Long Island business confidence dips amid economic challenges | Long Island Business News

Last year there was a measurable uptick in confidence among Long Island business leaders. This year that confidence dipped. Some of that decline reflects ongoing challenges, including long-standing affordability issues and, more recently, broader uncertainty. Local leaders met Thursday morning at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury to better understand the factors that are shaping Long Island’s economy.

The gathering centered on the “Long Island Economic Survey Results Launch,” hosted by PKF O’Connor Davies in partnership with the Siena Research Institute (SRI). The results provided insights via 311 Long Island business leaders who participated in the survey, helping to identify emerging trends, challenges and opportunities.

The event included a panel moderated by PKF O’Connor Davies Partner Jeffrey Davoli. The survey’s results were delivered by Don Levy, director of SRI. Levy was also part of a panel discussion that included U.S. Reps. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), as well as Stacey Sikes, vice president of government affairs and communications at Long Island Association.

Business confidence slipped from a “post-2024 election high,” prompting leaders to take a more cautious approach, according to Levy.

“Fifty-four percent of the businesses we spoke to a year ago predicted that the year ahead was going to be better,” Levy said. “They were excited.”

Those business leaders had planned to invest in fixed assets, add employees and see increased revenue and profitability.

But, Levy said, “the year did not live up to their expectations.”

Expectations for both the Long Island and national economies, according to the survey, declined sharply, with pessimism about the Long Island economy more than doubling from the year prior.

Volatility, including tariffs and energy, may play a role in impacting business confidence, LaLota said.

“What government does or doesn’t do, I think, can help or hurt you, and just having stability in those areas” can be important to businesses as they look at revenues and the ability to hire, he said.

Uncertainty around tariffs are a big concern for owners, Suozzi said, adding that they are worried about upcoming changes to the current business environment.

“I’ve talked to so many businesses that ordered things from overseas. While it was on the boat, the tariffs went up,” Suozzi said. “They got hit when they got to the dock with a $500,000 bill that they didn’t plan for. People can’t function in that environment. That affects the confidence. That affects your desire to say yes, I’m going to invest in this.”

Also impacting confidence is affordability, something that’s now part of a national discussion, although Long Island has been grappling with the challenge, especially housing costs, for decades.

Affordability is even seeping into succession planning. Davoli pointed out that, according to the survey, “70 percent express concern, yet only 27 percent have a structure plan in place.”

Sikes said she wasn’t surprised that succession planning is an issue, especially at a time when the population is getting older.

“We already have a challenge keeping young people on Long Island,” she said. “A median home price is $800,000 on Long Island. How can any young person afford a down payment, a closing cost, the mortgage and the taxes?” The region’s high cost of living makes it difficult for businesses to bring in and retain the next generation of leaders.

When it comes to adding housing and navigating zoning, LaLota, said, “local control is always best. The state and the feds should not have a role in that.”

Suozzi said that 95 percent of housing should be single family homes, but recommended that 5 percent, or less, should include housing in downtowns. “We have to build places where young people can afford to live,” but still “preserve our suburban quality of life in the process,” he said.

Both Suozzi and LaLota spoke about bringing tax dollars back to New York State, adding that at the federal level, the state only gets back 85 cents for every dollar it sends to Washington, DC.

Suozzi pointed out that New York State is more expensive than Florida and Texas because New York has the lowest rate of uninsured adults and children, while the two other states have the highest. New York also pays teachers more than many other states.

New York, he said, has tremendous wealth, “but we have to get that wealth back to our state to try and reduce our costs. Or we’re going to lose this population fight because people are moving to these southwestern and southeastern lowest tax states, and we’re not keeping up with them.

“Federal tax policy can help with that,” he said. “But it’s going to be a tough fight.”

The complete survey is available here.