I have lived on Long Island my entire life and I have been a small business owner in Huntington since 1988. I and my wife, Maureen Moloughney have lived in Centerport since 2011. Prior to that, we lived in Cold Spring Harbor for 27 years. We have two wonderful grown daughters and two even more wonderful grandchildren. Shortly after we moved into Centerport, our home suffered extensive flooding damage in Hurricane Irene. We spent several years elevating the house and rebuilding.
My first career was in youth services. I worked at the grassroots level in Levittown (where I grew up), Wantagh and finally Half Hollow Hills. I was an outreach drug counselor, and then ran the Huntington Youth Bureau project that served that community. I developed comprehensive programs addressing, child abuse, drug abuse and any other issue that affected the youth of that community.
In 1980, I entered law school at Hofstra and graduated in two and a half years. After a federal court clerkship, I went into private practice. I have had my own firm since 1988. I have primarily practiced bankruptcy law since then. It is a practice that has uniquely qualified me for this race.
Bankruptcy attorneys are economic social workers. We do triage on the victims of economic upheavals. We solve problems on both a personal and business level. For example, I had the privilege of representing the New York State Nurses Association for 27 years in almost every single hospital bankruptcy in New York State, including St. John’s (now St. Catherine’s), Mid-Island, Flushing , Interfaith and St. Vincent’s hospitals. From that experience I have a deep seated knowledge of most of the issues facing healthcare in this state, and what to do about them. I also understand the politics involved in these issues. I have successfully fought both Democratic and Republican administrations on behalf of my clients. I have helped save manufacturing, retail and service businesses on Long Island. I understand the issues they are facing and how government can either help or hinder their survival. I have worked with individuals who have faced economic hardship from everything from the devastation of the 2008 recession; to addiction; to health costs and to being victims of Ponzi schemes. I was the Creditor Trustee of Flushing Hospital after it exited bankruptcy and was in charge of mediating over $140,000,000.00 in medical malpractice claims, for which there was no insurance. I understand tort reform better than most and its impact on the health system.
In 1996, I was tapped (again at the last minute!) to run against the late James Conte in the 10th Assembly District. With no funds and a lot less experience than I now have, I ran a very competitive race. I received the Newsday endorsement and did well in the debates. Now, after a successful career, I am anxious to return to public service.
In 2002, I was appointed to the Huntington Planning Board and served there for nine years. I was an extremely active member of that Board and pushed hard for more responsible development and to protect our fragile environment. I believe I earned a reputation as being fiercely independent and vigilant. I voted against the initial zone change for the Mediavilla Property in 2002 and fought for the changes in the Town Code putting restrictions on operations like 7-11. I recently opposed the pending application for the 7-11 in Centerport.
I have served as a volunteer on the Huntington Youth Board, The Sanctuary Advisory Board, The Eagle Dock Beach Foundation and helped form the LI Dog organization, which has advocated for dog parks throughout Long Island.