Community Character

Think about the places that matter most to you, the places where you’ve made the most memories. The Long Island Expressway? A parking lot? A strip mall? More likely, it’s a beautiful place you experience with your family and other Long Islanders: the beach, a ball field, a park, the beach, a stroll along Main Street.

The character of a community is built upon all those assets that make a place the place that we love. Our main streets are where the best of Long Island comes together in one place: parks and village greens, unique shops, irreplaceable historic buildings, theaters, cultural life. Many of our downtowns are right by the waterfront, too. Downtown is where we run into people we know, and where we feel connected to people and place. There’s a reason why we hold parades on our main streets: our downtowns are the heart and soul of Long Island’s civic life and communities. And now we have one more thing to cherish about our downtowns: their potential to help solve some of Long Island’s biggest challenges.