ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

Long Island is a lot of things. Easy to figure out is not one of them at times, especially for those who are not from the area but are considering the region as a place to set up a business.

That is where the Long Island Partnership comes into play. Created in the early 1990s as the Island rallied to recover from a precipitous loss in defense-related manufacturing business, today the Partnership serves as a "corporate concierge" for businesses already established in either Nassau or Suffolk counties as well as for businesses from outside the area that are looking to tap into Long Island's tremendous array of resources. One phone call or email to the Long Island Partnership, for instance, can be the equivalent of calling more than a dozen different economic development organizations that provide hundreds of different programs and services.

Here's how it works. The Partnership consists of representatives from NYS Empire State Development, Nassau County, Suffolk County, the Townships of Babylon, Brookhaven, Hempstead, Huntington, Islip, North Hempstead, Riverhead, the city of Glen Cove, two utilities -- Long Island Power Authority and KeySpan, the Long Island Development Corp., the Long Island Association, the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission, the Community Development Corporation of Long Island and the Route 110 Redevelopment Corporation. The Partnership's executive director, Michael Watt, is responsible for connecting the businesses that can benefit from the Partnership members' programs and services with the representatives from those organizations.

Business owners or managers can contact Mr. Watt and he will set up the necessary meetings and do the follow up legwork. His services are available free of charge to the businesses looking to take advantage of this opportunity.

The gamut of businesses the Partnership works with ranges from a potato farmer out east interested in breaking into the potato-chip-making business to a pasta factory looking to expand to international companies exploring the use of Long Island's research and development resources, 19 four-year colleges and universities and highly educated, highly productive work force.

Those interested in learning more about how the Long Island Partnership can help can go to www.LongIslandPartnership.org or contact Michael Watt by either calling (631-951-3900, ext. 325) or sending an email to info@LongIslandPartnership.org