Brentwood Recreation Center named for ill community leader

The Islip Town Board has unanimously approved renaming the downstairs space of the Brentwood Recreation Center in honor of community leader Sandra M. Gil, who is seriously ill with cancer.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Gil’s daughter Jennifer spoke movingly about her mother’s legacy. “My mom is a model citizen,” Jennifer Gil said. “She migrated here as a teenager from Ecuador. She is the most amazing person I have ever had the privilege of knowing.”

Gil was honored “in recognition of her unparalleled commitment to the community,” Supervisor Angie Carpenter said at the meeting. Gil founded the Latino Health Initiative of Suffolk County, the Academic Excellence Task Force Committee for the Brentwood School District, the Committee of Latin-American Women and the Suffolk Minority Health Action Coalition; was the coordinator of the Parent Leadership Initiative for the town in 2012; and has been active in many other groups.