At its
November 20 meeting, the Town Board adopted the 2019 Annual Operating Budget,
dedicated a street in Commack to honor a local 9/11 hero, made a change to the
Town Code to improve quality of life protections for all Town residents, and
scheduled public hearings for the December 4 and December 18 Town Board
meetings.
In a
move to strengthen the Town’s ability to curb illegal activity, improve public safety and protect
the quality of life our entire community, the Town Board amended the zoning
code to prohibit properties from being advertised for uses inconsistent with
the zoning district in which the property is located. The measure is a result
of Supervisor Lupinacci’s coordination with the Town Attorney and the Public
Safety Director in response to residents’ inquiries, to address the issue of
large, unruly house parties charging fees for admission, advertised and held at
residential properties in Dix Hills this past summer.
The
Town Board dedicated Calvert Avenue in Commack as FDNY Lieutenant Walter F.
Malone Way. FDNY
Lieutenant Walter F. Malone lost his long battle with 9/11-related respiratory
illness on August 31st, 2017.
Prior to
joining the FDNY, Walter Malone served as a Corporal in the United States Army
serving from 1952 to 1956 during the Korean War. Malone began his firefighting
career in 1960 when he joined FDNY Rescue Company 2 in Bedford Stuyvesant,
Brooklyn as a Firefighter. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1978, with Engine
Company 214, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Malone served for 34 years with the
Department, retiring at the age of 57 in 1991.
On
Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Lieutenant Malone’s longtime friend, FDNY Captain
John Vigiano, Sr., lost 2 sons; one, a member of the FDNY and the other, a
member of the NYPD. At the age of 67, Lt. Walter F. Malone returned to his fire
department family. Every day for two months, he joined his friend in the pile,
searching for his dear friend’s lost sons, fallen brethren and civilian
casualties of the 9/11 World Trade Center Attacks.
On September
11th of this year, Lt. Malone’s grandson, Sean Malone, requested a street to be
renamed to honor his grandfather. Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci received a
letter in support of the resolution to rename Calvert Avenue in memory of Lt.
Malone by the New York City Fire Museum.
“After
his retirement, Lt. Malone traveled from his home in Commack every Wednesday to
be a docent at the New York City Fire Museum in Manhattan from 2002 until his
health took a turn for the worse. “Wally Wednesdays" became legendary.
People from all over the world kept in touch with Wally via the Museum. In
September 2017, just weeks after Wally's passing, Scottish artist Alexander
Millar offered to create a special New York fire-themed series of paintings to
raise money for the Museum. The artist’s portrait of Lt. Malone hangs
prominently at the Museum today,” said Supervisor Lupinacci, prior to the
unveiling of the dedicated street sign to Lt. Malone’s family.
Councilman
Ed Smyth co-sponsored the resolution with the Supervisor and stated: “I was
honored to co-sponsor the dedication of Calvert Avenue at FDNY Lt. Walter F.
Malone along with Supervisor Lupinacci. Lieutenant Malone was a fallen hero and
the Town of Huntington is proud to dedicate Calvert Avenue so his memory will
live on.”
In
response to the findings of an audit conducted by independent consultants, the
Town Board authorized the Town Attorney to commence a civil action against
Altice USA, Inc., Cablevision Systems Huntington Corporation, Cablevision
Systems Corporation, CSC Holdings, Inc. and all other responsible parties to
recover back franchise fees, payable for subscriber receipts paid to Altice for
DVR service, and 9% interest to recoup unpaid revenues.
In
December 2017, the Town Board retained the services of independent consultants
to verify that fees received from franchises and licenses entered into by the
Town in exchange for the use and occupancy of Town or Trustee-owned lands and
correct and in compliance with the negotiated agreements. This audit resulted in
a report outlining the alleged deficiency.
In a
move to ensure taxpayers are not on the hook for programs and facilities they
do not use, the
Town Board established revised rates for various recreation programs and
facility fees for the Parks and Recreation Department. All Town program fees
are reviewed annually as part of the budget process to ensure that fees charged
cover the associated program costs; many rates had not been revised in years,
forcing the Town to operate at a loss and shift the burden to the taxpayer. The
new rates reverse this practice and are effective January 1, 2019.
The Town
Board amended the 2019 Preliminary Budget, adopting the amended budget as the
2019 Annual Operating Budget, also adopting the 2019 Capital Budget. The total
2019 budget amount has not changed. Additional revenue, including a $200,000
Federal Grant and retirements, enabled the abolishment of positions to cover
the costs of reinstated positions, newly created positions at lower salaries,
and program expenditures.
In other
action, the Town Board:
·
Unanimously
appointed Scott Spittal as Director of Transportation and Traffic Safety. Scott
Spittal, PE, has over 30 years in transportation engineering services and
consulting, he was appointed in August as Deputy Director of the department due
to the pending retirement of the former Director, as the Town did not have a
Deputy Director at the time. Spittal has been acting director since the former
director's retirement in mid-September until the Town Board unanimously
appointed him as Director at the November 20 meeting.
·
Appointed
real estate professional Eliot Lonardo as a member of the Town of Huntington
Board of Assessment Review
·
Appointed
home improvement industry expert and philanthropist Salvatore Ferro as an
alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
·
Appropriated
$7,500 in EOSPA funding for the installation of a sculpture at the entryway
into Sweet Hollow Park in Melville.
·
Accepted
$16,000 from the Huntington Local Development Corporation (LDC) to fund site
investigation and mapping work for the potential construction of a parking
structure within Huntington village.
·
Amended
the sign permit fee structure to cover the Town's costs of processing sign
permits.
·
Scheduled
public hearings for the Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Town Board Meeting at 2:00
PM:
o To consider amending the Code of the
Town of Huntington, Chapter 117 (Solid Waste Management: Collection, Recycling
and Disposal) to revert back to dual stream recycling.
o To consider amending the ordinances
of Dix Hills Water District.
o To consider amending the Code of the
Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning) Article XVI (Zoning Board of Appeals)
and Article XVII (Planning Board Approvals) to require Zoning Board of Appeals
members to attend at minimum 85% of scheduled ZBA meetings.
o To consider the granting of a
variance, the issuance of a special use permit and the execution of a license
agreement pursuant to the Marine Conservation Law, Town Code Chapter 137 for
the construction of a residential fixed pier and floating dock assembly.
Applicant: Teresa Baiter Location: 389 Asharoken Avenue, Northport
·
Scheduled
public hearings for the Tuesday, December 18, 2018 Town Board Meeting at 7:00
PM:
o To consider amending the Code of the
Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article VI (Historic Landmarks and
Districts), §198- 42 (Designation of Sites and Buildings) to update the tax map
numbers of Historic Landmarks that have changed.
o To consider amending the Code of the
Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article VI (Historic Landmarks and
Districts), §198-42 (Designation of Sites and Buildings) to amend the name of
the Dr. Samuel Teich House.
In
the photo, the Town Board Presents FDNY Lt. Walter F. Malone’s family with the
street sign dedicated in his name: daughters, grandchildren & great
grandchildren (l-r): Kristen Barile holding baby Baxton Barile; Councilwoman
Joan Cergol; Councilman Mark Cuthbertson; Councilman Eugene Cook; Mary Malone;
Chris Barile; Arya Barile; George Barile; Matt Barile; Supervisor Chad A.
Lupinacci; (back) Audra Malone; Andrew Malone; Richard Duda; Gary Ettelman;
(middle row) Leyna Malone; Sean Malone holding baby Charlotte Malone; Colleen
Malone; Wendy Ettelman; Councilman Edmund J.M. Smyth; (front) Cassidy Malone;
Braden Malone; Killian Barile; Kallee Malone. Lt. Walter “Wally” Malone, NYC Fire
Museum Docent Emeritus, Portrait by Alexander Millar on display at the NYC Fire
Museum.
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