Utricia Charles, Argo Civic Association President shares why she loves Elmont

Utricia Charles, a dedicated leader in the Elmont community, became president of the Argo Civic Association in 2023. She has lived in Elmont for the last 20 years.

With Elmont’s close proximity to New York City and its suburban feel, the town is hard not to love — but Charles recognizes Elmont for its people above its location.

Elmont is a community of spirited neighbors who care about each other and their local institutions, Charles feels.

“It is truly a melting pot of people working together to uphold our good standards and improve on the things that need improvement,” Charles said. “The residents of Elmont take really great pride in our town, and it is why you see, no matter what the demographic changes are, it maintains certain standards because people care.”

The “melting pot” that is Elmont is made of neighbors from many different cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds who work together to make the community the great place that it is.

As president of the Argo Civic Association, Charles works to get the answers that neighbors need from local elected officials and municipalities regarding day-to-day issues such as broken traffic lights, installing stop signs, unmaintained properties and more.

She also works to keep neighbors informed on pertinent local issues as the Civic serves as a confidential “liaison” and advocate for the community.

“People come to us for various reasons, quality of life issues, law enforcement issues — just about any concern you can imagine,” she said.

Keeping young people in the community engaged in constructive activities is an issue of concern for Charles. The Elmont community center that was promised by New York Arena Partners as part of the Belmont Redevelopment Project in 2017 is something that residents have yet to see come to fruition. Its absence is something that Charles feels is a detriment to the community, as young people lack a place to go during the colder months.

“It pains me to see young people, especially our young men, hanging out on the corner and having no indoor place to go during the winter,” Charles said. “With a community center, you could imagine it would be a place where they could engage in skills training, preparing a resume, learning the art of interviewing and having something like a rec space that you could utilize during the cold months.”

The Civic is working on organizing and fundraising money for two or three scholarships for students in the community. The scholarships will be given out sometime in 2025 and neighbors interested in contributing can donate at ArgoCivic.com.

Residents who are interested in joining the Argo Civic Association can visit ArgoCivic.com. Meetings are held on Zoom every second Monday of the month.