Tackling community wrongs, he started a magazine

You’ve got to love a guy described as “a firecracker.”

That’s what Legis. Jim Mazzarella said of Robert Kelly, president of the Waterways Civic Association in Moriches. Mazzarella has named him the 2024 Senior Citizen of Distinction.

“We visit all the civics, and he immediately called me when I came into office,” Mazzarella said. “He’s really on top of that civic because sometimes there’s 100 residents in the room. He’s always organizing committees and celebrates all the holidays. He’s one of the guys behind the scenes.”

Kelly is modest. “When I found out about the nomination, I didn’t want it, but I accepted out of respect for Jim and Ed Romaine,” he said.

Nevertheless, at 81, Kelly exudes the energy and devotion to his Waterways community that’s an inspiration for others to get involved, wherever they reside.

(That’s how we coaxed him for the interview.)

Kelly got his teaching degree at St. John’s University, taught social studies for 35 years, and raised two sons when he moved from Brentwood to The Waterways with his wife, Cathy, in 1987.

“In the spring of 1988, we got a message from the managing agent. They were looking to start a newsletter. My wife called them and gave them my name and in April ‘88, we published our first issue, a three-page mimeographed sheet,” he said. (Kelly and his wife are quite the team and raised two great sons.)

It would evolve into Lifestyle Magazine, 40 pages with 35 ads a month that pays for the publication. It’s independent from condo management now, and that’s because during Phase 1 with 100 condos units (it now has 346 units), problems began arising, like sloppy landscaping and construction issues that Kelly wrote about. Management wanted to critique the newsletter before publication.

Kelly said, “uh, uh.” The magazine became an independent entity within one year.

In July 1988, Kelly wrote an editorial about the issues and suggested that the community gather in the clubhouse to discuss any actions that might help. “We formed Waterways Civic Association Inc. that same year and began to challenge the sponsor,” he said.

“I called the meeting, they formed a committee. I was also determined to be a watchdog (he’s been president for 10 years); the civic also became the watchdog for the community and was designed to deal with the sponsor.

“There are two paid employees, Minute Man Press and the other is the computer graphics guy. Everyone else are volunteers,” he said of Lifestyle Magazine. 

Bankruptcy eventually took place; the land went into auction and was sold to another developer. There was a breach of contract lawsuit by the homeowner’s association with the second developer.

“The magazine went after them,” he said. “The plan was for 150 three-story apartments; he built 118 units and then there was a plan for 150 more—then he sold the land.”

Kelly credits the Town of Brookhaven, then-supervisor Ed Romaine (now county executive) and then-councilman Dan Panico (now town supervisor), current councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig and Suffolk County Legis. James Mazzarella with helping to solve their dilemma.

“We’re working with a new sponsor,” Kelly said. “The civic and magazine are working on an outcome of the remaining land.”

Kelly said the civic has been working hard to resolve the remaining parcels. “Once that’s done, we’ll take a traditional civic association role,” he said. “We do have meetings and bring in speakers.”