Long-planned James D. Conte Community Center in Huntington Station gets a state funding boost

The proposed James D. Conte Community Center in Huntington Station, in the planning stages for a decade, got a huge boost toward becoming a reality Friday when $13.5 million in state funding was announced for it.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has committed $7.5 million from her 2027 capital budget for the project, her secretary Karen Persichilli Keogh announced at a news conference in Huntington Station, while $6  million will come from funding available to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) for community support.

Conceptual plans for the community center — to be built next to the armory building on East Fifth Street and named for Conte, the late assemblyman who served the hamlet for 24 years — also were unveiled. The armory building is used as a town storage facility and that use will continue, town officials said. 

  Assemb. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills), whose district includes the armory, said the money is game-changing.

“This  is about much more than a building,” Stern said. “It’s about bringing community together; it’s about creating much of the magic that doesn’t just reflect how we care deeply about our town but what makes us  proud to be Huntingtonians.”

The plan is to construct a prefabricated building and connect it by a breezeway to another building that's on Manor Field Park property. The existing building was most recently used as a food pantry and is now empty. 

In the works for years

The community center has been in planning stages for years. In 2024, estimates for it came in at about $14 million. At the time, the town had earmarked about $8.5 million for the project, Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said.

On Friday, Smyth said the town has about $6 million to go toward the center.

He said the town will move forward with some “soft” items such as site planning and preparation as it moves toward putting the project out to bid. 

“This will be great for the community,” Smyth said.

In May 2013, the state conveyed the armory to the town, with the purpose of transforming it into a community center, Newsday previously reported. The building has had extensive environmental remediation and renovation work done to remove asbestos, lead and mold.

But full renovation plans slowed over money, the COVID-19 pandemic, and then the skyrocketing cost of construction following the pandemic. In 2023, the town announced plans to build the prefabricated building next to the armory instead of further renovating it, as a cost saving measure. 

'It's Dad's legacy'

Conte, a Republican, was elected to the Assembly in 1988 to represent Huntington Station and rose to become minority leader pro tem, the party’s second-ranking post. He died Oct. 16, 2012, of lymphoma at age 53. Getting the armory transferred to the town to be used as a community center was one of his top priorities.

Joining a host of elected officials Friday were Conte's wife, Debbie; and Jeffrey and Samantha Conte, two of the couple's three children.

Samantha said it was fitting the announcement about the funding was made on the 14th anniversary of her father's death. 

"It feels good on the anniversary of his passing for him to be remembered," she said. "It's Dad's legacy; this is was the last thing I remember him doing: getting the armory transferred from the state for a dollar for a community center."