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News
There is a $3.5 billion price tag for Long Island land preservation.
And counting.
Is the region prepared to spend billions more?
OAKDALE, NY - The Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College has completed the first comprehensive study of land acquisition ever undertaken by local municipal governments, and its multi-billion dollar findings will have enormous implications for the region's taxpayers, land use policy makers, and Long Island's real estate property owners.
Researched by the Institute's Director Martin R. Cantor, CPA, M.A., the report follows six months of investigation and analysis that not only included the region's public acquisition of private property, but how local governments across the nation pursue similar policies. The Town of Brookhaven was the only government that failed to cooperate in providing data for study.
The numbers
Since 1976, when Long Island governments first began an open space preservation effort, Suffolk County government, and its townships, have assumed the lead in this effort, with taxpayers investing nearly $1.3 billion in bond debt service costs, sales taxes, property taxes, and real estate transfer taxes to purchase over 34,000 acres of open space and preserve thousands more acres of farmland. Add to that number nearly $700 million in property taxes that would have been generated by these parcels, but instead were shifted to Suffolk's private property owners to cover the municipal revenue gap, and the total costs for land preservation efforts exceed $2 billion to date. The cost per Suffolk County homeowner is currently estimated at $10,000 per household.
Table 1 reflects how the obligations of the Suffolk County taxpayer will continue under existing legislation, with the lost forever-economic activity of taxpayers who are continuing to pay for the properties acquired through 2013 approaching $8 billion, or $25,000 per household.
Table 1: Financial and Economic Impact of Land Acquisitions –1977 to 2013
| Description | Current Direct Cost | Lost Economic impact |
| -Suffolk Cnty Land Acquisition Prog @2007) | $ 1,555,788,648 | $ 3,889,471,620 |
| -East End Commnty Preserv. Fund. Rev. | 410,835,304 | 1,027,088,260 |
| -Projected to 2013 Land Acquisition Cost | 366,800,000 | 917,000,000 |
| -Projected to 2013 Prop Tax-Acquired Land | 880,823,252 | 2,202,058,130 |
| Total Current Land Acquisition Costs | $ 3,214,247,204 | $ 8,035,618,010 |
| After Taxes per Household (493,493) | $ 6,513.26 | $ 16,283.15 |
| Gross Earnings to Pay After Tax Amount | $ 10,000.00 | $ 25,000.00 |
| Lost County Sales Taxes (4.25%) | $ 68,302,753 | $ 170,756,883 |
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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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