Ex-cop becomes new public safety director

Huntington's new public safety director said he'll need a little time to get up to speed, but he plans to use the skills he has acquired as a career New York City police officer to improve the town's quality of life.

Ken Lindahl on Monday started his job overseeing about 80 employees in the public safety department. The Bay Shore resident was most recently the inspector and executive officer of the detective bureau for the borough of Brooklyn.

"I'm just getting my feet wet in terms of what is code in the Town of Huntington," Lindahl said Thursday. "There's a lot I have to learn."

His first job out of Molloy College in 1977 was as a registered nurse. But a different kind of public service called to him, he said.

He said he believes his skills leading precincts and coordinating with different community groups in Harlem, Washington Heights and East New York can be applied here.

"Many of the things that were my successes in New York City I think I can bring to the town," Lindahl said.

"When the rubber meets the road, you have to deal with local issues on a local basis," he said. "And when I say local I mean from one block to another."

Lindahl, 60, will oversee the animal shelter, code enforcement, security and special services, which includes overseeing parking meters and handicapped parking and fire zone codes. The married father of two children, who grew up in Merrick, will be paid $120,000 a year.

A.J. Carter, town spokesman, said more than 100 resumes were submitted for the position after town officials announced in December that they were looking for a replacement for Bruce Richards, who retired at the end of last year.

"This was a very highly selective process," Carter said. "The supervisor and town board didn't want just anybody, but the right person."