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Community Corner

Faces of Three Village: Ed Forrester, Civic Activist

Ed Forrester of Setauket is involved in multiple parts of his community.

If you’re involved in your community, Ed Forrester is one name you’ve probably heard around town.

A Three Village resident for 17 years, Forrester lives in Setauket with his wife, Christine, and their two children, Kira, 16, and Ryan, 14. A retired police officer, Forrester left the New York City police department in 2005 after 20 years of service. Aside from attending Town Board hearings and many other organizations' meetings, in his spare time Forrester enjoys keeping up with local politics.

Patch: In what ways are you involved in the community?
EF:
I am the former president and current treasurer of the South Setauket Park Civic Association. I am the Recording Secretary of the Setauket Stony Brook Republican club, Director of the Civic Association of the Setaukets and Stony Brook, and Republican Committee member for Election District 95 (Setauket). From 2009 to 2010 I was the Commissioner of the Setauket Fire District. As Commissioner, I was fortunate to participate in the 100-year anniversary of the fire department and to work with the very dedicated and hard working members of the department. I also volunteer as an usher each Sunday at 12:00 p.m. mass and along with my wife facilitate a Baptismal class for new parents at St. Margaret of Scotland Church.

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Patch: How did you get involved in your community?
EF:
I became involved in my community after purchasing our home in 1994. The Civic at that time was really non-existent and a neighbor, Mr. Cooper, brought a group of us together and we worked hard in conjunction with the town and other local officials to bring life back to the Civic Association.

Community involvement was instilled in me by my dad growing up and now as a parent I'm encouraging my kids to do the same. My daughter Kira is currently involved in many school organizations and is training to become a firefighter. She is a member of the Stony Brook Juniors. My son Ryan will be joining the Police Cadets or Fire Department in the near future.

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Patch: What makes you give back to your community/be so involved?
EF:
One thing I like about the Three Village area is its diversity and that there are a ton of different organizations that volunteer in this community. It’s nice to see and I enjoy giving back and being involved. It’s rewarding to help out with different issues that affect the neighborhood.

Patch: What are people talking about at these meetings?
EF: A lot of the complaints that we receive is traffic issues. A lot of people are concerned with the traffic. In every area you find that they all complain about the traffic. Everybody believes it's someone else coming through the neighborhood.

Patch: Why go to all these meetings? What do you learn?
EF:
I try to get out there and get the pulse of what's happening. Once it's done, you can't have a say good or bad, but if you know if in the infant stages that they're building something on this piece of property, then you can at least have a say in the beginning.

Patch: What are some of the things you have done in the Three Village community?
EF:
We did a community clean up of the Stony Brook Train Station and we worked to help residents with any problems that they have and act as an intermediate with local government for them. We were also successful in obtaining grant money to help create new parks in our area. With the help of Legislator Vivian Viloria Fisher we installed benches for our residents who walk and jog to have a place to take a break. Working with Town Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, we purchased a Gazebo, which has become the focal point of the community.

We just hosted a Meet the Candidate night on Monday at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library that afforded the local residents to meet some of the people that are running to represent them.

My wife Christine also volunteers her time. On Thursday evenings she assists at a local church where local underprivileged residents come for a hot meal. She is also traveling on a mission trip to Alabama with my daughter in February to help build a house for a family in need.

Patch: What do you like/dislike about living in Three Village?
EF:
The thing I like most about three village is the excellent school system and the myriad of organizations all working towards the same goal; to make the Three Village community the best place to reside. It is hard to find a down side to the area with its beaches, parks, fine restaurants and many historic sites. 

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