CSEA Town of Riverhead Highway Department workers are very proud of their recent honors.
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.
Tedesco
D’Amara
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.
CSEA Town of Riverhead Highway Department worker Jarrod Hayes uses the town workers’ award-winning washing station to clean a vehicle.
Hayes
The group was recently honored at Riverhead Town Hall for their achievements.
Dick
“There are times when we feel like our work is unseen,” said Riverhead Highway Department Worker Andrew Dick. “Being recognized 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.
Bennett
“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.
Nagy
“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 neighborhoods to be safe and well taken care of.”
— Wendi Bowie
