Town of Huntington, NY - News Details
8/28/2019 - Ceremony Officially Renames Melville Park
ALISSA SUE TAFF SWEET HOLLOW PARK REMEMBERS LONGTIME CIVIC LEADER WHO HELPED CREATED IT
Melville – Government officials, school district representatives, civic leaders and community residents gathered August 26 for a ceremony officially naming Sweet Hollow Park in memory of longtime civic leader Alissa Sue Taff.
Ms. Taff, who passed away August 14, was a driving force in creating the park, the Town of Huntington’s newest, that was the result of an innovative, creative partnership among the Town, a private developer and a Hindu group that had purchased the eight-acre Meyers Farm and had been looking to erect a temple on the site. The Town eventually bought the site and transferred development rights from five of the eight acres to a parcel in Melville, which it rezoned to allow construction of the Hindu temple and a 260-unit affordable senior condominium community.
Ms. Taff, a former Half Hollow Hills school board president and longtime president of the Civic Association of Sweet Hollow, had for years spearheaded the community effort to create a park in the southwest portion of the Town and was a driving force in the conversations among the Town, the developer and the Hindu group Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam—Northeast (BAPS). She also served on the advisory committee that recommended the park’s features, most notably a sculpture, entitled “Community,” that commemorates the cooperative effort that created the park, which opened in 2017.
At the ceremony, speakers recalled Taff’s persistence and drive in fighting for what she believed was best for the Melville community and her forcefulness in dealing with government officials.
“If you look around here, you see different groups represented and you get a full picture of Alissa’s impact on our community,” said Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who joined with Councilwoman Joan Cergol to present the resolution in which the Town Board voted to rename the park as Alissa Sue Taff Sweet Hollow Park. Councilman Cuthbertson, who moderated the program, added, “She was hardworking and dedicated, and this park is a testament to a very, very special event where civic leaders, religious leaders and Town leaders came together.”
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci said, “This renaming is a well deserved but bittersweet recognition of Alissa’s instrumental role in the formation of Sweet Hollow Park and the special partnership between the Town, the temple and the community. Look at what has been accomplished today for the good of the community because the Town and the temple listened, and it was Alissa’s voice that demanded their attention.”
Councilman Eugene Cook stated, “Alissa Sue and I had many discussions at times we agreed and others we didn’t, but it was my privilege and pleasure to know her. But today is a great day for all of us as we celebrate her. Alissa Sue was a civic leader who worked tirelessly for our community, school district and this park. Always a driving force to create the best community for all the residents in Sweet Hollow and Huntington and for that I thank her. I hope everyone enjoys the Alissa Sue Taff Sweet Hollow Park.”
Councilwoman Cergol chronicled her longtime involvment with Ms. Taff, dating back to the 1990s when the Councilwoman was working in the private sector and joined with Ms. Taff and others to preserve the historic Oheka Castle. Councilwoman Cergol described Ms. Taff as a “remarkable force of a woman,” and detailed their final collaboration: the wording on the plaque to be installed next to the sculpture describing the process that created the park. “Her mark remains in so many places and public spaces like this one, Alissa Sue Taff Sweet Hollow Park. Her actions, her work, are forever written all over this park and elsewhere in our Town,” Councilwoman Cergol said. 
Councilman Edmund J.M. Smyth said, “She didn’t sugarcoat anything, whether you liked it or not. She called it as she saw it, and that is a great testament to her and a great legacy.”
Also speaking as part of the program were former Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone, who worked closely with Ms. Taff during his 24 years as supervisor, including on creation of the park, and Half Hollow Hills School Superintendent Dr. Patrick Harrigan.
“If we sum up Alissa Sue Taff, there’s one word that comes to mind. It’s called compassion,” former Supervisor Petrone said, “She had a compassion for the things that she started. She had a compassion to make sure that the fight was won. She had a compassion to work for the underdog and she had a compassion to say it and tell it as it really was.”
Dr. Harrigan spoke of Ms. Taff’s successful effort to get a Melville elementary school reopened, “What is most extraordinary in her involvement, from my perspective, is that much of her work at Sunquam [Elementary School] came after her daughter, Tara, had passed through the halls. Her support of all the children of Half Hollow Hills calls to mind a quote that I enjoy from Harlan Miller. And it says: ‘Great, sincere appreciation for other people’s children is one of the rarer virtues.’ It is fitting that as we sit here today, that we can hear children playing …having that dedication to things that are beyond your own family, beyond your own children. We are thankful for her many years of committed service to our students and community. We are filled with gratitude for the kindness she bestowed upon us and her lasting contributions.”
Attending the ceremony were Mrs. Taff’s husband, Dr. Ross Taff; her daughter, Tara Levy; son-in-law, Jake Levy; and their infant son, Atlas. Speaking on the family’s behalf, Ms. Levy said, “This community was so incredibly important to my mother and she was thrilled when Sweet Hollow Park came to fruition and the BAPS found a suitable place for their temple. It made her so happy to drive by and see people of all ages enjoying this park like they are today, including her grandson, Atlas, who was always a frequent visitor to the baby swings for the past few months and who will continue to be. I hope that other people will be inspired by her efforts and realize that one person really does make a difference. Our family is very honored that her legacy as a civic leader will live on in this beautiful space.”
Also participating in the ceremony was the Melville Fire Department, which provided a color guard, and Half Hollow Hills East senior Alexandra Perticone, who sang the National Anthem.