‘You cannot step into the same river twice. ’
As we head into Spring, I think of it as the ultimate comeback season. Green sprouts climb out from the dead earth. The Mets and Yankees head to spring training.
I’ve always been drawn to comeback stories. There’s something about them—the chance for redemption, the opportunity for a fresh start. If you had a chance to do it all over again, or rather, one piece of your career—would you? Could you? What would that look like? If you could step into a previously held position with the wisdom you’ve acquired thus far, with more knowledge or maybe a healthy dose of cynicism, what would you change? How would you approach it? Alas we know, nothing really stays the same. As the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once advised, “You cannot step into the same river twice.”
In this issue of Road Warriors, we highlight some folks who have had the opportunity to make comebacks. Our cover story focuses on the illustrious Charlie Bartha, known throughout Suffolk County and the engineering world. Charlie returns to the office of Suffolk County Commissioner of the Department of Public Works.
We continue along a similar theme in “Comeback Kids!” featuring Long Island elected officials who have returned to office, including Steve Englebright, Jack Martins, Dean Murray and Tom Suozzi. We also hear from James Golden and Howard Mills, who discuss a Pavement Management Program in Hempstead that may act as a pilot for more of Long Island. Former State Senator Chuck Fuschillo weighs in on his post political office life’s calling as the President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. This issue also highlights an event we held over the winter in conjunction with our sister organizations in NYC and Hudson Valley with our labor partners. Finally, LICA’s own Executive Director Marc Herbst talks about SHIPs and how they just might save Long Island’s troubled roadways.
It’s a meaty issue. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in. If you’d like to drop a line with any suggestions (or praise!), drop me a line at jfranchi@licanys.org.
As always, we thank you for the work you do to keep Long Island running. We look forward to the kickoff of the spring letting season and urge everyone to stay safe out there.
Thank you,
Jaime