Did PGA Championship bring boon to LI businesses?

Public officials had promised the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black would give Long Island a $100 million economic boost, but some business owners say that did not happen.

News 12 Staff

May 19, 2019, 9:12 PM

Updated 1,793 days ago

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Public officials had promised the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black would give Long Island a $100 million economic boost, but some business owners say that did not happen.
Elected officials have not provided a specific breakdown of the economic impact, but the tournament was expected to create 1,100 full- and part-time jobs.
Danny Romano at Frankie's East-Side Gourmet Restaurant says he did not see a spike in business.
"I thought it would be booming the way they were bragging about it," says Romano. "They kept saying hundreds of thousands of people were going to be coming through the village. Where are they?"
The Mayor of Farmingdale Ralph Ekstrand says the PGA Championship has been a hole-in-one for his community. In fact, he says Main Street has been packed all week long, filled with golf fans coming from Bethpage Black.
"It's certainly a shot in the arm for our downtown merchants," Ekstrand says. "This is the fifth golf tournament we've had in Farmingdale, and it is the most successful for our downtown merchants."
Romano says he hopes the next time around, more customers will find their way from the golf course to his front door.


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