Smithtown Resident Anthony Giordano Newest Member Of Suffolk County IDA

Anthony Giordano Appointed to the Suffolk County IDA - Giordano’s Business Acumen Will Help Retain and Grow Suffolk’s Workforce..

Anthony GiordanoThe Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is proud to announce that Anthony Giordano of Smithtown has been appointed to the agency’s Board of Directors.  Mr. Giordano’s appointment was approved by a vote of the Suffolk County Legislature in November of 2013.

Mr. Giordano’s experience as a former agent certified by the Major League Baseball Players Association coupled with his financial knowledge as an insurance and investment counselor will give him a unique perspective as a member of the board.  Mr. Giordano’s background will serve the IDA well as the agency fulfills its mission to promote economic development within Suffolk County.

“Anthony Giordano is a great addition to the IDA’s Board of Directors.  His business experience and understanding of the local economy makes him a valuable addition”, said Deputy County Executive, Commissioner of Economic Development and IDA Board Chair Joanne Minieri.

The Suffolk IDA welcomes Mr. Giordano and looks forward to his participation and contributions.

To learn more about the Suffolk IDA please visit www.SuffolkIDA.org

Creative Writing Contest For HS Students - Winning Entries To Be Included In Town's 2015 Time Capsule

ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!

Smithtown Matters is partnering with the Smithtown Youth Bureau  sponsoring a creative writing contest for high school students living in the township of Smithtown.  The theme of the contest is: “Town of Smithtown in the Year 3000”. There are THREE categories: Poetry, Short Story and Essay. Prizes will be awarded for first-place and first runner up in each of the three categories.  In addition each of the three first place submissions will become part of Smithtown’s future when they are placed in the 2015 time capsule during Smithtown’s 350th anniversary (sesquarcentennial) celebration. The anniversary celebration will kick-off in March of 2015 and continue with many events throughout the year. 

Deadline for Submissions is March 17, 2014. Winners will be announced on April 12, 2014 at the Youth Bureau’s Global Youth Services Event. All submissions will be judged by a panel of professionals in the field of English. No one at Smithtown Matters or the Smithtown Youth Bureau will participate in the judging. All pieces must be original compositions. One entry per person.  No drawings or photos will be accepted.  Judges will be looking at grammar, originality, and whether the author sticks to the theme. 

Remember to stay on the topic “Town of Smithtown in the Year 3000.” Have fun and be creative. Click here to access more information and rules for the contest.

Cover letter    Contest flyer

Smithtown Dish – small bites of foodie news

Smithtown Dish – small bites of foodie news

By Nancy Vallarella

Finally, 420 North Country Road will once again be warm and inviting with the smell of food cooking wafting through its doors. The former home of Bella Cucina is now the home of Spuntino Brick Oven Restaurant and Bar. No word on official opening date yet, but the good news is – no more vacant building! This is the business’s second location. If you would like to check out their food in advance visit the Spuntino Brick Oven Restaurant and Bar at 687 Old Country Road, Dix Hills. Stand by for opening date in Saint James.

Get ready for Saint Patty’s Day – the Kings Park Branch of the Smithtown Library is offering a class with Chef Rob Scott on Wednesday, March 12, from 6:30 - 8:30pm: Simply Creative Irish Soda Bread and Irish Bananas. There is a $5 fee and you need to bring a few supplies with you (mixing bowl, wooden spoon and loaf pan). Call 631-360-2480 to register.

Theater Review - "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

Theater Review

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”

Produced by: The John W. Engeman Theater, Northport

Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur

The Dwarfs: Christina Faicco, Samantha Carroll, James Tully, Paul Velutis, Natalie Seus, Hans Hendrickson, Michael Spencer. Photo by Michael De Cristofaro

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the stage musical, premiered at Radio City Music Hall in 1979. The show was based on the immensely successful 1937 animated feature Disney film of the same name. As entertainment historians will recall, the live production is known for thankfully having saved the world renowned Music Hall from being razed.

That ’79 show starred Broadway veteran Anne Francine as The Evil Queen, with Richard Bowne as Prince Charming, and the unknown ingénue Mary-Jo Salerno playing Snow White. A testament to the success of the live version of this internationally acclaimed show (directed and staged by Frank Wagner) is its selection in 1980 for HBO television … and its ultimate 1987 airing on the Disney Channel. And Snow White has been on a roll ever since. Currently, this excellent version (under Mark Adam Rampmeyer’s skillful direction) runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings, at Northport’s Broadway-caliber John W. Engeman Theater, thru March 9^th.

Most theater critics view stage shows in the evening … usually at Saturday night Press showings. Occasionally, we make our observations during weekend matinees. Never, however, are we called upon to show up at the box office at 10:30 AM on Sunday!

But that’s exactly what this reviewer was assigned to do last weekend. And although I never could have predicted it, the timing proved absolutely fortuitous … and here’s why.

If one hopes to grasp the essence of a theatrical production whose target audience is pre-K to 3^rd Graders, then it seems foolish for the critic to attend such a show at a time of day (or night) when small children feel out of their element. The fact is that all actors … youthful as well as adult performers … invariably react to their audiences, and vice versa. Surely something in that interplay is lost if, through inappropriate timing, a reviewer is deprived of the opportunity to observe the networking phenomenon first hand … to feel it viscerally.

The packed Engeman house for Snow White was, by my estimate, sixty percent 5, 6, and 7-year-olds last Sunday morning (and I’m guessing ninety percent of those kids were nicely dressed-up little girls). Before the show started, I said to myself, uh-oh, this is gonna be a rough assignment. The theater was alive with squeals, giggles, and even the occasional shriek as show time drew near.

But promptly at 10:30, the house lights dimmed and all that shrill exuberance turned to whispered amazement as only the stage was brightly lit—an absolute magnet for any child’s attention. Then Jack Kohl’s music … and onto the stage marched familiar members of the cast singing their upbeat introductory number, and for the next hour and a half not a single line in the play was obscured by audience noise.

This play might be named Snow White (she’s played by Brittany Lacey) and the Seven Dwarfs (they’re pictured here and named in order), and along with Prince Charming (Nicholas Mannino) they all do a bang-up job, but the show truly belongs to Suzanne Mason (first playing the Wicked Queen, then the beautiful but sly Esmeralda, and finally the nasty Old Hag) all of which parts she interprets to perfection. I’d love to have seen Mason when she appeared in Kiss Me Kate!

Naturally, the charm of the Seven Dwarfs is largely that each has his own uniqueness, but it seems that the most challenging Dwarf role is the one handed to James Tully (Slowpoke). For one thing, he’s the smallest … always bringing up the rear … and as such is the constant focus of attention. Every actor longs for that spotlight, but with it come correlated responsibilities. ‘Slowpoke’ Tully (though he might be Snow White’s youngest actor) doesn’t miss a cue, a step, or an expression.

And wait ‘til you see the magic Costume Designer Lauren Paragallo works with Suzanne Mason’s outfits … fabulous!

The younger set adored this show. Me too.

Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eight novels, and his theater reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “Harvest” due in late summer, an American doctor is forced to perform illegal surgeries for a gang of vital organ traffickers in The Balkans

The Clock Is Ticking For Prisco Realty/ Reliable Tree Service

The clock is ticking on Prisco Realty LLC/Reliable Tree Service in Smithtown. Many homeowners in the area feel the business, located at 927 West Jericho Turnpike, has been before the Smithtown Town Board too many times and for too long without resolution. How long is too long?  Ten years plus, according to residents living behind Prisco on Amsterdam and Jennifer Roads. 

At its February 11 Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meeting the board, minus  Chairwoman Adrienne Giannadeo who has recused herself, granted property owner Frank Prisco a sixty-day conditional extension to submit a completed site plan to the town. According to Blaise Donadio, a planner for Smithtown, the architect for Prisco is working on the site plan and is aware of the conditions placed on the property. Mr. Donadio acknowledged that non-compliance with the conditions, including the rapidly approaching 15-day requirement to delineate the buffers, could result in the nullification of the Prisco application. 

Google Earth 3/6/12Google Earth 4/1/04Google Earth 2001Prisco had requested a 180-day extension which was reduced to sixty days by the BZA with the following conditions: 1. A completed site plan must be filed with the Smithtown Planning Department within sixty days. 2.  Within 15 days of the BZA’s approval of the conditional extension buffers must be delineated and all outdoor storage must be removed from the delineated buffer area. 3. Prisco must respond to comments on site plan to Town departments within 15 days of receiving request. 4. Buffer fencing and plantings must be in place within 30 days of receiving site plan approval from the Board of Site Plan Review (Town Board).

Over the years Smithtown has responded to site plan violations issuing summonses to Prisco in 2003, 2008 and 2010. The case went to Suffolk County District Court and in 2011 a conditional discharge agreement was reached requiring Prisco to file a site plan within a year. Most recently in November of 2013 the BZA granted Prisco the approval to operate a trucking station on the site allowing for outdoor storage of vehicles.  Other variances were granted at the time, but so were restrictions that included a plan to buffer residents. 

Over the past ten years residents have complained  of noise, odors and the intense use of the property with encroachment on and removal of natural buffers. Aerial photos (provided by local resident) show the changes in the property. Additionally many residents have a new worry - traffic.  Some residents express concern that the trucks delivering cars to the site obstruct driver’s vision and traffic patterns. 

What do the residents want? Although there is no individual spokesperson for the homeowners, a common philosophy has emerged: residents want protection of their quality of life, a fair and reasonable resolution and enforcement that is swift and meaningful.  

The sixty-day extension gives Prisco until mid April to submit a completed site plan. 

Update on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 12:07AM by .

According to sources at Town Hall Prisco/Reliable Tree has complied with item two of the conditional approval received on February 11.

Of Feb. 11, 2014 owner Frank Prisco was directed within 15 days of the BZA’s approval of the conditional extension to delinieate buffers and to remove all outdoor storage from the delineated buffer area. 

Mr. Prisco has 49 days left on his 60 day conditional approval to submit a completed site plan to the Planning Department.