The 'New Suburbia' Comes Into Focus

90/10 Master Plan Presented By Nassau County Executive

We're not convinced that 90/10 is quite the right mix, as we meander down Hempstead Turnpike, turning the corner at the intersection of Ugly and Blighted.

Still, turning the corner -- from downtrodden to upscale, from the 1950s to the 21st Century -- is what its all about!

With this in mind, Nassau County Exec Tom Suozzi unveiled -- perhaps for the second, or is it the third time -- his Master Plan for the New Suburbia, the so-called "90/10 Solution" (which, hopefully, is not the year of its intended implementation).

Can Elmont or Hempstead Village have "Cool Downtowns?"

Will Belmont Park ever reach its potential as a community-builder?

Can we afford to build the megaprojects highlighted in the Master Plan? Can we afford not to?

And why doesn't Tom ever include The Community Alliance as part of his "teamwork to make the dream work"?

Yes, "re-imagining suburbia" has a whole new look to it.

Granted, it will take lots of "re-imagineering" -- from Disneyesque re-imagineers -- to bring much of Nassau County (or at least that 10% as envisioned by the 90/10 Coalition), from blight to delight.

Will this plan truly, realistically, feasibly, relieve us of high property taxes, the flight of young Long Islanders, traffic congestion, pockets of poverty, among other ills of an aging suburbia?

Time, effort, energy, and a will to get the job done, will tell.

Of course, we have to start somewhere, and sometime. Let that somewhere be America's first suburb. Let that sometime be now!