News

Town Focus: Amityville

Reverend Louise Stowe-Johns had heard of a Blue Christmas ceremony years ago and had thought about bringing it to her congregation in Amityville many times before. 
 She worried about its “appropriateness” in past years and wondered if anyone would benefit. 
 “This year there was no question,” she said. 
 In the wake of superstorm Sandy, which greatly affected the South Shore community of Amityville, Stowe-Johns, who is pastor of the First United Methodist Church, thought a more demure Christmas service was exactly what the community might need. 
 The Blue Christmas service will feature passages that focus on hope, acknowledge loss and remind participants that God is with them even when they feel abandoned, Stowe-Johns said. 
 They won’t sing “Joy to the World,” or ask people to pretend to be happy. 
 “I’m hearing people say they are just not in the Christmas spirit,” she said. “There is this sense of ‘oughtness.’ I ought to be in the Christmas spirit. This service honors the fact that there has been significant loss -- whether personal or in the community -- and the church cares about that.” 
 Stowe-Johns, who was appointed to the Amityville congregation in 2005, said at least 25 families in her congregation were “seriously affected” by the storm, and she was finding that they were either not in the mood to celebrate or were just too fatigued by the business of putting their lives together to think about it. 
 She said she is not asking congregationalists for formal responses, but there has been a lot of interest in attending. The service is also open to the greater community. 
 Robyn Hyland, the church’s musical director and an Amityville resident, said the music will help set the tone of the service. 
 “Music can touch people,” she said, adding that she will likely play piano rather than the organ and she is looking for a guitarist. “It will be much more quiet, reflective music as opposed to bouncy and upbeat.” 
 Hyland said she thinks the service is appropriate for this year. 
 “So many people didn’t expect the storm to be as destructive as it was,” she said. “But the community did come together and the attitude is still ‘It could have been worse.’” 
 The service will be held at 8 p.m. Monday at the church, which is located at 25 Broadway in Amityville.

Amityville church to hold Blue Christmas

Amityville church to hold Blue Christmas service in wake of Sandy

Church

Arlene McLoughlin, of Massapequa, is the newly elected president of the <a href="http://www.amityvilleartistscircle.org/">Amityville Artists Circle</a>. The organization has about 75 members from all over Long Island but operates its workshop and gallery space in a storefront adjacent to -- and loaned to the group by -- Vittorio's restaurant. 
 How did the <a href="http://www.amityvilleartistscircle.org/">Amityville Artists Circle</a> begin? It was started by Andriani Mikolaitis in February 2001. There were nine original members and they would meet at people's houses and the library. Andrini worked on getting grants from New York State and becoming a registered 501(c)(3) and the original nine worked on the mural that's in the children's library. Five years ago, we approached Vittorio's and they let us use this space. 
 How does the organization work? We're a gallery but also we have two meetings a month. One is for the board members for more technical things and one is a workshop. We have live models or still life and all the members come and have a drink and sketch. We also have member shows four to five times a year. Last year we started doing solo shows, which is a unique opportunity for our members. 
 Aside from the murals in the library, how is the organization connected to the community? We try to coincide our group shows with events in town like the Amityville Heritage Festival and the Christmas Tree Lighting so we have a theme for everything. Unfortunately, I don't think we have the exposure we would like. I think a lot of people still don't know we're here. Hopefully we can build that up and the community will be excited to see new member shows. I also think we could be more of a resource to high school students and college students. We have a lot of teachers that are members that could help with portfolios. 
 Do you think Amityville is an artistic community? There are a lot of artists in town. The majority of our members are from Amityville or Massapequa. It has a lot of inspiration. It has a close-knit, small-town, community-type feel. Everyone knows each other, it's very friendly. It has the quaintness of the historic village and it's a true sea-faring town and I think people do find inspiration in that. A lot of our artists do seascapes and we often do shows that incorporate inspiration from Amityville.

Artist: ‘We often do shows that incorporate inspiration from Amityville’

Arlene

At the start of the school year, Edmund W. Miles Middle School Principal Michele Darby shared with her faculty a story that became their mantra. 
 It was centered on an African village, where the people walked around greeting each other not with ‘hellos’ and ‘how are yous?’ but by asking, “How are the children?” 
 “And they answered, ‘The children are well,’” she said. “And that was the barometer for the community.” 
 So after superstorm Sandy uprooted the lives of so many in Amityville, Darby wondered about the emotional and physical well-being of the children. 
 School was set to reopen for the first time after the storm on Election Day -- Nov. 6 -- for a staff development day. The students would resume class the following day. But having been in communication with her staff through text message chains throughout the week before, Darby was worried that maybe it was too soon. 
 “I thought bringing everyone in for business as usual might not be what everyone needs right now,” she said. 
 What the community needed as a whole, she thought, were vital resources to get through the next few days and a little bit of humanity. She asked her superintendent, Dr. John Williams, whether she could turn their staff development day into a day of community outreach. She offered to mobilize her staff to collect supplies and set up a donation center in the middle school on Election Day. 
 “He said, ‘Can you do this?’” Darby recalled. “I said, ‘If you tell us yes, we’ll do it.’” 
 He told them yes. Within 24 hours, Darby, her staff and parent volunteers had turned the middle school into a one-stop shop for families in need. There were nonperishable food items, clothing for all genders and ages, shoes, toiletries, stations for charging devices, a hot breakfast and coffee, computers for checking email and even a couple of showers in the school open to the public. 
 Kelly Ann Wilson, a seventh grade English teacher, said she got to the school at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday to help and there were already teachers setting up. 
 “Our teachers went above and beyond,” she said. “Some of them were going through exactly what these families were going through and they were still there. You get to see a whole different dynamic of people at a time like this.” 
 Ted Tsirigotis, assistant principal at the middle school, said they served at least 200 families throughout the day, though at one point in the morning traffic slowed and they were worried that a lot of the community did not know what they were doing. 
 At that point, groups of teachers dispatched themselves into the community with bullhorns letting people know what was happening. They also walked down gas lines giving out flyers. 
 “Then they came right back to work,” he said. “It really brought everyone together.” 
 Darby said she knew the need would be great across the community. In the southern, waterfront areas of Amityville, homes were lost and possessions destroyed. In the northern part of the community, homes were undamaged though many were without power. But more importantly, she said many families would be in financial trouble if they could not go to work. 
 “Sixty to 65 percent of our school population receives free or reduced lunch,” said Darby, who is in her second year as principal and was assistant principal before that. “For a lot of people in this community, one paycheck is the difference between eating and not eating.” 
 Theodora Eirebamen, of Amityville, whose children, ages 10 and 15, attend other schools in the Amityville district, showed up on Nov. 6 to help out, despite the fact that a tree had crashed into her house and through her bedroom during the storm. 
 She said the effort was incredible and the experience moving. She said many people attended just to talk. 
 “There were times when you couldn’t do anything but give someone a hug,” she said. “They didn’t need anything, they just needed someone to listen.” 
 Darby said not only were they able to help the community, but the outreach day started the healing process for many of her faculty members who were affected. 
 “By helping ourselves we help others,” Darby said, borrowing a theory from the Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand. “On Wednesday, we could dedicate 100 percent of ourselves, our energy and our time to our kids.” 
 It worked, she said. From the first day of school to the present, Darby said her school atmosphere remains positive, upbeat and forward-thinking despite the fact that many are still displaced. 
 “We teach the kids about culture and community,” she said. “This day was a big day for our school community.” 
 Photo: A group of teachers and staff at Edmund W. Miles Middle School in Amityville gathered supplies for a donation drive to help residents affected by superstorm Sandy. (Nov. 6, 2012)

Amityville school turns staff day into Sandy outreach effort

Amityville

As local lore goes, sometime around 1850, a community that had settled south of Huntington more than 100 years prior finally decided it needed a name. 
 The people called a meeting and ideas were tossed around, but no one could find a name they would all agree on. 
 Finally, frustrated with the growing tension, a merchant’s wife, named Ruth Williams, jumped up and said: “What we need here is a little amity!” 
 The crowd agreed, and from then on, the area became known as Amityville -- “the friendly village,” said Seth Purdy, curator of the Amityville Historical Society’s William T. Lauder Museum. 
 Though Purdy admitted there is another story that claims the village was named after a resident’s boat. 
 “People traveled from Huntington to the South Shore probably because they were curious,” he said, adding that in Amityville they found a precious commodity -- salt hay, a type of hay that grows near salt water and was used for insulating houses and feeding livestock. “Then they looked around and thought, ‘This would be a nice place to live.’ ” 
 Purdy, who is a lifelong Amityville resident, said the village is a community that was “established” very early. 
 Like many waterfront Long Island communities, Amityville settlers quickly learned to make a living off&nbsp;the land and the bay. Agricultural and duck farming, fishing and boat building blossomed into profitable industries, and the Amityville population grew quickly. 
 “As the area began to grow, there were other businesses that were needed,” he said. 
 In 1790, the first grain mill was built, and around that time a modest downtown began to grow along the roads that are now <a href="/topics//Merrick,_NY">Merrick</a> Road and Broadway. 
 “Very early on we had a doctor, as well as lawyers established here,” he said. “Both of our, what you call, suburbs to the west and the east were not highly settled and they did not develop the downtown that developed here. If there was a need for these services they would come to Amityville.” 
 Wesley Powell is the fourth generation of his family to live and work in Amityville. In 1908, his great-grandfather, Frederick B. Powell, opened Powell and Robbins, Inc. Funeral Directors and Embalmers in a storefront on Broadway. 
 Powell said he remembers his father, who took over the business in 1931, telling stories of a quaint, quiet life. 
 “They had a livery stable,” he recalled from a story his father used to tell, “and they used to run the horses to the fire department and hook them up to the fire trucks. They didn’t have engines.” 
 Around the turn of the century, Amityville became a hotspot as wealthy New Yorkers sought a cool place to retreat for the summers. To match the demand in tourism, large hotels sprung up by the <a href="/topics//Great_South_Bay,_NY">Great South Bay</a>, including the largest and longest-running, the New Point Hotel, which was four stories tall and had 60 rooms. Purdy said there were three ferry boats that brought people from the shores of Amityville to the barrier beaches so they could reach the ocean. 
 “It became very prevalent for tourism,” he said. “Year-round residents would rent the house out during the summer and live in their barns to make money.” 
 Famous visitors, some of whom purchased homes, included actors and vaudeville performers <a href="/topics//Will_Rogers">Will Rogers</a> and Fred Stone and their friend Annie <a href="/topics//Oakley,_Inc.">Oakley</a>. 
 But aside from the summer crowds and the glimpses of glamour, Amityville retained its small-town feel, said William T. Lauder, 90, the director of the Lauder museum. 
 “I can remember seeing occasionally a horse and wagon heading down Broadway toward the village,” he said. “Route 110 was a tree-lined road with beautiful Victorian houses on each side. It was a quiet era.” 
 The character of the village changed in 1959, he said, when Broadway was widened, which wiped out many businesses that did not rebuild. But other than that, he said changes in Amityville have been “mostly small.” 
 Village Mayor Peter Imbert, 53, who&nbsp;also has lived in Amityville his entire life, said that today it remains a close-knit community with a vibrant downtown, a popular beach and ample opportunities to enjoy the surrounding waters. 
 “There is a strong sense of community in the village,” he said. “We take it for granted -- those of us who have lived here our whole lives -- but people have a sense of belonging.” 
 Powell, too, said he feels lucky to have spent his life in Amityville and raised his children there. After him, his son Wesley A. Powell, took over his family business and his grandson is currently studying to become the sixth-generation owner. 
 “I think the term ‘friendly village’ does apply here,” he said. “I think it is mischaracterized by people who don’t live here to an extent. They are very surprised when they come here and see the beautiful homes, they see a museum like this, they see a historical area and they’re surprised. They say, ‘Wow, why haven’t I come to Amityville before?’ ”

Amityville history

Amityville local lore gives ‘friendly village’ its name

HLAMITY11

The annual "Super Saturday Kids Crusade" at Freedom Chapel International Worship Center in Amityville will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Admission is free and everyone is welcome. 
 The event at 641 Broadway will give away bikes, stockings filled with toys and candy to children ages 5-13. The event will also offer games, music and a live magic show. 
 Cathy Smith, office manager at the worship center, said the event has been held for more than a decade as a way to reach out to children who may be tempted by drugs and alcohol. 
 “This year, we hope to expect 400 to 500 kids,” said Smith, of Levittown. “We give them games, dance, prizes and try to encourage them that there is a purpose for their life. We also give every kid a free lunch and filled Christmas stocking. Everyone leaves with something, especially due to Hurricane Sandy, these families may not have as much as they would.” 
 Pastor Jimmy Jack, who says he got caught up in drugs as a child, noted that the point of the event is to discourage kids from choosing the wrong path and instead provide them with love and attention. 
 “We also work with a lot of at-risk boys and girls in Babylon, Wyandanch, Lindenhurst, Long Beach, Glen Cove, Rockville Centre and Hempstead,” said Jack, 54, of Deer Park. “ … Everything else will get old, like a bicycle, but they can hold onto the gift of love for the rest of their life.” 
 For more information, contact Cathy Smith at the center at 631-789-5050.

Kids crusade at Amityville church Saturday

hlAMITY14

Peter Imbert, 53, has been mayor of the Village of Amityville for 16 years. 
 How long have you lived in Amityville? 
 My whole life. My parents lived here, my grandparents lived here. I’m the fourth generation here. My kids are the fifth. That’s not uncommon in Amityville. 
 Why do you think that is, what made you stay here? 
 Being near the water and having made a lot of friends and family over the years. When you’ve been here your whole life you get to know everyone. We got creamed from Sandy, but aside from that, this is a beautiful waterfront community. We’ve got the beach, the creeks; there are sailing clubs, yacht clubs. There’s really a lot. At least half the village is on or very close to the water. 
 We’re a village that was incorporated in 1896 but we were around for years before that, since the 1700s. There is a strong sense of community in the village. We take it for granted -- those of us who have lived here our whole lives -- but people have a sense of belonging. It’s a close-knit community. There’s ups and downs to that, too -- everybody knows everybody’s business. 
 What was it like growing up here? 
 It was a different world then. You got out of school, got out of your school clothes, and ran out the door to hook up with all your friends. There’s a senior development in Amityville -- it used to be 32 acres of fields. That’s what we did -- ran around on 32 acres of fields. The canals used to freeze over more often than they do now; we used to have hockey games. 
 How has the community changed? 
 There are no real significant changes from a community standpoint. We have made a lot of aesthetic improvements. The village has added ballfields and we’ve taken down dilapidated buildings. The community continues to undergo revitalization. During one of the worst recessions in our history, our downtown doesn’t have a tremendous amount of vacancies. 
 How was the village affected by Sandy? 
 We have never had water levels as high as Sandy brought in here. Down south, it was like a war zone. Everybody had to drag stuff out from their houses to try to save it. There was 8 feet of water on the streets in some places. It strained the village’s resources past the breaking point. We got help from the Town of Huntington; they sent dump trucks here to help and had the village cleaned up in one day. We’ll pay for that, of course, once we get FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] money. We’re rebuilding. People are building. But a lot of people suffered. A lot of people went through it. And then to be followed by a nor’easter was brutal. 
 Sandy is something nobody will ever forget. And if you like the water, south Amityville is one of the most desirable places to live, and it just got creamed. People didn’t think it was going to be as bad as it was. Even the village, we didn’t think it was going to be that bad. Fourteen months ago, we got through Irene like nothing. We thought it would be like that. A lot of people stayed that shouldn’t have stayed. We realized it in the middle of the storm. People were walking around like zombies. They didn’t know where to start, where to begin. But they did come together. People who had power offered hot showers, places to sleep. The worst part was no electric and then a freezing cold nor’easter and you’ve got snow on your roof and no heat. Everybody did help one another, though. 
 What challenges does this community face? 
 We’re facing a financial challenge on several fronts. The recession is hurting our revenues. Virtually all municipalities are hurting now. There are costs we can’t control like insurance and benefits, and then with homeowners grieving their taxes -- because their house values are going down -- and our expenses are fixed, taxes have been a major issue and we’ve tried to keep them down because we know people are hurting, but the village’s financial condition has deteriorated somewhat. 
 How would you define the character of Amityville? 
 The quaint bay village on the Great South Bay.

Mayor: ‘People were walking around like zombies’

Amityville mayor: ‘People were walking around like zombies’

Imbert

My last day in Amityville is here and miraculously, I managed not to be haunted by the paranormal Amityville Horror story. 
 I bet you thought I wasn’t going to mention it. The truth is, it’s incredibly possible, and in fact likely, to spend a week in Amityville and be too caught up in all the other things going on to even think about the infamous 1974 murder at a house on Ocean Drive (nor the rumored haunting of that house afterward). 
 But if you’re interested, you can find past coverage <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/serial-killer/a-horror-revisited-1.578770">here</a> and <a href="http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate/amityville-horror-house-for-sale-1.1942047">here</a> and <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/amityville-horror-theory-leads-to-search-1.3468136">here</a>. 
 Today, I’m heading back to the schools - this time Edmund W. Miles Middle School - to find out how the staff reached out to the community in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Michele Darby, school principal, spearheaded the effort, and she’ll introduce me to some of the teachers and parents who helped make their day of outreach possible. 
 You’ll also find stories about the Blue Christmas service being planned at the First United Methodist Church, and the story on Amityville’s history will be posted. 
 And look for more interviews from people around town today, and some of those I met earlier in the week will also be posted by the end of the day. 
 My colleague, Brittany Wait, joins me again today and she’s working on a story about an event for children and teens happening Saturday at the Freedom Chapel. Look for more on that later. 
 Thanks for following along this week and for your suggestions and tips about Amityville. I hope you’ll continue to send them in the future -- the week is over but the coverage is not. 
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Town Focus: Day 5 in Amityville

Amityville Horror house 2005

Nora Schual, of Rockville Centre, has been director at the Amityville Library since 1992. Before coming to Amityville, she worked at libraries in Lindenhurst, Long Beach, Lawrence and Baldwin. The Amityville Public Library was created in 1907, and grew from the Amityville Literary Society, which was founded a few years before by a group of concerned citizens who then sought donations to stock the new library’s shelves, Schual said. 
 What were your impressions of Amityville when you first started working here? I used to drive through Amityville all the time. The village part of the service area is very pretty. Just visually, it has that hometown feel. When I first met the board of trustees, I thought they were very pleasant people, I had a good impression of them. And I guess they had a good impression of me. I remember on my first day here, I was out on the main floor and people would come and introduce themselves to me. Things haven’t changed. There’s a small town community feel to it. 
 Can you give examples of that? People stop and chat with the librarian. Children’s librarians know the kids’ names, and the kids come running in to see them. It goes both ways, the public and the staff are very friendly. 
 What does the library mean - what purpose does it serve - to Amityville residents? It’s a community center. Information, entertainment, programs. They use it in all different ways. So much of what we do now is digital, they even sign up for library cards online. There is a whole digital community of people using the library. For the people who come in, I think it’s the human component when someone asks for help finding a book or downloading something. And there is a sense of discovery here. 
 Being a part of the Amityville community, what did you see after Sandy, and how was the library a resource for people? We’ve seen a lot of people affected. They lost their homes. Many lost library resources, that’s what we were finding out. If they were in an area we knew to be affected, we knew those books were drowned and we were waiving that. But we are trying to identify the materials so we can replace them. We had coffee, tea, cookies. It was a warm place for people to hang out. We had power strips everywhere so they could charge their devices, and actually we have kept most of them there. I didn’t go down to be a spectator, so everything was word of mouth. The library was not affected except for power out for a few days. We were just open. I think it was a sympathetic ear for people and just a place to get warm and start your day with a cup of coffee. 
 How would you define the Amityville community? I think Amityville is a place where the people are always looking forward but not forgetting about their past.

Librarian: ‘There is a sense of discovery here’

Schual

William T. Lauder, 90, is a lifelong resident of Amityville and is the third generation in his family to live there. From 1963 to 1965, he served as Babylon Town supervisor.&nbsp;He is now the director of the William T. Lauder Museum, which was donated to the Amityville Historical Society in 1973. 
 What made you decide to stay in Amityville all this time? I pretty much traveled the Western World courtesy of World War II. I really didn’t find&nbsp;anyplace that was quite as comfortable for me as Long Island. My family was in Amityville and I found no particular reason to move away. 
 Tell me about your family history here. My grandfather came here in 1894. He opened a baker’s shop here and retired in 1925. My father grew up here, he went to school here and entered the insurance business in New York. He also served as village treasurer, village clerk, among other positions. I spent my childhood here, I graduated from Amityville High School in 1940. I entered Columbia University that September and I was there until 1942, when I was drafted into the United States Army. 
 What was it like growing up here? It was always a pleasant place -- rural in nature, actually. I can remember seeing occasionally a horse and wagon heading down Broadway toward the village. Route 110 was a tree-lined road with beautiful Victorian houses on each side. It was a quiet era. The trolley that ran through the street was pretty well-remembered. The streets were paved in 1927, Merrick Road was paved, most of the streets were dirt. And then when they were paved, it must have been the worst pave job in the history of Suffolk County. Whenever there were cracks, they would fill them in with tar. I remember walking in the parade as a Boy Scout and it was always so hot out and my shoes would be destroyed from the tar. 
 What have been the biggest changes? Changes in Amityville have been many and mostly small. The widening of Broadway could be characterized as a big change, I guess. It changed the character of the village. We had been a vacation area for the rich and well-bred from New York City up until World War I. '‘Yorkers,’' as they were called, came here, deposited their families in one of our many hotels and the breadwinner would go back to the city for the week and come back here on the weekends. We had a considerable summer population and many hotels, one of which was four stories tall -- the New Point Hotel. That burned down in the '50s; that was a significant event that would be remembered by all. 
 What challenges does Amityville face? In the light of the recent unpleasantness, Hurricane Sandy, I would say preparation for the next one is most pressing now. 
 How would you characterize Amityville? It’s a suburban community not far removed from its rural roots. Having the pleasure of the existence of the rural houses that we enjoy, it’s not a typical suburb; rather, a more antique community -- an enclave, a backwater. In character and view, it’s much more like the East End of Long Island than the surrounding communities that sprung up in the huckleberry fields I remember as a child. Amityville has retained as best it could the character that has always made this an attractive place.

Museum director: Amityville ‘not a typical suburb’

hlAMITY12/RR

On Day 4 in Amityville, I'll meet with Pastor Louise Stowe Johns at the First United Methodist Church, where the sign outside welcomes the community to join them for a "Blue Christmas." 
 She told me that a Blue Christmas is a church service intended for those who for whatever reason may not be in the mood for the joyous tone of traditional holiday services. 
 Many people in Amityville certainly could fit into that category. Yesterday, I met with Mayor Peter Imbert and in addition to discussing his personal history in Amityville, he talked to me about the waterfront community during and after superstorm Sandy. 
 Today, look for those interviews as well as one with library director Nora Schual from yesterday, and a story and video on the history of Amityville. 
 If you still have suggestions for my time in Amityville, you can just manage to get them in. You can reach me by <a href="http://erin.geismar@newsday.com">email</a>, <a href="mailto:erin.geismar@newsday.com">Twitter</a> and in the comments below. Also follow along today via the Storify below. 
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Town Focus: Day 4 in Amityville

hlAMITY05

Patricia Cahaney, 56, of Amityville, is president of the Amityville Historical Society, a member of the Amityville Village Parks Commission, and served for six years on the Amityville Board of Education. She has lived in Amityville Village since 1980. 
 What brought you to Amityville? I grew up in Copiague, so it wasn’t a long jump. I thought it was very quaint here and very charming. I liked the fact that it was a village with its own downtown, its own police department and a lot of Victorian houses that were well maintained. I thought it was all very elegant. 
 So it seems like you were really enchanted with the idea of living here. Absolutely. I would walk to Amityville. I would use the library here. I was always very impressed. I love our location right off the water and how we have a lot of parks. Something that’s very unique about Amityville is that many boat houses still exist. A lot of waterfront houses still have them. They’ve been very well-preserved, as have barns. 
 What were some of your favorite spots in town? The Five and Ten. I used to love the Five and Ten. My mother would come to Amityville to cash her checks and we would always go to the Five and Ten. And I always used to be fascinated by all the antique shops, I would always find amazing things in Amityville. And I loved the architecture, all the beautiful houses. In my head, I would create all these stories about the houses, like, there’s a beautiful white picket fence, I bet two sisters live there. I was really amazed with it here as a child. 
 So when you finally moved here, what was it like for you? My first house was a modest house on Oak Street. At the time, it was very affordable and there were a lot of young people buying and renovating houses. I’m not sure that it’s like that anymore. Eventually, we traded up. We got a bigger house with more property. 
 And now you live in a historic house, right? Yes, it was built in 1894. I like the size of the rooms, the high ceilings, I like all the details. It still has a lot of character. 
 How has Amityville changed? I still think there’s a lot of civic pride. I still think it’s a tight-knit community with people helping people. I think the values I wanted are still here. People still go back generations. If I have a circle of 14 or 15 couples, one or more of them go three generations here. This is a place people want to be. Everyone knows everyone, there’s a real sense of caring here. 
 What challenges does the community face? With a mall so close, I think having a healthy downtown is probably a challenge. 
 If you could use a word to define Amityville, what would it be? Longevity. I think there’s longevity here.

Copiague native drawn to Amityville’s elegance

hlAMITY12//RR

Last February, Debbie Kent, 52, of Lindenhurst, and her son, Jonathan, 30, opened Driftwood, a thrift, antiques and consignment store at 174 Park Ave. in Amityville. 
 Debbie, how has business been since you opened? 
 Business for us is very good. We never expected the store to finance our life, but my son had always wanted to open up a business. 
 Tell me what compelled you to open the shop. 
 My mother-in-law Hazel Elliot, who is 82, grew up on this very street, and this just seemed right. My son went to college to be a math and science teacher and now works with autistic adults. He fell in love with that, but needed more income, so that's where the store came in. 
 What did Hazel tell you about what Amityville used to be like back in the day? 
 She said it was a great place to shop. And it is. It's a close-knit community, and I can tell that they still want to hold onto the old days. 
 What does the shop's name mean? 
 My son named it and my husband carved the wooden sign with “Driftwood” written on it that you see from the front window. My son felt that people and items drift in and out of our lives, and that's what happens here. We help people sell the items they don't want. We have high-end antiques and thrift-store items. 
 You briefly mentioned earlier that strange things happen in the store. Can you elaborate? 
 The first week we opened, four different women ended up coming in, and like I always do, I asked what their babies’ names were. Each mother said, “Elizabeth.” Funny enough, my grandmother's name is Elizabeth and she died many, many years ago. I had a medium come in one day and she told me there was a presence in my store watching over us. Another time, I told my husband I needed round tablecloths and he later found a trunk on the side of Montauk Highway filled with 26 round tablecloths. Everything that we've needed has been somehow given to us in a strange way like that. 
 What do you think that means? 
 It's meant to be. We're meant to be here. 
 What do you think makes this place so special? 
 Everything that comes through has its own story. When people come in I ask them three questions about the item they want to leave with us. I ask, “Where did you get it?” “How much did you pay for it?” and “What does it mean to you?” We sit and listen to their story and that determines the price. We've been able to take an item from someone who no longer needs it and give it to someone who has been dying to have it. It's satisfying.

'Presence' watches over Amityville shop

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Christmas cards and pictures of pets hang from the walls of Four Paws Animal Hospital in Amityville. A box, decorated in holiday wrapping paper, hold donations for nonprofit shelter Pets 4 Love in Massapequa. 
 Justin Marlow, 39, of Melville, has owned Four Paws, which used to be called Phelps Veterinary Clinic, for the past two years. Marlow is also a member of the village's chamber of commerce. 
 Tell me how superstorm Sandy affected business. 
 We only lost power for four days. We had the electricity back on that Thursday after the storm. Our building is on higher ground, so we didn't get flooding, but the whole village lost power and looked dead. I saw patients with flashlights because we wanted to make ourselves available to locals and those coming from other places nearby. We had a couple dogs come in with GI [gastrointestinal] problems after swimming to safety during the storm south of Merrick. 
 What do you like about working here? 
 I love having my own practice, running it the way I feel is best for my patients. It's nice that I get to work with my wife, too. Sharon is the veterinary technician here. I do the medicine, and Sharon takes care of the rest. 
 Have you always wanted to become a vet? 
 Most vets will say that it's just in us. From when I was a small child, there wasn't anything I wanted to do more than take care of animals. It was always my calling. I've always loved animals, and being a vet is one way to repay them for the constant love they've given me throughout my life. I grew up having horses, dogs, cats and a garden snake. 
 I see how you decorated the office to make pet owners more comfortable. 
 I don't like to put up medical posters. My style of practice is to make the office look homey. I think of my patients as also my babies. I will always be involved in caring for animals in one shape or form. 
 What keeps people from leaving Amityville, and what does the community have to offer? 
 Amityville is a throwback kind of community. It's a small, quaint community that makes most people feel right at home. The sense of community here is like no other. Generations tend to stay and raise their families here. Working or living here leaves you with a very nostalgic and warm feeling. Amityville is a little niche community where everybody knows everybody.

Amityville veterinarian’s ‘homey’ practice

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We've hit midweek in Amityville, and there's still so much more of the community to see. 
 Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon at the William T. Lauder Museum, meeting the museum and Amityville Historical Society staff. 
 Later today, look for the interviews with the people I met there (including William T. Lauder himself), who each had rich and personal stories to share about their time in Amityville. And while I was there, my fellow community journalist, Brittany Wait, was in the village talking to shop owners. Look for those interviews posted here, as well. 
 As for today, I'm headed to the Amityville Public Library to meet with director Nora Schaul, Village Hall to meet Mayor Peter Imbert, and to the Amityville Artists Circle gallery to see what the local artists have been up to. 
 As always, send your suggestions -- and even just your own thoughts or memories about the community -- to me in the comment section, by <a href="mailto:erin.geismar@newsday.com">email</a> or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/eringeismar">Twitter</a>; and follow along below. 
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Town Focus: Day 3 in Amityville

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Julia Shepherd of North Amityville is a human resources secretary with the Amityville school district and a community mentor with COMPASS, which tries to steer young people away from falling prey to alcohol and drug problems. 
 How long have you lived here? 
 I've lived in this area for 30 years. I'm from Alabama. We have a tradition where the older ones come and each generation follows. So first my older sister came here and then my older brother and so on. When I came here originally I was 18. I lived here for a couple years and I moved around and came back. 
 What made you settle down here? 
 I like the family connection. It's a small community and very family oriented. 
 Has it changed? 
 Absolutely. It's grown. When I first came here they didn't have a CVS, a Walgreens, all these apartment buildings. 
 What challenges does the community face? 
 I still think there is somewhat of a separation between South and North Amityville. We're still not one community. 
 How would you define Amityville? 
 Community. Even if it's two communities everyone feels like they live in a community.

Alabama native now with Amityville schools

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Ray Velez, 35, of Wantagh, is a social worker for the Amityville School District and director of the COMPASS program. &nbsp; 
 How long have you worked in Amityville? 
 It will be seven years in January. 
 What brought you here? In grad school, I had an internship at a local mental health group home and after grad school I went full-time there. They've since closed, but through the connections I made there I found out about the opening at the school. 
 What do you like about working here? 
 I love working in Amityville. My first day at the group home was September 11 [2001], so that was memorable. 
 It's very diverse here. I work very closely with all the families and being bilingual I work with the Spanish population. I think it's a great community. People have pride in their community and they want to see things progress. 
 What challenges does Amityville face? 
 There is a poverty population; I think it's about 65 percent of the students receive free and reduced lunch. That's a large population. 
 There is a separation between North Amityville and the south, and a large majority of our students are from North Amityville. That divide I guess can be seen as a challenge. 
 Tell me about COMPASS and what the group has achieved. 
 The main focus is to build a coalition of different sectors of the community and work together to develop ways to prevent drug and alcohol use. 
 Our initiatives focus on everyone from elementary to high school. We do a literacy program in the elementary school because we know that’s one of the main reasons people drop out of high school. 
 We do community forums to make people aware of the issues and the signs. 
 Every year, we fund a college tour to historically black colleges. The college tour has had the most impact. It has helped engage students, and it gave us a lot of credibility in the community. We schedule it around a Saturday football game or another event so they can interact with students. 
 COMPASS has come a long way. When I first started, the tone of the meetings were very negative. There was a feeling that nothing was progressing. But now we have a very large group from all different sectors of the community and everyone contributes. 
 How would you characterize the Amityville community? 
 Hardworking. As a social worker, I have to be very accommodating to get in touch with parents because of their work schedules. Some of them go in at 7 and get home at 8 at night. 
 The kids are great. As a social worker you want to work at a place where you feel you serve a purpose, and I do.

Social worker tackles drug, alcohol abuse

Amityville social worker tackles drug, alcohol abuse 

On Day 2 in Amityville, I’m focusing on the community’s rich history. 
 I’ll spend the afternoon at the William T. Lauder Museum, an impressive building on Broadway that opened as a museum and historical research center in 1973. It is operated by the Amityville Historical Society, and while there I’ll meet with Pat Cahaney, president of the society. 
 If the weather clears up, I’ll be roaming around town with a camera for the historical video that will be produced later in the week, along with a story on Amityville’s history. 
 In case you missed it, yesterday was all about the students. In the morning, I met with school superintendent John Williams, who discussed his high regard for Amityville students and his role in the community at large. Afterward, I paid a visit to Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School and got to chat with students shopping for their family members at the annual Holiday Boutique hosted by the Amityville Parent Teacher Committee. 
 In the evening, I also attended a meeting for COMPASS, an anti-drug task force that incorporates students, school staff and community members. You’ll find interviews with the people I met there posted throughout the week. 
 Glad to see people are following along through social media, and I appreciate the suggestions I’ve gotten so far. I’ll always take more - I’m looking for people to meet, places to include in my historical video, and some anecdotes about living in Amityville, especially from lifelong residents. 
 You can reach me in the comments below, via <a href="mailto:erin.geismar@newsday.com">email</a> and on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/eringeismar">Twitter</a>. Updates throughout my day will also be posted in the Storify below. 
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Town Focus: Day 2 in Amityville

Christopher Solages carefully surveyed&nbsp;a table full of trinkets at the Holiday Boutique at his Amityville school, weighing his options&nbsp;for the money he carried in an envelope. 
 For about $6, he ended up with a necklace for his mother -- who likes to wear necklaces -- and a ball-on-a-string-type game for his older sister. 
 With a few bucks left after leaving the register at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School, Christopher, 10, of Amityville, made one last sweep to see whether&nbsp;he could find something for his other sister. 
 “I hope this makes them happy,” he said&nbsp;about spending the allowance he earned from organizing the shoe closet at home. 
 Thoughtful gifting was just one of the skills at play at the boutique on Monday, along with lessons in budgeting and self-control. 
 For the past three years, the Amityville Parent Teacher Committee has purchased an abundance of gifts averaging between $2 and $4 and manned a gift shop at each of the district’s pre-K and elementary schools, committee president Susan Heenan said. 
 Gifts included small toys, sports memorabilia, jewelry and a variety of items personalized for "mom," "dad," "grandpa" and "grandma." 
 “We just hope to break even,”&nbsp;Heenan said. “This is not for us to make money. It’s just to give the kids this experience. Most children in our district wouldn’t get this opportunity.” 
 Committee vice president Maresa Dealy said that when she talks to the kids shopping for others, she finds a “sense of wonder” in them as they search for things they can purchase with their own limited funds. 
 “They love that they can do this themselves,” she said. “They can pick up something for mom, dad, aunt, uncle, sister, brother. They are learning to enjoy this part of it.” 
 Natalya Grant, 10, of Amityville, kept coming back to one ring she coveted, but it cost $4. Her budget was $5, and she already had an impossible-to-let-go $2 item in her shopping basket. 
 Time for a decision: Could the person she was shopping for live without both items? 
 “It’s for myself,” she said. “My dad said he was going to buy something for my mom and my brother.” 
 Kamari Hough, 10, of Amityville, brought a full basket to the register: a necklace and&nbsp;headband for his mom, a soccer ball for his brother and a keychain for himself. 
 He spent about $10 earned from watching his brother, taking out the garbage and being respectful. 
 But that was the easy part, he said. The hard part will be waiting until Christmas to give out his presents. 
 “I’m excited,” he said. “I wonder what they’re going to say.”

Kids shop for the holidays at school boutique

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John Williams, who lives in Long Beach, became superintendent of the Amityville Union Free School District in February 2008 after a three-month stint as interim superintendent. Before that, he was superintendent of the Sewanhaka School District in Nassau County and taught at Hunter College. Before that, he also had a career as an educator in Scranton, Pa. 
 What made you decide to apply for the permanent position at Amityville? 
 Amityville is a place where I really liked the kids. I found it to be very rewarding. The kids are very appreciative of everything that is done for them. They are courteous, bright and have great potential. I found that the professionals I worked with were very committed, and I've had a great time working with them. I've been putting off retirement because I have a lot of energy left, and I'm enjoying my time here. 
 Tell me about the student population. 
 We're very diverse. When I started here six [school] years ago, approximately 90 percent of the student population was nonwhite, and of that population there were two times as many black students as Hispanic. What's happened recently is we've had an influx of Spanish students, and students with limited English proficiency. Like many other districts, we've been cutting back but we've actually been adding stuff in the ESL [English as a Second Language] department because that's a necessity. We had 42 percent growth of the Spanish-speaking population last year alone, so that's a necessity. 
 Another important thing that has happened this year is for the first time since before I got here, all five of our schools and the district as a whole are in good standing in our New York State assessments. What happened with No Child Left Behind was that two of our schools -- Park Avenue Elementary and the middle school -- were in need of improvement or corrective action. That was a focus for us. We worked hard to align our curriculum and provide professional development. 
 When you were hired, the board of education tasked you with making the school a bigger part of the community at large. Talk about that. 
 They were anxious to have me reach out to the community. I think there was the perception this is a split community. There are very few things that bring the Village of Amityville and the hamlet of North Amityville together. 
 I've tried to be involved. I participate in the Amityville Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary and I'm very active with the North Amityville Implementation Committee, which is concerned with driving the way economic development happens there. I spend an awful lot more time in Amityville than I do in Long Beach. 
 So, what do you think of Amityville as a community? 
 It was very, very welcoming to me as a newcomer. I came here knowing no one and from Day 1 I found it to be a community that opened its arms to me and was very supportive to all that I've done with them. 
 What challenges does it face? 
 We remain a district where many residents have children that attend nonpublic schools. The challenge to us is to convince the people that it is still in their best interest to support this school district with their tax dollars. A healthy school district benefits everyone's property value and is the backbone the community. 
 What makes this place unique to others where you've worked and lived? 
 It’s that same situation I described before. I call it 'A Tale of Two Cities,' that diversity that exists here. You drive south through the village and you see beautiful Victorian houses, the lake, the trappings of wealth. When you drive south you see trailer parks, mobile homes. The only place they come together is the school. Everyone is together here and I think that diversity is a real advantage from a cultural standpoint. 
 Kids learn about other cultures, other races, other ways of life and that diversity is much more of a positive force than a negative one. Our kids, from a social aspect, form an awareness that is far ahead of most other kids I've interacted with.

Amityville schools head loving job

Amityville school superintendent loving job too much to retire 

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Today is my first day in Amityville for this installment of Town Focus. 
 While in Amityville, which borders the Great South Bay and the county line, I'll be getting to know the area, its residents and community leaders. 
 You'll find me working in the local cafes, eating in the restaurants and, on less gray days than today, walking around the village. I'll be looking for your suggestions to help me really get to know Amityville this week. If there's an event I should attend, a place I should visit or a person I should meet, let me know in the comments below, via Twitter or email. 
 Today, I'll meet with Amityville School District Superintendent John Williams, who is in his sixth year with the district, and be attending a meeting for COMPASS, a community-oriented anti-drug task force. 
 You can follow along via the Storify below. 
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Town Focus: Day 1 in Amityville

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