Report: More NYC residents commuting to jobs on LI

Daily Point

LIRR improvements seen paying off

While Long Island’s transit connection to New York City primarily goes from east to west — as suburbanites commute to Manhattan or elsewhere in the other boroughs for work, that has begun to change, according to a report released Tuesday by the Regional Plan Association.

The RPA found that 113,760 New York City residents work on the Island — a slight increase above pre-pandemic numbers. The figure was about 112,000 in 2019. That’s a larger number of reverse commuters than northern New Jersey, the mid-Hudson Valley or southwestern Connecticut.  

Those numbers represent city residents who work for Long Island companies — whether they’re commuting every day, working remotely, or maintaining a hybrid schedule.  Nonetheless, in an interview with The Point, RPA senior fellow Chris Jones pointed to the opening of the Long Island Rail Road’s Third Track as partly responsible for the number of reverse commuters — and the potential for that number to grow further in the future.

That was always one of the goals of the LIRR’s Third Track effort, which the RPA strongly supported, advocating for it even in the face of some pushback from local officials.

And Jones said it’s likely that the Third Track, combined with business expansion on the Island, will increase the reverse commuting numbers further.

“If jobs continue to grow on Long Island, the number of reverse commuters will grow,” Jones said Tuesday.

Jones noted that unlike other suburbs, improvements such as Third Track and Grand Central Madison already are in place to make the commute to the east easier.

“The investment other parts of the region need, Long Island now has it,” Jones said. “That’s going to create value in and of itself.”

The RPA’s report, entitled “Commuter Dividend,” found that 306,328 Long Islanders live in Nassau or Suffolk counties and work in New York City, earning $37.9 billion in wages and representing 6.5% of city workers. But Jones noted that to grow its economy further, the Island still needs to attract more residents who will either work in jobs based in Nassau or Suffolk counties — or in the city. That, he said, requires more housing, especially around transit hubs.

Even with shifts in how the region lives and works, Jones said the interconnectivity between the Island and New York City hasn’t changed.

“The Island’s economy would not be anywhere without New York City, and New York City would not be able to thrive without Long Island,” Jones said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

The AIs have it

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Data Point

Early voting numbers on LI down so far

In the first three days of early voting in New York, 26,076 Long Islanders went to the polls, including 14,314 voters in Nassau County and 11,762 in Suffolk. This marks a sharp drop in early voter turnout compared with 2022, when 43,602 Long Islanders voted over the first weekend.

Lower turnout is expected this year, given that a noncongressional and nonpresidential election, like this one, draws only close party supporters and those politically active to the voting booth. A rainy Sunday likely didn’t help. As of Tuesday morning, 5,899 registered Democrats and 5,826 Republicans voted in Nassau, versus 12,422 Democrats and 10,631 Republicans last year. There were 2,104 “blank” voters, unaffiliated with any party.

The Town of Hempstead saw as many as 6,000 early voters, the biggest overall number by town, while Oyster Bay was the only town in the county where more Republican voters (1,461) cast early votes than Democrats (1,016). In Long Beach, where there is a contentious battle for control of the city council as well as an open county legislative seat, 796 early votes were cast — 420 by Democrats and 250 by Republicans.

In the race for Nassau’s legislative districts the 10th District saw the greatest number of voters at 2,434, consisting of 1,046 Republicans, 686 Democrats and 660 unaffiliated and Independent voters. Democrat Weihua Yan is challenging freshman incumbent Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Republican in this legislative race. The 4th Legislative District came second with 1,233 voters.

Suffolk County saw a 42% decline in early voters in the first days, with 11,762, compared with 20,549 in 2022.

As of early Tuesday, 5,013 voters in Suffolk were Democrats and 4,287 Republican. Comparative early voting data for 2022 by party was unavailable, as was a breakdown by legislative district for Suffolk.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

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