$60K Grant Sought To Revamp Plaza
/By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com
Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone got the go-ahead during Tuesday’s town board meeting to apply for a $60,000 state grant that would help fund improvements to the Town of Huntington’s Veterans Plaza at town hall.
After learning that state funds were made available, in July, Petrone sent a letter and a formal application to the office of state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) in order to apply for the state Municipal Facilities Capital Program grant, according to town spokesman A.J. Carter.
If approved, the funds would be used to: create an outdoor World War I memorial on the front lawn of town hall, provide a new flagpole, provide for enhancements to the existing memorials and create a brick plaza to facilitate handicap accessibility for visitors.
“It’s something that the town has been wanting to do for some time, so we’re looking for the funding to help do it,” Carter said. The board is unsure when it will hear whether or not the grant was approved, he added.
Bill Ober, chairmen of the town’s veterans advisory board, said improvements to the plaza are long overdue.
“We have a beautiful plaza and when the monuments and work was originally done, it looked terrific,” he said. “But, over the years, it has deteriorated and is in need of repair.”
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Town of Huntington officials are seeking a $60,000 state grant to help fund planned improvements to the Veterans Plaza in front of town hall.
He said it’s “terrific that we applied for a grant and, with that money, we will be able to refurbish the entire plaza.”
The planned outdoor WWI memorial is intended to join other war memorials in the plaza, such as those for World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.
“The supervisor is very proud of our Veterans Plaza as a way of providing proper recognition to people from Huntington who served our country for many years,” Carter said. “We’re always looking for ways to properly represent that in the plaza and in the town.”
