Community

A Message from Our Mayor

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope you all had a good summer and a positive transition to another beautiful Long Island fall season. I trust that many of you had an opportunity to attend our annual Summerfest and Harvest festivals. While these events are well attended by our residents, they also bring in those from neighboring communities, so that they may help support our local businesses.

On that same topic, while I have addressed this issue a few times in the past, it is worth repeating again. We should all be supporting local businesses when possible, to keep them solvent.

Whether it is purchasing gas, breakfast on the way to work, getting a haircut, shopping for groceries, or eating out, patronizing local businesses benefits everyone. We all like the convenience of having these establishments there when we need them. Let us continue to support them for the good of these businesses and our village.

We hold retailers and all commercial endeavors to a higher standard than most of the surrounding municipalities. Temporary signage and blowups waving in the wind are not permitted. Retailers are not permitted to put their wares outside of the buildings, in their parking areas, or out by the road. While this may appear at times to be a hardship to a particular business owner, we remind them that this is the very reason they chose Lake Grove for their business. A more upscale environment and neater look are appealing to the average consumer. This played a key role in bringing Wegmans to our village. After two years of conversations with the ownership of this wonderful establishment, we were selected over many other municipalities competing to bring them into their communities.

The addition of Wegmans to our village will bring new businesses to some of the empty buildings with savvy retailers that realize the benefits of being close to such an upscale establishment. We also have many new medical facilities coming into our village with Stony Brook medical occupying the old Sears building and adding new facilities on Middle Country Road.

While we do not have what can be considered a true downtown area in our wonderful village, we do have quality places of business and retailers providing for great shopping and dining experiences.

We continue to meet with real estate investors to research what businesses are best suited to come into our village. Yes, we have been presented with some ventures that are non-compliant with our village code, but we need to stay cognizant of why we originally incorporated them and choose what is in the best interest of our community.

Thank you as always for your support in everything we do to keep our village on the rise. Lake Grove has a great reputation as a desirable place to live and raise a family. Please feel free to reach out to us with any suggestions that you may have to help us maintain and improve our standard of living.

Respectfully yours,

Robert J. Scottaline (Bob)

Mayor

 

 

October 24, 2022 in Uncategorized

Lake Grove News Fall 2022 Edition

The latest edition of Lake Grove News is now available!

October 21, 2022 in News

What is Happening in Our Village?

As you may or may not be aware, our village is going to be experiencing some very exciting changes that will bring employment and prosperity to our community.  The vacant Sears building has been purchased by a real estate and development company that has secured a long-term lease with Stony Brook Medical. The collaboration of medical and retail will assist in keeping the Smith Haven Mall vibrant and active.

Wegmans Food Market has purchased half of the property at the center located on Middle Country Road where Miller’s Ale House is. Those familiar with Wegmans are very excited about them coming to Lake Grove as it will be the first Long Island store for the chain.  This privately held supermarket chain is very particular about where they locate their stores, and we are proud that they have chosen our village to come to the Island.

These additions to our village will encourage other retailers to come into the community, further enhancing the area by occupying what are now challenged retail spaces that would otherwise become a blight to the community.

These projects also provide a good source of revenue through permit, inspection and engineering fees.

We have also been very busy at Village Hall. Day to day operations and harsh weather conditions take a toll on our Department of Public Works equipment. Diligent office staff along with your village board have set out to utilize FEMA storm related monies and constantly pursue grant dollars to replenish some of our aging fleet.  Storms, whether they are tropical or winter storms, put a lot of wear on even the best maintained equipment.

Equipment is replaced while it still retains some value for a less demanding entity. These vehicles generally go to auction and help to make the purchase of a new vehicle less of a burden on our budget. Both the big green garbage truck used for leaf bag pick-up and the very old Mobile sweeper will be sold and replaced with brand new vehicles.  We are also taking ownership of our third electric vehicle to be used by our building inspectors. These vehicles are perfect for our purposes of local driving.

The village is also taking bids for a new electric sign to advertise upcoming events, meetings, and safety related notices.

Speaking of events, our annual Summerfest will be held on August 21, as it is always held on the third Sunday of the month of August. The event will start at 11:30 a.m. and continue until 8:30 p.m. It will be a full day of music, food trucks, vendors and a classic car show.

Classic cars will start arriving at 8:30 a.m. to set off the event. Come early and stay late. It’s a great summer event for the entire family.

Please feel free to contact us at Village Hall about any of the above information.

As always, thank you for your continued support!

Robert J. Scottaline (Bob), Mayor

 

June 30, 2022 in News