With New York State and local governments beginning to face the fiscal fallout from Wall Street's historic retreat, the Association for a Better Long Island (ABLI) has launched a public information program that questions the acquisition of private property with taxpayers' money when its purchase can't be justified for environmental protection or landmark purposes.

ABLI's executive director Desmond Ryan says the most stunning abuse of using public funds to acquire private land is the $16 million purchase of Dick Cavett's Montauk property so that his ocean front vista can be protected. “At a time when critical programs may be curtailed that range from mass transit to health care to law enforcement it is inconceivable that taxpayer's dollars would be used to acquire a property that couldn't find a buyer on the open market and will now offer limited access to the public."

Ryan says the Paterson Administration needs to revisit this issue given the race to close on the property. “No one seemed to check the box ‘common sense.'"

he business advocacy organization is launching its public information program on WINS all news radio as the “first stop" in an effort to confront the decision to give Mr. Cavett a Christmas present of $16 million in taxpayers' dollars.

The narration states:

Wall Street is retreating. Jobs are being lost.  Government requires extraordinary leadership in the face of proposed mass transit cuts, health care cuts, law enforcement cuts and tax hikes.

So why would the State of New York be spending $6 million to buy some of Dick Cavett's Montauk summer property?

At a time of tough decisions, this one should be easy.

The Paterson Administration is urged to take a hard long at this deal and whether it squares with its own commitment to fiscal prudence and shared pain in times of crisis.

We need to be strengthening essential government and emergency services, helping business and creating infrastructure while protecting the taxpayer's wallet. Incredibly, an additional $10 million in county and town funds are being used to give Mr. Cavett a $16 million Christmas present.

And so we ask, “Is this the time to protect a celebrity's view of the ocean with millions in public money?"

Ryan stated, “At a time when quality of life services are being impacted the idea of using taxpayer's money to buy a celebrity's view of the Atlantic can't stand up to any rational explanation. It is a decision that needs plenty of sunlight and this public information effort is just one more stop in our effort to create accountability when it comes to how public money is spent on acquiring private property."

The Association for a Better Long Island represents some $20 billion in commercial, industrial, retail and residential real estate throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and its mission is to propose, support and encourage land use policies that enhance our region's quality of life.