Episode 4 - "Doing Good" Radio Show - Featuring Brookhaven Councilman Michael Loguercio

In Ep. 4, Sal Mangano sits down with Town of Brookhaven Councilman Michael Loguercio to talk about his public service, including his years serving on the Longwood School District’s Board of Education, and as Vice President of EMS for the Ridge Fire Department.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The views and opinions expressed on this program are not necessarily those of this station, JVC Broadcasting Management, or its sponsors.

SPEAKER_03 0:25

We are here with another edition of the Meningano Family Foundation Doing Good Radio Show, and we are fortunate and lucky to have as our special guest, Brookhaven Town Councilman Mike Lugarcio. Mike, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Anthony and Sal, for having me on today. It's a pleasure. Thank you very much. So, you know, your your resume and your community engagement probably is about 20 pages long. So I boiled it down.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

It's right near yours, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_03 0:52

It's about equal. There you go. So you were elected Brookhaven Town Councilman in 2015. Yes. And um you just really do a tremendous job, you know, for the local community. You know, talk to us a little bit about you know the role of a of a town councilman and and what you focus on.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Thank you. It's well, you know, as you know very well, our our main job is land use. That's the the most important thing that we do. We decide or we help decide what type of business will go where, what type of residence will go where, so that this way we able to keep business together, residents together, so that you don't have the the the mix, you know, the mix of business and residential that that really shouldn't be together. And that's really the the main focus of of what it is that we do. And then we of course we also you know deal with the community when it comes to helping them solve their problems with the roads. We work closely with the with the highway superintendent, we work with the parks department, we work with waste management so that all these services can come together and serve the people that are in our communities.

SPEAKER_03 1:57

And you know, so so politics is is certainly an interesting business, and uh you have a very long, very, very, very successful uh background in in business and community engagement. Um but kind of when the opportunity presented itself, when did you say and why did you say, you know what, I'm gonna I'm gonna put myself out there and run for public office and and look to be an elected official.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Well, what happened was uh I have I have two kids, as you know, and the community was very good to my family and I. And my my kids got a wonderful education in the Longwood School District, and I always felt that you know we wanted to give back to the community. So at that point, I uh joined the um Longwood School Board. And I was I got elected to the school board, and I served 12 years on the board. And I I guess I did a decent job because the community liked what I did, the community supported me, and the local uh political party asked me if I would run for political office, and quite frankly, I didn't even know what a councilman did at the time. And they asked me, you know, that if I would step up and and represent the community, and I said, Well, listen, if you think that I could do a good job and the community would support me, and and if they thought that I would do a good job and and help, then I'd be happy to. So I I ran and and here I am.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

You know, a um you know very famous, well-known, you know, former congressman, you know, Tip O'Neill said, like, all politics is local, right? And um what we see happening in many parts of the country, you know, and Washington and even Albany to a degree, it's very hyperpartisan and there's a lot of rhetoric going on. I like to say on Long Island, um, you know, we really put a lot of the partisanship aside in order to really focus on the local taxpayer and the residents and always make sure that they're first before anything else. What's your approach to working bipartisan and leadership and just in general?

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Well, Anthony, you're absolutely 100% correct. And and something that I always tell folks is that at our level, especially, there should be no politics. Let Washington deal with that. There shouldn't be any politics because, you know, where about land use, about stop signs, about that sort of thing, about making sure that people's streetlights are on, making sure that they're safe, the most important thing. So there really shouldn't be any politics involved at at our level, because all it's about is taking care of the people and making sure that they have the services that we all deserve and we all pay taxes for. So I know in my office and in the entire town board, we put politics aside. When when someone calls us, we don't ask them, oh, what's your political persuasion? You know, we just do whatever we can to help. You know, I have a tremendous staff, uh Victoria and James, you know, they work beautifully with me, and we also work very well with every other elected official, no matter what their their uh political party is. We don't care, quite frankly. We just do it we are what we were elected to do and to help serve the community.

SPEAKER_03 4:48

Yeah, and you and you have you know great, you know, role models and in government that look to do that, whether it be you know current Supervisor Panico, former supervisor and and current Suffolk County executive Ed Rome, who just does tremendous job, you know, in terms of reaching across the aisle because he knows in order to get funding, in order to get big projects done, you know, you have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

You have you have to. You know, I'm very fortunate because, you know, especially in the district that I'm in, it it was a highly democrat district. And I had to reach across party lines, but I didn't I I didn't approach it that way. I just said, listen, I'm gonna go out, this is the job I'm gonna do, and hopefully the people will you know appreciate it and they'll support me, and they do every time. You know I'm in here ten years now I'm elected. Ten years. Sound serving ten years, yeah. Flew by. I served twelve years on this on the school board, and then I uh now ten years on the town board.

SPEAKER_03 5:39

So so let's talk a little about the school board. You know, what again that's a you know, another uh position that's very difficult. I give everybody who's on school board so much credit. Um, you know, there's a volunteer positions and you really spend an enormous amount of time focused on, you know, the children and the teachers and making sure that everybody has such a you know wonderful environment in order to thrive and succeed. And um what made you run for the school board the first time? How'd that come about?

SPEAKER_01 6:06

You know, like I said, my my kids were in the schools and they were getting a tremendous education, and I felt that I wanted to give back in some way, and I really wasn't sure. And I said, well, maybe that's a a good thing to do. Maybe I'll I'll try it. I didn't really know much about education other than that you needed one. And I I got involved, I had the business background. So ever every school board member has their own niche, their their their own asset that they bring to the table. So that was my way of giving and helping out, and uh and I I guess I did a decent job. But that was the whole premise behind it, was that I just wanted to give back to a community that I felt you know my family you know benefited tremendously tremendously from.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

And that's Longwood School, doesn't it? Yes, yeah. And Sally, you just did a uh scholarship program in Longwood. So we work with you work with the local fire departments or correct, yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

We work with the five uh fire departments in the Longwood community, um Ridge, Middle Island, Yapank, Gordon Heights, and Quorum. And we give a scholarship uh to each of so uh one one or two members from each of the departments and the the fire departments themselves pick who the scholarship recipients are. And you've been doing that a long time, Sal. Yes, yes, we've been doing it uh since we uh moved out to Middle Island, probably uh 15 years. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

And this year I think you give five thousand dollars out. Yes, five thousand each year since we started. Wow, that's yes that's tremendous. I can do the math, don't worry. I can do the math quickly, but I'm not gonna say the number.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Uh and I can tell you, Sal, from being on the other side of it, that the community is very appreciative of what it is you do with the scholarship and everything else that you do for the community. Thank you very much. Sal Sal's always there. You know, I'm a member of of the rich fire department, and you know, it's unfortunate that you know, obviously we we do suffer with with you know many tragedies and death and deaths. And anytime fire department reaches or any fire department reaches out to Sal and his business, they're always there. They always step up and they always help out tremendously. So thank you, Sal. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

And so you're still uh are you still a member of the fire department?

SPEAKER_01 8:02

I am, yeah. I'm I'm I'm in it, uh I'm in my twelfth year. I s I started late in life. Um but I I enjoyed it and I think it's I think it's great. You know, and in a lot of ways I I relate it to politics as well. You know, I I ride a rescue squad a couple of nights a week on the ambulance, and you know, so many times and I and this is the way I I kind of liken it to politics. W when we go in and and and save someone or help someone, you know, I I don't say to them, we don't say to them, you know, are you a Mets fan, Jets fan, you know, what what are you? We don't say you're, you know, Republican, Democrat. We just go in there and we do whatever we can to help them. And it's the same thing in politics. You know, we don't care, you know, what political party you're you're a member of, we just go there to to help and we just try to do the right thing.

SPEAKER_03 8:44

And you know, I think m you know, organizations, I think you know, whether it be fire departments or fraternal groups, um, I think it's a bit tougher these days in terms of recruiting and getting people involved and engaged. It is what are some messages you have for you know people who you know to volunteer in the fire department? You know, what are some of the benefits that they can you know look to you know to achieve you know by doing that?

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Well, you know, first off, it's a very rewarding uh you know, it's a rewarding service that you offer. You're you're you're a volunteer, and it's something to be able to say that myself along with my team, or sometimes individually, you actually help save a life. And that's something that I I can't even explain to you what that feels like. To be a part of a team that that brought someone back or saved them from an overdose, or or maybe the CPR on a person that wasn't here with us but now is. So that that the reward you get from that personally and internally, I I can't even explain what that's like. But you're giving back to your community, you're there when the community needs you. And it's not only for your family and your friends, but also for strangers. And that's something that you you you you can't even compete with anything else.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

And and you know, since a volunteer role, right? I mean you you kind of can put in as much time as you want.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Yeah, exactly. You know, we do have minimums that we have to meet, certain quotas per se, that we have to certain, you know, number of calls that we have to be at, but that's so that the community is always protected. And all of us meet those those minimums, and most of us go way above because it becomes uh something, it's becomes a brotherhood, it becomes something that you really want to be there, you want to help out. And families get involved, and we have you know parties, and uh everybody truly becomes a a tr a part of it, and then when something goes wrong, everyone is involved to help.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

And let's jump back to you know your council role, councilman role. Um, what are some things going on? What are some of the things you might want to you know talk about or focus on, or what's some of the stuff you want to share with uh with the listeners?

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Well, I can tell you right off the bat, my my district is very eclectic. You know, I serve from the North Shore down to the back to the Middle Island down to the very south shore of down to the water. I have uh Ridge, Middle Island, a little bit of Quorum, uh Yapank, Bellport, Bellport Village, uh a little bit of Shirley, and then right back up William Floyd to Ridge again. So it's it's very different communities, very diverse, very diverse, exactly. So each little area needs different types of services. But what we try to do is and and I I know that you've done the same thing. You try to bring, you know, businesses into the area, you try to support the community, you try to support the tax base, you try to do everything you can to make sure that these communities have the services that they need and they they would want. And also at the same time, you try to make sure that you're bringing in the tax revenue to support the schools and the fire departments and the libraries so that they get those services as well. And on the other hand, you also want to make sure that you don't uh overbuild and over tax the community. You want to keep the open space. I'm very fortunate. I have a ton of open space in my in my co in my district. So we try to main maintain and preserve as much of that as possible, but at the same time try to bring in the mix of development that we truly need in the area.

SPEAKER_03 12:02

Yeah, and it's and it's it's certainly you know a difficult balancing act. It is. It is. Um and but at the end of the day, you also as whether you're a business or your municipality, you need to grow. You need to find ways to grow. Because if you have stagnation and you don't have the revenue coming in, you know, then there are certain areas that are gonna be, you know, in more decline than you want.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

You know, just like a business, you have to pivot, you have to be fluid, you have to change with the technology, with the times, um, and me governments, governmental uh uh bodies and municipalities have to do the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Right. And it it's interesting that you mentioned that because you know you change with the times, but there is a tremendous and people don't realize this, but there is a tremendous need for housing on Long Island. There is there is a need for not only individual residential homes, but also for um multifamily homes. And a lot of the younger folks, they don't want to have the houses. They want to live in a condo, they want to live in an apartment. And and a lot of them, you know, they they can't come up with the down payment on the individual homes, but they they would prefer to live in an apartment. They'll pay the three, four thousand dollars a month. But there's a tremendous need for that right now. And you know, you know, fortunate or unfortunate, we need to build these homes and we need to make sure that the young people have a place to live, and at the same point, they have jobs too to help them pay for this.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

So you're absolutely uh absolutely right. Um so you also have a private sector career, right? You're uh uh insurance in the insurance industry.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

I was in the insurance industry for oh gosh, 40 years. I'm getting old, Sal. You know, wow, you started when you were two years old.

SPEAKER_03 13:42

Right?

SPEAKER_01 13:43

And then for the past uh 10 years or so, I've been working for a company called Belfort. We do property restoration and construction, and I basically serve the insurance industry so that when their clients do have a fire or flood or they're a business and someone drives through the front door, you know, we provide 24-hour service to get a crew in there and clean it up and and rebuild it and and hopefully, you know, and most of the time, all the time, get them back to better than where they were in the beginning. But it's still within the insurance sector.

SPEAKER_03 14:09

So And how how would you how have you seen that? That industry has has changed tremendous, right? And it's you know, in especially being in New York, right? It's hard to get coverages and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Long Island, especially because of the water.

SPEAKER_03 14:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

You know, a lot of companies don't want to write anymore because of you know the the the chances of a hurricane or even tornado now, we get tornado warnings, you know, quite often. So carriers are stepping away from that. They don't want to write the and then when they do write it, the premiums are are pretty exorbitant.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

Yeah, I think I probably in in my neighborhood probably have like one or two, you know, companies that will write a policy because we're close to the water.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Right, right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So it's difficult. But without it, and God forbid something happens, you know.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

Yeah. Um and and Sal, I know, you know, switching gears a little bit, you know, we uh we had a a nice ceremony, you know, in memory of mom's honor. Yes. Um a ceremonial street renaming. Yes, and thank you very much for your help assisting with that. Yeah, I mean uh tremendous, you know, uh trailblazer, truly. First uh female funeral director in Suffolk County history. Wow uh was Barbara Mangano. And I know we had the ceremonial street renaming and uh dedication. Um so you know, what were your thoughts about that day?

SPEAKER_02 15:21

That's it No, it was a very touching day. I appreciate the uh the town, the town of Babylon, and all the public officials that that made that happen. Um it was uh very touching for myself and my family, so thank you.

SPEAKER_03 15:32

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, she was a wonderful person. I'm really like it was really kind of like the the premise of the Mangano Family Foundation is kind of taking all of the work that the family and and mom has done over the years and you especially, and really kind of putting it together and and you know, in a in a way that you know we can communicate and connect with the public and community groups and organizations to really you know push things forward and help the local community out. So that was that's great. Thank you very much. That is excellent. Um so let's switch gears, boys. So what's going on back in the town? Tell me, tell me about how things are going.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

We do have a number of events I I could share with you. Uh I I'd be happy to share with you. For instance, on uh November 1st, we have at the South Country Library from nine in the morning till one in the afternoon, we have a recycling event. And those are always very, very popular. You know, folks come from all over the the town, and even uh Babylon and ISLIP and Huntington. And we do paper shredding, electronics recycling, uh safe medicine disposal, and even cardboard recycling now. And it's nice because there is no charge, and folks have expired medications, they have you know papers from years ago when when things weren't as electronic and paperless as as they are now. So we we have that going on. And that'll be down again at the South Country Library on November 1st. And one of my favorites has always been the Brookhaven Country Fair. Every year we do that. Uh the this year it's the weekend of September 20th and 21st, a Saturday and Sunday, and that's at the Longwood Smith Estate, and that's on the corner of Longwood Road and Smith Road in Ridge. And that's a wonderful event. You have historical reenactments, demonstrations, great food. We have a band there, we have a DJ, there's many vendors, and then there's things for the kids to do as well. And we have a table there with my staff, and uh we we offer the kids all different types of events, and you know, we we talk with them and and and help them to understand what these reenactments are about. Uh, there's the Smith Museum, uh the home in the museum there, which we offer tours of. That goes back to the uh 1600s, I believe. And uh, you know, there's so many different things that are are part of that event on the weekend. We also, in conjunction with uh Assemblyman Joe DeStefano, we have an emergency prepared tough for me to say preparedness presentation. And we were talking before about hurricanes and tornadoes, and this basically helps you to put together a a gold bag, so to speak, on the things that you need in the event that that a hurricane does hit our island. And you know, we're fortunate because with technology in the in the National Hurricane Center, we we do get a lot of warnings on on these partic particular weather events, but this is what you need to have and be ready to to take it and leave in the event that you know, God forbid you have.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

Were you in office starring Sandy or I was not.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

I was not, but I had a number of friends of mine that live down by you who lost everything. Yeah. Houses, cars. It was it was horrible. Fortunately, you know, not too many lives were lost, but it was horrible. And this will be on Monday, August 4th at 7 p.m. at the South Country Ambulance, which is on Station Road, also in Belport. And then the town is doing a back-to-school drive, and that'll be for students from ages kindergarten through twelfth grade. And we're collecting pens, pencils, calculators, binders, rulers, loose leaf paper. They still use loose leaf paper. Use loose leaf paper. Backpacks, crayons, nope, you name it. Anything that you know kids need in school, we're collecting that. And it's unfortunate because you know there are a lot of families out there that know are in need of these things. So this is our way of trying to collect these items. And this is running from uh July 28th, which is today, right through to August 22nd. And believe me, you come in August 23rd or September 1st or whenever. We'll always take it. Because there's always a And where do they drop that off? And there are a number of different places you can drop it off. We have Shirley Holtzville, Lisa Talk at Corum, Lake Grove. If they give my office a call, I'll give the number if you don't mind. That's um 631-451-6968. That number again is uh 631-451-6968, and we'll direct them to the uh location that's closest to them. And then another event that we have is the Free Rabies Clinics that is happening at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter, and that's going to be today. Uh I'm sorry, July 26th through August 23rd. That's 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. And it's free rabies vaccines for dogs, cats, and and ferrets. Do people still have ferrets? Wow. I know, I don't know anybody that has ferrets. I think people used to walk them on leashes back in the 80s. Yeah, I don't know anyone that still has a ferret, but if you have a ferret out there, bring it and we'll give you a free rabies vaccine. And then there's always something that always pops up. So just give my office a call, we're always happy to share with that.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

And speaking of recycling, what's the uh latest with the uh Brookhaven landfill?

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Well, as you know, this year we stopped taking construction and demolition debris, and that's the uh precursor to us uh eventually closing it. It it would have been closed probably this year or next, but with COVID, uh the the less of the landfill was used because there was so much less construction taking place. So we were able to stretch the life out. So probably be around uh 2027-28, I would I would assume the landfill will be closing, and then um you know the garbage business will be going privatized.

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Gotcha. Okay. Uh and I know uh we have a talking about events, October 11th is the Long Island Columbus Day parade. And proudly Babylon has the parade uh this year, and Sal Mangano is one of the Grand Marshals. So congratulations. Thank you. So you are certainly invited, as are all the elected officials across Long Island. Thank you. It's sponsored by the uh New York State Sons and Daughters of Italy. And you're a member of the Knights of Columbus, I believe, right? I'm a member of uh Knights of Columbus, Sons of Italy, uh you know, you name it Lions Club. Uh the list goes on and on. Um but yeah, well uh it's gonna be a great uh parade, and I know you're very passionate about uh Italian American causes, so we hope that you could uh join us.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

I'm a first generation American. My parents are from there, from the old country, as they say. So uh yeah, I I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_03 21:44

Yeah, I I see I see your uh social media postings cooking uh dabble in a meatball or two. You do, you do. Um but you know, Long Island wants to know, you know, the listeners want to know you know, what do you call it? Sauce or gravy that you're gonna say.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

It's interesting, you know, because I grew up in an Italian neighborhood and it was mostly called sauce, but it doesn't mean it was correct because sauce has to include meat. So I always put the meat in there anyway, the brajol and the you know the meatballs, and everything gets cooked right right in there. So we call it sauce, but uh it's not always correct. If you make like a marinara, then it wouldn't be a sauce, it would be a gravy.

SPEAKER_03 22:20

So yeah, so I I uh I call it sauce. Yeah. And you know, I always say the gravy is brown on Thanksgiving. That's that's how I uh but it's a big debate.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

Gravy's good today. You know it's good today.

SPEAKER_03 22:33

There you go. See, I told you this is a little bit of everything. This is a great show. There you go. Um we have a we have a we have a few minutes left, so but I want to, you know, the floor is yours, you know. So so talk to us about you know what what's on your mind and what what's uh what you want everybody to hear about.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Well, you know, I I think it's important that people realize that they can very easily approach folks like yourself, myself, anyone in politics, you know, at any level of government, and that you know, we will do all of us together. We all work very well together. You know, my town board, your town board, we do a lot of work together, and the different levels of government that all come together, it's just it's just a matter of of helping people to get what they need and what they deserve. So what I always tell folks is if you have a question, you have a concern, you know, if you want to tell us what a great job we're doing, give us a call, and we will do whatever we can to either help you or put you in the right direction and get you to the people that can help. And they listen, there are times, Anthony, that you know, I I can't help someone, you can't help someone, and we tell them, say, listen, you know, that's a great idea, we'd love to be able to do something, but we can't. But here's why we can't, and here's why no one can. And most of the time people will understand. People are good like that. But, you know, if you don't call us and and give us the opportunity to either try to help or explain why it can't be done, you know, people ask for things sometimes and say, well, I want a stop sign because people speed down the block. Well, a stop sign may cause people to speed even more. Well, possibly cause motor vehicle accidents. We explain that to folks, and they say, Oh, wow, you're right. You know, I I thank you for explaining that to me. So the thing I really try to tell people is call us, let's have the conversation. We're regular folks, we're happy to speak with you about it.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

Yeah, you're you're accessible, you know, transparent. Hey, this is what we could do, this is what we can't do. But it's all about that communication is is important.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

It really is. And you know, like I'll go into the supermarket, and so my wife won't even go with me because sometimes it takes me three hours to get a quarter of milk because seven people stop me and want to talk about different things.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

So you're not you're not you're not you're not shopping in like Center Reach or Stony Brook out of the uh I stay right in the community because you know why I I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

I love being able to sit with the people and talk with them and and and answer the qu at least try to answer the questions. And if I can, I'll say, listen, I can't help you. You know. And most of the time, they under most of the time they understand.

SPEAKER_03 24:52

No, that's uh that's good. And you know, what how about you know you've you've had a lot of um you know leadership level positions and you know any any any thoughts on you know kind of like leadership, right? Like, you know, what how do you approach things? How do you approach a difficult situation you know that you might be walking into? So talk a little bit about how you approach how you do it.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

You know, it's funny because I told my staff right from the beginning, they're very, very good at this, that you want people to not that you want them to be upset, but you want them to come to you with a problem. Because when someone comes to you with a problem, no matter how angry they are, it gives you an opportunity to help these folks and make their day better. Many times people come to us, it may be their worst day ever. Even though it may not seem that bad to us, to them, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen. And it gives us an opportunity to sit them down and say, okay, listen, we're gonna see what we can do to make it better. And and we can try to help you. And then we go for ice cream. You know, it's just it it it it makes people know that that they're listened to. You know, and I tell my staff all the time that that we get someone who's upset, embrace them, help them, talk with them. And and that's what we really look for. We look to help people like that. And that's I could speak for the entire town board, and I'm sure yours is the same way.

SPEAKER_03 26:09

Yeah, no, absolutely. It's the and that and that's what that's what it's and you don't know what uh anybody's going through. You don't. And you always have to, you know, treat people, you know, as as they need to be treated. And and that's and that's you know, also if you you know you look at Sal, right? I mean Sal's business is is is very much like that. And um Sal, I know I know, you know, so again, somebody is looking for funeral services as part of their planning, right? You know, estate planning and things like that. Correct. You it's recommended I do pre-planning, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Is that correct, yes. We uh participate in uh uh a plan with the New York State Funeral Directors Association called the New York State Pre-Plan, where people could uh pre prepay their funerals now um and it's guaranteed not to cost the family any more money as long as it's uh fully funded at the time. And and and how do they they call it they can call me. Um my my phone number is six three one five exity. Once again, six three one five exic. And uh I can be reached at that number for uh all three locations, which is Riverhead, Middle Island, and uh Deer Park as well.

SPEAKER_03 27:19

Yeah, and I think so it's it's you know, people have to, you know, I know it's very tough for people to, you know, uh have those conversations with their family, but it's important that they need to do that. Correct, it is.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

It's uh it's important that you're not leaving the burden uh to your your your children or your grandchildren, um and or cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews. Uh it's it's uh it is it's it is a very important tool that uh New York State allows uh families to do and prepay their funerals ahead of time.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Aaron Powell And I have just a quick question. I know this came up once, um, but in terms of the uh veterans ceremony uh cemeteries, yes. Um are those how does that work in terms of being able to utilize that, family utilize that?

SPEAKER_02 27:58

So if someone is an honorably discharged veteran, uh they'd be able to be eligible to be buried in a national cemetery. Um the largest national cemetery in the area would be Calverton National Cemetery. Um the veteran uh be a space um reserved for the veteran and their spouse and any dependent children they might have. Um the veterans DD 214, which is a discharge paper, that would be um basically like their cemetery deed. Uh there we would have to submit to the uh National Cemetery Scheduling Office um a copy of their discharge papers, and uh then they would be able to uh, you know, they'd be entitled to a grave there. And is the how is the cost compared to an uh there's no cost uh for a veteran and their spouse and or dependent children um to be buried in a national cemetery. The grave is for free. Um actually not for free, but the it's it's it's a benefit of being a uh honorably discharged veteran. Uh the grave is no charge to the family, the uh opening, uh the liner, the stone. Um off the top of my head, I'd probably say that's probably uh anywhere between a seven and ten thousand dollar savings for the families utilizing uh a veteran cemetery.

SPEAKER_03 29:11

Great information. Thank you. Uh Councilman Legurcia, we're uh wrapping up. Uh, any final words that you want to leave us with?

SPEAKER_01 29:20

I just want to say thank you to you and and your council district and and your entire town board for everything that you do, and we appreciate that as your neighbor.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

Babylon and Brookhaven together. Um Sal, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 29:32

Thank you for joining us. Tremendous job. Thank you for everything you do for the local community. You as well. We appreciate it. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.