Long Island is making progress toward solving a quandary of the next-generation car market:  Which comes first, the alternative-fuel car or the fueling station?

Early buyers of hydrogen-powered cars will indeed have a place to fuel them up, if Mark Calisi moves ahead with his plans to build a hydrogen refueling station on Shelter Island.  This could stimulate some Long Island consumers' desire to buy the new cars when they hit the market.

Crucially, Calisi says his station will be open to the public, unlike New York's other hydrogen stations. Thus far, most of the nation's roughly 200 hydrogen stations are for government and corporate vehicles only.

Hydrogen powered cars create a reaction with oxygen from the air, emitting only water as a byproduct. The biggest automakers have functioning prototypes. 

Government can help catalyze the new industry, and Newsday reports that Calisi will be meeting with Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy to seek help with the permitting process.  The station may be three to five years away, but the wheels are starting to roll.