Huntington supervisor gets new shower installed in his office

New Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci is making his mark on his new office in Town Hall with more than just fresh paint and carpet — he’s also installing a shower in the supervisor’s office bathroom.

The idea first launched by previous Supervisor Frank Petrone, who was in the midst of renovating the office bathroom and had long planned to add a shower, Lupinacci said.

“Supervisor Petrone picked new paint and carpeting for parts of Town Hall. So that work was underway” when he left office at the end of 2017, Lupinacci said. “He also began redoing the bathroom in the supervisor’s office because there was asbestos in the tile and there was a leaky toilet bowl.”

Given the round-the-clock nature of the supervisor’s job, Petrone suggested that Lupinacci also add a shower during the bathroom updates.

“He said (there will be) nights you’ll be working, especially when there’s a lot of evening events or a crisis when you’ll be at Town Hall. The supervisor recommended it being put in,” Lupinacci said, listing other potential reasons: “late nights, long days, schedules, crises, snowstorms, emergencies.”

The shower cost less than $600 and the total bill for materials and installation is about $1,000, he said. He described the shower itself as utilitarian.

“It’s one of those prefab ones. No tiles, nothing like that,” Lupinacci said. “That’s why the cost is so low. It’s like your Home Depot special.”

The Huntington supervisor’s shower facility seems to be a rarity on Long Island. North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth also has a shower room in her office that was installed by a previous administration, but most other town leaders said they did not. The East Hampton and Oyster Bay town supervisors did not immediately respond to Newsday’s inquiries.

Lupinacci said he was also surprised at the amenity when Petrone gave him a tour of the office, noting that in his previous time in the state Assembly, only the legislative leadership had private bathrooms.

Other changes that Lupinacci plans to make to Town Hall include displaying artwork from students and community groups to “brighten it up a bit.”

“We want to make people proud of the building. It’s an old converted school so in many ways it’s dated,” he said. “We just want to make the building more attractive and more comfortable for the residents and of course for the workers.”