Town of Huntington, NY - News Details

The Huntington Town Board held its March 15 meeting, where they approved critical infrastructure funding, approved the renovation of a popular Huntington Station basketball park, and scheduled public hearings for the April 12 meeting.

“Our conversations with the Huntington Station community over the past year have brought to light the need for a decades-long overdue improvement of the athletic and play facilities at Alfred J. Walker Memorial Park,” stated Supervisor Ed Smyth, whose staff and Parks & Recreation Department have met with the family of the late Alfred J. Walker and interested members of the community to develop plans to revitalize the park. “Over the past few years, we have begun to see the revitalization of Huntington Station come to fruition north of the train tracks, while tangible progress on the James D. Conte Community Center and the opening of the Manor Field Spray Park will be realized this year, in addition to economic development now being possible south of the tracks thanks to our dedication of significant sewer funding with the County, but I am especially proud and delighted to have the support of all of my Town Board colleagues on this long-neglected significant open space park improvement project on West 11th Street.”

The Town Board approved a complete overhaul of Alfred J. Walker Memorial Park, a popular basketball park named for the late famed artist and cartoonist, veteran and resident on West 11th Street in Huntington Station. The project cost is estimated to total $1,200,000 with approximately half anticipated to be covered by EOSPA Park Improvement funding. The preferred concept plan, designed in consultation with the community and family over the past 9 months, includes a new playground; a renovated basketball court; adult exercise equipment; a gazebo/shade structure with picnic tables and benches and a marker dedicated to Alfred J. Walker’s volunteer stewardship of the park; an "Alfred J. Walker Art Walk” featuring a permanent display of Mr. Walker’s cartoons and artwork, originally created in the home adjacent to the park; the preservation of open space at the south and east ends of the park with grass fields; a new parking lot with 10 standard parking spaces and 2 accessible spaces; and the Town will attempt to preserve grove of English yew trees on south east corner of the property as a buffer for the current residents at the historic home, planted by Alfred J. Walker’s father, Alfred H. Walker, a horticulturalist who ran a flower business from his greenhouse onsite.

The Town Board approved $6.2 million for road repaving and traffic safety improvements, including:

• $4.5 million for road repaving;
• $1 million in road drainage improvements;
• $300,000 for improvements to curbs, sidewalks, and pedestrian ramps; and
• $400,000 to install a traffic signal(s) and traffic calming devices at Depot Road at East 10th Street, Woodbury Road at High Street, East Rogues Path at Whitson Road, and Vernon Valley Road at Bellecrest Avenue.

The Town Board approved critical infrastructure improvements to:

• Reconstruct the West Neck Beach Causeway after significant erosion from tidal storm flooding, add a rain garden to filter stormwater runoff, and reestablish and stabilize the shoreline embankments.
• Televise and rehabilitate the sanitary sewer lines and manholes, upgrade, replace and repair facilities at the Huntington Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and Town Recycling Center.
• Upgrade and improve technology infrastructure with servers, network switchers, and storage to improve the Town's network and security.
• Build up the broken and eroded cement groins at Hobart Beach that, during their useful lifespan, effectively reduced and prevented erosion by trapping sand during storms and tidal action.

   

  The Town Board scheduled public hearings for the Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Town Board meeting at 7:00 PM to consider:

   

• The increase and improvement of facilities of the Dix Hills Water District at the estimated maximum cost of $1,040,000; for 1,4-dioxane remediation.
• The increase and improvement of facilities of the South Huntington Water District at the estimated maximum cost of $9,100,000; for 1,4-dioxane remediation.
• The increase and improvement of facilities of the Greenlawn Water District at the estimated maximum cost of $5,385,000; to rehabilitate water facilities.
• The increase and improvement of facilities of the Consolidated Refuse District at the estimated maximum cost of $500,000; to acquire two refuse collection trucks.
• Revoking the historic designation of the building known as the Johnson-Sprague Farm, 271 Cedar Road, Commack, SCTM #0400-185-02-024.003; at the recommendation of the Historic Preservation Commission due to the home’s historically-significant features sustaining damage, now considered irreparable, when an automobile drove through the home in 2009 and due to the former owner’s failure to make the necessary repairs in the years since. The new owner has requested the revocation to allow the house to be demolished and a new home to be built in its place.
• Authorizing the Supervisor to execute a license agreement with New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC for the use and occupancy of a 14'x30' area on the ground near the flagpole at the Northport Train Station parking lot off 10th Avenue; applicant is seeking to remove and replace the existing 25-foot flagpole with a 100-foot stealth communications concealment flagpole for cellular antenna equipment with the Town receiving a license fee of $4,800 per month (increasing 3% per year) and 25% of revenue New Cingular receives from other carriers utilizing the flagpole.
• Awarding a license agreement for commercial outdoor advertising and bus shelter maintenance services for the Town of Huntington with Insite Street Media.
• Removing an existing "No Turn on Red" restriction for southbound traffic on Melville Road at Wolf Hill Road in Huntington Station determined by a traffic analysis to be unnecessary after a rebuild of the traffic signal and alteration of the Melville Rd. approach in 2019.
• (Scheduled as members of the Board of Trustees) The granting of a variance and the issuance of a special use permit pursuant to the Marine Conservation Law, Town Code Chapter 137 for the construction of a fixed pier and floating dock assembly. Applicant: Eagle Dock Foundation, Inc.Location: 85 Shore Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NYS.C.T.M. #0400-016.00-01.00-003.000.
• (Scheduled as members of the Board of Trustees) Authorizing the President to execute a license agreement with the Centerport Fire District for the use and occupancy of the municipal parking lot located at 9 Park Circle in Centerport (P/O 0400-044.00-01.00-015.000), and supporting the district’s application for DASNY funding; the fire district is seeking the non-exclusive use of the municipal parking lot owned by the Board of Trustees behind the fire house at 9 Park Circle and will perform work to build a seawall to protect the property.

   

  In other action, the Town Board:

   

  • Renamed Dix Hills Ice Rink as the Clark Gillies Ice Rink at Dix Hills; a dedication ceremony will take place Saturday, May 14 (details to follow).
  • Renamed Kew Avenue Park in memory of New York State Supreme Court Justice Harry Richard Brown and accepted the donation and installation of improvements at Kew Avenue Park by Assemblyman Keith Brown and the Brown Family; previously the baseball field at Kew Avenue Park was named after Hon. Harry Richard Brown, this resolution expands the renaming to the entire park.
  • Approved the expansion of a community shellfish gardening program in the Town of Huntington implemented in 2020 at Quentin Sammis West Neck Beach with the Oyster Bay Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE), to now include Gold Star Battalion Beach, Steers Beach and Asharoken Beach with the support of Huntington Rotary Club.
  • Approved a contract for the processing and recycling of latex and oil-based paint with PaintCare Inc.
  • Approved an intermunicipal agreement with Suffolk County to accept $94,558 in capital funding to mitigate capacity limits at the Huntington Sewage Treatment Plant to support existing and future flow.
  • Appointed Angel Cepeda as Director of the Huntington Community Development Agency. As founder and president of Blue Mountain Consulting Group Inc., Mr. Cepeda has advised non-profit organizations on improving effectiveness, efficiency and reach, and he served as Special Assistant to the Supervisor of the Town of Oyster Bay, handling community outreach and strengthening community engagement in promoting Town initiatives. Mr. Cepeda is actively engaged in small business, faith-based, civic and other community organizations across Long Island, including Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Nassau County Office of Youth Services; Nassau County DA Heroin Task Force; Christians United for Israel; Voices for Truth and Humanity, an organization dedicated to improving Holocaust education; Tilles Center for the Performing Arts; Plainview-Bethpage Lions Club; Bethpage Kiwanis Club and others.
  • Reappointed 22-year Town Park Maintenance Supervisor, former Deputy Director and longtime Department of General Services employee Joseph Rech as Deputy Director of the Department.
  • Approved a contract for an historically-appropriate renovation of the Heckscher Museum exterior and accepted a $13,257.10 donation from Heckscher Museum to cover additional costs associated with the project.
  • Accepted a donation of gift cards from La Piazza Cucina Italiana – Wine Bar re: 2022 Valentine’s Day Ceremonies performed by Town Clerk Andrew P. Raia.
  • Accepted a contribution of one hundred dollars from the New York State Archives Partnership Trust for the conference titled “Consider the Source New York: Providing Access to the Diverse Historical Record,” being hosted by Town Clerk Andrew P. Raia.
  • Accepted a donation from Covanta Energy Corporation for the promotion, marketing and operating expenses associated with an event to commemorate Earth Day on April 23, 2022.
  • Accepted the donation and installation of native plants at the Town of Huntington Paulding’s Pond Park and adjacent rights-of-way by Spadefoot Design and Construction, LLC.
  • Approved Open Space Land and Park Improvement funds to replace the siding on historically significant gazebos at Halesite Park (up to $27,000) and to replace the roof on the cabin at the Grace Stroll Garden at Grace Preserve in Centerport (up to $5,000).

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