Q&A with Huntington Town board member Mark Cuthbertson

Mark Cuthbertson, 48, is serving his fifth term on the Huntington Town board. He gave Newsday's community journalist Brittany Wait a tour of Main Street Huntington on Monday morning at part of newsday.com’s “Town Focus” series.

You grew up in Huntington Station, but now live with your wife and three children in Huntington. What are some of the places you like to eat in downtown Huntington?

I really liked Red restaurant up the street, but it almost burned down in March and hasn't opened back up yet. And Munday's is a hot spot. The breakfast -- I usually get an omelet -- is delicious, but lunch is good, too. Huntington offers a lot of different types of foods, including Mediterranean, Italian, Japanese, American and Mexican.

What's the biggest misnomer about Huntington?

The biggest misnomer is that Huntington is an incorporated village, although it feels like it. We've grown up calling the downtown "The Village." But in fact there are only four incorporated villages in the Town of Huntington: Asharoken, Huntington Bay, Lloyd Harbor and Northport.

Tell me something interesting about yourself that not many people know.

I worked 10 years as a waiter when I was 15 and throughout college at a Spanish restaurant where Besito now stands on New York Avenue. And I practiced Spanish so I could communicate with the staff. It was a great learning experience.

What would you say is most unique about Huntington Village?

There aren't other villages as vibrant as Huntington. I'll drive through on a Friday or Saturday and there's such energy. People eating and getting drinks at local restaurants and bars and heading to a show at The Paramount. There's just a lot to do. The Book Revue bookstore is also a main draw for locals and visitors alike. It's been around for 37 years.

As councilman, what do you focus on when working to improve the area?

I focus on economic development and small-scale quality of life issues. We had the annual Spring Tulip Festival last Sunday, Earth Day, and the Summer Arts Festival is coming up.

Tell me about multi-space parking meters coming to Main Street, New York Avenue and the train station in Huntington.

As of April 28, you can now pay with credit cards instead of only quarters, and a mobile app is in the works so people don't have to leave a store or restaurant to add more money. But we did raise the price from 25 cents to 50 cents an hour, so people are upset about that. We found that we've been well below what other villages charge and it's a good source of revenue for us. And we increased two-hour parking to three hours. Now, to maximize space-usage we're working on finding a location and funding for a parking garage, an idea that morphed from a parking study we started a year ago.

Last question. Is there a place you’d suggest visiting during “Town Focus”?

Yes. Heckscher Park. We have our Spring Tulip Festival, Fall Festival and Summer Arts Festival there. There's usually always something going on there or people are just relaxing by the pond or walking through. It's our Central Park.