Long Island Cares To Debut Bust Of Harry Chapin

HAUPPAUGE, NY — The Harry Chapin Food Bank is set to unveil a "larger-than-life" bronze bust of its namesake, Long Island Cares announced.

A bust of the late Harry Chapin, a prominent advocate for a hunger-free Long Island and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, is set to be unveiled at 11 a.m. July 15 at Long Island Cares, at 10 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, as part of the “Harry Chapin Legacy Celebration.”

The bronze piece – named “Story of a Life” after the Chapin song - was created by
an internationally-acclaimed sculptor and a former Huntington Bay neighbor of Chapin's, Susan Bahary.

Sandy Chapin and members of the Chapin family, along with Bahary, are set to attend. The public is invited to join.

Long Island Cares has also created a commemorative brick-lined Chapin Legacy Walkway to celebrate Chapin’s 80th birth year and 50th anniversary of his million-selling single, “Taxi.”

“We are honoring the legacy of Harry Chapin and his vision for a hunger-free Long Island,” said
Katherine M. Fritz, chief development and communications officer at Long Island Cares, via news release. “At the same time, we’re excited to have given our donors the opportunity to be recognized for their commitment to walking in Harry’s footsteps by helping their fellow Long Islanders.”

Fritz wasn’t aware of the connection between Chapin and Bahary when she approached Bahary last year about creating the Chapin bust. Fritz was familiar with Bahary’s work from a commission to create a monument of Sully, former president George H.W. Bush’s service dog.

While discussing the Chapin bust, Fritz learned about the relationship between Bahary and Chapin, once neighbors in Huntington Bay. Bahary, early in her art endeavors at Huntington High School in the early ‘70s, says Chapin encouraged her to pursue her artistic passion – which at the time did not include sculpture.

“Newsday named Harry Chapin one of the most important Long Islanders of the 20th Century following his untimely death in 1981,” said Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares. “His many contributions to the Long Island region have been recognized, such as the naming of the Chapin Rainbow Stage in Heckscher Park in Huntington and the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. We’re extremely excited about Susan Bahary’s artwork to celebrate Harry’s work in the fight to end hunger in our region.”