village life

Something to Laugh About

JMurphy — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:57:50 +0000

Last month I had a chance to enjoy the first Long Island Comedy Festival show in Huntington Village. The Oak Room at Meehan’s was transformed into a comedy nightclub with great success. I was LMAO at the first of what I hope will be many shows.

April’s sold-out show featured some of the nation’s top comic talent, including host Paul Anthony, producer of the Long Island Comedy Festival, along with Mick Thomas, Rob Falcone and Joey G. With all of the bad news that we are constantly bombarded with, it was a relief to sit in a room full of hysterically laughing people for a couple of hours.

I honestly can’t wait until their next show on May 29. Tickets are only $20, or only $5 per comedian if you include the host. That’s a bargain in any economy. May brings Chris Roach, Stevie GB and Maureen Langan. The show starts at 8:30, but if you plan to get there early, you can enjoy dinner at Meehan’s before the show.

https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8153645

time…

JMurphy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:00:58 +0000

When I started writing this blog, I had visions of sitting down at the end of each day to share a few thoughts about some of my encounters while doing business in Huntington. Somehow the time keeps getting away from me and now I find that it’s been a few months since I’ve posted anything. I think I’ll do a New Year’s resolution about dealing with procrastination…but that can wait a few weeks…

In the meantime, the real reason (excuse) that I haven’t been posting, is because I have been overwhelmed with work and life. I just finished up a few projects that had consumed me for the past few months, and it feels great to regroup and take a breather for a little while.

Since leaving the Village Connection magazine last June, I am just over a year into a two-year plan that involves dropping my part-time job and making my part-time marketing business into my full-time career. As someone who was a small business owner for several years, I have a soft spot for the owners who have become my clients because I know firsthand how much there is to do, how much is involved behind the scenes of owning your own business, how narrow the profit margin is and how valuable a good employee is. It’s been exciting developing these relationships and knowing that I can have a positive impact on someone’s business, even sometimes just acting as a sounding board and offering some words of advice from an outsiders perspective. So, anyway, that is my story of why my blog has been stagnant. I will try to be better about that because there are so many stories to share in Huntington…

On that note, I would like to give a shout out to the Townwide Fund of Huntington. One of the projects that has taken up the past several months of my life has been my first experience working on a committee for a gala fundraiser which finally took place at the Northport Theater last Thursday, November 19. The Townwide Fund has been around for just a little bit longer than I have (long time) and they raise funds and distribute them to over twenty local charities in the town of Huntington. This particular fundraiser was something different for them (NOT a golf outing), and it was a huge success. For the theater’s opening night performance of “Miracle on 34th Street”, we created a gala that had guests arriving on the red carpet – where they were photographed by the papparazzi – and moving on to enjoy a 2-hour cocktail reception. We had Tommy Sullivan playing the theater’s stunning Steinway piano. Tommy was one of the founding members of Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge and he is amazingly talented and entertaining. Intermission music was provided by Peter Mazzeo on guitar.

The cocktail hour was sponsored by local businesses that are all known for their generosity within their communities. Prime restaurant provided all of the food and even the servers to go with (thank you Michael Bohlsen), Brooklyn Brewery (thank you Mike Vitale) and Long Island Spirits (thank you Rich Stabile) generously supplied the beer and vodka and Family Discount Liquors in Kings Park (thank you Fred Amster), provided the beer.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the show and the Townwide Fund has decided to make their gala theater fundraiser into an annual event.

For my part, I was involved in every aspect of the planning from soliciting the sponsors (it’s all about the network), to doing all of the graphic work from the save the date postcard right through to the 28 page “Playbill” journal. I loved it, learned a lot and made some great new contacts.

Now, I am going to spend the month of December working on me and my business. My website is in progress and I’ll also be spending time working on my blog more and sharing some more stories. In the meantime, I still have that part-time job, and I really should have been in the shower 20 minutes ago….

american towns

JMurphy — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:29:47 +0000

I’ve been a fan of AmericanTowns.com for a while and have enjoyed watching so many local organizations and businesses sign up and get involved. When I visited the site today, I fell in love with their new look which resembles a bulletin board posted with all kinds of useful information about Huntington.

If you’re not familiar with AmericanTowns, the site is a virtual town square. Type in your zip code and you will be brought right into your own neighborhood where you will find an events calendar, news and announcments, blogs, pictures, videos and more. The thing that makes the site so great is that the members themselves add the info and the result is a community center filled with useful and informative information. Just today for example, you can find out about the Huntington Farmers Market, check the date of the next Town Board Meeting and find somewhere to see live music this weekend in the village.

Visit www.americantowns.com/ny/huntington to join the community.

you’re invited

JMurphy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:19:20 +0000

I just sent out an invitation for the one-year anniversary celebration of La Piele Skincare Studio and it made me think about how starting a business in this economy is surely a leap of faith. Every day as I drive into Huntington Village, I sadly notice the “for rent” signs popping up with alarming frequency. Because of my work in the village, I have become friends with many of the owners and I remember the excitement of their own beginnings as well as the stress of their struggles. There are many different reasons behind a decision to close, but each business takes its unique personality with it when it goes.

Celebrating a one-year anniversary in this climate is a milestone that anyone should be proud of. It’s hard to understand just what goes into starting and running your own business unless you’ve been there, but it definitely does take a certain kind of personality to see it through. La Piele’s owner, Michelle Kelly, is a perfect example of the type of person it takes to survive and thrive. Since meeting her I have been impressed with the non-stop energy that she generates, not just for her own business, but also for the many others that she reaches out to in an effort to build a foundation of strength in numbers.

If you want to witness cooperative marketing and networking in action, you should stop by the La Piele one-year anniversary party taking place at Mac’s Steakhouse, 12 Gerard Street in the village, next Tuesday, July 21 beginning at 6:30 pm. Local businesses have donated raffle prizes and money raised will be donated back to the community through the Junior Welfare League. Mac’s is providing free appetizers and bartenders Anna and Gina have created special “skinny” cocktails which are super low calorie and made with all natural ingredients. They also happen to be amazingly delicious, which I discovered while doing research for this blog post

E-mail me at JeanneM@live.com and I’ll send you an invitation. Whether you’re a business owner, resident, local politician, or just someone who loves the village, stop by and wish Michelle a happy anniversary while you mingle with some of the people who add the character to this community. – Jeanne

village connection weekly

JMurphy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:56:07 +0000

I had mixed feelings when I decided to leave my job as associate publisher of the Village Connection magazine last summer. There were parts of that job that I loved – mainly the freedom of creativity. With my brother as owner, we pretty much did whatever we felt like doing, and the result was a magazine that our readers and advertisers loved…..so, even though I left to pursue my own interests, I am still doing what I can to promote the magazine and help with the marketing efforts.

One of my recent contributions has been the creation of a weekly e-mail supplement to the mag. A lot of work goes into putting out a monthly magazine, but there are always last minute events and promotions that we just didn’t find out about in time. The second edition of Village Connection Weekly was sent this morning. We are already getting thanks and positive feedback about our new way of getting the word out about all of the great things going on in Huntington.

E-mail villageconnection@live.com to sign up for our mailing list or to share your own news with the Huntington community. – Jeanne

imac feedback

JMurphy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:41:23 +0000

There are so many differing opinions and thoughts about the closing of the IMAC Theater in Huntington Village. My recent involvement helping with PR for their last gala fundraiser has prompted e-mails sharing some of those thoughts with me. The following e-mail was sent to me by Michael Meehan, owner of Meehan’s Restaurant which is located directly across the street from the now empty theater. I share this with Michael’s permission…

Hey Jeanne, thanks for the mention. To be honest, re: the closing of the IMAC, not enough is being made of it. Our town “leaders” really dropped the ball on this one. Pat and I spent a couple of hours w/ Mike and Kathy Rothbard a few days before they closed up. It’s really a sad story. These two people really busted their ass to make that place work. Every business owner in town owes them a debt of gratitude. No other entity in town brought in as many people as did the IMAC. If you were to try and calculate the sales tax alone that the IMAC generated, it would be astounding! Think about it, customers purchase the tickets, anywhere from $30 to $50. Dinners before the show in any one of the many restaurants $35 to $100 depending on the restaurant. Drinks/refreshments in the theatre. And after the show drinks/ice cream/pizza/whatever…. The exposure of the record store, photo gallery, furniture stores, dress shops etc. etc. Mike and Kathy were a God send for Huntington. When Mike went to town hall for help, he was actually asked by Petrone, “what are you going to do for the town if we help you!” You’ve got to be kidding me! This guy was the heart of Huntington’s reputation as the cultural center of Long Island. We cannot make that claim anymore! If they can find $1 million to buy the “Coltrane House” and spend $7 million on an ice rink in Dix Hills, I’d bet there’s money available that would have been much better spent in the village. It’s a disgrace. Petrone has assembled a “task force” to try and find a new tenant. Good luck. The horse has already left the barn. – Mike

auto expo

JMurphy — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:33:31 +0000

Used car salesmen often have to deal with “trust” issues from the second a potential buyer first steps onto the lot. “Would you buy a used car from this man?” is a question that is used to suggest that the subject has less than honest intentions. That’s why I wanted to give a shout out and say thank you to Cliff and Julio over at Auto Expo on Jericho Tpke in Huntington. After buying a Jeep Grand Cherokee there recently, I found myself with a sunroof that was stuck in the open position just when we were hitting rain day number ??? (seriously, i lost track). If you passed a green Cherokee on the Northern State Parkway this morning and were wondering about the blue tarp that was blowing in the breeze, well, that was me driving to Huntington in the rain so that they could take a look at it as a courtesy, even though I knew that it would not be covered by warranty. I left it there for the day and was thrilled to go back at 4:30 to find out that it had been fixed and for NO CHARGE. Of course, I did the right thing and tipped the mechanic, but with the bad reputation that used car salesmen have to endure, I just wanted to say that there are some honest business people who care about doing the right thing and preserving their reputation. So, if you find yourself in the market for a used car, check out auto expo and give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes people can surprise you.

closed!

toast

JMurphy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:17:38 +0000

Michelle Kelly of La Piele Skincare Studio invited me to attend a meeting of the Huntington Referral Network this morning. They meet at 7 am for breakfast at Toast in Huntington Village. Considering that I need 1/2 hour drive time, it was just a little bit early, but I figured I would give it a try. A group of about 16 arrived and ordered breakfast while they caught up with each other and waited for the meeting to start. They then went around the table and each member talked about the business of the member to their right. I thought it was a great idea. Networking events can be very self serving and it was immediately clear that this group took time to get to know about each member. They also talked about their recent fundraising event which raised several thousand dollars for Island Harvest, whose mission it is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island. You can find out more about the organization at www.islandharvest.org.

It was obvious that the members had become friends as easy laughs were shared throughout the meeting. It was nice to see some familiar faces and also to meet a few new people when everyone broke off into casual conversation after the meeting. I had a nice conversation with Alex Borg, who, it turns out, has recently started writing for my brother’s magazine, The Village Connection. All in all it was a nice group of people and I even made a few possible business contacts. I guess I’ll attend another meeting before I decide if I want to commit to 7am EVERY Tuesday…

behind the headlines

JMurphy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:51:21 +0000

The recent closing of Huntington’s IMAC Theater is what prompted me to start this blog. Not the closing exactly, but one of the behind-the-scenes stories leading up to the closing that most people would never hear about. To most people who first read the story on Newsday’s website on June 16, or who picked up a copy of the paper the next day, it was just another sad news story about the impact of the lack of funding for the arts in our current economy. It’s not like everyone on Long Island even knew what the IMAC Theater was. On more than one occasion I’ve heard people confuse it with the IMAX, especially in the under-30 age group. But apparently there was a large enough group of fans that the theater had been voted “Best Concert Venue on Long Island” for two consecutive years in the Long Island Press “Best of Long Island” readers poll.

The impact close to home was pretty sad. I had the experience of getting on board to help promote a fundraiser which took place at the end of March. Minutes after hitting SEND on an e-mail press release, I started getting replies. From raffle donations to press coverage, people wanted to help – even when some of their own businesses were being negatively impacted by similar circumstances.

One story in particular that stands out involved Meehan’s restaurant, located directly across the street from the theater. I had mailed a promotional brochure with an announcement about the fundraiser and the fact that so many local restaurants were going to be on hand serving donated food. Meehan’s was not one of the restaurants that was involved, so when I heard a voicemail from Pat Meehan asking me to call back with details about the event, I have to admit that I was honestly expecting a problem. I assumed that they were going to be upset that they hadn’t been contacted or included and maybe complain about this gala event taking place across the street with food from all of these other restaurants…..Well, I am embarrassed to say that I could not have been more wrong. Pat Meehan was calling to offer one of his catering rooms for the night of the event, helping the IMAC manage the overflow crowd that had purchased tickets.

Chris Vlahos of La Bonne Quiche, who seems to be at every fundraiser in Huntington Village, took over when all of the loose ends of planning the event seemed to be out of control. Nobody would have known that he was dealing with stress in his own business at the same time as he was donating his time and money to try to save another. In the end it was a sell out crowd, but sadly it wasn’t enough to save the IMAC from closing.

There are so many more stories like this that I see every day in Huntington Village. Business owners who are there time after time at every event and every fundraiser to support local charities and other businesses as well. I am lucky enough to know many of these local business owners and I hope to use this space to share some of their “behind the headlines” stories.

IMAC Theater, New York Avenue, Huntington