Business View Civil and Municipal | June 2022

91 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6 V I LLAGE OF PATCHOGUE , NEW YORK Each year in mid-July, Long Island’s largest, longest running and most popular family-friendly music festival sets up on the pristine shore of the Great South Bay in Patchogue, NY. This four-day festival features legends like B.B. King, The Doobie Brothers, Taking Back Sunday, The Zombies (and many more) performing with over 55 local and national performers in all musical genres, on four stages. But music is not the event’s only draw. The Festival is a mini-village of experiences, including artisans and craftspeople, an educational KidZone, a sumptuous food court and a wine and beer garden. Community philanthropy is also important to the festival with the Storyville Tent, a space dedicated to local, not-for-profit organizations, to help them raise funds and awareness for their causes. Long Island Cares, Stony Brook Cancer Center and The Long Island Music Hall of Fame, have been a big part of the festival’s “give-back” vision since its inception. As it celebrates its 14th Anniversary, the Festival has become a mainstay of the northeastern US festival market, has hosted over 300,000 attendees (often from out of state), reaches millions with its advertising and infuses over five million dollars into the local economy each year. ...... For more information, please visit our website www.greatsouthbaymusicfestival.com department store which has been vacant for several years. The Mayor notes, “NYU Langone want their doctors to be close to their facility, so we contacted them about this building that was available, and they’re going to be making it into a surgical center and medical offices. For a small village, being able to turnover an empty building of that size is difficult at best, and I think we got lucky. They’re going to be a wonderful community partner.” Giving credit where it’s due, Mike Kelly of the Kelly Development Group, states, “You need a strong municipal board that has political courage to develop on Long Island. Mayor Pontieri and his administration personify those characteristics. When Paul came to office, his goal was to bring development back to Patchogue. He had a great vision and he’s executing on that vision. He’s the prototype of who a municipal leader should be. Paul