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About Long Island Downtowns
Long Island is home to a variety of downtowns – more than 110 – from major employment centers and transit hubs to cultural destinations and quaint waterfront villages. Those that have become popular destinations offer many reasons to visit, from great dining, shopping, and people-watching to arts, culture, and recreation. When the Long Island Index asked residents which were their favorite downtowns, not surprisingly, the answers focused on those that had the greatest variety of things to do, including Huntington, Port Jefferson, Sayville, Babylon, Rockville Centre, and Garden City.
Other downtowns have been hurt by competition from malls or the economic recession, and have struggled to redefine themselves as relevant and vibrant. In fact, so many of these areas are seen as wanting that when asked to nominate their favorite downtown, the largest percentage of Long Islanders selected a shopping mall instead!
Clearly we have work to do. And that work is happening. Today, many downtowns are undergoing a revitalization effort to reinvigorate their community. There is no one size fits all solution for creating a downtown that attracts local residents and visitors but in analyzing those that do succeed, they all have some combination of the following characteristics:
Physical Characteristics
- Pedestrian-friendly environment
- Clean, well-maintained streets and sidewalks
- Incorporation of trees, shrubs, flowers, and planters, especially between sidewalks and streets
- Traffic calming features that force drivers to slow down through the downtown center
- Availability of public restroom facilities
- Street furniture, such as benches, lighting, and garbage cans
- Good lighting
- Directional signage (where can I park, where is the town/village/city hall, etc.)
- Easy access to adequate parking facilities, frequent and reliable public transportation, bike paths/bike racks
- Open space: public green space, shoreline
- Preservation of historic character, including historic sites and reuse of existing historic buildings
- Maintenance of a consistent scale for buildings/streetscape
- Outdoor cafes, ice cream parlors, etc. that draw patrons outside, increase pedestrian traffic and create a highly visible gathering place
- Attractive storefronts which encourage window-shopping
Business
- Continuous line of storefronts closely clustered together, with few gaps between the buildings and roughly in line with each other
- Variety of businesses, including:
- Retail and non-retail stores and services
- Unique, one-of-a-kind or “Mom and Pop” shops
- Basic necessities such as food stores and drug stores
- Quality restaurants
- Low commercial vacancy rates
Organizations that Conserve/Grow the Community
- Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), community groups and municipal agencies which focus on development of the downtown; Chamber of Commerce or other business development organizations
- Design review boards, landmark commissions, historical societies (organizations working to preserve elements of the historic community)
- Conservation and environmental groups
Resources
- Availability of a community center that provides diverse services and acts as a gathering place (examples: library, town hall, community theatre, etc.)
- Availability of cultural venues in addition to movie theaters (i.e, concert halls, museums, and art galleries)
- Regular series of ongoing outdoor festivals and community celebrations, including a progression of events throughout the year
- Community bulletin boards and other centralized information sources and publications; directional signage
Other
- Good police support and a feeling of safety throughout the downtown, with good lighting, directional signage, and activities drawing people
- Inclusion of a range of housing choices in the downtown area, such as higher density housing, affordable housing, artist lofts, etc.
- Inclusion of new store owners, especially minorities and new immigrants, in the business community
