Listen to this article
Herb Agin
CEO
Sutton & Edwards
LI’s largest property manager, key man behind CIBS.
If someone is looking to move property, Agin, invariably, is the first they call. Hardly anything happens in the commercial real estate world on Long Island without his consent or, at least, his review.
Agin’s booming voice and quick wit are staples at real estate functions – many of which he heads up as the founder of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island, a group working to foster a sense of community in a normally cut-throat environment.
Dick Amper
Executive Director
Long Island Pine Barrens Society
No significant development moves without his OK.
Long Island’s most outspoken environmentalist, he’s reached beyond the Pine Barrens to become the go-to guy in any push to protect Mother Nature. In 2005, he steered a coalition against a liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for the Long Island Sound that’s all but sunk.
Eric Alexander
Executive Director
Vision Long Island
The prince of new urbanists.
The face of the smart-growth movement on the Island, Alexander admirably has the ears of developers, politicians and the Island’s endless supply of NIMBY neighbors. If there’s a development planned, he’s there to suggest a second floor of “affordable” apartments. Reversing sprawl’s momentum is no easy task, but Alexander is helping to slow it down.
Larry Austin
Chairman
Austin Travel
Try getting on the LIA board around him.
The corporate travel market is climbing back to the high-flying days of pre-9/11, but Mr. Austin’s real power comes from his longstanding roles as a key player in the Long Island Association and the savior of the Long Island Philharmonic, among his other many not-for-profit activities.
Steve Bellone
Supervisor
Town of Babylon
Wunderkind who keeps his head down and his town moving.
If Babylon is the seat of Long Island’s Democrat party, the man sitting in it is Steve Bellone, the town’s supervisor. The youthful pol led a fight to keep a nuisance court alive, and he braved controversy by keeping the town’s “God Bless America” banner hung over the town hall’s main entrance.
Stanley M. Bergman
Chairman and CEO
Henry Schein Inc.
If there’s a bird-flu pandemic, you’ll want to know this man.
Bergman has turned his $3.3 billion health-care products distributor into a global powerhouse. In the U.S. Schein most notably is the nation’s principal supplier of flu vaccines. But what really makes Bergman shine is his commitment to the common good, a culture that is central to the Schein way of life. He’s also galvanizing a network of companies that want to participate in socially responsible programs but don’t know where they can do the most good. That dedication was especially important this year. Think Katrina and Rita.
Timothy Bishop
Congressman, D-Southampton
The anti-tax man commeth.
Whether it’s funding for cops, beaches or the Brookhaven National Lab, Bishop keeps his eyes on the home front. He’s also doing his best to protect Long Island home values by opposing changes to the federal tax system.
Bert Brodsky
Chairman
Sandata Technologies
The entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.
He may have exited National Medical Health Card (with a $50 million payday for himself and family), but Brodsky keeps his chips in play. One of the most litigious corporate moguls, his Sandata bought three patents from MCI Corp. in ’05 for about $10 million. By late fall the company began filing lawsuits to enforce its intellectual property. In 2006, don’t look for this dealmaker to fold his hand.
Mark Broxmeyer
Partner
Fairfield Properties
Affordable housing? Yes, if you make six figures.
Chances are every Long Island renter at one time or another has penned a check to Broxmeyer, who leads an apartment empire that now includes thousands of Texas units. A major Republican fund raiser and an advocate for Jewish causes, in November the Upper Brookville resident was honored by The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.
Joseph Caracappa
Presiding Officer
Suffolk County Legislature
For now, he’s the head pol.
Republican Joe Caracappa’s star fell on Election Day 2005, as his party lost control of the Suffolk Legislature and he lost his patronage-heavy position as the body’s presiding officer. Still, this nice guy’s a big name in Suffolk politics, and it’s fair to expect his stock to rise in the coming year.
Philip Cardinale
Supervisor
Town of Riverhead
Making things happen in once-sleepy Riverhead.
Unlike his Island colleagues, Cardinale controls one of the few places where it’s still possible to develop hundreds of acres at a time. That gives the frank-speaking pol a chance to shape some of the Island’s last virgin territories.
The property in Calverton has gone untouched for a long time as development projects have come and gone, but Cardinale has a good feeling about 2006.
Bernadette Castro
Commissioner
New York State Parks
Put on those racing shoes.
The longtime caretaker of the state parks system and Castro Convertible heiress is set to take on a new title early in 2006. Gov. Pataki stripped the current state Racing & Wagering Board chief of his title and nominated Castro to fill the seat. What does this mean to Long Island? If all goes as planned, the state racing franchise could soon be operating at Aqueduct and Belmont.
Robert Catell
Chairman and CEO
KeySpan Corp.
Power broker in more ways than one.
It almost seemed iffy for a while, but Catell wounnd up striking a brilliant deal to continue plugging the Long Island Power Authority with electricity. Down the road, expect to see a Melville power plant. And when the new deal expires, the situation will be ripe for KeySpan to engulf LIPA’s operations. Not bad for a guy preparing for retirement.
Paula Bess Collins
Tribal Council President
Shinneco*ck Nation
Rolling the dice.
Led by Collins, the Shinneco*cks came out swinging in 2005 with suits claiming ownership rights to all of tony Southampton – including the prestigious Shinneco*ck Hills Golf Club, a site of the U.S. Open golf tourney. The tribe, which is facing stiff opposition to its plans to build a casino, passed one hurdle to gain federal recognition, but the dealing is far from done.
Jon Cooper
Suffolk County Legis.
(D-Huntington)
Killed smoking, cell phones and is now leading the way on forced health care.
Jon Cooper doesn’t care whether the dirty air comes from a power plant or a smoker. He wants them both gone. When not leading environmental causes, the Democrat lawmaker finds time to crusade against big-box stores, crack down on drag racing and demonize cell phones.
Resi Cooper
Regional Director
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s
LI office
As Clinton’s local arm, she makes the future candidate for prez look really good.
Cooper is helping the former first lady triangulate her way to the White House in 2008. And if triangulation is the name of the game, there’s no better place to test theories than on Long Island, where both parties tend to meet in the middle.
Mathew Crosson
CEO
Long Island Association
How else would you have met Colin Powell?
Matt Crosson’s agenda is Long Island’s agenda. Intense and intellectual, he deftly uses a cadre of top-notch board-member CEOs to pursue changes to the region’s landscape. Bringing in the most high-profile speakers each year to LIA events, including the former Secretary of State, Crosson’s fingerprints can be found on virtually every major regional project in the works.
And he’s working on his one-liners.
Alfonse D’Amato
Partner
Park Strategies
He spells lobbyist with a capital A.
Old politicians never die, and if Al D’Amato has anything to say about it, they never fade away, either. Senator Pothole has lost none of his standing on Long Island since leaving Washington, and his behind-the-scenes work on behalf of developers and his beloved GOP has kept his hands in Nassau County business.
Gary DelaRaba
President
Nassau County Police
Benevolent Association
Who else has the bravado to spend $500K in a topple Suozzi effort?
It takes some stones to mount a vicious campaign against Nassau County Exec Tom Suozzi, who practically snoozed his way to re-election in 2005. But that’s Gary DelaRaba. Suozzi rewarded him with a pay cut, but don’t expect this feisty insider to start licking his wounds. He’ll be back.
Thomas DiNapoli
State Assemblyman
D-Great Neck
A voice of reason in Albany.
If he’s still stinging from his loss to Tom Suozzi four years ago, he sure isn’t showing it. One of the few sane voices in Albany, DiNapoli has cruised along, bringing home the bacon and being friends with everybody. Oh yeah, he likes good policy, too.
James Dolan
CEO
Cablevision Systems Corp.
Single-handedly stopped the Olympics from coming to NYC.
A long-time lightning rod for criticism, Dolan was at his adversarial best in 2005. He beat down the Jets – and hasn’t everybody lately? – as they sought to build a stadium on the West Side of Manhattan to compete against his Madison Square Garden. And he led the company board’s majority in shutting down the Voom satellite service against the wishes of his father, Chuck.
Nancy Douzinas
President
Rauch Foundation
Her annual report has us all considering the future. Finally.
In its first year, the Long Island Index gave our leaders ammunition to bring the fight for affordable housing to the forefront. This year it graduated to become an indispensable tool for the region’s power brokers to see the big picture. Without Douzinas’ support through the Rauch Foundation, it wouldn’t have been possible. Can’t wait to see the ’06 version.
Michael Dowling
CEO
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
Despite the heart troubles, in great health.
With 38,000 employees, Michael Dowling is the Island’s biggest boss. Now the heart-surgery patient is expanding the system with a deal to lease 500,000 square feet of office space at i.park in Lake Success. Meanwhile, just about every health care institution in financial trouble is seeking North Shore-LIJ cover.
For such a corporate heavyweight, Dowling is regularly in touch with the common folk, often speaking out about needed fixes to the nation’s ailing health-care system.
Duke Dufresne
Sector Vice President, Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Warfare Systems
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems
Can he get us back into the space program?
The successor to the much-loved Phil Teel, Dufresne is keeping up the momentum to create a networked battlefield in which ground, air and naval forces seamlessly trade intelligence through wireless technology. Dufresne also is seeking to pick up Teel’s workforce housing banner.
John Durso
President
Long Island Federation of Labor
Retail workers of the world, unite!
How has Long Island labor chief John Durso influenced the Island’s landscape? Let us count the ways. Suffolk County now requires big-box retailers to pay their workers for health care, Mark Alessi won a surprising special election to go to Albany and Brookhaven has a Democrat majority for the first time in a generation. Not a bad year’s work for the president of Long Island’s Federation of Labor.
Adrienne Esposito
Executive Director
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Lead voice in the growing chorus saying “No!” to Broadwater.
Esposito helped muster a nearly uniform wall of political opposition to the Broadwater project that would anchor a floating liquid natural gas terminal in the middle of Long Island Sound. That clout will be tested in early 2006, when the project’s official application is expected to be filed in Washington. At year’s end, she was among the environmentalists who hailed LIPA’s plan to take an option to buy two outdated KeySpan power plants with an eye toward modernizing them.
Joseph Ficalora
CEO
New York Community Bancorp
Why sell when you can buy, buy, buy?
Fighting off investment bankers who urged the thrift to sell out after a turbulent 2004, Ficalora snapped back with two acquisitions of his own this year. Now his NYCB, which includes Roslyn Savings Bank, is one of the few financial institutions that still call Long Island home.
John Flanagan
State Senator
R-East Northport
The man who clinched Gyrodyne for CEWIT.
As the GOP tries gamely to hold onto its majority in the state Senate, John Flanagan’s seat in East Northport will figure large. If Flanagan, who has coasted to victory during his two-decade run in Albany, decides to seek re-election, he’ll face a national spokesperson for the disabled who’s considered a serious challenger. Flanagan’s tight with the locals, however, especially after securing Stony Brook’s taking of the Flowerfield property. And all that could be moot as the popular Flanagan mulls a run for higher state office.
Brian Foley
Supervisor-elect
Town of Brookhaven
Pulled off the impossible. Now comes the hard part.
Who does this Brian Foley guy think he is? Democrats haven’t run the Town of Brookhaven since, like, the Ulysses S. Grant administration, when along came Foley, a Suffolk County legislator, who blasted his GOP opponent out of the water. Of course, it helped that none of the voters trusted the Republican Party in Brookhaven. Now the hard work really comes. Foley has got to prove that he’s not just the other guy.
Patrick Foye
President and CEO
United Way of Long Island
Can he breathe new life into the United Way? Stay tuned.
A high-powered M&A lawyer with a big social conscience, Foye came to the United Way of Long Island with a vision to reshape its mission and, by extension, help more people. He got things rolling in 2005. And if his old pal Eliot Spitzer becomes top dog in Albany, expect the skids to get a good greasing.
Charles Fuschillo
State Senator
R-Freeport
Bringing home the bacon.
Fuschillo declined to challenge Tom Suozzi in 2005, but that doesn’t mean he’s been quiet. The Merrick Republican is using his chairmanship of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee to shield New Yorkers from cyber thieves, Internet fraudsters and automobile hucksters. What else do you expect from the champion of the Lemon Law and the guy who created the “Do Not Call” list?
Jack Gallagher
Interim CEO
Stony Brook University Hospital
He’s back. And we’re glad.
Whenever there’s need for real leadership in health care, all eyes automatically turn to Jack Gallagher. The architect of the North Shore-LIJ Health System was called in from his post in the Suozzi administration to fill in at Stony Brook University Hospital until a permanent replacement can be found. In his expected six months at the helm, Gallagher plans to start a Suffolk hospital system. If anyone can do it, he can.
Christopher Giamo
Senior Vice President
Commerce Bancorp
In the end, there will be a Commerce branch on every corner.
No bank has been more pushier and in-your-face than Commerce Bank, and Giamo is the guy five inches away. The bank’s tactics have led competitors to shift strategies and begin offering expanded weekend services – changing the way we all think of going to the bank.
Colin Goddard
CEO
OSI Pharmaceuticals
The hopes of bio-tech ride on his slim shoulders.
If Long Island is ever going to become the life sciences beacon some hope it will be, it will be because Colin Goddard and OSI have been holding the torch for so long. The region’s most successful biotech firm – if not the only one – saw its ups and downs in 2005, including a controversial purchase of drug-maker Eyetech late in the year. All we need is several dozen more biotech companies or so and lookout Route 128, hello Route 110.
Roslyn Goldmacher
President and CEO
Long Island Development Corp.
Taking her show on the road.
In business now for 25 years, Goldmacher has been an invaluable resource to Long Island small businesses needing that little extra push to make it to the next step. But that’s just the start. In 2005 she hammered out a deal to offer loans statewide.
Peter Goldsmith
President
Long Island Software and Technology Network
Keeping technology alive, and talking.
A LISTnet outpost in India? With technology making it almost as easy to do business on the other side of the world as across the street, that’s not such a bad idea. Whether it’s just a pipedream remains unclear, but hats off to Goldsmith for concocting the idea. The tech sector on Long Island hasn’t lived up to the promises of years back, but Goldsmith is a key player in keeping people connected. Need a tech job or a business partner? Give Peter a ring.
Amy Hagedorn
Philanthropist
She comes into her own.
The memory and mission of her late husband, Horace, founder of the Miracle-Gro garden products, lives on in Amy Hagedorn. Whether it’s helping to rejuvenate forgotten parks in Port Washington, giving a boost to a host of not-for-profits through a donation to the United Way of Long Island or her continued efforts to improve the region through Sustainable Long Island, Amy Hagedorn is not only influential, she’s a blessing.
Kemp Hannon
State Senator
R-Garden City
Big hand in health disbursem*nts that will grow only stronger.
As chairman of Senate Health Committee, Kemp wields considerable sway when it comes to Medicaid reform and the move to shutter under-performing hospitals throughout the state. Both issues saw growing interest in 2005 and will only grab more headlines in the year to come. As local health care officials will tell you, it’s reassuring to have someone on the home team.
James Harden
CEO
Catholic Health Services of
Long Island
With Dowling, he runs the hospitals.
Leading Long Island’s second biggest health system is no easy chore, especially when turning a profit is more difficult than performing brain surgery. To make ends meet, Harden streamlined the operation, shedding an ambulance operation to focus more on direct, hospital-based health care.
Katherine Heaviside
President
Epoch 5 Public Relations
Even Newsday uses her for crisis management.
One of the last remaining PR forces on the Island, Heaviside growing in stature by the year. Adding to several prestigious recent board appointments, she most recently became an LIA director – joining the most powerful assemblage of CEOs around.
Stan Henry
Long Island Media Group
Quietly rebuilding his media empire.
Henry, the guy who made millions trading ownership of This Week Publications twice, is building another empire in The South Bay’s Neighbor shopper chain, owned by LIMG. Close friends with just about every important decision maker on the Island, Henry took on a new venture this year by plunking down a robust amount of dough for a stake in Rogar Studios, which produces the PBS children’s show “Sheira & Loli’s Dittydoodle Works.”
For Henry, the media business is like child’s play.
John Hritcko
Senior Vice President
Broadwater Energy
He keeps the LNG proposal afloat.
The most remarkable thing about Hritcko is that he’s still standing. In the past year, just about every major political and environmental force of the Island has sounded their objection to the idea of anchoring a liquid natural gas terminal the size of a small mountain in the Long Island Sound. With the bucks of Big Oil behind him, Hritcko remains determined to plug into the region’s gas system, anyway.
Sal Ianuzzi
Interim President and CEO, CFO
Symbol Technologies
Steady as she goes.
After a tumultuous 2005 in which it lost its chief financial officer and chief executive office and rattled Wall Street with shaky financial forecasting, Symbol Technologies is looking to Sal Iannuzzi to provide some ballast. As CFO and interim CEO, the low-key Iannuzzi promises not to promise too much, a trait that could restore some luster to Symbol’s lagging share price.
Steve Israel
Congressman
D-Huntington
Growing nicely.
Israel has blossomed since jumping from the Huntington Town Board to the halls of the U.S. Capitol. Despite his minority party status, Israel has staked out winning positions on homeland security and biodefense. Now he’s coming into his own as an advocate for seniors. The only thing left to do, Mr. Congressman, is to persuade the rest of Washington to buy into your plan to eliminate the dreadful alternative-minimum tax.
Jay Jacobs
Chairman
Nassau County Democratic Committee
Reign maker.
Despite dire warnings of imminent demise, Nassau Democrats and their chairman, Jay Jacobs, had a great November. The party decisively held on the county executive’s office, the comptroller defied expectations to sail to re-election and the legislative Dems held on to their slim advantage. Biggest of all, fresh-faced prosecutor Kathleen Rice ousted three-decade incumbent DA Denis Dillon. About the only thing Jacobs didn’t do was deliver the Hempstead town supervisor’s seat. He didn’t walk on water, either.
Judy Jacobs
Majority Leader
Nassau County Legislature
The rose … with the fisted glove.
As leader of Nassau’s legislative Democrats, Judy Jacobs has held her narrow majority together when it counted while still not rubber-stamping Tom Suozzi’s every whim. If the county is starting to trend Democrat, she should share no small portion of the party’s praise. No good deed goes unpunished, though. She’s losing her seat of power at the start of ’06.
Peter Kalikow
Chairman
MTA
Fares well by refusing to bow to union.
He couldn’t sell the West Side rail yards to the Jets, but when push comes to shove, Kalikow doesn’t budge. When faced with a strike threat by transit workers over pension and health care costs, he threw in a “final offer” and sat back as the courts did the rest. No wonder there hadn’t been a transit strike since 1980. The fines will kill any resolve.
Pearl Kamer
Chief Economist
Long Island Association
School marm of the LI economy.
Kamer’s regular reports on the economy’s state of affairs serve as the basis for policy in both counties. Perhaps too optimistic earlier in the decade, she’s toned it down a bit. The outlook now: we’re screwed (our words).
John Kanas
Chairman, president and CEO
Former school teacher shows the big boys how it’s done.
Not content with being the biggest Long Island bank, Kanas says it’s only a matter of time before more branches are placed in New Jersey, a market North Fork entered via acquisition in 2004. North Fork also continues to expand throughout New York City.
Irwin Kellner
Chief Economist of … you name it
Still too conservative, but his jokes are better.
Perhaps the region’s best known economist, Kellner’s forecasts are digested by local and national audiences alike. He writes for MarketWatch.com, makes frequent visits to Cablevision’s News 12 studios and has John Kanas’ ear at North Fork Bank. And as a professor at Hofstra, he’s shaping the minds of tomorrow’s leaders as well.
Jack Kennedy
President, Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties
If you build it without union workers, he will come.
It’s nigh on impossible to construct anything on Long Island without the blessing of Jack Kennedy. His behind-the-scenes touch helped Charles Wang gain traction with the Lighthouse and Jerry Wolkoff with the Pilgrim State development. Kennedy’s reach extends beyond building, too, playing a pivotal role in Suffolk County’s new law forcing big-box stores to offer health-care coverage.
Shirley Strum Kenny
President
Stony Brook University
Reports of her professional demise were greatly exaggerated.
Last year rumors swirled that an unhappy Kenny was on her way out. This year, however, the Texas-born English- major-turned-school- administrator pulled off some the biggest deals of the year that will help expand the university’s mission and prestige. Most notably, she led the controversial charge to wrest hundreds of undeveloped neighboring acres away from a private company, where the university plans to build a tech park. She also negotiated to pay $35 million to Long Island University for Southampton College’s 81-acre campus. Stony Brook will build its programs there.
Moving on? We don’t see it.
Richard Kessel
Chairman
Long Island Power Authority
Power broker of the year.
He’s loud, but willing to listen to reason. Richie Kessel made a sound decision late in the year and opted not to buy KeySpan’s power plants, which would have loaded LIPA down with debt. He also decided to call a spade a spade, killing the fuel surcharge baloney and moving to raise rates the real way.
The KeySpan deal keeps him at the switch for a little while longer.
Peter King
Congressman
R-Seaford
Now the king of homeland security funding.
For a guy who should appear to be an endangered species, Peter King looks awfully healthy. The Democrats have accepted the inevitable and called off the dogs in 2006, ensuring that the only congressional Republican left on the Island will live to see another term. That could be because King now commands a powerful post as chairman of the House’s Homeland Security Committee. Hey, Mr. Congressman, now that you’ve got some say, can you wring some homeland security money out of Wyoming?
Timothy Knight
Publisher
Newsday
Tribune puppet or hatchet man? Does it matter?
Knight is still trying to dig the paper out of the circulation scandal morass and restore Newsday’s reputation. It’s a hard job made more difficult by morale problems. Newsday has obeyed its corporate parent and slashed jobs, shut down its Queens office and played hardball in contract negotiations with its 2,000 union staffers. There’s a sense that the paper needs to figure out what it’s going to be, since it clearly isn’t what it once was.
Kirk Kordeleski
CEO
Bethpage Federal Credit Union
When Kirk’s done, the banks will have restrictions.
Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s days of being a sleepy financial institution are long over. Under Kordeleski’s stewardship, Bethpage has more than doubled its assets to $2.2 billion, and more expansion is planned. Three to five more branches are on the way in 2006.
An active member of the Long Island Association, Kordeleski serves on the group’s board of directors and is the chair of its Affordable Housing Committee.
Emmett Laffey
CEO
Laffey Organization
Laffey’s family empire spreads.
Gold Coast realty giant Emmett Laffey started working at his family’s duo of realty offices in the late 80s. Now he oversees the Laffey Organization, a residential megalith that sells, mortgages and builds homes. Oh, the company also includes Laffey Corporate Services, a relocation company that’s the principal broker for the nation’s biggest relocation company and eRealty Title, which represents five national title underwriters.
Marsha Laufer
Chairwoman
Brookhaven Democratic Party
The donkey kicks in Brookhaven.
Brookhaven voters bucked tradition and, if voter registration numbers are accurate, their own party allegiances in putting Democrats in power on the town board. The Dems have the tireless and deep-pocketed Laufer to thank.
Kenneth LaValle
State Senator
R-Port Jefferson
Stony Brook’s biggest benefactor.
Need we say more about Ken LaValle’s patronage on behalf of Stony Brook U. than that his name graces the new stadium? The senator is always there to lend the campus a hand, and now he’s trying to help the school retain funding for the Brookhaven National Lab. But it’s not just about pork. LaValle cares about affordable housing, too. But is all this enough to propel the veteran to statewide office?
Kevin Law
Chief Deputy County Executive
Suffolk County
Keeps Levy’s diverse staff — especially the Machiavelian elements — playing mostly nice.
Suffolk County’s man behind the curtain, Chief Deputy County Executive Kevin Law has had his hands in everything, from making his boss look good to empowering the Long Island Regional Planning Board to steering Brian Foley’s transition into the Brookhaven town supervisor’s chair. The former Nixon Peabody managing partner ran Suffolk’s economic development department before it had a leader, and he could probably run your business, too, if he didn’t already work 12-hour-plus days.
Steve Levy
Suffolk County Executive
With Dem control of the Legislature, he’s suddenly the king of cats.
After a rocky start, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy is starting to hit his stride. He made nice with legislative Republicans to preserve more pristine East End land and get a budget that actually lowers spending. His affordable-housing message is getting heard, and now he’s beginning to pay attention to Suffolk’s big immigrant labor problem. He doesn’t have to make nice anymore, too, since the Suffolk Legislature is now in Democrat hands. Start your engines.
Gary Lewi
Executive Vice President
Rubenstein Associates
Only because he refuses to admit he has any influence.
Sorry, Gary. You made it on the list again.
Lewi is a behind-the-scenes master. Ironically, just about everyone knows it. Proof of his influence this year: Lewi’s client list includes three of the four contenders to redevelop the Nassau Hub.
Carl Marcellino
State Senator
R-Syosset
A Long Island heavyweight in Albany.
Mr. Brownfields, state Sen. Carl Marcellino works the environmental angle for Senate Republicans. So what if the brownfields law is slow getting out the box? Marcellino is a big player in Island political circles.
Jim McCann
Chairman and CEO
1-800-Flowers.com
The inventor of online retail is stalking the world.
In May, McCann oversaw the Nasdaq’s opening bell as Flowers continued its transformation into a gift business that provides a more steady earnings profile than the core flower business. As the year wound down, the company was integrating two recent acquisitions, the WineTasting Network and Cheryl&Co, a cookie and gift business. All providing proof that a former social worker can find success as an e-entrepreneur.
Carolyn McCarthy
Congresswoman
D-Mineola
An emerging star in education and health care.
Democrat U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy earned her reputation as the biggest backer of the Nassau Hub. She’s flourished in Congress, however, staking out leading positions on health care, education and, most recently, proposed tax code changes that would smash Long Island’s real estate market.
Moke McGowan
President
Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau
Still work to do.
In 2005, McGowan had the brass to voice concern about an overbuilding of hotels – the agency’s bread and butter support – and launched a marketing campaign to attract outside tourists. He’s still working to regain the trust of Nassau and Suffolk lawmakers after the unceremonious exit of former leader Michael Hollander, but that’s coming along … gradually.
Pete McGowan
Supervisor
Town of Islip
He starts his final year in office with a contentious board, but in 2005, he reigned Islip supreme.
Islip Town Supervisor Pete McGowan is a lightning rod of controversy. Members of his own party hate him, some love him and, though it might be slipping, his iron grip on the GOP in Suffolk is still a force to be reckoned with. Also, everyone respects his airport. The airport could prove to be his undoing, however, as the Suffolk DA launches a probe into shady contracts at the newly renovated launching pad.
C. Kenneth Morelly
President
Long Island Forum for Technology
Manufacturing clings to him.
LIFT’s mandate to provide assistance to technology and manufacturing companies means Ken Morrelly has his fingers in enough pies to feed a hungry Little League team. LIFT continues to push a regional homeland security initiative and alliances that encourage larger Long Island defense contractors to use local subcontractors. For Morrelly, that likely means more shuttles to Albany and Washington in 2006.
Henry Mund
Regional Director
Empire State Development Corp.
The man with Gargano’s ear and, occasionally, his money.
When firms consider moving in or moving out of Long Island, they turn to Mund before pulling the switch. With the blessing of Chairman Charles Gargano, he’s the guy who usually has a package of juicy tax rebates waiting to keep them here for as long as possible.
With the governor’s race ahead, whether Mund keeps his longtime gig is far from a sure thing.
William Francis Murphy
Bishop
Diocese of Rockville Centre
He must be blessed.
Calling for unity is easier said than done after allegations that Bishop Murphy helped protect priests who abused children during his time in Boston. At least one group has called for his resignation, but Bishop Murphy is undaunted. He remains the spiritual leader of more than 1 million Catholic Long Islanders, with a still-strong support base.
Kate Murray
Supervisor
Town of Hempstead
The last Republican standing in Nassau.
On Nov. 8, when her GOP colleagues were dropping like flies, Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray might as well have been sipping daiquiris. The GOP’s monolithic control of the town government shows few signs of losing steam, and the secure perch may prove a springboard to the county executive’s seat in 2008, which would make her the first woman to hold the position.
Bill O’Reilly
TV/radio show host
I’m OK; you’re a Communist.
While many Long Islanders are influential locally, Bill O’Reilly is a national phenomenon. The avowed “independent” who insists “the spin stops here” – but the opinions don’t – this year crusaded against charities slow to disburse funds, pushed for cuts in energy consumption and continued as a best-selling author. In more than nine years, he has become an opinion maker who, like it or not, shapes the views of millions.
Mitch Pally
VP/Governmental Affairs
Long Island Association
The engine that keeps the LIA running.
The nuts-and-bolts doer of the LIA, Pally is widely respected for his institutional knowledge of all things Albany, which he uses to help direct policy decisions by lawmakers and business groups following similar agendas. When a high-powered board or committee seat is open, Pally is consistently at the top of the list.
Ron Parr
President
Parr Organization
A legacy year (again) for the master builder.
Just because Ron Parr doesn’t work overtime to get himself into the press doesn’t mean the Ronkonkoma developer isn’t newsworthy. After years of his lobbying, the Touro Law Center in Central Islip is about to open and he’s working with Suffolk County Community College to build a culinary school in downtown Riverhead – an area he also proposes to redevelop.
Michael Pascucci
Chairman
WLNY/55
Building the world’s most expensive links.
Anyone who can get Jack Nicklaus to build a golf course has to wield significant power. And what links they will be. Pascucci, the chairman of TV55 and Telecare, plans to charge $650,000 for membership. Several of the Island’s richest rich have already handed over that sum to play at Sebonak, opening next year in Southampton.
Shirley Pippins
President
Suffolk County Community College
Brings national stature, mega grants to old SCCC.
At $213,200, Shirley Pippins is the highest paid official in Suffolk County. But expertise, the school’s board says, comes at a price, and it likes the direction Pippins is taking. So, too, does the Suffolk Legislature, which unanimously overturned County Executive Steve Levy’s vetoes for an increase of $1.4 million in county spending to the school for its 2005-2006 budget.
Stuart Rabinowitz
President
Hofstra University
LI’s best private university helps us understand Bill.
There’s no ivory tower-like isolation for Rabinowitz, who leads his school and is a leader on Long Island. Under his watch, Hofstra this year launched new MBAs in healthcare, opened a high-tech trading room, installed a new law school dean and brought former President Bill Clinton to town for a Clinton conference. Talk about clout. He also weighed in on issues, such as which project to support for the Nassau hub, showing he doesn’t believe in a separation between school and state, town and gown.
Scott Rechler
Chairman and CEO
Reckson Associates Realty Corp.
Wang’s new buddy, and so much more.
Though born into a real estate dynasty, Scott Rechler has shown his job is more than a birthright – especially in 2005. The Reckson chief controls most of Long Island’s premium office space. The Melville company boasts an eye-popping portfolio that includes Long Island’s trophy – the recently-acquired EAB Plaza. Reckson also joined forces with Charles Wang to redevelop the Coliseum site, a project likely to shape Long Island for decades to come.
Rev. Allan Ramirez
Advocate for immigrants
Standing up for an economic class.
Undocumented immigrant workers are the quiet workers behind the Long Island economy, but when they speak it’s most often through the voice of Rev. Allan Ramirez. An activist whose work was dismissed by some pols as both “Communist” and “anarchist,” Ramirez sticks up for the silent minority, taking aim at police tactics, zoning laws and anyone who tries to scapegoat immigrants. Meanwhile, business execs wonder how it will all play out.
Brad Rock
Chairman and CEO
Smithtown Bancorp
At home, a national banking leader.
When Rock speaks, Washington listens. The chief executive of the Bank of Smithtown is also the new vice chairman of the American Bankers Association. Pet project: Getting the Feds to cut down on what he calls unnecessary regulations.
Back home Rock also continues to watch over Bank of Smithtown’s growth and diversification. In 2004, it made its first foray into the insurance business. Next year, at least three new branches are on tap.
Thomas Rosati
District Manager
US Postal Service
Nothing keeps him from his appointed rounds.
In rain and snow, Thomas Rosati, the Island’s prince of packages, ensures the mail arrives. As the Postal Services’ Long Island district manager, Rosati oversees a billion-dollar market that employs thousands. With stamps increasing 2 cents Jan. 8 and more bills being paid online, Rosati, a Vietnam vet, strives to remind the Island the USPS remains first class.
Desmond Ryan
Executive Director
Association for a Better
Long Island
A man is known by his associations.
When the Association for a Better Long Island throws an event, in troop are the Island’s top developers, lawyers, property owners and brokers. And at every open soiree, longtime chief Desmond Ryan makes sure he greets every guest. As one of the region’s most powerful behind-the-scene players, Ryan’s ABLI helped force Nassau to open the Coliseum’s redevelopment to bidders, ensuring the controversial wasn’t earmarked for Charles Wang.
Richard Schaffer
Chairman
Suffolk Democratic Party
A real party animal.
As chairman of the Suffolk Democratic Party, Rich Schaffer likes to say that the politicians should worry about policy — let him worry about the politics. They’re listening. Under Schaffer’s care, the party has flowered from its town roots in Babylon into the driving force in county government. Schaffer won just about every race that mattered in November, and now state party leaders are starting to pay attention.
Peter Schmitt
Nassau Minority Leader
Keeping tabs on Suozzi.
Whether he’s in the majority or the minority, being an effective voice is an art that Peter Schmitt has learned to relish. The leader of Nassau’s legislative Republicans pulls no punches when taking on his opponents. And that outspoken air makes him quotable and a favorite of the press – and of his loyal followers. He could’ve used more of the latter in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Tom Suozzi.
Robert Scott
President
Adelphi University
After cleaning up Adelphi, he takes to the airwaves.
After heading Ramapo College for about 15 years, Scott became Adelphi’s ninth president in 2000. Since then, Adelphi’s undergraduate enrollment has grown by more than 40 percent and alumni giving has increased six-fold. Scott’s philosophy of an “engaged” university has resulted in programs like a teleconference with students at the University of Tehran.
Yacov Shamash
Dean
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Stony Brook University
The Dean breaks (new) ground.
When the ceremonial shovel breaks ground this spring for the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Internet Technology, Stony Brook will be building its status as a world-class research university and business incubator. Last November the hard-charging school used the controversial doctrine of “eminent domain” to find a home for CEWIT by picking up a nearby 246-acre parcel owned by Gyrodyne Co. of America. Aside from that, Shamash will continue to exert a strong pull on the direction of technology policy through his positions on the boards of LIFT, the HIA, LISTnet and several corporations.
James Simons
Renaissance Technologies
Looking for another code to break.
He’s a math whiz and military code breaker whose hedge-fund genius makes him worth $2.7 billion (83d richest American, according to Forbes Magazine). But Simons likes to spend locally, as in the $11 million he’s given to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to help find the genetic basis of autism. And look out for the launch of a new fund.
Dean Skelos
Deputy Majority Leader
State Senate
… And in this corner.
He’s lithe and limber, but up in the Albany ring he’s a heavyweight among heavyweights. Skelos’ punch can be felt back home where his power ripples through local politics. He keeps his mitts on the state’s purse, too, as the No. 2 man behind Joseph Bruno. Primed for a fight, Skelos faces a tough one this year as an out-of-shape GOP struggles to keep control of the Senate.
James Smith
Chairman
EDO Corp.
Thanks to terrorism, they’re baaack.
Big battle, small battle, EDO is ready for all comers. Smith continues to position the firm as crucial supplier to prime military contractors. On the cutting edge, its vertical ejection missile launchers are ready for the next generation fighter, the F/A-22 Raptor. On the ground today, its Warlock jamming devices take out roadside bombs in Iraq. The former chairman of the Long Island Association, Smith continues as an influence in defense circles.
Thomas Spota
District Attorney
Suffolk County
Tilting the scales of justice.
Tough prosecutor Tom Spota is liked – or feared – enough that both Democrats and Republicans backed him for re-election. With some more wind in his sails, the DA has set up a political corruption bureau which could be a growth industry on Long Island.
Bruce Stillman
Director and CEO
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories
Genius … without all that Nobel baggage.
Prompted by such hard-chargers as Stillman, the National Institutes of Health announced a project to map the cancer genome. Cold Spring Harbor is expected to play a central role in the $1-billion-plus effort. The target: Mapping the genetic abnormalities that turn normal cells cancerous.
Tom Suozzi
Nassau County Executive
He’s running.
In five years Suozzi has gone from an afterthought to a headline. After taking over the family job as Mayor of Glen Cove, the young politician then morphed into Nassau County exec and, perhaps, the Island’s most powerful politician. Last fall he annihilated his competition and swept his party along for a power-shifting ride. Now the boy from the ‘burbs is preparing to take on the big city’s Eliot Spitzer for the governorship.
John Swainson
CEO
CA
Batting clean up.
Less than a year since becoming CEO, Swainson already has left his mark on the company. For one thing, the software firm, formerly known as Computer Associates, now is just CA. More substantively, CA has been partitioned into five business units responsible for profits and losses. In July, the company announced plans to trim 800 jobs worldwide by year’s end. The company also has been busy as an acquirer, buying iLumin, an e-mail security software firm, PestPatrol, a maker of anti-spyware programs, Netegrity, a security software developer, and Concord Communications, a network service software provider.
Roger Tilles
Director
Tilles Investment Co.
He’s gone from buildings to education.
After the sale of his family’s huge office portfolio for more than $300 million, Roger Tilles is doing more than monitor his fortune. A philanthropic powerhouse, he’s now the Long Island delegate to the state Board of Regents. He’s also quietly a backing a new arts council in Suffolk, which complements his work for the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at C.W. Post.
“Walter”
His identity may forever remain a mystery.
It was the call that knocked out the Fight for Charity. Hours before the bell was set to ring on the most anticipated fund-raiser of the year, a man calling himself “Walter” dialed the state Athletic Commission claiming that an illegal boxing event was on the cards that night. In came state liquor authority officials to swiftly pull the plug.
A second try is slated for Jan. 19. Unless Walter has something to say about it.
Charles Wang
Co-owner
New York Islanders
Is his Hub project a beacon … or bats in the belfry?
Charles Wang’s New York Islanders spent much of the year on ice – a hockey lockout cancelled the 2004 – 2005 season, leaving the Nassau Coliseum dark and empty. But off the ice, the former CA chief continued to aggressively pitch the redevelopment of the area surrounding the old Nassau Coliseum. The controversial centerpiece would be LI’s first true skyscraper, a 60-story mixed-use development that he dubbed the Lighthouse. Others have their own ideas. Fellow sports-club owner Fred Wilpon of the Mets has teamed up with the Blumenfelds on a plan that includes a minor league baseball stadium.
No matter who wins, Wang, the new owner of the Long Island Marriott, will benefit.
Howard Weitzman
Nassau County Comptroller
A real audit-tee.
In the world of government, audits send shivers down the spines of our elected officials. So Weitzman must be their worst nightmare. Weitzman won re-election in a hotly contested race against Don Clavin. He makes news with his audits, too, like the one about sanitary districts where he alleges they were paying “full-time salaries for part-time work.” He’s also a player in the state comptroller’s ongoing audits of school districts on the Island.
David J. Wilmott
Editor and Publisher
Suffolk Life Newspapers
No reason why not.
With a circulation of 545,000, no paper puts out more copies than Suffolk Life. The paper’s editorial page is the Island’s leading cheerleader for GOP causes. But after a 2005 bloodbath, is anyone listening?
Harry Withers
Chairman
Suffolk County Republican Committee
The only way is up for the GOP.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, so the gods might cut Harry Withers some slack as he tries to rebuild the empire once known as the Suffolk County Republican party. No time to lose, Democrat mobs already are storming the final few citadels. Despite Suffolk County’s legacy as a GOP stronghold, Withers is pretty much starting this Herculean task from scratch.
Gerald Wolkoff
Principal
Heartland Development
Thinking big, acting bigger.
He helped build Long Island’s biggest industrial park and then spearheaded a second one in Edgewood. But for No. 3, he wants something radically different: A “town” to replace the ugly old Pilgrim State Psychiatric hospital. A multi-billion dollar complex brimming with shops, offices and housing won’t happen overnight – nothing ambitious ever does around here – but politicians and the public seem supportive.
