Huntington parking, revitalization top supervisor's agenda

Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said high on his agenda for next year are continued efforts to revitalize Huntington Station, addressing downtown Huntington’s perennial parking shortage, and a project that is especially meaningful to him. 

“When you look at Huntington Station revitalization, that continues to be a main priority of ours,” he said. “You can see that development of mixed-use buildings continues there and is very important and successful; I think we will continue to concentrate our resources there.”

He said efforts to build sewers south of the Long Island Rail Road station will ramp up in 2020 as a town and county sewer feasibility study continues and he and his team work with the county and state to find money to make it happen.

“We’re also reaching out to the EPA for federal funding,” he said. “Sewers will cost about $50 million so we’re trying to work with all branches of government.”

He said once they’re able to get funding and build a sewer infrastructure south of the train station, the revitalization will track north of the train station.

“I think that will be very important for families and businesses in terms of wanting to live and open businesses in that part of Huntington Station,” he said. “It’s very hard right now for businesses because there aren’t the proper sewer systems in place.”

Lupinacci pointed out efforts to improve parking in downtown Huntington, including the recent acquisition of a former bank property that will yield 76 new parking spaces and the launch of a parking app that allows people to locate and pay for parking from their cellphones.

“We will continue to tackle the parking situation,” he said. “We are looking into hiring a project management company that would review previous studies to determine updated project estimates and whether building the structure is a feasible undertaking in terms of the impact on parking in the village and the cost to taxpayers.”

Lupinacci and town board member Mark Cuthbertson in October offered a resolution to create a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication. The bureau will hear all code and ordinance violations related to conditions that constitute a threat or danger to the public health, safety or welfare. It won’t hear cases involving building code violations. The measure was approved in November.

“We expect to be operational by the spring,” Lupinacci said

One of the projects closest to the supervisor’s heart will be breaking ground on the James D. Conte Community Center in Huntington Station. The former armory is named for the assemblyman, whose seat Lupinacci took upon his death. He worked in Conte’s Assembly office as a college student.

“The Conte Community Center will be a huge project,” he said. 

The groundbreaking is expected in March, he said, adding that it will be the center of the community, offering services for young people, senior citizens and veterans.

Longtime Huntington Station resident Jim McGoldrick said he's looking forward to the construction of the community center.

"We've waited a long time for it," he said. "The community really needs it, especially the kids, and it will help out the seniors. I just hope it moves forward full speed ahead and is completed in a timely fashion."