Page 14 - Work Force April 2025

Town workers honored for their efforts
RIVERHEAD — CSEA’s Town of Riverhead Highway Department is an intrinsic part of their community. With most members living and working in the town, the group has a personal attachment to their work, which has not gone unnoticed.
For their efforts, the Riverhead News Review has named the highway workers public servants of the year for 2024.
The members also placed third in the Cornell Locals Roads Program, which challenges highway workers in New York state to introduce
a creative idea that helps make highway work safer or more efficient.
Town of Riverhead Highway Department Superintendent Mike Zaleski, a former CSEA member, came up with the idea for a washing station for the town’s highway vehicles. Zaleski drew his idea on a napkin and turned it over to CSEA town highway workers to bring it to fruition.
Robert Tedesco and Neil D'Amara took the lead on the project. The duo used discarded telephone poles and other items in the Riverhead
yard, before asking the town to purchase other necessary items for the structure. Had an outside contractor been tasked with building the washing station, it would
cost taxpayers upwards of $20,000 to produce. Because of the expertise of CSEA members, the in-house project only cost taxpayers about $3,000.
The group was recently honored at Riverhead Town Hall for their achievements.
Tedesco
D'Amara
“There are times
when we feel like
our work is unseen,”
said Riverhead
Highway Department Worker Andrew Dick. “Being recognized Dick
CSEA Town of Riverhead Highway Department workers are very proud of their recent honors.
makes us feel appreciated for our contributions.”
Members often take part in community outreach events such
as “Touch a Truck.” The event is an opportunity local children to visit the highway department yard, where workers speak with children about the specifics of certain trucks and the tasks the trucks help perform.
“Mostly, we speak to the kids about how to be safe when they see town trucks in their neighborhoods,” said D'Amara. “There’s some pretty big equipment out on the roads, and we don’t want them to get too close to them when they’re in use.”
The workers teach the same lesson when they visit schools with Zaleski to speak to students about the importance of keeping themselves safe around town vehicles.
Building relationships with town residents While out in the field completing
their tasks, members interact with town residents, who approach the workers with questions about the
nature of their duties. “Speaking to
residents gives us
the chance to build a
rapport with people
in the community,”
said Town of
Riverhead Highway
Department worker
Ron Bennett. “That
relationship helps
them to be more understanding when we are using certain machines that may be louder than they would like, especially first thing in the morning.”
More than anything, CSEA town highway workers want the public to know how much pride they take in their work.
“We drive down
the same roads the
rest of the public
does,” said CSEA
Town of Riverhead
Highway Department worker Ken Nagy.
“We want our Nagy neighborhoods to be
safe and well taken care of.”
— Wendi Bowie
Bennett
14 The Work Force
April 2025
CSEA Town of Riverhead Highway Department worker Jarrod Hayes uses the town workers’ award-winning washing station to clean a vehicle.