Move from park to senior center upsets food pantry volunteers

Volunteers with the Community Food Council in Huntington Station are upset about having to relocate to the John J. Flanagan Center just outside downtown Huntington, concerned that a quarter of their clients wouldn't be able to walk to the senior center.

But town officials said they alerted the council two years ago that the move from their East Fifth Street location in Manor Field Park was coming and, in that time, had tried unsuccessfully to find other free accommodations for the council’s food pantry in Huntington Station.

"The town has spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find alternative locations whether in a town facility or a non-town facility," Town Attorney Nick Ciappetta said.

Ciappetta says town officials want to apply for state grants to upgrade Manor Field Park and complete the James D. Conte Center, but in order to be eligible town officials must show the property is not being used for anything other than a park.

Steven Schwartz, president of the council’s board, said the town had been very helpful but officials could do more even if available buildings were limited.

"Having us move it’s just very inconvenient for the people that we service," he said. "Hopefully this story will make someone come out of the woodwork to help or come up with another idea."

The town has no contract to provide a facility for the pantry, Ciappetta said. The arrangement is a holdover from the previous administration, he said.

Ciappetta said finding another free space for the pantry was complicated because of the council's "numerous demands," including a slip sink, dedicated parking and, at one time, a request for a space of at least 1,200 square feet.

Schwartz said those requests were made, and still stand, because many of the volunteers are senior citizens.

The council weekly serves about 120 families on two days over four hours, Schwartz said.

The Family Service League, which also offers some services at the East Fifth Street building, also is being relocated. They are moving to the Huntington Opportunity Resource Center on New York Avenue in Huntington Station.

There had been discussions to move the council to that location, but both Schwartz and town officials agreed the parking situation there was "dangerous" and inadequate.

Ciappetta points out other food pantries serve Huntington Station, including at St. Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Church, run through the Huntington School District and the nonprofit Helping Hand Rescue Mission.

Ciappetta said the town "respects and supports" the charitable mission of the council and had offered the free space at the Flanagan Center at 423 Park Ave. so it could continue.

"The Flanagan Center presents an ideal space in that it is centrally located, easily accessible, and offers access to the staff of the Town’s Department of Human Services, which services senior citizens and veterans, two groups that may benefit from the Food Council’s presence," Ciappetta said.

Both the council and Family Service League must be out of the Manor Field Park location by the end of the summer.