Ed Eaton, Long Beach's longest-serving city manager, dies at 83

Every Christmas, Jennifer Frangella would send bags of presents to her father, Ed Eaton, who carefully wrapped and labeled each one for her children.

"Give me something to do," he would tell her.

It was one of the quiet ways Eaton, Long Beach’s longest-serving city manager, showed his devotion to family. Although Frangella was not his biological daughter, she said he embraced her as his own.

"He was the grandfather that my kids never had," Frangella said. "He was the dad that I never had."

Eaton, who helped lead Long Beach out of fiscal crisis and widespread blight during more than two decades as city manager, died July 16 after battling a long illness. He was 83.

'He just cared for the city'

A lifelong Long Beach resident, Eaton worked as a teacher and at the city’s water treatment plant before becoming city manager in 1979, a time when the city faced falling property values, frequent fires and political instability.

He worked closely with a five-member bipartisan City Council coalition focused on restoring Long Beach.

"He really didn’t care whether you were a Democrat or Republican," said Roy Tepper, a former council member and longtime friend. "He just cared for the city."

Under his leadership, the city administration collected back taxes, took control of neglected properties and helped turn a burned-out site into the Waldbaum’s shopping center, which opened in 1984. With help from then-U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato, Eaton also helped secure federal funding to renovate the city's Long Island Rail Road station.

Tepper's wife, Barbara, called Eaton "the director of the orchestra" — a hands-on leader who knew the city’s departments and how to solve residents’ problems.

"His door was always open," she said. "He took calls. He talked to citizens when they had a problem. He knew where to go to try to fix it."

Eaton served until 1999 and returned for additional terms in 2001 and 2006 before retiring in 2008.

"Whenever they were in trouble, they turned to Ed," Barbara Tepper said.

His dedication to Long Beach did not end with retirement.

Former City Manager Jack Schnirman said Eaton remained an invaluable adviser as Long Beach recovered from Superstorm Sandy and rebuilt its boardwalk. The two frequently met for lunch, with Eaton often arriving in an older Saab convertible, armed with a smile and a listening ear.

"He was incredibly generous with his time, his experience, his sense of perspective," Schnirman said. "It was important to him to pass on what he had learned."

Eaton understood where Long Beach had been and where it could go, Schnirman said.

"His heart really was in line and in sync with the city," he said. "There was a sense of public service and of city before self."

Dedicated to family

To Long Beach officials and residents, Eaton was known respectfully as Mr. Eaton. To Frangella and her children, he was a generous father and grandfather who organized family trips, made holidays special and happily welcomed their dog, Sparky, into his lap.

"He did things for people before he would ever do things for himself," Frangella said. "He put his family first."

Away from City Hall, Eaton was a reserved, avid reader who listened before acting, his grandson Andrew Frangella said. He loved travel and other cultures, filling his car with language books and CDs.

"He liked to explore different cultures, and that’s why he would learn the languages," Andrew Frangella said, adding that his grandfather's openness to other perspectives helped him connect with people from many backgrounds.

The Teppers remained close to Eaton and his wife, Carolyn, long after their pivotal years in city government. The couples often met for Friday dinners at the Laurel Diner in Long Beach, where Eaton routinely ordered New England clam chowder and a steak-and-salad dish.

"He was a creature of habit," Barbara Tepper said. "He liked to have his old familiar things."

Eaton was predeceased by his wives, Loretta and Carolyn, and his brother, Jimmy. He is survived by his daughter, Jennifer Frangella, and her husband, Albert; and grandchildren, Andrew, Alexa and Justin.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Thursday at 9:15 a.m. at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Island Park, followed by private cremation. Inurnment will take place Monday at 10 a.m. at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.