Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island, Director;  LI Main Street Alliance, Founder

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Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island, Director;  LI Main Street Alliance, Founder

Eric Alexander is the Director of Vision Long Island, the areas downtown planning organization.

Eric has over thirty years of experience in housing, transportation, community development and coordinating community projects.

Specifically, Eric has advanced downtown planning, infrastructure investment and mixed-use development through lobbying the federal, state, county levels while working with municipalities to develop and implement smart growth policies, regulations, and projects.

His work at Vision Long Island has resulted in over 150 downtown and infrastructure projects supporting over 16,000 units of Transit Oriented Development across Long Island.

In 2019 Eric founded the LI Main Street Alliance which represents 45 downtowns across Long Island and has been an advocate for local businesses assisting them with accessing public grant dollars through the coronavirus recovery as well as planning and lobbying for downtown grants.

In 2021 Eric became the host of LI Main Street News an internet-based TV show that has interviewed over 500 local community, business and government leaders.  The show now hits the road to promote downtowns and events around Long Island that strengthen our communities.

In 2020 Eric partnered with the Pink Tie Foundation to form the Pink Tie Delivers program to bring food and financial assistance to local food pantries across Long Island.  To date over 175 deliveries have been made to 55 pantries from Greenport to Valley Stream.

In 2002 Eric organized Long Island’s first Smart Growth Awards event and led its first Smart Growth Summit.

The Summit, now held annually, had over 1,300 attendees before Coronavirus and develops a policy agenda for downtown redevelopment and infrastructure.

Over the last 25 years Eric has made over 3,500 individual and group presentations in nearly 75 Long Island communities but most importantly listened to communities at over 10,000 meetings.

In 2012 Eric organized the LI Complete Streets Summit and the LI Complete Streets Coalition to help create safer streets for pedestrians and bicyclists.

To date 6 towns, 2 counties and New York State have passed legislation for safer roadways with 40 traffic calming projects under construction or completed.

In 2009 Eric co-chaired the LI Lobby Coalition that brought community voices to Albany and Washington from over 100 environment, labor, small business, civic and human service organizations.

Over 50 pieces of legislation and budget items were passed and have come to Long Island as a result of this annual coalition effort.

Since joining Vision Long Island Eric has been working to support proactive land use planning decisions through the use of community visionings, and other progressive planning techniques.

Eric has led visioning processes and technical support in over 30 communities including Farmingdale, Huntington, Valley Stream, Bay Shore, Baldwin, Westbury, Hicksville, Manorhaven, W.Babylon, Mastic/Shirley, Coram/Middle Island, Rocky Point, Shoreham, Mt. Sinai, Gordon Heights, Central Islip, Oyster Bay, Kings Park, Mastic Beach, Deer Park, Southampton and Lake Ronkonkoma. Each of these projects resulted in a community plan and are all in varying stages of planning and construction.

In addition, Eric has worked on regional planning projects surrounding NYSERDA’s Cleaner Greener Grants program, New York State’s CRP planning and grants program, Nassau HUB, Long Island 2035, Brookhaven 2030 and the Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Past and present affiliations include founder of the LI Main Street Alliance representing 45 downtowns, Co-Chair of the 100-member LI Lobby Coalition, LI Complete Streets Coalition, Friends of Long Island,  Board of the Suffolk Alliance of Chambers of Commerce, Salvation Army of Nassau County, Child Care Council of Nassau County, LI Coalition for the Homeless and the Pink Tie Foundation. On the Federal & State level he has served on Governor Spitzer’s Transition Team for Smart Growth and served on Congresswoman McCarthy’s Economic Advisory Committee, the New York Congress for the New Urbanism Executive Committee, the Steering Committee of Empire State Future and the Board of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Locally Eric has served on the 2017 Town of Hempstead Transition Team, 2009 Nassau County Transition Team, Town of Huntington Smart Growth Steering Committee, Suffolk County Smart Growth Committee, the Suffolk County Commission for Workforce Housing, the Nassau County Next Generation Housing Committee and Co-Chaired the Hicksville Downtown Revitalization Committee.

Eric has been listed as one of Long Island’s 60 most influential leaders in 2022 and 100 most influential leaders by the Long Island Business News for three years running and was featured on the cover of Corridor magazine.

In 2019 he was listed on the Power List for the LI Press. He has received a number of awards including:  In 2022 honored by the LI African American Chamber of Commerce, Hempstead Community Land Trust and the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce; Corporate Citizenship Award by the LI Business News in 2021; LI Business News Hall of Fame designation in 2017; Hollywood Baptist Church  Martin Luther King Jr. “Leadership” Award 2016, EHS of LI for a “Social Justice Leaders” Award in 2016, “Gotham Green” Award in 2016;  LISTnet small business award in 2015;  100 Black Men of Long Island in 2015; “Founders Day” Award by the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island 2014;  LI Real Estate “Leadership” Award by the LI Business News, 2013, “Long Island Achievement Award” by Public Relations Professionals of Long Island in 2013; Voted “Person of the Year”, Northport Patch in 2012;  “Leader who makes a Difference” by the Hauppauge Industrial Association in 2011, “Business of the Year” by the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce in 2010, a “Graduate of Distinction” by Leadership Huntington in 2010, Sustainable Development Award by the LIPC in 2008, community planning Award by the American Planning Association NY Chapter in 2008, Businessperson of the Year by the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce in 2005, the LI Business News 40 under 40 in 2003 and the LI Alliance Kairos Award in 1990.

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