Huntington Republican Committee Voices Support For The Melville Town Centre Initiative Being Proposed By the Huntington Town Board

Statement from Thomas McNally, Huntington Republican Committee Chairman

On behalf of the Town of Huntington Republican Committee, representing over 45,000 registered Republican voters in our Town, I am writing to voice support for the efforts of the Town Board, led by Supervisor Ed Smyth and Town Board Member Sal Ferro, to introduce the first steps of an ambitious concept to create a walkable downtown with mixed-use development in Melville. 

The Huntington Republican Committee has long recognized the need to create a community-minded action plan for development and redevelopment along the Route 110 corridor to keep the Town a competitive location for businesses, while at the same time, protecting the exceptional quality of life in Huntington.  In fact, a fundamental component of the Huntington Republican Committee’s platform is to ensure the preservation of Huntington’s suburban quality of life, and this continues to be a top priority of the committee and the Republican administration.  The Huntington Republican Committee, and all our elected officials and candidates, are strongly committed to this foundational belief. 

The initiative currently being proposed by the Town Board addresses the long overdue need to revitalize Melville and will benefit not only the citizens of Melville and the Town of Huntington, but also the entire Long Island region.  We believe the concept being proposed, if properly executed, will stimulate economic growth and will attract much-needed private investment in the form of high-paying jobs, upgraded infrastructure and increased housing options for our youth and our older population who are desirous of downsizing.

The proposal incorporates input and ideas obtained from numerous listening sessions and breakout meetings with members of the Melville community, including many of the Melville and Dix Hills Civic associations, the Melville Fire Department, first responders, veterans, the Half Hollow Hills School District and the commercial property owners in the affected area. In fact, the original resolution introduced by the Town Board has already been amended to address concerns voiced by one of the local civic associations.   

We applaud the Town Board for moving this proposition forward in a thoughtful and transparent way to ensure that the taxpayers of Huntington have ample time to ask questions about the project and to let their voices be heard.  Three separate public hearings have been scheduled to facilitate open dialogue and debate.  We urge all citizens to attend these hearings to learn more about the proposal and to voice their opinions.  The first public hearing was held on April 30, 2024 at the West Hollow Middle School and can be viewed on the Town’s website, along with information about the resolutions being considered.  The next public hearings will be held on:

• May 7, 2024, Town Board meeting, Huntington Town Hall, at 2:00 PM
• June 11, 2024, Town Board meeting, Huntington Town Hall, at 7:00 PM

There have been numerous articles and social media postings published recently about this initiative that are misleading and untrue.  Please take advantage of the opportunity to learn the facts by participating in the public hearings, reviewing the materials published on the Town’s website or by reaching out directly to the Town Board members.  

Please join me in supporting the Huntington Town Board as they undertake the hard work of moving the Melville Town Centre initiative forward to ensure that the Town of Huntington remains a beautiful place to live, work and raise our families for generations to come.