Vision LI Brings Agenda 21 Dream to Long Island or Is It A Nightmare?

February 15, 2012 By Anonymous

A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch ~ Ben Franklin

Long Island is buying up a lot of land with tax money and they might not be using it the way you want. The spending is part of the green agenda. Locally, Vision Long Island is the organization that facilitates intercommunication for the promotion of the green agenda. The laws to implement the vision for Long Island are in place and the beast will rage on unfettered unless people get involved. There is also the potential for at least one suspicious lighting device on Long Island but more on that later.

When I went to the Molloy Sustainability meeting some months ago I didn’t go prepared. I’m not an anti-green activist, merely a Long Islander who cares about the environment. I left somewhat stunned.

A young “environmentalist” who was involved in measuring Long Island’s carbon footprint spoke about the carbon footprint which had recently been recorded. She said, the footprint is quite bad and that people on Long Island weren’t going to like it when they realized how much money they were going to have to spend and how much their lifestyles would have to change in order to reduce the footprint.

For example, she said, mandates covering new building meet serious environmental demands and would in time become far more stringent (my words).

Someone in the audience asked if something could be done about homeowners wasting energy. She said, for now, they were encouraging homeowners to reduce their footprint voluntarily because they didn’t want to hit people with too much too soon and get them unnecessarily upset as she knew they would be. She wasn’t talking about tea party people, she was talking about the average person.

She clearly said that if they don’t do it voluntarily, they could be forced but she hoped they did not have to go there.

One woman spoke about how she forced her town into sustainability by circumventing the law and that she would be happy to share her ideas with anyone who was interested. She said that no one in the town complained and it was the right thing to do.

Out of nowhere a man about 45 – 50 yelled out, “I have a zero carbon footprint! Zero!” Now the people in these meetings, just so you know, represent science, politics, towns, businesses, colleges, et al. They are not fools, but, if someone told me I was on the set of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I would have believed it.

There is a movement to transform Long Island into mixed use homesites that include public transportation, high rises, extensive and expensive waste management programs, open spaces (that’s a joke), infill, TDR’s, etc.

TDR’s are interesting. This is how the scheme works. Favored developers purchase land through TDR (Transfer Development Rights) transfers as we age or become too poor. The person whose land was purchased using a TDR keeps it until they die. It transfers to the government or some shell historic foundation upon death. Inherited property becomes a thing of the past under this system but with ever-rising inheritance taxes, it might as well. The developers who bought the property generally give the purchased land to the government in exchange for property by a railroad station which developers will then use for high rise development. The government uses the more picturesque property for open spaces or they give it to developers for mixed use zoning complexes. That’s a rough description.

Mixed use zoning is both good and bad. These areas allow for stores, open spaces, storied homes (affordable they say), and public/bike transportation all in one mixed use zoned area. The zoning laws are changing everywhere – take a careful look. Mt. Sinai just approved one such development. It’s very nice and it looks like it is done well, but it is something that needs to be watched. They are spouting up all over the island and it may or may not be what people want.

The one thing you might not like is that the greens are getting people out of their cars and nice single family homes with half acres into more compressed housing developments near public transportation and bike paths. There is some background info here: Long Island Soon to be the Island of High Rises, Trains and Government-Owned Lands

All this is coming to you smartly via smart grids and smart meters and smart growth so we can grow smartly in a sustainable environment for health and safety, further historic and farm preservation, add traffic safety and calmness, strengthen existing structures and reuse the old. Great, right? Who doesn’t want those things? Planning for the future is terrific. However, YOU might not like it when you realize how it can be abused and frankly hasn’t worked all that well to date.

For one thing, millions of our tax dollars are going to buy up historic lands using “historic foundations.” I have linked one example and regardless of what you think this property is worth, our tax money paid for it and we paid top dollar in this market. Read here: Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld’s Backdoor Taxation

Now, they will tell you it is done with grants or state money. What the hay do you think that is??? It is your federal, state and local taxes. Because it is indirect or backdoor, it seems innocuous. It is not. Maybe it is worse, because now they have added another layer of expensive bureaucracy to handle the “grants.”

In New York, Eminent Domain has been abused. People who have fought Eminent Domain have been threatened with having the property declared blighted, which brings the value of the property down considerably. It is hard to fight the government. After the property is taken, the politicians often decide which developer gets the seized land. Colleges are notorious for taking over private property in this way.

Recently, I mentioned the $7.1 million dollar bike path that is only one-third of the way completed. Do you really think it takes that much money to put in a bike path?

All of this magic is being facilitated by organizations such as Vision Long Island. I am not saying that I am against them. I do believe there is a place for some of this, but they appear to be a bit radical for some of us. They have stepped up the pace of their agenda despite the fact that we have a cash flow and unemployment problem on Long Island. When the government tells you it is free money, please call them on it. They need to hear other voices so they cannot continue without any kind of balance.

I personally don’t want Suffolk and Nassau to become Queens. It is not that far down the road since the government already owns a thousand acres by railroad stations. I don’t like stack ‘em and pack ‘em housing and I believe there will be more safety issues and more congestion as opposed to less. I don’t want to ride around in a trolley or sell my house for dirt. I can’t ride bikes everywhere nor do I want to. Mostly, and this is my key concern, I don’t want the government owning most of the good land. I am opposed to TDR’s and Eminent Domain – where do you stand? I might be in the minority on this issue.

There are many positive things to say about Vision Long Island. They help the needy and the homeless but they have also reached into the middle class with some of their projects (if the middle class continues to exist on Long Island in the future). Someone needs to monitor them and their excessive, expensive green agenda.

Okay, so what does all this really mean?

I am not going to belabor U.N. Agenda 21 because anyone using those words is accused of being a kook or a conspiracy theorist. Calling up the words “Agenda 21? subjects one to demonization so I’ll keep my info on that short and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is what is happening where you live and if you are okay with it.

U.N. Agenda 21 is not a plot or conspiracy. It is the international communities’ blueprint for a sustainable world. The problem for me is that the U.N. is Marxist and opposed to private ownership of property. For instance, they see the United States as belonging to the world and believe we are greedy exploiters who must now share all we have with the world. Sovereignty becomes lost in this type of system.

As an example of how this philosophy can be used, check out The Law of the Sea Treaty that Obama hopes to sign. It will give 25% of our resources to the U.N. world body. Read here: Four dangerous treaties (I know the Senate has to okay them, but does anyone think that Reid’s Senate won’t?)

The Kyoto Summit of 1997 was held in order to reach worldwide agreement on reducing carbon emissions. U.N. Agenda 21 is the blueprint. It was not signed by our President. The U.N. has stated that they now believe they must morph governments into Agenda 21 throughout the world by going through the smallest levels of all governments to attain the changes outlined in Agenda 21. They do this through ICLEI.

LI ICLEI is realized in part through Visions Long Island.

Vision Long Island provides a framework for implementing at least some of the ideas taken from ICLEI. They promote the purchasing of properties for open spaces and the installation of smart grids. It is the reason for the bike paths, the unaffordable waste management and so on. TDR’s are a big component of Agenda 21/ICLEI. Don’t believe me – read Agenda 21 for yourself.

As I said, there is no need to bring up Agenda 21 again – look at your neighborhoods and what your town fathers are doing. Decide if you are comfortable with what is going on.

We don’t want an America where our grandchildren cannot own land and are wards of the state so it behooves us to be alert to some of these green ideas. Agenda 21 is only background information.

This vision is already in place in the colleges and the laws have been passed. We are moving ahead, ignorantly perhaps. Cuomo has passed laws, reps have passed laws. It is done. It is Smart Growth for a sustainable world. Who doesn’t want smart growth? I certainly don’t support growth that isn’t smart and I do think that planning for the future is wise, but what are we planning for and how are we going to do it? People need to get involved and find out.

I am going to give you some information and you can launch your own research from there.

A lot of laws were passed and the greenies are even surprised they passed.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbzCsL1RW8M&feature=player_embedded <<<<Vision Long Island Smart Growth Summit like Plan Bay Area Workshops - JP Morgan Chase, et al sponsored

Let’s talk about blight for a moment. It is one way they take land. NYS is the worst state in the union for taking property that is not blighted, calling it blighted, buying it up and turning it over to their “favored” developers for development.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the town of New London, Conn., could use eminent domain to seize modest, well-maintained homes on desirable waterfront property for a private development project. Prior to the ruling, the Supreme Court had held that for such a taking to be a legitimate “public use,” the properties in question must have “veered to such an extreme that the public was suffering as a consequence.”

For the first time, the Supreme Court declared that any property may be condemned so long as officials can envision a better use for it.

This decision was upheld in 2009. While 23 states have passed laws to counteract this abuse, New York is not one of them, with New York City having a particularly abominable track record. They claim it is for the poor or to rehab an area. Yet, it often does nothing to help the poor or reform and rehabilitate areas – the proof is extensive. Read here: Robin Hood in Reverse. Some “rehabbed” properties have gone to the wealthy and they are getting tax breaks meant for the poor.

Long Island plans to use TDR’s over Eminent Domain as much as possible. I don’t personally like TDR’s.

I am also concerned about how blight might be used.

I am only saying that we need to keep an eye on them because their definition (on the draft copy) – look at it yourself on pages 6 & 7 – does include land with weeds, poor landscaping and debris, outdated buildings, etc. – it is a broad definition. Couldn’t that take in a lot of non-blighted property? Take a look at it yourself here: Brookhaven Blight to Light Draft 2010. I could not find a copy of the finalized study.

Let’s move on to complete streets, touted as a huge success story for Brookhaven. I think that might be debatable. It is for “health and safety” and it is meant to get us out of our cars and on to trolleys, trains, buses, and bikes. It includes curbs, smart lights, cutouts on roads, bike paths, etc.

This all comes at great expense so even if this all meets with your approval, can we do it right now when we have so many people suffering? Remember the uncompleted $7.1 million for a one-and-a-half mile bike path from Setauket to Port Jefferson Station that I told you about.

This is where you can get info on the Brookhaven complete streets which is only applicable to the town: Brookhaven complete streets on town roads

The New York State complete streets bill passed so it is a done deal. Read here: Better Cities. In Suffolk, we elected a man, Steve Bellone, who is single-minded in purpose when it comes to this agenda. He only recently fired 12 lawyers who were funded by the federal government and I don’t know how that is supposed to pay for his green agenda. He did, however, say it would. Not sure I see the connection.

Here is the policy he used in Babylon, using the “safety” issue as the draw: Babylon Sustainable Complete Streets. He raised the taxes in Babylon by 35% during his tenure. He is no slouch when it comes to spending.

Vision Long Island is not alone. They now have the consortium and all the veins are connected. Read about the consortium here: The expensive project monster spreads.

We are going to have intelligent streets, intelligent lights, and smart meters on the smart grid.

It is a done deal and it may or may not be good depending on costs. LIPA has began the process, laws are in place. It is done.

LIPA is building their smart grid which will tie everyone on Long Island into the meters, the lights, energy sources and so on. LIPA does need to update the grid. It sounds smart but there are concerns. Read here for a good explanation by National Grid as to what constitutes a smart grid: National Grid.

LIPA started with $119 million in stimulus funds and that was a one shot deal. Where is that money going to come from? Just curious.

LIPA has these smart meters which will detect energy as people use it in real time. If they decide to pass a law to require homeowners to meet a strict carbon footprint, most homes won’t make the grade.

I am not that concerned about smart meters being Orwellian but there is one thing that I do think might be a little Big Brother for me - the lights.

To provide some balance, read the HuffPo article discussing the intelligent lights: HuffPo. The author is correct in saying that the lights now being put up to save energy and provide better lighting are not yet fitted to accommodate the Orwellian data harvesting, naked scanning, intercommunication, and so on, but the fact that DHS is funding a lot of this leads me to the question – why?

In fairness, DHS is concerned about our energy grid going down and the new lights are meant to transfer energy from the road to the lights. They are called PZT’s or Piezoelectric. PZT’s are not intellistreets but they can be fitted with cameras. A couple of our new lights are stamped as PZT.

Let’s jump back to the college campuses who are participating in these intelligent systems.

LIPA has joined with colleges to develop smart energy corridors and campuses. Read here: LIPA Smart Corridors. The goal is for the lights, as one example, to be able to communicate with students. Why? And what are they going to communicate about? A lot of crazy stuff can be attributed to health and safety so I would like to know more about lights that communicate.

This is Stony Brook’s Climate Action Plan: ACUPCC. I want you to look at the Stony Brook inventory and funding draft sheet before I go on to talk about George Orwell. Scroll down to page 19: Smart Grid Inventory. You will notice it is being funded by DHS and other government agencies – lots of big government involvement and lots of expense. Why? The paperwork out of Stony Brook talks about safety and communicating with the students. The lights might not be DHS ready but it sure sounds like that is where they are going with it. All their plans include surrounding areas outside the campus as well.

PZT lights are a good idea with threats to our energy grid form foreign sources – it is an ingenious way of circumventing a disabled system. The idea of them being fitted with cameras or communicating is where it gets a little concerning for me.

Stony Brook Road now has this light stamped PZT which was put in for safety. It is an energy saver and it is bright. It can be equipped with sensors at some point. Read this MIT thesis: MIT While we don’t have sensors or cameras at the present time, it could be coming because it is already being done elsewhere. Using street lights as surveillance tools has already been advanced by several European countries. In 2007, leaked documents out of the UK Home Office revealed that British authorities were working on proposals to fit lamp posts with CCTV cameras that would X-ray scan passers-by and “undress them” in order to “trap terror suspects.” Dutch News developed a naked body scanner so they can see through peoples’ clothes to look for weapons allegedly. Reports indicate that UK cities such as Middlesborough have already installed surveillance cameras which even use a speaker system to reprimand people when they commit minor offenses such as littering — intoning,“We are watching you.” Does this sound Orwellian to you? Remember the words form 1984, “Big Brother is watching you?” (Source: New American) Farmington, Michigan has intellistreets which will eventually see all: Farmington Intellistreets The NYPD is now going to scan pedestrians for any image that could be a weapon. I have to agree with the ACLU on this one – it’s very concerning. Are we going to abandon the 4th amendment for this “security?” What’s our price? Ray Kelly said it will only be allowed under suspicious circumstances – the camel’s nose is under the tent.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeQUAtJT5Xk&feature=player_embedded

Intellistreet lights can scan, monitor, collect data, and communicate with people. It is being funded for use by DHS. Intellistreets has been criticized for their potential overreach into personal liberties.

They describe themselves thus – Intellistreets is the wireless digital infrastructure that controls, monitors & maintains the sensory world.

The homeland security applications were revealed by their own ad at the very end of this video -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZEi73_CBk&feature=player_embedded

Intellistreets shot back with the following press release defending the lights -

…What the Intellistreets system is designed to do is simply make our streets safer, more energy efficient and smarter, while being informative and entertaining.

The first and most obvious benefit is energy conservation, through intelligent dimmable lights that react to the dynamic lighting environment. Cities and towns can reduce their electricity costs for lighting by 75 percent compared to conventional systems – a huge advantage in these economically challenged times. This is why the Department of Energy (not the DHS) funded hundreds of municipalities with “grant” money to begin the process of saving energy. Our test site benefitted from this kind of small equipment grant and our firm funded the entire installation cost.

In its fullest form, Intellistreets also includes the collection and reporting of information immediately and completely so that first responders (police, fire and EMS) can react very quickly in moments of danger for an individual or an entire community; and, in other cases, pedestrian and vehicular traffic can be safely routed away from danger in an orderly manner.

That’s why we proudly reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to share our technology. DHS needs American entrepreneurs to develop the technologies that can better keep our citizens safe. Importantly, DHS is intrigued by Intellistreets’ potential. They see the tremendous opportunity to add a level of safety and security into our public environments utilizing infrastructure that already exists. To date, no funding from the DHS has been either offered or accepted by us…

These lights can photograph, harvest personal data (even get addresses), scan, and so much more. It is in the future but it needs to be supervised by the public.

We do not have these lights yet but it sounds like they might be coming our way along with a whole lot of expensive smart growth.

Islip Pines is scheduled for smart growth. Port Jefferson is into the whole waste management and revitalization dribble even though they will soon be in dire straights with the closing of the power plant. Evidence is everywhere on Long Island that this is Vision Long Island on sterioids.

Speaking of power. What did we get for the lauded LI Solar Farm located on the Brookhaven National Laboratory campus?

First of all, we will never know what it cost because that cost is clouded by rate prices and taxes (& taxes posing as grants, credits and rebates). One DOE grant alone was for $38 million.

These are accounting gimmicks meant to send out the false message that this is “free” money.

The plant did not develop anything in the way of “green” jobs. All it requires is maintenance. Maybe 10 people work there. It will roughly cost $298 million to maintain in today’s dollars over the next two decades (TODAY’S MONEY!). For all this, we get a 32meg plant that powers 4500 homes – that may be one village. A typical gas power plant has 250 – 400 megs but the “smart” people aren’t going there.

I’d go on to drones in the sky but his article is long enough. The government will eventually use this power to, not go after criminals, but to go after YOU! How much of your freedom are you willing to give up? Show up at local meetings and tell your town fathers.