25th Annual Long Island Smart Growth Summit
2002 – 2026
You can become an early sponsor for the summit here.
You can view our write up about the 2025
Long Island Smart Growth Summit here.
Vision Hosts 25th Annual
Long Island Smart Growth Awards
For 25 years, Vision Long Island has been honoring individuals, organizations, and projects that advance the growth of our downtowns. Focus areas include transit-oriented development, revitalizing communities, affordable housing, environmental sustainability, traffic calming, walkability, transportation choices, community & government leadership, and infrastructure.
Continuing this long-time practice, the 25th Annual LI Smart Growth Awards took place Friday, June 12th, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. The event brought together over 700 local civic groups, chambers, municipal governments, elected officials, walkability advocates, human services and infrastructure professionals from over 50 downtowns across Long Island. This year, over 60 nominations were considered, with 17 individual and project leadership awards selected.
Before the award ceremony began, a Call To Action was announced. Attendees were asked to sign on to a letter of support requesting New York State create a New York State Downtown and Community Revitalization Fund. This fund would provide grants to chambers of commerce, BIDs, and municipalities for local projects and events that support and strengthen Long Island Main Streets.
Funds under such a new program, which would be similar to Suffolk County’s Downtown Revitalization Grant Program, would help communities support walkways, park improvements, business façade enhancements, public art, and Main Street events. Such a fund would be a natural extension of the goals of New York State’s cornerstone Downtown Revitalization Fund, which largely focuses on large-scale projects. These funds would bring vital resources to Long Island communities and would not only strengthen small business ecosystems, but also reduce the burden of constant community fundraising.
“We need to match on the state level. Setting up a New York State Downtown and Community Revitalization Fund would support chambers and municipalities for smaller projects. The Long Island Lobby Coalition hopes to try to get this into this year’s budget,” explained Eric Alexander.
Over the last 25 years, 328 Smart Growth Awards have been presented to Long Island projects, plans, individuals and organizations. 60 Plans have been recognized working with local communities to bring revitalization, environmental benefits and public amenities to our Main Streets.
115 Organizations and Individuals have been recognized for leadership in corporate, community, government, labor and environmental sectors. 154 Downtown and Infrastructure projects have been selected with the following community and economic impact:
• 19,500 units of primarily mixed use and TOD housing, 3,600 units of those are affordable or workforce housing.
• The estimated impact of mixed use housing projects recognized results in over 24,000 jobs and over a billion dollars in tax revenue to local government services. The multiplier economic impact on consumer spending for our downtowns from these new residents is incalculable.
• Over 1 million square feet of commercial space has been recognized as part of these mixed-use developments.
• Over 20 traffic calming projects were recognized in multiple communities across Long Island to address our dangerous roads.
• Over $2 billion of investment in wastewater infrastructure projects have been recognized in multiple projects in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to help clean our water and accommodate downtown growth.
• 73 different Long Island communities received an award. Many multiple.
You can view full coverage of the event here.
You can also view a full video of the event here.
And a retrospective on 25 years of Awards here.
Our mailing address is:
Vision Long Island
24 Woodbine St, Ste 2
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-261-0242. Fax: 631-754-4452
Email us here.