Have You Seen 'Em Yet? QwikRide is Rolling

You can’t miss the brightly colored electric carts that have begun ferrying people around Huntington village. The first two to hit the roads are sponsored by The Paramount, Huntington Chamber of Commerce and Huntington Village Business Improvement District. 

The first Qwik Ride shuttles took to the streets of Huntington village Saturday night in an effort to relieve congestion in public parking lots.

 The free app-based shuttle service features two, six-person electric golf carts that will be used to pick up riders from outside of town and bring them into more crowded areas of the village during peak evening hours.

Qwik Ride, which recently started offering similar service in congested Patchogue village, is designed to free up parking in the heart of Huntington village by getting employees’ of village businesses to park their cars in outlier locations like the Town Hall parking lot or the municipal lot adjacent to Rite Aid at the western end of the village.

“The goal is to move employees to distant parking. When there are less people circling for spaces in the village, there’s no gridlock,” Qwik Ride co-founder Dan Cantelmo said in June.

He added that the business has had success in Patchogue.

“People want it. There’s a need for it, and the best part, it’s free.”

Qwik Ride’s business model relies on advertising. The Paramount, Huntington Chaber of Commerce and the Huntington Village Business Improvement District have already attached their brands to the first two carts in town.

Qwik Ride plans to expand the hours of the service in the coming weeks to include both daytime and evening shuttles.

An official ribbon cutting for the service is planned for late next week.

Greenlawn Firefighter 'Jumps For Goose'

Greenlawn Fire Department Lieutenant Eric Proctor completed a 24,000-foot HALO jump on July 7 in honor of Christopher Raguso.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The death of Commack resident and Air Force Master Sergeant Christopher Raguso on March 15 during what was to be his final tour of duty battling ISIS near the border of Iraq and Syria sent shockwaves through his community.

In addition to his service in the New York Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing, Raguso, called “Goose” by his friends, was a Lieutenant in the New York City Fire Department at Engine 302 in Queens and a Lieutenant for the Commack Fire Department at Station 4.

Fire departments from around the Town of Huntington found different ways to honor the 18-year veteran of the volunteer fire service, but one fellow firefighter decided to take honoring Raguso’s sacrifice to new heights.

Greenlawn Fire Department Lieutenant, Eric Proctor, completed the “Jump for Goose” on July 7, a 24,000-foot HALO, or high altitude low opening, skydive event that fundraised for Raguso’s wife, Carmela, and two young daughters.

Eric Proctor, 31, of Greenlawn, wore Master Sergeant Christopher Raguso’s uniform shirt during the “Jump for Goose” fundraiser.

Proctor, who worked as an FDNY EMT with Raguso’s brother-in-law Anthony Dichiara, said he wanted to find a way to help the Raguso family after witnessing the positive impact that Chris had on so many people.

“In the fire service we’re all family, so I wanted to do something to help,” Proctor said.

The avid skydiver decided to combine his passion for jumping out of airplanes with his love of the fire service to create the fundraiser.

Master Sergeant Christopher Raguso, a Commack and FDNY firefighter, was killed in action on March 15 in a helicopter crash near the Iraq-Syria border.

“I wanted to take the HALO jump and make it about something bigger than just a bucket list item to check off,” Proctor said. “Chris gave so much to us that it felt really good to give something back.”

Proctor met with Carmela Raguso to make sure that the family was comfortable with the idea.

“Everything was about her, her family and Chris, and I wanted to make sure that this would be a respectful and honorable event,” Proctor said.

The extreme altitude of the HALO jump meant that Proctor needed to wear specialized oxygen equipment, something he had never done before in his more than 200 previous skydives.

“It was a long way down,” Proctor laughed. “The unlimited visibility was unbelievable… it really puts things into perspective for you.”

In addition to the specialized equipment, Proctor was presented with Raguso’s uniform shirt by Carmela to wear during the jump, along with another veteran’s purple heart.

“Putting on that uniform before the jump was a humbling and chilling experience… buttoning up that shirt was probably the most serious part of the day,” Proctor said.

Christopher Raguso with his wife, Carmela, and two young daughters.

Proctor said he would continue to raise funds to support the “Jump for Goose” event until Nov. 1, and that 100 percent of the money raised will go towards helping with the education of Raguso’s daughters.

“Something terrible happened, but it brings people together,” Proctor said. “The best thing that we can ask for is to be there for Chris’ family in the years to come and remember and honor an American hero.”

Anyone who would like to donate to “Jump for Goose” can visit Gofundme.com/jumpforgoose for more information.

Commercial Space Planned Where Washington Dined

The proposed 10,064-square-foot commercial building seen from Main Street at Park Avenue. Rendering/Wharton Pryce Realty

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Neighbors and historic preservationists opposed a developers plan to construct a 10,064-square-foot commercial building on the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue in Huntington at a public hearing Tuesday night.

Developer, Dominick Mavellia, is requesting that the Huntington Town Board rezone the 1.06-acre property at 400 Park Avenue from a R-15 residential to C-1 commercial zone to allow for a commercial building “with space intended to be used for medical office,” according to town documents.

Earlier this year, Mavellia re-submitted a zone change application that closely mirrors his original 2014 plans for the site, with the only difference being plans for a wider westbound left-turn lane to reduce traffic on Main Street.

Mavellia’s previous plans for the property, which is located within the Old Huntington Green historic district, stalled before a prior town board administration in November 2016. Twice the board did not vote on the zone change application before deadlines hit.

Paul Warburgh, a member of Old Huntington Green, who had previously opposed Mavillia’s plan because of the size and architecture of the proposed building, said at Tuesday’s town board meeting that the group opposed the current zone change application.

Lucie Blohm, president of the Huntington Historical Society, urged the town board to deny the zone change for commercial use in the historic district, which still contains many of the most historic homes in the Town of Huntington.

Oyster Bay-based historic preservation consultant, John Collins, said the proposed commercial building was “way out of proportion” with the buildings in the surrounding historic district.

Neighboring property owner, Loretta Guglielmino, argued that Mavellia’s plans for the property represented a “seismic change” for the neighborhood.

“We don’t have to feel sorry that he has waited years and spent money on this endeavor because we have also spent money, paid our taxes and spent time on our home,” Guglielmino said. “It’s not the job of the citizens of the Town of Huntington to create wealth for a developer who took a chance.”

Huntington-based attorney, John Breslin, who is representing Mavellia, argued that the discussion of the proposed building and its design are “premature.”

“We’re here for a rezoning application,” Breslin said. “The nature of the building will have to go through site plan approval, then come back to you for architectural review under the historic district.”

Breslin also said that the property, which previously housed a gas station and a deli, has always had commercial uses.

“The proposed use is the perfect transition use with respect to land use… The residential use is clearly inappropriate,” Breslin said.

If the town board decides to vote on the zone change application, four of the five members will have to vote in favor of the application in order to achieve the necessary supermajority required, after neighboring property owners sent an official protest regarding the zone change on April 12.