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News
Long Island Legends Featured on 55 Forum
 Exclusive Interview with Suffolk County Executives Recently Robert J. Gaffney, President of Dowling College, was featured on a special addition of "55 Forum" which featured in-depth conversations with all past Suffolk County Executives, including Patrick G. Halpin and John V.N. Klein, in addition to the current Suffolk County Executive, Steve Levy. Martin Cantor, Director of the Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College co-hosted this special segment with Richard Rose of Channel 55. It was a rare opportunity to cover 27 years of Suffolk County and Long Island history with four county executive administrations and government, and an exciting one.
The beginning of the segment focused on the achievements of each participant, all agreeing that it was the continued support of the open space preservation program, first began by Klein in the 1970's. Klein's landmark farmland preservation program conserved open space by separating the value of development rights from farmland and then purchasing those development rights so the land could never be developed. Halpin, who won national recognition for his efforts, spoke of bonding out ten years of sales tax collections in the late 1980's to accelerate the purchasing of open space, taking advantage of lower land costs resulting from a sinking economy. Gaffney and Levy each continued to support the open space acquisition program by paying the bonds for the open space that Halpin purchased, as well as purchasing open space in their own right.
The duration of the conversation discussed highly debatable topics such as immigration and important issues confronting Long Island in the future. All of the participants agreed that said housing affordability and local control over land use will be important discussions in the future.
Steve Levy is the seventh County Executive of Suffolk County, elected on November 4, 2003. In 1992, Mr. Gaffney was elected Suffolk County's sixth County Executive, a position he held for twelve years, having been re-elected overwhelmingly in 1995 and again in 1999. Robert Gaffney took office as the fourth president of Dowling College on October 1, 2006. Patrick Goodchild Halpin was the fifth County Executive of Suffolk County. Elected in 1987, he served one term from 1988 through 1991. John V.N. Klein served two notable terms as Suffolk County Executive from 1972-1979.
About Dowling College
Dowling College is an independent, coeducational college that serves more than 6,500 students at
its historic Rudolph Campus on the banks of the Connetquot River in Oakdale, NY, and the 105-acre
Brookhaven Campus in eastern Long Island and a business center located near the Nassau-Suffolk
border in Melville. Dowling offers Bachelor′s, Master′s, and Doctoral degrees in several
disciplines through its four schools: Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Education.
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