Take a look at these pictures of our "quaint" downtown. These are pictures of downtown Smithtown that were taken recently courtesy of CEG. Frankly, we find arguments that the downtown is quaint and that its not in need of improvement insulting. Looking at these pictures, it is obvious: downtown Smithtown need improvement and is in dire need of a facelift. Smithtown has all the pieces to have a prosperous downtown. It boasts unparalleled natural resources, blocks of prime retail and dining space and a train station located in the heart of the downtown. Even with these pieces, prosperity hasn't happened. If Smithtown has all the pieces to be successful and prosper, why isn’t it successful? The answer is failed leadership. We have the pieces, but we lack the leaders to make our downtown successful and prosperous. The fact is that if Supervisor Vecchio were a football coach, he would have been fired by now. Our performance is lacking and other towns are surpassing us, but for some reason, we continue to tolerate this mediocrity. Why do we continue to tolerate mediocrity when we have the pieces to make our downtowns the best on Long Island?
And please don't tell us that the state of the world economy has been detrimental to Smithtown. While certainly the downturn in the economy has its detrimental effects, the fact remains that many other Long Island downtowns have been resurrected during this time. Just go visit Babylon, Islip, Patchogue and Farmingdale. These places are alive, vibrant and fun. The resurrections of these downtowns have all happened in the recent past. It can happen here, it should happen here, but it will only happen here until we elect leaders who want to make it happen. The current system just isn't working. We must hold our government leaders accountable and tell them we will not tolerate mediocrity.
