Meet Brookhaven Town Councilman Neil Foley

Whether it comes to his job as deputy supervisor of the Town of Brookhaven, councilman for the 5th district or maintaining a work/life balance as a husband and father of four, Neil Foley says it all starts with listening.

“You have to listen, really listen to what the other person is saying,” says Foley, who has been in public office for 13 years. “This is true whether you’re talking about your work-life balance or listening to residents. They need to know you’re really listening.”

Foley, who also is chief executive of government affairs with the New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, wears a lot of hats as No. 2 in the Town of Brookhaven.

“We’re not just a town, we’re a functioning city,” Foley explains. The 5th Council District encompasses towns on the mainland, and also all of Brookhaven Fire Island, which stretches from Seaview to the border of Westhampton. “We encompass various religions, ages, economic levels. We also purchase more land for preservation than any town on Long Island. And, our population is about the size of the city of Atlanta.”

Even so, Foley prides himself on he and his staff answering the phone and emails in a matter of minutes. He even makes visits to residents who have questions and concerns.

“I may make a visit on a Sunday morning or evenings,” Foley says with a laugh. “Yes, people are surprised when I show up. Nine times out of ten, they never expect it.”

Doing the unexpected is common for Foley, who was appointed in 2024 by Supervisor Dan Panico, with whom he sat next to at council meetings for 10 years. “When you work really hard, you hope for the opportunity to be promoted. I educated myself on every issue. I never forget that I work for the taxpayer.”

He says that doing that work requires that he learn to work with all walks of life, all kinds of people and all levels of government, federal, state and county.

“We are the first line for our residents,” adds Foley, whose council district encompasses Blue Point; Holtsville; Farmingville; Ronkonkoma; parts Lake Ronkonkoma, Holbrook and Medford; North Patchogue; Patchogue; East Patchogue; Davis Park; and Fire Island. “This is a seven-day-a-week job. I take pride in what I and my staff do.”

One area that is of paramount importance to Foley is development, because it is one aspect of government that touches all residents.

“Economic development has to fit into our vision for the Town of Brookhaven,” Foley explains. “The Town of Brookhaven of 25 years ago is not the Brookhaven of today. We are very diverse and with different focuses. When you think about development and housing, it has to be affordable.”

Another focus is to deal with zombie homes, those that are unlived in and unlivable. He says there are hundreds across the Town of Brookhaven, and taking a zombie home down can raise the property value of the surrounding homes up to 20 percent.

They also have taken old commercial properties and renovated them into parks and preserves. Brookhaven has added 15 parks in the past 12 years, another way the administration worked to improve the lives of residents.

Part of his job is also to explain things to residents. One such subject is Fire Island, which many focus on for its beauty and forget it also is a barrier island. Situated parallel to the coast, a barrier island is able to act as a blockade, protecting the mainland from the full intensity of hurricanes and other storms such as Superstorm Sandy.

“If not for Fire Island, we could have had Superstorm Sandy surge all the way up to Sunrise Highway,” explains Foley of the importance of fortifying Fire Island and viewing it as more than a tourist attraction. “Those barrier islands are the first line of defense of any coastal community. It is part of my job to explain this and other issues to residents in a clear, respectful way.”

That need to help and be respectful also is how he maintains that work/life balance, which includes time with wife Karen, and their four children, twins Neil and Grace Ann, 22; 19-year-old Ryan; and Cole, 16 years old.

“People ask me all the time about running for office and what advice I have,” Foley says. “I tell them that the most important thing is to listen to everyone. When I started, I wanted to march in every parade and attend every meeting, which I did. I began to see the time I was missing with my wife and children, the things I was missing. You can’t make all the parades, all the events. I realized that time flies and you don’t want to miss those moments with your family. There is no school you can go to be a councilman. I don’t know all the answers, but I know that getting those answers and solving those problems begins with listening.”

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.