Passing For Knowledge

Charles Wang, owner of the New York Islanders, has been taking some major losses trying to keep the franchise afloat. The team’s viability in Long Island hinges on Wang’s ability to build a new stadium/shopping/condo/hotel megaplex.

Wang ran into some problems, though. Kate Murray, the Hempstead Town Supervisor who oversees the re-zoning necessary for the project to go through, had no support for the project up until recently. Wang was threatening to bail on Long Island all together if he didn’t get the project. It’s hard to blame him, and even harder to understand Murray’s opposition. Who wouldn’t want to keep a team that won 4 Stanley Cups in the 1980’s, in a county with an otherwise stagnant economy?

But tucked in the supporter’s push for this project is a vision for a new suburban model. (more…)