Community Activist Alissa Sue Taff, 68, Dies

Alissa Sue Taff, 68, the well-known community activist and fierce advocate for  Melville and Dix Hills, died Wednesday. She had been battling cancer.

On Aug. 6, the Town Board renamed Sweet Hollow Park as Alissa Sue Taff Sweet Hollow Park. She was a key figure in creating the space.

“A big bright light has gone out in Huntington,” said one person knowledgeable about her contributions.

A service is set for noon Friday at Guttermans Funeral Home, with shiva Saturday 6-9 p.m., and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at her home.

She leaves her husband, her husband, Dr. Ross Taff, and daughter, Tara Levy, both of whom spoke before the Town Board when the park’s renaming was under discussion.

Taff was a past president of the Half Hollow Hills Board of Education, serving on the board for two years, and helped save Sunquam Elementary school from closing. The school district later renamed the library there for her. She served as president of the Civic Association of Sweet Hollow

She was a major player in the complex land swap that led to the establishment of the park, the building of the Hindu Temple and the space for The Club at Melville.

She also had been a director of the non-profit group Friends of Oheka and served on the town’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee.

The Town Board resolution sponsored by Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and unanimously approved by the board acknowledged Taff’s “tireless contributions to the quality of life” for Huntington residents.

 

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