RONKONKOMA, NY-As elected leaders call for JetBlue to consider expanding to Long Island’s MacArthur Airport, plans are moving forward for the development of 50 acres of land around the nearby Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station.

State Senator Chuck Schumer recently sent a letter to JetBlue CEO Dave Barger, outlining the reasons that the airline might consider the airport as part of its planned northeast expansion. According to the letter, posted on Sen. Schumer’s website, those reasons are based upon recent demographic evidence that speaks to the region “growing eastward, with the largest current and projected population growth” within the area around the airport.

A JetBlue spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com that no expansion plans have been set for the northeast, and that adding new destinations involves a rather lengthy process. “The timeline for adding a new destination, including analysis, planning and execution,” the spokesperson says, “generally ranges from 8 months to 3 years.” Of chief concern is ensuring that a new location will be sustainable in the long term.

In addition to market analysis, part of that expansion process involves meeting with local representatives, which is just the type of dialogue that Sen. Schumer, in his letter, seems eager to start. He encourages Barger to meet with several business groups, including the Long Island Association and the Association for a Better Long Island.

Mark Lesko, the Brookhaven Town supervisor who has championed development around the nearby Ronkonkoma LIRR station, tells GlobeSt.com that the airport’s proximity to the station is a key factor in that development, which would bolster the area's standing as a transportation hub. The train station serves as a link to shuttle buses to and from the airport.

“The synergy with the airport is critical because when you think about it in terms of really the metropolitan region, as a transit-oriented destination we think we’re second to none,” Lesko says. “Basically in the same box you’ve got a regional airport, the busiest train station on Long Island, the Long Island Expressway a mile north and just a few miles north of that you’ve got Stony Brook University. We pretty much have everything.”

A request for expressions of interest that the Town of Brookhaven issued earlier this year for the development of 50 acres of land north of the train station drew proposals from companies such as Merchant Equity Institutional Partners, Tritec Real Estate Co. and Renaissance Downtowns. The submissions were due June 30, 2011 and Lesko says that the process is moving forward.

“The idea is to do a mix of uses--housing, retail and maybe some office and really create that cool downtown that’s missing on Long Island,” Lesko says. “In terms of the timeline we’re moving very quickly. We expect to designate a master developer by the end of the year.”