1st Annual Neighborhood Fall Festival

Mastic Beach held its first Annual Fall Festival on Neighborhood Road on Saturday, October 18th. Sponsored by Pattersquash Creek Civic Association, the festival was extremely well attended and the weather was spectacular. It included a Scarecrow Contest, a Dunk Tank, featuring local civic activist Victor Zeleny, and of course delicious food. Proceeds from the event are going toward the Mastic Beach Village efforts.

Hope Begins with Mastic Beach Village

The Mastic Beach Village Exploratory committee has not let the grass grow under their feet. They are taking giant steps forward with this effort. In addition to establishing their borders, they have raised more than half of the money needed to fund this proposal. They recently completed a feasibility analysis that has apparently dispelled the myth that Mastic Beach is too poor to become a viable village. But we already knew the true value of Mastic Beach, didn't we!
This is a very exciting time for the Tri-hamlet area. Everyone is watching closely to see if the Mastic Beach village effort is successful. If it indeed comes to fruition, watch for Shirley and Mastic to follow suit. The success of Mastic Beach will surely pave the way for revamping the entire community. Good luck, folks. We're pulling for you!

Back To School

It's that time of year again when our children will be heading back to school. Bus stops will be bustling with youngsters in their new shoes and backpacks. Buses will be stopping at every corner; some on their usual route, familiar with streets, some new to the job, new to the neighborhood and perhaps driving slowly to be sure they don't miss a stop. Whatever the case, we must be patient and put the safety of our children and our neighbors' children first. So give yourself a little extra time in the morning and give those buses and our kids the right of way.

Back to school also means sports registration, scout registration, dance registration and all that goes along with being part of a large school community. Get involved in your community and make a difference. Volunteer, whether for your child's after school activity or in the local fire or ambulance departments. Be a part of the great Floyd community. Remember, change starts with one.

Village Boundaries

The Mastic Beach Village Exploratory Committee has met and adopted proposed boundaries. The excitement generated in the Mastic Beach community has reached an all time high. Although there are a few naysayers, the overall sentiment is "It's About Time".

The Village boundaries include all of the 11951 zip code area. Also included is a small portion of the 11967 zip code that borders Mastic Beach and has been purposely excluded from Smith Point's proposed village boundaries. At a recent meeting it was decided to include these areas rather than leave them out as a potential quality of life threat down the line.

Now that the boundaries have been outlined, the real work begins to bring this proposal to a vote. Everyone within the boundaries will have the opportunity to vote in the village election.
So what does this all mean? It means that it is our responsibility to get the facts, educate ourselves, keep an open mind and make an informed decision when this comes to a vote.

Crime Rate Down in Tri Hamlet Communities

The Suffolk County Police Department and County Executive Steve Levy held a press conference yesterday claiming that new statistics show the crime rate in our community is at its lowest since 2003. Levy credits this drop to new police officers added to the 7th Precinct over the past several years and to increased patrols and crack downs. But you know what they say about "figures" - Figures lie and liars figure. Civic leaders invited to the press conference said that they are pleased with the news. However, it would be nice to hear from the actual residents of the community on their observations, instead of the usual self-appointed spokespersons of the area. While some of those "community leaders" claim things are getting better, most of the community residents disagree. And with the economy heading in the wrong direction.......could be time to reactive the Neighborhood Watch and step up our efforts to look after our streets.

4th of July Fireworks Show Fizzles Out

Efforts to bring back the 4th of July Carnival and Fireworks Show to Smith Point County Park have hit the brick wall at #1 Coraci Blvd. At a meeting that included the Montauk Merchants Association, Mastic-Shirley Chamber of Commerce, and other local civic organizations, Legislator Kate Browning was hard pressed to put forth the resolution that would bring this festival back to the community. Citing opposition from the Suffolk County Parks Department, Park Police and Suffolk County Police Department, the legislator reluctantly agreed to introduce the resolution, although the date of the festival was changed to mid to late August. However the resolution was not introduced and backers of the event were forced to find another locale. It's ashame when events showing the Mastic-Shirley community in a positive light are thwarted instead of supported by those elected to serve. Well, maybe next year we'll see a "spark" of community spirit and everyone will work together to bring positive things to our area.

Taken for "Grant-ed"

Last week's Newsday article exposing the distribution of grant monies from Brookhaven Town has set off a flurry of questioning of other grant money distributed in the community. Starting with the question of grants given to a 501c3 organization who in turn gave political contributions to the elected official that gave them the grant, to a civic leader announcing that an elected official was funnelling grant money through another civic organization, to the community impact funds from a large scale development that seemed to evaporate. These monies, which ultimately come from our tax dollars, are doled out by politicians to win favour with community groups. This is not a new practice, but one that should stop. In Washington DC, they call it pork, here in Suffolk County, we call it B.S. Call it whatever you want, its nothing more than a vote buying scheme. We really do not need our politicians spending any more of our money to support their friends or relatives or buying influence from certain community groups.