Business View Civil and Municipal | June 2022

83 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6 T he Village of Patchogue, New York is remarkable for a bevy of reasons. Its natural beauty and rich heritage, the spirit of volunteerism, the ability of groups to work together – but perhaps the most outstanding attribute is the dedication and community passion that Patchogue Mayor, Paul Pontieri, is recognized and lauded for. A fine example came to light with the ‘Main Street High School Prom’. Village Trustee Lori Devlin explains, “The Mayor did not want to see another year going by without the Senior Class being able to enjoy a prom because of the pandemic, so he came up with the idea to close Main Street in June of 2021 and create an outdoor prom. The village restaurants worked together to create the menu and cook the meals which were staged in the lobby of the theater. A red carpet was created for each couple to make their entrance and the kids had a great time. It was such a hit that it is planned again for 2022.” Patchogue has been blessed with many businesses opening in its downtown core recently – nine ribbon cuttings in April alone. “We’re really on a roll,” says Devlin, “and most of the new businesses are restaurants. Main Street is hopping and we’ve seen a lot of adaptive VILLAGE OF PATCH Where inspiration abounds N