4/10/2014 - Petrone Headlines Panel on Tourism and Revitalization

Petrone Headlines Panel on Tourism and Revitalization

Patchogue, NY – How do you define smart growth?

The question led off a recent symposium at which Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone and Don Monti, president of Renaissance Downtowns, the master developer for Huntington Station, offered their views on how tourism fits into downtown revitalization projects.

“Smart growth is what’s important for your community, what your community feels is important and what is going to feed that economic engine and that tax base,” Supervisor Petrone said. “Smart growth has been and should continue to be networking, the coming together of various types of people in the community…to identify what is the economic engine, what is the right type of development for any particular area. It is the identity of that area and the resources that area brings to bear.”

“Developments need to have responsible approaches,” Mr, Monti said. “I translate it into the triple bottom line: Every development needs to have social, economic and environmental responsibility.”

The definition of smart growth was one of the topics covered at the March 28 symposium, “Tourism and Downtown Revitalization Projects.” The symposium was sponsored by the St. Joseph’s College Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Long Island Hospitality and Leisure Association. Joining Supervisor Petrone and Mr. Monti were Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri and Mike Johnston, president of the hospitality and leisure association, who moderated. John Tsunis, chairman of the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association, offered closing remarks.

The symposium was recorded and is being broadcast on the Huntington Town government television channel (Channel 18 for Optimum and 38 for FiOS). The video can also be viewed on the Town’s website.

The Supervisor and Mr. Monti also offered comments on the importance of public-private partnerships in development.

“It is the most important piece,” Supervisor Petrone said. “You start with developing components of that partnership. If you don’t have a business improvement district, create it. Work with your chamber of commerce. Don and I have worked very closely and he has a crowd sourcing concept that brings the community together. They must interact. They must sit and break bread together and made some decisions together, and you, as the policy maker, have to be ready to accept directions that you might not have anticipated.”

Mr. Monti said, “What we are talking about is collaboration. I could not nor would I entertain doing a project anywhere unless it involved a public-private partnership.”