There’s a new currency in town. Think of “BID Bucks” as a Huntington Station coupon – good anywhere that pays Huntington Station Business Improvement District (BID) taxes.

Leaders of the local business improvement district are looking to launch the Huntington Station-focused program in time for this coming Christmas, which President Keith Barrett said is designed to get people to shop locally and support businesses in the hamlet.

Read on now to learn how these "BID Bucks" can be obtained and used to help stimulate the local economy!

For 15 years, Huntington native Rob Steinert has been working with baseball and softball players across the northeast, including three in the MLB.

Steinert has been able to do this with a simple philosophy: sacrifice a bit of today for success in the future – and he’s teaching that at CGI Baseball, Inc. in Huntington Station.

Read on to learn how practice does indeed make perfect at CGI Baseball, whose emphasis on long-term growth helps its participants thrive, both at baseball and beyond!

If you ask Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty COO Thomas Calabrese what sets the company apart, he’ll tell you the real estate agency founded out of Cold Spring Harbor in 1922 is selfless: 93 years later, the leaders at Daniel Gale put their customers and their agents before themselves.

It’s one of the reasons why they've had success, he said.

Read on to learn how this mantra has helped the agency become such a trusted, local fixture over the years!

McGough Academy School of Irish Dance stepped into Huntington in style last weekend with a grand opening celebration complete with a world-famous Irish step dancer.

Read on to learn more about the academy, owner Meagan McGough's unique vision, and how McGough has created a environment that helps her students to thrive!

Longtime Huntington resident Dr. Robert E. Scully opened up his first Medicenter in Huntington in 1990, when urgent care centers were neither as popular nor taken as seriously as they are now. Scully said he saw walk-in clinics as the future of medicine and the epitome of responsive patient care.

“I saw it as the new thing; it was what patients wanted,” Scully said.

Read on to learn how Scully's vision has grown since then and how his attention to both quality and patient convenience has made MediCenter the successful venture it is today! 

Meet Annabelle, the inspiration for a new Northport-based startup called Sweet Annabelle’s that specializes in vegan ice cream.

“Like all farmed animals including those whose faces we never see, and whose lives and suffering we give little thought to, Annabelle and her friends are sentient beings worthy of our compassion,” Sweet Annabelle’s mission statement reads. “Yet sadly, particularly in today's cruelly devised factory farm system, millions upon millions of animals are forced to endure short, miserable lives punctuated with immense pain and suffering.”

Read on to learn how Sweet Annabelle's is working at turning the public onto vegan, cruelty-free food, using their business venture to aid the animals and causes near and dear to their hearts!

Arlene Weil has been organizing things since she was a kid.

“Professional organizing is something in someone’s nature,” Weil said.

Weil spent 28 years in corporate America before the Dix Hills entrepreneur decided to turn her love of cleaning out closets into a business.

Read on to learn what caused her to begin her business, what her business entails, and how she derives both personal and professional satisfaction from her unique venture!

As best friends since elementary school, college roommates and, now, business partners, Scott Reich and Michael Winik always knew they would start a business together. But with Reich landing in law and Winik in investment banking, the duo wasn’t sure exactly what that business would be.

One thing was for sure, though.

“We wanted to focus on something with a social vision,” Winik, 31, said.

Read on to learn more about their business, OurHarvest, which works directly with food suppliers to get customers fresh, quality, low-cost food, and the positive impact it has already made!

Twelve new luxury apartments went on the market this week as a mixed-use development on Gerard Street in Huntington village nears completion – and already, eager tenants are snapping them up and gearing up to move into Huntington village. 

The apartments, located in the Heatherwood Communities’ three-story, mixed-use building at 40 Gerard St., became available Feb. 1, officials said.

Read on to learn more about these new apartments, including how many there are, how many have already been taken, and the impact they are projected to have on the Huntington village moving forward!

Melville resident Adele Tongish helps her 5-year-old daughter, Alora, sell cookies as a Daisy. The kindergartener has a lot of help from her parents – her father helped a uniform-clad Alora use cell phone software “Facetime” to chat with out-of-town relatives; her mother helped her send out emails – in making use of technology-related outreach methods.

This year, for the first time, the Girl Scouts organization has expanded selling methods for its largest annual fundraiser to include online sales via digital order card.

Read on to learn more about the Girls Scouts' new venture into electronic sales, how it works, and the ways it will affect the Girl Scouts experience for many young girls like Alora moving forward!

Born in Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates, Joanna Koelmel made the move to America as an 11-year-old after the first Gulf War. Koelmel adapted and now, more than two decades later, she’s stepped into yet another new environment: Koelmel is now a first-time business owner.

At Blue Bird, which opened in September 2014, Koelmel has set out to capture the middle ground of the women’s boutique market. Wanting a shop with a mid-range price point that doesn’t sacrifice quality and keeps up with current fashion trends, Koelmel believes women of all ages can come in and find something to fall in love with.

Read on for the full story on this unique, local business!

A community benefits agreement between the Town of Huntington and Huntington Station master developer Renaissance Downtowns, which clears the way for groundbreaking on a series of proposed downtown revitalization projects, was approved unanimously Wednesday.

Ryan Porter, Renaissance Downtowns’ vice president of development, said after the vote he was “very pleased” with the decision.

Read on to learn more about the many ways this plan is set to benefit our Huntington community!

The Huntington Township Housing Coalition, an advocacy group for increased affordable housing opportunities, says that a failure to address an ongoing gap in housing is putting a drag on the region’s economy.

Read on to learn why officials believe this gap has continued to expand over time, its ramifications for those in Huntington, and - most importantly - what is being planned to try and bring more affordable housing to our community!

When she worked for an outsource management company, Kristina Andersen’s job “was essentially to open businesses for other people.” As of Nov. 1, 2014 Andersen runs her own business with her body-building fiancé Frank Fontana. 

The couple opened Huntington Station boutique fitness studio Sparkk Fitness in an effort to build a business that would fill a gap in the group fitness market.

Read on to learn more about Sparkk Fitness, what offerings it has, and why it such a unique business that truly serves its patrons well!

Since taking over the former Yankee Peddler antique shop on New York Avenue in Huntington Station and establishing her new business, Suite Pieces, Anna Peppard said that things are looking up.

Peppard in March inked a 10-year lease to run the 30-plus dealer and artist cooperative located at 1038 New York Ave., which includes an artist’s collective on the top floor.

Read on for a closer look at Peppard's business, including the three "suite" pieces that comprise her business model (decorative paint, vintage goods and workshops and events, all with the fashionable do-it-yourselfer in mind)!

One of many who realize that the Wall Street environment is not the environment in which they belong, Charles Massimo left Wall Street in the early 2000s to create his own Deer Park-based investment firm.

His debut book, called “Getting Off The Street – Sane Investment Advice from one of the Nation’s Leading Wealth Managers,” is less about his physical escape from Wall Street, and more about an escape from the attitudes and motivations of typical Wall Street money managers.

Read on to learn more about Massimo, his book, and his journey in life which has brought him to where he is today.

‘Tis the season – the season of spending, that is!

Businesses around Huntington are well within the holiday push – which started with Black Friday last week – and while the big name stores may have a foothold in most customers’ minds, small businesses are finding ways to keep their doors open.

Read on to learn how small businesses are encouraging our community members to shop local, and also to see some of the great small businesses you yourself can shop at this holiday season to help support the town we love!

"It’s Thanksgiving alright, and there’s sure to be a whole lot of consuming going on. Sad to say, that the least tasteful part of it will happen the day after. Black Friday. If you're a parent, or just a decent human being, memories of a young man trampled by crazed shoppers will come to mind."

Read on for local resident Debbie Carbone's thoughts on Black Friday, and her tips on how to stay safe and make sure to keep thankful fronts at for the forefront during Thanksgiving weekend!

When she was young and her sister would assume custody of the doll they shared and its accessories, Lily Bergh resolved to have a full doll supply of her own someday.

“Be careful what you wish,” said Bergh, noting that for over three decades now, she has owned and operated her own doll place, Little Switzerland Toys + Dolls, making her childhood dream a reality.

Read on to learn more about Bergh's store, with its rich history, excellent toys, and service it has provided for the Huntington village community for generations!

Having made “a very spontaneous decision,” Northport Village retail storeowner Carlene Afetian has opened a second boutique in Huntington village. It will be called VR and serve as "an outlet for edgier, more specialized merchandise" to complement her Northport store, Veronica Rayne Boutique.

As Afetian describes it, her Huntington store is “new in town, a work in progress.”

Read on to learn more about VR, Afetian's plans for the store, and what you can expect from this new boutique moving forward!