Town of Huntington, NY - News Details

At its June 18 meeting, the Huntington Town Board approved a major boating safety and water quality protection initiative, scheduled public hearings for the July 16 meeting, among other Town business.

The Town Board approved a measure that will help prevent irresponsible boat ownership and irresponsible boating, placing liability for costs incurred by the Town in removing, storing and disposing unseaworthy/wrecked vessels on the owner or person responsible for the vessel; covering the costs of vessel wreck removal, pollution mitigation and remediation of other navigational safety hazards by establishing a nominal $40/season resident permit fee to be deposited into the Board of Trustees account; non-residents already pay $200/season for the same permit.

“As a waterfront community, our residents deserve to have our waterways, a precious natural resource, treated with proper respect for both the current and future generations. The Town spent over $50,000 last year removing derelict and abandoned boats in an effort to keep the harbor safe to navigate and protect our water quality,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci. “Taxpayers should not be on the hook for the consequences of irresponsible boat ownership.”

Revenue from the fee will help the Harbormaster’s office build a database to help the Town identify owners of boats abandoned in Huntington’s waterways and hold violators responsible for creating hazardous boating safety conditions; the approved measure establishes and increases required insurance limits for vessel wreck removal and pollution mitigation; it also lowers the cost of transient commercial mooring permits for commercial entities leasing or owning land in the Town of Huntington, to help boost the Town’s maritime economy (lowering the fee from $200 to $40).

The Town will allow commercial baymen who operate in Huntington’s waterways to have their mooring permit included with the issuance or renewal of their commercial license, making it easier to do business in the Town of Huntington.

The Town Board scheduled public hearings for the Tuesday, July 16, 2019 Town Board meeting at 2:00 PM:

• To consider authorizing various actions be taken upon certain properties designated as Blighted in accordance with Chapter 156, Article VII, §156-60 (Blighted Property).
• To consider amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 78 (Animals), Article II (Dogs and other Animals) §78-17 (Unattended Animals); regarding the outdoor tethering of dogs.
• To consider amending the Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 198 (Zoning), Article VI (Historic Landmarks and Districts), §198-42 (Designation of Sites and Buildings) to update the tax map numbers of the Sweet Hollow Historic District that have changed due to the approval of a subdivision, in order to keep Town records current.
• To consider amending the Uniform Traffic Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 3, Article II, §3-3. Schedule J.  Re: 3rd Street – East Northport – Parking Restrictions; to delete existing No Parking restrictions on 3rd Street between Pulaski Road and Ninth Avenue in response to residents’ requests.
• To consider amending the Uniform Traffic Code of the Town of Huntington, Chapter 3, Article II, §3-3, Schedule J.  Re: Clay Pitts Road – East Northport – Parking Restrictions; adding No Parking restrictions on the south side of Clay Pitts Road from 320 feet west of Meadowlark Drive to Meadowlark Drive Friday through Sunday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
• To consider amending Local Law 20-2019 so as to change the effective date thereof from July 15, 2019 to September 3, 2019, due to additional time required by the Town’s parking information systems vendor to implement complex changes to the Town’s Traffic Code.
• To consider amending Local Law 21-2019 so as to change the effective date thereof from July 15, 2019 to September 3, 2019, due to additional time required by the Town’s parking information systems vendor to implement complex changes to the Town’s Traffic Code.

In other action, the Town Board:

• Authorized the Comptroller to appropriate up to $250,000 from the EOSPA Neighborhood Enhancement Fund for streetscape enhancements to enhance pedestrian safety and alleviate traffic flow, including curbs, sidewalks, ADA-compliant ramps, catch basins and aprons, on both sides of West Hills Road, between West 19th Street and West 22nd Street, in Huntington Station.
• Authorized the Comptroller to appropriate up to $20,000 from the EOSPA Neighborhood Enhancement Fund for a right-of-way survey for streetscape enhancements, including curbs and sidewalks, on the east side of Depot Road, between Vondran Street and Brompton Place, in Huntington Station.
• Adopt a Code of Conduct for all Town of Huntington Employees and Interns as part of the Town's Policy and Procedure Manual, creating new policy prohibiting offensive behavior, bullying, cyberbullying, and hazing; setting forth the rights and responsibilities of Town employees and interns; and establishing a procuedure for reporting and investigating allegations of such behavior not governed by the Town's discrimination and sexual harassment policy.
• Appointed James J. Ahrens, P.E. Deputy Director of the Department of Engineering Services for the Town of Huntington. A Professional Engineer, Mr. Ahrens most recently served as Vice President of Construction Management at The LiRo Group, dealing extensively as Engineering Project Manager with municipal agencies and related projects since 1990.
• Approved the acceptance of payment from Suffolk County Water Authority in the amount of $135,466.68 for the restoration and repaving of Old Northport Road and Woodruff Court, where the utility had been performing a main replacement and reinforcement project.
• Accepted a donation from Hummel Hummel and 7-Eleven for the Town of Huntington's Annual Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony.
• Accepted donations from Copenhagen Bakery and La Casa Cafe for the Town of Huntington’s “Keep Huntington Beautiful” Beach Clean Up Program.
• Appointed Scott Van Son as a member of the advisory committee established by the Community Benefits Agreement to fill a vacancy upon a prior member’s recent resignation.
• Designated August 1, 2019 as Cornelia Prime Day and renamed View Acre Drive as View Acre Drive/Cornelia Prime Way, after philanthropist Cornelia Prime, whose most notable gift to the Huntington community was the donation of land, the original building and an endowment for Huntington Hospital.

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