Hometown Hero: Adrienne Giannadeo, of Kings Park

Adrienne Giannadeo’s dedication to her community has enabled her to achieve a lot over the years — including a couple of historic “firsts."

The Kings Park resident, who was appointed to the Town of Smithtown’s Board of Zoning Appeals in 1991, later became the first woman to serve as its chairwoman, in 2002, a position she held for 14 years. She is also credited with spearheading a committee responsible for building the first school playground in Kings Park during the 1980s.

Giannadeo has also volunteered with organizations like the Smithtown Sunrise Rotary and the Kings Park and Smithtown chambers of commerce. She is also on the advisory board of St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown and is a past trustee of the Smithtown Historical Society, for which she coordinated dinner dances to recognize its Person of the Year.

“I just love being involved; I love being in this community,” Giannadeo, 83, said. “Kings Park and Smithtown are very warm communities. I’ve made so many close friends being involved, and I care what happens in this community. I’ve lived here over 60 years, and I do care what happens here.”

Giannadeo spent 26 years as a teacher at Park View Elementary School in Kings Park, where she mentored local college students who performed their student teaching requirements in her class. During that time, she also developed a program with a nursing home in which the elderly residents would visit and read to the children, she said. 

The youngsters would then return the favor by visiting the nursing home twice a year to sing to the residents, she said.

“I thought that was a wonderful, wonderful thing to do with the children,” Giannadeo said. “To walk into a nursing home with a group of first-grade children and see the faces of those residents, you could not believe it. They were just so happy to see them. It warmed your heart.”

Giannadeo’s other achievements include collaborating with women in her neighborhood to establish The Rosary Society for St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Kings Park. She is also active in St. Joseph’s Daughters of America, a group dedicated to spiritual growth and charitable works.

Giannadeo’s various volunteer efforts earned her a 2024 Woman of Distinction Award this spring from Suffolk County Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), who said he first met her more than 10 years when he was running for election to the Legislature.

“The teacher in her was evident when she gave me advice about dressing for the position and informed me that shorts and a T-shirt were not the proper attire,” Trotta said. “We have been friends ever since, and I have the utmost respect for her.”

Giannadeo also received the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce’s Community Service Award in 2023, as well as the community service award from the New York State United Teachers in 2014. The Smithtown Business and Professional Women’s Network also honored her with its Woman of Example Award in 2012.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.