At its June 19 meeting, the
Huntington Town Board officially dedicated two roads in the names of two NYPD
officers from Huntington who recently lost their battles with 9/11-related
cancer. The Town adopted a permit procedure for the use of drones on Town
property and scheduled public hearings for the July 17 and August 7 Town Board
Meetings.
NYPD Officer Scott Blackshaw, shield
number #11638, spent weeks searching for his fallen comrades at Ground Zero
following the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Officer
Blackshaw lost his long battle with 9/11-related cancer on Sunday, May 20,
2018.
"Officer Blackshaw dedicated
his time and his love to his family, neighbors and community and brought
everyone together, this is his legacy," said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci
during the presentation of the street sign bearing Officer Blackshaw's name.
"Today we are joined by NYPD Officer Scott Blackshaw’s friends, who came
together as a family, to help take care of Scott’s medical treatment, daily
living and to help this local hero face his adversity with dignity."
Valleywood Drive in Huntington
Station was officially renamed NYPD Officer Scott Blackshaw Way / Valleywood
Drive by the Town Board to honor the memory and the service of a hero that is
Huntington’s own. The official dedication ceremony will take place in August
with Officer Blackshaw’s friends and family.
NYPD Officer Mark J. Natale helped
frightened and dust-covered people fleeing the devastation over bridges to
Brooklyn and onto ferries to New Jersey following the 2001 terror attacks on
the World Trade Center. He also stood guard at the gates around Ground Zero in
the days that followed and worked in lower Manhattan for several months.
“NYPD Police Officer Mark J. Natale
tragically lost his long battle with 9/11-related brain cancer at his South
Huntington home on May 4, 2018,” said Supervisor Lupinacci as the Town
presented the street sign bearing Officer Natale’s name to his family. “Mrs.
Natale, the Town and the country is grateful to you and your husband for his
selfless heroic sacrifice. Now we will unveil the street sign dedicating
Iceland Drive in South Huntington as NYPD Officer Mark J. Natale Way, which you
can take home with you today.”
The Town Board was joined by Officer
Natale’s family, wife Mayra Natale, daughters Catherine and Lauren, and his
retired colleagues from the NYPD. Officer Natale is also survived by his son
Dominick.
The Town Board adopted a permit
procedure for the operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, model aircraft (small
UAS) or “drones,” throughout the Town of Huntington, including their use on
Town property, to ensure drone operation is orderly and respectful of community
standards and the privacy concerns of residents. The Town also established fees
for drone permit applications and drone permits:
Recreational Drone
Permits
·
$0
recreational permit application fee
·
$0
recreational permits
Commercial Permits
·
$50
commercial permit application fee
·
$50
single full-day permit (up to 24 hours). Applicant may request a refund in
writing due to inclement weather within one week of the permitted day.
·
$500
annual permit fee (January 1-December 31). The annual fee cannot be pro-rated.
The Town honored Winter Olympian and
Huntington Station native Sgt. Matthew Mortensen, who competed in Luge events
at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, for his amazing
career and distinguishing himself as one of the sport's premier athletes.
The Town also recognized:
·
South
Huntington School District officials for U.S. News and World Report naming Walt
Whitman High School the 147th Best Public High School in New York State and
sixteen-hundred-and-eleventh (1,611th) in the national rankings, earning a
Silver Medal.
·
The
Harborfields High School Lacrosse Team for winning the Suffolk County
Championship.
·
Jack
Poplawski, a student at Walt Whitman High School, for winning the pentathlon at
the NYS Track and Field championships.
·
The
Cold Spring Harbor Girls Lacrosse Team for winning the state Class C
championship game.
In other action, the Town Board:
·
Appointed
Honorable W. Gerard Asher to the Town of Huntington Veterans Advisory Board.
·
Appointed
Emerson Boozer as Vice Chair of the Environmental Open Space and Park Fund
Review Advisory Committee (EOSPA).
·
Amended
Town Code to clarify ambiguities on the publication of the notice of the public
hearing.
·
Declared
July 21, 2018 to be Coltrane Day in the Town of Huntington, executing a license
agreement for the Coltrane Home in Dix Hills for the use of Heckscher Park for
Coltrane Day activities during the Huntington Summer Arts Festival “Huntington
Jazz Week” performances.
·
Approved
the filing of a grant to apply for $11,000 from the NYSDEC’s Urban and
Community Forestry Grant Program for the planting of 84 trees throughout Manor
Field Park.
·
Agreed
to co-sponsor the Huntington Fire Department’s 175th Anniversary
celebration on July 28, 2018.
·
Scheduled a public hearing for the July 17, 2018 Town
Board Meeting at 2:00 PM to consider “no parking” restrictions during school
days from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM along Windgate Court and Windgate Drive in East
Northport.
·
Scheduled public hearings for the August 7, 2018 Town
Board Meeting at 7:00 PM:
o
To
consider the application of Crest Huntington, LLC to amend covenants and
restrictions previously recorded as part of a Matrix Investment Group, LLC zone
change in 2015 for property located on the northwest corner of Jericho Turnpike
and West Hills Road in Huntington Station.
o
To
consider a zone change application for Artis Senior Living to change the zoning
from R-20 Residence District to R-HS Residential Health Services District for
the property located on the northeast corner of Woodbury Road and East Gate
Drive, West Hills (southwest of the Cold Spring Harbor LIRR Train Station).
In the photo (l-r): Councilman
Edmund J.M. Smyth; Councilman Mark Cuthbertson; Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci;
Councilwoman Joan Cergol; Sgt. Matthew Mortensen.
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