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The Executive Offices
Dear Filmmakers & Friends:
It is a pleasure to send greetings to filmmakers and fans of the Long Island Film/TV Foundation whose goal is to stimulate and encourage filmmaking and television production on Long Island.
The New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development shares the Foundation’s goals and is committed to encourage the growth of the film and television industries throughout New York State, including Long Island. To that end we offer the New York State Film Production Credit program which offers qualifying film and television productions a 30% savings on their below-the-line budget!
Projects that shoot anywhere in New York State, including anywhere on Long Island, may be eligible to participate in the credit program. To see if your next project qualifies, and for more information on the program visit http://www.nylovesfilm.com/tax.asp.
Recently Long Island has been featured in popular, new, long-standing and award-winning television series like Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty, White Collar, Law & Order, All My Children, and Damages. In addition, the beautiful and diverse locations of Long Island have been seen in the films City Island, After.Life, What Happens In Vegas, and most recently Columbia Pictures did their stage work for the upcoming film Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, in a studio in Bethpage, NY.
I fully appreciate the Foundation’s enthusiastic support. Let’s continue to work together to keep Long Island strong, to support initiatives which increase filming and economic activity, and to celebrate the wondrous possibilities of this region and its people.
With my warm regards to all.
Sincerely,
Pat Swinney Kaufman
Executive Director
New York State Governor’s
Office for Motion Picture
& Television Development
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Thomas R. Suozzi
Nassau County Executive
 Thomas R. Suozzi was elected Nassau County Executive in 2001 and is currently serving his second term. A government reformer, attorney, certified public accountant, and former eight-year Mayor of Glen Cove Thomas R. Suozzi, 46, continues to bring his strong management skills, fiscal discipline, compassion, and vision to Nassau County.
Described in news reports as “a leader of exceptional and rare ability” (Newsday), "terrific problem solver and public servant in the best sense of the term” (New York Times), a "man of relatively boundless integrity" (New York magazine) Suozzi has continued to mold Nassau County, the nation’s first suburban community, into a model of smart growth and sustainable development for the future.
Just days before Suozzi’s inauguration as Nassau County Executive in 2002, the Maxwell School of Public Affairs rated Nassau the "worst run county in the nation." Within his first year in office, Suozzi turned a $428 million deficit into a balanced budget, leading one of the most dramatic financial turnarounds in the country.
The Daily News wrote, “Suozzi led Nassau from the brink of bankruptcy to fiscal health in a matter of three years." Newsday noted “the ebullient Mr. Suozzi has made a career of defying expectations." The Daily News stated in 2006, "Suozzi is a political swashbuckler who wins upset victories by taking risks, breaking rules and tweaking the establishment."
Suozzi was named Governing Magazine's 2005 Public Official of the Year for his innovative initiatives in Nassau, which has a population of over 1.3 million, larger than 11 states and a $2.6 billion budget, greater than 11 states. Suozzi has eliminated wasteful contracts, cut the workforce to the smallest in 30 years, and achieved historic labor concessions. Nassau is the only county in New York that did not raise taxes for five years in a row and has received 13 bond upgrades in five years, more than any county in the nation.
County Executive Suozzi's environmental initiatives have earned him national media recognition. Green Levittown, Suozzi's campaign to turn America's first suburb into the first 'green' suburb, has been profiled in Time magazine, The New York Times, on CNN, and Good Morning America, ABC's morning news show, as a local effort leading the nation in coping with climate change. Nassau County is a founding member of Climate Communities, a national advocacy coalition of cities and counties that educates and promotes local-federal partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Suozzi serves on the Executive Committee of Climate Communities.
Environmental organizations have lauded Suozzi's programs, saying that Suozzi’s “environmental programs have experienced a turnaround on par with that of the County’s financial turnaround." In 2008, the New York League of Conservation Voters named County Executive Suozzi Environmentalist of the Year in recognition of his achievements in improving environmental quality. Mr. Suozzi also received the Environmental Equinox Award from Citizens Campaign for the Environment for his environmental leadership in 2008.
Under Suozzi, Nassau has its lowest crime rate in 30 years and is the safest place in the nation with over a million people. The parks system is making a comeback, and for the first time in the county’s history voters twice approved $150 million in bonds to preserve open space.
Suozzi has introduced ground-breaking programs that have become national models. No Wrong Door places all of Nassau’s human service agencies under one roof and marries compassion and efficiency. Newsday commended No Wrong Door, stating, “By treating clients not like prisoners or freeloaders but people in real need, by determining their eligibility and getting them help faster, the county better serves its neediest elderly, kids, disabled, ill and poor."
Another Suozzi initiative, Common Sense for the Common Good unites groups with diverse views on abortion, focusing on the prevention of unintended pregnancies, housing, and adoption. The program has gained national attention. A Washington Post editorial stated Suozzi “just might move the national abortion debate to more constructive ground."
Suozzi coined the term, New Suburbia, an innovative effort that targets smart growth to expand the tax base and enhances the quality of life. Newsday commented, “Tom Suozzi is still unchallenged in his ability to articulate a vision for a new suburbia. Suozzi's willingness to take risks and challenge conventional thinking helped get the project get this far”.
Suozzi has made property tax relief a signature issue and was appointed to Chair a statewide commission on property taxes in January 2008. Suozzi, as Chair of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief, submitted the final report of the Commission to Governor David A. Paterson in December 2008. Governor Paterson said upon receiving this report: “The growth rate of property taxes in this state is unsustainable, especially for the elderly, working families and small businesses… I thank the Commission and Chairman Thomas Suozzi for their diligence over the past four months, and now it is time for the leadership of this state to act.”
County Executive Suozzi and his wife Helene live with their 3 children Caroline (13), Joseph (10), and Michael (5) in Glen Cove.
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Steve Levy
Suffolk County Executive
 Steve Levy was elected Suffolk County Executive in November 2003 and took office on January 1, 2004. Prior to reaching Suffolk's highest elected office, he served as a New York State Assemblyman and represented the 5th Assembly district, which includes part of central Suffolk County.
Steve graduated from Sachem High School and earned a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History from the State University at Stony Brook (Magna Cum Laude). He then attended St. John's University School of Law and worked for a Smithtown law firm after graduation.
Prior to his election to the Assembly, Steve served for fifteen years in the Suffolk County Legislature, where he won his first race for public office at the age of 26. He often won his district with the largest plurality in the county, usually tallying close to 80% of the vote. In 2000, he served as Deputy Presiding Officer and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Steve was honored with the Innovation in Government Award by the National Association of Counties for his friendly government legislation, which enhanced government employee courtesy to the public. More recently, Steve received the Excellence in Government Award from the Suffolk County Independence Party.
In the county, Steve earned a reputation as a taxpayer watchdog, due to his legislation to weed out inefficiency, waste and corruption. Steve was recognized as a leader in government reform, having drafted the Campaign Finance Reform Act and many other measures to mitigate conflicts of interest in the county.
Levy has earned a reputation as a government reformer in Albany. Besides his comprehensive campaign finance reform bills, he was a leader in the reform movement for on time budget legislation and the creation of an independent Budget Review Office, comprised of nonpolitical economist, that will provide prompt and accurate revenue estimates and unbiased critical analysis of the budget. As a result of his efforts, Steve was recognized by Newsday as one of the only legislators willing to aggressively pursue reform.
Steve has been an outstanding advocate for improving education. His tenacious lobbying helped procure $20 million in additional state aid to local schools, including the restoration of cuts to full day kindergarten programs. He also helped restore $200 million that had been cut in the Tuition Assistance.
Regarding health care, Steve led the fight to restore health coverage for 48,000 residents in the Empire Plan. He also fought successfully to increase coverage for breast and cervical cancer screenings.
Steve has been a leader in the fight to obtain lower prescription drug costs through high volume purchases and requiring insurers to provide coverage in every county throughout the state. His bill to require drug orders from doctors to be typed or computerized will save lives by limiting medical errors.
In an effort to lead by example, he opposed his own $17,000 county raise. Steve successfully sued the county after it had illegally adopted a budget that spent beyond legal parameters. On the state level, he supported elimination of the energy tax and the marriage tax penalty, and sought a 15 percent increase in STAR tax savings.
Steve has been equally active in protecting our environment. While in the county, Steve proposed the referendum passed by the public, which prohibited the raiding of the Clean Water Fund for political purposes. In Albany, Steve pursued innovations such as promoting recycling in the business sector and creating incentives for the purchases of hybrid electric vehicles. Steve also sought an increase in the statute of limitation for illnesses related to toxic torts.
In an effort to make government consumer friendly, Steve proposed various innovations including limiting voice mail in government and implementing flexible work hours.
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