In recognition of the completion of Phase 1 of the Glen Cove Connector Roadway, also known as the causeway, or bridge, that leads to the waterfront, Glen Cove Mayor Ralph V. Suozzi hosted a reception on July 27 to thank the elected officials who worked to help the city to get funding for the project, and the workforce who physically completed the job.

In welcome, Mayor Suozzi acknowledged elected officials in attendance: New York State Assemblyman Charles Lavine, Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi and Nassau County Legislator Diane Yatauro, "all of whom support Glen Cove on this and many other projects throughout our community," as well as City Councilwoman Joan Meehan and Councilmen Nick DiLeo, Tony Jimenez and Tim Tenke, also in attendance.

The mayor added, "New York State Senator Carl Marcellino, who was scheduled to be here but had a last minute change in plans, has been a great friend to the City of Glen Cove in so many ways and has been on board for a long time assisting the city in receiving New York State Marchiselli Funding, which is related to roads." The mayor also acknowledged support of the city's representatives and advocates on a federal level in Washington, D.C., including Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Hillary Clinton and Congressman Peter King.

Calling the project "a long road to [a] particular milestone along a still unfinished greater path to a revitalized Glen Cove Creek and its surrounding waterfront area," the mayor said, "We are here today to recognize the hard work of the men and women from the private sector who participated in this construction project, and also to thank the many elected officials including their staffs, and the many other government entities for their funding, their oversight, their planning and overall support for the greater multi-year effort which is so important to our community and our North Shore region."

The project began more than 10 years ago when then Mayor Tom Suozzi envisioned the causeway to replace a substandard and dangerous S-curved thoroughfare. "I personally and professionally thank him for his forethought, his hard work and his dedication, including the most important element, which as we all know is the money," said the mayor.

Other agencies the mayor thanked included the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation, Department of State, Department of Transportation, United States Army Corp of Engineers, and Nassau County personnel including Patrick Dugan, Patti Bourne, Rosemary Olsen and Ray Ribeiro, among others, as well as LIPA, KeySpan STV and A.L.A.C., Sidney Bowne, Eschbacher Engineering, Ihab Kuritam, Marco Maiorano and Land Tech Design and Harani Corporation for landscaping.

Mayor Suozzi continued, "I thank the residents and businesses along Herbhill Road and Garvies Point Road for their patience, our volunteer firefighters and EMS services and the Landing residents. It has been hard on many of us but especially for this portion of our community."

Lastly, the mayor thanked personnel from the City of Glen Cove and the CDA/IDA - Cara Longworth, Myralee Machol, Marilyn Brenner, Zefy Christopoulos and Kelly Morris. "Kelly has been such an important asset to this city on many projects but on this particular project she knows everyone and everything that has been going on. She has researched, communicated and followed up; she understands soil compaction, weirs, pavers, rip rap, landscaping, the turn radius of a 60-foot tractor trailer and bollards. Kelly has accumulated and leveraged so much knowledge about this project it is impossible to thank her enough."

County Executive Suozzi praised the mayor for keeping the project going when he came into office. "This beautiful causeway is not a road to nowhere, but the entrance road to the Glen Cove waterfront," he said. The county executive stressed the causeway's place in the overall scheme of the waterfront project, but said he realized not everyone would be aware of the amount of work, manpower, money and time that went into it. "If you spend $100 to paint the exterior of your house, everyone will see it and comment. But no one will say, 'That's a great plumbing job' after a $4,000 investment. This road is part of the city's infrastructure, as plumbing is to a home and it is very important for the development of the waterfront." The county executive recognized the new roadway on a regional level, stating that it is advantageous not only to Glen Cove, but to the entire North Shore environs.