All photos by Media Origin
For nearly 30 years, the Long Island Fall Festival has welcomed autumn to Huntington during the Columbus Day weekend. This year the event took place Friday, Oct. 7, though Monday, Oct. 10.
The admission-free festival, hosted by Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Huntington, featured carnival rides, live music, beer garden, international food court and more than 300 vendors on Saturday and Sunday.
Voters on the North Shore of the Town of Huntington will have the opportunity to vote for school budgets and board of education candidates Tuesday, May 17.
Below is a summary of the budgets and BOE races in the Huntington, Harborfields, Elwood and Cold Spring Harbor school districts.
For information on the Commack school district, see page A4. For the Northport school district, see the May 5 edition of The Times of Huntington & Northport or visit tbrnewsmedia.com and search for the article “Northport BOE budget vote, trustee elections set for May 17.”
Huntington Union Free School District
Budget
Those in the Huntington school district will be voting on a school budget that includes no increase in the tax levy.
The proposed budget of $142,968,343 will be an increase of 2.62% over the current spending plan. However, it will not raise the tax levy if approved by residents. According to the district’s website, the lack of an increase to the tax levy is due to a $4,087,007 increase in state aid to $26,253,748, low debt and the district lessening expenditures.
Residents will also be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on a proposition to authorize the expenditure of $6.6 million from building improvement capital reserves. The district aims to complete various projects, including electrical work at two primary schools as well as three gas/carbon monoxide detectors at three primary schools. Funds would also be used to renovate the parking lot and replace tiles at Finley Middle School. A second field is also planned for the high school to be used for sports such as soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and football, and it would also be used for physical education classes and marching band rehearsals.
Candidate information
Trustees Bill Dwyer and Michele Kustera will be running again for three-year terms and will run unopposed.
An account executive for an educational technology company, Dwyer works with school districts throughout the Northeast. He was elected to the board of ed for the first time in 2008. After his first term, he left the board for two years, and then was reelected in 2013, 2016 and 2019.
Kustera is running for her second term. She has been involved in the district on the long-range planning and food allergy committees and as a member of the district’s PTA organizations.
Voting information
Residents of Huntington school district can vote from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 17 at Huntington High School lobby.
Harborfields Central School District
Budget
Residents in the Harborfields school district will vote on a $92,895,995 proposed budget for the 2022-23 school year. The amount is $2,579,731 more than the 2021-22 budget of $90,316,264, which comes to a 2.86% increase. The budget is within the district’s allowed tax levy increase of 2.28%.
Candidate information
Current trustees Hansen Lee and Colleen Wolcott and newcomer David Balistreri will be vying for two at-large seats.
Lee has spent nine years on the board and is a director at Enzo Biochem where he oversees laboratory operations. On his profile in the district’s meet the candidates page, Lee listed “creating an inclusive and welcoming community” as being important to him.
“I currently serve on the Town of Huntington’s Asian American Task Force and was also fortunate enough to be a part of the recognition of the two Muslim holy days as official school holidays, the first district in Suffolk County to do so,” he said.
Wolcott has been a board member since 2016, and she is a case manager with the not-for–profit Angela’s House and owner/graphic designer at Gold Coast Impressions, Centerport.
Wolcott’s past experiences include working as a special education teacher with a dual certification in early education and special education up to age 21. In her candidate profile, she said, “Today’s students need more.”
“Success is no longer solely defined by strong academic achievement, but by life skills learned in a well-rounded, diverse atmosphere with a focus on mental wellness, enriched academics, the arts, elective and athletic opportunities,” she said. “It’s not enough to keep Harborfields among the best academic school districts on Long Island. We must prepare all of our children for life after school and in our competitive world.”
Balistreri works in the financial industry, in his candidate profile he said he is a concerned father who is running for various reasons. He is looking for more fiscal responsibility in the district.
He aims to “improve communication between the board and stakeholders.” Balistreri also listed working “with other school boards to stand up against Albany’s unconstitutional and nonsensical edicts.” In his profile, he said “parents are the best advocates for their children.”
Voting information
Voting will be held at Oldfield Middle School on May 17 from 2 to 9 p.m.
Elwood Union Free School District
Budget
Elwood school district’s proposed budget is $69,181,071. The dollar amount reflects a $2,267,492 increase and 3.39% increase over the previous budget of $66,913,579.
The proposed budget represents a tax levy increase of 2.9% which is under the district’s allowable tax levy of 3.4%.
Candidate information
Incumbent Deborah Weiss is being challenged for her seat by Sean Camas. There is only one three-year term up for grabs.
In his profile for the Elwood Septa meet the candidates event, Camas is listed as a local student “who wishes to bring a new youthful dynamic” to the board. The lifelong resident of Elwood served as a student council vice president when he was in middle school. He has worked part-time as a dishwasher while maintaining a 3.8 GPA and achieving cum laude honors for three years in a row. In the fall, he will attend SUNY Old Westbury and major in political science.
Weiss has served on the board of ed since 2016. In her candidate profile, she said in order to ensure educational equity for all students “while being fiscally accountable” to taxpayers the board must “streamline expenses whenever possible.”
“The last place cuts should be made and felt is in the classroom,” she wrote. “We must continue to provide an exceptional education while pursuing real legislative relief to address the state’s unfunded mandates and restrictions on district finances. I will work hard to ensure that all our budget decisions remain student focused and fiscally responsible.”
Voting information
Voting will take place May 17 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Elwood Middle School cafeteria.
Cold Spring Harbor Central School District
Budget
Cold Spring Harbor school district is asking residents to vote on a $73,420,423 proposed budget for the 2022-23 academic year. This is a $1,403,005 change from the 2021-22 budget of $72,017,418. The proposed budget reflects a 1.64% tax levy which is below the cap.
Candidate information
Voters will choose among three candidates, incumbent and current president Amelia Walsh Brogan, Alex Whelehan and Bruce Sullivan, for two at-large board of education positions. Incumbent Julie Starrett is not seeking reelection.
Voting information
Voting will take place May 17 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Ralph Whitney Field House of Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School.
Huntington councilmembers Joan Cergol and Sal Ferro, shown above on the right, hosted free Earth Day festivities at Manor Farm Park April 23 along with co-sponsors the Town of Huntington, Covanta and not-for-profit Starflower Experiences.
It was the first time the event was held at the park and included hands-on activities, raffles and giveaways. Activities included a marine touch tank operated by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County; an exhibit of formerly wild animals hosted by Volunteers for Wildlife; water chemistry and conservation demonstrations by the Town of Huntington Maritime Department; garden planting, composting, and beekeeping demonstrations by Starflower Experiences, and face painting and arts and crafts booths
All participants received a raffle ticket with the chance to win electric-powered landscaping equipment courtesy of a $2,500 donation from Covanta, including a string trimmer/leaf blower combo kit, a compost tumbler with a cart, a lawn mower, and a pressure washer. Several event attendees also took home a birdhouse courtesy of Love of Learning Montessori School in Centerport.
The town’s Planning Department distributed bare root tree saplings, provided by the Long Island Native Plant Initiative, to everyone in attendance, and volunteers from the Robert M. Kubecka Memorial Town Garden gave away vegetable and flower seedlings.
The event also provided free paper shredding, e-waste and medical pill disposal services.
The Long Island Arts Alliance is asking artists, performers and creators to share their stories amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lauren Wagner, executive director of LIAA, said that over the last two years, the group has been asking creatives to share the experiences pre-pandemic and onward in hopes that new legislation will be created to further help the art and culture sector locally.
“The percentage of job losses in the arts is three times worse than other nonprofit organizations,” she said.
LIAA serves as an alliance of and for the region’s not-for-profit arts, cultural and arts education organizations. LIAA promotes awareness of and participation in Long Island’s world-class arts and cultural institutions in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Formed in 2003, LIAA offers leadership and diverse support services to arts organizations, serves as an advocate for arts education in our schools and collaborates on strategies for economic development and community revitalization.
An advocate for artists, painters, sculptors, dancers, performers and musicians, Wagner added that when things were shut down two years ago, LIAA decided it wanted to reach out to its community to find out how people were handling the stressful changes.
That’s when LIAA came up with surveys to give a platform for creators to explain what’s going on in their lives.
“The surveys are to poll everyone’s status,” Wagner said. “Then, we use those numbers to go back to our new legislators and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on and we need help.’”
Most recently, a 2022 update has been posted to the LIAA website. This is the third survey to make its way around the arts community.
The survey states, “As COVID-19 extends into 2022, it is important to secure updated information about the continuing impact of the pandemic on the creative sector and creative workers. The information you provide is critical to advocacy efforts for the arts and culture sector across Long Island.”
Wagner said the more creatives who participate, the better.
“Artists/creatives were — and remain — among the most severely affected segment of the nation’s workforce,” she said. “The arts are a formidable industry in the U.S. — $919.7 billion (pre-COVID) that supported 5.2 million jobs and represented 4.3% of the nation’s economy.”
She added that they have not seen significant relief funding earmarked for the arts from the local government despite the impact the sector has on the local economy.
“The American Rescue Plan provided $385,003,440 to Nassau County, $286,812,434 to Suffolk County, and an additional $170 million to our local townships,” she said.
But when it comes to the higher levels of government, Wagner said that things often get “skewed” because of the Island’s proximity to New York City.
“I hate to say compete with the city, but we do,” she said. “We’re a great economic driver on Long Island and we get forgotten about.”
She said the surveys could “paint a real picture of what it’s like to be an artist on Long Island.”
The artists
Patty Eljaiek, a visual artist from Huntington Station, said that many people might not realize the impact art has on the community — especially financially.
“I think it’s part of the perception that art is not a business,” she said. “Art is a business.”
Elijaiek added that if an artist is looking to share their expertise with the world, they are, in fact, a business.
“Art has been something that people appreciate but they don’t know how to put value to it,” she said.
Wagner agreed. She said that early on during the pandemic, people looked to the arts for solace.
“Artists are second responders,” she said. “First responders save lives, but artists put everything back together.”
Alex Alexander, a musician in Rocky Point, said that people who work in the arts — such as being a working musician — don’t have the typical 9-to-5 routine.
“You can plan with a 9-to-5,” he said. “I can’t plan my life as other people would.”
And Tom Manuel, executive director of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook and a musician himself, said that his venue was shut down for 15 months throughout the pandemic, but still continued to serve its community with outdoor shows despite the lack of revenue coming in.
Manuel said that while big industries were being saved by the federal government, the nonprofit sector was “left out” and they had to look to their sponsors to help save them.
“We were really blessed in that we had a lot of our donors and sponsors step up and say, ‘Hey, we know that you’re closed, but we’re going to still give our sponsorship and don’t worry about programming, just stay open,’” he said.
Board members at The Jazz Loft began raising money themselves for other artists who were struggling, raising nearly $20,000 worth of assistance.
But the pain and struggle were still there as they helped their peers.
“The statistics show of all the things that could close and not reopen, the most unlikely place to reopen after being shuttered is a performing arts venue,” he said. “That’s the data.”
Manuel said that jazz is all about improvisation — which is what musicians did — and to work through the blues.
“I think that one of the beautiful things that did come out of the pandemic is people realized how important the arts were to them,” he said. “I think there was a reconnection that was established, which is a beautiful thing.”
Artists can participate in LIAA’s survey until Feb. 16 online now at longislandartsalliance.org.
“People don’t realize this is their livelihood on the line,” Wagner said.
Local elected officials are joining forces to tell Albany that their towns and villages will not lose zoning control.
During her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) spoke of creating more affordable housing options. When the 2022 State of the State book was released, the proposed plan, found on pages 130 through 131, stated that it would require all towns and villages in New York state to allow accessory apartments, which in turn would effectively eliminate single-family zoning laws.
The proposed plan spurred Town of Brookhaven officials to call a press conference Feb. 3, while others have spoken out via statements. The proposed legislation would require municipalities to allow one accessory dwelling unit using backyard cottages, attics, garages and basements. The plan is one that the State of the State describes as providing “an affordable multigenerational housing option that helps families live closer together.”
While local municipalities would still have a say in minimum and maximum size requirements, local zoning authorities would not be able to prevent reasonable new construction, the governor said.
Huntington
In the Town of Huntington, accessory apartments may be allowed when someone listed on the deed resides at the dwelling. The living space cannot be less than 300 square feet or more than 650 square feet and must have two bedrooms or less. The accessory apartment must be attached to the home.
Supervisor Ed Smyth (R) is against Hochul’s plan.
“This is an election year overreach by the governor that no one in their right mind should support,” Smyth said. “It has bipartisan opposition at all levels of government for good reason: It would eliminate local control of development and hand it off to extremists in Albany.”
At press time, Huntington announced they would be part of a county press conference on Feb. 10 to comment further on the issue.
Smithtown
In the Town of Smithtown legal accessory apartments with a valid mother/daughter permit from the Building Department are the only ones permitted with limited exceptions including older two-family homes that were grandfathered in. Rules differ in the town’s villages.
Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said in a statement he fears stripping local zoning control “would only result in a mass exodus.”
“The harsh reality is that Long Island, especially Suffolk County, lacks the modern infrastructure to handle the population increase which this proposal would create,” the supervisor said. “The environmental impacts alone should terrify every Long Islander. We have outdated wastewater systems underground, roads in major need of repair, archaic stormwater infrastructure and in the near future will have nowhere to put our trash. These are the issues that require resolution from the state, not removing local zoning control. This proposal will create a strain on the school system, increased property taxes, amplify traffic and burden local resources which are already stressed. Furthermore, people move out to the suburbs because the perception of the American Dream is still that quaint neighborhood home, picket fence and all, where they can raise a family. As public servants, it’s our duty to preserve and protect that dream.”
In Head of the Harbor, Mayor Doug Dahlgard echoed the sentiments.
“Taking away local zoning control with a broad brush is not acceptable and will be met by opposition claiming the character of our communities will change for the worse,” the mayor said. “Starting a conversation about how to allow generations of a family to stay together on Long Island, on the other hand, makes sense.”
Wehrheim agreed that the issue of affordable housing needs to be discussed and would welcome a task force consisting of local, county and state officials using proven studies and incorporating successful methods that could create affordable housing options in appropriate areas such as a downtown business neighborhood near a train station.
Congressmen support local officials
Town officials have received moral support from their congressmen. U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) in a press release criticized Hochul. Suozzi will run in the Democratic primary for governor in June against Hochul
“Governor Hochul’s radical proposal would take away zoning control from municipal governments, erode local government authority and end single-family housing across New York,” Suozzi said. “Hochul’s plan to eliminate home rule is not what we need. I support affordable housing, building up around downtown train stations and helping the homeless. I oppose eliminating home rule and ending single-family housing.”
The presumptive Republican nominee for New York State governor, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) said in a joint statement with Brookhaven officials that Hochul “isn’t focused on real solutions.”
“This blatant attack on suburban communities will end single-family housing as we know it, strip local control away from the New Yorkers who live there, tank the value of their homes, overcrowd their previously quiet streets, and on top of it all, not do anything to solve our affordable housing problem,” Zeldin said.
By Karina Gerry
Generous, inspiring, compassionate and dedicated, are just a few of the ways people describe 15-year-old Huntington resident Michael Donatelli.
“Michael just as a son has taught me patience, inspiration and truly the true meaning of giving back to others especially during this time of year,” Jennifer Donatelli, Michael’s mom, said.
A sophomore at Chaminade High School in Mineola, Donatelli has a long list of accomplishments for his short 15 years. In 2018 he created the nonprofit, Books for Babies, with his brother Nicholas and friend Catarina Chelius. Inspired by their love for reading, the teenagers found a way to donate their old baby books and promote literacy to underprivileged families across the Island and abroad.
“They both love to read and saw that there was a need for an organization like this in local communities as well as the country and abroad,” Jennifer Donatelli said. “They wanted to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children by being able to provide them with books in the hope that they too will grow up to be avid readers.”
Books for Babies accepts donations for babies and toddlers up to 4 years old. Once the books are collected they are sorted and packaged into custom-designed reusable tote bags with the nonprofit’s logo. Volunteers then distribute the books to homeless shelters, family service leagues, soup kitchens and orphanages.
“They had their research backed, they looked into literacy rates and just found what a difference it makes, the books that are read to very early ages,” said Michael Strandberg, math teacher at Chaminade and moderator of Catholics for Life. “They found that if they could get more books into the hands of people who otherwise wouldn’t have many, that they could help them for the rest of their lives and improve their academic achievement.”
In November, Michael partnered with Catholics for Life, a national organization of which he is a member, to lead a week-long book drive at Chaminade where they collected hundreds of books. These books were packaged and sent to 250 parishes in the Solomon Islands, located in Southeast Asia.
“It was very impressive how Michael led a drive for a school of over 1,600 students,” Strandberg said. “He prepared announcements to be read each day, he prepared a flier and put it around the school.”
During the pandemic, Michael was concerned about the children who still wanted and needed books, but the organizations and groups he worked with were closed. He decided to create a Books for Babies YouTube channel, where each night he read a baby book and shared it to the channel, hoping to inspire children to read during their time at home. Soon it caught on and children across the country were volunteering to read their favorite books for the channel.
“It was a nice way to try to keep it going, and stay connected,” Jennifer Donatelli said.
In addition, Michael and his brother Nicholas started a book distribution drive-up. Using a local church’s parking lot, they donated tote bags filled with baby books to anyone willing to come and receive them. The response to the drive-up was a success and now the nonprofit holds one every month.
Michael’s dedication to Books for Babies means he’s always thinking of new ways to grow the organization. He decided to create a literacy program, Opening the World of Learning, also known as OWL, to further the group’s mission of promoting reading to underserved communities. OWL brings books to life at nursery schools in underserved communities across the Island. Books for Babies’ volunteers provide a fun-filled interactive story, followed by an enjoyable activity, and at the end each child receives a free tote bag filled with age appropriate books.
On top of his work for Books for Babies, Michael maintains honor roll status at his school, is a member of nine clubs, volunteers at his church as an usher, volunteers at Huntington Youth Court and is studying for his black belt in jujitsu.
“He is quiet, he is shy, he is unassuming but he does so much to help everybody else,” Andrew Kelapire, owner of Shindokan Budo Long Island, said.
Michael’s compassion and willingness to help others is what motivated Jennifer Donatelli to nominate him as a TBR News Media Person of the Year.
“I’m so incredibly proud of my son,’’ the mother said. “He’s the type of person that does things and likes to fall under the radar or without anyone fussing. He kind of just likes to do his own thing and volunteer and help others very quietly — and others see his generous spirit and how he is.”
Even before being elected to Huntington’s Town Board in November, Sal Ferro (R) strived to make his community and the surrounding areas a better place to live.
Ferro, president and CEO of Alure Home Improvements in Commack, also heads up the Ferro Foundation. The nonprofit organization is committed to helping those in need, especially students, seniors and veterans. The foundation offers an annual scholarship fund for Long Island students and assists local seniors and veterans with minor home improvements.
Seth Selesnow, director of marketing at Alure and a Ferro Foundation board member, said Ferro and the board members had been discussing starting a foundation for a while.
“Sal has always been incredibly philanthropic in the community, with his employees and family, and he always talked about starting his own charity one day,” Selesnow said. “We support a lot of endeavors, and year after year he would always say, ‘Eventually we have to start our own charity and do some of this stuff.’”
Selesnow said the scholarship program awards one four-year scholarship a year where a student receives $2,500 a year. One of the recipients, Cheyenna Bardsley of Freeport, graduated from high school in 2020. She is currently in her second year at Farmingdale State College SUNY studying law enforcement management and criminal justice.
She said she first heard about the scholarship through a family friend and said to be eligible she had to write two essays. Bardsley said when she heard there would only be one winner, she didn’t think she would have much of a chance and was surprised when she was notified that she was the winner. The college student said she was grateful for the scholarship that supplemented other financial aid she received.
“I don’t have to worry about where the money is coming from,” she said. “I’m not in any student debt or anything. So, it’s a real advantage.”
As for the home care arm of the foundation, Selesnow said it has helped seniors and veterans with minor home repairs such as wheelchair ramps, grab bars or roof repairs. The foundation also supports other charities and endeavors such as Farmingdale College Foundation, Nassau Community College and the United Way.
While working on homes for paid jobs enables the employees to see what repairs one may need, Alure Home Improvements gained widespread attention when Ferro and his team appeared a few times on the original “Extreme Makeover” series, which aired on ABC from 2003-12. The company’s appearance on the show led to many calling the company asking if Alure Home Improvements could work on their houses.
“It was overwhelming,” Selesnow said. “At least by creating a charity, it gave us somewhere to say, ‘Go fill out an application,’ and we at least have a board that can look at it and vote on those things.”
Selesnow said when the team worked on the episodes of “Extreme Makeover,” Ferro shut down the company and the workers were with the show for at least one week at a time per house. The marketing director added that some even volunteered to work extra hours on the homes. Ferro donated the labor to the show’s projects.
Selesnow said it was no surprise that the workers volunteered for extra time as Alure is a reflection of Ferro’s personality, who he described as “a unique individual” with so much compassion in his heart.
“I never in my life walked into a company like Alure where everybody was just so friendly and family oriented and actually was so helpful,” he said.
He said when he first started with the company he would tell his ex-wife that he couldn’t believe the work environment was real.
“I came to realize this is no accident,” Selesnow said. “This is from top down.”
When Ferro decided to run for town council, Selesnow supported him and was Ferro’s campaign finance chair despite, Selesnow said, the two of them being on different ends of the political spectrum.
“Even though we’re not aligned on some things politically, I do believe that he’s a very unique type of person who can listen to both sides and make a decision based on what makes the most sense and not party lines,” Selesnow said.
Ferro’s fellow councilman-elect, David Bennardo (R), agreed. He said Ferro “brings people together, and he makes them find their commonalities.” When Bennardo decided to run for office, he had a vision of a change regarding traditional party politics, and he said Ferro shared that vision.
“We wanted to demonstrate to people that you can work as ladies and gentlemen in politics, and I think that’s what excited me so much about working with Sal as he is truly a gentleman leader,” Bennardo said.
As a former school principal in the South Huntington school district, Bennardo has known Ferro for 20 years when the latter’s children were in school.
While Bennardo was a principal, he was able to see Ferro in action with his charitable projects, as he turned to him a couple of times to “quietly help out families who were in a jam.” He said each time Ferro responded with no questions asked.
“He feels people’s pain,” Bennardo said. “He really does. He’s got tremendous empathy. In fact, that’s probably his greatest strength.”
After an abbreviated winter track and field season earlier this year, Huntington’s girls track team showed no signs of slowing down in a crossover invitational meet at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood Dec. 19.
Olivia Conte won the 55-meter hurdles at 9.17 seconds. Hope Bilkey finished second in the 55-meter dash at 7.95 seconds with Brianna Halbeisen placing sixth. Jannel Maroquin clocked in at 3:45.94 at 1000-meters good enough for fifth place. It was a Huntington one-two finish at the 300 meter distance with Bilkey and Conte with at 45.87 and 46.12 seconds. respectively.
The Blue Devils are back on track again at SCCC in the Jim Howard invitational Jan. 5. Start time is 5 p.m.
A CEO of a company known for remodeling homes is ready to make some improvements in the Town of Huntington.
“I focused on my accomplishments. I focused on my track record and focused on what I wanted to do rather than pulling people down.”
— Sal Ferro
This campaign season Sal Ferro, CEO of Alure Home Improvements, ran for office for the first time on the Republican and Conservative lines. Two seats were up on the Huntington Town Board when current councilmen Ed Smyth (R) and Mark Cuthbertson (D) decided to run for other offices, town supervisor and county legislator, respectively. Smyth was successful, Cuthbertson was not.
Ferro said he thought about running for office before this year.
“I thought about it in the past, and I always guessed the timing wasn’t right,” he said. “And, I think everything fell into place this time, that this was my time to do so.”
The businessman ran on the same lines along with running mate David Bennardo. Ferro said the two want the same things for the town. Bennardo also happens to be his two older children’s former principal.
On election night, Ferro gathered with other area Republicans at the American Legion Huntington Post 360 in Halesite to hear the voting results. He said after all the hard work of campaigning it was a satisfying night.
“It was especially gratifying for me, because I ran my race and didn’t do some traditional things that have been done in the past in campaigning,” the councilman-elect said. “I ran a very clean race. I focused on my accomplishments. I focused on my track record and focused on what I wanted to do rather than pulling people down.”
Ferro said he and Bennardo were proud that the race was a civil one. During a debate at the TBR News Media offices, Ferro and Bennardo along with their opponents, Democrats Jennifer Hebert and Joseph Schramm, demonstrated that civility. Ferro said the first call to congratulate him was from Schramm and later Hebert also called him.
“That just kind of shows you the tone of the race, which was ‘we’re all going to work hard, and we’re all going to do the best we can to win the race, because we all feel that we’re the best candidate, but we’re going to do so on our own accomplishments,’” he said.
Ferro said when he takes office in January he would like to start working on making things more efficient in the town’s building department.
“That’s something that I made a campaign promise, that I would work on the building department,” he said. “I know that’s something that’s not going to happen overnight, but I’d like to bring some ideas to the building department, and I’d like to bring some efficiency to the department.”
“It’s one of those things where you have to balance, put in time in both jobs, and it requires a lot of work. It’s something I knew going in.”
— Sal Ferro
As for the particulars, Ferro said he’ll know that once he gets into office and meets the people involved in the department. Besides drawing from his personal business experience, the councilman-elect said he will look at other towns that have had success.
“One thing I said was I like to use some best practices from other towns,” he added. “We don’t have to completely reinvent the wheel. There are things that are working elsewhere, that have happened elsewhere and didn’t take a long time to turn some other towns around quickly.”
The businessman, who also heads up the nonprofit Ferro Foundation which helps Long Islanders in need, plans on continuing as CEO of Allure, he said, and will be able to balance his work responsibilities due to his company’s “excellent team.” He added that he has never been one to sit on the sidelines.
“It’s one of those things where you have to balance, put in time in both jobs, and it requires a lot of work,” he said. “It’s something I knew going in.”
Throughout the last few weeks, we have been listening to what different candidates have to say when it comes to revitalization and development of our towns.
One of the biggest taglines of most elected officials is that they “want to keep young people on Long Island.”
That’s great, and young people appreciate the sentiment, but what many don’t realize is the stresses it takes to buy a house in today’s market.
Most young people — such as postgraduate professionals — would love to buy their own place at 24 or 25. Unfortunately, many cannot and instead choose to rent as a temporary solution.
While there are mother/daughter suites across Long Island, and plenty of accessory apartments that people utilize, legal and illegal, there are other options popping up from Huntington to Selden — larger apartment complexes, such as the ones built and being built alongside local train stations.
These developments have been instrumental in keeping young people in our area because, in many cases, the couple fall in love with the town and then proceed to buy a house there. The apartments are simply starter homes to give these new working professionals the freedoms they need to grow up.
A big argument that comes out of the development of different areas is that it makes the place “too urban.” While these complexes bring in more people — but not many — they are just adding a bit to an already developed community.
Take Huntington village or Port Jefferson — these two areas are already considered downtowns. Adding apartments to a place that resembles a small city isn’t completely out of the ordinary.
Embracing the development where appropriate can be good for our communities. It can help our children and our neighbors start their own lives. It may look a little different than 30 years ago, but this is the new normal.
Prev
