It’s been 20 years of the Bayport Civic Association serving the community and making good on their motto to “Get Involved.”

The civic association held their 20th anniversary installation dinner on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Stella Trattoria & Bar, in Blue Point. Members of the association were sworn in by the Hon. Mary Kate Mullins; about 100 people attended.

Since 2003, the members have been fulfilling their mission statement of maintaining and improving the quality of life for residents and undertaking projects for the general welfare of the people of Bayport. Bob Draffin, a lifelong Bayport resident, has served as the president of the civic for all 20 years.

Hard at work for the past 20 years, the civic and its hundreds of members have achieved State Landmark and National Registry status to preserve the Aerodrome, fought against and stopped construction of a 12-story cell tower at Camp Edey, and created the Bayport Civic Plaza, beautifying Montauk Highway.

The civic has also coordinated a communitywide response to STOP the QuickChek proposal, culminating with a unanimous vote against it in Town Hall; worked with the Bayport Adult Home—once a proposed homeless shelter—to have it rezoned as professional office space; and stopped a proposed 74-unit assisted living complex on environmentally sensitive land around San Souci Lake. The group can also be credited for preventing the Lowe’s megastore construction on Church Street due to major traffic, ecological and economic concerns; and for working with developers to compromise on a plan for over 30 apartments on McConnell Avenue. Instead, they built affordable housing on Church Street, on a site slated for a box-store shopping center.

Adding to their already impressive resume, the civic has also coordinated with other local civics to keep Bayport’s concerns on the front burner by initiating the Sunrise Highway Corridor Study. They also achieved finalization of the Bayport Hamlet Study that, according to Draffin, will serve as the blueprint for the future of Bayport for decades to come.

Additionally, the civic has sponsored the construction of a mom-and-pop Bayport boat business on a blighted property and the expansion of the Fish Store to include a family restaurant. They have also hosted well over 200 important political and community leaders to address the citizens of Bayport monthly in an open setting, as well as their annual Meet the Candidate nights prior to each Election Day.

For the last 19 years, the civic also hosts their annual Turkey Give-Away and Adopt-a-Family charities, giving out over eight tons of turkeys and countless children’s presents. For the past 18 years, the civic awards $25,000 in scholarships to graduating Bayport-Blue Point senior students as well as Civic Pride Award, which they give out annually for outstanding local civic contributions.

The Junior Civic Association was also created to help get young people involved in their community. The junior civic has helped in numerous activities, including homeless student school supply drives, veterans’ home visits, carwash fundraisers, and community cleanups.