Portrait Of Lee Koppelman, 'Long Island's Planner'

"He was above politics, those who knew him say, and yet he managed to be the consummate politician. He wooed Newsday, which gave him and his plans star billing, and leaders of both political parties. He had a legendary temper. He was a man whose influence raised the stature of planners across Long Island and yet who ultimately could do little as he watched elected officials go against his advice.

Critics say that any measure of Koppelman's career has to take into account the reality of modern Long Island as a region beset by high taxes, a lack of affordable housing, strip malls and traffic jams."