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V.S. trustee lays out agenda at public forum

4 projects on the docket for 2015

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Trustee Vincent Grasso held on Saturday the first of six town hall-style meetings designed to outline four major initiatives he is hoping to begin during in the next year.

One person, Alan Bauman, of Valley Stream, showed up for the 9 a.m. meeting, which Grasso said was no huge surprise due to the morning time slot. He said he expects higher attendance at the remaining forums.

Most of his plans will not require any legislation to take effect, and are focused on connecting residents to empower them to tackle some of the problems in the village, according to Grasso. He said he designed the meetings so that residents would be more aware of what their representatives are doing — whether that involves passing laws or not.

“One of the complaints that I’ve heard from residents is that they would like to see us get more input from the community, so they know what we’re planning on doing in the village and so they can have their voices heard on those ideas, and they’re right,” Grasso said. “That’s the way a local government should run. So I want to have these meetings over the course of three months as I start to look closer at these ideas and how to implement them, that way the community will be able to keep up to date as the projects progress, and I can get their input and feedback as well.”

Food forest

The first initiative Grasso explained was his plan to add a “permaculture food forest” to the southwest corner of Edward W. Cahill Memorial Park.

Under the plan, a quarter-acre portion of the park would be home to various plantings designed to grow cohesively and in a sustainable manner, which would help protect against flooding.

“We would not just be planting things randomly,” Grasso explained. “We would build it as a system of plants that work with each other.”

At each end of the food forest would be large food-producing trees, such as almond or apple trees. In between them would be other fruit-producing plants, like blueberry bushes, along with herbs designed to naturally fertilize the soil, repel pests and insects, and hold water better than the existing vegetation.

“This soil will be better fertilized — and naturally done so — and stronger, so it will retain the water and use it to feed the plants that are there,” Grasso said. “It would stop runoff water from flowing into the pond and causing more of a flood than there otherwise would be.”

The plants would be introduced over the course of three years, with fruit production expected in the first year, according to Grasso. He said the fruit would be donated to local food pantires.

What’s wrong with chickens?

Next up was the most controversial proposal, the so-called “chicken-law.” According to Grasso, the village code currently allows for the keeping of small livestock, like chicken or goats, at residents’ homes if a permit is granted, but most applications are summarily rejected.

Under Grasso’s proposed plan, the code would be rewritten with new, stricter regulations regarding the conditions the animals must be kept in, and a pilot program would be established to test the success of small livestock in the village.

Bauman said he was unsure about the proposal.

“I have a lot of concerns about that one,” he said. “I would worry about the conditions the animals would be living in, how many would be allowed to live in a small lot, and how the smell and noise would affect neighbors.”

Grasso said he is aware his idea might meet plenty of skepticism, but said he believes it can be done in a reasonable way.

“I know it sounds strange, but more and more people are looking to use chickens on their small farms or gardens,” he said. “They have chickens in Brooklyn, Queens, Islip, Huntington, so it would not be unheard of for Valley Stream to really allow chickens. There would have to be a lot of regulations on exactly which animals are allowed, how many — things like that. We’d look at other municipalities and see what has and hasn’t worked for them, and there would be strict permit enforcement to make sure things were being kept according to the code.”

Coming together

Grasso’s final two initiatives both called on members of the community to use their resources and talents to make quality of life better for all village residents, no matter their station in life. One way to do that would be to have more locally driven public art projects.

“The Village of Valley Stream is a beautiful community, but there are a few areas that could use some sprucing up,” he said. “I think the best way to do that is art projects in public spaces to help beautify some of our more drab or run down areas.”

Grasso said he would be open to different mediums, including landscaping, sculpture, murals, and even chalk art.

“I think the real key would be to get local people involved, local artists,” he said. “We live in such a beautiful and vibrant community already. If we could build on that from work from members of our own community, I think that would be even better. These would be things everyone could enjoy.”

Finally, Grasso said he wanted to help fight poverty and hunger in Valley Stream by starting a coalition of gardeners who would bring fresh produce to the Holy Name of Mary food pantry, which distributes food to local families and residents in need.

“I saw or heard someone say that a great way to help food pantries is to just plant an extra row in your garden, an extra row of whatever it is you’re growing — tomatoes, cucumbers, whatever it is — and donate that to the food pantry,” he said. “I thought it was a great idea and wanted to start doing it, but thought if we could do it with a big group, it would have an even bigger impact.”

Grasso said he has spoken with Holy Name of Mary parish, and they welcomed all such donations. He said he hoped to use the coming meetings to build a coalition of residents to help make sure the pantry is stocked with fresh food.

“Most of the donations food pantries get are non-perishable, canned items, which are great and certainly help,” he said. “What they don’t have is fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables.”

Trustee Vincent Grasso will hold five more town hall meetings before

beginning his 2015 initiatives. They will be held on:

Monday, April 20 at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 16 at 9 a.m.

Saturday June 13 at 9 a.m.

Tuesday, June 16 at 7 p.m.

All meetings will be held at the Community Center at Arthur J. Hendrickson Park.