Orangetown Board Approves Naming of Al Foxy Way (VIDEO)

The Orangetown Town Board voted Thursday to approve the naming of a private road at 622 Route 303 in Blauvelt "Al Foxy Way" in honor of former Blauvelt Fire Department Chief Al Deflumere.

Deflumere died while attempting to save his 6-year-old son Matthew from a fire in the family home Oct. 26, 1996. He had already helped his wife, Cathy, and their other two sons to safety.

Deflumere owned and operated a restaurant called "Al Foxie's" near the road that will be named for him.

Member of the Blauvelt Fire Department and the Deflumere family attended Thursday's meeting.

"I thank you very much for bestowing this honor on my hero, Al," said Cathy Deflumere.

"A couple of their boys were the same age as my sons," Councilman Paul Valentine said. "It was heart wrenching. I am happy to be on the board to vote on this. I am very happy we named it Al Foxy Way."

Among other measures approved by the board:

• Approved the town's agreement with CANDLE for 2012 at a cost of $60,965.
• Approved a resolution to issue a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) for the property at 170 Route 303 in Orangeburg, the proposed location for the Orangeburg Commons project. This is one more step necessary for approval of the project, though the board did not vote on the revised special permit that the developer is requesting. The public hearing on the matter continued Thursday and will be part of the board's meeting March 7.
• Approved moving the workshop scheduled for Thursday March 8 to March 7. That workshop will also include a vote on at least one matter, the appointments to town land use boards.
• Approved the creation of a new maintenance supervisor in the Department of Environmental Management and Engineering with the understanding that the position would be filled by promoting somebody already working for the town.
• Approved the Town Of Orangetown Department of Recreation and Parks 2012 fee schedule, which had no significant changes from 2011.
• Submit Home Rule Request for state legislation that would allow the split of Blauvelt Free, Orangeburg, Palisades and Tappan Libraries, which were combined to form the Orangetown Public Library District 40 years ago. The legislation passed State Senate and Assembly in 2011, but was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  Efforts to split the four libraries have been going on since 2006.

The board removed resolution to authorize a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a food and beverage operation at the Orangetown Youth Soccer Complex in Orangeburg pending more information.