If anyone wants to know how Patrick Vecchio has managed to hold onto the Smithtown supervisor job for almost 30 years, it’s not just because he keeps town taxes low. He has an open-door policy: just about anyone can walk in off the street and talk to him about any matter.
He also has an uncanny ability to remember names and faces, and their particular situations.
At a town board meeting last week, resident Rose Palazzola, a frequent attendee, was complaining that there was no civic association in Saint James, “although we do have one where I live in ..uh.”
“Fairfield,” interjected Vecchio helpfully.
“Fairfield, that’s right,” she said.
After the meeting, he walked over to a group of Saint James residents who are concerned that the widening of the intersection at Landing and Edgewood Avenues might mean the widening of the road. After chatting with them for a few minutes and assuring them that the town has no intention of widening Edgewood Avneue, he headed out the door.
Stacey Altherr