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Tony Tanzi

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Above, Kings Park Chamber of Commerce Officers and Directors pose for a photo with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puleo after being sworn in.
Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puleo, County Executive Steve Bellone, St. Johnland CEO Mary Jean Weber, Assisted Living Administrator Paul Wasser & Kings Park Chamber of Commerce President Tony Tanzi at The new Assisted Living Facility on St. Johnland campus.
Officers and Directors sworn in by Suffolk County Supervisor Steve Bellone at luncheon hosted by St. Johnland

St. Johnland Assisted Living in Kings Park hosted the February General Membership Meeting of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 1. 

The newly-opened facility, located on the St. Johnland campus, rolled out the welcome mat for Chamber members as they held their Swearing in Ceremony of Officers and Directors. 

Special guest Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone officiated the ceremony while Chamber members enjoyed a lunch prepared for them by the St. Johnland staff.  The luncheon was sponsored by St. Catherine of Sienna Medical Center, Vested Business Brokers and Marie & Nate Goldstein.

“We thoroughly enjoyed the luncheon,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Diane Motherway, “St. Johnland couldn’t have been more gracious and accommodating.  The new Assisted Living Center is beautiful. I received many compliments on the event. Thank you for extending yourselves to help make it so pleasant in every way. “

To schedule a tour of St. Johnland Assisted Living, call 631-663-4444.

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An aerial view of Smithtown captures the Smithtown Main Street area. Photo from Town of Smithtown

Smithtown held a public hearing this Tuesday, Aug. 3, to discuss the new draft master comprehensive plan that could possibly amend the town’s zoning regulations to align them more with current land usage.

If put into place, a new zoning designation will be created, called a Multi-Family Zone. The Multi-Family Zone will allow for low to mid-rise residential development with underutilized lots to create housing types such as apartments, townhouses, senior living, assisted living or traditional mixed-use in the hamlets.

The plan also focuses on transit-oriented development near the Long Island Railroad stations and improvements to recreational facilities townwide.

While some comments from residents showed support of the plan, the feedback was mainly negative from the room, saying the underutilized lots will be taken advantage of by developers and should be used to create parks and preserve the town.

“This comprehensive plan, is nothing more than permission for developers to build tall and to build dense,” said James Bouklas, a resident of Smithtown and president of the community advocacy group We Are Smithtown. “This is a plan for more gridlock, traffic, apartment buildings everywhere, mega-developments and population boom after 50 years of stability.”

Many residents discussed a survey the town put out for community members a few years ago to input their thoughts regarding existing conditions and their outlook on Smithtown’s future. More than 1,100 community members responded.

“You took a survey, and you know what the residents want and don’t want to see in town,” said Mike Cooley, a Nesconset resident and vice president of We Are Smithtown. “Anyone who took the time to read the plan can see the opinions and concerns from residents, including a clear vote against high-density housing. The message is clear, Smithtown is for sale.”

Other residents attended to applaud the plan, hoping that it will bring an energetic feel to the town and attract a younger crowd, much like Huntington and Patchogue does.

“I think the decision for Smithtown to not adapt is risky,” said Barry Felix, a Melville resident. “Young individuals like myself are seeking vibrant communities to grow in, a community that is like the one represented in the comprehensive plan. If Smithtown doesn’t move ahead, it will fall behind.”

Thanking the board for listening to the community, Tony Tanzi, president of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, was thrilled the town was taking input from the public into heavy consideration when constructing the plan.

“I want to say on behalf of my children, who I hope want to stay here because of what you’re doing, thank you,” Tanzi said.

The next public hearing will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 10. The public is highly encouraged to attend and comment on the draft plan.

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A map outlining the proposed location of the new DEC headquarters at Nissequogue River State Park. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

Kings Park residents and community groups showed widespread support for a $40 million proposal for further development of Nissequogue River State Park but also voiced their reservations.

Tony Tanzi, president of Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, said the group’s members came together prior to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Nov. 2 joint presentation to discuss the plan’s potential impacts.

“We look forward to being your partner in this whole endeavor and anything we could do to help, we certainly will.”

— Tony Tanzi

“Our entire board is fully on board with this,” Tanzi said to state officials at the presentation. “We are ecstatic that you are making this endeavor. We look forward to being your partner in this whole endeavor and anything we could do to help, we certainly will.”

John McQuaid, president of the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation, said the organization’s members have concerns about a new DEC building being constructed near the center of the park. There are still numerous empty buildings that need to be demolished without any time frame for doing so, he said, while the government is already looking to construct new structures. Yet, the group is in support of the plan, according to its president.

“The marina is a home run,” McQuaid said. “It’s a valuable improvement for the community.”

Other concerns were raised with regard to increased traffic that may be caused by moving the DEC’s headquarters to the area and whether it will fit into the overall vision for the park. Many pointed out the state still lacks a master plan to guide the future design and usage of the more than 500 acres.

“We are so excited about this project, but we know that you can work on this project along with working on a master plan at the same time,” Linda Henninger, president of Kings Park Civic Association, said. “We all know how important it is to have a master plan for the entirety of the park.” 

“It’s a valuable improvement for the community.”

— John McQuaid

Wayne Horsley, regional director for the state office of parks, admitted to “back stepping a little” on his previous agreement with residents to draw up a master plan, but claims his office doesn’t have the funds. A master plan recently commissioned by the state for Sunken Meadow State Park cost between $200,000 and $400,000.

“We will discuss it further, we are not adversarial on the issue,” the parks regional director said.

The Nissequogue River State Park Foundation countered by offering to pay up to half the cost of a master plan. The organization has hundreds of thousands in the bank, according to McQuaid, which they are ready and willing to smartly invest in the park’s future.

Horsley expressed concerns that a master plan could take two to three years, and that what exists now is a unique opportunity to work jointly with the DEC, which is providing the majority of the $40 million in funding.

“My message to the community is let’s jump on this while we can, I think it’s a big step forward,” Horsley said. “When I have an opportunity to get $40 million into the park, it’s a good thing. I think we should take advantage of it.”

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Sean Lehmann and Linda Henninger work to bring new life to downtown Kings Park. Photo from Sean Lehmann

By Rebecca Anzel

Three Kings Park community leaders partnered to improve and invigorate the hamlet’s downtown area.

Chamber of Commerce President Anthony Tanzi, Civic Association President Sean Lehmann and Civic Association Vice President Linda Henninger had received feedback from residents and business owners for years that the area needed to be revitalized.

Together, they hosted three meetings attracting about 300 residents each to create a vision plan representative of the community’s wishes for downtown Kings Park, which includes parts of Main Street, Pulaski Road, Indian Head Road and Meadow West. The plans included ideas for more sewers in the town to help accommodate new businesses and affordable housing.

Tanzi and Henninger proposed the completed vision to the Smithtown town board at a meeting in November. The town is waiting on a marketing study to be completed before accepting the plan.

“You just have to drive through Kings Park to see we have great bones and offer a lot,” Henninger said in a phone interview. “We can really make this the jewel it can be.”

For their leadership and commitment to improving Kings Park, Tanzi, Lehmann and Henninger are being recognized as three of Times Beacon News Media’s People of the Year.

Tony Tanzi works to bring new life to downtown Kings Park. Photo from Tony Tanzi.

“They work hard to make Kings Park a better place to live. It’s their persistence against resistance from the county, the state and the town that makes them successful — they just keep going,” Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said. “This is something that kids should look at and say, ‘These guys don’t stop and when you don’t stop, you get results.’”

Tanzi, a third-generation Kings Park resident, owns a hardware company, construction firm and several properties in the area. He said he hopes by revitalizing downtown, younger residents, including his four children, will want and can afford to stay in Kings Park.

“Younger residents not only want the ability to move around without having to get a car, they want to live in an area that has an entire community built into an offshoot of where they live,” he said.

Henninger, a mother herself, agreed that upgrading downtown Kings Park is a way to keep residents and attract new ones. She has always been active in the town. A Fort Salonga resident, Henninger has been a member of the civic association since 1992 and formed a group called Kings Park Neighbors Association, which helped prevent the sale of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center to a private developer.

That fight is how she and Lehmann met. He moved to Kings Park in 2005 and got involved with KPPC because he thought the developer’s plan to build multifamily housing would not be good for the hamlet.

One of their immediate efforts has been to hold a concert series and farmers market on Main Street, a way Lehmann said he hoped would encourage other residents to begin utilizing the downtown area.

“This is a unique community and we love it,” Lehmann said. “Kings Park has a very small town feel and plenty of open space, so when we thought about revitalizing our downtown, we wanted it to still feel quaint and fit with the character of the community.”

Henninger was quick to point out that while she, Lehmann and Tanzi helped to organize the project and make sure a plan was created, revitalizing downtown Kings Park was a group, community effort. The best part of the 18-month project, she and Tanzi agreed, was seeing residents come together to better the hamlet.

“It’s easy to get tons of people coming out to fight against something they don’t want, but it’s very rare that you can get people to come out and talk about something they do want,” Tanzi said. “We got so many people engaged and excited about it that they came out and participated.”

Henninger echoed the sentiment.

“When you’re doing something for the good of the town, of the community, anything can be accomplished,” she said.

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A view of the downtown Kings Park area. File photo by Victoria Espinoza

Kings Park’s Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association have joined forces to seek out improvements to downtown Kings Park.

The Kings Park Chamber of Commerce has been working for years to try and revitalize the downtown. It has now partnered up with the civic association and together they have hired Vision Long Island to do a community vision prospectus with hopes of creating a bucket list of items that could transform the community.

“For a long time it has been a sore subject that our downtown is struggling as it is,” said Anthony Tanzi, president of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce. “We’re hoping to create a vision of what they’d like to see. Hopefully everyone feels that they’re vested in the process. Then we will take that plan to the town board.”

According to Tanzi, this includes a series of public meetings where they will meet with community members to try and get the broadest representation of what the community wants. Tanzi said he hopes to see residents flooding those meetings and sharing their desires for downtown Kings Park. He also said he wants to engage as many groups as possible, including school districts, fire districts and more, to get a diverse amount of opinions.

“I want to hear all the wants and dreams,” Tanzi said. “Whether it’s for more restaurants, housing, apartments or brick sidewalks.”

The next meeting was set for Oct. 24 at William T. Rogers Middle School on Old Duck Road at 10 a.m.

Tanzi said that the chamber and civic are each paying $5,000 to Vision Long Island, and Vision is underwriting the final $5,000 for its overall $15,000 fee. Tanzi said he hopes Vision Long Island will identify Kings Park’s marketability and assets, highlight the resources and then couple that with residents’ desires for a new downtown.

“Then, hopefully, the Town of Smithtown will have to make a commitment to implement these changes and identify sources of funding.” Tanzi said.

Vision Long Island will be meeting with the town later in October, according to Tanzi, and said it hopes to have a full plan within the next six months.

Wastewater management and high taxes are two specific problems Tanzi said downtown Kings Park faces currently.

“We don’t have the ability to move forward because of the lack of sewers,” Tanzi said. “This makes it difficult for someone to come and want to invest in downtown.”

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said he agreed and has written to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressing how desperately Kings Park needs sewers.

“I am writing you today to implore you to do all that is in your power to obtain funding to expand sewer access in the hamlet of Kings Park,” Trotta said in the letter. “Downtown Kings Park, with its railroad station just off Main Street and a beautiful state park in the heart of the town is ripe for economic revitalization.”

Sean Lehmann, president of the Kings Park Civic Association, said that this issue has been relevant in the civic association for years.

“Every year we give out membership forms, and on the forms we ask each member to list their top three concerns,” Lehmann said. “For the past four or five years downtown has been the number one concern.”

Lehmann also said the conditions of buildings in town are a concern as well as parking.

“We don’t have the type of businesses to drive customers out to shop here also,” Lehmann said.

He did say that some restaurants on Main Street are actually doing very well, including Ciros, Cafe Red and Relish. “But we’d like to invite more,” Lehmann said. “And sewers would really help with that.”

Lehmann also said downtown should have a focus on housing opportunities. “We want affordable housing opportunities,” Lehmann said. “It would be great for our kids who are just coming out of college.”

More than anything else, Tanzi said that resident participation is the most crucial factor.

“If we all fight for it and spend time and everyone feels that they’ve been heard, I think they’ll be more inclined to march to town hall and say what they want,” Tanzi said.

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