Billy Joel wants to keep his plans for April 5th’s show at the Coliseum a secret. But, in an exclusive interview with Newsday’s Glenn Gamboa, Joel says he wants Long Islanders to be proud of their heritage and to support people and institutions that continue to build it.

Are you looking forward to the Nassau show?

Yeah. I don’t even know what the place looks like now. I’m interested to see the new Coliseum. It kind of looked like a spaceship the last rendering I saw. . . . I’m a Long Islander and that’s the venue. It has been for many years of my life.

The city is close. Does Long Island need its own arena?

Absolutely! Long Island is its own metropolitan area. . . . Long Island definitely deserves its own arena. It’s a world-class area.

Read more at Newsday.

Photo by Jeff Schock