Login/Register | Subscribe | Archives | Advertise | Send Us News

History

search

Search

Home

Newspapers

Leisure

Supplem ents

Opinion

Blogs

Sports

Calendar

Clas sified

Marketplace

Real Estate

Multimedia

Obituaries

About Us

Tw eet

Like

22

Features
Long Islanders voyaged on Titanic, the ship of dreams NY Sea Grant funds local research projects Comsew ogue antibullying effort earns top honor Candlelight w alk scheduled for Three Village student w ho died

Newsletter Sign Up
Enter your email:
For Email Marketing you can trust

Baldassare benefits Brookhaven from both sides of the desk

Mount Sinai resident led the creation of Heritage Park

Join

By Brittany Wait
April 11, 2012 | 05:17 PM

Write The Author

Recent Brittany Wait

No vote on Brookhaven's Carmans River plan Apr 2012 Mom and daughters mix fairy tales and history Apr 2012 Middle Country superintendent aims for less than 4.89 percent Apr 2012

Two winters ago, Mount Sinai resident Lori Baldassare's son Cody saw from his school bus masses of children sledding at North Shore Heritage Park in Mount Sinai. Baldassare, 52, now Brookhaven Deputy Superintendent for Highways, said it feels good to know she was a part of creating that park, which so many people enjoy. "It wouldn't be here if I wasn't a part of this," she said, sitting at a table inside the Heritage Center. As founding director of the Heritage Trust, a nonprofit that maintains the park and community center, Baldassare helps oversee staff, programs and events. President Tom Carbone met her when he moved to Mount Sinai with his wife in 1998 and became active in the Mount Sinai Civic Association.

Port Jeff library budget shaves costs, keeps reserves Mar 2012 LArche aims to give disabled adults a normal life Mar 2012 Superintendent elaborates on Harborfields budget reductions Mar 2012 More...

Extras
e-mail this article link to a friend letter to the editor about this article print this article facebook tw itter digg it share Larger | Smaller

Lori Baldassare at her desk in the Highw ay Department. Photo by Brittany Wait

Carbone said he was amazed by Baldassare. "As we went through the process of getting the nonprofit and working with the town and county, she always tried to stay one step ahead of government," he said. After the 18-acre McGovern Sod Farm went up for sale over 10 years ago and Home Depot expressed an interest in building a store on the parcel, between County Road 83 and Mount Sinai Coram Road off Route 25A, the civic fought to acquire the triangular-shaped land and preserve it for a park. Because residents opposed the idea of a big box store on that land, the civic sought funding from the $60 million Suffolk County Greenways bond to buy the land. Mount Sinai resident Pat Laino recalled Baldassare bringing her daughter, Kaitlin, in a stroller to town meetings related to Home Depot buying the parcel. "She was a young mother, but she always spoke up for the people who wanted that park," Liano said. Baldassare, along with other civic members, didn't just attend meetings but also conducted surveys, organized petitions, held park planning meetings and attended legislative meetings to promote the purchase of 17.2 acres of the land to construct a multi-use park. Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) worked with her to secure the funding to buy the 17.2 acres in 2001, but not without the help of Home Depot paying for the amount the county couldn't cover.
"Home Depot realized it was going to get into battle with one of the oldest civic associations on Long Island," Englebright said. "They had a great leader. Ever so sweetly, Lori made it clear if you buy this property and build a big box store, we will oppose it." Suffolk County later formed a partnership with Brookhaven and the newly formed nonprofit Heritage Trust, allowing the nonprofit to build out the parcel and maintain the park. At the same time, Baldassare applied for another grant to purchase the southern acre of the parcel. With that money, the Heritage Trust built a 3,400square-foot community center. Suffolk Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) has known her since joining the civic about 20 years ago. "If there was no Lori Baldassare, I seriously doubt there would be a Heritage

Related Editorial
News

Seaw olves Country heads to Port Jefferson Village

Oct 11 2012 Be careful when wearing anything but red in Port Jefferson from now on Port Jefferson Village is officially ... Features

Mount Sinai students, teachers promote unity

Oct 11 2012 Mount Sinais school colors may be red and white, but more than 700 students traded in their district ... News

Suit: Northport school district violated bullied boys rights

May 17 2012 The father of a former Northport High School freshman on May 3 filed a civil rights action against NorthportEast ... News

Three Village budget fails, district considers options

May 17 2012 As the vote tallies trickled in Tuesday night, the mood at the North Country administration building ...

News

Some Suffolk County employees to pay portion of health care costs

May 17 2012 As the county continues to work its way out of a financial hole, the Suffolk County Legislature last ...

list all | 1 additional items...

"If there was no Lori Baldassare, I seriously doubt there would be a Heritage Park," Anker said. When Baldassare moved to Mount Sinai in 1992, she joined the civic to become involved in development projects affecting the hamlet and later took over as president. From her experience as civic leader and community activist, Baldassare knows firsthand that government officials can be difficult to reach and calls can get passed around. In her current role as deputy superintendent of highways, she makes it her obligation to take the calls that no other employee has time for, she said. "Lori can deal with constituents honestly and with a soft temperament, calling people back and providing them with answers," Superintendent for Highways John Rouse said. When he first hired her, Rouse said he wanted someone who could do it all and was pleasantly surprised when she proved she could. Referring to a situation in November 2010 when Baldassare made a case to Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko that there were other ways to save money in the Highway Department than to cut staff, Rouse described the situation as one of her shining moments. At the Town Board meeting that attracted over 300 people to Town Hall, Lesko's original proposal to layoff 68 highway department workers eventually changed to six. Rouse said Baldassare had slowed down the heated argument between him and the supervisor and tried convincing Lesko not to shave that many

positions. "Lori can defuse any situation," Rouse said. "She carries a big stick, but she never uses it." A whiteboard on the wall of her office is covered with magnets. Baldassare wrote the names of highway workers on the magnets and placed them at various labeled town locations on the whiteboard, to keep track of the hundreds working throughout the town on a given day. "My role is to help make things happen, create solutions and make things work for people," Baldassare said. "[John Rouse] has his own vision of how he wants highway to run and my job is to make that happen." Even though government moves slowly and at times creates more of an impediment, Anker said, Baldassare knows how to work within the parameters of government, yet efficiently. "I think she's a wise woman and understands ethical boundaries of government and the community, but her heart is always in the right place," Anker said. "She's always looking out for the community and now the community has benefited even more now that she is in government."

Print

Email Link

Feedback

Share

Public ation The Village Beacon Record The Port Times Record The Village Times Herald The Times of Middle Country The Times of Smithtown Township The Times of Northport & East Northport The Times Huntington Leisure | Arts & Lifestyles North Shore Homes

Opinion Columns Letters Editorials Blogs Sports Calendar PDF Calendar Weekly Calendar Bulletin Board Obituaries

Classified Place My Ad Classified Listings Classified Print Edition Marketplac e The Business Directory E-Coupon Marketplace

A bout Us Awards Contact Us FAQ Jobs Times Beac on Rec ord Media Advertise Archives Subscribe Send Us News Write The Editor

Times Beac on Rec ord Media 2013 All Rights Reserved

pow er ed by Linear Publishing copyr ight 1999 - 2013

Real Estate North Shore Homes Classified Real Estate Multimedia Photo Galleries Videos