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2015 LONG ISLAND PRESS POWER LIST
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2015 POWER LIST HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES PAGE 8 COMPLETE POWER LIST HALL OF FAME PAGE 22 2015 POWER LIST HONOREES PAGE 28
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2015 LONG ISLAND PRESS POWER LIST
Long Island Press and the Long Island Press Power List is owned by Morey Publishing, LLC. © 2016 All rights reserved. 516 284-3300 | www.moreypublishing.com 6901 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 215, Syosset NY, 11791
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A MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER
WELCOME TO THE POWER LIST A little history before we begin this edition… The very first Power List issue was actually the inaugural issue of the Long Island Press alternative weekly in January of 2003. To be honest, it was somewhat of a gimmick; a way to gain attention for our fledgling news product in a market that had seen scores of publications come and go over the years, including the original daily version of the Long Island Press, which ceased publication in 1977. We chose the name as homage to this once proud daily that served Queens and Nassau County before a newcomer named Newsday stormed onto the scene and eventually crowded the daily Press out of the market. The Power List was our announcement to the Island that we had arrived and had no intention of being pushed around by Newsday. We played the David versus Goliath angle to the hilt. And in many ways, it worked. We kept the Newsday team on their toes by beating them to important stories and beating our chests when we did. Childish? Perhaps. But being the brash newcomer with a chip on our shoulder was a fun role. We were hungry and it made them better. We still have a chip on our shoulder, but so much has changed since 2003. For one, we are no longer in print. The world migrated fully online, and we followed suit by going strictly digital nearly two years ago. As a result, our audience grew substantially, though the product itself became less tangible. It’s a strange feeling, to be sure, but what matters most is the increased level of engagement our readers have demonstrated since we made this decision. Our editorial team is as hungry, curious, and determined as ever, though diminished in personnel and resources. We make up for this by focusing on important stories that no one else will tell. So we never did return the favor by putting Newsday out of business. Sure, they’ve seen bigger and better days, but Newsday remains the central news voice in our market. The one constant that remains for us at the Press is the Power List. And so here we are once again, displaying our choices for the 50 most influential people on Long Island. Every year the list stokes a good deal of outrage and commentary. Though we’re used to it by now, the feelings inspired by the list still intrigue us. I suspect much of the angst that surrounds the Power
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2015 LONG ISLAND PRESS POWER LIST
JED MOREY IS THE PUBLISHER OF THE LONG ISLAND PRESS AND PRESIDENT OF MOREY PUBLISHING
List is a reflection of Long Island’s frustration with the power structure, and status quo. But as we remind our readers each year, the list is a mirror, not a wish list. Several of the honorees on this list are protagonists in our stories throughout the year. Some are the antagonists. Regardless of our editorial relationship with a subject, the Power List is our honest assessment of the honoree’s impact on our daily lives. To be considered for the Power List, one must live on Long Island and wield demonstrable influence over some aspect of our daily lives. Some honorees are recognized only once, a callout to a particular achievement that changed a circumstance or altered the landscape. Others are perennial choices due to their continuing influence. It’s important to recognize that the characteristics normally associated with power—money, fame, position—don’t always guarantee a position on the list. We’re more interested in what someone does with the power they have earned or perhaps been given. One can hold a high position or possess great wealth but do remarkably little with it. Conversely, one may have little in the way of possessions or fame but make an enormous impact on our perspective. We are indebted to the team at Canon U.S.A. for hosting our event this year. Moreover, as Long Islanders, we’re grateful for their investment in our future and the economic health of the region. Their decision to remain on Long Island when so many markets were attempting to woo them away is something we can all rally behind. That was a power move. We dedicate this issue to the folks at Canon as thanks for sticking by us and honor their spirit of innovation as our central theme this year. We would also like to thank the companies that supported this edition and the loyal readers who have supported us throughout the years. Personally, I would like to thank the Long Island Press and Morey Publishing team. I’ve stood on your shoulders for years, while looking up to you the entire time.
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Congratulations to all of this year’s Long Island Press 2016 Power List and to the members of our Long Island Association Board of Directors for being honored, including: Linda Armyn, Kimberly Cline, Robert Coughlan, Tracey Edwards, Doon Gibbs, Katherine Heaviside, Seymour Liebman, Stuart Rabinowitz, Samuel Stanley and Bruce Stillman. To learn more, call 631-493-3020 or visit Longislandassociation.org
Kevin S. Law President & CEO
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John Cameron has come a long way since graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point. The avid surfer, runner, and political aficionado is no doubt one of the first people elected officials call for advice when contemplating important decisions regarding planning on Long Island—long considered the place where lofty residential or private sector projects meet resistance, whether it’s from local municipalities or residents with important quality of life concerns. Cameron, founder and managing partner of Cameron Engineering & Associates, is three decades into his mission to improve living conditions on Long Island and foster economic growth. Cameron has not shown any sign of slowing down. He’s also received accolades for his philanthropic efforts and dedication to the region as a whole. Cameron has parlayed his success to appointments on several boards, including the Long Island Regional Planning Council and the Long Island STEM Hub in support of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education.
2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
JOHN CAMERON, FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER OF CAMERON ENGINEERING & ASSOCIATES
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Ritz Carlton Baltimore
TONH Community Center
Morrelly Homeland Security Center
FDNY
Congratulations To My Fellow Members Of The 2015 Power List!
Hofstra/NSLIJ School of Medicine
Rubie Corporate Plaza
Glen Oaks Campus
Widex Headquarters
St. Joseph’s College Athletic Complex
St. John’s University Moot Court
Smithtown Solar Photovoltaics
John D. Cameron, Jr., P.E. "2015 Hall of Fame Inductee" Managing Partner
CAMERON ENGINEERING “CELEBRATING OVER 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING & ENGINEERING”
Sacred Heart Academy
Lifetime Brands
Manorhaven Beach Park Pool Complex
LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONALS NEW YORK, NY
WOODBURY, NY
WHITE PLAINS, NY
www.cameronengineering.com South Nassau Communities Hospital
Molloy College
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Bookspan/Doubleday
Suffolk County Minor League Stadium
Museum of American Armor
North Shore Hebrew Academy
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Patrick Foye PATRICK FOYE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY
Before Gov. Andrew Cuomo named Patrick Foye executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2011, he played an important role in New York State’s economic recovery following the Great Recession, and dutifully served Nassau County residents as deputy county executive under Ed Mangano. Foye was the logical pick to oversee the region’s bridges, tunnels, airports and the 16-acre World Trade Center site—which includes One World Trade Center, the soaring skyscraper dubbed “The Freedom Tower.” Foye, who previously practiced law in New York, Brussels, Budapest, and Moscow, displayed a keen ability to get things done while serving as the governor’s deputy secretary of Economic Development, a position that allowed him to manage the state’s recovery from near economic calamity. Foye may have made his name as a senior member of the management team of a S&P 500 REIT and as partner at Skadden Arps prior to joining the Port Authority, but it’s his dedication to the Island and the entire state that has drawn long overdue praise. Foye also had a stint on the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and for three years was at the helm of the United Way of Long Island. Ask anyone who had worked with him and they’ll tell you that Foye will be missed when he leaves the Port Authority once a successor is put in place. Whoever he or she is, they’ll have big shoes to fill.
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CONGRATULATIONS to
Seymour Liebman from your friends and colleagues at Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto
www.fitzpatrickcella.com // New York // Washington // California
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE EDWARD MANGANO, NASSAU COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Forever Bethpage’s favorite son, Edward Mangano humbly began his professional career as a janitor, working hard to put himself through college in pursuit of a law degree. Once achieving his academic dreams, he set out to fulfill his life’s mission: to improve the lives of Bethpage residents and all Nassau County residents, as a county legislator. A true man of the people, he served in this capacity for seven terms, fighting relentlessly to help revitalize the former GrummanNavy property in his hometown, among other initiatives, and weighing in on countless countywide policies with the sole objective of making a positive difference. As Nassau’s top elected official, county executive, Mangano has continued implementing projects and programs he believes are in the best interest of its 1.3 million residents, all the while doing his best to also keep a hold on their exorbitant property taxes—no easy task, by any stretch. When the chips are down, no matter what they may represent—fiscal calamity, environmental catastrophe, political hijinks, or otherwise—Nassau County residents know they’ve got “Ed” in their corner, and he’s doing the very best he can, to make their county great.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Michael Posillico was barely out of college when he joined the family engineering firm—Posillico Construction—and almost immediately showed his muster. The Clemson University grad got started right away by working in the family firm’s estimating department before rising to become project manager—a pivotal promotion for the young Posillico, because it put him on track to work on important jobs, such as the nighttime reconstruction of the Long Island Expressway, and construction of the Northern State Parkway and Meadowbrook Parkway Interchange. Little did we know it, but Posillico was improving traveling conditions for us all. But his focus wasn’t solely on local roads. Eventually, Posillico’s portfolio of projects expanded to include environmental remediation projects and the restoration of contaminated waterfront properties. By transforming contaminated waterfront areas into burgeoning communities, Posillico is investing in the future of this delicate Island so future generations have vibrant places to live and work. Posillico is also president of the Farmingdale College Foundation and works tirelessly to ensure the Posillico Foundation—the firm’s charitable arm—continues to improve the lives of each and every resident who calls this Island home.
Michael Posillico MICHAEL POSILLICO, EXECUTIVE VP STRATEGIC BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OF POSILLICO, INC.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Jeffrey Reynolds JEFFREY REYNOLDS, PRESIDENT & CEO OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S ASSOCIATION
The fight to end the scourge that is heroin and other highly addictive drugs has been at the core of everything Jeffrey Reynolds has done over the last decade and more. Reynolds is an advocate for people suffering through drug dependence and is leading the charge against the Island’s heroin epidemic—which, despite all the progress that’s been made, still threatens communities across the region. But Reynolds is undaunted. There’s no one better equipped to battle the scourge than Reynolds, who for five years served as executive director of nonprofit Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) before taking on a larger role as president and CEO of Family and Children’s Association (FCA)—a nonprofit committed to caring for the most vulnerable among us and helping them prepare for successful futures. Anyone who has battled drug addiction in the past knows they have a true champion in Reynolds, who will not only go to bat for people battling dependence and ensure the mechanisms are in place to help them recover, but he also has no problem taking on elected officials who threaten to cut funding for important programs designed to improve lives.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
This Seattle transplant and Harvard Medical School grad has had no problem ingratiating himself to Long Islanders, thanks to his endearing personality and the pivotal role he’s played in fostering innovation at one of the country’s most prestigious academic and research institutions, Stony Brook University. The school’s fifth president, Dr. Stanley has been busy since taking the job in 2011: He successfully lobbied state lawmakers to pass legislation that will allow Stony Brook to hire 240 new faculty members over the next several years. He’s made fundraising a top priority, and under his guidance, the university has generated $4.7 billion annually in regional economic impact. Dr. Stanley’s passion is not limited to Stony Brook University. Under his leadership, the school also launched a program dubbed “Discovery Fund” to raise money for sorely needed scientific research projects. The distinguished biomedical researcher is also co-chair of Brookhaven Science Associates, which co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory, and he additionally serves on the board of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. It goes without saying that Long Island is beyond lucky to have one of the greatest minds in the country leading this prestigious, local institution to new heights. SAMUEL L. STANLEY, JR., PRESIDENT OF STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY
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We Proudly Salute Power List Hall of Fame Inductee
Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD President, Stony Brook University
for his tireless commitment to transforming Stony Brook, Long Island and the world
And Congratulate All the
2015 Long Island Press Power List Hall of Fame Inductees
Stony Brook University/SUNY is an affirmative action, equal opportunity educator and employer. 16021136
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
An expert in DNA replication— a critical process ensuring the accurate inheritance of genetic material from one generation to the next—Dr. Bruce Stillman has dedicated his life to solving the very mysteries that determine who, and what, we are as human beings. As president and chief executive of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. Stillman has helped shape contemporary biomedical research and education—spanning neuroscience, cancer, quantitative and plant biology, among so many other fields—and consequentially, has helped improve all of mankind by unlocking the very secrets, and essence, of life. With Dr. Stillman at the helm, it’s no wonder that Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has been ranked No. 1 in the world for the impact of its research in molecular biology and genetics.
BRUCE STILLMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO OF COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY
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L O C A T I O N S
W O R L D W I D E˚
Congratulations Richard A. Rosenbaum and Greenberg Traurig proudly congratulate our friend Seymour Liebman for being recognized by Long Island Press as one of the 50 most influential Long Islanders. We admire your commitment to Long Island and the positive impact you have made on the business community. Congratulations to all of the influential Long Islanders.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP | MetLife Building | 200 Park Avenue | New York, NY 10166 | 212.801.9200
G R E E N B E RG T R A U R I G , L L P | AT TO R N E YS AT L AW | W W W.G T L AW.CO M Greenberg Traurig is a service mark and trade name of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, P.A. ©2015 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Attorneys at Law. All rights reserved. Contact: Richard A. Rosenbaum in New York at 212.801.9200. °These numbers are subject to fluctuation. 26953
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2015
Any Long Island Press Power Listers who have graced the list at least five times are honored here on the elite Power List Hall of Fame. Caricatures by Norman Sonne / Faces by Norm www.gardensidegraphics.com
2008
Michael Balboni
Redland Strategies President & Managing Director
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2008
Bob Catell
Retired National Grid USA Executive Chairman
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Alfonse D’Amato
Former U.S. Senator/Park Strategies Founder
2008
Gary Dela Raba
Former President of the Nassau County PBA
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POWER LIST HALL OF FAME 2008
Thomas DiNapoli
2008
Arthur “Jerry” Kremer
2008
2008
Joseph Mondello
Bishop William Murphy
New York State Comptroller
Empire Government Strategies Chairman
Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman
Diocese of Rockville Centre
2008
2008
2008
2008
Richard Schaffer
Dean Skelos
Thomas Spota
Shirley Strum-Kenny
Suffolk County Democratic Committee Chairman/ Babylon Town Supervisor
Former New York State Senate Majority Leader (R-Rockville Centre)
Suffolk County District Attorney
Former President of Stony Brook University
2008
2008
2008
2008
Thomas Suozzi
Former Nassau County Executive
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The Skolnick-Sky Family: Charlotte Sky, Vic (Deceased) & Dylan Skolnick Co-directors of Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre
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2008
2009
Charles Wang
New York Islanders Owner
Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center Executive Director
Former Suffolk County Legislature Majority Leader (D-Lloyd Harbor)
Former Suffolk County Executive
2009
2009
2010
2010
Kate Murray
Rev. Allan Ramirez
Laura Ahearn
2009
Jon Cooper
Evelyn Ain
Former Town of Hempstead Supervisor
Retired Brookville Reformed Church Pastor
Autism United President, Spectrum Magazine Publisher
2010
2010
2010
Steve Israel
U.S. Representative (D-Dix Hills)
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Jay Jacobs
Nassau County Democratic Chairman
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Richard Kessel
Former New York Power Authority President & CEO
2009
Steve Levy
Jeff Frayler
Former Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association President 2010
Kevin Law
Long Island Association President
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POWER LIST HALL OF FAME 2010
2010
2011
David Mejias
Former Nassau County Legislator (D-Farmingdale)
Robert Zimmerman
Zimmerman-Edelson, Inc. Co-founder and Partner
Rev. Calvin O. Butts, III President of SUNY Old Westbury
Alure Home Improvements President
2011
2011
2011
2011
Peter King
Jerry Laricchiuta
Frank MacKay
U.S. Representative (R-Seaford)
Nassau County Civil Service Employees Association Local 830 President
Independence Party of Suffolk County, New York State and the National Independence Party of America Chairman
2012
2012
2012
Bill O’Reilly
Nancy Rauch Douzinas
Michael Dowling
Northwell Health President & CEO
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Fox News Commentator
Rauch Foundation President
2011
Sal Ferro
Kathleen Rice
U.S. Congresswoman (D-Garden City) 2012
Bill Savino
Managing Partner, Rivkin Radler, LLP
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2012
James Simons
2013
2013
Steve Bellone
Resi Cooper
2013
James Dolan
Renaissance Technologies, Inc. Founder and Board Chairman
Suffolk County Executive
CooperHill LLC President
Cablevision President & CEO
2013
2013
2013
2013
Hubert Keen
Kirk Kordeleski
Gary Melius
Stuart Rabinowitz
Farmingdale State College President
Kordeleski Consulting Founder & President
Oheka Castle Hotel & Estate Owner
Hofstra University President
2013
2013
2013
2014
Scott Rechler
RXR Realty Chairman & CEO
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Desmond Ryan
Association for a Better Long Island Executive Director
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Peter Schmitt
Late Nassau County Presiding Officer (R-Massapequa)
James Carver
Nassau County Police Benevolent Association President
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POWER LIST HALL OF FAME 2014
Charles Vigliotti
American Organic Energy & Long Island Compost President & CEO 2015
Michael Posillico
Posillico Group Executive VP Strategic Business Development
2015
John Cameron
Cameron Engineering Founder & Managing Partner 2015
Jeffrey Reynolds
Family and Children’s Association President & CEO
2015
Patrick Foye
Port Authority of NY & NJ Executive Director 2015
Samuel Stanley
Stony Brook University President
2015
Edward Mangano Nassau County Executive
2015
Bruce Stillman
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory President & CEO
Congratulations TO THIS YEAR’S AND ALL PREVIOUS HONOREES!
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2012
Michael Dowling MICHAEL DOWLING, PRESIDENT & CEO OF NORTHWELL HEALTH (FORMERLY NORTH SHORE-LIJ HEALTH SYSTEM)
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1 Long Island’s medical mogul started humbly in County Limerick, and there’s still a touch of Irish brogue on his tongue that becomes especially noticeable when he’s talking excitedly about his expansion plans for Northwell Health, formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System, which he joined in 1995. Under his visionary leadership, it’s grown to be the 14th largest health system in the nation, and the largest private employer in New York State, with some 61,000 employees, 21 hospitals, and annual revenue of $8 billion. From his headquarters in Manhasset, Dowling oversees a vast empire that stretches from Suffolk County to Westchester, from New Jersey to Connecticut. It includes the innovative Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, the world-renowned Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, an extensive ambulance transport system, and even an affordable health insurance company. The prognosis is looking very good.
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North Shore-LIJ is now Northwell Health
Northwell Health honors
the Long Island Press 2015 Power List Hall of Fame inductees for their influential and impactful contributions to the Long Island community.
Congratulations to
Stanley Bergman Patrick Foye Michael Posillico John Cameron Hon. Edward Mangano Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds Dr. Samuel Stanley
And our partner
Dr. Bruce Stillman Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Mark L. Claster Chairman, Board of Trustees Michael J. Dowling President and Chief Executive Officer
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JAMES SIMONS, FOUNDER OF RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES CORP. & CHAIRMAN OF THE SIMONS FOUNDATION
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2012
James Simons Although he retired six years ago, Simons still ranks No. 32 among American billionaires and No. 76 globally within Forbes’ list of the top billionaires, and reportedly remains involved in the mega-successful East Setauket-based hedge fund Renaissance Technologies that he founded more than 30 years ago. Known as the “Quant King” for his being a rock star among quantitative analysts on Wall Street, Simons is also a renowned philanthropist, who, along with his wife Marilyn through their charitable organization The Simons Foundation, has donated heavily to autism research, math institutes, and Stony Brook University, where he led the math department. Simons also taught mathematics at his alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, and was a code breaker for the U.S. Department of Defense during the Vietnam War. Of course, don’t expect him to ever brag about any of his many successes. Simons is well known for shunning interviews, instead, letting his generous charitable work and contributions speak for his tremendous heart.
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POWER COVERS THROUGH THE YEARS
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2004
2005
2006
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
3 JAMES DOLAN, PRESIDENT & CEO OF CABLEVISION
James Dolan Best known as the powerful lead singer and guitarist of the JD & The Straight Shot—the only local rock band on LI led by a billionaire—Cablevision Systems Corporation founder Charles Dolan’s son earned street cred for taking over his dad’s business 20 years ago. Although this Bethpage-based cable company’s stockholders recently approved of its sale to Altice, a multinational telecommunications giant, Dolan remains in charge of one of only two Fortune 500 companies on Long Island until that deal is expected to close and get regulatory approval next year. And once that deal closes—taking Cablevision media assets Newsday and News12 with it—Jim Dolan will have more time to focus on his other job as chairman of the Madison Square Garden Co., which owns the New York Knicks NBA team and New York Rangers NHL team, plus several other properties. That’ll give him even tighter control over LI sports fans’ heartstrings.
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POWER COVERS THROUGH THE YEARS
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2007
2008
2009
2010
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
SCOTT RECHLER, CHAIRMAN & CEO OF RXR REALTY
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Scott Rechler
Landlord of the most commercial real estate on Long Island, with 5.7 million square feet. Vice chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Visionary developer with plans to reinvent LI by building mixed-use housing in Glen Cove, Huntington and Hempstead. Add to that the lengthy list of boards he sits on—from the Association for a Better Long Island to the Long Island Children’s Museum—and it’s any wonder Rechler has time to sleep with his fingers in so many pies, leaving his prints all over our changing landscape. Anyone who’s driven by Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum has seen two of his most recognizable properties: RXR Plaza, with its two, distinctly recognizable, 15-story reflective glass towers, and the 10-story, architecturally unique Omni Building, which features a cascading atrium. No matter what’s next for Long Island’s future, it’s a sure bet Rechler will be one of the main voices calling the shots.
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POWER COVERS THROUGH THE YEARS
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2011
2012
2013
2014
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SEYMOUR LIEBMAN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER & GENERAL COUNSEL OF CANON U.S.A.
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Since Seymour Liebman joined Canon U.S.A. as a manager in its accounting department in 1974, he has been on a mission to help shape Canon’s vision, direction and expansion of its products and services. Today, he is executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel of Canon U.S.A., Inc. and a managing executive officer of Canon Inc., the first non-Japanese employee to achieve such a distinction. He is vice chairman of Canon Solutions America, Inc., and also on the Board of Directors of Spartan Bioscience Inc. in Ottawa, Canada and LeukoDx in Israel. Liebman managed the successful opening of the Canon Americas Headquarters in Melville, whose workforce has now grown to almost 1,600 employees. In line with establishing the company as a leader in digital imaging, Liebman is on the Board of Directors of Canon Biomedical, a new and wholly owned subsidiary of Canon which develops, manufactures and markets technologies and solutions that will revolutionize biomedical research and expand Canon technology into other medical fields. In fact, Canon was granted more U.S. patents in 2015 than Microsoft, Google and Apple. Liebman says research and development are a key pillar of Canon’s business model for the future. From his vantage point along the Long Island Expressway in western Suffolk, Liebman is ensuring that Canon U.S.A. will be a driver of the Long Island economy well into the decades to come.
Seymour Liebman
ON THE LIST IN 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014
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CANON U.S.A. APPLAUDS THE 2015 POWER LIST HONOREES Congratulations to
SEYMOUR LIEBMAN on being named among the 50 most influential people on Long Island.
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Canon U.S.A., Inc.; Senior Executive Officer, Canon Inc.
Canon U.S.A. is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business and industrial digital imaging solutions and is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. In 2015, its parent company, Canon Inc., ranked third overall in patent holdings in the U.S. and in 2015 was named one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies. In 2014, the Canon Americas Headquarters secured LEED® Gold certification, a recognition for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance green buildings.
USA.CANON.COM ©2016 Canon U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved. Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE SAMUEL L. STANLEY, JR., PRESIDENT OF STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY
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As the leader of one of the most prestigious research institutions in the country, Stony Brook University, Dr. Samuel Stanley, MD, has presided over a period of unprecedented growth. Among his recent accomplishments, he’s helped raise $58 million, thanks to a matching grant, that’s led to the hiring of 184 new faculty members, and secured a $5 million pledge from the Dubin family for a new indoor athletic training center. As the campus infrastructure has expanded, he’s cut ribbons at Frey Hall, a new high-tech classroom building; a new computer science building; the new Stony Brook University Arena; the Marine Science Research Center in Southampton; and a new, west-side dining facility for students, staff and faculty. On his watch he also oversaw the groundbreaking for the new Medical and Research Translation (MART) Building, which received generous financial support from Jim and Marilyn Simons and The Simons Foundation. Next on the completion list is the 760-bed campus residence hall and START-UP NY-funded Innovation & Discovery Center. He’s co-chair of Brookhaven Science Associates, which co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory, and serves on the board of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. In his own right, Dr. Stanley holds many scientific patents as a renowned biomedical researcher, so it’s fitting he serves at the helm of an institution that has generated billions of dollars in regional economic impact thanks to its projects on renewable energy, information technology and biotechnology. He’s an outspoken advocate for public investment in scientific research and education to keep the United States competitive in the world economy. Thanks to his guidance, Stony Brook University has been voted the fourth-greenest campus in the country, and the first one to run its own hydroponic “Freight Farm.”
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ELIZABETH MCCAUL, PARTNER-IN-CHARGE OF THE NEW YORK OFFICE OF PROMONTORY FINANCIAL GROUP
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Elizabeth McCaul Formerly the superintendent of banks of the state of New York, Elizabeth McCaul now uses her financial and regulatory expertise to advise clients throughout the United States and Europe how to handle risk management, corporate governance, and capital markets. She’s overseen financial institutions with $2 trillion in assets, some of the world’s largest, including most of the foreign banks operating in America. After 9/11, McCaul worked with banks, securities firms and the Federal Reserve to reopen the U.S. markets as quickly as possible to restore confidence in the economy, here and abroad. She’s familiar with all the fine details and mandates of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and U.S.A. Patriot Act, and has helped federal regulators and top law enforcement officials craft mechanisms to help secure the entire U.S. banking system from being used for financial terrorism. She also spent a decade at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker. At the Financial Stability Institute at the Bank for International Settlements, McCaul was a top instructor on corporate governance and she was a respected member of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Founded in 2001, Promontory is one of the world’s leading strategy, risk management and regulatory compliance consulting firms focused primarily on the financial services industry, with offices in more than 50 countries on six continents. Among many other accomplishments, McCaul led a forensic review of the Instituto per le Opere di Religione (the Institute for Religious Works), also known as the Vatican bank, and has been credited with helping clean up its money-laundering and tax-avoidance reputation, ultimately assissting its core mission of providing banking services for the Catholic church and ensuring its charity reaches all corners of the globe.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2008
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Thomas Spota
THOMAS SPOTA, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
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The four-term top prosecutor for the eastern half of Long Island was best known for trying high-profile public corruption cases after he first took office more than a decade ago. Lately, he’s become something of an environmental crusader, since arguably the biggest case currently on his to-do list involves the alleged dumping of toxic material at Town of Islip parks. Former town workers and politically connected contractors were arrested in the case following a particularly lengthy and complex investigation. While that case works its way through the courts, he’s also continuing to call on New York State lawmakers to increase the mandatory minimum prison sentences for hit-and-run drivers, as well as combatting the drug epidemic and gangs. And after sailing to re-election two years ago, don’t expect him to let up anytime soon.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
STUART RABINOWITZ, PRESIDENT OF HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
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As the president of the largest private university on Long Island, Hofstra’s Stuart Rabinowitz holds one of the most profound positions in the region. His role is to help facilitate the growth and cultivation of young minds. Higher education is the foundation of today’s economy, and by continually expanding and improving the Island’s premier institution of higher learning, Rabinowitz is helping to keep Hofstra on the forefront of academia, regionally and nationwide. For the Island, that means he’s been helping to stem the exodus of our top local talent leaving our shores for somewhere else. Since he took the helm in 2001, Hofstra has flourished in both size and stature. Thanks to his collaboration, the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine has pioneered medical education, and its graduates are out in the world leading the way to improving public health. It’s Rabinowitz who is responsible for bringing two presidential debates to campus—increasing the school’s reputation nationally as a center of academic excellence. He also has his finger on the pulse of our economy as the co-chair of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, and was recently appointed to an investigatory panel to review—and improve—Nassau County’s flawed contracting process. His legacy characterized by sheer excellence both inside and outside the classroom, Rabinowitz’ tenure has elevated not just Hofstra, but all of Long Island as a whole.
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We proudly join with the
Long Island Press in saluting the
Most Influential Long Islanders of 2015 including our president,
Stuart Rabinowitz Educator, Innovator, Leader
hofstra.edu
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2008
10 THOMAS DINAPOLI, NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER
Thomas DiNapoli To those who meet him in person, Tom DiNapoli is just an affable guy from Great Neck who used to be a New York State assemblyman. But he also strikes fear in the hearts of government agencies on the receiving end of audits performed by his office—including those as big as the Metropolitan Transportation Agency and as small as local fire districts. Aside from his holding municipalities’ feet to the fire on their fiscal practices, the two-term comptroller also holds the purse strings to the $183 billion fund that feeds the state and local pension system for retired government workers—meaning even his slightest investment decisions can impact the lives of retirees statewide. DiNapoli has made transparency a key signature of his tenure and created scores of comprehensive-yet-easily navigational online databases that anyone can search. From “Open Book New York,” which provides useful information about local government spending, state contracts, and state spending, to an “Unclaimed Funds” portal to check if you or anyone you know is owed any “lost” monies, DiNapoli puts the “shine” back in “sunshine”—the best disinfectant for Albany’s seemingly never-ending corruption.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2008
Alfonse D’Amato FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PARK STRATEGIES, LLC & FORMER U.S. SENATOR
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The prodigious star of the Nassau GOP political machine may be even more powerful today as an influential lobbyist and a master of behind-the-scenes intrigue than he was in the U.S. Senate—where he acquired the moniker “Senator Pothole” for his attention to his constituents’ concerns about the streets where they live. His consulting firm Park Strategies, which he founded after losing office to Sen. Chuck Schumer, continues to grow in power and revenue, earning reportedly $8 million in 2014. He recently made news in national politics by throwing his support to Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination rather than his prodigy, former New York Gov. George Pataki, whose political career D’Amato had nurtured from Peekskill to Albany (and who recently dropped his bid for the White House). But so it goes. D’Amato is thinking about the future. He’s pals with both Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and Sen. John Flanagan, a Northport Republican who’s now the majority leader of the state Senate—some say thanks to D’Amato. Reportedly chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, an online gambling organization, he still holds all the cards, especially when he holds court at Oheka Castle’s star-studded games.
ON THE LIST IN 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014
Stanley Bergman EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN & CEO OF HENRY SCHEIN, INC.
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In the healthcare sector, Stanley Bergman has made the Melville, Long Islandbased Henry Schein, Inc. a worldwide leader in providing life-saving products and services during his tenure, which began in 1980. Posting a record-breaking $10.4 billion sales mark in 2014, this Fortune 500 company now boasts more than 18,000 employees, and operations or affiliates in more than 33 countries. Bergman, a Certified Public Accountant, has worn many hats at Henry Schein. He’s active in many industry and professional organizations, including the American Dental Association and The Forsyth Institute, an oral health research institution in the United States. He’s also served on a number of boards, including the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, the University of Wiwatersrand in South Africa, Tel Aviv University, the Metropolitan Opera, the Business Council for International Understanding, and the Long Island Association. He, his wife Marion, and their family are active supporters of organizations that promote the arts, higher education, cultural diversity and grassroots healthcare and sustainable economic development in the United States, Africa and other developing regions. Bergman is a positive force, undeniably, and LI is lucky to have Henry Schein here. 2015 LONG ISLAND PRESS POWER LIST
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Bruce Stillman
PRESIDENT & CEO OF COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY
It’s fitting that in a place credited with helping humans unravel the strands of DNA that the search for knowledge continues today into the furthest frontiers of molecular biology, neuroscience, genetics, and cancer. Dr. Bruce Stillman, who still finds time to conduct his own experiments and teach the next generation of researchers, runs one of the most important labs in the country, if not the world, right there on the border of Nassau and Suffolk counties. He knows science matters, and that’s why he was one of the founding members of Accelerate Long Island, a far-reaching partnership of Cold Spring Harbor Lab, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Stony Brook University dedicated to fostering high-tech development here. In New York City, Stillman joined with others to found the New York Genome Center, an international consortium of academic, medical and industry leaders. This native of Melbourne, Australia, began his career at the lab in 1979 as a post-doctoral fellow and has been an influential leader there since 1994. Now he’s pushing plans to open a $75 million center in order to bring the fruits of his colleagues’ therapeutic research to market when they’re ripe, rather than waiting for Big Pharma to decide when it’s harvest time. Now, if only the National Institutes of Health could convince Congress to increase its federal funding, Stillman’s dreams would be answered—and the nightmares of disease and illness plaguing humankind would potentially end.
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Linda Armyn
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AT BETHPAGE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
Linda Armyn is a one-of-a-kind executive. As senior vice president of corporate affairs at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, she oversees corporate communications, public relations, business development, new market expansion, community development, government relations, community engagement, and charitable giving. In her spare time (that’s an inside joke), she conducts educational seminars to teach small not-for-profits how to survive in the business world. Several years ago she became chairman of the board of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, helping to further its innovative and inspirational Magnet Academy, which provides more than 200 local students a world-class STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, and enabling them to apply their classroom knowledge to the museum’s unique collection, firsthand. She also chairs the YMCA of Long Island. Armyn, a Melville resident, joined Bethpage in 2001 and has been instrumental in helping it become the Island’s largest credit union and a leading community financial institution—with a quarter of a million members, almost three dozen branches, and twice that number of shared service centers in Nassau and Suffolk. During her tenure, Bethpage’s assets have increased from $1.1 billion to $5.7 billion. Thanks to Armyn, the “Heart of Bethpage” philanthropic program has invested more than $2 million annually to help a wide range of deserving Long Island communities. She also helped to get the Long Island Ducks stadium renamed the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Ballpark, and, in partnership with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historical Preservation, the uplifting spectacle on Memorial Day weekend in the skies above Jones Beach is now known as the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Air Show.
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Bethpage is proud to support the
13th Annual Long Island Press Power List Congratulations Linda Armyn SVP of Corporate Affairs
We are proud to have you as part of our team!
For more information, call 800-628-7070, or go to lovebethpage.com.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
John Cameron FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER OF CAMERON ENGINEERING & ASSOCIATES
When he’s not overseeing the Island’s top engineering firm, whose innovative projects are dedicated to meeting the needs of future generations, Cameron is devoted to making the Island a better place for those who live here today. He was honored for his efforts this summer on behalf of South Nassau Communities Hospital, which wants to expand its emergency department, as he helped break all previous fundraising records for its annual golf outing, in effect hitting a hole-in-one for the charity drive. Not bad for a man who still likes to surf when the tide is right. The list of his company’s achievements has grown long, indeed. In 2015, the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York recognized Cameron Engineering with gold medal engineering excellence awards in the “building/technology systems” category for its work on the Eastport-South Manor Primary School in Eastport, its “waste and storm water” work on the Bergen Point WWTP Effluent UV Disinfection in West Babylon, and awarded a special projects prize for its efforts at The Museum of American Armor in Old Westbury. His firm brought home several additional awards this year. As chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, Cameron focuses on projects to make our Island sustainable, economically and environmentally. He currently sits on Hofstra University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science Advisory Board. Cameron knows the difference between gray water and green energy like no one else on the Island, so don’t test him. But if there’s a pressing environmental problem of our time, you can bet he’s doing his best to solve it.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2012
Bill O’Reilly
HOST OF FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S ‘THE O’REILLY FACTOR’
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Love him or hate him, the most recognizable pundit on the top-rated cable news channel had a decade-long streak of ranking No. 1 in drawing the coveted demographic of viewers between the ages of 25 and 54. That means The O’Reilly Factor host, who grew up in Levittown and lives in Manhasset, holds considerable sway in the booming business of TV opinion talk shows. And despite his latest round of bad press about his home life and questioning the accuracy of his reporting, viewers increasingly tune in to get his views on the “No Spin Zone.” Will he ever follow the lead of his frenemy on the left, Jon Stewart, the former Daily Show host, and retire? Don’t hold your breath.
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A campus of distinction THE LIU POST COMMUNITY PROUDLY CONGRATULATES
Dr. Kimberly R. Cline RECIPIENT, 2015 LONG ISLAND PRESS “POWER LIST”
24 NCAA DIVISION II TEAMS #1 in the East
LIU-IQ CONSULTING
Student-run, domestic and international consultancy
Princeton Review Best Business Schools in America
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INNOVATION IN THE ARTS
LIU PROMISE
Comprehensive individualized mentoring
Introducing the School of Performing Arts
STUDENT-RUN BUSINESSES
GREEK LIFE
Promoting scholarship, leadership, and service
Fostering entrepreneurship
President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
AACSB-accredited School of Business
Cool Schools: Green Universities
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FIRST TIME ON THE LIST
Alan Murray PRESIDENT & CEO OF CARECONNECT INSURANCE COMPANY
Alan Murray has quite the resume. The former second officer in the British Merchant Navy spent more than four years as vice president of the New York market at United Healthcare, where he was responsible for maintaining a network of more than 220 hospitals and more than 60,000 physicians across the state. As president and CEO of CareConnect—a “healthier” insurance company founded by Northwell Health, formerly North ShoreLIJ Health System—Murray oversees all aspects of its Medicare, Medicaid and commercial lines. He ensures the company remains focused on its core mission: providing affordable, personalized, high-quality care. CareConnect’s network provides access to some of the best hospitals and physicians in the region, and also includes more than 30 local urgent care centers and nearly 1,000 walk-in clinics across the country. CareConnect puts members first, and it’s Murray who has been responsible for the company’s strategic, patient-centered direction and remarkable success.
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Kimberly Cline PRESIDENT OF LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
The tenth president at Long Island University, one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive private universities, Kimberly Cline is the first woman to hold the post in the institution’s nearly 90-year history. Thanks to her guidance, the university has had its strongest operating results in its history, earning accolades from Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, which upgraded their ratings on LIU’s outlook, citing better operating margins and stronger financial resources. She came to the position with a trifecta of university experience that encompassed managerial, financial, and legal expertise, after having served as president of Mercy College, vice chancellor and chief financial officer of the State University of New York, and as a university attorney. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Relations, a Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. But what makes her truly unique is her ability to coordinate all of the moving parts of LIU within its multiple campuses—educating more than 20,000 students and offer more than 500 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs and certificates. From coordinating both the urban and suburban components of LIU, she’s enhanced how they complement each other, and by doing so, she’s been able to increase enrollment and achieve record student retention. By combining rigorous academic instruction with real-world experience, she’s helped LIU become a recognized leader in such diverse fields as technology, public relations, financial investing, and fashion merchandising. Cline is reinventing how higher education is perceived on Long Island. As the head of her team, she’s made Long Island University, with its footprint in Brooklyn and Brookville, a go-to school for some of the most ambitious students in our region.
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CareConnect congratulates our President and CEO, Alan Murray, and all of the 2015 Long Island Press Power List honorees.
Alan J. Murray President & CEO
North Shore-LIJ CareConnect Insurance Company, Inc.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
Steve Bellone SUFFOLK COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Where would Suffolk County be without Steve Bellone’s leadership? The incumbent Democrat has weathered all sorts of storms, both literally and figuratively, from his high-rise office at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge. His fellow Democrats have increased their hold over the county legislature, and his adversaries seem to be on the losing end, at least for now. Recently he signed legislation adopting a much-needed new comprehensive master plan for the county, the first one in 44 years, which will go a long way to establishing the goals for the environment, development and transportation throughout 2035. Since he’s term-limited, Bellone won’t be at the helm, but the groundwork he lays down now will certainly influence what the future of the Island will look like. Bellone won re-election handily in 2015, and continues to fight for the best interests of all Suffolk County residents, whether that’s helping to foster economic development, increase affordable housing, ensure clean drinking water for generations to come, or balance the budget. He completed the inaugural Suffolk County Marathon in four hours, 42 minutes and 51 seconds—enabling him to tell supporters he quite literally saves time, and money!
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ON THE LIST IN 2011, 2012 & 2013
Theresa Regnante PRESIDENT & CEO OF UNITED WAY OF LONG ISLAND
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Theresa Regnante is an advocate for Long Island’s most vulnerable. In her role, she’s become one of the prime catalysts for making the Island a better place. She works to ensure that every Long Island child has a quality education, every family has a stable income and every individual has access to good healthcare. As head of the United Way, she’s helped bring together 125 community partners to coordinate more effective public initiatives on a range of vital issues. As a disaster management expert, Regnante deployed her resources after Hurricane Sandy to establish a free helpline and online database to connect those in need to essential health and human service agencies. Tireless in the never-ending quest for funding, Regnante has broadened the base of support and reached previously untapped markets. Thanks to her, overall revenue growth has risen 43 percent. Procuring $1.5 million in government, corporate and private grants helped United Way of Long Island establish a workforce training center for the unemployed and underemployed. Regnante knows she has a delicate balancing act, trying to keep the charity functioning efficiently and effectively while staying true to its guiding mission. She’s got the organizational chops, the determination, and the vision to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders. And she proves that, every day.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2014
Charles Vigliotti
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PRESIDENT & CEO OF AMERICAN ORGANIC ENERGY & LONG ISLAND COMPOST
Charles Vigliotti is poised to change the world. By introducing Long Island to the first anaerobic digester in the region—a project due to be completed in 2016—Vigliotti’s company American Organic Energy will revamp the way organic refuse is disposed of, both locally and internationally. As the president and chief executive of Long Island Compost, Vigliotti is familiar with the way waste is handled on Long Island. By collecting landscaping waste and transforming it into compost, he’s had his foot in the door of the waste industry, leading the way in which sustainable solutions are put into practical use. American Organic Energy’s planned anaerobic digester aims to be nothing less than the most sophisticated food waste processing plant in the world. It will be a significant step toward rectifying Long Island’s inexcusably sluggish environmental and ecological progress, converting 180,000 tons of food waste into usable material: vehicle fuel, electricity, compost, and fertilizer, and reducing 40,000 tons of greenhouse gases. The facility will not only take many tractor-trailers off of the Long Island Expressway en route to landfills off-Island, but replace them with his own fleet of vehicles fueled with the recycled bio-gas collected from the recycled waste. It’s a 100-percent sustainable model. It’s a new vision for the world. And it starts right here, on Long Island.
ON THE LIST IN 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2014
Tracey Edwards PRESIDENT OF VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS NEW YORK NORTH WEST REGION & HUNTINGTON TOWN COUNCILWOMAN
Anyone who can oversee Verizon Communications as regional president for Long Island, sit on a town council, and still have time to serve as regional director of the NAACP demands our undivided attention. Tracey Edwards has been key to the growth of fiber optics on the Island throughout the past decade and instrumental to the company’s expansion here. A lifelong Huntington Town resident, Edwards is a respected advocate for the entire community and as a member of the Town Council strives to create policy in the public’s best interest. If that’s not enough, the Dix Hills resident is also a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
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We’re not the only ones who can spot a winner.
Congratulations to Verizon’s own Tracey Edwards and all the other honorees of the 2015 Long Island Press Power List.
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ON THE LIST IN 2013 & 2014
Doon Gibbs
DIRECTOR OF BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY
At Brookhaven National Laboratory, the quest to understand the forces that make up our universe continues at light speed, or rather as close to that velocity as humanly possible due to the most advanced technology America has to muster. Under the able guidance of Doon Gibbs, BNL is on the forefront of discovery in many fields, with a budget topping more than $700 million and 3,000 employees hard at work. The National Synchroton Light Source II is now up and running, and researchers are putting it through its paces as they explore the “strange magnetic metal” that produces superconductivity, among other fascinating experiments. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, the only machine in the world capable of colliding ions as heavy as gold, is yielding groundbreaking insights into the subatomic world; the Hard X-Ray Nanoprobe Beamline is achieving amazing microscopic resolution, revolutionizing nanoscale imaging; while the Northeast Solar Energy Research Center is looking more promising by the day. Science is alive and well on LI, just off Exit 68, and that’s the way Gibbs likes it.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2011
Peter King U.S. CONGRESSMAN (R-SEAFORD)
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Peter King, the outspoken and unapologetic Republican Congressman, is perhaps Long Island’s most visible elected official. King, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, and chairman of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, is a leading voice on Capitol Hill when it comes to national security issues, of which there are many. He’s recently come out strongly against the Obama administration’s plan to integrate up to 10,000 Syrian refugees into American society, arguing that the country lacks the capabilities to vet every single person seeking refugee status, and he also disagrees with the Iran nuclear deal reached between the United States and five other world powers. King has built a base of supporters who appreciate his bravado. The nation’s defense isn’t the only issue that gnaws at him. King continues to be a fierce supporter of the hundreds of first responders whose health have deteriorated as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Jeffrey Reynolds
PRESIDENT & CEO OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S ASSOCIATION
Best known as one of the most vocal local advocates fighting against the heroin epidemic when he led the nonprofit Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Reynolds is continuing that fight as head of the nonprofit Family and Children’s Association. In addition to tackling addiction issues, Reynolds also has his sights set on homelessness, family counseling, assisting veterans, and much more as leader of this 130-year-old organization that serves 20,000 Long Islanders in need, annually. And in textbook Reynolds fashion, one of the first things he did upon taking this new job was organize a rally to call out Nassau County and its largest union over a controversial arbitration settlement that threatens to defund a $2 million FCA program aimed at keeping kids out of foster homes.
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Russell Albanese CHAIRMAN OF THE ALBANESE ORGANIZATION, INC.
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For nearly 70 years, Russell Albanese’s family run, full-service real estate development firm, the Albanese Organization, has been enhancing communities across Long Island and the region through its dedication to creating high-quality commercial and residential buildings of distinction that optimize value and are environmentally responsible. An advocate of sustainable development, Albanese has spoken on the importance of the issue at professional conferences around the country. He was a founding board member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s New York City chapter, a co-chair of the Environment Committee of the New York Building Congress, and is an active member of other industry-related organizations and charities. Albanese is currently on the boards of Sustainable Long Island, the Nature Conservancy, and Family Service League. There’s a reason that Albanese was designated the master developer of Wyandanch Rising, the $38-million redevelopment project on Long Island: It epitomizes what a walkable, transit-oriented development reflecting Smart Growth principles is supposed to look like—a vision he’s had for years. Now, thanks to his perseverance and devout commitment to excellence, it’s finally becoming a reality—just one of so many projects Albanese has championed that improve, and even elevate, their surrounding communities in the process. LONGISLANDPRESS.COM / POWERLIST
Proven Results & Enduring Value for Over 65 Years “Great accomplishments always begin with a vision of what can be. The achievement of that vision only occurs through dedication and perseverance and succeeds when it leads to enduring value.”
We proudly congratulate all of the 2015 Long Island Press Power List honorees.
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2008
Joseph Mondello
CHAIRMAN OF THE NASSAU COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE
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When it comes to Nassau Republican royalty, Joseph Mondello is the crowned king. His ability to pull the levers of power and get the GOP machine into high gear is a thing of beauty—if you’re not on the losing end, as so many hapless Democrats have found the hard way when Mondello crushed their hubris flatter than roadkill on Hempstead Turnpike. Mondello’s own political career has taken him to Albany, where he reigned as state senator and state Republican chairman before returning to Nassau, where his party’s hold on the county executive office and the legislature can sometimes seem, to the uninitiated, as inherited. Sure, Democrats come and go, but Mondello remains. He has been the undisputed party boss for more than three decades, dispensing favors, dispatching foes, and defending the status quo as he sees fit. When he’s not reigning supreme, he serves of counsel to the Garden City law firm of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson and Peddy. This Hofstra grad is also an honorary chief of the Levittown Fire Department, which makes sense, because when it comes to climbing the ladder of success, he’s at the top rung.
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
Resi Cooper PRESIDENT OF COOPERHILL LLC
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Resi Cooper could be one of the most influential women you’ve never heard of—unless you’re on this list, and then you can call her by her first name. Once upon a time, she was known around town as the Long Island regional director for then-Sen. Hillary Clinton. (She’d served her New York Senate campaign as statewide political director.) Based in Jericho these days, she’s a power unto herself, although she prefers to exert her influence behind the scenes, out of the headlines and away from the spotlight as a consultant to politicians and businesses. But see her in person at a gathering of movers and shakers, and she owns the room. She’s handled public policy, corporate advocacy, community coalition building and research projects for energy companies, foundations and nonprofits, to name a few. Thanks to her prowess, she was instrumental in helping Accelerate Long Island, a not-for-profit group assisting technology startups on LI, get up to speed before Mark Lesko succeeded her as executive director. She was recently appointed to serve on the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, a state panel that helps determine which businesses will get state aid. For those who know her, it seems like a logical choice, indeed.
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the law of possibilities Dorsey & Whitney LLP Congratulates Our Friend and Colleague
Seymour Liebman, Esq. Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Canon U.S.A., Inc. Dorsey lawyers across North America, Europe and Asia are always focused on what’s possible to help clients thrive. We provide local clients a global reach and global clients with local resources and relationships— delivering the law of unlimited possibilities.
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John Flanagan NEW YORK STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER (R-SMITHTOWN)
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Ascending to the post of top-elected Republican this spring, John Flanagan kept the powerful position in Long Island hands after his predecessor, state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), resigned from his leadership role (but not his seat) upon pleading not guilty to federal corruption charges. Flanagan had his work cut out for him when taking over during the last-minute rush to pass bills before the state legislature recessed in June. To address upstate concerns that he would be too focused on downstate issues, once summer break came, he quickly began touring the state. Among his first tests in maintaining the GOP’s slim senate majority will be an upcoming special election, since Skelos has been convicted and expelled from office, as well as defending a future vacancy in Sen. Jack Martins’ (R-Mineola) seat, who has announced he’ll be running for U.S. Congress.
ON THE LIST IN 2013 & 2014
Robert & James Coughlan PRINCIPALS AT TRITEC REAL ESTATE
These two brothers have dared to do what many other developers just give lip service to: revitalizing our region through an innovative approach guaranteed to attract and retain the millennial generation of Long Islanders. Their New Village at Patchogue is the model for others to emulate. It’s a mixed-use development of some 300 residential units resting above office and commercial space, with a Soho-like setup nearby for artists’ lofts, and performance venues to liven up the area downtown. But don’t think that their backyard, so to speak, is all these Long Islanders have in mind since they founded their company in 1986. They’ve got offices in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., as well as East Setauket. Along the way, they’ve constructed millions of square feet of office, residential, industrial, medical, retail, and hospitality space, along with financing, leasing, and managing an impressive array of real estate projects. Thanks to their drive, they’ve made the Ronkonkoma Hub project a reality, not just a dream for suburban planners. The transit-oriented, mixed-use community incorporates the principles of sustainable development and will create jobs, increase tax revenue, and become a destination location for the region. Sen. Chuck Schumer called the Hub “a game changer for Long Island.” The Coughlans’ motto, “Have Fun, Win, Be Nice,” says it all.
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CONSTRUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
HELPING TO BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY
www.tritecre.com
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ON THE LIST IN 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014
Katherine Heaviside PRESIDENT OF EPOCH 5
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Those in the media industry are well aware of Epoch 5’s prolific client base, but even we briefly recoiled upon perusing the scores of companies and agencies that the local public relations giant has served throughout the years. The Huntington-based firm counts some of LI’s most important corporations among its client list. The firm’s ability to rake in clients is a reminder that its president, Katherine Heaviside, remains a titan in the industry. Despite big changes in the media and marketing landscape amid the digital revolution, Heaviside has deftly conquered all the obstacles thrown her way and continues to carry on a burgeoning legacy she earned through honesty, trust, and remarkable dedication to her clients. Heaviside’s Epoch 5 is always on the cutting edge, which is apparent for those clients who utilize the firm’s team for best social media and digital marketing practices and media relations of all kinds. Whether clients want to promote a new project in the media or is in dire need of serious crisis management, Heaviside is well-equipped to handle any challenge that comes her way.
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2008
Rich Schaffer TOWN SUPERVISOR OF BABYLON
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No Democrat wields power on Long Island more successfully than Suffolk’s own Machiavelli, Rich Schaffer. He doesn’t take challengers lightly, as the record will show. Under his leadership as Suffolk County Democratic chairman, his party has firmly cemented its hold on the majority at the county legislature. He once helped his protégé Steve Levy get elected to the county executive post, and then when their relationship soured—especially after Levy switched parties and became a Republican—Schaffer steered his preferred candidate, Steve Bellone, to victory. With Bellone as the new county executive, that meant he could no longer be Babylon Town supervisor. Schaffer, who’d served five terms as town supervisor, decided the best guy for the job was himself. Can we say what goes around comes around? Schaffer can be forgiven if he ever has flashbacks at work, because he first became supervisor on his 29th birthday—the youngest man to ever run the town. Now, much wiser and definitely a little grayer, he’s able to serve a place he obviously cares deeply about. And with that in mind, he can make sure that Wyandanch Rising continues to break ground, which should help revitalize that hard-hit community for the greater good of all Babylonians.
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“Katherine, you’re tops on our list! Congratulations to you and the other Power List honorees.” — Your fans at Epoch 5 Public Relations
From social media and e-marketing to issues management and corporate PR programs, Epoch 5 is Long Island’s #1 Public Relations Agency.
755 New York Ave., Suite 400 Huntington, NY 11743
631.427.1713 www.epoch5.com
Voted Best PR Firm & Best PR Professional
Katherine Heaviside, President Epoch 5 Public Relations
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HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2011
Sal Ferro PRESIDENT & CEO OF ALURE HOME IMPROVEMENTS
You can call Sal Ferro “The Hammer” if you want to see his smile broaden even wider. This truly great industry professional knows his way around the tool box, but it’s not his style to brag. Sure, his “Fight for Charity” continues to defy the naysayers by raking in record-breaking amounts of money. And his company continues to set the standard in the home improvement business, as well as its level of community support. Not bad for this Lindenhurst High School grad, who makes sure his customers smile with satisfaction for a job well done, every single time. He could rest on his laurels, knowing that he’s assembled the right employees to carry on the tradition, but that’s not his style, either. Ferro understands what it takes to be on top of his game, and he’s not content to be second-best. Whether the Island is recovering from a recession or a super storm, Ferro stands ready to deliver what is needed to help people get back on their feet. He’s also left his mark on generations to come. How many Long Islanders are living happily in beautiful homes thanks to him and his team at Alure? Now that he’s become treasurer of the Long Island Builders Institute, we now that if he’s called upon to hammer out any policy disagreements, he’ll do it with a smile.
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Joy Mangano INVENTOR, ENTREPRENEUR & RESTAURATEUR
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Joy Mangano took the plunge into mop business 25 years ago and hasn’t looked back since— expanding her empire with new inventions throughout the years and serving as an inspiration for female entrepreneurs everywhere. Mangano’s meteoric rise from single mother of three to inventor started with her famed Miracle Mop, which received superlatives for making wringing a cinch. Mangano, who was born in Huntington and earned a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Pace University, eventually took the product to TV retailer QVC, and sales soared, with millions of mops sold through the years. She then sold the company to HSN but stayed on as president. Mangano is now a leader in the industry, designing easy-to-use products that make everyday household chores easier to accomplish. Her product line now also includes pillows, hangers, home fragrances, beauty cases, and more. Mangano’s career is the subject of the film Joy, starring Oscar winners Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro, plus Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper. As if all this wasn’t enough, Mangano has brought her genius business talents to the realm of fine dining, as the owner of Huntington hotspot Porto Vivo—serving rustic-yet-modern gourmet Italian at affordable prices, with an emphasis on high-quality meals, superior service, and beautiful decor.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Patrick Foye EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY
35 ANDY: ON THE LIST IN 2013 & 2014
Gov. Andrew Cuomo knew what he was doing when he put Patrick Foye in charge of some of the most critical transportation infrastructure in the nation. Every day the bridges, tunnels and airports his authority oversees affect the lives of millions of Americans in our region. They go to work, they come home, they go to places around the world. Let’s face it. The Port Authority’s scope is huge. Yet Foye, who recently announced he’ll be stepping down, seems to keep it all in stride without losing his professorial cool. One minute he’s honoring the anniversary of the Beatles arriving at JFK’s Pan Am terminal, and the next, he’s opposing the abuse of power at Newark Airport perpetrated by David Samson, whom Gov. Chris Christie made Port Authority chairman. Samson sought to strong-arm United Airlines into running a flight to South Carolina, where he had a vacation home. Once he caught wind of this scheme, Foye clipped Samson’s wings, and he subsequently resigned. From everything we’ve learned, Foye was the one of the most ethical officials to stand up for commuters—and good government advocates—during that Christie-inspired traffic jam scandal at the George Washington Bridge. Now, if we could just get Foye to knock a few bucks off the tolls, we’d be in heaven. Getting from LI to New Jersey is very expensive.
JON: FIRST TIME ON THE LIST
Andy & Jon Stepanian ACTIVISTS
Just imagine what this dynamic duo could accomplish if they combined efforts to help the needy, challenge government overreach, and expose malfeasance in public and private institutions. Andy Stepanian, co-founder of Sparrow Media Project, a grassroots publicity and creative direction form with a “subversive” touch, has devoted his life to activism, lifting up the voiceless and raising awareness on important issues that the mainstream media fails to shine a light on. When Sparrow Media was founded, it had one simple goal: “Amplify voices for social change.” Whether it’s lifting a veil on Wall Street, supporting animal rights activists, or being a voice for disenfranchised groups, Andy’s unique ability to unite like-minded individuals around a common goal is inspiring. His brother in arms, Jon, is president and CEO of nonprofit Community Solidarity—a grassroots movement providing groceries, fresh produce and warm vegan meals, collecting and redistributing clothing, books, toiletries and toys, and organizing “guerrilla gardening programs” in low-income communities. Jon “Steps,” as he’s known, is also an organizer and coordinator at nonprofit Long Island Food Not Bombs, the local chapter of the international movement, which is founded on the belief that food is a right, not a privilege. These initiatives rescue and redistribute millions of pounds of food annually, and feed thousands across LI each and every week—providing fresh food to people who would otherwise go hungry. Like his brother, Jon is an activist who truly believes that empowerment is the key to healing downtrodden communities and inspiring social change. While their work can be a tireless endeavor, the brothers are striving to create a better world for the people that call this Island home.
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ON THE LIST IN 2014
Jeanette Deutermann EDUCATION ADVOCATE
This Bellmore mom didn’t just help her kids with their homework, Deutermann listened to their complaints about what they were—and weren’t—learning, and took it to another level. She became one of the leading advocates in the protest over the controversial Common Core Learning Standards and created the Long Island Opt-Out movement, which has become a vital proponent of statewide education reform. Her group helped to elect 57 candidates to school boards on Long Island in 2015. A former teacher at a Port Washington alternative high school for children with special needs, she values classroom instruction and wants to make sure that teachers can put the needs of their students first, rather than the profits of corporate interests that have invested in public education for their own gain. As a co-founder of New York State Allies for Public Education, Deutermann knows that there’s more to classroom instruction than “teaching to the test.” Thanks to her drive and vision, the reform movement has grown, spreading its influence throughout the state, and even reaching the governor’s attention, as shown by his recently announced willingness to reconsider some of the more onerous aspects of Common Core. From the grassroots to the state capital, this Long Island activist has come a long way—and she’s still making the grade that counts.
ON THE LIST IN 2004, 2011, 2012 & 2013
Frederick Brewington CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY
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Whether he’s representing town employees accusing fellow co-workers of racially insensitive remarks, or those claiming false arrest and imprisonment by local police, Frederick Brewington continues the fight for justice, which throughout the years has drawn animosity from some, and adulation from others. Brewington has also succeeded in several high-profile discriminatory housing suits in recent years, an issue that continues to be of concern to community activists. Brewington’s advocacy doesn’t just come alive in the courtroom. He’s also on the board of the Syosset-based ERASE Racism, which promotes racial equality and continues to address institutional racism and conduct research on myriad issues, including school segregation on Long Island.
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2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Edward Mangano NASSAU COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano (everybody calls him “Ed”) handily won re-election in 2013 against his arch Democratic rival, former Nassau County executive Tom Suozzi, whom Mangano had beaten by a hair four years earlier. This good-hearted Republican has had his hands full ever since, tackling many of the very same issues that plagued his predecessor: property tax assessment reform, affordable housing, balancing the budget, safeguarding the public, combatting environmental calamities, and promoting economic development. Since the Islanders’ unfortunate departure to Brooklyn, Mangano’s been working tirelessly to redevelop the Nassau HUB, bring in much-needed funds through expanding the county’s red-light camera program, privatize its mismanaged sewage treatment plants, transportation, and jail healthcare systems, and consolidate Nassau’s police precincts. He’s championing a plan to build a casino that could generate millions in revenue from video lottery gaming, and has been a vocal voice in the ongoing war against heroin.
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Christopher Gobler PROFESSOR AT STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY & MARINE SCIENCES RESEARCHER
This Stony Brook University professor, co-founder of the Long Island Coastal Conservation and Research Alliance (LICCRA), and founder of The Gobler Laboratory, has dedicated his life to researching and investigating the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and their relationships to humans, climate change, and coastal ocean acidification, as well as understanding shallow marine ecosystems. His work is on the frontlines of the battle to interpret and prevent harmful green and red algae tides and blooms, and help solve Long Island’s disastrous toxic nitrogen dilemma, which has historically and recently decimated local bays and waterways and resulted in the suffocation of hundreds of thousands of fish, turtles, and various other marine life. His power resides in his perseverance and dedication to studying these issues and perhaps one day remedying them, as well as his work’s undeniable influence. The Gobler Lab has a slew of projects toward this end, besides the aforementioned: the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program. It also provides a weekly Water Quality Index to local media outlets in an attempt to better inform the public and help spread the word about dangerous water conditions. Gobler was also part of the team that first cracked the genome code of the brown tide algal bloom. Long Island’s future is a lot greener, and healthier, with Gobler.
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The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington Congratulate
The Distinguished Honorees that mark The 13th Annual Long Island Press
POWERLIST
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Rev. Craig Robinson PASTOR AT BETHEL AME CHURCH IN BAY SHORE
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As the senior pastor at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Bay Shore and the spiritual leader of this community, Rev. Craig Robinson inspires hope and strength among his congregation. The former pastoral resident at the historic Charles Street AME in Roxbury, Mass. and a graduate of Yale Divinity School, he’s also been an outspoken advocate for the importance and role of the AME in the wake of the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina mass slayings, highlighting the church’s function as a place of refuge and acceptance and spiritual healing throughout more than 100 years of racial strife and other challenges. He’s also shared his supreme anguish about such “heart-wrenching” and “truly unthinkable” violence against African Americans and black institutions with local and national media outlets. He personally knew Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the South Carolina state senator and head spiritual leader of the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston—one of nine who were killed that day. Rev. Robinson remains a shining beacon of light, and hope, within an all-too frequent storm of resurgent darkness.
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013
Gary Melius OWNER OF OHEKA CASTLE
This old-school power broker continues to amaze friend and foe alike with his survival skills and business acumen. We can joke about it now, but he’s one of the luckiest guys alive, anywhere, since he took a bullet to the head in 2014 as he sat in his car at Oheka Castle, the fabled estate built in 1921 by Otto Kahn that Melius bought for $1.5 million in 1984. The shooter and the motive still remain a mystery, and the $100,000 reward for solving the crime remains unclaimed, but Melius has stayed in the public eye throughout this ordeal and his recovery—not to mention an ongoing federal investigation into his associates’ role in handling receiverships. Certainly his attachment to this lavish castle runs deep. He sold it once for $30 million, but he couldn’t really let it go, eventually buying it back for the same amount. The fabulous French-style chateau still draws a crowd, from power lunches to charity functions to ritzy weddings and powerful poker games, in what is humorously known as The Dungeon. He also still pulls the purse strings for the Independence Party, whose ballot line is coveted by politicians of all stripes hoping for that victory edge on Election Day. Nobody else on Long Island can say they’re the king of their castle like Gary Melius.
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ON THE LIST IN 2012 & 2013
David Kilmnick CEO OF LONG ISLAND LGBT SERVICES NETWORK
As one of Long Island’s most prominent activists, David Kilmnick has tirelessly fought for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community for more than 22 years. Kilmnick’s career began with the founding of Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) in 1993, and in 2005 he established Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders-Long Island (SAGE-LI) and the Long Island LGBT Community Center in Bay Shore, which has grown into a network of four such centers, even expanding into Queens. These all fall under the umbrella of the LGBT Network, which provides myriad services for LGBT youth and seniors. Kilmnick has proved adept at generating support from the local community and elected officials, and despite historic LGBT victories, including last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling making gay marriage the law of the land, he hasn’t taken a break from furthering the cause, recently spearheading a plan for a LGBT senior living facility in Bay Shore, believed to be the first such housing unit in the tri-state area.
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DuWayne Gregory SUFFOLK COUNTY LEGISLATURE PRESIDING OFFICER (D-AMITYVILLE)
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As leader of the Democratic-run legislative body that regularly proves to be a trailblazer by passing laws that the state, and sometimes Congress, emulates, Gregory has been the face of positive change for the past two years. In a recent example, the FDA issued warnings to powdered caffeine manufacturers after the county banned the sale of such products to minors. The county legislature also recently passed a bill regulating the use of drones—an issue that is also currently being debated statewide and nationally. Testament to his popularity, Gregory sailed to re-election last year without a Republican challenger, and announced this summer his intention to try and unseat longtime U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) next year. Could this local legislature leader soon increase his power? Stay tuned.
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ON THE LIST IN 2013
Jack Schnirman CITY MANAGER OF LONG BEACH
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Jack Schnirman has had to weather a lot since he became Long Beach City manager in 2012. From a fiscal crisis to an environmental catastrophe, he’s confronted serious problems that would tax the most seasoned municipal veteran. Through his efforts, he’s helped this seaside community rebuild “stronger, smarter and safer,” with a redesigned boardwalk and a revitalized downtown. He cut his teeth in the public sector as the former chief deputy supervisor of Brookhaven Town, the largest township on the Island. Before that, he was a deputy press secretary to then-U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Maybe they do teach something useful at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where Schnirman got his master’s degree in public policy. Now he runs one of LI’s two cities and still looks like he’s barely out of high school. If we were in charge, we’d be pulling our hair out. Long Beach was on the brink of bankruptcy before Sandy slammed into it. On his watch, Schnirman has erased a nearly $15 million deficit and turned the budget into its first surplus in years. If the Island ever secedes, maybe he should become governor.
FIRST TIME ON THE LIST
Mike Cave CEO OF 1ST EQUITY
As the owner of the growing title insurance company 1st Equity in Melville and co-founder of PinkTie.org, the expansive Long Island-based philanthropic effort to raise money for cancer research, Mike Cave has quickly made a name for himself. By combining a real estate industry networking event with big-name sports icons for a great cause, Cave’s PinkTie Event has quickly become the premier Long Island gathering, with more than 2,000 attendees in 2015, from just 350 two years ago. Yet, beyond the see-and-be-seen element of Long Island’s social philanthropy, PinkTie.org promises nothing less than 100-percent transparency, for example, donating $300,000 of the $300,000 raised last year to charities and local research labs (such as Cold Spring Harbor Lab) that are addressing the disproportional rate of breast cancer (among other cancers) right here. Their mission has expanded in just three short years to include coalition-building, bringing together more than 20 local organizations to raise awareness to facilitate ways to help. In 2015, Cave kicked it up even another notch, by introducing PinkTie1000, whose mission is to compel 1,000 professionals to donate $100,000 to be distributed to local causes. Mike Cave’s vision is ever-expanding, and there is little doubt that he, as well as the ubiquitous pink ties that have become unavoidable on Long Island, will only become more entrenched in our region’s business culture.
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Isma Chaudhry PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF LONG ISLAND
The Pakistan-born physician has made quite a life for herself on Long Island. Isma Chaudhry, a mother of two from Manhasset, volunteered for Westbury’s Islamic Center of Long Island for more than two decades before her appointment as the first-ever female president of the respected mosque and community center. For years, Chaudhry has focused on interfaith efforts and trying to establish a dialogue between people of different faiths and varying backgrounds, to much success. Her outreach efforts began when her children began attending private school, which only had six Muslim students at the time, including her own. She developed a program that educated teachers on their culture and religious practices. Soon, public schools began asking for similar programs. Chaudhry continues her interfaith efforts at the ICLI, and is also overseeing the mosque’s multi-million dollar renovation—an expansion of the existing building that will allow the ICLI to hold more events and accommodate even more visitors. Chaudhry’s ascension comes amid heightened Islamophobia in America, an issue she aggressively combats through multi-ethnic and interfaith dialogue.
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FIRST TIME ON THE LIST
Gregory Maney & Jeannine Maynard CO-FACILITATORS OF THE GREATER UNIONDALE AREA ACTION COALITION
Proving that nothing on Long Island is absolutely insurmountable, thanks to these guys, the three-square-mile area known as “East Garden City” since the 2000 census but historically part of the unincorporated village of Uniondale, will get a name change that community leaders and public officials have been advocating for years. Calling that place “East Garden City” when even the post office didn’t call it that, has been labeled divisive, unwarranted and unwanted. Uniondale residents took it as a deliberate slight. The fire trucks say Uniondale, so do the ambulances. Making Uniondale whole again was the goal of Dr. Greg Maney and Jeannine Maynard, who founded the Greater Uniondale Area Action Coalition, and responding to the principle that all politics are local, Rep. Kathleen Rice, among other elected officials, have pledged to make the 2020 Census accurately reflect that geographic reality rather than some twisted apartheid-like aberration perpetrated no doubt by some reactionary real estate developer with an ulterior motive in mind. Maney and Maynard have provided more proof, as if any were needed, that the concept “location, location, location” is more than idle mantra. To those affected by this “East Garden City” canton-conspiracy, it hit them right where they live.
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ON THE LIST IN 2014
Norma Gonsalves NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE PRESIDING OFFICER (R-EAST MEADOW)
One of the six remaining original lawmakers out of 19 first elected to the Nassau County Legislature when it was formed 20 years ago, this former teacher and civic leader rose to lead the GOP-controlled body three years ago. But don’t be fooled by the gavel that she knocks; she’s still Norma from the block. She’s a regular at local civic meetings despite the demanding schedule of leading a legislature that’s in the midst of some serious soul searching, with numerous inquiries underway into its scandal-scarred contract procurement process. Gonsalves herself also had some house cleaning in order after reports that she hadn’t properly filed years’ worth of electronic campaign finance reports with the state—a serious violation she hurried to fix. Her tireless work on behalf of her constituents and dedication to all Nassau County residents resonates, as her smooth re-election last year is testament.
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Diane Gaines EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WOMAN’S OPPORTUNITY REHABILITATION CENTER
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Diane Gaines is a fighter. The mother of three suffered a popped blood vessel in her spine at 24 years old that has relegated her to a wheelchair. She’s also a breast cancer survivor. Despite all that’s gone wrong, Gaines is an eternal optimist, who not only strives to better her life, but also the lives of dozens of women she helps each year as executive director of The Woman’s Opportunity Rehabilitation Center (The WORC)—a community correction program that helps downtrodden women re-enter society following a stint in prison, serving as an alternative to incarceration. The original program was shut down in 2010 after its parent company cut funding. But Gaines worked tirelessly to get it up and running again and she continues to help women who would otherwise have nowhere else to turn.
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LGBTNETWORK.ORG
CONGRATULATIONS David Kilmnick, PhD, MSW CEO of LGBT Network on being named to the
2016
LONG ISLAND POWER LIST! The LGBT Network is an association of non-profit organizations working to serve the LGBT community of Long Island and Queens throughout the lifespan: Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY), The Long Island LGBT Community Center (The Center), Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders – Long Island (SAGE-LI), and the Queens LGBT Community Center (Q Center)
ending homophobia & transphobia •
providing a home & safe space •
advocating for equality facebook.com/liglbtnetwork NASSAU CENTER AT WOODBURY 20 Crossways Park Dr. N., Suite 110 Woodbury, NY 11797 T 516.323.0011 F 516.750.4715
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@LGBTNetworkNY SUFFOLK WEST CENTER AT BAY SHORE 34 Park Avenue Bay Shore, NY 11706 T 631.665.2300 F 631.665.7874
2015 LONG ISLAND PRESS POWER LIST
youtube.com/liglbtnetwork SUFFOLK EAST THE HAMPTONS LGBT CENTER 44 Union Street Sag Harbor, NY 11963 T 631.899.4950 F 631.665.7874
@LGBTNetwork QUEENS CENTER AT LITTLE NECK 58-20 Little Neck Pkwy. Little Neck, NY 11362 T 516.323.0011 F 516.750.4715
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