Long Island’s lack of walkable downtowns containing apartments and townhouses is hurting the region and causing young people to leave, according to Long Island Index, and a third of Long Islanders would like to have the option to live in that kind of downtown.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.