Mario Posillico, developer of some of LI's biggest infrastructure projects, dead at 87

Mario Posillico, former chairman of the family-owned construction and contracting firm that built projects integral to New York City and Long Island's infrastructure, has died.

The 87-year-old Cold Spring Harbor resident died of Parkinson's disease on Aug. 4, his family said.

Posillico, along with his brothers Dominic and Joseph Jr., grew Farmingdale-based Posillico Inc. from the construction company that their father, Joseph "J.D." Posillico, started in 1946, taking on various aspects of massive projects such as the Long Island Expressway, the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Sunrise Highway, Mitchel Field and the World Trade Center.

Marc Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association, said Mario Posillico, who was a former president of the association, served as a mentor.

"I was impressed with how he looked at the overall industry and not just his firm and advancing the work that we do," Herbst said. "He understood that if the construction industry was a focal point for the economic development of Long Island that the overall economy would be better, and he constantly stressed that with me to continuously promote the importance of construction for the overall economy of this region."

Whether helping to build golf courses such as Timber Point in Great River to paving for a commercial building, Mario Posillico was "proud of making a difference," said his son Michael Posillico, 59, a principal partner in the company.

"He was the person who said, ‘I’ll go get it done,’ and they trusted him," Michael Posillico said.

While the company ballooned to about 700 employees and took on complex engineering projects, Michael Posillico said his dad concerned himself with personal issues that colleagues had.

"If someone had a family problem with a child, with college, with health, he just loaned them the money and said, ‘OK, you pay me back when you can’ on a whim," Michael Posillico said. "He was very, very concerned about the plight of others."

After stepping away as chairman of the still family-run company in 2008, Mario Posillico would return to visit colleagues.

Mario Posillico was born on March 25, 1934, the middle son of parents Joseph and Angela Posillico of Farmingdale, where they lived along with family members who emigrated from Durazzano, Italy. Growing up, Mario Posillico worked in stables shoveling horse manure in Bethpage State Park and watching golfers on the iconic Bethpage Black course, where he gained an affinity for the sport.

At Farmingdale High School, he played golf, basketball and football, and met his future wife, Kay Albrecht. After graduating high school in 1952 and Lehigh University in 1956 with a degree in industrial engineering, he married in 1958 before entering the U.S. Navy later that year.

Mario Posillico worked in the Navy gathering data as a meteorologist in Guam, and while there he decided to become a professional golfer. He played in tournaments in the Philippines and Japan before returning in 1960 with his wife and first child, Jeanne, to Farmingdale to join the family business. The couple later divorced.

Besides his son Michael, Posillico is survived by his other children, Jeanne, Barbara, Kristi, Lindsay and Chris; and nine grandchildren. His brothers predeceased him.

Posillico will be cremated, with his ashes spread along Long Island Sound.