waiting decades to get some smart development on that site, but our “public servants” want asphalt instead and refuse to act in good faith. I just don’t get it.
Sir William == #52 — I’ll explain.
Joe Mondello is county chairman of the Republicans. He also is chair of the state party.
And by refusing to adopt to changing trends in Nassau County, he is down to defending power in two towns –Hempstead and Oyster Bay. He is the one who lost Mike Balboni’s seat in the Senate, moving the Democrats toward the majority that they hold now. He is the one who stood by while Tom Gulotta engaged in fantasy budgeting that made us the laughingstock of municipal finance in the late 90’s, resulting in the Democrats taking over the legislature in ‘99, and then the county exec seat two years later. He is the one who let Dan Frisa run that ridiculous campaign against Carolyn MccCarthy, giving that seat to the Democrats.
By any standard, he is an abject, total failure as a political leader and as a visionary for the county you live in.
That’s who Joe Mondello is. And he’s the one who is pulling Kate Murray’s strings on this, because he wants the young people out of Nassau County, so their aging parents can continue to hold a disproportionate part of the voting population. They are the ones who will listen to this nonsensical “sixth borough” crap.
If you’re young…they WANT you gone. You are trouble, in their eyes.
sir william, could you be any more wrong in characterization of the west side stadium and the brooklyn yards projects and their similarity of the isles moving to willets point.
they have been opposed for reasons that would have nothing to do w/ the islanders’ move to queens.
for brooklyn yards-it was the use of eminent domain and the lose of housing for residents
for the west side stadium-it was a venue that was in DIRECT competition with garden for MANHATTAN events. the isles already paid their location fee and are therefore free to move wherever they like.
w/ the edc of the nyc behind the project, the ball could get rolling
I guess the Drive for Five is over! I wish I knew that for the last 25 years. F U Murray.
everyone here is blind… wang is greedy that is the only reason we will move!!! we r a hockey team we need an arena not this monster project wang is presenting!!! dont blame anyone but wang!!
Everything else that has gone on aside, the way this petition is worded, and the way it has been presented is just rediculous.
yep
My question to the people who want it to be scaled back because it is “too big” is what are the ramifications time-line-wise if they submit a new plan? Would they have to draw up a new plan and re-submit it just so SW and a few others will like it? Before they filed, they already scaled it back. They had a plan, realized that there were elements that were unpopular, and got rid of them. So, they already made concessions in order to get the county to approve (which the county did). If there were so many people who didn’t want it 2 or 3 years ago, then why did it pass the county? As far as I’m concerned the people around the area have had YEARS to bitch about this thing and it has gotten this far. Now, it is time for you to get out of the way. I don’t want another 5 years of this BS.
This is silly. I graduated with a business degree and I can’t find a job in this economy because of decisions like this being made. I think I might run against Murray next year. I bet you I can pull in some Ranger votes too. I had many economics classes throughout college, and the one phrase I heard over and over and over was “in order to stimulate growth, you have to create jobs”. Way to go Kate. I hate you.
jimmy (84), what are you proposing to make owning the Islanders a profitable venture? Wang’s lost more money on the Isles than most of us will ever see in a lifetime since he bought the team, so if it’s “greed” that’s motivating him to look for the only financially viable solution that will also keep the Islanders on the Island, maybe greed IS good.
wang killed us with milbury for years and now he will move the team because he wont make millions from this project!! i know he has lost money here… but hes a billionaire!!! no other team has something like this with their arena!! wang is clueless
#86 College Graduate:
Better not announce your campaign too early or they might levy a tax to run against her. I’m so disgruntled about the whole political situation now…both the dems and reps suck. Start with a revolution for the Islanders and continue it for the country. I’ll move back to LI to vote for you.
http://www.nassaucountygop.com/index.asp?Type=B_DIR&SEC={4EBBA953-FFAD-4CC8-A277-3F42304AAA21}&DE={CC1AC926-0A2D-4B48-8F88-5657351AA545}
contact your local republican clubs
put the pressure on
do something build an arena, renovate the coliseum, have a good team, the arena will be packed if we are a top team.. there are ways to make money.. DOESNT ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS??? this project is ridiculous!! we are talking about the islanders not about hotels, apartments, offices, shops, and the billion wang will make from it!! WANG KILLED THE ISLANDERS
Hey the Izod Center has no hockey team now. Xanadu is going to open soon. You can go indoor skiing there and then see an Isles game. How about it?
jimmy (#91)
Nassau County owns the land and wants it to be multi-use, Wang’s team won the bid. He’s a businessman, this will make him money, and he’s already scaled down the project, it’s not like he’s only going with what he wants. He’s making concessions, i don’t blame him and rechler for standing pat.
91 Jimmy, Do you realize that Wang doesn’t make money on the team with the current economics in place. He’s the last possible owner. After him, there is no one who would own this team in this situation. Zip, Zero. If you renovate the NVMC, that does nothing. Something has to be done.
CB, Can you get a one on one with D’Amato and see what’s his say on this mess?
Dear Ms. Murray,
YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!
I really hate politics and more importantly politicians with a passion. This is the kind of garbage which makes citizens feel so disconnected with the people they put into office. This is pure 100% typical political bs, and it is simply embarrassing. The possibility of losing this team which I have lived for over the past 15 years over a politicians desire to simply remain in power is sickening. Suozzi is definitely no role model politician, but at least he is being realistic with things. Kate Murray is a politician to the bone. She is full of crap, and her main goal is to remain in power, not do whats beneficial to the community.
The New Jersey Islanders?
I’d also like to point out that Larkin makes a huge mistake. It’s 3 billion, not 37 billion. That’s a pretty big difference.
I was pretty disgusted by most of that propaganda mailer, I will say the last paragraph gave a tad bit of hope, but then it is a propaganda piece like i said so…
ok comedy first
germany bombed pearl harbor?
Wang has done his part for thi team.. would you all back him when he finally comes and says im bankrupt and cannot own this team anymore? cmon be real
his is a long islander and wants this team here and wants to make money NOT lose it like hs has since day one of owning this team.
you *&^%& who say he is only about money tell me why he has lost money this long? if you fools for one second think this is his plan i got news for you no business man plans to lose millions each year to better himself in the future.
the coliseum sux and wang has lost enough on this team. i blame him for nothing i just hope he looks at queens as a possible site
born and raised on long island but i left for college and i’m not so sure i want to come back. long island’s frozen in time, no attempts at progress. maybe i’ll end up in KC, who knows?
She’s not getting any names on this petition. There’s no one to care on the other side of the issue. These people would’ve shown up to the Marriott.
People don’t mail things. That’s why companies provide mail-in rebates. A majority of the time, they are not even used, in spite being worth a good amount of money. Murray would need any TOH resident to (a) open the mail, (b) read the petition, (c) care enough to sign his/her name, and (d) mail it back to the TOH offices. I doubt she gets more than a couple hundred names.
She has no support. If the Isles move and she has no backup plan to use the Coliseum land, she’s the one left holding the bag, regardless of whose fault it was. Ask how the veterans feel when the Coliseum no longer generates any revenue and falls into disrepair. Ask how the trade unions feel when they are denied thousands of jobs.
Finally, 36,000 votes is not an insurmountable margin, especially when you have people energized to turn out to the election. Logroll the trade unions, the Islander fans, and the locals who support the issue, and she can be ousted. It can’t help her cause that her stance on this issue has made her several virulent opponents, myself included.
Renovating the Col. does not make them profitable. Is this idiot against creating thousands of jobs in these tough times? Move to Brooklyn or Queens, screw the Island.
This is such a downer. Thanks Kate !
This is complete garbage…This lady must be blind….Sad too, cause if this team moves, me and a bunch of Islander fans will lose interest in the NHL. Sure I’m a hockey fan, but where am I going to go. Rangers Fan, Devils Fan….YEA OK!..Please go to queens….Let Murray see how she does come November
Thanks for the goats
I’m growing more happy with Queens option by the second.
You’re going to regret this for the rest of your very short political career, Kate.
Hmmm….
Woman in a red coat standing on a street corner in front of the “Courtesy Hotel”.
How prophetic.
Get used to more of those visuals in the TOH.
It’s because of idioic posts all over this blog that the TOH doesn’t take Islander fans seriously.
“We want Kate Murray dead”
“I’ll move here and run against her”
“It’s a Republican plot to drive out the young people.”
“Let’s recall her from office. By the way how do you do that?”
“We’ll vote her out in Nov.”
If you want to voice your opinion to the TOH try using a sane and rational approach. Perhaps someone there may pay attention to you. But I can tell you that no one will pay you any mind at all if you keep this crap up.
As for the next election:
No folks, your not voting her out. Of the 106 posts here probably half of them don’t live within the TOH. She won by 36,000. Do the math.
As for Queens forget it. It’s not happening. The Dolans own the City Council
and there will never be an arena that competes with MSG within the five Boroughs….SW
……..SW
Sir William, can you lay out a sane and ratoinal approach to how you think Nassau should reverse its population decline and keep its young people?
The math on 36,000 is that 18,000 votes need to be switched. Hard, but not impossible. I’d like to see what the switch in vote count was from ‘97 to ‘99 in the county legislative elections.
Sir William is a Hempstead apologist who is convinced Wang is the bad guy here. His act is tired, and frankly, I don’t think you’re actually a fan of this team.
Maybe her press release is an april’s fools joke
It’s not my job to lay out any plans for the future of Nassau County. If you think that the Lighthouse is the answer to Long Islands problems then good for you. I disagree and would venture to say that you are in for a shock even if the project is completed.
I don’t think Wang is the “bad guy” here. I do think that his plan is too big for the TOH to absorb.
And Mr Moose the fact that you don’t think that I’m an Islander fan really cuts me to the core. I just don’t know how I can go on……SW
Is this an April Fools Day joke? I hope so.
Hitting my limit, but Sir William, you left out one important post that ruins the credibility of these talkbacks:
“It’s because of idioic posts all over this blog that the TOH doesn’t take Islander fans seriously.”
No, somehow, I don’t think that’s it…
She gives Republicans like me a bad name! Get rid of this clown! There is NO WAY she can be re-elected! She is clueless!!
Ari, post #116 - I don’t want to make a political conversation out of this, but this is the worst example of Republican posturing that anyone can see. It is things like this that made it so that Democrats could label the GOP as the “party of no.” In fact, this is Bush politics 101. Sink an important project, and then blame it on the people that sought to make it happen. The press release memorializes the fact that she has offered a Coliseum renovation (even though it is the County’s to give). When that is not done, or if the team moves she can say to the people in Hempstead either, “I killed it because it was wrong for us,” or “I offered the solution that would have created the most jobs in the least amount of time.” Either way she would be giving about half or fewer of the facts available. I don’t mean to say that the Dems are so much better. Truly they are the “party of yes,” as in yes, let’s spend all of the money on everything important or otherwise. But, I really appreciate that you can look outside of party lines when it comes to this type of politics. As a Democrat, I would vote for the Republican that said that he/she would pursue the project because the thousands of jobs created by the Lighthouse are what Long Island needs, and that the hundreds of jobs created by a Coliseum renovation are just not enough. This whole thing is sad to me because I think Kate will be reelected based upon Hempstead’s political affiliations rather than Hempstead and Nassau County’s needs, which is tragic. I will blame Kate, and probably the GOP if the team I have rooted for for the last 20 years leaves the Island. Besides, in a battle of the corporations which is really so much bigger a lobbying group, Simon Malls, or Wang/Rexcorp? Interesting question right?
Sorry that last post was so long CB…
What I don’t understand is her insistence that she can’t show up any meeting because she needs to be fair and yet she comes out with this press release. It makes no sense. I’d respect her if she would be honest at least. and SW… Wang has already cut things down. Why doesn’t she ask for more cutting? hmmmm? She doesn’t. She acts like “knows nothing” like Shultz on Hogan’s Heroes and then side swipes you with this press release. How can she get away with not interacting with anyone like Suozzi and Wang? And then offering things she has no right to give? Wow!
Murray is a disgrace, this is a complete disappointment. It was nice having the islanders here for almost 40 years.
Chris, when you are on with “Ranger Bob” Gallerstein tomorrow morning, make sure that you correct his mistake from this morning, when he said that Wang/Rechler were looking to use federal stimulus money to help fund the project, when according to the press release itself that it is Murray (ie $MG) that wants to use that money to “refurbish” the coliseum.
i can see this as an april fools day joke brought to you by Mr. Botta but my faith in govt is so low that this is possible(and probable)
So, before the so called “studies” that the TOH is doing are completed, she already is coming out with a decision?
CB’s right, there’s no way we’ll get stimulus money to renovate a hockey arena and the amount of jobs that will be made in the process of renovating NVMC is far less than the jobs created by the Lighthouse.
Queens, here we come.
The TOH does not deserve this team anymore. Please Mr. Wang move the team to Queens.
I can’t understand why most people here are shocked. The writing was on the wall, Murray didn’t support this project…no secret. I for one am glad she finally made a public statement expressing her feelings. Now, the ball is truly rolling. Over the next little bit, we should have a better idea of what the future holds as opposed to this sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for what we already knew. I’m very interested in knowing what can be done to have Murray fired prior to any election. I’m curious to see how all of Wang’s threats play out now. For those who like Texas Holdem…I’m thinking Kate Murray has a 2 and 7 offsuit hoping Wang folds. I have a feeling Wang has pocket Aces. ALL IN!!!!
Why does it feel like Kate Murray is standing with her fingers in her ears shouting “Lalalalalalala I can’t hear you I can’t hear you nononononononono!” This whole game makes me want to puke. Wang has already said he’s willing to discuss revisions to the grand scheme, but he’s not willing to just renovate the Mausoleum. I agree. Could you imagine if the Mets were told they couldn’t have a new stadium, they had to renovate Shea?
My stomach just went through my throat.
There is some organized crime family who doesn’t want the concrete ripped up at Nassau Coliseum.
WoW the audacity of this woman. CB is this the nail in the coughin?? I wanted the lighthouse to be built, i thought it looked awesome and would do nothing but good for Long Island.
The area around the coliseum look like a wasteland, just factories and NCC. Crappy. They needed this.
But as a Queens resident, I wouldnt mind having them here.
Many of the local politicians over here are trying to gather proposals for a place. Queens wants the ISLES. If TOH does not want them, we will take them!!
CB,
First time posting, thanks for all the great work! Thinking we should all swamp her inbox with respectful dissent today. But, seems like she doesn’t even have an email addy for constituents to get in touch. Pretty amazing - she got the 83′ cup year b/c she’s living in the 1600’s. Best I could find was Kate Murray’s helpline - http://toh.li/content/home/contact.html.
Kate Murray keeps stalling, jobs that are desperately needed right now could be well under way if she had of pulled her head out of her a$$ a long time ago. Now she wants to go down a road that will lead to nothing but dead ends. I have seen a lot of areas have to fight for arena’s in the past but only because the money came out of tax payers wallets. Mr. Wang has offered a very unique proposal and I really can’t say I blame him for wanting to develop the property besides just the coliseum. Even with a new arena it’s possible that the Islanders ownership would struggle to profit, by developing the entire site and creating an atmosphere(hub) they would greatly improve financial success of the Islanders and generate enough revenue to offset potential Islanders financial loses.
The thing that gets me is how can Ms Murray say that the project is ” shovel ready”. Wouldn’t companies have to bid on the project, have plans printed up of what they were gonna do…ect. I can’t see how this woman can hold soooooo much power to completly turn down a project of this size. If Queens wants the Isles this bad and the will let Mr Wang have some land to build some of his project and a new arena I say go for it. Like others have said what is going to happen to the NVMC and the land around it when the Isles move to Queens? I guess some people would rather see a giant parking lot that they can use to maybe have some party as the younger people move out one by one. I say screw Ms. Murray and the ones who have their hands up her you know what.
Why hasn’t the lighthouse Project committee asked for volunteers to go throughout Nassau county and truly get the publics opinion. Out out the 1300 people that was at the Town Hall meeting, at least 100-200 were pure Islanders fans (had to be), If they were willing to give up 2-3 hours of their time for this they could also do the say and try go get signatures, I know I would…and i live in Suffolk. Time to fight fire with fire. CB- In all seriousness, you should create a on-line petition yourself, people will have to register their name, address and phone number (all the things needed to prove they are real people and not fake), Islesmania should do the same.
I actually like the Coliseum as it is (Disclosure: I also like watching games on TV with the volume off too though
but fully realize that it does not cut-it for today’s entertainment world, etc. But even with a *fixed-up* Coliseum the surrounding area is still a S*#% hole. Plain and simple. You H A V E to have a Lighthouse type project. A scaled down project is putting lipstick on a pig. (No insult met towards pigs!)So *fix up* the coliseum and add a couple of Corporate themed restaurants (Barf) and call it good?!? If you’re attempting to have a professional sport team in a Surburban setting these days than you need to create an ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX!
Who’s the bigger jackass, Kate Murray or SW????
What a shock. Republicans blocking a program where lower income people would be getting jobs. I just simply cannot believe what I am seeing (enter sarcasm meter)
Kate would propably change her mind if you had 20 thousand pi$$ed off fans down at Town Hall voicing their opinion. However, Islanders do not have 20 thousand fans to stand up for the team. That is why it will be moving. I find it hard to believe that the greater New York area has almost as many people as ALL of Canada and you can’t get the fans to buy all the seats. 5000 good fans will not keep your team in Long Island….
LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE!
As an Islanders fan from Jersey, I say go to Queens! At least our team will still be local and not far away in Kansas City or some other spot outside of the tri-state area. By the time if and when anything gets done in Nassau we’ll all be too old to enjoy it.
happy april fools day? please?
Another thought that Wang and the Islanders should do is use the remaining home games as a way to get people to sign a approval form. The isles have 4 home games remaining, use the time during intermission to publically address the crowd, get people to volunteer, do the things they need the public to do, its come to the point where we the public needs to step, but we need to be organized.
I 100% agree that Wang should be meeting with people in Queens ASAP. Make a deal and get a shovel in the ground there.
CB!!!! If this is an Aprils Fools Joke I will laugh after I dry my tears now that I know they are moving off Long Island…
And if this is real…… Shame on you Ms Murry & plz my dear explain to me why MY tax dollars should be used to help STIMULATE a barn ( that I love to death but lets be real, its a POS compared to The Rock ) that no one wants to go, no wants to preform there ( Billy Joel for example AND HE LIVES THERE!!!!! ).
There will be no AFL there this year ( or ever again most likely ).
I mean we can use that place as a barn for Ringing Brothers Circus as a stable I guess. Did the circus even go there this year????
I also guess Ms Murry you must have accounted for the people who work there. I mean can you please explain to me or their familes when YOU DON’T get money to rebuild ( because YOU WON’T!! ) and they lose there jobs, are you going to find work for them on a dead lot that will be knocked down not too long after the Islanders leave & explain to them what, OH I’m sry I tried to get money from the government to get this redone but I failed at that too but fret not all, I will release a piece of paper via the media without facts ( 1994 Stanley Cups Champs!?!?!?!?!? REALLY!? ).
Sry CB about the rant…… But this just sucks.
So let me get this straight. This Moron Murray is issuing a letter to Nassau County residents saying we can get stimulus money as if its guaranteed to fix Nassau Coloseum? So are willing to put all your chips in getting gov’t money to fix a sport arena? what happens if its rejected?
CB, How can we put together citizens peitition to get Murray Ousted. Anyone that pulls no shows to town meetings upon residents requests has no business having a job.
Please say this is April Fools CB.
The Lighthouse plan is too much. We need a new Coliseum. We don’t need a city. Every other organization in sports builds a new stadium/arena. Here we are building a city.
Can Rechler and Wang compromise, do they know what compromise is? This “all or nothing” talk is selfish.
If the Isles leave it will be because they were not able to compromise. Demanding a city be built is a far-fetched reality and, in all honesty, unfair to the fans. The fans want hockey first and foremost - we want the Islanders.
Build a new arena - that’s what we need.
The City, Lighthouse, is the gravy.
I hate to say it, but she is right.
Do we really need all this? How about a new arena???
“The project includes two 35-40 story office buildings, 17 apartment buildings, 2,306 apartment units, one million square feet of office space, 500,000 square feet of retail space and 612 new hotel rooms.”
Why all of this other crap? Who is the beneficiary? The Fans, because it’s nice and new? Please.
Queens Baby.
A city??? Can you be anymore dramatic??? A stand alone arena will not make any money, why are people having a hard time understanding that???
Hopefully the parties who have already invested in this project will do whatever it takes to get Murray ousted this November.
Advertising rates are rock bottom.
Flood the airwaves with ads for whoever is running against Murray.
If Murray wins and really does not want any part of this project than I cannot be upset if Mr. Wang decides to run a bare bones operation until he can vacate his lease.
Nothing is ironclad.
Ask Al Davis.
Ask the fans of the Seattle Supersonics.
If KC wants the Isles bad enough Kate Murray will help pack up the equipment.
Has Kate Murray told her constituents how much tax revenue will be lost once the Isles leave the Mausoleum?
Does she think more vacant stores in strip malls will make up for the loss of 40-50 NHL hockey games?
What about all the jobs that will be lost or hours drastically reduced for her TOH residents who work Isles games.
This lady is a clown.
She is lucky to have her Mondello connection from levittown otherwise she would have gotten no higher than a secretary in the TOH offices.
I’m so angry I could cry. I don’t have anything nice to say so…
She is a prime example of why long island is impossible to live on.
I moved to Lehigh Valley last year at 32 years old. I can afford to live. They are always improving here, building arenas and stadiums for minor league teams. Built a new race track. As a resident, I appreciate the development.
Kate Murray should be investigated for her poor choices.
Is it me or should a republican be promoting capitalism rather than accepting stimulus money?
April Fools Joke??? Nah,
if it was we’d all of been Murray-rolled with the a youtube video of Murray singing her version of the Rick Astley classic:
Never gonna pass your plan
Never gonna let you win
Never gonna run around and meet with you
Never gonna blink an eye
Never gonna say hoorah
Never gonna tell LI that I hate you
Second Chorus
Give up. give up
Give up, give up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, give you a yes
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, give you a yes
The unions should set up shop outisde of the TOH offices with those big inflatable rats like they do in NYC.
Its looking more like Queens every day……and so be it. TOH and the county will lose any of the revenue it gets from the Islanders now. No additional jobs, no advancement of surrounding commuty etc. The site will be an eye sore of the political corruption that let the Islanders move away. I just hope Queens is the destination not KC. Maybe Murray can stable her lawn mowing goats there. Im so pissed man the backlash is going to be huge.
Letter to Mr. Wang. Sit down with queens and get er done.
I am still waiting on why she is against the project so much…because its soooo big? Really? Is it that big? Honestly Supervisor, have you looked at the plans? We would be going from a desolate, above ground cesspool to an area filled with entertainment and life and landscape. What is wrong with that? Overcrowding in schools? build a school with the new tax dollars generated from the project. Traffic? I am sure they have engineers for that. And by the way, what is wrong with hordes of people coming to your town spending money on a daily basis? I am just looking for one credible reason why it shouldnt happen and so is Wang and Rechler and they will see to it that the plan gets fixed. What more do you want Supervisor? Avalon Communities didn’t slip the fat wad of cash in your back pocket either?
They won the freaking bid to build up the entire area. She really needs to stop playing games.
I’m going with April Fool’s on this one.
I am 26 year old, born and raised on Long Island. Went to school down in Maryland and have been here in DC ever since. Why? Because of the lack of affordable living options on Long Island. I can pay less money here to live in a nice apartment or condo and be right in the middle of the city than I would pay to live in someone’s rented out basement on Long Island. I miss Long Island, I love the Islanders. I consider myself a New Yorker and maybe some day I will even back. Right now, however, I just refuse to move back home into my parents basement. Kate Murray- get a clue!
I would be fine with queens.
Commodore, I’m sure if TOH put in writing that you fix the arena first and fix rest later they would be fine with it. I guess you dont have experience with TOH. All talk, tell you how you going to spend your money. If wang agreed, Murray would totally screw them over after Nassau Coloseum was fixed.
Secondly, the reason why we are in this is mess is our corrupt LI govt years ago gave signed at 30 yr deal with SMG that take all the teams Parking, beverage and food revenues. If you were businessman, Would you want to dump Millions of Dollars to fix a Arena and have someone else profit from it.
Look to Queens, just keep our team on LI.
Lets Oust Murray. Anyone know what steps we have to take?
Vukota #148, that is the issue that people need to be educated on the most. My friends and co-workers ask me why that can’t happen and no one seems to understand unless its spelled out for them.
#158, that made me laugh.
Just take the direct mail piece and mail it right back to Kate Murray. Talk about a terrible leader. You refuse to sit down and talk with the developers, you hide behind prepared press releases and now you waste more tax dollars by mailing 240,000 direct mail pieces. Wang has pleaded with the TOH; he told Howie Rose on MSG that if there is a part of the plan they do not like to just tell them. They are negotiable, they are willing to listen and compromise. Why is this so difficult? This is exactly the reason I live in Florida and this is why all young couples are packing their bags and leaving. Who wants to pay those ridiculous property taxes along with the ridiculously priced real estate.
119 d-man on Apr 1st, 2009 05:19:40 said: “What I don’t understand is her insistence that she can’t show up any meeting because she needs to be fair and yet she comes out with this press release.”
what’s not to understand? she adapts and adjusts her lies to conform to particular needs as events unfold. it’s what liars in public office do. her problem is she’s not smart or savvy enough to appear the least bit genuine or legitimately concerned about the responsibilities of her office. that makes her not only a political machine hack but a really bad politician.
Commodore, the Islanders would lose money if they sold out every game at nassau coliseum so tell me how you expect Wang to ok a refurbished building and still lose money each year?
I moved to NJ also, but I’m still an Islander fan and always will be. This was Kate Murray’s Waterloo. She has shown that her allegiance is not with the projects that would make Hempstead the pride of Nassau County. Her talk of a “Federal stimulus grant” is rediculous. She may have gotten a grant for the Lighthouse project, but not to refurbish a sports arena. VOTE HER OUT! She is what’s wrong with Nassau County.
Is that a direct copy/paste? How does an official document get released with full quotes (”") inside of a main quote. How do they not have one person in that office to fact-check the year of the Isles’ last Cup? How does someone not simply just know that?
Man this is brutal. I guess Queens is the answer? Something tells me that when the dust settles this team will be called the Scouts and be sharing AM air waves with the Royals and Chiefs.
Commodore, Jimmy and SW: You just aren’t getting it. Wang has already scaled down once at the request of people who said it was too much. He then recently said, “Tell me what you don’t like and let’s talk about it.” He got no response. All Murray will say is, “You can renovate the Colisuem”, which is something that I belive she has no say in anyway. She is the one that will not compromise. She is also the one who said she can’t meet with people on either side of this project because it is a conflict of interest then a few days later shows her support for a Coliseum only project. How can she do this if she is so worried about a lawsuit has her legal counsel told us last week? If you look around the country, municipalities have a blueprint of the future. What is the blueprint for the TOH in Kate Murray’s world?
Wow…pretty pationnate view points from both sides of the fence… Sadly I do not live on Long Island so I cannot fully grasp what is happening there now, but I have been a fan of the team since 1978 (Live in Ottawa). Anyways… for the people that are afraid of the Lighthouse project, well, there are plenty of other cities including here in Ottawa that developped their arena and surrounding area to what the Islanders and county are proposing, and it is fantastic.
I fear that the Isles will now be sold and move to KC or Vegas or up here to Canada. I can only hope that a resolution is found and quickly, Long Islanders and Isles fan deserve as much.
This doesn’t make any sense to me. Forget the Islanders play there for a second. You have a development group who wants to spend their own money to build something, but she wants to get federal money to build it? I’m no economist, but isn’t that kind of a waste? Can’t the federal money be used for, I don’t know… schools, roads, parks, police,etc?
Wouldn’t the lighthouse be a fun place to go anyway?
Call Murrays office and let them know that asking for tax payers to foot the bill is shamefull when Wang has been losing millions and millions. Wang has every right to try and make money for heavens sake!!!
I spoke with Joe Ra’s secretary and Mr. Murrays as well. They are making excuses. I also said that she is a hypocrite for sending letters/petitions apposing the LHP when her mantra has been “I can’t make an assessment on something I haven’t seen yet”. I guess she has no problem apposing the LHP even tho she hasn’t seen a proposal, this is ludicris!
We need to get organized, and I wonder why Wang and Rechler and Suozzi haven’t reached out via mailings in the same way. Most d usd learn from this cus we are fans but everyday Long Islanders have no clue this project can help our society.
Is anybody calling in to the town to voice thier displeasure at the way this is being handled? Just go to the TOH website and call and ask to speak with Gary Hudes. He always takes my calls. I may not like his answers but we have a lively discussion.
What politicians always fail to realize is that there’s a huge vacuum left behind when a team packs up and moves out. This isn’t the Colts leaving Baltimore – major league sports will never come back to Long Island if the Isles go. KM: This never comes back once it goes away.
Anyone have the time to organize a rally at the April 11th game vs. Phila ? An anti Kate Murray rally ?
We should all wear prisoner costumes to the game - and be “Isles fans held as prisoners by Kate Murray”
or in Clown outfits and wear a uniform that says “Kate Murray” on it
you get my drift.
im on hold w/ the office right now, do not let this issue rest for one second
Chris, this is you pulling aan April fools joke on us…right?
Crass AF joke…
This situation is the reason why this country is going down the tubes because politicians can’t put aside partisian politics and get the job meeting at the middle…it really is pathetic and says something of the quality of our politicians.
We’re going to Kansas City…
Kansas City here we come
When she mails the 240,000 petitions, she may get back a few thousand from uninformed people, that do not know the facts, saying “Yes, we want stimulus” It all doesn’t matter. What she really wants is to do is screw Wang, and Rechler, but come out smelling like a rose. 240,000 potential voters, that do not know the real story, will hear that she is “doing her job by slowing down a massive project that wants to take environmental shortcuts,” and that “she is working overtime to get stimulus now.” It looks like a publicity coup for her… Some of those 240k will think she is doing her job, and help her get either re-elected, or move up to Nassau Supervisor.
I don’t blame Wang for anything other then realizing that he has to do better then “Meet me at the Lighthouse,” and outreach meetings to 1000 people. He should be mailing (he can afford it) 240,000 letters with the truth, plus a few million to the rest of Nassau County, PLUS getting some real prime time advertising, and not just on MSG to reach only sports fans.
PS:If Newsday doesn’t correct that 37 Billion dollar typo, you know where Dolan really is with this. Do you think he would really shed a tear if he had the only NY NHL franchise?
How could Newsday report that this is a 37 billion dollar project and Kate Murray’s letter saying the Islanders won a cup in 1984? How can you miss facts like that!!!
I understand the “younger people” who have had to move off of the Island. I left the area, too. But that’s not why we’re talking about this here. We’re talking about it because of the Islanders. It stinks that the future of our team hinges on a project that is legit enough to stand on its own merits. I get the “cannot be profitable” argument wrt the Isles, and I’m not sure I agree with that 100%, as the team must’ve been profitable at some point w/out all of the development. Ultimately, I just no longer trust that anyone on either side has the team’s or the fans’ best interests at heart.
The team was profitable #181 when minimum salary didn’t exsist and the entire team pay was somewhere around $5 million and not $40.
Winning 19 consecutive playoff series probably helped the checkbook too.
At least she finally took a publicly stated position, as cowardly as her approach is. Bye bye Kate, I wish I could say it was nice knowing you. My Republican family will be voting for a Democrat this fall.
I don’t understand why there is no middle ground. Coliseum Current Lighthouse Plan. Maybe if she took meetings with Suozzi and Wang, she would not have to waste tax payers $$ with direct mail campaigns and get something done. See you at the polls in November Kate.
Maybe CB can answer this one… why is it that the Devs can build Prudential Center without needing a huge development to go along with it? Devs got it done, and it’s pretty nice as-is.
Even in letting her stance known Murray shows she doesn’t have the cajones a leader should. Rather debate the merits and drawbacks of the project, this press release diverts attention to the old “get the colesium done now, then we’ll see about the lighthouse” scam. Taken at face value its not that bad but the vast majority of us are smart enough not to take a politician at face value.
Yes, I am an Islander fan, but this area has been in decline for a long while. I am holding on here at the moment but I am in that 25-34 age group thats losing his grip on the place he grew up and loves. Kinks need to be worked out, but I see the Lighthouse as New Deal type project. Immediately and overtime it will have huge benefits for the area.
Queens is a nice alternative and I would cheer for ‘em, but the Lighthouse was looking kinda nice.
Because the devils are not suffocated by a hideous lease that takes away money from parking, Concessions and some of the gate. THAT’S WHY!!!!
this is a sad sad day. I love hockey, and loved the Isles as a kid. My nephew is 9 and plays ice hockey. I watch and the hockey is a growing sport on the island. I wonder how much it will continue to grow once the isles are gone. Can we start a petition to get this women out of office?
Brett, Mr. Vukota:
The project is for an artifical city, and if these plans are scaled down, then the original plans must have been intended to take out Mitchel Filed, Cradle of Aviations and the bloody stockyard.
We’ve been sacked by Wang and Rechler, who, rather than embrace our unique existence as a non-city based organization, are exploiting the absence of it and want to bank.
Kumar is doing time n the big-house for Wang. The Rechler family owns half of developed and undeveloped land on long Island.
Build the biggest arena in the country, the cost will still be 1/8th that of this Lighthouse city plan.
Isles Rule.
she does not even explain any of the findings in the env’t study. SO, she has nothing to back her dec’s on, except that we all know she is getting $$ from some1 to stop this. Just like Silver and Dolan stopped the Jets in city.
Ugh I see another “Maverick” wink, wink. She is just awful, I am actually embarrassed for her. This is another clear cut case of a politician without her own thoughts getting some really, really bad advice.
Stop with the city argument already. It’s time to get with the program. This isn’t the 50’s anymore. All I see are ghetto’s and crime around that area. Throw in tons of asphalt and decaying buildings and that’s all you got. END OF STORY!!!!!!
It’s becoming pretty cear that The Lighthouse will never get passed. Wang you might as well go to Queens or compromsie.
The Lighthouse is a fantasy, and in this economy it will never happen…
Build the new arena- that’s all we need, or just go to Queens already…
does this women realize that the isles have the worst lease in the history of sports. Even if wang put the max sal in the team, he’d still lose $$. What $$ will hemp bring in once the isles are gone. Abs nothing. As it is, barely anyone wants to play here (sports players and concerts). We can’t even get billy joel to come here anymore.
One of the issues that nobody seems to mention is that the team doesn’t make a dime on concession sales or parking… something that helps most teams balance their checkbooks.
Vukota (187)…so the solution to a bad lease is a giant development project supported by the threat of leaving the area? If the lease is the problem with profitability, then the simplest solution would be to do something about the lease rather than constructing more buildings. If the Isles leave, SMG loses a heck of a lot of money too, so they have a large interest in keeping the team here, no? Again, I see the value in the Lighthouse Project, and support it and its intentions. I don’t like that the team and the fans are being used as leverage.
Anyone else find it strange that CB hasn’t chimed in yet?
If, at the end of the day, Wang decided to renovate the NVMC to keep the team on the Island… would the terms of their lease be renegotiated? And here’s another question… could they seek to break or renegotiate the terms of the lease NOW if it means the future of the franchise hangs in the balance?
I agree Chris, set up a meeting with Queens and get assurances that the process will not fall into the same scenario as TOH.
Kate is the “Clown of Hempstead”….
Im surprised we dont hear anything from the school districts who are to get millions in tax revenue should this pass, thats no chump change
If your SMG why would you want to renegotiate a lease and then make less money off the new lease?
I’m surprised that they’re not raising our taxes 10% to pay for the renovations. Heh. Thanks TOH. I’m moving out of this crappy-ass excuse for a Town as soon as I can sell my now-worth-only-what-I-paid-for-it-10-years-ago house and find a half-my-current-salary job somewhere in Hurricanes country down south where I can relax and enjoy my 50s.
Hey fans who are against the project! Scale it down to what?! What is the scale down they’re asking for? They’re not asking them to scale it down Kate wants them to renovate the coliseum first and THEN work on the lighthouse part. That way she can win in another landslide and then shoot down the rest of the project when the coliseum is rebuilt. Don’t you get it? She wins either way in that instance but whomever is left owning the Isles would make no money because of the lease! How do people still not understand this?! LEASE, LEASE, LEEEAAASSSSEEEEEE! You can’t be happy going to “the same crappy building” when the owners can’t make money because of a suffocating lease. For you to be happy the owners have to make money. They are not going to keep owning a money pit to please fans. Any good businessman would try to sell (whos going to buy this lease?!) or relocate. Also the COUNTY (bigger than the town) already approved the project, another fact you seem to keep conveniently forgetting.
No surprise whatsoever. Anti-climactic! Everybody nknew the LH was dead for quite sometime. I figured Kate would wait till after the hockey season to kill the deal.
Is Willets Point still a “pipedream”? As so many Lighthouse supporters have commented? You better hope the hell not, ‘cuz KC is mess to get to during rush hour. They might have mass transit though, I think you can take Metro North out of Grand central. You can be there in 17 hours, if you get the express.
Hopefully NOW Islander fans can unite to keep the Isles in NY. The Isles have always been bigger than Uniondale. Mr. Charles B. Wang get on the horn to Queens, Your Legacy awaits. Make it happen captain!
How are we being used as leverage. He has lost millions upon millions keeping this team in that dump of an area. He has earned the right to do whatever he wants with that team. Also keep soaking up what KM says. Embarrassing
Last post for me. I think that most people here underestimate Kate Murray. She was savvy enough to get elected, and savvy enough to turn this around as a PR bonanza for herself.
What everyone is missing is that this looks like, to the mainstream uninformed, non-hockey fan, as a good vs evil.
Murray as the valiant protector from the evil empire of the Lighthouse Development Corp, trying for a huge land grab.
Mark my words, unless there is a HUGE public awareness campaign to bring the facts to the casual resident, this whole project is DOA.
Savvy?????? She is a puppet who is having her strings pulled by a bigger power. Puhleeeeeease
LOL at # 201: “THE CLOWN OF HEMPSTEAD”.
That’s a keeper!
I am disgusted at this. Wheres my bottle of jameson. maybe a blackout will make this go away.
This woman is a (&*&%^^ and is using this as her platform for re-election. She cares not one drop for this team nor arena.
I am in mourning today for my beloved Isles.
The Commodore — #190 — you are advocating building a type of arena that nobody builds anymore: the building in a parking lot, connected to nothing. Those arenas are either torn down (Cap Centre, Richfield Coliseum) or have lost their tenants (Forum in Inglewood, Calif., Devils gone from Meadowlands, Nets trying to follow). The trend is toward building either in developments or in cities. Nobody is building what you want…nobody. That’s why nobody submitted that sort of develoopment when the county put out its RFP. You need to tell us why you think a type of project that nobody has sunk any money into in 20 years would actually work here,and would attract an investor.
Peter in VS: Because I would think receiving less money from the Isles is better than receiving no money. Having suffocated the team to the point that their future in Nassau’s looking this grim, maybe SMG looks to ensure long-term revenue over the present terrible terms.
The county can condem the lease, but Wang would have to put up some serious coin in a buyout and he has already paid a dear proice for owning this team and I don’t see him giving away anymore millions
imagine she wants to use my tax dollars to fix up the coliseum when we have a proposal for private money to do just that which has been approved by the COUNTY!!…and of course the 35-40 story buildings will not be built she just uses that as scare tactics because she knows no ones that type of height on LI…it would be funny if it werent so sad
Good point from JayK. Even Philly is looking to build up their sports complex with retail, etc. Nothing there now except for the arenas. The lonely facility in the middle of a parking lot is largely a thing of the past.
Peter In VS (203) - Because the alternative is the Isles leave and SMG gets nothing.
Vukota - it’s been stated many times here by LH supporters that w/out the Isles involved, there’s no way the LH goes through. So, the team is leverage. The fans are as well, or that meeting the other week would’ve been far less full and we wouldn’t be 200+ posts into this thread. Hey, I want the same thing you want…the Isles to stay. If it’s the Lighthouse, Queens, whatever, fine. I don’t care. Just get something done. I’ll support leveling half of Nassau County if it means the Isles stay. I’m sure others feel as I do, and are willing to do anything to make it happen. That’s the fans being used as leverage for a development project. Maybe I’m wrong about that. But that’s what it seems like to me.
at this point , the only thing I’m interested in is whether or not the Queens idea is viable on all levels OR is it just a threat being used to force someones hand .
you’d have to think if the Queens project was lucrative Wang / Rechler would drop the lighthouse project in a heartbeat to go for the sure thing
Murray refuses to publicly comment on anything but spends my tax $ on useless mailings. I’m pleased to see that her tactics are thought out so well. Not surprised to see her take the low road, it’s the way she operates. For those of us who live in TOH, take note. This is the person leading you. This is the person committed to help lift the town out of the doldrums. Obviously she has a plan so sound that it deserved a mailing as opposed to a public comment. I don’t know about everyone else but I expect more out my ‘leaders’.
The lease is up in 2015 (i think). SMG and other companies dont think about making money years from now they think about making money today and mostly because the management with corporations dont last very long. They are judged by how they make money today.
Real Vukota - she is a puppet? That’s why she is an elected official, and you are ranting on a hockey blog. Right.
Again, the development is what Nassau County insisted on. You can read about the “HUB” going back more than 30 years. This is what Suozzi wanted and Nassau approved by a vote of Dems and Reps of 16-2.
They had a half-dozen developers submit plans in a Request For Proposals process. Wang and Rechler met their vision, and also had the major league sports team. Wang has spent more than $10 mill in the process.
A reminder that anything personally nasty (or worse) will result in being locked out of ever Commenting again. And please, enough with taking on each other. It’s more productive to see who is for and against the TOH, for and against the project, for and against Queens. Ripping on each other’s opinions is for a good message board. On here it’s just noise.
A prediction: the Wang and Rechler camp stays quiet for a few days. That’s what they did after the announcement of the Kansas City game. Monitor the reaction and then formulate a response after Kate Murray has a few days under the microscope…CB
Oh it’s that simple “Jimmy”? Just put a winning team on the ice and the place will be packed and Wang will start making his money back? I’m sorry but you clearly do not understand what is going on here. First of all if it were that simple to field a winning team consistantly wouldn’t every team in the NHL be REALLY good? What happens in the down times when the team (as every team does) goes through a lull. Is Wang supposed to just keep losing money because no one will show up and his lease sucks? No money from parking, concessions, etc. You make no counter argument and offer no solution. Your agenda is keeping the Isles and I applaud you for that but how about putting some thought into this situation? Is there any way a new lease could be worked out that would benefit the owner who has lost hundreds of millions? Come with some intelligent thoughts next time. Just because you use a lot of exclamation points doesn’t mean you make a good point.
I have my annual checkup in 45 minutes. I’m sure my MD is going to find that my bloodpressure is high. Thanks Kate Murray, now I have to take blood pressure medication!
I just called Kate Murray’s helpline (516 )489-6000 and talked to a very nice women who I hope got the message. Stop the political BS AND GET THIS DONE. I said I was a TOH resident and that Ms. Murray just lost my vote. Call and let you voice be heard. At least I got to vent.
Wang has said he needs an answer by October. The draft is in June. Call me naive, but if there’s a modest Isles buzz generated by the Tavheduch sweepstakes, maybe something changes.
Jimmy (#82, 91, whatever else) -Time to take your head out of your rear end. If it wasn’t for Charles Wang the Isles would have moved long ago. If you want to be so negative then piss off, we don’t need you.
As for Kate Murray, she is a short-sighted, cowardly and obviously unintelligent political hack as well as a lying sack of (expletive renamed) turd. She has made a political football out of a project that will benefit the town, county and all of Long Island. We have to find a candidate to run against her and make her answer for her dishonesty, which I will try to do at the next town board meeting that I can get too. I won’t replace the expletive in that rant.
MSA - let’s not go crazy putting “elected officials” up on some pedestal. Based on most pol scandal stories, hanging out and posting to a hockey thread isn’t the worst thing one can be involved with.
Wow Chris for a second there I thought that this was a pretty sick April fools joke but this was posted on March 31. Well for selfish reasons Welcome to Queens my New York Islanders. Now I can become a full season subscriber.
Sorry, CB, I got a little carried away. The woman is almost as bad as my mother at setting me off. I’ll be e-mailing Denenberg and the county executive to see if I can help beat her phony petition drive.
Wang needs to flood TV, radio, and newspapers with ads making it clear that he is paying for the bulk of this project. Something along the lines of “Kate Murray wants to use your tax dollars (via stimulus money) to refurbish the Colisuem, I want to pay for it myself. Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill for this?” Or even something that shows the new Mets and Yankee stadiums and then show a mock up of the Lighthouse project and say something like, taxpayers paid for the Mets and Yankees, I want to pay for the Lighthouse, why does Kate Murray want you to pay for a refurbished Coliseum?”
I think the biggest problem with the Lighthouse is most people think Wang wants the taxpayers to fund it, and they believe it’s something that will only benefit Islander fans.
If you live in the TOH, get this mailer, and approve of the LH Project. Respond with the mailer. Do not sign the petition but include a letter why you are FOR the project and why you are NOT signing the petition.
This is disappointing though not entirely unexpected. Her silence was deafening.
# 226 - My comment about ranting on a hockey blog was obviously “tongue in cheek,” as I am here doing just that. My only point was that i think a lot of people underestimate the ability of Kate M. to spin this to her benefit. I think we are all looking at this through the tunnel vision of being hardcore hockey fans, and that is a big mistake,
CB, don’t worry..I’m in Asia and I will stop posting! I’m going to bed! But this was too good.
I sent a ranting email today to a former GOP official I know. He’s seriously connected (to the GOP, not the mob!). These are excerpts of what he sent me back, edited to disguise his identity. Great stuff.
———————-
I couldn’t agree with you more. Kate Murray is an absolute jerk. I will never vote for her again. Kate Murray was billed as the guest speaker when ….was honored at a dinner… following (the honoree’s) term. We gave her a full page in the front of the dinner journal. She never showed up. She claimed she had a “family emergency” but …..is a friend of mine and he/she told me he/she was out campaigning with her that night. She had no emergencies.
I agree with you about the Lighthouse project. It reminds me of how the Republicans under then Presiding Supervisor Caso killed Nickerson’s wonderfully ambitious plan for a regional cultural center at Mitchel Field, with a Lincoln Center-type theatre, a convention center, hotel, shops, the Coliseum, an art museum and park area modeled after Central Park, etc. By the time they finished with it, it was trimmed down to the Coliseum, a hotel and some ball fields. That was 40 years ago. To do the same today would cost 10-20 times the price. The lighthouse project is the closest to it yet proposed, and I think it’s essential to Nassau County’s vitality and financial stability. The Nassau GOP is already teetering on the brink of extinction, thanks to the likes of Kate Murray and Joe Mondello. If they succeed in killing this project, they may as well just close up shop.
Small advise to Charles Wang:
Take a look at the Brooklyn’s Aviator arena. It stands alone on the territory of use to be an airport with enough land to fit 6 or 7 Lighthouse projects.
Personaly, I think there is a way to push this project around Murray’s approval. Maybe TOH resident’s surveys will help. Collect the opinions on paper and present this to TOH offices (they have to respond to this by law). Then you can use their official respond against them.
MSA - Oops, I misread that.
Frustrating thing is that at the end of the day, KM doesn’t really have to spin anything. She can just say no.
CB, I couldn’t agree more about ” Kate Murray has a few days under the microscope”. There is an old saying sales and it’s give them a price and shut up… so she has given her price, so to speak, and now let her deal with the ramifications or lack thereof.
CB, does this mean the Lighthouse is completely dead?
Sir William:
If people like you were the majority we would be in real trouble. You are whining about peoples comments to correct a problem (not just an Islanders problem, but a political problem) and you expect people to just accept BS from this lady. You obviously don’t have the gonads to stand up for anything. Except I bet you’re the type where if Murray were trying to tear down the pine barrens you would have the same comments you mentioned earlier…
Jimmy (#82,88,91) - Instead of changing your name every week why don’t you spend a little more time READING up on the issue so you have your facts straight. You sound like a broken record with your ignorant rants, and how many of us (here and elsewhere) have patiently tried to educate you only to have you completely ignore any of the facts and just spew against Wang again. That’s unfair to all of us. Resist that extreme hatred of Wang that is clouding your judgement!
Put out a logical argument and maybe you have a case, but you are still out in left field. um….ARE YOU RELATED TO KATE? Because she’s the other one in left field here.
Look, you are entitled to your opinion but if you are going to say something, at least show a little knowledge. Or keep it to just asking questions. Your question “doesn’t anyone else see this” should throw up a big red flag buddy.
Also, if you are still unclear about the project, read about it again! And again! It is a big issue and there is no shame in having to re-read articles to gain a better understanding.
It’s frustrating for all of us, In.., Pa.., uh Jimmy. But don’t just blindly blame one person. Try to be fair.
After going to the last Lighthouse Project meeting, and being so impressed with the entire discussion. I am left believeing one thing. The only reason I can think, She would be against this, is because Kate Murray is a Ranger’s fan. Thanks, Goooooooooooooo Islander’s Mark/NJ
Crap, I meant to hit DELETE!!! I hit submit by mistake! Sorry!
What a sad mess this whole situation is coming to. Judging by what most people are saying the only thing that will be left in the TOH are geriatrics and tumbleweeds. Cooler heads should prevail but disparaging remarks only lowers those to the same level of the people you oppose, and discolors your own valid argument.
Gillies Goring - I agree, but what is scaring me is not only is she saying no, she IS spinning it as she is the White Knight, which is why she is sending out the 240,000 mailings.
I am done - CB, I don’t think i went over my quota, but if i did, my apologies.
Murray rolled…lol classic.
As for the lighthouse project, I’m gonna go rent a jackhammer and start this thing myself. Who’s with me?
as a very long-time fan of this team from NJ (I lived in N. Bellmore for only a couple years during the 90s), I wouldn’t presume to tell local area residents what to do…however, I will point the following:
slimeball Lamoriello and corrupt politicians in Newark (read convicted felon Sharpe James) built the Newark arena with NJ taxpayer money and seized viable businesses to do it, and the neighborhood is still a cesspool and will remain that way; Wang is not seeking public money for this project except, as I understand it, for supporting infrastructure like roads and transit, and the land is presently undeveloped now so no one gets condemned to build it
if anyone things building office space won’t attract businesses fleeing Manhattan and NYC proper, just take a look at downtown Jersey City; what was once an industrial slum is developed with office buildings, residential units and hotels that spilled out of NY
and the TOH doesn’t need to develop or expand its tax base? geez, and I always thought Hempstead Turnpike once you pass the Coliseum and Hofstra was always so quaint (sarcasm intended)
apologies if a little long, this is my only comment on the LH
Most of the people blogging here’s completely blind support for the team is obvious. Wang’s ploy to use the Islanders and its fans to overdevelop the site thankfully looks like it will fail. Wang has NEVER cared about the team or the Coliseum only what he thought it would get him to overdevelop the real estate. If he did care he would INVEST in the team to make it competitive and particularly in this TERRIBLE economy he would agree to renovate the Coliseum NOW as his project will by his own admission take over 10 years to complete assuming he could get the financing. He doesn’t want to do that because then he’d have no excuse for why the team is in last place-he wouldn’t be able to say its because of the Coliseum’s condition. Wang will NOT move the team-like he did with the Dragons and his former Oyster Bay project-he will ABANDON and DUMP them as soon as he realizes his scheme has failed.
206 MSA on Apr 1st, 2009 09:58:42 said:
Last post for me. I think that most people here underestimate Kate Murray. She was savvy enough to get elected,
no disrespect, but getting elected to that position, in that environment, with that backing (substitute machinery, forces etc.) behind her, was no great trick. bluntly, any buttpuppet could have gotten elected.
While waiting for someone - anyone - to take credit for a lousy April Fool’s joke, couple of questions:
1. Who the hell is paying for that petition? Never mind how it offends the rest of us, but those of you who are TOH residents/taxpayers should be demanding the answer to that question.
2. Who’s gonna get out the opposing view point - you know, the one with the actual FACTS? I agree that Wang/Rechler should be tapping into every possible form of advertising here - including doing their own mailing - and probably should have done so sooner. The public outreach meetings are nice, but they need to get to many more people than those who made the effort to get to the Marriott, however possible. I also believe there should be something done as it regards an editorial for Newsday. That does not have to come from Wang/Rechler, but instead could just come from a concerned citizen who is educated on the facts. Would probably have more impact, anyway, especially if you could find someone in one of the unions or veterans groups to be the author. Murray needs to be called out - as publicly as possible - on the nonsense she’s spouting.
3. Now that this is out of the bag, why doesn’t someone hit her with one of those lawsuits she was - allegedly - afraid of? Seriously. If she was “unable” to take a position before the process was finished, hold her feet to the fire. If this press release isn’t good enough evidence to show the position that she’s taken with this, then I don’t know what is.
Sorry, CB, for the length of the above.
i really think she’s destroying her own political career and opening up a chance for denenberg to beat her in november. aside from her thumbs down of a great project with little to no opposition, she’s going completely against the gop’s philosophy by spending taxpayer dollars on this mailing and by asking for “stimulus” dollars. she’s just completely incompetent. hopefully denenberg defeats her and quickly approves the project.
Regarding SMG losing money if the Isles leave: SMG runs arenas around the country. Hell, they run the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena here in NOLA, as well as Tiger Stadium and the LSU arena in Baton Rouge. Between those 4, the capacity is over 200,000, and they run dozens of others across North America. Do you really think that they would spend any substantial time crying if they lost the management rights over NVMC, one of the smallest arenas on their books? The Isles could be gone very quickly.
There should be a referendum for TOH residents to vote on whether they want the Lighthouse or not.I thought this country was a democracy and government was ” for the people”.How can one person hold up what thousands of her constiuents want to happen??
So the GOP finally shows its hand. The stimulus dollars available from Washington are for shovel ready infrastructure projects only. Rebuilding the NVMC does not qualify as an infrastructure project. Build a light rail system to funnel patrons to and from the Coliseum - Yes. Buy the rail cars to run on the newly built rails - Yes. Reconfigure the road network around the site to ease traffic problems - Yes. Repair a nearly forty year old building and install much needed revenue generating luxury suites - No. Maybe some people in the Grease Our Palms and you will Get Our Pork so that together we can have a Grand Old(time) Party are worried about what the potential termination of SMG’s management contract as a part of the LHP will do to their bottom line and so they wrap themselves in patriotism (a scoundrels last vestige?) while playing the obstructionist to progress card. What a sham, I mean shame. Hey Kate I hope you have your political machine tuned up and ready to go because you have now put your oversized butt on the line at a time when you really have very little to gain. Tick, tock, November is closer then you think and time waits for no-one and it won’t wait for you.
Mike #246 - if Wang didnt care about the Islanders, they why would he also buy the Soundtigers?
fellow long islanders get over this idea of long island being something different from queens. everywhere i turn now strip malls with NO TENANTS are popping up, illegal renters by the busload, etc…
stop the denial.
build the lighthouse project.
#188 It will destroy youth hockey on Long Island. The team and individual players have done wonders to promote the sport through community service. Once they are gone, all you’ll have left is Kate Murray and an empty hole which I’m sure her and her cronies have OTHER plans for.
Obviously, with the influx of people, cars, traffic & no mass transit, except for a ’shuttle tram’ to Mineola is serious enough for any responsible town leader to recommend what Ms. Murray did today. There are many more people silently against this project than Isles fans can see on this blog, the TOH office, I am sure, has many more negative letters than the few that this list has generated. Thank you,Ms. Murray for not selling out to the Wangs/ Rechlers of the world. Hey, I can live without 40 home games a year in Nassau; besides, Disney on Ice, the Circus, concerts, fill the Coliseum, not the Islanders.
See you on the #7 train!
Mike #246,
It’s unfortunate that you just don’t get it, and I hate that I’m responding to this but:
Wang has pumped MILLIONS into this team from the moment he acquired them. He has made some major renovations to the Coli, knowing full well he didn’t own the building. He has developed programs for kids here on LI as well as in his native China. Wang is a businessman. The fact that there is/was potential to build up the real estate around the Coli would be the major reason ANYONE would purchase the Isles. Sports Teams, with the exception of only a few, make a substantial profit where most actually lose money. Your thoughts that just building a team would be enough is just plain wrong. Yes, it would make us fans happy for the short term, but in the long run it would only be detrimental to the continued success of this franchise.
If you don’t want Wang to make some money, just say it. Don’t go around spewing remarks that you have no clue about.
What about Suffolk County? These is a lot more vacant land for developing the entire project than there is in Queens?
This whole thing is just baffeling to me. I understand Islander fans want this because we want to keep the Islanders. With county approval, and there area desprately in need of upgrading and development, taking into account the positive impact on the economy, I cant understand why the TOH would be against it. It just wreaks of some sort of corruption. Something isnt adding up here.
Murray is really commiting political suicide. She will be forever linked to why they lost the Islanders. Givin that prospect it makes me wonder why should would be in favor of that position……Hmmmmmmmm.
This may have already been commented upon, but isn’t strange that Ms. Murray — the self-proclaimed “judge” — has now become an advocate. Ms. Murray’s justification for not attending the rally was because she wanted to remain impartial. Where is her impartiality now? Or did I miss the class in law school where we were taught that judges send petitions to juries, and issue poorly researched press releases, advocating juries to take certain actions…
At this point it’s more than clear that Murray is in over her head. I find it interesting that in the editiorial piece in Newsday her mouthpiece said that it wouldn’t be wise for her to show up at the Lighthouse meeting when she’s “the judge and jury” …yet it’s ok for her to send out fliers - using tax money - to try and sway people to her side?
At this point we can only hope and PRAY that the Islanders move to Queens …
As a TOH resident I give a THUMBS UP to Kate Murray for giving the people of the TOH a chance to voice their opinions and not just Islander fans and Wang.
Wang started this game and the people of the Town will decide, Not Islander Fans or Wang,THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN.
We want a New Coliseum and not a mini Village. So support your Team and a New Colsieum and not all the rest of Wangs Smoke screen! GO KATE GO!
im from the TOH. i want a sports and entertainment complex
Dear NYI FAN (256) and anyone else who believes that “Disney on Ice, the Circus, concerts, fill the Coliseum, not the Islanders”… Get a clue. Arenas the size of the NVMC do NOT survive without a “permanent” tenant. They just don’t. To believe otherwise is, at best, uninformed, and, at worst, delusional. The Coliseum will die without the Islanders. And nobody else is coming along to build a new arena, or even to renovate that one, for your precious concerts and circuses alone. Nobody.
Pablo enjoy the team in Queens then, because the isles can’t make money in that rat-hole, improvements or no improvement.
If Queens is truly viable and meets the business objectives that Wang needs to be profitable, I am all for it. I was born in Queens, grew up in Nassau, and now live in NYC now. I would rather see the team remain in Nassau but nothing would change in regards to my loyalty towards the Islanders if they move. It would actually be more convenient for me and I probably would make a few more games. I do not know how Wang has kept it together and remained patient with the process, it is commendable!
NYI Fan #256 - Maybe you should think about the consequences of the Islanders leaving the Nassau Coliseum. Family shows, concerts and events in the Exhibition Hall are few and far between. Its an antiquated building that is the 4th choice for most promoters for other events besides sports (MSG, The Rock, even the IZOD comes before the Coliseum). So when building and the land that surrounds it becomes overgrown with weeds and a place that is barren and full of kids hanging out - I hope that you enjoy it. Understand, this is not about the Islanders only - its about bettering the area, the community and the local economy.
Is there another town on Long Island that would actually support the Light House? Why waste any more time and money with Hempstead.
I just called to request a copy of the petition. I also asked them who pays for all those 250,000 stamps, got an “I don’t know”. I asked for a fax instead of wasting tax $ on stamps, lol. I also made the point that Wang wants to provide funding but by Mr. Murray asking for tax payers to foot the bill it is a travisty being so called republican conservatives. I think we single handely forced Murray to create her so called help line to field the abundance of phone calls, keep it up. Don’t let that monster ruin our future!
What were the founding fathers of NY local government thinking? It boggles the mind that the County can own this land and approve the project after a lengthy bidding process and then have the Town government derail the entire process. Now, please recognize that I am a supporter of the LH, but I do have a question. When Millstein, et al. owned the team, the talk was that the team could not be profitable due to the lease and all the $ that by rights should go to the Islanders (parking, concessions etc.) given under the lease to SMG. This was also, mind you, the pre-salary cap NHL. Then we had the lockout, and the talk was that small market teams like the Islanders needed a cap. So the thought was that if we can get a salary cap and somehow get out of this arduous lease with SMG, the team could be profitable. Well, now we have the Cap and the lease only runs for 5 or 6 more seasons (and thus more susceptable to a buyout). My question is what happened to the thought that all we need is a cap and a new lease to be profitable? Don’t flame on me–I’m just curious.
BD Gallof has an interesting take on this over at his blog. As some have suggested here, the GOP is allegedly worried that too many Dems will move into the lighthouse development. I really think the GOP and Kate crapped the bed on this latest move. It makes no political sense to spend taxpayer dollars to publicly oppose a privately funded development in favor of a government handout for an arena renovation. I can’t seen the “small government” folks supporting her on this. Her base is going to kill her if Charles can get the facts out.
Caution to all… I would not bank on the Isles moving to Queens….My bet would be KC or Canada…
Kate Murray, and people like her, are the reason why most Americans become disillusioned with politics. I’m a Democrat, but there are plenty of people on both sides who fit this bill. They’re overtly partisan, uncomfortable with sharing the spotlight with the other party, and don’t know how to have conflicting opinions without turning it into a bloodbath. They speak in soundbites, carefully tested (and I can guarantee you Kate Murray tested every word of this press release, which makes me all the more amazed that no one googled the Isles to realize their last cup was in ‘83) to make sure it hits home with the voters. And, no doubt, it will. I went to college in Washington, believe myself to be somewhat politically aware, and spend time with people who are politically aware as well. Most on this board are, at a minimum, completely versed in all aspects of the Lighthouse project, Long Island politics, and probably have a far higher IQ and income than the average public. We on this board don’t listen to soundbites - on their side, for that matter. If Wang said, even to people like me who support what he’s trying to do, “I love all Isles fans and want them to have a world class facility, let’s all have a group hug,” we’d see through it to the BS it is.
However…my point here is that most outside our Isles fan cocoon don’t. They don’t think, they’re too lazy to pay attention to things that effect them, and figure that they’ll be told what to think. Enter Kate Murray’s press release. Now, they know the project is too big, will cost too much, and is from a big, mean developer and a big, mean, and rich sports team.
This is exactly why Charles needs to jump on this NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week, NOW. Don’t let the idiots who elect people to sit on this and think the Isles are this behemoth that’s trying to take over good ole’ Long Island. Charles needs to jump up and say, “I’m spending all my money. I love Long Island. I don’t want to leave, but I can’t afford to lose money like this. I may have more than the average person, but would you be ok with losing tens of millions of dollars every year? For 8 years? If this isn’t approved, it’ll be like Grumman all over again, but worse. No one will build here. No new jobs will be created. Long Island WILL DIE. You think LI is the only place people can live in the NY metro area? It hasn’t been that way in 15 years, at least. Even if you’re not a fan of me, or the Isles, Nassau County needs new projects. I don’t want your money. I just want to live here.”
Get it out TODAY. This is for the future of the Islanders, Nassau County, hell, the NYC metro area. The suburbs are dying. Nassau County is dying. Long Island is dying. Don’t wait. Make a move. Do it now.
Oh yeah…LETS GO ISLANDERS!!!!!!!!!
Dear Lord. I guess Kate is too busy making sure we have enough dwarf goats to eat the grass in Merrick. 1984 Stanley Cup Champs…WOW….
I grew up in LI.. “The Nassau Hub” and the rest of the economy on LI is at stake here. The much bigger picture Kate Murray obviouly is completely oblivious toward. She has politicezed this issue to her own ends, and she should be ashamed of herself, it is a disgrace. Long Island needs this. A few hundred jobs created to refurb the Coliseum is simply “Weak”. Hempstead TPK, RT135, EAB plaza, Mitchell Field, The Marriott, Hofstra have all done the job for years but the time has come. The vision must be something to sustain and raise Long Island to new levels for the future, not just renovate an agina facade and think that’ll do.. Who is she kidding? She understands not how much we love Long Island and our Hockey team. She has underestimated the scope of what this is really all about.. For Shame Kate Murray.. For shame.
Great post Stumpy. I think Wang/Rechler have tried to be inclusive with the 180 meetings. However, it’s time for them to take this to another level. They need to blank the area with tv commercials, newspaper advertisements, and direct mailers that explain the basic facts re this project’s benefits for Nassau. It’s time to ditch the corny lighthouse jingle and give the people hard-hitting facts.
Everyone dreaming of signing Komiserak or any other above average FA should give it up right now. Who in their right mind would sign with an organization that has no idea where it will be playing in 3 years??
Citi Field / Arthur Ashe Stadium is only 5 stops away from Bayside station on the LIRR. I’d love the opportunity to spread the cost of my monthly ticket…What a loss it would be for Nassau residents if they don’t get this project.
please don’t post anymore pictures of her here again CB
CB, I would have to agree with you. I expect that they will stay quiet for a short period, and that at some point, they will take to the airwaves and print media with ads explaining why the TOH is dead wrong on this. I would imagine that they would form some sort of friends of the lighthouse group and explain in very real terms why their vision is the only one that will truly work for the site. I also expect that this project will be part of the Democratic platform come November when they seek to push Murray out of office. I think it can work.
Yawn…
“Today, Kate Murray remains passionate about serving all 762,000 members of the town’s family. In fact, she commences each workday by asking herself a question that guides her actions throughout the year . . . ‘How can I improve the lives of the people I serve?’
http://toh.li/content/tb/supervisor.html
Forgive me for being “dumb”, but why can’t we just wait until November to see if we can get Murray out of office before we decide that this is a lost cause?
Hey Charles, tell Kate to kiss your won tons and move to queens. Coming from Connecticut I would welcome the trip.
Here’s the problem with Wang’s Whole agruement about Losing Money: IT’S HIS FAULT! HE DROVE THIS ORG. INTO THE GROUND! Long Island is not “dying” as some jerks would like you to believe. We could have had a new/renovated arena for the upcoming season if Wang had swallowed his pride. CAN’T YOU SEE THAT HE IS AFTER THE LAND AND DEVELOPMENT. HE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THE HOCKEY TEAM OR WHATS BEST FOR IT AND IS’T FANS. I’m sick of hearing people from outside the town and even the idiot from our town going after Murray, ALL THE ISSUES SHE RAISES ARE PERTTENANT AND IMPORTANT. If Wang cares much about long island, why doesn’t he sure up the infrastructure around the coliseum before he even gets an ok on the project? Oh yeah because he’s only in it to make money.
I can’t believe that Chis has pushed his passionate “Wang lovefest” onto all of you. It makes me sick.
Other people are willing to buy the team, keep it home and renovate the coliseum. Don’t you see this is a way to distract yuo, the fan, from shi**y hockey and terrible ownership? WANG MUST SELL thats the only way Long Island can get its team back.
(284)Imagine that….a business person actually trying to make money…..what a concept.
btw if you think that the arena is the reason UFA’s won’t sign here think again. Would you want to work for a man with a massive napolean complex? A back up goalie with no Hockey ops. experience? Play for a coach whose “glorious” overspeed has put us in dead last in the standings? THE ARENA IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THAT
its fine that he tries to make money, thats not what I question. There’s a difference between making a profit and trying to make people think you are in it for philanthropy.
Queens would shorten my ride by a lot but I have always enjoyed coming out to Long Island. My first pick is the Island but Queens is better that some of the other alternatives.
Enough of this. Bye Bye Long Island. Lets go to Queens. We are dealing with an idiot that thinks we won in 1984. No chance we are staying on LI.
People cannot use the backup goalie as a GM slap against Snowy anymore. This is his third full season as a GM.
Poster #284 ” Brad”
The economic climate in the NHL has changed. Do you remeber who owned the Islanders before Wang? What are her important “Issues” And who is willing to buy this team and renovate the Coliseum? You are an idiot. The LHP is a win win scenario for the team and the town. This dopey broad is playing with goats.
But hell if they dont want it how about another town on Long Island? Like the town of Islip!
brad 284,
long island isnt dying?
its young people arent leaving?
its tax base is not contracting?
its businesses aren’t leaving?
it is conforming to the realities of a 21st century economy/inhabitable developments?
if this is project is not built, irrespective of the islanders, long island will be a competitive disadvantage
Brad,
Why beat up Wang for wanting to make money. A revalation! That’s what business people do, invest money (with associated risks) and turn a profit! What as novel Idea! I believe that if the developers make a proposal that enhances the area, provides growth, jobs, tax revenues, then good for him. We should be sucking up to him because no one else even wants to invest in this hell hole anymore. If it wasn’t that I have a stable job in NYC (NOt LI!) I would have been packed up a long time ago. When I retire I am out of here cause it is a barren wasteland.
Could it be that Murray had personal ties with a group that lost out on the bidding to develop the land? If the Lighthouse project goes away maybe she gets the chance to push through the team that wanted the project?
Any thoughts?
The bigger question will be do the islanders keep the same symbol and just put queens in the crest where LI is or a completely different jersey?
You do realize this idea was proposed to the town in 2003 that is now 6 years ago. Milbury and his theatrics drove this team to the ground. Fact. There are many other teams in sports where the owners built other entertainment, venues, areas to make the surrounding more lively than a parkinglot. Owning a team is still a business, doesnt really matter who you are, unless you are happy on losing 20 million a year atleast.
Blame can be passed around to alot of people on this one.
This is really sad. Someone from the county or Lighthouse should write an op-ed piece disputing this garbage.
(1) So, our federal government under a stimulus package is going to provide funds to build an arena that is mostly used for entertainment purposes? Good luck with that. I hope TOH residents are not ignorant.
(2) Desperately needed construction jobs - Basic common sense confirms that building a complex vs. a stand alone arena would great a LOT more construction jobs.
(3) When was the last arena built as a stand alone project outside of a downtown location to hold a major professional sports franchise?
(4) Great, build a new arena. What about all the other attractive qualities on the property? The convention center is pathetic, same with that Marriott. Any plans there elected official? What strategic alliances have you formed to make this happen?
(5) Sounds like this is a subtle appeal to the always persuadable LI NIMBY mentality. Get over it, LI is not some sacred suburban land amiss from urbanization.
(6) Politicians consistently whine that LI’ers move off LI because it is too expensive. Another factor in that decision is the political buffonery that keeps LI stuck in 1980 instead of progressing. Murray is a prime example of this.
(7) LA built the Staples center. About a decade later, private developers (Read AIG) have built a mixed use residential/commercial property surrounding the arena to compliment the events that take place. It has transformed a desolate place into a livable entertainment area. Shops/markets/lofts, etc. are now where vacant buildings, parking lots, etc. once stood. It’s getting done without all this ‘whats in it for me BS in the public.’ Again, LI politicians love to keep the area from going forward for their own political benefit.
I’m hoping the Willets Point guys are licking their chops right now…and would hope that the people in KC leave our team alone….
Again, politics ruin a good business idea for a local economy in big big trouble.
Trust me, I’m a Republican through and through and I can honestly say that someone like the TOH supervisor brings our party down. How can she, being a Republican, be requesting to use Obama-bucks for the NVMC renovation?? This is against every core conservative principle that the Rep party stands for. So instead of having two private entrepeneurs pay for this project like Wang and Rechler, let’s just use the our children’s and grandchildren’s money to pay for it? Is she kidding with this??
But in this case it’s not a case of Dem vs. Rep. It’s a case of a town supervisor WAY over her head in dealing with a decision this big.
Hey Ms Murray - time to get your resume updated - you’ll be searching for a new job come November. Have you tried Monster.com? It’s a cool website.
Brad #284..
You don’t have a clue about this. Under Wang, the Islanders have turned the corner in some ways and he has been very productive in growing youth hockey with both the boys and girls. Girls hockey on Long Island has never been more popular and a lot of this past season has to do with Wang’s involvement. This is a bigger picture than the Islanders. If they leave LI, then it will have a much bigger impact than your small mindness will ever know.
crosby saved the penguins , tavares will save the islanders
no pressure johnny !
Unfortunately for us Islander fans, she obviously feels that supporting Lighthouse is not going to help her politically. As for Queens, how many years would that take to happen? Does anyone think the Nets will ever play in Brooklyn? The Jets could not get in Manhattan. Queens is not happening. If football or basketball teams can get an arena, no way hockey does.
284 Brad on Apr 1st, 2009 12:11:55 said:
ALL THE ISSUES SHE RAISES ARE PERTTENANT AND IMPORTANT.
what exactly are all the issues ms. murray has raised?
Its very telling that she didnt even come out and say …look we need to cut more out of the project, its just to big for the area. Lets see wht we can work out…..Nope, she flat out said I dont want any part of it but hey, lets sign a petition to just renovate the coliseum.
We just went through this with the West side stadium, 1 politician getting in the way of something that would benefit MANY.
Schultz39 #298, Thank you for honestly saying what you did about Murray and her bringing down republicans. I’m mostly a liberal but with the way things have been going the last 2 years, its beyond time for the parties to stop the BS and come together for the benefit of the people they represent. Let’s hope the next generation of politicians can see the light there.
CB,
i am all for “The Lighthouse” project and i think it can do some great things for the area. Lets face it the area of Uniondale/ Hempstead needs a facelift, everyone living in that area would benefit from the commerce it would bring.
There is one thing that doesn’t seem to make any sense…public transportation. I know Suozzi has a shuttle plan setup from the train stations but that is just ridiculous. Is there a future plan to build a train hub into the “Lighthouse” area?
I grew up on Long Island and now live in NYC i have a partial ticket plan with the Islanders (15 games), the only way to get to games is by car. To be perfectly honest i have missed 8 games this year because i don’t want to deal with the traffic/commute. If they really want to entice people to come back to Long Island and visit, you need a mass transit hub into the new location. That does not mean take the train from Penn, to Garden City then bus to the stadium….that is a nightmare
Thoughts?
The press release is an absolute ambarrassment for Long Island. It is poorly researched, contains punctuation errors, ridiculous errors (such as not even knowing when the Islanders last won the Stanley Cup) and, more than anything else, reeks of complete disingenuousness. It implies that the Lighthouse Group is not following protocol for the state-mandated environmental reviews, which is a fallacy. She presumes our ignorance, and I for one resent it. It is a matter of public record that they have done everyhting required of them, and then some. It is the TOH that is not reciprocating.
Kate Murray is banking on the notion that Long Island resident are ignorant, uninformed, and out of touch. She also seems to be under the continued impression that she needs only to placate hockey fans to get what she wants… and that is where she is wrong. I am a voter- and based on this press release I can only assume that I am more informed about this project than she is. It makes NO sense to spend publicly oppose a privately funded development in favor of an alleged government handout for an arena renovation that they will not get because she does not own the property and the very concept of it being “shovel ready” relies on the lighthouse project that she is inexplicably opposed to. The notion of *GASP* not losing money and indeed even MAKING money as the owner of a sports franchise and developer somehow being a bad thing is pure idiocy.
I already voiced my concerns to the TOH office. I am sure she will ignore it.
(284)
I am from out of town and really have no say in what Hempstead does or should do. I agree that Mr. Wang has multiple motives when it comes to the Lighthouse. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with developing land which in turn makes the surrounding area more valuable and attractive?
If the Isles get a rink out of the deal, so much the better.
More than that, it would seem that an exponentially larger amount of jobs would be created by both the construction of the project and the resulting shops, hotels and offices.
Am I missing something? Is it that simple or is there something that I am not getting because I do not live there?
In the end, I want the Isles to become an attractive option for prospects and free agents. If the Lighthouse falls through then I hope that Mr. Wang will look at the situation as an NHL owner and explore other LI/NYC options to help his team prosper.
Al Pacino’s Inch By Inch speech from Any Given Sunday
I don’t know what to say really.
Three minutes
to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play
till we’re finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the s@#t kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.
Now I can’t do it for you.
I’m too old.
I look around and I see these young faces
and I think
I mean
I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh….
I pissed away all my money
believe it or not.
I chased off
anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately,
I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life
things get taken from you.
That’s, that’s part of life.
But,
you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is hockey.
Because in either game
life or hockey
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don’t quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don’t quite score it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that’s going to make the difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.
I’ll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know
if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can’t make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy
who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That’s a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That’s football guys.
That’s all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?
Changed a few words around top make it relative to hockey instead of football but u get the point!
wow surprising devolpments. I encourage everyone to vote in November… I know I will be….
I am so happy to read that the Isles won the Cup in 1984. The Drive for Five was successful! I swear I had read somewhere that Edmonton beat the Isles that year, but obviously I was wrong.
I guess we need to add a fifth stripe to that jersey patch.
High-stakes game of chicken going on here.
Wang set an announcement deadline BEFORE Murray’s re-election bid.
A friend of mine, who works for Nassau County in the planning dept., gave me a a book the other night of plans for land Wang is trying to develop. The plans date back to 1966 and have many similarities to what he’s trying to do there now. In those plans was the Coliseum. Out of those plans what got built? You guessed it, ONLY the Coliseum. Point is, TOH is NOT foward thinking and will continually be stuck in there old time ways. The LHP will NEVER, EVER be built in its current form. It ties into the point BD makes on his blog. As silly as it sounds, (this is the TOH though) they are afraid of a younger democratic demographic moving in on there turf. This is only one of the many reasons Kate and her cronies dont want this project to happen. Its VERY clear now. I mean, this has been going on since 66!! Enough already, either Wang has to make concessions on whats built, or this team goes elsewhere. As ive said before all it does is leave the TEAM in limbo and as a real fan, that should make you very angry.
284 = Rangers Fan
If the Islanders leave, can the Dragons be far behind? Even though Wang doesn’t own them anymore, why would they stay? The people that have been bashing Wang and saying he drove the team into the ground have their heads where no sun is shining. They cannot see the forest for the trees. The Lighthouse project would be an economic boon to Hempstead and the surrounding areas. Maybe we should get back the previous owners 2 brothers who also wanted to develope the surrounding area and a guy who’s in jail because he was a fake. Charles Wang has done more for the Islanders and Long Island than any prevoius owner the team has ever had.
The idea of pursuing federal stimulus funds to revamp the coliseum is absurd. I’d prefer that money be used elsewhere especially with the Lighthouse project on the table. I agree that adding a public transportation hub is crucial to the success of the project but in the interim I am certain a transportation plan can be put in place.
Wang bought this team with the full intention of the land being developed - that’s not a surprise to anyone. However, this idea that Wang ran the team into the ground is absurd. Did he get involved in hockey related decisions he didn’t need to? Clearly. But the building, and I don’t know how many of you know this, but the arena was never meant to be a major league arena…it was then and now, a small market facility, only the fact that the Islander franchise was awarded to Roy Boe made this a big market arena…in name only.
And forget what party you align yourselves with…no matter WHO you vote for, you are voting for the government. They care nothing except their own pathetic butts and saving their job. They care nothing about us fans.
I had planed to live my entire life on Long Island, but if his does not get done I will move. I dont even care if the Islanders stay, I will move to the city or somewhere else. This is rediculous that a project this good for the community would not get done when the town/county will pay NOTHING for it. REDICULOUS.
To Brad # 284 - If there are other people that want to buy the team, perhaps you can shed some light as to who those parties are…it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
If the Fed’s pay for the NVMC renovation does that mean Mr.Good Wrench President Obama will be involved in selecting the Isles picks in the upcoming draft?
more bad news to go along with years of losing and ineptitude. I thought we were finally turning the corner with them young players and the future #1 or #2 draft pick….maybe I was wrong. Torture may be a better word to describe it. Looks like we may need a miracle to keep this team around
god Any Given Sunday is an awful movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Murray
it was not me.
#318 - IF Queens is viable, which it seems it is - either A.) Wang can move them there OR B.) he can play Air Traffic Controller, they’ll be so many bids flying in for the Isles.
OWNING a professional sports in NYC? In a BRAND NEW ARENA, with every infrasture detail in place, INCLUDING mass transit…AND on top of that, you don’t have to pay any type of Expansion Fee to the league? Selling the Isles to a local owner should be a piece of cake.
Nobody wants a Pro Sports team in Uniondale. A Pro Sports team in NYC? Two totally different ideas. One is a money maker, the other isn’t. Bob Gutkowski comes to mind as a potential bidder for Queens. He was thisclose to buying the Isles, D’Amato put the kibash on that, because Gutkowski wanted to buy-out the lease. D’Amato begged his cronie Mr. Charles B. Wang to come in, keep the lease & go for the land grab. The plan worked to perfection for D’Amato & SMG. For Mr. Charles B. Wang, not so well.
according to newsday, the flyer was mailed to 240,000 homes.
Using simple math here: 240,000 x .42 (usps first class mail rate) = $100,800.
**numbers can be lower because town may receive a discount on the postage.
Nice use of county funds…
#322, you are leaving out the fact that Gutkowski (whom I wanted to buy the team) was found to not have the funds or the backing to pull it off. That being said, again I ask Brad to tell us who he thinks has shown interest in buying the Islanders circa 2009, not 1999. The past interest isn’t something in play as far as I can tell.
As Tom(322) said, wang really did get screwed by d’amato. What happened between the two of them? They must have had a falling out at some point.
Murray’s response is perhaps not surprising, but has anyone really tried to understand Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby’s motivation in supporting Murray’s petition?
She’s the only Democrat on the TOH Board, and her district includes part of Uniondale (although I’m not sure if that’s where the Coliseum sits).
I’m shocked that it’s Goosby in cahoots with Murray here…
derek 257-I don’t get it? Please tell all of us exactly HOW MANY MILLIONS Wang has pumped into the team as you claim? I bet you can’t as you don’t have the first clue as just BLINDLY accept Wang’s propaganda. Name ANOTHER sports team that REQUIRED approval for intensive redevelopment of the area surrounding its stadium for RESIDENTIAL and COMMERCIAL construction which was totally UNRELATED to the sports franchise or its operations as a condition for keeping the franchise local? You CAN’T but cause it has never happened except here! Finally-I could care less about how much Wang makes if he invested in the team and made them successful I would hope he would make BILLIONS-all I care about is that whoever owns the Islanders wants to see that the team succeeds, much like Yankees owner Steinbrenner has seen to it to their success. What I don’t want which the Islanders have had since 2000, is an owner like Wang who is a total phony and who care’s nothing about the team but only what real estate development approvals he can obtain by threatening to move it.
oh my god the the Wikipedia thing is amazing (321)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Murray
“Beloved Hockey Team……” Murray is a disgrace. What a phony.
However, Queens works for me. I travel from north of Albany. As long as they stay on the Island.
Arrrgh, the TOH Supervisor before Murray, Richard Guardino–an expert on development, no less!–has come out in support of the Lighthouse Project:
http://www.truveo.com/Interview-with-Dr-Richard-Guardino/id/714050593#
(is that link ok, CB? I’m sure it has been sent out before, but it’s worth seeing a TOH pol–albeit a former one–weighing in on the Lighthouse Project)
Ha. They must have fixed the 1984 mess-up on the TOH website.
Pablo #262: We want a New Coliseum and not a mini Village. So support your Team and a New Colsieum and not all the rest of Wangs Smoke screen! GO KATE GO!
What’s wrong with a Mini-Village? Short-sighted as that tries to define Wang’s intentions. What’s wrong with developing this drabby area?
PLEASE READ!!
I dont know if anyone has found this but i found a website that has a town hall help hotline that kate murray has set up. There is also a space for you to write in your request in an online form. LETS ALL WRITE IN A REQUEST FOR THE LIGHTHOUSE! It will take five seconds!! Flood her office with requests. It even says requests will be responded to by email or phone!!! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!!
CLICK THE LINK!
http://toh.li/content/home/contact.html
Its time for Wang/Rechler to play “dirty pool”.
Every politician has skeletons in their closets, whether rules were bent or favors granted for major campaign donors. It is time to give Kate Murray’s track record a thorough rectal examination and see what kind of crap we find. How has Kate voted in the past? Who has she voted with? Who are her major campaign contributors? How has the town of Hempstead prospered (or not) since she has been at the helm? What projects has she approved or rejected in the past? What qualifies her to make such a major decision?
In addition I would give her puppet master (Mondello) the same thorough examination.
I would also take a long hard look at Thomas Gulotta who signed off on the SMG management deal for the Coliseum which strangles the revenues of the Islanders.
Time to get down and dirty to discredit those who stand in the way of Progress!
If anyone here knows politics….is it possible to veto murray’s decision when its time to vote on the lighthouse?
bcarey#321 - that is high-larious. It’s at a point now where all we can do as residents of Nassau county and the TOH is tell anyone and everyone about what is going on.
A clarification for some defenders of Ms. Murray (i.e. post #262) She’s not asking for a NEW Colly, she’s asking to renovate the old one. Which is the same thing Wang wants, he just wants multiple revenue streams, and has said his plans for the Lighthouse are not set in stone. He’s willing to negotiate the size, but the area must be developed.
Mike #237
Sorry, but you’re an absolute fool that has no concept of business. Wang had immediately dumped money on players like Yashin, Peca, Aucoin, DiPietro. While they may not be your favorite players or you may not agree with the contracts, that has nothing to do with him not putting money into the team immediately. He then added scoreboards to the Coli, pumped up the amenities inside and outside the Coli. He bought Iceworks and totally refurbished it.
In regards to your other point, no other team has as bad a lease as the Islanders, therefore, no other team NEEDS to pump up the surrounding areas. The fact that they don’t NEED to do it hasn’t stopped teams from doing it though. Philadelphia will be doing it soon. Jobing.com arena, in Phoenix, has there version and actually what was the inspiration for the LHP. While I haven’t had the opportunity of travelling to every arena, I’m sure there are others. A poster earlier mentioned Ottawa having something like the LH. In any event, I do not fault Wang for wanting to make money. It seems as though you have some sort of axe to grind with him, so be it. Don’t call me out cuz Wang didn’t hire you or screwed you over some how.
Just so you know, ANY person that owns the Islanders will not give you what you want, unless there is more than just the Coliseum. Steinbrenner was never tied down, losing Millions of dollars a year, because of his lease.
I know Mr. Wang wants something approved before next season starts. However, I hope he can wait one extra month so he can try dealing with a new Town Supervisor after Ms. Murray loses her re-election bid.
Please remember the rules. No more than three entries. 100 words per entry. Looks like we will be making the top ten in responses.
Isles Rule.
Long Island is backwards! Knowing this Kate Murray should have been the one taking proposals for development of the area then it could work it’s way up instead of the other way around. It seems bizarre that this one little politician can stop this thing when others higher up on the political food chain have less power.
I went to Sunday’s Citi Field Opener. The 7-line sign now reads “Mets—Willets Point.” By 2012, I hope it reads, “Met/Islanders—Willets Point.” Orange and Blue times two. The 7 train. The LIRR. Arthur Ashe Stadium. The park. A good excuse to get rid of the chopshops. It’s just too logical not to pursue.
The saddest part about this… After this pig is gone and no longer in charge, our beloved Islanders will no longer be in Nassau and we can basically forget about ever having a pro team in Suffolk/Nassau again.
I cant believe the final decision can rest on this one person and not even be put to vote by the people of Hempstead.
why is wang even bothering with this clown of a politician. Get out of there you wasted enough time and money. Sounds like queens is ready to build for you or even go back to looking into suffolk. The islanders are a viable ALIVE franchise and can be successful. Get out of Nassau and you will see.
SW Commodore Pablo u sicken me.
You exemplify the political enabler mindset that has destroyed nassau county. Enjoy your vacant lot in hempstead.
I fear that the reason wang has not engaged queens is that he is not prepared to make an additional investment in the approval and develoment process. Which means kc is the likely destination.
Can we sign a petition to get her removed from office? Like the California recall?
Derek (337) - Ottawa doesn’t have a LH-like development at this point, but the Senators’ owners have announced plans for it. Ditto the Flyers. The Oilers’ proposed new arena would be developed in conjunction with residential, commercial and retail space (just like the LH).
Kate it is truly sad that you cannot go beyond your comfort level of being a hack politican. You encourage on one hand to do business in the Town of Hempstead and you kill off a substantial projct. Your a no vote in November.
Come on folks.. Yes, of course this is about the future of our hockey team, the coliseum and the orginization as whole BUT.. that is one very large parcel of land we are talking about here. Truth is growing up in the area I can see not a damn thing has been done too clean it up, keep it meaningful, profitable or otherwise in years. Its time. This does go way beyond just our hockey club. Nassau needs to remain viable, alive and progressive to survive. Great, renovate the Coliseum alone. What have you accomplished ? I know as and Islander fan since Eddie Westfall was captain I would dance a jig, I mean who wouldn’t. Now as a Long Island resident for 30 years I’d be very dissapointed the opportunity to revitalize grow and expand the infrastructure and developement of the entire HUB was completely missed. Now that would be the biggest loss of all. Wang has been here his entire life since leaving his native land. He has invested his entire life on the Island ever since. Is he a business man, of course. But whether you believe he’s lost millions year after year with the Islanders as a joke or because he isn’t a savy hockey man is irrelevant now. Wang/Rechler have stepped to the plate in a big way, Nassau county has been in a financial shambles for years, that is common knowledge. Revitilizing the area will help turn the corner in this shaky economy do not miss this fact. Refurbishing the Coliseum alone, welllll yeah thats awesome for any fan, but it falls wofully short in addressing the bigger picture here, Long Island is deserving, Nassau County and its residents are deserving. Kate if you’re not willing to be part of the solution, stop being part of the problem. If the state environmental concerns are too great, this may be a moot point but let them do their job, and get on with it already.
Remember this come election time. Never forget. The TOH has always been a bunch of corrupt individuals so I am not surprised. Make your voices heard come election time. She may win this battle but she will lose in the end. Vote her out. And hopefully the Islanders will just move to Queens.
Joe (242) - you do have a vote if you live in Hempstead. You can vote this ego maniac out of office.
Don’t politicians live and die by polls? I would really like to see someone poll Town of Hempstead residents– the people who would most feel the effects of this development– and see what their opinion is.
Running a poll on this site, I’m willing to bet, would net results somewhere around 99% for the LH Project. I’d be curious to see something a little more independent, just to see if Kate Murray has a leg to stand on.
#351,
James, she needs a forklift.
Time for everyone to be realistic. No one really cares about the Islanders. We all do, but be realistic. They are not on any radio station that people can actually listen to, and their tv ratings are putrid. They get no coverage in tv or newspapers.
Murray is banking on the fact that most people are sheep and will just go along with what they are told, hence the mailing. I find it amazing that supposed new sources (Newsday) have had so little coverage on a topic that has far-reaching implications for the region. It’s one thing for Murray’s shill lawyer to write an op-ed piece in the paper. It would be a completely different thing if the paper’s editors took a strong stand, similar to what they do on election day.
ms. murray, i drove through hempstead the other day and i can really see why you wouldn’t want to change this garden of eden! how can you not want to improve what you have!!
Can any explain why she - or anyone for that matter - is opposed to the Lighthouse? I understand the people that live around there, but beyond that…..why?
I for one am happy to hear the news that the light house project will not be built. We don’t need anymore of these monstrosities built. Anywhere.
Now, hopefully, we can move on to a serious project to renovate or rebuild the coliseum. Wang won’t move the team. He is going to sell because his development fantasy has been quashed. He was never interested in the Islanders.
bobby “ARE YOU REALLY AN ISLANDERS FAN” wow!
Well most of us are in agreement with our feelings about Kate Murray. I thought that I heard last year something to the fact, “Not on my watch”. She wants nothing to do with this project, nor is she telling the entire story about the amount of money Wang loses each year.
My question is this about the Lighthouse Project…… Why does the Coliseum have to be renovated and why should it? A new arena should be constructed, not renovating a building for 3-5 years. I can not even imagine what it would like like during the season. The Islanders would have to play every October on the road for 3-5 years??? Just like Shea Stadium, the remains of NVMC can be recycled. A new arena could have simular sightlines and would allow for luxury suites to be lower. The new arena should also be built south of the existing NVMC, closer to Hempstead Tpke.
Also, it has always been my opinion that these luxury apartments and luxury hotel would be too tall. Those buildings would stick out like a sore thumb. That should be scaled down. I think there should be more grass and trees between the buildings as well.
As for the rest of the project, I do like it. .
In final……. Why hasn’t Suffolk County made any noise to assist in finding a new location?
WOW … missed the party last night with this thread … She was pretty transparent with her lack of support earlier … NOW Kate pretty much blantently opposes the project … Oh … and I thought she wasn’t allowed one way or the other allowed to support or oppose the project??!! That little dig at the end where she wants the SEQR process to still play out is just a decoy.
she’s concerned about job shortages? she spent 1,200 dollors on dwarf goats to keep the weeds low at Merrick Preserve.
Bobby (#357)
If the lighthouse project is a monstrosity, then what would you call the never-ending sea of asphalt there now??
Anybody want to try e-mailing Comedy Central about this? Jon Stewart would have a laugh at the Town Supervisor spending her time buying dwarf Nigerian goats with TOH money instead of reviewing and passing the Lighthouse Project which would give jobs to thousands.
The ultimate high stake chicken game is taking place. Wang has his pep rally last week so Murray uses her stall tactics this week. It’s Wang’s turn next. Who blinks first in the end?
Chris, I never read where Murray said thumbs down to the LH. What she said was “And first things first, let’s pursue the federal stimulus money immediately and allow state-mandated environmental reviews to continue on course for the remainder of the Lighthouse Project.” Sounds like stalling instead of a definite NO.
Wang should realize TOH won’t support a mini city like he wants and Murray should realize an arena upgrade alone won’t cut it.
Go to Queens and both these issues are resolved……..plus we can still watch Isles hockey in NY.
Did anyone catch NHL Live on XM today? LaGreca was talking to someone about Wang being interested in Queens now. They then added how with the cap the difference between the max amount of the cap and $14 mil below can be the difference between winning and losing in the parity of today’s NHL. And how Queens would allow NYI more money to spend. Didn’t get the whole story but wondering if anybody heard this?
Good for kate murray! let’s hear what the people (TOH) say not just Islander Fans and Wang!
This is about a Mini City in the middle of nassau county.
Folks,this is all about a dying political dynasty (Republicans in Nassau County) trying to hold onto the last vestiges of power. An early post # 79 - JayK) hit the nail on the head. Of course Tom Suozzi supports the lighthouse - as anyone involved in politics will tell you, the denser the housing, the more likely you are to vote Democratic. In addition, the younger you are, the more likely you are to vote Democratic. If anyone doesn’t believe it, look it up on any Republican, Democratic, or neutral political site. It’s basically Poli Sci 201. Suozzi and the Dems are trying to expand their base, KM and Mondello are trying to hold onto what remains of theirs.
As a hockey fan, a resident of Long Island (unfortunately in the town of North Hempstead, so I can’t vote against the too self interested KM), and a taxpayer, I am ALL FOR the LH. Long Island needs to expand it’s corporate tax base, and it needs to increase the density of housing in order to increase its taxable base.
What KM and Mondello fail to understand, is that demographics is destiny. They will lose power in the next decade as the population of the towns they control changes. When a Democrat takes over, the LH will pass. Until then, someone will have to make it politically necessary for KM to support the project. Good luck with that…
And CB - as you requested before - I support the project in the TOH - however, I, as a resident of Great Neck, would LOVE the Isles to move to Queens so I could walk to the LIRR and take the train to the games. Under that scenario though, it would be NYC that gains the additional income, not Nassau…which would make me, as a taxpayer, sad…
Kate Murray is a small-minded idiot. She should step aside and let an adult take the job for her.
This is amazing, Kate Murray never had a way to contact her on this website until now…Im glad to see we are putting enough pressure on her to do this.
http://toh.li/content/home/contact.html
Go Kate Go! I guess old Charlie Wang has met his match!
AThumbs up to Kate Murray for calling Wangs Bluff !
LoL !! Don’t delete this Botta!
I am a Republican. Not a resident of NYS anymore. A resident in Oregon. Kate Murray is someone who I am going to ZERO in on and donate money to unseat her in the Republican primary.
If anyone out there on her staff reads this: do some research on me. And look up the club for growth.
What kind of leader are you? Begging for stimulus money when Wang is financing the whole deal on his own? You are a typical “BABYBOOMER FAKE REPUBLICAN” that needs to be voted out of office.
And Kate, that day is coming. You can bet I am donating the maximum an individual can to your primary opponent, and should you by some miracle run unopposed I will spend more money on helping a Dumbocrat get elected just to spite you.
Sorry for my rant CB, I ranted to one of her “people” today and I want Murray to know politics is not limited to just your “town, county, or state” anymore.
Chris, the Lighthouse developers must have bee anticipating such a move by Murray would come sooner or later. What do you think their next move will be after the dust settles? Do they have a majority of the County legislature on their side? Will the unions make a big push? Thanks.
Go Kate Go ! Charlie Wang has met his match! Let’s hear the voice of the people of the TOH.
Just so no one gets confused, Paul, Mike,Jimmy and Brad are all the same person. He use exclamations and can be found trolling other sights mispelling words and ranting about how Wang is trying to screw us. He is in the extreme minority but thinks his opinion is the right opinion while he called us idiots. He never offers up any credible evidence to back up his theories and he has no understanding of simple economics or business. Yeah, we’re all sure that the potential buyers are lining up outside of the coliseum to buy this team and their suffocating lease! Stop it please. If you have a good argument lets here it but there are some very smart business savy people on here that bring good points and all you counter with are conspiracy theories and guesses as to what someone you don’t even know personally is thinking. You really need to educate yourself on the finer points of business before trying to comment. CB has us ALL fooled huh? There are thousands of us who feel the same way as you disagree. Don’t you see something wrong with that or do you actually think you’re smarter than everyone in here? My God stop the nonsense and learn something.
http://toh.li/content/home/directions.html
Dear Kate Murray,
I am a Long Island resident born and raised in Suffolk County…I moved to Nassau after I got married but we moved to Suffolk due to the horrible housing and living conditions…We wanted to stay but it wasn’t feasible, Suffolk is actually more affordable and nicer to live in…Half of my family moved away to North Carlina because there are no jobs and its way too expensive to live…I miss my family…I am also a huge Islanders fan who would be heart broken if YOU don’t allow Mr Wang to earn a profit on his investment…You are now asking us tax payers to foot the bill, aren’t you a conservative???Mr Wang was willing to get the funding on his own but you decided the Lighthouse Project is way too big and should be paid for by us???Its too big for those who aren’t willing to do the work and make something good happen for Long Island workers…You are making me feel sad for our government and it is a disgrace that you make excuses that you can’t attend a meeting discussing the merits of the Lighthouse because you said you haven’t seen a proposal to make a judgment but now you go mail out letters bashing the project and making assertions about the project???You are a hypocrite…Needless to say I don’t like what you are doing and I don’t like you and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are moved from your post…We will organize and we will make attention towards you and your corrupt cowardly politics…This project is too big for simple minds and corrupt politicians…
That is the letter I sent to Mr Murray
I am confused because i am Paul and nobody else. I never called anybody an idiot and what conspiracy theory? I use my name and i dont hide from it, thanks!
The worst part about this is that Murray kept hiding behind the mantra “I cant make a comment or opinion of something I haven’t seen yet but she is literally making negative assessments about Wangs motives and the merits of the project and mailing letters to hundreds of thousands using tax payer money for postage…This is preposterous!!!
Mark, you sound like a Whiner!!!! How’s that for a fact! You should be more respectful to your fellow fans, Jerk!
Bobby #357 –
I’m trying to figure out the mindset of somebody who just won’t face facts.
Wang has said he has no interest in just developing the Coliseum. In the RFP, nobody bid that. Stand-alone arenas are not being developed anywhere else, and many of the old ones have been torn down, replaced by ones built downtown or part of mixed use developments.
And yet people like you keep suggesting that we can kill the Lighthouse and then get on with the work of redeveloping the Coliseum as a stand alone property.
You also suggest that there will be another buyer after Wang to keep the Islanders on Long Island. They’re won’t be. Wang was begged by Gulotta and others to buy the team from Milstein when nobody else would step forward.
You’re like a guy whose fiance breaks off the wedding, but you continue to look for china patterns for your new home.
There is not going to be a stand alone development. Wang is not interested. The county isn’t interested. Nobody will be interested in investing their money in that, either to fix it up or buy a team to play in it.
Those are the facts. GET OVER IT.
What part of this don’t you understand?
If we lose the Islanders , there will be blame all around in my Opinion no one will be spared . I will be equally ticked off at all parties involved with this ongoing PI$$ contest !!!
Welcome to the NHL Queens!
Congratulations to Kate Murray, for at least having the courage to come out against this. Purely for-profit, this surely should not be allowed to happen. We here do NOT want skyskrapers, we DO NOT NEED MORE retail space, don’t we have ENOUGH MALLS? Roosevelt Field is very close by, why do we need yet another high-priced mall, which nobody will be able to afford to go shop at anyway? Bless Kate Murray, for ONCE following what WE THE CONSTITUENTS WHO VOTED HER IN OFFICE want her to do.
Congradulations!!!! The area will become an even bigger dump than it all ready is!!!!
Its not a mall. Come people we are going in circles here. If you dont want it the least you can do is learn what its all about
Scottay, you stand alone my man. You are one person out of thousands that think the way you do and it’s obvious that you are posting as different people. You weren’t very respectful in your post and I will be writing to the admin. to get you banned. Thank you for the name calling because it shows how immature you are. You have no point to make and you revert to name calling. Way to go , I hope you’re proud. Oh and now Scottay is also Paul, Jimmy, Brad. ETC. He used to post as Paul* but everyone called him out for his idiocy and now he has changed names. And how clever he is, he changed it from Paul* to Paul.
Bless Kate Murray? BLESS KATE MURRAY?! There are no words Paul with or without a star.
Guys just to remind you there should be no fighting in here and we are supposed to respect everyones opinions. We don’t have to agree but we do have to be respectful. The name calling is wrong and it’s exactly what CB doesn’t want in here. I’m in the majority here. I can’t take anymore of Kate and her lies. People have called Wang a liar with no evidence to back them up but we now have clear cut evidence that Kate is just another greedy crooked politician who will lie to her constituents to further her political agenda. Wang has publicily stated that he is ready to sit down with her and once again scale down the project if need be but she will not even talk to him. She wants to get stimulus money to re-do a sports arena when that money is supposed to go into healthcare, education, and to improve our economy. The government will not give out money for this type of venture and she knows it which would make that another lie. If she doesn’t know this then she shouldn’t be in office should she? She wasn’t talking because there was “a conflict of interest” but she then sends out letters to everyone about the same subject she supposedly has a conflict of interest in, another lie. Oh and by the way the tax payers who are already burdened flipped the bill on that one. She wants Wang to build the coliseum first and then she will make a decision on the rest. This shows a complete lack of understanding of the situation. As others have stated, even with a new arena, the lease won’t allow anyone to make money on this team. Check out the earnings for the year the team went to game 7 against Toronto and you will find that eventhough attendance was up, Wang still lost money. Why would he build the coliseum with no assurance of the lighthouse which would bail him out on the lease deal by bringing in revenue. I am basically repeating what everyone in here already said but I just can’t believe that there are people sticking up for the crooked greedy politicians in this thing. Some people are saying that Wang is greedy? Yeah, and the sky is blue, what’s your point. You think someone of his stature makes money by not being a little greedy? But that’s not the point is it, because he’s not an elected official who works for the people. He is a business owner who buys business’ to make money. Kate is supposed to work for us and I am embarrassed to say I voted for her. I won’t be making that mistake again. The Islanders would be best served to move at this point. I will be watching closely if or when they do. I will watch the town of Hempstead decline even further into a sinking hole. I will be watching from a far because if the Islanders move, so will I.
2012 Stanley Cup Champions: Kansas City Cowboys
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Leading Scorer: John Tavares
2012 Calder Cup Champions: Long Island Wolfpack (NHL - NYR)
looking forward to taking the train to see the isles play in Queens.
CB I know you dont particularly like links, but check out the website that the ToH put up:
http://islandersfansfirst.com/
The website mentioned by Chris TMC was registered on 23-Mar-09; while we were sitting in Lighthouse Update #180, they were working on finalizing copy & petition for this “prospective remedy”.
Astute use of Lefrak for comparison, shows their hand clearly (you don’t really want THAT do you? we’ll keep progressing on the review, anyway). Why not compare to some upscale apartment buildings in Manhattan like Trump Tower?
I dont live in Hempstead but I will do anything to help you TOH residents get rid of this woman. She is a typical politician. I’m ashamed of being a Republican today because of her. It’s bad enough how Bush tainted the party, now her poor handling in this important project just proves that the GOP really is out of touch with today.
This is further evidence that she is not only stealing from TOH, Nassau County and NY State tax payers, but all American tax payers.
They should lock her up with Bernie Madoff!
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“AMERICANS FOR THE IMPEACHMENT OF KATE MURRAY”
To “All Islander Fans Revolt” (POST 375)
You phrased your entire post (and letter) perfectly. I share EVERYTHING you said.
ANY LAWYERS (PREFERABLY TOH RESIDENT) THAT CAN HELP US IMPEACH HER???????
email me: die4isles@aol.com
Its a game of chess folks. Dems and Repubs! Please recognize how Kate and the Repub Party just set the stage for her “Support of the Project”. She will never say that she doesn’t support the LightHouse.
Conversely she is saying “Lets get the ball rolling by immediately having our Democratic Leader Suozzi chase Federal Funds to renovate the Coliseum immediately(that we all know are unobtainable for this project)while the almighty Republican Party do our diligant and necessary Environmental Impact Procedures that the Dems wnat us to shortcut.(Never stating they are supportive of the entire LH project but want you to think they are.)
All of the stalling by the Republican party assures Wang will not invest in Renovation alone so he will Up and Move his “investment”(The Islanders).
When this happens the Repubs(Ms. Kate) will clearly point out how they were pushing for immediate renovation to create thousands of jobs and great economic stimulus for LI but the Dem Party refused or failed to start the ball rolling and are responsible for the greatest project failure in LI history. This will make a great Election commercial for the Republican Campaign to take back Nassau County.
This is what they have been planning for some time now but just kicked it up a notch by setting up their website and public Petition to keep the Isles here..yada yada yada!
Make no mistake about it….all these SOBS care about is there crooked politics and everyone of them is on the take for something!
Just remember…they work for us…the Gov. works for us…yes the people and they fear the people. But it takes the voice of the people, and the threat of ousting them from there jobs to get things done. But unfortunately it would take more than 800 people at a Marriot meeting to scare them.
Not for nothing but most people on LI and especially in Nassau County never even heard of the LightHouse Project, even after 7 years! Wang,Rechler and the County should have been publicizing this to no end, all over the place on mainstream media to get people excited over this since day 1.
You don’t have to convince us Islander Fans.
Well, we all knew this was coming. Where we go from here is the question. I guess that Islanders DVD set I just bought will be more valuable than I thought.
I feel weird saying this, not gonna lie, but as a Ranger fan, I would like to say that it would be nice if something were done here to keep the Isles where they are. They really need a new building, and a development plan like this seems to be a possible pick up for the area. I hope to speak for Ranger fans by saying get this thing done, and done soon. I would like to think this rivalry will never die because of bureaucratic BS. It’d be nice for some influential Ranger fans like Boomer Esiason to speak up, I know he’s in favor of the project or some sort of resolution, as I believe this is important to NY hockey. The Devils rivalry sucks, since there are no fans of theirs to enjoy it with, unlike the passionate rivalry we have with the Isles. Keep the Isles where they are, so we could keep this rivalry going as it should. I am rooting for the Isles to get this done. But that’s all I’m rooting for them to do…sorry, just had to say that…but seriously, keep the Isles there, let’s get this done.
Thanks, Sean. It’s amazing to hear some Ranger fans actually root for the Isles to leave. Let’s say they want to Kansas City. KC would be in the West. Either Columbus or Nashville would move into the East. Would Ranger fans rather see more Rangers-Predators games instead of Rangers-Isles?
The people blaming Wang need to go back to school and take an economics class. Remember to ask the teacher what the basis of Capitalism is.
Lets let the tax payers decide…put it to a vote!!! She is an elected official she should be behind what the people who elected her want!! Lets Go Islanders!
Sadly fellow Isles fans, I believe next season will be the last for our beloved team on Long Island. Again CB the only question that I have is how serious are the folks from Queens in truly luring the Isles there? Mr Wang will not be the owner of this team in KC, or Canada, but he will sell to someone who would want to move the team to any number of locations. Queens may be the only hope we have of keeping this team local. If you get a new arena in Queens you get rid of SMG and that disaster of a lease, and the team would be easlily viable. This is New York after all. If Mr Wang doesn’t want any part of owning the team anywhere but Long Island with the LH project, than I truly hope someone else can see that the Islanders away from NVMC could be a money maker. The cable TV deal may help us here; the Isles have the nicest TV in the league, which you won’t get anywhere esle. They get more for their TV deal than VS pays the ENTIRE NHL for the national TV deal, and the deal runs to 2032 or something like that. Mr Wang my only plea to you is that if you’ve had enough, which you have every right to be frustrated, please don’t just give up and sell to whoever. At least talk to the people in Queens, and even if you don’t want to be the owner of the team, at least try to set it up so someone local will realize this could be a good deal. At least you will probably get the $195 million you spent to buy the team, sadly the $160 million you lost over the last eight years you can’t recover. Hopefully Charles Wang has Isles fans in his heart and will try to keep the team local. But at this point who could blame him for selling to anyone with the money so he could stop losing his.
Mikeo, #402, this sentence — Sadly fellow Isles fans, I believe next season will be the last for our beloved team on Long Island — is one that I’ve resigned myself to believing.
And don’t anybody start talking about “well, they have a lease, so they have to stay.” Tell that to Seattle Supersonics fans. They had a lease too. They’re now in Oklahoma City.
The guy who I am sure is reading this is Joe Ra, town attorney, hired by Kate Murray. He’s an Islander season ticket holder.
Joe…how does it feel? Your boss killed the Islanders on Long Island. Again…how does it feel?
Interesting, that Joe Ra has the same number of letters as J-U-D-A-S.
Some one good with computer and internet should set up a “anti-Kate Murray” web site to go after her. We can post beautiful pics of downtown Uniondale with the pawn shops and bail bonds places all littered up and she doesn’t want a lighthouse project? R U Kidding. We need to vote her and any councilman that shares those views cause LI needs creative people like Suozzi.
Regarding the website http://www.islandersfansfirst.com that a previous poster mentioned, can anyone tell me where I can vote NO on that petition? Funny how it only allows for a Yes vote. I am a TOH resident for 13 years now, an Isles fan for over 25 years, and am disgusted that we’ve waited through 2 decades of mismanagement only to risk losing the team. Guess who I’m voting against in November?
Kate Murray will be gone in November. This might be one of the best things Nassau County can do and she messing everything up. It’s already approved by the County why can’t the town just approve it. I can promise you if the Islanders move off of Long Island Kate Murray should never show her face in Nassau County ever again and will be moved out of office in November. I agree with the guy at the Rally at the Marriott last week. When he told Tom Suzzoi he called for Kate Murray’s resignation ASAP. If she moves a storied franchise off Long Island she will be Sadly mistaken
There is no place to vote “NO” on the petition. This is frustrating as hell. I feel the ball is in Wang’s court now and I hope he has the patience and fortitude to be able to kill her “momentum” with the same “kindness” she is showing.
I can’t believe someone actually accusing WANG of “killing the Islanders” when right before our eyes Kate is singlehandedly giving it her best shot.
So sad.
Hey Mark, maybe i changed my name to!
Some people just dont have a life and others follow the heard. you can see how you fit in.
I feel that Kate Murray is doing the right thing by reaching out to the TOH people to hear their opinions, islanders aside.
Hey Scottay (409) - her mailout only gives the TOH residents a choice of only one opinion…..hers! There is only a box to check if you support her, but no box to let her know you disagree. Democracy at its best, huh?
409 Scottay: I agree that she should reach out, but that means the full spectrum from No to yes and options for some modified proposal (say, OK with design except for quantity of office space and residences) This is how you build consensus, not us against them.
I remember for years we wanted the County to give us a new arena and to have SMG bought out.
Hmm……now we hate the idea. I wondered what it’s be like. Wearing a leash. Being led. Woof.
IF…..we had 3000 more seats, a beautiful new arena to “lure” free agents, the best parking/exiting in the league (trust me, we have it golden right now), more walkway and more concessions, the best sightlines in the league, more bathrooms, a minimal impact on the region (although it would be nice if the Omni and Marriott were improved since Wang will make a lot of money with those regardless) and all with the chance to have the new County owned arena:
beautiful
parking lot beautified
taxpayers reaping benefit
less congestion on Hempstead Tpke
able to be SEEN from H.Tpke.
able to provide a profit
Regardless, Wang has made it clear he doesn’t want the arena, he WANTS SMG to remain and essentially this is just proven 100% that he doesn’t care about the team as much as the real estate winfall.
Or the fans he threatens relocation.
Remember, the isles could not move until Wang made that possible with the County agreement.
So let’s look at our priorities from the get-go: arena, ability to succeed financially (be fiable) and ability to attract talent. Murray gives us all three with her idea and protects LI from further urbanization.
This was supposed to be about LI, the Islanders’ arena and making a profit. Now it’s about a massive project and SMG remaining on board. Thanks Sen.D’Amato.
How much money is this petition going to cost to send out? Along with her bi-monthly newsletter. With all the savings that she talks about, do people really realize how much it takes to mail all her info packets, and how much it costs to put her name on every public sign, vehicle, and governmental publication? She doesn’t care. She doesn’t pay for it(but her picture is all over the place) Just waiting for the next election. Don’t lecture us on saving money in these troubled times, show us that you do it too. Maybe then I’ll believe your statements.
I cannot believe the venom on this subject. The proposed project is too big for the area. You know what the roads are like; the energy drain. Adding the hotels; business towers and hotels will further drain an already overburdened area not to mention effect the quality of life for the surrounding neighborhoods. Kate Murray is doing the responsible thing. This project is too big. Let’s try to find a middle ground. One question does nag me, though, why doesn’t Charles Wang look to build this kind of development in his backyard, hmmmm? Could it be he does not want the “masses” trampling his exclusive territory. Just build it in someone else’s backyard. Just me, Kate Murray has a lot of supporters in this decision.
I think Kate Murray is goig back on her word for political reasons she could care less about the Islanders or the jobs it would create and make this a world class arena …..go beg the feds for money ….you lost my vote and many others as well good night kate
Why do so many out of touch politicians like Kate feel that there is unlimited Federal Stimulus money ? Kate, get real and start to grasp the reality that private dollars for projects like this are often a better option than our tax dollars. It does not matter if they are local, state or federal tax dollars they still come out of our pockets. The federal Stimulus dollars is not and should not be the answer to all.
One last thing Kate…please do not move to North Hempstead. I like to vote for politicians that have vision.