Family Earth Day Expo - Saturday, April 25th

The Town of Huntington will be celebrating Earth Day 2015 by once again hosting the FAMILY EARTH DAY EXPO. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 25th, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Town Hall Parking Lot at 100 Main St., Huntington. (Rain or Shine.)  Join us at this fun-filled event and learn simple ways in which to protect our precious environment.

Special thanks to this year's Co-sponsors:
Covanta, Safety Shred and Trader Joe's!

Here are few things we have in store for April 25:
* Paper Shredding
* E-Cycling
* Boat Wrap Recycling
* The Green Showcase
* Touch-A-Truck
And new to the EXPO this year:
Medicine Disposal drop-off!
For more info, call 351-3171 or visit:
http://www.huntingtonny.gov/controls/NewsFeed.aspx?FeedID=1252

As part of the Daly Road/Hauppauge Road sidewalk and traffic calming project, the slip ramp that currently allows southbound traffic to continue on Daly Road at the intersection with Larkfield and Hauppauge Roads will be closed, permanently, beginning tomorrow, March 31.

Southbound traffic wanting to continue on Daly will have to make a right turn at the intersection. The project will include construction of a dedicated right turn lane at the intersection.

The project also includes three new traffic signals on Daly Road at the Blacksmith Lane, Wicks Road and Willoughby Path intersections; these signals will be configured as “rest in red” function to control traffic speed. They are in the process of being installed.

The plans also include installing a sidewalk on the north side of Hauppauge Road.

The goal of the project is to calm traffic on Daly Road and improve pedestrian safety on Hauppauge Road. The funding for the project comes from a $700,000 state grant.

All photographers are welcome to submit photos for the Annual Tulip Festival Photo Contest sponsored by the Town of Huntington and Astoria Bank.  For the 2014 Tulip Festival Photo Contest, first place and a $150 award check went to Steven Selles of Huntington for his photo, "Springtime at Heckscher." Second place and the $100 prize was awarded to Robert Guido of Huntington for "Reflections" and third place and the $50 prize was awarded to Jovanna Hopkins of Dix Hills for "Mia with Tulips." Two honorable mentions with a $25 prize were awarded to Ruth Semon Fahlbusch of Huntington for “Full Bloom” and to Ross McTyre of Commack for “Three Little Lilies.”

photo: Steven Selles -"Springtime at Heckscher" 

HART operates a special paratransit program that provides basic mobility within the Town of Huntington for persons who are prevented by disability from using HART’s regularly-scheduled, fixed-route transit buses, and non-driving senior citizen (60+) Town of Huntington residents who do not have access to transit services.

HART’s paratransit program is operated in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is a shared-ride, advance-request, generally curb-to-curb transportation program that is available only to eligible persons and their traveling companions. Origin-to-destination service will be provided upon request to ADA Paratransit Eligible customers, based on need. Prior enrollment is required. Please call HART bus at 631-427-8287 for more information.

Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART), the only Town-operated bus system on Long Island, is putting 15 new vehicles into service, providing easier access for passengers and fuel savings. The newest members of the HART fleet include seven 20-passenger Spirit of Mobility buses manufactured by ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, an Indiana-based company, and eight paratransit buses from Shepard Brothers in upstate Canandaigua. The clean-diesel ARBOC buses will be used on fixed routes and will provide easier maneuverability, greater fuel efficiency and easier passenger access than the 29-passenger vehicles they are replacing. The eight clean-diesel paratransit buses are consistent with existing vehicles and will replace ones that, like the fixed route vehicles being taken out of service, are beyond their useful life.

HART also has three hybrid fixed-route buses, which will remain in use. The new fixed-route buses cost $175,500 each and the smaller paratransit buses cost $53,368 each. Eighty percent of the cost comes from federal mass transit funding. The Town and New York State each assume 10 percent of the cost. The first of the vehicles went into service and will be joined by the others shortly. 

The Town of Huntington’s Division of Women’s Services is proud to present “Expressions of American Dance” in honor of Women’s History Month.  The performance will take place on Thursday, March 26, 2015 from 1:30 – 3:30 pm at the Huntington Senior Center located at 423 Park Avenue in Huntington.

The Huntington Center for Performing Arts will present a cultural journey through movement and dance.  Their talented dancers will mesmerize with demonstrations and exhilarating performances.  After the presentation, all are welcome to dance to the tunes of DJ Bob.

For more information, contact Rhonda Shepardson at 351-3291.

About the Workshop: Join fitness maven, Ms. Lisa Galasso for an evening of fun and exercise to help keep you physically fit and energized for 2015. In case you didn’t know, Zumba fitness is one of the most popular forms of group exercise that infuses Latin inspired dance moves such as Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton and Flamenco. In fact, you don’t have to have any dancing abilities to attend—just bring with you the desire to relax from all your business stress, willingness to have fun and the attitude to learn a whole new way of reducing work stress.

About the Instructor: Lisa Galasso, M.S., MBA, Alumni Engagement Associate at St. Joseph's College and exercise guru. She currently has lots of fun conducting ZUMBA classes at St. Joseph's College.

*HORC is two doors down from the Biz Inc. and is across the street from 7-11. Parking available in commuter lot behind 7-11, along East Second Street or in commuter lot off of East Second Street. Registration is FREE with RSVP to Michele Foulke at 631-385-2305 or by email to: mfoulke@HuntingtonNY.gov. Our next seminar, Women and Entrepreneurship—Be Your Own Boss

With the boating season of 2015 approaching, the Town of Huntington will be hosting two "FREE" one-day eight-hour New York State Boaters Safety Courses at Huntington Town Hall in on Saturday, April 18^th from 9:00 am to 5 pm and Saturday, May 16^th from 9 am to 5 pm. Those attending these two classes will learn the fundamentals of safe boating such as safe loading & operation, navigation rules, getting underway and accidents & emergencies and much more.

Two years ago, N.Y. State passed a law that requires boaters to take a safety course before operating in local waters. According to the legislation, the safety certifications may be administered through such agencies as the United States Power Squadrons, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Those who violate this law face fines of $250, $500 or $1,000 for first, second or third offences respectively. The law also requires all boaters born on or after May 1st 1996 to have a boating safety certificate to operate a power vessel.

The severity of this year’s winter season has caused some waterfowl to starve and perish due to prolonged frozen bays and harbors.  The Town of Huntington is trying to enlist volunteers to distribute food at various waterfront locations to help feed the waterfowl.

The Town has ordered 2,000 pounds of feed and begun identifying volunteers to distribute the feed at six locations throughout the town: Billy Joel Park in Cold Spring Harbor; Gold Star Battalion Beach in Huntington; Heron Park in Centerport; Scudder Beach and Crab Meadow Beach in Northport; and the Town parking lot adjacent to Price's Bend in Eaton's Neck. Volunteers can pick up a bag of feed at the Harbormaster's Office (53 N. New York Ave., Huntington) along with an instruction sheet detailing how and where to place the food for maximum effect. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the Harbormaster's Office at 351-3327.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!