Joe has an impassioned and essential non-partisan plea and plan on how things can get done, and it’s worth a read…

Joe Conte:

The Islanders are not done in Nassau County; in fact, the failure of the bond referendum has placed a new emphasis on privately developing the Hub. Our role as fans and supporters of development should now be to change the conversation on what should be done to revitalize the Hub and keep the Islanders in Nassau County. Some of the best and brightest minds are now developing plans for the Hub, so the question now becomes, how do we best utilize the land and keep the Islanders in Nassau County.

To do this, the four main players who will ultimately determine a) what becomes of the Hub and b) if the Islanders remain there, must work together and execute a well constructed plan.  Nassau County, Charles Wang, a yet to be determined developer, and our beloved Town of Hempstead have important roles to play; ones that if they truly embrace will allow them to come out on top and really get Nassau County back on the right foot.

The county has the most important role to play since it owns the land, the Coliseum and is the government entity that decides who gets to develop.  Despite their outsized role, there is really only one critical decision they have to make to ensure the project is done right; and that is to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ).  I repeat an RFQ, not a request for proposals (RFP), it is imperative and here’s why.

If the county were to issue an RFP, there would be limited flexibility to the project and to conform to the Town of Hempstead’s zoning regulations (see what happened to the Lighthouse project).  We have been down this road before, and to paraphrase Albert Einstein “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

An RFQ is a game changer.  RFQ’s allow for flexibility and for the final development to be created through an evolving process that gives a voice to all parties, which is essential for building political support.  As we learned from the Lighthouse project, all the public support in the world for a project does not mean it will be approved; support must come from all governmental and non-governmental entities in order for the project to truly be revolutionary.

The days of a developer cramming a project down a community’s throat are over.  The new and more successful development strategy involves the community from stage one of the planning process.  Using a crowd-sourcing platform, developers can now directly engage local communities. Residents can then give input into the design, feel and composition of the project.  By including the local residents in the planning phase it gives them a sense of ownership in the project.  Public ownership of the project increases those whole feel a vested interest in seeing the project completed, and; those people more likely to apply pressure on their representatives to make sure something gets done.

Once the county sets the stage with the RFQ, the onus falls on Wang to ensure the Islanders are a part of whatever plan is ultimately conceived from our RFQ process.  Working as a partner of a development team is something he must do.  It is the only way he keeps the Islanders on Long Island and cements his legacy through development of the Hub.

Wang should be done sticking his neck out when it comes to developing the Hub.  Twice politicians from both sides of the aisle have now burned him, so it stands to reason that he would not even want to be the lead on the new proposal (I have no idea if he does or not).  So what he should be doing is holding meetings with all parties who will be submitting qualifications to the RFQ.

All Wang needs is a seat at the table, which would allow him a level of influence; he needs to give up on the idea of complete control.  More importantly, it allows for a more experienced team to navigate the project from start to finish. Wang has not proven himself to be a successful developer. Despite his failures, it does not mean he is not the same successful businessman who put forward the most ambitious plan this Island has ever. Developing is hard because dealing with government is hard.  Politics is finicky; politicians are interested in their own survival.  It’s time for him to let professional, experience developers come in, and do all the hard work.  Then, he can take the credit for keeping the Islanders here and putting together the team that got it done.

The development team that ultimately wins the RFQ must be innovative, flexible and have experience in engaging in both the bottom up, community crowd sourcing approach, while at the same time have the experience in lining up political support from the elected officials.  This is no easy undertaking, but there are successful developers out there with the track record to get it done.  Wang must be open and willing to work with them.

I know every major developer and development team is circling the Hub like a pack of vultures, looking to sink their teeth into most valuable underdeveloped land in the county.  That’s fine and encouraged; no idea should be turned away.  But at the same time, we are only going to get one shot to revitalize the Hub, which means the project needs to be cutting edge.  If you narrow your qualifications to a developer who fits that profile, your options of which developer you want winning the RFQ become a lot more limited.  I do not need to stress how important development of the Hub is to Nassau County, you all already know this, so we must work to ensure we are having the right conversation about what we ultimately want to see done at the Hub; one that comes with the blessing of all the government localities.

Which brings us to the Town of Hempstead, who will determine whether the project maximizes its potential.  Moving forward we all must give the Town a clean slate, and I say this as one of the most vocal critics of their actions in the past. Let bygones be bygones and encourage everyone to work together.  Long Island’s future is too important to allow past grievances from standing in the way of progress.

The Town must take a proactive role in this process, something that they did not do last time.  This requires constant communications with the development team that wins the RFQ, so they can let their concerns and desires be known.  While it is easy to demonize them for their actions with the Lighthouse project, they did raise legitimate concerns, such as who would pay for the infrastructure upgrades.

The consciousness and conversation about development is changing on Long Island and our leaders in the Town are not too ignorant to realize that.  The Town just wants their say, which they had zero of last time.  As long as they are engaged from day one, are given a feeling of ownership in the project, they will come on board.  If this is done right, there will be too much pressure on them not to be.

Despite the doom and gloom forecasts for Long Island and the Islanders, there is no need to throw in the towel just yet.  There still remain four years on the lease and a hopefully the feeling of urgency gets the ball rolling.  Islander fans and residents of Nassau who support the type of development that would revitalize our local economy need to continue to stand together. The referendum was voted down not because of an anti-Islander or anti-development agenda.  In fact, we have a lot more allies in this fight then we may think.

Editors Note: B.D. Gallof has not been seen since Sunday am, when his pictures from his ipad were uploaded to his Facebook page of him smoking a cigar and drinking a bottle of Whiskey. Late tonight we received an email from him asking us to place this up on the site. It has not been edited or adjusted in any way. His whereabouts are unknown…

Is It Fear & Loathing on Long Island?
BD on the August 1^st Vote and Endorsement

Get In!

Long Island is a strange bird. Sometimes you can love its lazy obtuseness and almost neurotic aspects like some crazy uncle who visits your house each family event. Other times it is a constant barrage of morons and idiosyncrasy that hammers one head like a thousand woodpeckers on speed.

I used to hate Long Island and where I lived with unfettered revulsion. When I left for college, I could not wait to get out and get working in NYC as to escape its toothy maw. Having lived in a few places outside of LI, it would seem strange to that younger self to why I came back. Things change. There is a respect and understanding to why Long Island has been a thriving place and to why it remains still holding onto that (though tenuously at best). But there is also that crazy uncle not only still along for the ride, when he really goes loaded for bear; he no longer is just quirky or wacky. He instead becomes a stark raving beast with a submachine gun.

That crazy uncle and those unending chain of bullets are clear to many an Islander fan who have been belted in to this arduous tumult of partisan politics, a stained former Senator who took his octopus-like arms and oily ink to backrooms and lobby-groups, a backwards-facing suburban ideology of over-protectionism, oft-kilter business management, an oddball billionaire who keeps his two enabling yes-men along for the ride all the way back from Computer Associates, a backwards self-serving Republican stronghold who operates to the predilections of an affluent donor roll and benefactors  for just one town, a neophyte who is in way over his head in the County who won that role because he fermented a tax revolt and is now hamstrung by it in office, a conniving throng of political hacks trying to get back control having been toppled last voting cycle,  a league who is in the process of losing those teams that were expanded both South and West… and all during a very rocky economic recession that have everyone cash strapped and wallet conscious.

Add another 15 years of failed team strategy and ownership to those fans psyche, and you have a bewildered, paranoid, and just plain confused fanbase watching this unfold helplessly.

It is that helplessness that has stung so much as things have gotten so out of whack that it might have made many fans start to tune out to the goings on. How many of us where those who came out years ago to the LI Marriot, standing for the cause, only to watch it fade out in some long drawn death scene under the Town of Hempstead’s self-serving hands. Or as Charles Wang then imploded the entire Lighthouse Project, refusing to negotiate, and then when he finally did make overtures months and months later, the ToH were long gone and off focusing on something else.

How can one NOT tune out? The reality has blown so much hot air, black smoke and gritty detritus that it resembles one of the smoke stacks along the Meadowbrook Parkway.  How can one not be tired of it all? How many times have we gone to the well, asked to show up or listen to someone’s tale? How many times were we given no answer, instead things went dark or just got swallowed by the darkness that lies within the heart of Long Island? That same darkness, confusion and bevy of excuses that has left a large piece of Nassau County some sort of hollow hole that the team still has to skate in.

I have to wonder if that thousands years from now it will be Nassau Coliseum and the faint scrawls of VOTE YES or JUST BUILD IT that still are painted on the walls will be viewed as some quaint archaic ruin with cave paintings. Will the failure to renew a hub that was built over 40 years ago be due to people being more interested in that it retains some name of “Veterans” than actually being a place to go to and entertain the hardworking citizens of this fair land? A place where their kids and grand children want to congregate?

“Why don’t you ever want to visit us?” says grandma

“There’s nothing to do out there!” complains everyone else.

Well, one has to wonder if this will be the reality thanks to the latest poll touted in Newsday. Something else for the paranoid delusional to cite as conspiracy theory or conniving agenda of the Dolan’s to destroy one of their best rivalries. Instead it is just an off-target poll of 50% over 55 years of age, which ignores the 38 year-old median age of Nassau County. Furthermore it ignores the demographic of who will likely vote this special vote. No real poll can be accurate for a special election that requires a committed and staked voter with team fans, unions and other oddities added in.

If there is any conspiracy with Newsday, it is only one of dunces. Extremism is merely easy outlet for some due to the angst and anxiety that we are all likely feeling during self-serving political mechanics that seem dead-set on destroying hockey and alienating the entire younger generation. Giving too much credit to enemies is usually the hallmark of the paranoid, and it has been used flowing like a fire hose spewing dread and just plain ignorance all over the blogosphere comment sections and message boards.

Newsday has been more a shining example of causing cognitive dissonance. It has created readers conflicts due to an editorial ideal based on selling strife smacking against the cause and facts of what the writers are trying to get across. What has helped peel off their editorial curtain is the fact that independent bloggers seem to have more legwork and entrenchment in the muck of what is going on than the paper on many an Islander item. So every step Newsday has done, they more often than not, show off their sensationalism by creating some sort of slant or angle to provide conflict.

They have created a bouillabaisse of resentment from the Islanders fanbase. But to think that any of their almost ham-handed antics are some sort of conspiracy is just giving that motley crew, who are just trying to survive a quaking change of ideology thanks to a new ownership, far too much credit.

No, this conspiracy is misplaced. What needs to be installed here is one giant mirror. We need one giant unyielding mirror reflecting on this entire County. Each potential voter needs to take a long unflinching look at this mirror, and cut the bullshit and excuses. Cut away the old blame and history. Everyone needs to drown out the marketing and negative nonsense.

You all need to ask yourself what you want in your home. What will be the future of your hometown and county?

Will it be of the savage implode like the house of Poltergeist, with cries of recession until there is nothing left? Will it be the explosion of public relations material citing tag lines and singing along with the “Meet me at the Lighthouse” jingle as you stagger like robots? Or might it be just hiding heads in the sand, waiting for it all to end, much like the staff of the Town of Hempstead, with no opinion except one of passed responsibility?

Hopefully it will be none of the above. It will likely be, if you take a moment and a breath through all this nonsense, be a moment of clarity. Maybe you will have an epiphany. Maybe not, but there will be likely be a decision. My suggestion is to make a measured decision weighing things carefully and appropriately.

My own will be to Vote Yes.

There are so many reasons why. One large one for me is that my children deserve a better venue to see sports, concerts and anything else than that concrete nightmare that sits on Hempstead Turnpike. The building is dilapidated, in disrepair, ancient, and quite bluntly, a fucking embarrassment to what is supposed to be one of the most prestigious places to live in NY.

It is a fucking embarrassment to even sit there and come up with reasons why we should vote anything other than yes. A fucking embarrassment that the Democrats and Republicans have screwed the pooch so many times on this venue, that it got to a point where it now sits in our hands to bail it out just enough to fight another day.

That too is one fucking giant embarrassment.

Where is Nassau County’s citizen’s self respect? Where is their belief that they DESERVE this? That they SHOULD have a venue that is top notch or at least somewhat closer to mediocre that what lies there now?

It simply boggles the mind of the shortsightedness and excuses by opponents who seem hell bent on cutting off the nose to spite the face. Or to think that it isn’t important. Or to be against it because of the shear politics of trying to topple the foolish County Executive who put forth this referendum with barely any backup information or things laid out beforehand.

We have gone on and long on the issues I have had with the ToH, both hapless and ineffective County Execs, the self-serving Republicans & Democrats, and also of the Islanders and their quirky doof of an owner. I am probably not well liked by any of them, but that was never my intent. My intent at the start was to shear away the absolute piles of bullshit that seemed to be piling all over us throughout a process that was almost always at odds with our futures and with those of the hockey team we follow and cheer for,

When they are shoveled all away, it is simply what you want to come to on Long Island. A loss of the SOLE professional sports team for the County and Long Island, or for there to be an improvement of venue, new long-term lease of that team, and a place that is respectable to see a concert, show or sports event?

To me, there is simply no debate. The independent numbers came in and it cited a roughly a close to $14 cost to each taxpayer. A far cry to the absolute tripe of $48 or more that opponents touted like parrots. That is a movie ticket. Parking. A CD or book, for god’s sake.

Nobody but nobody till lately bothered to cite the cost of LOSING the Islanders, the Coliseum’s main tenant, and their generator of taxes to the County and what it will cost each taxpayer.  $16.

So all the buzz and noise around this referendum, despite the heaping loads of mistakes and miscues made, is the fact that it is not a loss, not taking anything from anybody’s pocket, and in the end, something to be proud of and respectable to a place that has been disrespected or at least abandoned when inconvenient by just about everyone who sits in office.

No, it is high time for a stand. To wake up. To get our proverbial head from out of asses and make a voice heard. We finally, FINALLY, have a day to make our own vote a clear exclamation point for the Islanders future, and in a large way, our own on Long Island. IF we cannot be up for that, after listening and reading everything else, you might as well just pack up and move out of town…

Because I don’t think I’d want you as a neighbor.

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I think the most annoying thing about the press conference yesterday was the media, who seemed to be present in higher numbers than the union, politicos, and fans. Many of them stopped by the handful of Isles fans telling them: “Congratulations, you got your arena!” Ummm, not quite.

Clearly most of the media is just plain ignorant of what is really going on here.

Even those who are a bit clearer on the roadblocks and speedbumps seem to be dismissal of potential problems. To me, this strikes me as foolish, naive, and just plain in denial to the realities of the political process on Long Island.

Soon after, in the afternoon, I received an email from my query to NIFA, the governor assigned watchdog to all of Nassau County’s fiscal process with a very clear warning that went against the talk of Ed Mangano, Kate Murray and Charles Wang. Nobody had bothered to loop in the watchdog who has the final say on permission for any bond or coliseum deal here.

NIFA’s Statement:

“NIFA is deeply concerned about the County Executive’s proposal and its fiscal implications for the County. There was no consultation with NIFA regarding this major proposal announced today. During the control period, greater coordination is warranted.NIFA’s approval is required for all County borrowing, including the $400 million in new debt proposed today, and for all major contracts.

As we await necessary information from the County regarding the 2011 and 2012 budgets, NIFA requires details of this new plan, which must be evaluated in the context of the County’s fiscal crisis, the wage freeze on County employees and the reductions in services to County residents

This is unsurprising to those who have followed the Ed Mangano dealings, which seem to fly on the seat of their pants and to be lacking any details. The problem with yesterday’s press conference and promises is the usual vague planning, murk, and just plain lack of details to what exactly is going to happen, and above all, a lack of knowledge on how to kickoff the process so that it actually goes through. It doesn’t give me a warm and fuzzy, and it shouldn’t for you, fellow Islander fans, either.

This is a huge gaffe by the Mangano camp and all involved. Here is your big day of PR, and already, within a few hours, a problem has already hit the mix and now leads the news.

I sat listening to yesterdays press conference with a heaping load of questions to their planning. One large one was mentioned by me on twitter yesterday:

“A big unmentioned player to all of this is “Nassau Interim Finance Authority” who must approve Nassau County deals and such”

“Democrats and NIFA are the roadblocks here IF either choose to throw themselves against the ire of sports fans”

On Mangano/Wang not getting approval from NIFA, a source says: “have to wait for the vote. And if it approves, you think NIFA would turn it down? Can you think of the anger they would get and the pressure the gov would feel?”

Well, I’m just not convinced here. Especially when some Democrats are already complaining about why are taxpayers having to float a bond when originally Charles Wang was offering to pay for the whole thing privately with the Lighthouse Project? It’s a question of course that is valid, but fails to note that the Town of Hempstead clearly killed that plan, and came up with their own tinier plan…to which Charles refused to compromise or even work out some sort of compromise process. So clearly, when both sides fail to meet, it is dead.

The problem is that the elections in November have a lot on the line, including an opponent to Kate Murray already using yesterdays press conference as a political point, calling the Coliseum deal a “poison pill”. The politicization of the Coliseum Referendum is a potential nightmare if it becomes a focal point to the power struggle between Long Island Democrats and Republicans. Democrats, who I might add, were onboard the Coliseum plans until Suozzi was toppled, and then faded into the woodwork. Democrats who once source said were told to stay away, as another source mentioned others were not invited, to yesterdays presser. Thus, Mangano’s group also now made it a Republican event between them and the ToH, as if purposely trying to exacerbate the issue into political drama.

Political drama will turn this process and Islander fans, who have sat being pulled along like a yo-yo to all sorts of antics, inside out. It isn’t fair, and there seems to be a lack of forethought, tact, and finesse by all parties when it counts most…. as we saw last time between Charles and the Lighthouse Project versus the ToH back two years ago.

A source on the Republican side of the aisle thinks that if referendum passes, NIFA will be unwilling to deepsix it due to jobs created. I still remain unconvinced when it is a Democrat Gov who really controls the NIFA group against a Republican run Long Island. To me, this is kids playing with matches in a room of TNT, with them assuring us, it’s ok. I’m not buying it.

Just as am not buying it is going to happen until all those involved get a clue and actually show some ability to finish what they started. I am still not even convinced that $350 million, that gets allocated to build a NEW venue, is enough in this day and age where labor and building materials are sky high in cost in one of the most expensive places to do business in the United States.

So, call me more than skeptical, concerned, and just plain unconvinced. I remain open to be swayed and hope it works out. But, anyone who thinks this is a done deal or a clear path is just plain fooling themselves.

For the Referendum itself, I think that vote will go YES. Fans, the Republican machine and unions will vote for it, and take advantage of what will be a minuscule vote turnout on August 1st. But that is not the issue. The referendum is useless if NIFA does not approve the bond.

If we look at Mangano’s track record so far as Exec, he has stated that he will balance the budget….and failed. He stated that he will win in a lawsuit against NIFA, and failed. He even said he was going to cut patronage positions…still waiting there. So I am not quite going to buy that this is a done deal by a longshot.

There is also another issue… how does a team that loses anywhere from $20 to 40 million annually expect to suddenly cut a profit and pay the County their share of that $350 million dollars???? Hey, I’m not just going to be the one guy asking this question. Others are already wondering the same.

Follow me on twitter: BDGallof

Ok, lets keep this blunt and to the point…

The Isles came out strong, but reality hit like a ton of bricks. The coach got canned. This is not because Gordon was doing a terrible job, per say. But more likely clear that Snow was not going to resign him post this last year on contract. So, his dismissal was more as a sacrifice before its time in a hope to wake-up the young team. (we’ll go into the whys at a later date, wrong or right on the Isles part)

It did not work.

A likely thought was that Bailey or Tavares turn on the jets with Gordon gone. This has not been the case. Tavares last night looked just as lost as the next guy who is trying to decide which empty seat to move down into at the Nassau Coliseum for the next home game after paying too much for his ticket.

This team is in complete disarray. The Isles fanbase is in disarray. The season is in disarray.

This might be the toughest times for the Isles team and fans. For something is very wrong. I’d like to call out a couple of glaring mistakes and offer a few solutions…

Mistake #1: Not Enough Vets

Pushing off the vets was clearly an error. Doug Weight is just one guy. The rest of the team looks like an intensive care ward. Most of them a young and inexperienced. The lack of veteran cohesiveness….a big weakness on the former coach also, btw, remains.

Vets and experience matters, no matter the style of play. Isles need some veterans mixed in and fast. This might be a way to stave off the freefall and get some kids to develop where they belong…either deeper on the depth chart or in the AHL. The “let’s go with kids on offense” experiment failed miserably. Time to fix a mistake, Garth. Time to admit fault, fix it, and move forward.

When your dman (besides Streit) is one of your point leaders, there is a serious problem.

Mistake #2: Raising Prices

I don’t care if the Isles got a better lease deal with SMG. They had a hell of a lot of nerve, lack of forethought and just plain insulted the fanbase with the ticket pricing. Who the hell is running the business end, Gordon Gecko? Lower prices on tickets, food and parking. Now. What a crock that is, and fans know it. If there is a #1 reasons fans haven’t come back, besides the smell on the ice lately, it is due to the price not being right.

Mistake #3: Open Communication

Pretend to actually want to communicate. Any successful or at feasible business actually makes an attempt to communicate, inform fans, press, bloggers and anyone else on a proactive basis. This somehow was lost.

Start with the Lighthouse Project. Enough of the silence! Admit Scott Rechler is out. Admit you tried to get meetings with ToH’s Kate Murray lately and she refused. Admit you are completely at the whim of Ed Mangano and his larks. Stop the silent madness. Stop pulling away and isolating yourself, you jerks. Come back to reality and open up the lines of communication. You are losing the battle, the war, and yourselves.

This about face last year and subsequent actions has failed spectacularly on every possible level.

There is not a soul that thinks this is working. Get over the mistake, wake up and smell the coffee and start talking. We are listening….time to ante up.

Mistake #4: Accept That Free Agency Did Not Work

Admit that you tried to not only chase many a defenseman, but also that the forwards you did try to get didn’t want to come to Long Island. Isles free agency failed miserably for one big reason…they are not a competitive team poised to win soon.

The rebuild’s long arc still has not see the bump upward. No key guy is going to sign with a team that is in flux like this UNLESS they want more playing time…and then they aren’t quite the top flight guys you were hoping for.

Isles ARE willing to spend. Just can’t get the people they want. Those they did get are not quite shoring up the team in ways they hoped.

Reality bites, but at least it would fade away the absolute falsehood that Charles Wang is penny pinching. Admit that there is a deep problem here in getting good or key people.

Mistake #5: Stop the Madness with the Internal Paranoia

Stop pushing away criticism. Stop being the paranoid crazy uncle that the family whispers about. Stop trying to control what you can’t. The apparatus that has been installed under Snow and the Isles brass has lent itself to unfettered paranoia, reactionism, and just a negative view of those around them. It is a deep flaw and will only serve fear and failure, not success.

Get people who can deal with press, media, petulant fans and bloggers, and just plain get over yourself.

Enough is enough here.

Mistake #6: Hire a NHL-level Coach Now, Not Later

Sorry, Jack ain’t the guy. This team needs a NHL-level guidance and development.

The Isles coaching vacancy is an opportunity, not so hard to fill as the press makes it. This team does have young talent, even if they are in freefall. Even if just for the rest of the season, this team needs a NHL-level hand at the tiller.

It is very hard to “assess talent” when the team is an unmitigated wreck.

This team would be better served with a Bob Hartley, Andy Murray or even a Paul Maurice. No dice for a Ken Hitchcock, especially when Scott Gordon was thought to be too cerebral. So find that other type of coach and get them in there.

Give a one year deal, or hell, go for two and make them a consultant if they don’t work out. But the team and development would be better served with a guy who has been there and who has the experience of being in a losing streak. There is nothing to lose here.

Mistake #7: Return Chris Botta his Credentials

I’m not a fan of advocacy style blogs, so I am not big on Botta’s stylings post going truly independent (off Isles payroll). I think Botta has always short-changed himself and fans here, but there is not a doubt he deserves access and does a first-rate job on covering the team. Just because his style is not my personal cup of tea doesn’t mean he’s not a key guy or not important. He is very important, especially due to the fact of the lack of reporting that goes on this team.

This is not the first time he was in hot water with Isles Brass. Remember a video that had to be shot when he made the site and himself the news back before the Lighthouse hearing?

I do. I shot the video. This was the first time the Isles were hot and bothered with his work almost immediately when he wasn’t on payroll. This issue festered and continued thereafter, especially when Botta went more and more into that style of work.

It is this issue, not some self-grandiose  battle with Garth Snow as the crux here….in my opinion.

No matter. Sit down with the guy, vent, work it out, and get him back in the locker room. It is a disservice to fans otherwise, and just not acceptable.

The Isles seem to have this internal fantasy that press should be a certain way. Isles have no clue how easy they have it. It will get easier as more and more fans stay away and stop going to their website.

Isles used tout their huge numbers to their own website two seasons ago. I bet that those numbers have dropped exponentially since Botta’s rise. This might be the number two issue between the two parties that nobody is talking about.

Influence. Control.

Isles are trying to dis-empower a guy who they helped empower. And they keep hurting their own coverage with all sorts of antics and blogger push-offs. Isles defanged the blog box. Isles defanged Newsday. Isles defanged PB. They hurt their own coverage for what reason exactly? It makes no sense. They are hurting their own fans and product. Open a dialogue and work out differences.

Sure it’s early, but it is concerning that the fans haven’t come out as much as they did as opposed to last year. There are several issues and the usual baggage that comes along for the ride as they do in every year for Islanders fans. However, I thought we could take a look at some things that might be affecting the ticket sales bottom line…

1. Chris Dey’s departure?

Sure he looked a bit like the geek version of Jeff Spicoli, or to me he was doppledanger to Ted in How I Met Your Mother. One thing he had going two summers ago when he ran the business was open houses to generate constant interest and communication to Joe and Jane fan. It was integral to keep in touch with the core fan, something they only do now on a selective basis by a bunch of guys who look like they just fell out of a bad sequel to the Boilerroom. With him and others, there was an openness and willing to invite fans, bloggers and others in. I’ve definitely noticed a difference post-Dey, and wouldn’t some open houses this past summer have created a bit more interest and excitement? It would have made bringing home the training camp a one-two punch to get fans back in the fold.

2. No real post-draft BUZZ.  

Last draft was a bit less on the WowMeter despite that most think the pick of Nino Niederreiter was a good move. Last draft had only very few dynamic forwards, and Nino was considered one of those. The Isles destroyed many a armchair draft QB assumption of defense or too many who read other bloggers for draft guidance. Obviously other teams drafts also agreed as players like Gormley and Fowler well past the Isles.

Isles consider El Nino a sure fire NHLer and that’s why they targeted him as their pick….however, there was not the same hype machine or anything else of the sort, thus no real ticket buzz.

Has the LHP turned into a flat can of Coke?

3. The Lighthouse still stands on the precipice.

 Not much to add here as the Lighthouse went dark almost a year ago as their “masterminds” got folded into the organization last spring. Reported here over 6 months ago by myself and Nick Giglia and then in the LI Herald more recently, Rechler and Wang have purportedly separated financials. It is a shame there has not been any mea culpa by the Isles or Wang on what really is going on.

Wang is now completely at the mercy of Mangano who is trying to tie it to a contentious issue of the casino. The ToH have not answered any request for “secret” or not so secret meetings. Fans know when they are hearing a broken record, and Wangs comments about staying to 2015 were reported by myself and Nick Giglia over a year and a half ago. Isles were never going anywhere before lease was up (remember when some tried to say they’d be packing buses?).

Problem is there is no resolution and fans know it. Hard to cheer for a team that has pulled fans into the battle and then essentially left them in a lurch. Leaves a bad taste and many haven’t bought into the mouthwash that doesn’t quite smell so minty this year.

Lighthouse Project is now a complete drag and many to blame for a complex almost asinine situation but tough now to rally around. There is no doubt that it has effected some of the morale of the fanbase.

4. Ignoring the economics and raising prices…

Think the higher tickets and parking prices have an effect? You bet. Isles now get a cut thanks to the rework of the lease, but as they raised prices, there might be a backfire here by turning off fans who know this team is not exactly worth the going prices.

5. The venue…

The food is not quite what it was two years ago as SMG tried some things. The hallways still choking with people to try to navigate. The facilities are a league wide embarassment that’s not getting better anytime soon. It is as cold there as it is when you mention BD or HockeyIndependent to the Isles media
“braintrust”.

6. The rebuild takes time.

Isles didn’t do a 3 year rebuild. You’d need a farm system and talent pool to do that. Thank Mke Milbury for leaving that a crap pile as he left. Instead it is a 5 year plan to build a talent pool with skill and potential. This initial step is now in place. Now comes the hard work….getting wins to get fans to come back. The team is scrappy, but between injuries and lacking of top flight skill, somewhere along the line, it will run out of air.

7. Not as many are on the DP bandwagon anymore.

He had the better stats in the short preseason, but it seems quite clear already who the better goalie is. Play the hot hand instead of the contract. Fans aren’t blind. The organizational decision to run DP as #1 seems more about business…but about a 15 year mistake. It might not equate into ticket sales as he has not looked anything like a #1.

Hey, with some more scrappy plays and solid wins, this might be a season where fans didn’t quite come out at first, but soon get onboard. You never do know. But here’s a tip to the Isles….if you really want to make the playoffs….Roloson needs to be your #1. You can see the difference. Let DP earn his return, not handed to him due to the owner having made a cardinal sin by signing the guy to a ridiculously long deal. Eat the mistake and let the true #1 be based on play.

A Trivial Isles Blog for Serious People.

A message came a few months ago via my Blackberry. It said…
“… I have to give you credit for calling out those paranoid NYI”

Another came more recently from another…
“I hate the reality that personal agendas influence this stuff, you’re a player and should be in there”

The blog box was always two identities in one. On one side, it was a complete push to generate more fan and sport interest. On another, it was a serious recognition to a change that had enveloped many sports simultaneously…but none as much as hockey which was still trying to reclaim lost tread due to the lockout. So, upon the advent of the Blog Box, it pushed forth a schism of notions: It was a farce with a fan jersey or it was a real viable means to provide more coverage. The jury has been out on the main judgments despite a few early and derisive ones. That judgment has stayed on hold due to various and constant personnel changes since, making the blog box stutter, veer, and just run aimless for years.

However, recently there has been a bit of a change to how the Isles address, communicate and handle the blog box and bloggers. This change might be the final clue to what the team perhaps always did, or just now seeks the blog box to be. This doesn’t change that the bloggers or the efforts of those who actually are in there. Just an indication of what the team really thinks of it…beyond the PR, public relations and lofty intentions. The Real World: Blog Box…so to speak.

This last winter and spring, the Isles Lighthouse staff was folded into the mix of ever-changing organizational cake batter. Seth Sylvan, who was Chris Botta’s replacement in the Media Department, and I had been working on issues over the course of the season. After all, I had not been the perfect citizen two years back. Well that water was all under the bridge one year ago, as last season as I was welcomed back to the fold. Of course, they were as uncommunicative as they have been in subsequent years. There was the usual meeting to start, a lot of energy and hopes…and just the usual ride into the seasonal oblivion…as the staff being busy with other issues, priorities and such. With all those cuts over the year, can’t blame them. For most of the season, I ended up in the seats with tickets, and saw the blog box with one or two people tops. With a child, I was more apt to get tickets to take the wife and kid to the game. Upon the end of the season, I contacted Seth about access to the draft in LA. HockeyIndependent had done very well, and opened a lot of doors.

So last I heard from Seth was he was adding my name to the NHL list to get into the NHL draft. Then in June, as another went out the revolving door in Isles Country…he was out, replaced by his assistant, Kimber, former honcho over at Bridgeport. By then I was NHL credentialed and let them know I did not need to be on the Isles list. Didn’t matter, because nobody had likely done anything anyway. But here was a sudden change….no answer at all.

There was no answer. Sporadic notes became just…well, nothing. Not much ever since. Unfortunately, once again there is a new regime, with many of the Lighthouse staff all it curious places within. As you all well know, I have been reporting on the Lighthouse Project with all sorts of insight from all over the map. In that time, the Isles have stopped trying to push their agenda on me. However, since the Lighthouse went dark, they went even as far to say that anyone reporting on the LHP during that time is…lying. Hilariously, since then we’ve caught Charles Wang and many others, including the Town of Hempstead as well, in many a contradiction, fib, or just plain trying to hide reality. Like for instance….Isles are currently waiting for what is happening with the Shinnecock situation. But, word is they have let it be known they’d also like to meet with the ToH. So, what does it mean? Just hedging their bets as they sit in a holding pattern is likely.

But you see, they don’t want me to say this. We bloggers are supposed to perhaps be waving a team flag, screaming about the injustice and whatever else they have conceived as right and wrong in what has been placed as a black and white situation. Luckily for them, many have done exactly their bidding than actually taking an objective stance. Those that have done that have been rewarded.

So is it really any wonder that one season later…there is an immediate change in tone, nuance and attitude as that change of LHP staff coming in. Seth’s former assistant who now runs the department has been printing out Isles bloggers blogs over the course of the season. To what purpose, I am unsure, though it is surely concerning after-the-fact as I was given the silent treatment over the summer. I asked for clarity, checking in to continue on things, feedback and so forth, several times over the summer…and I was pushed off with nonsensical emails, half answers, and further ubiquities.

Then all the way in September…at the last minute, I was told that there was no room for me in the blog box. “Wouldn’t be fair to all the others who worked to be there.” Strange in it since over the course of the year, I had more blogs than many of them added together. I have been a member of the blog box since it started.

My answer to them…

”I’m afraid this points elsewhere and smacks completely unwholesome.  I’d hate to think that is the case. After all, you do print out the blogs. So you know how much work was put in. The reasoning just does not add up.

Of course, best of luck to those who remain in the blog box. May they not have the same litmus test done to them, “work” put in or not, that I think might have been done here”

They never responded. Silence, sadly is deafening. They never even told me I was out. Stay classy, Isles.

So it begs the question why a NHL credentialed blogger who has been blogging the same amount of Isles blogs since the start, over 100 per year, was pushed out far questionable, if not suspect, reasoning. It smacks of both ignorance and the continued circus from within. Ok, well, I am certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Isn’t the blogosphere and blog box a conglomeration of different and unique voices? Not just the screech of a few shouting for some team attention.

At worst and sadly, it alludes to something else a bit more sinister… payback by a team of thin skin, personal agenda by individuals who did not like that I did not gargle and bathe in the team koolaid. There is a clear message here in either case…we finally have an answer about the blog box. When the chips were down, blogging was never for altruistic means or recognition of the new media. It serves their business will. If the blogger doesn’t serve the business…well, what then? Then…probably this.

Is it worth complaining about? Probably not. For the continuously jaded will just add it to their personal issues, drama and baggage, sadly.

I had open channels to the Lighthouse Project all along. That’s until I didn’t march to the beat of their drum and tried to find my own answers. Other bloggers, like the author of LetThereBeLighthouse’s, Nick Giglia, who did the same also has been pushed off by the Isles. He might not have been a blog box guy, but both he and I haven’t had an official or even unofficial response of the Lighthouse since late October. Calls, emails and so forth have been roundly ignored since. There seems an ongoing theme here.

The Isles and LHP had ample opportunity to give their side, but chose silence…or to leak it through other supplicant channels or former buddies. Some even spewing it with zero filters, like a facet to some very loose plumbing. We however have a responsibility to find out the truth, not the piles of bull from Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau County & beyond. One would think that was a battle worth fighting. That truth and the pursuit of it mattered. Wasn’t this what blogging was about? It was to me. It certainly meant something to Nick.

Chris Botta just smartly tied Pointblank with SNY, he has something to buttress any extraneous issues from the Isles organization. This is same organization that has had some responsibility to the removal of former Isles Beat Writer Greg Logan. This same org that now hands Katie Strang, his replacement who is not the same type of reporter and style as Greg, all the prized info. Her tweets and Newsday pieces are a must, even if behind a stupefying pay wall. However, if anyone thinks coverage got better, they are fooling themselves.

Botta and I got along well when he was in the Media department. Why, because he and I might never see eye to eye, but he’s a smart guy and gets the point…just like he got the point on the Blog Box…his creation. But was creating a team tool to provide positive press his desire? In multiple interviews, far from it. He warned Charles Wang that many would not quite do that at all. Per Charles, that was ok. He understood. But did that stance really remain post-Botta on the Isles as they hit into a lot of political chaffe?

To tell you the truth, despite his clear skills at writing, I still miss Botta not being behind the scenes at the Isles. He was no pushover, but you knew where you stood, how things were, and there was no ridiculous payback from a team who seems to have gotten sand in its extremities organizationally. The Isles communication department actually communicated. There were clear answers, not avoidance. There weren’t talking to other bloggers behind backs by staff. There weren’t personal issues. There certainly weren’t conflicts of interest. It was professional. Something seriously lacking in regards in my treatment, despite my many attempts to create a dialogue or at least get some sort of communication. For the truth behind it seems far more about personal agenda and ultimately…what I feel is in essence, discriminatory. The parameters of the blog box must have changed since it’s inception, and without informing the members.

One hopes that my pecking at some things about Botta’s blog and style are not construed as hate or anything as such. Botta’s coverage has been exemplary. I call it how I see it…I’ve done it for almost 4 years now, and I will never stop doing so. When we were both at the draft, it was like old times. But, that said, but I will still kick him in the balls via the blog and twitter when things don’t add up or match my own understanding or information. Needling is never a bad thing…kind of like acupuncture. Helps loosen the limbs.

Independence has been my biggest thing. Even from my days on Hockeybuzz. I have always done what I want, how I want…sometimes willing to smash myself into mistake territory. But here is something…at least I have put myself on the line…nightly. Every day. No hiding behind relationships, favors, or anything else. I don’t care what anyone else thinks…be it Isles, Wang, bloggers, media, players or anyone else. Not that I look to be a bad guy.. I’ve always been there to listen to all sides. I have done all ever asked of me, and more. Probably more than most even know. But I never was complicit, complacent, nor looking for favors….what others would jump at like a loyal dog. What has been shown over the course of three years is that the Isles do like their loyal pets. So here lies the question, was the inception of the Blog Box, despite Botta’s noble intentions, an attempt to establish a proactive and positive voices into the mix before the Lighthouse Project went hot? If so, then we have our answer. I didn’t play ball.

Obviously, therein lays the price?

These are the things that work best for me…being independent, attempting to stay out of the entanglements that have tripped up some others that we could spend day’s blogging about. Oh god…I could tell you stories. But, I stick to those basics that have gotten me where I am… back up from my own missteps, trials and travails, and that have carried myself and my excellent bloggers and site forth. To relay some PR flak ad verbatim, push marketing junk, promotional guff, blow off material, some agenda chatter, or media guide hot air is disingenuous, and destroys any credibility for bloggers in general. It denigrates the effort of many who have considered blogging something else besides extra marketing or some way to get a message out.  There lies a responsibility to readers to set things straight. It has gotten me and this site NHL credentials and much traction in places that I was never near as just a regular blogger on a higher traffic site.

Citizen journalism, the very notion that was one of the one of the most important features of the blog box, has been pushed back on. In fact, in many ways, it has been stepped on. For when citizen journalism actually called into question the Lighthouse Project, the Isles, and their opponents and proponents actions…including the one daily Long Island newspaper that flubbed it terribly, something changed. It’s not coincidental. Not a chance.

I know, talking about it seems like sour grapes. I’ve kept quiet, despite with a few pointed comments for over a month. Many have asked why I was holding out.  It needed some time and context. That time is over. Questions should be asked.

They have lacked any attempt to set record straight or answer questions. So we are left with something that smacks far more insidious and disturbing. Either way, I do not feel it is honest, professional, or even responsible. A communication department cannot communicate with a blogger who has been a member of the blog box for three seasons? Out of the blog box or not, it deserves an answer and questioning the entire point is well-deserved. We now have to question if the Isles wanted bloggers to play ball with them all along.

Something is rotten here. For it looks far too much like some sort of payback for that citizen journalism, or even criticism of that department. Payback for someone who didn’t provide the warm fuzzy half-baked silliness that seems to be catered to far too much these days. Let it be warning to many who blog and look to provide a coverage on team sports

Be careful, for the pursuit of truth has consequences…

And it needs to be called out, even if it will probably to pad the paranioa levels of the flimsy conspiracy theory internally OR just  added to the print outs by those who do not “get it”.

Take that gut-reaction and push it off, the casino is still a conundrum, as it seems a more Hail Mary notion. Mangano’s group have very little except for an Excel spreadsheet with dreams for profit to fill the debt gap. They hope that somehow that will close the huge debt gap, despite many thinking it might take years for the county to even sniff a dime.

The biggest question that comes out of all of this is why Mangano was not aboard the Lighthouse Project earlier this year, choosing to get huffy with Wang. Wouldn’t have those plans been an economic revenue engine? It is a stunning question where one has to wonder of the internal political mechanics. As stated on this blog, it is very questionable where gambling proponent Alphonse D’Amato, is Mangano’s largest post- election donor. Leaves a lot of questions to why this is being pushed with little to no research and studies.

Add now that Al D’Amato’s own daughter works for the Nasssau Exec administration and the questions just keep on coming. Add to all this, Mangano’s deputy Pat Foye is a big casino proponent, having his hands on some upstate casino notions before his new role.

Per one ToH source, D’Amato’s hands are all over this casino pivoting. Since Al is in charge of the Poker Players Alliance, he has had his hands deep into the casino issues here and elsewhere.

But, meanwhile the ToH shortsightedness and own placating of the small minority who came out against the LHP (Reston Associates) is what has left the door open to the Nassau Exec to tout his own project to appease his gambling masters. The TOH could have played ball with the LHP by informing them YEARS before about how the size and scope would not work, but they also remained completely inflexible and now have a casino possibly forced down their gullet. At some level, you have to wonder if it serves these yutzes right. Lack of vision leads to losing control of a situation. ToH has lost control of things.

A vacuum of abyss-like proportions has developed between the Town and the economic realities for Long Island. The ToH’s clinging to placating the vocal wallets, yet clear minority, of NIMBY Garden City and Mondello, their cartoon-like Republican master, is very clear here in the ToH Development Failure Fallout.

The zoning they will allow has come under fire from all sides.  In fact, the ToH assumption that if Wang won’t so someone else will build there is false. Wang and Rechler will sit in the drivers seat since they own property all around the Coliseum. That property cannot be just taken away nor can it be pushed to another developer without their say so. This fact tends to be lost on many a bright idea or notion that comes out of the town board thinktank, which might be even smaller than their zoning plan for the LHP. Some of that land actually is part of the Coliseum site. This is something that the ToH, developers or others will not be able to get around, no matter the twist of words, ideas or retaining suburbia myth.

Reality, economic especially, seems lost on a town that has been reticent to communicate, negotiate or even look at the bigger picture for years. The ToH plan smacks far too much of the oldest, most basic, and yet most pathetic reasoning on the planet….keeping themselves in power and not letting LHP or anyone else, business or idea, ruin their power stew. This is about party lines, voting areas, and keeping control of that area to be Republican over Democratic, no matter how you slice the bullshit.

What comes clear is Long Island small-minded political games have once again come into to destroy progress. Per sources, D’Amato’s money has also moved to Democrats, some are saying that it is to silence them over the casino and venue issues. Serious questions now need to be asked, as many big name Democrats who touted themselves in front of the Coliseum have been basically MIA. Not to mention, perhaps there needs to be a closer look at the lobby and PAC money trails to both Republican and Democrats.

Meanwhile we must also thrust blame also on Charles Wang who has stifled the LHP voice that still leaks to the digital ether, conveniently. They also failed to work out differences, instead playing political ball and piping up smoke to Queens and sometimes Brooklyn through some supple channels.

How much has a billionaires impatience and disorganized organization had apart to play in this unfolding the way it did?

Constantly in this process it was others who had to commandeer the handshake. The LHP was constantly reacting, instead of dictating the conversation. All the money the spent on the development and reach-out, yet their own development organization was a small group of very committed people who might have not had the right topflight talent to make it all happen. Now the conversation is back to others….Mangano, ToH, all people who are not invested. Who still controls the playing board? The Republican GOP with former Senator D’Amato and the Long Island grand poobah, Joseph Mondello all with their own notions and aims.

So once again we will be stuck between an impatient billionaire owner, a small-minded shortsighted town board and system, and an executive that looks to be in muck far above his head. Meanwhile the puppet strings still trail to the game-players of power, wealth and affluence whose only interest is their own.

Long Islanders, sport fans, and the young generation who hasn’t left this lost, miserable, blind, Infighting County are the ones short changed and abused here.

In capable hands a casino could be well organized, studied with savvy and smart assurances and guarantees that Long Island could carry it off without the well-documented negatives that come along with it. What is missing from some blogs, papers and other avenues is that there is a long trail of studies, issues and research in regards to gambling venues. Those reports aren’t pretty. Mangano and his think-tank, another shortbus missing a few tires, have not bothered to address this or provide materials to offset the reams of materials that opponents have at their beck and call.

Meanwhile, opponents are here, there and everywhere. A group that is clearly is just looking out for CT’s own nest egg is already protesting the Shinnecock recognition. This could lead to months to years in delay thanks to the all-mighty dollar…the one thing that is clearly affecting every avenue in this giant wreck of a situation.

Can you imagine how it will get when Hofstra, firmly against the casino, steps up, or many others who stand behind them?

The mess never quite goes away. Just more and more questions.

Of course, sports fans and Long Islanders, once again are stuck between the rock and the hard place thanks to the puppets-at-large who are more interested in bottom-lines, cronyism and playing political maneuvers than solving problems nor reaching a consensus. At the hearing, the ToH, and even Nassau County heard the political will of Long Islanders, sports fans or not, and this has been roundly ignored with heaping loads of self-serving denial. The majority is being denied by political games, lobby-power, small town vision, lobby dollars and just plain old hubris…

That is the true crime. Long Island and sports fans suffer for it.

Many Islanders fans are frustrated with the whole Lighthouse Project saga, and claim they only want to talk about hockey.  In reality, the Islanders have never been just about hockey.  They were formed because the NHL wanted to keep the WHA from putting a team in Nassau Coliseum, an arena built after severe compromises that was out of date about 5 years after it was finished, and designed with an initial capacity of a little over 12,000.  Original plans called for a 20,000 seat arena with an underground Long Island Rail Road station, and the only indication of what could’ve been is that in the Coliseum Expo Hall, you can still see a hidden door that reads “Subway Entrance.”  The Coliseum was a patronage mill for corrupt Nassau County politicians for decades, including the deal with SMG to manage the facility, which, despite being crippling, has kept the Islanders here long after they may have left.

Nassau County has been broke for a long time, and the Lighthouse Project came about because just building an arena would’ve been flushing money down the toilet.  The development was meant to raise the money for a renovation of Nassau Coliseum, and most people responded strongly to it.

The Lighthouse Project was introduced at a seminal moment in Long Island’s history, and many people hoped it would signal a new way of thinking for an area that began the whole idea of suburbia but, like its only professional sports team, had fallen on hard times.

Monday, Kate Murray threw on the brakes and spit in all of our faces.  The Town of Hempstead unveiled its “vision” for the Coliseum site, a 61% reduction to the original vision.  What was promised as the beacon of hope for Long Island became a Hobbit village, and the Islanders’ future is in flux as a result.

Is the Lighthouse Dead?

Let’s get one thing out of the way: reports of the Lighthouse Project’s death on Monday have been greatly exaggerated, because in all honesty the vision as first proposed has been dead since last October.  It was clear that the Town of Hempstead, which controls zoning over the Nassau County-owned land for the Lighthouse Project, which was approved 16-2 by the Nassau legislature in 2006, had serious reservations about the size and scope, as evidenced by repeated comments about “preserving the suburban way of life“.

Before going dark, even Charles Wang acknowledged the likelihood of a scale-down, repeatedly begging the Town of Hempstead to “just tell me what I can build.”

We all expected the Town to reduce the project.

None of us expected this.

The Gutting

Make no mistake about it: What Kate Murray unveiled is a brainless, gutless, visionless insult to Charles Wang and all of us.  The project claims to be mixed-use, yet it doesn’t follow even the most basic economic principles.  The Town is also completely misrepresenting the actual size, including the parking lots in their claims of new construction.  Traffic plans included some elements the Town itself criticized at the September re-zoning hearings, which would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.  Then again, one of the Hempstead council members also once objected to a traffic light because “people could just not stop at it.”

Kate Murray, in her introductory press conference, made a statement so shocking and so galling that I have to question her fitness to hold elected office.  Murray admitted that she never considered whether the plan would be economically viable for any developer to actually do it.  I understand that Kate Murray has to think about what she believes is the best project for the Town, but to avoid basic fact is both stupid and dangerously naive.  If the project is not economically viable for a developer to build it, the project will never exist.  If the project doesn’t exist, it will by definition do nothing to benefit the community.  For Kate Murray to stand there and say she wasted $200,000 of my and your tax dollars on a plan when she has no clue whether or not its viable is naive at best and negligent at worst.

I can’t believe this needs to be said again.  People are in business to make money.  Since it’s been proven an arena cannot be profitable if built as a stand-alone, and the government will not provide any funds (usual amount is about 65-75%, according to sports economist Andrew Zimbalist), developing the land to raise money for a new arena is the only solution.  In addition, the Lighthouse was designed as an integrated whole, so changing pieces could throw the whole thing off kilter.  The retail was meant to support the 2300 residential units planned.  Cutting the residential units down to only 500 without corresponding cuts to the retail will do MORE to exacerbate the problem of vacancies in commercial space that so many people suddenly started caring about when the Lighthouse Project was proposed.

Reaction from residents has been largely negative, and it seems that Charles Wang has gotten the point.  Friends who work around Nassau Coliseum say that the Lighthouse billboards and murals are being taken down.

Charles Wang should have been better with explaining exactly why this project existed at the size and scale it did, but people still supported it in record numbers (though, sadly, not at the polls).  It’s a shame to think it could all end like this.

Leaving Long Island?

Brooklyn and Queens are constantly mentioned as possible relocation places for the Islanders, since Brooklyn is building a new arena and certain interests in Queens are interested in building a new home for the Islanders next to Citi Field at Willets Point.  It’s a possibility, but there still has not been a confirmed solid offer from someone in a position of actually making it happen.  There have been lots of rumors and lots of posturing from politicians and community leaders who have no power in the situation (Brooklyn Borough President, Queens Chamber of Commerce President), but despite a lot of speculating there hasn’t been a confirmation.

Some frustrated Islanders fans are also pushing Suffolk County as a potential relocation option.  Please stop doing that; it’s completely not viable.

Let’s also remember one other thing: Charles Wang’s actions suggest he genuinely doesn’t want to move.**  He has had many opportunities to make public overtures to Brooklyn and Queens, but he hasn’t.  The fact that nobody with power has come out to woo the Islanders could also suggest that these options aren’t the slam dunks that frustrated hockey fans want them to be.

Personally, even though it makes more sense to stay in the area, I have to be concerned the Islanders will leave until there is a solid deal to prevent that.  Remember, nobody thought the Brooklyn Dodgers would ever move….until they did.

Moving Forward

Developers and economists have roundly panned Hempstead’s new proposal, even though Kate Murray continues to defend it and insist there will be no negotiation.

This ridiculous “plan” has also fractured the Republican Party, pitting County Executive Ed Mangano against Murray and the Town of Hempstead.  Mangano released a joint statement with the Lighthouse Development Group panning the project as not viable, either for the owner of the site (Nassau County) or the group still bound by a Designated Developer Agreement (The Lighthouse).  Kate Murray has made it clear that she believes there should be no negotiation from here, so the County Executive is ostensibly going in a different direction…

As sources stated to Islanders Point Blank (and as I heard in Ed Mangano’s office last week), Nassau County is attempting to pivot toward a casino at the Coliseum site in partnership with the recently-recognized Shinnecock Nation.  As was the case with the new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh (which is already having trouble paying its bills), the Shinnecock Nation would be expected to provide the money to replace Nassau Coliseum in exchange for receiving development rights to a casino and entertainment complex on the property.  Some believe this is an attractive option because the land would be granted to the Shinnecock Nation as a federal “land-in trust.”  This would be approved by the state and not subject to the zoning regulations of the Town of Hempstead, nor would it be susceptible to local lawsuits.

However, let’s not get ready for the roulette tables just yet.  A casino is expected to meet fierce opposition, and the Shinnecocks, who waited 30 years to get this close to federal recognition, have repeatedly said they won’t build a casino in a place where they aren’t wanted.  In addition, a group connected to casino interests in Connecticut (home to both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun) has filed suit challenging the decision to recognize the Shinnecock tribe, which will delay any planned casino for months, or even years.

Speaking of plans, neither Mangano nor the Shinnecocks actually have a casino plan.  The Shinnecocks have a development partner but no solid plans, and Ed Mangano’s office seems to only have some rough revenue projections based on loose requirements.  It’s not like this plan could go through tomorrow, or possibly even within the year.
The political angle is important, too.  The NY State Assembly is controlled by Democrat Sheldon Silver of Manhattan, and two potential “racinos” are proposed at the Aqueduct and Belmont race.  Would Silver and the assembly approve a project at the Coliseum that denied the city that revenue?  It’s not clear they would.

We also have to consider that this could be a ploy.  Kate Murray may have said that the proposed disgrace new zone is not negotiable, but she could quickly change her tune when she sees what could alternatively be done with the site.  It’s likely not a ploy, but the thought of a casino and complete removal of her own power in this situation could bring Kate Murray back to the table.

We’ve reached a point where we all want a resolution, but this news has seemingly put us farther away from that.  Expect this to get a lot uglier before it gets better.

One thing’s for sure: the chances that we will get a visionary project are now slim to none.  In the end, we may be left with nothing more than the cheap cash grab of a casino….or a vacant parking lot and the distant memory of the New York Islanders and what could’ve been.

As her annoying and self-serving TV commercials say: Thanks, Kate Murray.

Wait, don’t get me wrong, I do think Snow’s interest, talk and the chasing is legit. I just don’t buy it. I don’t buy it as a solution, option or a good move. But let’s start at the beginning….

Let’s take a moment to climb inside the structure of Long Island’s rebuild. It has been a slow process that happened when Garth took over the organization and all sense of the ill-notion Committee faded away. It was when Ted Nolan was tossed for not going along with the plan, and Garth ran the show. It was 2 years ago, and we are about to go into our third season since. Since then, the farm was completely overhauled, the AHL and NHL teams play the same Scott Gordon system, and now of this past draft, the prospect pool is the best it’s been in years. Years.

 The behavior has been careful, meticulous, secretive, silent, guarded and systematic. It was never leaked to press. Nor was it texted to Pierre LeBrun. It was never telegraphed all over the press, blogosphere and twittersphere,

So now you tell me that the NY Islanders are chasing Ilya Kovalchuk with their panties waving in the wind?

Sorry. Don’t buy it. Bullshit. If it is Charles Wang pushing, he better shut up and sit down before he buries this organization under his hodgepodge of compulsive and destructive moves.

 No player will suddenly make the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County look up and say: “Oh yeah, we better listen now”. Both have been waiting for Charles and the Lighthouse Project to say a word since November.

 No player will suddenly heal all the Isles fans wounds and make it sunshine and lollipops forever more. Well, none available. But if the Caps want to deal Ovie, I’m all ears.

 Everyone wants a star, and when they don’t have one, they are willing to take one with flaws. Let me be very clear…Kovalchuk is no Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin or anyone of that top dynamics. He is a flawed offensive star.

 And, let me add this one for you…he’s not coming here. No way. No how. If he does at the insane 10 year fortune that is reported, then you might as well kick this rebuild right into the toilet.

 This team’s payroll is paying for past mistakes. So, what, it’s time to add another one?

 Talk about insanity. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. And here we are, with a grand crowd of apologists following the rabble over the cliff, like lemmings. Sorry, not buying it. Not one bit.

Ilya is 27 years old, and despite some morons attempt to tie him to Yashin, he isn’t. That I will give him. Hell, he’s a dynamic forward to boot and he’ll do fine on an established team that doesn’t need to play that 2 way game.At a reasonable cost, he’d be not a bad fit, offsetting the scoring pressures of the kids. I mean, seriously, our rookie John Tavares led the team.

He needs support in the worst way.But, so could Frolov. So could any other modest scorer.

What the Isles are pushing to do here is add a top guy for all the wrong reasons. Ilya does not make the Isles relevant. It does not make them a playoff contender. He does not help them get a new venue. He might put a few more butt in the seats, until the bottom falls out. And when you try skipping steps, most assuredly, the bottom WILL fall out.

What Kovalchuk does is destroy the pay structures. It skews expectations. It will backfire like every other dunderheaded move pushed by the owner. His best move was to let Garth do his thing.

Scott Gordon, in his third year as coach, has not shown his team can play consistent defense. Despite some slight alteration and upgrades to the defense, they are not any better where we can say this is a playoff team.

I get how Isles fans want all things solved. They want a new venue. They want to respect and love this team again. Well, I get it, but you need to stop buying the snake oil. This is nothing but snake oil, which will pollute the process and the futures like a BP deep sea pipe.

I can only hope that this all is some public feint for them to pull off a signing or trade that is more economical, realistic and fits their schema. But if you ask me, this whole thing is just plain rotten and the smell is foul. Lots of people are sucking down the sugar pop and not realizing that it came from Milbury’s closet 10 years ago.

Wise up.

(or)

In a news vacuum, nobody can hear Isles fans scream

There is a scene in M*A*S*H, and when I say MASH, I mean the original movie, not the TV show, where “Painless” the dentist is given a fake funeral as the doctors give him sleeping pills instead of what he thinks is poison. When the Lighthouse shut out the lights back in October, it was no different than this scene. The lights were shut off, but the hopes that things would change had not.  So since then has been this silent shell game on one side…and this vocal “oh, we’ll save the day” by the ToH.

The ToH and Wang’s group had meeting back in October. Wang denied this back when they shut off the lights, and was denied again when he had that questionable interview with Howie Rose. In that, he was caught in a bald-faced lie. He had met with the ToH, and so had some of his LHP staff.

In November, however, the Lighthouse group stopped paying FP Clark. Can’t pay bills if you are dead, folks. The Kabuki show continued as later on, the Mangano’s group was wondering if Charles was going to call them back. Then all LHP staff was reassigned. Their PR staff now works for Isles team.

Chris Botta yesterday, in a NHL Fanhouse scoop, connected the Isles/Wilpon/Queens and a large real estate firm. This follows the Ken Campbell blog from THN last month that tied it to the Wilpons.

Newsday, who has been constantly scooped by the blogosphere on the Lighthouse Project, was caught snoozing once again. They snapped into action, pressing their Isles blogger to find a source denying this.

Botta turns around and cites that Newsday is owned by the Dolans, who happen to run the Rangers. Well, of course that a reason…umm…. to what exactly, Chris?

Then Katie Strang’s story disappears from the site for a while this morning but now it is back. Meanwhile, Botta stands behind his story. So just who is blinking here? Will Newsday suddenly have some sort of “scoop” on all this, ignoring that they have been last to the well throughout this entire process for well over a year?

MEANWHILE:

Back at the Town of Hempstead: all quiet of the western front. They have not met their Memorial Day weekend deadline date for any announcement and sources have been silent. That is simply unacceptable. 


The problem is, like most things on all the blogs…all are things off the record. I cannot recall the last time someone said something on record. Maybe the hearing back last year? Even Wilpon’s words about exploratory talk was about as solid as goose feathers. Until things are quoted from the horses mouth and we know the actual horse, take everything with many grains of salt.

Meanwhile, don’t think that some people are in-the-know or have an answer from the hockey groups or even the NHL. Nobody outside the LHP brainstrust has a clue. I had journalists, bloggers and even the NHL people coming to me asking what is going on with the Lighthouse Project.

There is still a battle brewing because despite that the Lighthouse Project is dead, Wang still holds out hope that the Town of Hempstead will come to their senses and work out something. As broken here, he has been in touch with the ToH as little as two months ago. So don’t buy the Queens train tickets just yet. 

We all just sit and wait, meantime for the ToH to fulfill their development promise. …

Many objective people and politicos are fearful that the ToH plan is some sort of farce with an insane reduction of everything to almost minuscule proportions (below 50 to 60% the size of LHP). This would not be reasonable, smart, helpful, or workable. It would be just another slap in the face by the Town of Hempstead…and ultimately to the NY Islanders fans as well. It would be the topper to the multitude of mistakes, miscommunication, miscues and misinformation by the Town of Hempstead in regard to the Lighthouse Project.

If there is any afterlife to raise the dead; the ToH plan must be a substantial workable answer that does not merely sate their donors. Sating donors seems the new framework on how things get done now that Edward Mangano, the new Nassau Exec, proposed a casino, taking up the flag of his own biggest donor, Alphonse D’Amato, who is an enemy of the Lighthouse Project and Charles Wang, besides gambling supporter who represents the Poker Players Alliance.

In fact, it gets even more interesting with the casino, Mangano and D’Amato:

BREAKING NEWS - The Shinnecock nation, the one Mangano was cheerleading to get a casino in Uniondale received national recognition today. This means they can actively seek a casino. Oh, also today, Al D’Amato’s daughter JOINS Mangano. That’s right, Mangano’s biggest donor now has his daughter working for our Nassau Executive. Talk about conflicts of interest. I don’t even know where to begin.

This is all enough to make an Isles fan sick with disgust. Politics as usual has left things in the lurch once again. The true death might be Nassau County’s future as people leave it left and right for better places who aren’t bent on some suicidal self-interested glut.

So we can all say goodbye to Painless, who lies in the coffin. It is getting bleak. Even a bit dark. But don’t cry just yet. There is much more to this. Someone call a nurse.

Guess this blogger picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue

Early-morning on a bathroom jaunt, I checked my phone messages, and there is was…Newsday was spoon-fed that Charles Wang has indeed been talking to Wilpon.

Of course, you get the obligatory commentor on the site acting like any Isles blogger has this in their side pocket, and did not run errant for days/weeks/months…me questioning THN’s Ken Campbell on his validity, the myriad of pro-Brooklyn pieces elsewhere, or the ToH-centric pieces that were in Newsday itself till now.

I’ll happily be wrong if Queens comes to fruition. Queens, not Brooklyn, was even conjectured here and on Nick’s blog as being the more believable venue option. Lines in the water shot out back in November curiously coinciding with the Isles “going dark”.

It also comes interesting enough as response to the inaccurate information coming from Canadian outlets about loans, payouts and the NHL possibly being called in to run the team…all also shown as false as the league’s Bill Daley denied this to inquires finally made by Newsday and the Post.

It wasn’t until someone within the Isles finally blinked and Wilpon was touted-out to Newsday to finally have some straight dope here. Ken Campbell was the only hockey bloke who had this, and even the Mets media did not seem to know about it. So a big boon there for THN’s dapper blogger. Sorry for doubting you, old bean.

Of course, despite the story, nothing is solved or done. Per Wilpon, it has been “exploratory”. This would make sense since Wang has also still been in touch with the Town of Hempstead recently. He is also waiting for their own plans for the area.

The problem now with Nassau and ToH is that they have considered themselves in control of the Isles and hockey fate. However, as the Wilpon and Queens line in the water has shown, that is not quite the case.

They now can stare as a professional sports team gaping hole if the ToH plans go too far to their own self-serving ends…and the chances of that are pretty high, no guesswork needed here.

As County Exect Edward Mangano now touts casinos, which will never fly in that space thanks to the colleges next door, nor the fact casinos decimate and slummify the surrounding areas, Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead have now a problem…

They might lose the only professional team they had over partisan and suburban pandering.

So the end game is now fully in gear, and the Isles have been holding Wilpon as an ace card. It remains to be seen on how this play out, but you can be asssured that Isles bloggers and even Newsday were taken by surprise by all of this, until the Isles decided to finally show their hand.

Kudos to THN’s Campbell, and my apologies for doubting the story. It smacked at first of the same silliness Brooklyn projections had, and it is a nice surprise that there is something to all this after all. I’d like to also add that Ken has pretty handsome gray hair. He will also likely kick my ass in LA next month.

As for the Town of Hempstead, who have been waiting for Charles to come to them, it is more likely that to save any face here they might need to come to Wang if the truly want to hold on to the Isles which they once cited was oh-so-important when they blew wads of tax payer cash on those mailers.

Next chapter to all this should be a hoot. Let’s hope this new avenue in Queens turns into something tangible than just exploratory.

On the LI Herald page is the face of Joe Pesci Alphonse D’Amato, the fierce specter that has been connected to the political frictions of the Lighthouse due to a falling out between he and Charles Wang years ago. Newsday, in their one fair and well-done piece, alluded that the falling out stemmed from Wang’s refusal to hire Al’s brother. D’Amato these days heads a powerful lobby group and is very active in the Republican party. His lobby group is one of Edward Mangano’s main donors post-win, meaning they are likely vying for political grease and influence now that Suozzi has been toppled.

So, one can wonder and muse as he finally has come out to criticize the Lighthouse Project, with a long-winded piece on how we all should consider a casino.

“In my opinion, in today’s economy, it makes a lot more sense than the previously proposed Lighthouse project. For six years, real estate developer Charles Wang, the majority owner of the New York Islanders, has been pressuring elected officials from the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County to authorize this $3.7 billion project.”

Almost hilariously, he brings up the colleges next door…but not in concern for students or their primarily concerned parents, but brings up traffic…

“With Hofstra University and Nassau Community College in close proximity, traffic and safety are major concerns and must be addressed. It’s not enough to build more roads. A casino is not sustainable without mass transportation; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Long Island Rail Road have to be involved.”

Most interesting is D’Amato’s allusion that Wang can’t get it paid for, even though it is universally known that Wang has investors behind him that are not beholden to the US Economic wreck…

“Six years ago our economy was in much better shape. It might have been possible to finance the project and fill 36 stories of office space. Now, regardless of the developer, it’s impossible.”

These are words that are from ToH agent’s mouths as well, and when facts of foreign money was brought up, there were sour looks and of disdain. At one hearing, it was commented on.

If Charles Wang could not do it, along with Scott Rechler, then they would not be waiting for the ToH plan come Memorial Day weekend. They wouldn’t be uber pissed by Mangano’s political moves, using Newsday as a cattle call for ideas to see if they float.

If the ToH, D’Amato and Nassau County Republicans are so convinced it can’t be paid for, then they should call him out on it by voting YES to begin with instead of this giant Kabuki show.

Don’t get me wrong, I can cite a laundry list of Wang, Lighthouse and Islanders missteps. But here in this, the Republicans nor D’Amato’s self-serving opinion piece, are just plain full of bologna.

We have seen the liquified divisive drivel that has come from Mondello, the LI Republican GOP party boss, about Wang and the Islanders firsthand this past summer. Spittle of venom landed on microphones at Kate Murray’s kick-off rally as he accused the small protest of Isles fans as being paid by Wang (untrue), and told them to: “blow it out their duffel bag”. Something he has still not apologized for.

The ghost of D’Amato’s tactics are far more insidious, concerning, and the fact his lobby group has taken a prime interest make one wonder on what D’Amato’s connection to the Shinnecock Nation and casino is besides just his high-faluting opinion on a LI local community paper. Al has huge connections to the gambling industry and has been actively fighting and lobbying issues for them for years.

Perhaps he stands to gain here in more ways than just being an oh-so-concerned citizen who just happens to use this to finally hit the project he was once fully behind…

until they left him behind.

Then all hell broke loose…a hell that LI fans are still waiting for the end of.

Meanwhile, Gary Bettman and the NHL keep repeating the same mantra of stall tactics, when it was the Lighthouse Project themselves who stopped paying FP Clark. It is the Lighthouse Project who would not return the Mangano group’s calls. It has been Wang who fibbed on-air during an Isles game saying he had no contact with the ToH, when in fact he did and there were back-channel meeting that went on in mid-October.

So, where will this endgame all go as everyone seems to have their own vested interest…yet nobody seems to really be putting the NY Islanders fan as #1. Not Charles Wang who had his LHP go dark with no word to the many fans they asked for help from. Not the ToH who cited traffic and is trying to come up with their own version to appease the many vested groups outside the area (Garden City). Certainly not one Edward Mangano who has not only suggested a casino, has even floated the idea of Long Island being it’s own state…

Because as we know….Long Islanders are filled with poltical doers and we would be so better off that way.

Just like they handled the Coliseum.

No thanks.

I tracked down a ToH source who would give me a straight answer about yesterday’s Nassau County bombshell which ended up on the front page of Newsday.

Source: “No conspiracy here, BD. She found out same as you did. She was caught off-guard.”

Was she pissed? After all, the Town of Hempstead put a lot out there that they are “taking the reins” here, with a Memorial Day deadline for the results of the FP Clark study. Doesn’t this put that off?

Source: Kate really doesn’t get pissed. Let’s say SURPRISED. She was surprised by it. However, we are continuing with our plan here. She tactfully responded when asked about it in the news, but we are going forward with our plans.

With a casino possibly added to the mix, are you concerned about traffic? Traffic was a big issue at the hearing by the town board back in August. Wouldn’t there be more traffic with a casino.

Source: Yes. Issue of traffic will not change. It still is at issue and they would still need to address the traffic no matter who it was.

Where do you think Charles Wang and Scott Rechler stand in all of this? I have heard they are upset.

Source: The day after election day we never heard from Charles again. I mean, just because Suozzi is out of office doesn’t mean it all just ends, right? What kind of deal is that? Where have these guys been? They haven’t called Mangano back. They have taken down the website now. Charles has really caused his own problems with Mangano with his antics.

Mangano offering land to the Shinnecock nation, or even entertaining the idea seems very curious when Rechler/Wang had a lease deal with Suozzi. Is this the bigger message here?

Source: Listen, that sweetheart deal just isn’t happening. That deal helps nobody locally except Charles Wang. Mangano is sitting staring at a $300 million debt for the county.

So, for arguments sake, lets say you guys come out with your scaled down version, and Charles says: Hell, ok…I’ll build that. You mean…

Source: Mangano will be changing that lease deal. No way that happens

So, in the end will something be done for NY Islander fans?

Source: Yes. Kate isn’t going to let her legacy be nothing was done while on her watch. We are focusing on finishing with FP Clark and continuing on our path.

Do you think the casino will happen? My take on it was very negative.

Source: Well, it’s not very likely. We understand that Mangano is trying to make this a productive conversation and come up with ways to get the county out of debt. But, doesn’t seem likely

Click here to view the embedded video.

Back about a year ago, the Nassau County Young Republicans met using the conference space of the office area of Nassau Coliseum. One of the main issues that they discussed was how Long Island was losing tourism dollars to places like Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York City.

Addressing this group primarily was Michael Picker, head of the Lighthouse Development Group, who spoke eloquently and to many nods of the head by those there on how important and fruitful the Lighthouse Project would be in this regard. The LHP seemed an almost customized answer to the vision of needs: refurbished Coliseum for sports and concerts, convention center, hotels, etc.

Marc Ratner, of the UFC spoke next, as they were trying to get NY States Draconian laws about fighting overturned. He exclaimed how he and the UFC would love to come to the Lighthouse. That it was the type of destination that would boom as the UFC could generate over 30 million dollars per event to the surrounding area, hotels and venue.

More nods from the young politicians at the table.

Lastly, came a pro-Gambling group, who seemed to only get half attention as talk of game tables, slot machines and such seemed a tough sell unless placed strategically. Though they all new those speaking, there was far less affirmation and excitement between sessions as far more of this group seemed much more excited by the first former speakers.

Now, one year later, a Republican sits as Nassau County Executive. The legislature has also gone to the right. The UFC has made headway via NY State to get them in far better position.

Yet the Lighthouse Project sits on a thin heartbeat, it’s proponents choosing to go dark and stop paying the Town of Hempstead developer.

How did it get to this point? Perhaps tying them to the former Democrat, Tom Suozzi, as he fell from grace…so to seemed the status and respect between the opposite sides of the political aisle.

It seemed, with the Town of Hempstead taking the lead to finish that FP Clark study, that it would be a simple contest between the two. The TOH would come out with a smaller scaled project, Wang’s group would decide if they wanted to build it or come up with a changed plan. This was supposed to all come to a head in late May…

Instead, the County Exec, Edward Mangano, has slammed talk of a casino straight down the middle of this just yesterday. It seems a bizarre disrupting element that seems to ignore the ToH’s stated issues, as well as a smack in the face to the Lighthouse, Islanders and Charles Wang.

Back at Augusts’ hearing, the Town of Hempstead board is all on the record decrying, complaining and exclaiming about traffic issues. Kate Murray stood on a soapbox on her own election concerned about urban plight infiltrating the idyllic Long Island vision of suburbia.

Since then, it has been the crux of the issue between the ToH and the LHP, as they had backchannel meetings about size and scope and could not come to any middle ground.

Now comes a controversial lightning bolt slamming into the fray. Casinos in Connecticut had to be placed in special areas and zones, not in the middle of the suburban landscape, yet Mangano chooses to attempt to place one in hub between areas that seemed to have a lot to say about even shopping, traffic and apartments.

A casino explodes all of this.

The traffic to some sporting events and concerts is nothing compared to a venue that will bring in busloads from other areas and boroughs.

Far more of an issue is the responsibility by Mangano to consider a casino next two colleges, and within a 5-mile radius of several others. Sources from Gamblers Anonymous say that gambling between the youth on Long Island is at an all time high. It is considered an epidemic. They ask how can they even consider one in such a local suburban locale?

They are not the only ones concerned. Many locals that I have spoken to are perplexed and concerned on such a move by the Nassau Executive. From sports fans to just those that live nearby, everyone seems to scratch their head on why this has even been brought to the conversation.

The biggest concern left unsaid is how a new regime has taken control and looked for the easy way out answer to the complex problems of Long Island’s economic state. Only four months into Mangano’s reign, they seemed to have pushed the panic button to take on a highly controversial and fracturing issue that is better left for less populated venues as it was done in Connecticut

Much more is that Mangano doesn’t even have rights to the land to swap with the Shinnecock nation who is out east. His predecessor, Tom Suozzi, gave the lease deal and first dibs to Wang and Rechler.

Are right wing politics and favors being called in by the political party that helped place Mangano? Or is this merely a feint as to get a more reasonable locale for a casino accepted by opponents down the line? Or is this panic and looking for the easy way out in lieu of the hard work it will take to dig out Nassau County from its economic woes.

We are left with more questions than answers and note an interesting odor emanating from all this…whether it is pure politics, recession panic, or drinking their own Kool Aid. We are now privy to a huge chasm of disconnect to the Town of Hempstead, the new Nassau Executive, Long Islanders, sports fans, and the owner of the NY Islanders.

I will be speaking to some on the ToH via the backchannels later today. Kate Murray’s official stance is that she was surprised via Newsday’s report. If I was her and on the up-and-up…I’d be more than just surprised. I’d be pissed.

Meanwhile, as I reported earlier this year, there has been a falling out per one source between Mangano and Charles Wang. This stems from a myriad of issues including Charles Wang’s flat out denial that he’s not spoken to anyone in Mangano’s group when Mangano had not had responses by Wang having left two messages with them.

In the end, as a Long Islander, I have no issue with a casino…except, like any other area and responsible government, you choose a good location. This has not been done here.

So, who’s going to try to make this bad idea even shittier?

So when are we going to see a bit of cockiness and swagger to this plodding rebuild, Garth?

This draft and UFA period this summer is really going to tell the tale and mark Garth Snow looks to make. A severe commitment to success is not just about lip service, it is also made with moves that bely intent and focus. Just motoring through quietly will assure next season will be just another disappointment.

You can’t make chicken salad with chicken shit. You cannot make a playoff team with just prospect bodies who do not add to the overall talent level. You want to see a vast improvement, make some deal or sign a true defenseman that actually is top 4 material.

We have not seen much of the eye of the tiger from Garth Snow. You are going to hear this term from me a lot over the offseason. A GM cannot stand pat and hope some kids fill the gaps. The gaps are still gaping holes. Add a 41 year old goaltender and another with a 15 year deal with a massive question mark below his thighs and you have some serious odds against you for any expectation.

Some cited that perhaps Garth was far too cautious this past trade deadline, not biting on something on the table that would have taken on some salary, but been a ballsy step foward. Well, something went horribly wrong for their plans this past trade deadline, because standing pat was not their aim. They wanted to deal more for picks. Somehow that went very wrong.

Meanwhile, there are some positives in that Scott Gordon’s system offensively does create some openings for youth. The kids and a severe lack of talent, still had them competitive for a while. But, a lot of that also has to do with Roloson playing a high level. Most importantly, kids are developing, which means Gordon’s doing his job.

However, let’s not start flag waving how great he is. This team saw drops in many aspects this season, one large one being the Penalty Kill. They Isles went from 21st last season to 29th. Not good at all. And this was supposed to be an improved coaching staff. It doesn’t end there. The powerplay that was 23rd last season with less goals for, DROPPED to 27th. These are concerning drops.

Additionally for Gordo, he needs to get a bit more thick-skinned with the press. He’s seems to lose his cool with very little. If anyone has not noticed, there is quite a light touch here on Long Island. So, that the Isles coach has the thin skin for that seems rather silly. Someone should get Larry Brooks to come to Long Island more and Gordon will get more of a taste of how things are done outside the idyllic shellac of Nassau Coliseum. Or send him to the wolves in Toronto or Montreal.

Get over it, Bean Pot Trot.

So, we all sit at the close of the season knowing full well that there is a bit of a brighter spot with some kids, but yet the GM hasn’t added the talent to step forward, nor is the team blooming under the coach into something that is even a whiff of playoff ready. This means there needs to be some changes this off-season on focus, personnel and substantial improvements made. Otherwise, Garth can make all the “playoff expectations” lip service he wants. The proof is in the pudding, and this one is missing a lot of sugar.

I have to use a stage metaphor for my blog title because in addition to being a hockey fan, I’m a total drama geek. Hockey is so much like a scripted drama to me; you have good guys, bad guys, fights, costumes…I mean uniforms, intermissions, ushers, high-priced snacks, edge-of-your-seat suspense, standing ovations and moments that reaffirm your faith in a higher power. But for Islander fans, there’s been a crisis of faith going back for years now, yet we always seem to hang on. That’s something to be proud of considering the unpredictability of our team’s future. Many sports fans like to say their team’s future is unpredictable, but in most cases it’s just a cliché. For us, it is the literal truth.

Obviously, I look forward to this year’s draft with great anticipation; this is another golden opportunity to stock the farm with prospects that will (all right, could) get a chance to move up thanks to the Islanders’ propensity for injuries. But there’s also a bit of sadness with each passing draft. It brings us a little closer to that edge. We see it. We know it’s there. We scream for that security fence to be put up. Yet we draw closer and closer, and get that feeling in the pits of our stomachs that we will be losing our team over that edge. And for many of us, a large part of the pride we take in being Long Islanders will be going with them.

To add insult to injury, those who couldn’t care less about the team staying on Long Island aren’t just indifferent; they like to debase the passion we’ve put behind the team. I’m not going to get specific – we all know who the usual suspects are, and I am a far cry from being a Lighthouse Project expert. It just seems like the people who carry the big bucks in their pockets – from ownership to developers to politicians to certain players to agents who refuse to let those they represent sign here – don’t stop to consider what the team or the Coliseum in general mean to us. It’s our meeting place. It’s our chance to introduce our children to sport, entertainment, hobbies, culture. It’s our opportunity to endure teeny-bopper concerts with our kids that years from now they’ll be embarrassed they went to. It’s the Home Show. It’s the Pet Expo. It’s Champions On Ice. It’s the smell of elephant poop at the circus. We work so goddamn hard to live in the suburbs of New York City, and we’re deserving of a little quality-of-life, don’t you think?

I’ll be a sport and try to put a positive spin on things. For now, I’m going to concentrate on the draft and the number 5 pick and the playoff-atmosphere energy that emanates from it, filling the Coliseum. Sort of like a Losers’ Ball? Well, in the end every sport has only one winner and a lot of losers, and I’m proud to say we have the best ball of them all.

A few years from now, we can call it The Wrecking Ball. Just don’t ask me where the after party will be.

(This is not an April Fools)

April 1st, 2010

What began with a song and greeting: “Meet Me at the Lighthouse!”, which even blared from a holiday card they sent us at the end of 2008, has turned into a whimper. As the lights have gone dark from some shake-up, more is coming clear…

The Lighthouse Project’s status is in question.

Rumors are swirling over financials, an issue the Town of Hempstead has been pushing for the better part of a year, even though any developer in the same position would likely have the same issues they were trying to pin on Charles Wang.  Some sources have begun to whisper behind the scenes that, given the state of the economy and reportedly high vacancy rates in many properties, Scott Rechler may be having financial problems. Others have wondered aloud about Charles Wang’s financial viability since back in November. Another rumor being bounced around is that Charles Wang will be indicted for something.

Lots of rumors, yet nothing of substance. The rumors are allowed and take shape simply due to the fact the Lighthouse Project have had their mouths clamped shut since mid-October.

Other sources are going even further, suggesting something far grimmer.  Per these sources, Charles Wang and Scott Rechler may be taking steps to dissolve their partnership in the Lighthouse Development Group. This is an especially interesting situation, because Messrs. Wang and Rechler pooled their assets in and around Nassau Coliseum to form collateral for the Lighthouse group, making Mr. Rechler the de facto co-owner of the New York Islanders. If they are disengaging themselves, and while we have not heard either confirmation or denial from the Islanders or the Lighthouse despite attempts to reach out, the rumored “divorce” would explain many of the strange behavior over the past nearly six months.

This new rumor sadly coincides with what we’ve heard but not been able to get anything further on…where the project might be dead. Or Charles Wang will stare in the mirror and finally blink.

To make a very long story short: If Charles Wang and Scott Rechler are ending their business partnership; there might not be a Lighthouse Project.  Losing Rechler’s millions in collateral around the proposed Lighthouse site would cripple the ability to land financing.  Even the Designated Developer Agreement (DDA) signed with Nassau County could be invalid, since it would be signed with a company that no longer existed.

However, per a Town of Hempstead source that has also heard many of the rumors we cited: “If they divorce, it does not kill the deal unless they say the deal is dead.”

This might be due to the concept if Rechler steps out, the Lighthouse Project name and status could be saved or retained by one of them.

We agonized over whether to publish this report, given the lack of response from other sources to our inquiries. We’ve had this for days now.

We’ve received not one denial.

Instead…silence.

We feel strongly that fans should have a right to know the true state of the Islanders ownership. Moreover, after being rallied about, asked to show up and more to validate Mr. Wang and Mr. Rechler’s vision, shouldn’t we fans been given more than just the silent treatment?

Has the Lighthouse going dark just been public relations tact to let things peter out quietly instead of facing some well-earned questions?

Now word is starting to reach some people of a separation between Charles Wang and Scott Rechler. If true, is it the end of the Lighthouse Project, which fades into the murk without serious questions and attentions?  While we have not heard an official response from the Islanders or the Lighthouse Project at this hour, we believe the following questions need to be immediately addressed:

Question #1: What exactly happened when the Lighthouse first went dark after denying meetings between the ToH and themselves in their press release? They even denied that there were any meetings for the future, implying that anyone saying so would be lying. It was a lame attempt to try to undermine the blogosphere who have been providing far more information than the entity itself for quite a while.

Question #2: What was that train wreck of an interview between Howie Rose and Charles Wang where Rose was clearly looking for an announcement of some sort? Once again, denial became a bald-faced lie about meetings between them and the ToH.

Question #3: Coinciding with “going dark” seemed to also stop the Lighthouse Project’s paying of FP Clark. What kind of group that has, by its own admission, spent tens of millions in studies and proposals, just stops paying the consultant needed to go forward unless it is truly over?

Question #4: The reassignment of almost all LHP staff, most of whom now have visible roles within the Islanders organization. I mean, has the LHP development group done much of anything since November except now do team duties and events?

Question #5: Brooklyn, Queens and ToH Plans. Since the car crash of a re-zoning hearing back in September, and especially since the October 3 deadline came and went, we have heard more and more Brooklyn and Queens supposition. Meanwhile, since the LHP stopped paying FP Clark, the Town of Hempstead has picked up on it to put forward their own plans that doesn’t infringe on the donor and influence patrons in Garden City, the republican leadership and others, despite that they were the minority opinion.

This ToH effort to develop that land might be their attempt to save face since the ToH has been questioning Wang’s intent, inability to adjust size and scope, and questioning his fianaces since summer.  It is an interesting change from the Town, which steadfastly refused to meet with Mr. Wang or former County Executive Tom Suozzi to share their vision for the site since 2003, citing phony “conflict of interest” concerns.  Kate Murray has made many missteps, but she appears to realize full well that she will be blamed if the Nassau Coliseum site is not developed in a way that benefits the community.

Meanwhile, the only words from Queens and Brooklyn are from inconsequential mouthpieces in each district, such as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Queens Chamber of Commerce President. Not one word has come from the horse’s mouths except when Bruce Ratner said that it was “unlikely” when citing the Isles to Brooklyn scenario. That could be a clear indication that Wang and company have no interest there and might have shutdown shop until Queens begins in earnest down the road.  However, even though Brooklyn has many natural disadvantages, it has one major advantage: the arena is financed and currently under construction.  After the painful Lighthouse process, with a better-funded opposition beginning to sharpen its knives in Queens, would Mr. Wang really like to go back to that well?

Question #6: Charles citing he hasn’t heard from anyone, when he never called back inquiries from Mangano’s group. Sources with Mangano have cited that Charles “has really backed off this thing”. Meanwhile, after the interview with Howie Rose with the fibbery,sources cited that Mangano people had tried to contact Wang twice…both leading to no response.

Per a source, Charles Wang and Ed Mangano current status might be one of friction. Evidently things have soured more between the two sides, even alluding to that there has been a falling out.

Question #7: What happens to the land around the Coliseum, much of which is owned by Rechler?

Question #8: Some have cited over a month or two ago that there would be a sit down telling “their side” of the story by Wang and Rechler. Since then there has been nothing of the sort. When will we hear something of substance, which Howie Rose clearly expected to hear on the Islanders broadcast last month?

We are at a critical juncture in the Lighthouse Project, and those who have asked so much of us over the years now owe us that most basic courtesy: honesty.

We deserve to know the true state of this project as citizens who supported it in record numbers.

We deserve to know the true health of our team ownership group as Islanders fans.

We deserve to be spoken to.

The ball is now in your court, Messrs. Wang and Rechler.  Please return the shot.

Sincerely,

B.D. Gallof and Nick Giglia

In what is streeeeeeeeeetched to a feature in today’s Newsday is a riff off Gary Bettman’s comments from his radio show. Bettman hit on the “Town of Hempstead” with this blistering remark that must be why Newsday threw it in the front of the paper:

“I can’t see why the governing bodies on Long Island can’t get this together”

Ouchie.

Bettman also extrapolated that Willet’s Point was viable option since many Isles fans are from Queens. So, of course, naturally this “leaves door open for Queens” as Newsday bleats, and others will now repeat. He also gave doubt to the viability of Brooklyn. As in there is none.

Maybe this will finally end the Brooklyn trumpets and charade? Doubtful.

Of course, we will now be subject to a myriad of new Queens wonderment despite the very general news item, while ignoring that the Queens people who been piping in so much for the Isles inclusion have not received a call back from Charles Wang. Then again, the Chamber of Commerce of Queens and borough president are not the people who have any take on that decision process. In other words, those who really would be in the know or matter, have nothing to say.

As an extra note of silliness, Kansas City is again mentioned at the end of the article. Just for kicks.

Bettman does not wade into particulars…like why did not Charles Wang call back the new county exec, Ed Mangano. Nor address the fibbery over meetings between the two sides which Wang or the LHP have yet to address.

In pieces like these there really are no particulars. Anyone notice that lately in many pieces and blogs? People seem to just want to trumpet to get people and fans heated up. Like using the Olympic break to get something going.

Which means, besides a commish who wants the Isles situation settled, there was not much news or insight to give in that Newsday piece. Just a tweak on the vein over so general statement made by the commish on his radio show.

Meanwhile, Charles Wang seems happy to wait for the ToH’s plans. Per several sources throughout this process, he will not offer a new plan negotiating against himself. They have cited that the ToH had needed to provide clear plans of their own to have that process be serious in terms of scaling back.

Well, now it is with the ToH’s response of “taking the reins”, citing the lack of movement made since the Lighthouse Project went silent. Even a source from the new Nassau County Exec weighed in: “they really let their hands off this thing”, citing what many, including fans have even noticed since about late October…the Lighthouse Project Development Group silence has not helped one bit.

So, sadly, we still are left with major questions still answered no matter who does a news story these days: WHY?

Is this song and dance with the struggle between the LHP and TOH  really just a feint to get those onboard to a Willet’s Point option? With so many RFP’s received at willet’s Point, does the playing coy now help gain more eyeballs to perhaps get the mayor on-board with pushing the Isles as part of the planning?

Or, is the LHP simply, despite opening itself to multiple issues, satisfied to stand pat silently and wait for the ToH to put forth their own plans which will be merely  another sample of what was already stressed at meetings to a large reduction in size and scope?

Very little answers for a lot of text in today’s paper. I think there isn’t much worth reading until someone starts giving those answers.

Yesterday at Town Hall, before a “roll back the raises” protest began, the Town of Hempstead voted unanimously to authorize its environmental consultant, Frederick P. Clark Associates, to prepare an alternative zoning plan for the Nassau Coliseum property.

This represents a major reversal for the Town of Hempstead, which has since 2003 refused to meet with the Lighthouse Development Group or Nassau County to discuss their vision for the 77-acre county-owned property, even though they hold final zoning authority over whatever is built there.

The Town of Hempstead credited itself for taking this “unusual step” in an effort to “jump-start the zoning process,” which has stalled in previous months as the Lighthouse Projecthas gone dark and apparently ceased paying its bills to F.P. Clark, as it is required by law to do.

The Town of Hempstead, which appears to be financing this alternative zoning plan itself, outlined three main goals for the plan, which they expect will be finished in the summer of this year:

1. It has to be a mixed-use development.
2. A renovation plan for Nassau Coliseum, to keep the New York Islanders in the Town of Hempstead, must be included.
3. The plan must serve as a model for “responsible” development.

It is a volatile time for NY Islanders fans. We as fans have been asked a lot, and then left for dead by both the Town of Hempstead and the Lighthouse Project. The Town of Hempstead has a lot to answer for in the poor communication and handling of this large project and to working with developers at the start of this process. The Lighthouse Project has a lot to answer for in a “date of certainty” that both Nick Giglia and I both reported that could never be met almost a year ago. Then a self-implosion within, and then going dark, running seemingly adrift since that time.

As some seem to pull the melodramatic button in a moments notice, including the esteemed Chris Botta who had a great evenhanded piece  suddenly veered to this piece of panic & assumption , erroneously implying that he actually forecast something that other bloggers had already taken the lead on almost 12 hours before on Twitter and hours before in blog. Come on now. Time to read around a bit, don’t you think?

As I alluded on Twitter and as I pointed to long before that the Town of Hempstead is having a press conference this morning on what seems to be the next step (for them that is).

It is not a vote no. It is calling out Charles Wang for not paying the developer FP Clark, who stopped the environmental report. Now, we have bashed both the ToH and FP Clark over 6 months ago for failing to inform the Lighthouse Project of a payment discrepancy. However this is far different. After that, one would think the LHP, had they been serious about finishing this part of things would do their due diligence.

They did not, and there is no excuse.

In fact, it is made many, including, reportedly those around Scott Rechler’s group say that there is no long financing from the Lighthouse Project. That it is dead in the water, and has been since the lights went dark.

There is also the contradiction of meetings, meetings that did happen behind the scenes. That is reportedly where the schism lies. That Charles will not go below 10% reduction to something many people believe he can go far more to still be economically viable. The Town of Hempstead, reportedly, might want a 30-35% reduction of size.

Yet these two stubborn elements can not find a middleground? I would love to blame the Town of Hempstead here (and holy god there is so much to slam them for last year), but it is the Lighthouse who went dark and is doing the misinforming over the very fact they had meetings or even communication.

Very questionable actions that must have me scrutinize motives. 

Kate Murray spoke to NEWS 12 and NEWSDAY last week telegraphing this next move that will be announced. One of whom likely leaked to the Islanders causing the rush to put Charles Wang in front of the camera on Saturday in an attempt to save some face. Instead he dug a hole deeper.  

But it was the LI Herald that broke the news embargo yesterday with this report of what precisely they will announce today at 11am.  

Here is NEWS 12, also pushing forward with their piece. Notice the NEWS12 piece has precise talking points from the ToH, most interestingly.

This does not mean the lights go dark. This does not mean bloggers and fans run around like chickens without a head.

It means we now see where everyone stands.

It means that the Town of Hempstead is pushing forward with their version of the reduction of size and scope

This I do not agree with because it is likely the 30-35% (or more) reduction that they have been pushing. I feel if they really wanted to have things done with the project, they’d at least come to a 25%. For that, they are playing a hard line they better show some flexibility on IF Charles Wang and the Lighthouse Project swallow some hubris and start acting like a development group, and begins a negotiation process.

The problem is….I don’t think that will happen. I think that the Lighthouse Project have been waiting for an excuse to extricate themselves from this with as much saved face as possible. And the rest will be finger pointing by both sides and their advocates thereafter.

It is a sad state of affairs.

I will point to one place now that responsibility now lies. The new County Executive. This is where Mangano now MUST step in and find a common ground. We have heard empty words of Project support, including a ridiculous article on how Ed Mangano has Project supporters around him. A source cites: “Mangano really wants to get this moving”

Well, now it’s time Ed.

The County Executive must now step in…as long as the Lighthouse Project doesn’t further implode and use this as an escape hatch trying to blame the ToH…which is very possible here.  

The new SMG revised lease and the China training camp PR story might be just what Charles Wang wants to walk away with, removing himself trying to put blame on the town. Many have cited he has clearly backed away from the Lighthouse Project since the media blackout, using that to blanket it. If so, then there is a ton of blame here to go on them as well.

Mangano, if he is serious on getting things moving must step in and really tack both sides down. Press on the Lighthouse Project’s true commitment. Press on the Town of Hempstead to make sure they are flexible to some sort of negotiation.

Is this the end game, where everything washes away in anger and blame? All it does is leave Islanders fans high and dry.

Or is this where, when all goes bleak, some sense of responsibility, propriety, honesty and problem-solving step in to get these two sides together. ToH thinks that their plans has them heroes here. They are no heroes. They are an extremely flawed group who sees things through muddle small-town lenses. Lighthouse Project seems to keep playing the victim, which they are not. They have now made themselves the victim by being obstinate and in denial.

Lots to blame. Lots of emotion. Where are the solutions to this mess?

POST PRESS CONFERENCE NOTES:

Town of Hempstead is voting on retaining FP Clark to do a zoning review. There is a 150k cap on this cost.  The desire is to create a scaled down development of the area.

Kate Murray does not want NY Islanders to leave, and does not believe they will. Plans will include refurbished arena.

Newsday: If Wang doesn’t want to do it, they report it will be opened for other developers, who might be interested.

Wang called Kate Murray and was very “pleasant” on the phone about an hour before conference. Looks forward to seeing the plan.

Per Kate Murray, this plan will incorporate many of the things in Charles Wang’s vision

Source: Charles Wang still has not called new Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano. Mangano’s group has called him twice now.

Vote is tomorrow night on it.

Goosby cites that those things she and others have questioned at hearing are not in the report, as the LHP keeps repeating.

Source: If it was in the report, one would think they’d come in and show us the page, right?

She also cited that the Environmental Study is required by state law.

Yesterday, as I have been chasing down Lighthouse Project information that will be hitting the feeder sometime soon, I heard Howie Rose say that he’d be interviewing Charles Wang...about the Lighthouse.

Very timely, since there were rumblings that Lighthouse News was imminent, per sources.

“Ahh, Charlie is trying to head them off at the pass,” I thought to myself.

I was fascinated. This week was going to be a mess was a gut feeling in my pit. Charles Wang did not disappoint as he seem flustered, repetitive and even angry at Howie Rose for bringing it up.

Well, Charles, why else were you there?

All he did was reiterate points made back at October 3rd. Points thrown back at him from Town of Hempstead sources ever since.

The biggest fib that exited his mouth was the one I broke months ago as I found out about a morning meeting between Charles and Kate, and then subsequent meetings between both sides on lower channels to hash issues out. It has been denied by the Lighthouse Project who even put it in a press release before things got dark, and then parroted by the usual public advocates. 

It was even repeated again last night.

Charles to Howie: “There hasn’t been communication with Town, County or anyone else.”

Well…I guess it’s me versus them. Right?

In this morning’s Newsday:

“In response to Wang’s remarks, Town of Hempsteadspokesman Mike Deery said that Wang and the town supervisor, Kate Murray, met one-on-one together in late October, their staffs met once or twice around the same time, and that the parties have exchanged “correspondence” since then.”

Oh wait…really. So these kind of no meetings statements by Charles Wang and some others are NOT actually quite on the up and up?

You don’t say?

I’d look for more blogs and statements to rip on…but I’m tired of picking slop apart on the subject. Despite some personal and professional issues on how some operate or use people for their own ends, I am absolutely disgusted with the Lighthouse coverage specifically. Sorry if this bothers some people, but I am not a fawning reader. I can’t abide. This dude cannot abide.

There is just far too much abiding and not enough questioning. Too much acceptance and not enough discernment. Fans need to stop following and start thinking.

Per a source, this is not the first time there has been a contradiction. I was told that back when Charles Wang first got this public cry of complaint rolling back early last year, he had just met with Kate Murray in a one-on-one meeting. His statement back then was nobody was talking to him. Per that source, this is why the Town has been angry at Charles Wang, and nothing has changed since. This is why the words “bully” had been bandied around.

Well, that’s just your opinion man.

Indeed.

Another source has been telling me throughout the summer, and especially now, that Charles Wang no longer has the financing for this project. That this is all just a giant crazy bluster of saving face.

Just this weekend it was said again…

ToH source: “We believe Charles has no financing anymore for Project. We have heard this even from those connected to LHP”

Meanwhile, the Lighthouse Project, since going dark, had stopped paying FP Clark for their Environmental Review. Something they must have to go forward.

Don’t believe me. Let’s go to that same Newsday piece today…

“The ball’s in his court. They have an outstanding balance with the consultant, and there are unanswered questions that the Lighthouse group is aware of. Quite frankly, you can’t vote on a zoning until the environmentals are completed.”

So, is this all attempt for Charles to blame everyone else and now look for other places? If so, then the Nassau County Lighthouse Project is an abject failure…and not just by one side. There has been far too many missteps, contradictions, and just plain old chicanery here. I’ve had about my fill of it.

“I dropped off the money exactly as per… look, man, I’ve got certain information, all right? Certain things have come to light. And, you know, has it ever occurred to you, that, instead of, uh, you know, running around, uh, uh, blaming me, you know, given the nature of all this new shit, you know, I-I-I-I… this could be a-a-a-a lot more, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, complex, I mean, it’s not just, it might not be just such a simple… uh, you know? ”
- The Dude

 So we finally need to ask, why? Why all this silliness? Why the lies? Why the subterfuge?

One theory might be that the Islanders have made some sort of headway to be one of the main choices for Queens. This would be an amazing feat since over 29 entities are vying for the space at Willet’s Point. It would make Brooklyn rumors merely a feint, and the Nassau County dance just…as Nick Giglia once said aptly: A giant kabuki show.

Another is that Charles is serious about being just a tenant in Brooklyn in a place that would need to be retrofitting to fit hockey. I still find this very hard to believe unless he’s selling.

Meanwhile, with the SMG lease redone, perhaps this is what it was always about. Create a huge ruckus so that in the 11th hour, SMG who is fearful of losing a cash cow, might be able to work further with NY Islanders. After all, it was when all was bleak that Suozzi did this for them.

Who is to say. I am not sure we will ever know the truth of what is going on. To me that is the great crime here.

What needs to be understood here is that this is a situation that Charles himself put himself in. Going dark. Being reactive, not proactive. Stopping the environmental review. This is not actions of a man here for the long haul. They just maybe trying to make chaos so that they convince the NHL they need to move elsewhere. What else would this chaos produce besides more chaos?

Someone keeps peeing on my rug, and I really don’t like it. And stay tuned folks, because this is far from over this week.

Not coming to the Isles

“The mere fact it is in Larry Brooks‘ column renders it suspect.” – Brian Burke, GM

The Lighthouse Project is in limbo. There are questions on even if Charles Wang wants to even own the Islanders any more. The Isles are only two years deep in a rebuild.

Meanwhile, we are nearing a time that many websites need to get eyeballs and build up traffic . . .

Sounds about the right time for a ridiculous Ilya Kovalchuk rumor.

Whether the Isles and Garth do their due diligence to inquire on cost…and only an idiot wouldn’t. You never know when an opposing organization highly rates players you wouldn’t mind dealing (Smyth for Nilsson & O’Mara). But let me sprinkle some holy water on this silly silly notion that Isles fans are carrying like water from the well.

Isles organization brass have made VERY clear that they will not deal for rentals or vets. Witness the Calgary deal that was not a deal two seasons back. Garth tried to deal off impending UFA Fedotenko for impending UFA Kristian Huselius. They had permission to speak and work out a deal with his agent for a year extension. But, Huselius did not want to commit to that deal in such a rush which would move his family.

The Isles learned a lesson from the Ryan Smyth situation. Reality bites. Not many players come to Long Island for the venue or organization. They come for opportunity to play (Streit, Sutton, etc).

They will make NO deal without a contract extension.

Add to this that Ilya Kovalchuk wants an uber longterm deal.

Well, are the Isles the team to give that out?

Take DP’s ridiculous contract aside….since Garth Snow took full control, have we seen a overpayment for big years and big dollars?

Let me remind you that a venue situation, despite the SMG altered lease, is still completely in limbo.

Now we will add the reality of the Isles trade chips.

…As if this stack of playing card rumor was still standing by now.

If you were Atlanta, would you do a deal with the Isles? You are losing your best player. Your marquee name.

Yeah, I thought so.

We’ll have many more to sift through before it all goes down like last years. Much ado about nothing.

Caveat Emptor…let the buyer of information beware.

We’ve all heard the comments by now – Kate Murray addressed the Long Island Board of Realtors on Thursday, mentioning the Lighthouse Project more extensively than anyone from the Lighthouse itself has since October.  The Supervisor compared the density to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and she intimated that, with the inauguration of Ed Mangano as County Executive, there was a new, pro-scaling-down Sheriff in town.  This is a clear indication of the new narrative that is taking hold in 2010, and a precarious point for the Lighthouse negotiations.

Fuzzy Math

One little point – according to demographic data, the Supervisor is playing with some serious fuzzy statistics.  According to the 2000 Census, the Upper West Side (the third most-dense neighborhood in New York City) had 207,699 residents in 2.11 square miles, a density of around 98,000 people per square mile.  The Lighthouse is proposing 2400 residential units in an area roughly .25 square miles.  Assuming 4 residents per unit (that may be an over-estimation), you get 9600 residents and 38,400 residents per square mile, or almost 1/3 the density.*  I didn’t realize the 2 numbers were equal – as those commercials say, THANK YOU KATE MURRAY!

*1 square mile = 640 acres.  Therefore, the 150 acres of proposed development would actually come to .234 square miles.  I rounded for the purpose of calculation.


Political Background

After witnessing the complete no-show at the polls in November, I can’t help but come to one simple conclusion: our movement peaked too early, and I share some blame for that.  In March we (and many connected Republicans) were talking up Kate Murray as a challenger to Tom Suozzi for the County Executive position, since the Republicans’ hold on the Town of Hempstead seemed secure.  Just as the Town of Hempstead became more receptive to the project due to your passion and dedication, they also seemed to want to hold Kate Murray in a seat that now appeared vulnerable.  Ed Mangano, a good, capable, but unknown politician who seemed outside the traditional machine, was nominated, and many in his own party declined to give him a chance.  Kate Murray ended up winning re-election in a landslide, and Ed Mangano rode a wave of anti-incumbent feelings and anger over taxes into the big office in Mineola.

Republicans are united, the Town of Hempstead’s rhetoric is becoming more fierce, and you may have to wonder if the Lighthouse Project and its supporters will pay the price for, in essence, causing Kate Murray to stay in her current job.

Implications Going Forward

Seinfeld first explored the concept of “hand” – meaning the upper hand – in a relationship, and, right now, politicians have all the hand in the Lighthouse negotiations.  This is exactly why I believe the media blackout has been a terrible mistake.  The Lighthouse has stayed silent, allowing the Town of Hempstead to become more sharp in its rhetoric, and causing the support base to fracture under the weight of misinformation and unproductive arguing about other options.  At this point, the Lighthouse has completely lost control of the public debate, and it is hurting the ultimate cause.

At the same time, the Town of Hempstead seems to be out for revenge after the Lighthouse and now-former County Executive Suozzi used them as a pinata for the most part of 2009.  The Lighthouse and Mr. Suozzi criticized Kate Murray and the Town of Hempstead for dragging their feet on the project, even though the Town is not solely responsible for the delays.  This has led to the Town digging in, calling Charles Wang a “bully” to B.D. Gallof and complaining about every little slight.  One source was even upset that Mr. Wang did not call Kate Murray after the election to congratulate her on her victory, and tried to make that symbolic of a greater issue with the man.  The Town’s dislike of Mr. Wang seems personal, and they clearly feel the tables have turned with Ed Mangano in office.

At the same time, Mangano is the first Republican County Executive in decades who did not rise from the traditional Town of Hempstead Republican machine.  He seems less beholden to some of the classic bosses, including Joe “Blow It Out Your Dufflebag” Mondello, and he repeatedly stressed his support for the project in interviews with me and News 12 Interactive (hat tip to the readers who told me about that).  It may be premature for Murray and her cronies to assume the Mangano camp is wholly in support of their new tactics because of the (R) next to his name.

One thing is clear – the political landscape has changed, and some in the Town are promising that this is only the opening shot.  They have promised to examine everything about the project, including the supposedly “sweetheart deal” of the lease that Mr. Suozzi signed with the Lighthouse on October 1.  New times, indeed.

Bottom Line

These are the same stories we have been hearing since October, the last time the Lighthouse and Town are confirmed to have met each other to discuss the project.  It’s clear that size and scope are the main objections to the Town, and even though I wholeheartedly support the project as proposed, I realized a long time ago that there will need to be negotiations if this project ever hopes to become reality.

The sides are far apart, with Town of Hempstead sources discussing a reduction of up to 35%, something that could render the project not worth doing, and sources and other outlets close to Charles Wang floating a number closer to 10%.  Both sides seem to have dug in their heels rather than offering to meet in the middle, which has kept us at this impasse.

We first heard these numbers in October, from my friend B.D. Gallof.  We’re now here, on January 10, talking about the same things, and the Town of Hempstead is still clinging to an argument that was long ago disproven by just about every objective measure.

3 months, and zero progress.  That’s not good for anybody.

At this point, we need to re-visit the mediation option that has previously been offered by John Cameron of the Long Island Regional Planning Council.  Both sides have devolved the debate into a tit-for-tat about who insulted whom, and the focus has gone away from what I believe is an unassailable fact: Long Island desperately needs the new direction the Lighthouse Project can provide.  Maybe Mangano, who promised to be a uniting force after 8 years of the hyper-partisan Suozzi, could best serve the people by laying low and trying to get the two sides to forge a compromise.

The Lighthouse, without the cover of PR and community outreach that allowed it to build such unprecedented levels of support, only has three options in its fight to regain Hand: they can either wait and hope the politicians in Hempstead overplay their hand, openly flirt with other options (Brooklyn chief among them), or give in (the least likely option).

If both sides can’t get past every little slight and comment and work toward a common purpose, the people, who again seem an afterthought in this equation, will lose.

The future we need will be gone.

Long Island will lose.

That is not the ending I want to see to this narrative.

Play time is over – how about people start doing their jobs?

Though we all are probably hopeful on the new Nassau County Executive, Ed Mangaro, as he now takes office, there are some reasons to be concerned,

Rhetoric, Firings & Censorship:
Once Mangano won, rhetoric heated up on the Town of Hempstead side of the aisle. Smelling blood like a UFC fighter, they started talking smack behind the scenes.

They began to even question the very lease deal worked out between Suozzi and the Lighthouse Project. Of course, Suozzi pulled one over on them.

As for censorship, reportedly all references to the Lighthouse have been deleted from County web sites. This, as Mangano takes office, is extremely concerning that some are trying to erase something from the conversation, perhaps? This is far worse than just some bloggers deleting comments.

Rhetoric, censorship and controlling the debate weigh the process down. It is one of the reasons the Lighthouse Project ‘going dark’ has been misguided and foolish. I believe it has not helped, but instead hurt and hindered the cause.

But what is truly concerning here is the firing of Ed Aulman, who was head of Nassau County Veteran Affairs. Ed was a supporter of the Lighthouse Project, and had been to hearings/meetings for it. Veterans are up in arms, and of course, many are outraged.  But, in lieu of the many moves here, seems to be more than just changing the guard, as the Mangano group as suggested. Sounds political.

Maybe Newsday can do another puff piece that Mangano is surrounding himself with Lighthouse Supporters.

Yeah right! Ok, terrific.

Money Trail:

Most interesting is the flood of cash that has entered Mangano’s coffers after he won. Thanks to Nick Giglia, we know that some developers and Al D’Amato’s PAC have made GENEROUS donations.

No comment has been made by Mangano’s campaign, but it is heavily concerning for a myriad of reasons. Developers stand to gain from a Lighthouse Project flame out. Meanwhile D’Amato is a fearsome specter thanks to the ONE good piece Newsday ran for the entire year on the Lighthouse, thanks to their investigative reporter. I guess one for 100 is, hmm…1%. Good job!

Mangano’s Team:

Speaking of reporters, Mangano has assembled an eye-opener of a team of just that. Mike Martino, former of the LI Press, becomes Press Secretary. Martino, interestingly enough, is the very person who wrote LIGHTS OUT?, citing that Charles Wang had pulled the plug.

Yes, a real eye-opener. Wait, it gets better…

Sit down.

Breathe deeply.

Eden Laikin, of Newsday, who tossed softballs at the Town of Hempstead IS HIS boss.

She is Communications Director for Ed Mangano.

I’d laugh if it wasn’t so damn sad.

She had a story on Mangano just last week. Jumped ship right after. Outrageous, irresponsible, unprofessional and just plain wrong. Will Newsday do something about their own questionable integrity now?

Assessment:

MEANWHILE, we’ll give Martino the benefit of the doubt. I have read some solid work from him , and I believe the other side of the aisles or Lighthouse/Isles source was the basis of the Light’s Out story. Though, also in his work it is clear he wasn’t a Suozzi fan, either. But I have been long concerned that writer and journalist’s personal vices and politics do skew the work and attentions they focus on. LI Press and Mike’s work had strong opinions and attentions. But, then again, FoxNews and MSNBC are fair and balanced, right? A bigger and more subtle issue that we won’t pin on Mikey.

HOWEVER, IF it was the Republican party or connected to the ToH or Mangano campaign, well it is a very dark contemplation. It would be a slimy dirty trick that might make all of us question what they all stand for.

Mike Martino is an honorable man in my estimation, and I’ll go with that, despite some questions in lieu of the plethora of other things I’ve cited here.

BUT, we don’t need to contemplate Laikin much. We just have to laugh at the sheer mockery that her reporting took as she basically was last to stories, soft on the ToH, and horrific on the Lighthouse Project. Was this really just Newsday Editors out-of-touch, or just not watching as Laikin making “balance” more like a listing galleon on Newsday pages and website?

Mangano, in my opinion, would have been better off with a Communications Director that could actually Communicate. Well, besides in embarrassing emails threatening lawsuits to bloggers who had the nerve to criticize her. Yes, a real piece of work.

Laikin’s inclusion is a black mark on journalism, Newsday, and the Mangano group. It is more than severely questionable, for her, Newsday and Mangano. It lends itself to many questions.

Eden is smart lady who was extremely perceptive in person, but in the course of the year, suddenly couldn’t write her way out of a paperbag. But DID write her way from her job and into the new Body Politic on Long Island. One has to wonder of deeper connections between the two, besides just the Newsday murk.

To say something is rotten is an understatement. Lots of questions are coming to the fray, instead.

Be wary. The stink is rather noxious.