Opinion

The newly created Main Street Revitalization Committee held their first meeting last week. Their first call of duty was to nominate a president. I am very pleased to announce that Debbie Podolski, the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce President and Farmingdale Library Director, was elected. She has done a tremendous job invigorating the Chamber and running one of the best libraries on Long Island. While the new committee still has to have their organizational meeting and set their goals and guidelines, a meeting was necessary because of the impending Village Board vote on Croxley Ale House. The general consensus was that, even though the committee is brand new, that they should voice their feelings regarding the new business. Croxley Ale has applied for the necessary permits and variances to operate a restaurant in the old Downtown Night Club. The Village Board subsequently gave the needed approvals for Croxley to proceed the night after the meeting. I want to thank Eric Alexander from Vision Long Island for moderating the first meeting. We appreciate his expert advice, valuable input and guidance in jump-starting our committee. Mr. Alexander also brought to light the recently released LI Index report on Long Island Downtowns. The report, among many things, found that as many as 33 percent of Long Island residents want to live in a downtown, especially young people and seniors. He confirmed that the Village, because of our earlier Visioning process, is actually ahead of the curve and on the right track for the future. Each committee member then gave a brief bio and statement on what they would like to accomplish. Even though I selected these members, I was still amazed at their years of experience. Ralph Ekstrand from Moby Drugs is in his 28th year on Main Street, Kevin Bagnasco (Avanti Furniture) said that his family business has been there since 1965 (more than 43 years!). Mark Smith (Allstate Insurance) has been here 20 years. Joe Diurno adds years of business experience, while Jerry Rossi (Palmers) adds input and perspective from businesses in the recently renovated Fulton Street Plaza. I was also very pleased to hear Tim Dillon, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners for the Farmingdale Fire Department, mention that he is very excited about the opportunity to bring the existing buildings up to code as they are slotted for redevelopment. The floor was then opened up to the public for their input on what they think are some major issues that the committee should put on its agenda. The suggestions ran the gamut, from garbage collection, parking, types of stores, movies in the Village Green, and code regulations for vacant stores to just what exactly Main Street should look like in the future. I am very pleased to say the committee is off to a great start. They are going to dig in and set some agendas and start developing a plan to review the input and cull it into future recommendations and suggestions. We will post these reports on the website and, of course, keep the public informed. I, once again, invite all community members to attend and be part of the exciting plans for the future of Main Street.