OCTOBER 29, 2007, FARMINGVILLE, NEW YORK – Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley has announced that for the second straight year the Town’s Division of Economic Development has received the Long Island Development Corporation's Award for the “Most Active Town.” Earlier this year, the Town Division of Economic Development’s IDA was named the 2007 Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency of the Year by Long Island Business News.

   The Division of Economic Development has successfully recruited and expanded more than 30 companies over the last 20 months, fostering close to $150 million in capital investment and adding more than over 1.2 million square feet of new industrial space.

   The division has created and retained more than 500 jobs, developing the Empire Zone's first workforce development program to connect Brookhaven residents seeking employment to Brookhaven companies seeking workers. With this groundbreaking initiative, 30 unemployed residents have found new jobs.

   “My Economic Development Division has done an extraordinary job in bringing business and employment opportunities to the Town of Brookhaven,” said Supervisor Brian X. Foley. “Division Director Ray Donnelly, Deputy Anthony Figliola and Economic Development Manager Yves Michel have resurrected a department and made it a major economic engine for the Town of Brookhaven and all of Long Island.

   “The office has gone from reactive to proactive. The department has used the Industrial Development Agency to drive capital investment, promoted the town’s Empire Zone aggressively and managed it tenaciously, and has worked diligently to provide new employment opportunities for Brookhaven town residents.”

   More than a dozen new projects are slated to be rolled out in 2008. Among these projects are many small niche manufacturers and distributors as well as two projects of regional significance. The division manages the Empire Zone tenaciously by finding companies that will not only work with community residents, but those that are environmentally safe. The division will soon be rolling out a new initiative to promote and assist small business in the Town.

   Among the strategic initiatives undertaken by the division was targeting the William Floyd Corridor for development, and seeking to attract the mobility technologies industries utilizing Stony Brook University’s CEWIT program and Motorola as the linchpin for future industry for Brookhaven. As part of the division’s green initiative, it has targeted the biomass industry with the goal of reducing Long island’s dependence on imported energy from other regions by turning waste into usable energy like biodiesel and ethanol.

   The comprehensive scope of the Economic Development Division’s new approach is demonstrated in its motto—Brookhaven CARES Initiative. Brookhaven CARES stands for Creation, Attraction, Retention, Expansion and Start-up and the division helps new and existing companies with all those tasks.

   Under the aegis of Brookhaven CARES, the department has set up the first-ever database that captures economic development data in real-time. That database has cut site plan review time in half for companies relocating to the town, which has proven to be a great attraction for businesses considering the move.

   The department has also pushed for the extension of a sewer district into the Brookhaven Technology Center in Shirley, which is estimated to be on-line by the fall of 2009.

   Among the special programs hosted by the division to help businesses in the development and distribution of their products and services was a program entitled “Answering the Call,” a networking event for defense contractors introducing them to the federal and state agencies charged with government procurement. The division has also developed trade missions through the many foreign trade offices located in New York City.

   Foremost among those efforts Supervisor Foley and the division recently hosted a visit from Canadian Consul General Daniel Sullivan and key members of his staff. They toured Brookhaven Town to seek out new opportunities for trade between Canada and the Town.

   While in Brookhaven, the five Canadian officials visited Brookhaven National Lab, Stony Brook University and major companies including Motorola and GE/Unison. Supervisor Foley is hopeful that the visit is the first step toward opening up trade opportunities for both Brookhaven businesses and Canadian companies looking to establish operations in Brookhaven.

Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677