Suffolk County Space Management Committee Meets April 15 in Smithtown

When Suffolk County's Space Management Steering Committee met last June, it fit comfortably in the Legislative Clerk's Upstairs Conference Room at 725 Veterans Memorial Highway in Smithtown. For April 15, county officials booked the Rose Caracappa Auditorium at the same address, a considerably larger venue that suggests the agenda may be anything but routine.

The committee, which operates under the joint authority of County Executive Edward P. Romaine's office and the Department of Public Works, will convene at 1:00 p.m. on April 15 to review how Suffolk uses, assigns, and disposes of its physical space portfolio. Under Suffolk County Code Article VIII, the Department of Public Works holds statutory responsibility to manage every facility the county owns, rents, or leases, giving the committee reach well beyond office buildings into roads, sewerage systems, waterways, bridges, docks, and marinas.

What the committee decides can ripple directly into daily life across Suffolk. If the county consolidates or closes service offices, residents could face longer drives to reach permit counters, social services windows, or health clinics. If it offloads underused properties or renegotiates leases, the savings could show up on the county's bottom line. The specific buildings or programs on the April 15 agenda, and any projected dollar figures, have not been publicly disclosed ahead of the session.

DPW Commissioner Charles J. Bartha, P.E., Deputy Commissioner Leslie A. Mitchel, and DPW official Michael J. Monaghan are listed alongside Romaine on the formal notice issued March 31. The co-sponsorship by the County Executive's office means any decisions carry executive-level policy weight, not just administrative housekeeping.

Geoffrey Mascaro, Esq., Director of Asset Management, serves as the designated public contact. Residents or organizations with a stake in county facilities can submit written statements to Mascaro in advance of the meeting.

The committee has maintained a roughly quarterly pace since at least May 2024, with confirmed sessions in May 2024, September 2024, April 2025, and June 2025. April 15 marks the first time the body has convened in the Rose Caracappa Auditorium rather than a standard conference room, a logistical choice that typically signals either a larger-than-usual expected audience or a more consequential set of decisions on the table.

The meeting is open to the public at 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Smithtown, at 1:00 p.m. Anyone seeking details on specific agenda items or wishing to submit comments beforehand can contact the Department of Public Works' Asset Management office or visit the county's dedicated Space Management page through the Suffolk County DPW website.