From Greater Patchogue - News for the people of Patchogue and its Suburbs:
'5 for 5' with town candidate Neil Foley
As part of our “5 for 5” series — designed to help GreaterPatchogue.com readers better navigate the 2015 Elections — we asked Brookhaven Town Councilman Neil Foley to give us five great ideas, or policy goals, that could be set in motion in the next five years.
Foley, 47, is a Blue Point resident and the incumbent councilman in Brookhaven Town’s Fifth Council District. He’s running for re-election on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform Party lines.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
A Medford community center
This is an idea that has been discussed for nearly a decade, but has never materialized. It’s past time this much-needed resource for our residents and their children becomes a reality.
Turn our eyes to Main Street, E. Patchogue
Downtown Patchogue has seen a remarkable revitalization over the past several years. This progress has to continue outside the incorporated village eastward. To do this we’ll need to provide economic incentives to businesses, take proactive steps to address long-term problem properties, such as we did with the Plaza Theater, and lobby the county, state and federal government to make critical improvements to sewers, roads and transportation in the area.
Better places to have a nice day
This includes replacing antiquated equipment at existing playgrounds, building new or upgraded ballfields, purchasing new property to expand recreation opportunities, and providing creative uses of existing open space as passive recreation facilities, such as we did at the Swan River Preserve in East Patchogue.
Invest in our infrastructure
From crumbling jetties at the mouth of the Patchogue River to roads that are decades old, we need to make long-term investments in our neighborhoods to critical infrastructure. This includes sidewalks, drainage projects, shoreline hardening and other major projects that will pay dividends for years to come.
Strengthen our finances for taxpayers
Brookhaven finances have taken great strides under the leadership of Supervisor Ed Romaine and this Town Board, but we need to continue our vigilance to strengthen municipal finances. That’s why I support Supervisor Romaine’s three point plan to end deficit spending, rebuild the town’s budget surplus and impose budget accountability for all town departments.
