Legislator Rob Trotta recognizes Arline Goldstein of St. James at annual Jewish American Heritage Day Celebration

At the annual Jewish American Heritage Celebration on May 7 at the H. Lee Dennison Building, Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta recognized Arline Goldstein as the Jewish American Person of Distinction for his legislative district.

Arline Goldstein has a master’s in art and taught art at the Longwood School District for many years. After retiring, she was an instructor at the Smithtown Town Arts Council and later joined its board and served as President.

Through the years, she has organized art events in her community, such as The Backyard Painters, The Art Market with the Smithtown Historical Society, an Art Walk on Lake Avenue in St. James and is one of the founders of the St. James Cultural Arts Center, where she organized drawing and painting workshops. For 10 years, she chaired “Cottages to Castles,” featuring homes on a house tour, followed by a luncheon at Flowerfield, which also had a gift shop. The event raised funds for four local non-profits.

Her artwork has been featured in many publications, and she illustrated the children’s book, “Keeping Time with Jou-Jou.” The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook also showcased her work.

As a member of the Smithtown Rotary, this past winter, she organized “Operation Comfy and Cozy,” with the Smithtown Food Pantry. The community donated over 1,000 pajamas and hundreds of gloves and hats. As a Rotarian, Arline Goldstein strives to improve lives.

For several years, Arline Goldstein served as Legislator Trotta’s representative on the Suffolk County Citizens Advisory Board for the Arts. “It has been a pleasure to know and work with Arline on art related projects, and she has generously shared her knowledge and expertise with so many organizations in her town,” said Legislator Trotta.