SOMERS, N.Y. - When asked to look back on his long and storied tenure on the Somers Planning Board, John Currie talked glowingly about everybody but himself.
Those that know him aren’t the least bit surprised.
Currie has never been one to toot his own horn -- and he wasn’t about to start, not even at the end of a 12-year run as chairman.
He was first appointed to the Planning Board in 2001 and had served previously on the town’s parks and recreation board.
A former CBS and Morgan Stanley employee who later owned a landscaping business, Currie has also belonged to the Lions Club for more than 30 years.
His last meeting was Sept. 10.
(Ironically, the controversial Granite Pointe subdivision, one of the very first projects he’d dealt with as board chair, was on that night’s agenda.)
In an interview with Halston Media following his retirement, Currie praised colleagues for always doing their homework and being well prepared.
Former chair Dennis McNamara, who resigned in 2023, was Currie’s “idol” and the one he sought to emulate.
Late board member Nancy Gerbino was “amazing” and someone, Currie said, who could come up with facts and questions he’d never even thought of.
Two to three years into his chairmanship, Gerbino took him aside and told him he was doing a good job.
Gerbino was known for her boundless curiosity, institutional knowledge, wicked sense of humor, and for being very careful with her praise.
“That kind of made my day,” Currie recalled, adding that if Gerbino didn’t like you, you knew it.
That’s what made her words so special.
“I don’t have a big ego, but when she said that, you knew you were doing a good job,” he said.
Town planner David Smith was “excellent” and the town’s engineering consultant Steve Robbins, “great,” Currie continued.
Comprising the “backbone” of the behind-the-scenes operations were Wendy Getting, senior office assistant in the town’s engineering department, and Nicole Montesano, planning board secretary.
Currie even had a good word or two for some of the folks who’d appeared before the board -- like developer and restauranteur Enrico “Rick” Dinardo.
“Everything he touches, he does well,” he said.
Bob Stuart, a former town councilman who owns a cherished, family-run fruit farm in Granite Springs, which was recognized by the state as a Historic Business in 2023, wasn’t forgotten.
He’s a “class act,” in Currie’s estimation.
Without efforts to preserve the land for agriculture, it could have become “a heck of a development,” nothing that folks in these parts really want.
Somers itself is, he said, “a great town with great people.”
Currie’s farewell speech was just as self-effacing.
Before making his final motion to adjourn, he thanked fellow board members.
“It’s been a pleasure working with you. It sure made my life very easy and the staff, it goes without saying … thank you for putting up with my many shortcomings. You make me look good, which I know is a full-time job,” Currie said.
He also made special note of Vicky Gannon, his deputy chair, with whom he’d gone “back many, many years.”
Gannon, a reference librarian, is “very smart and competent,” Currie told this reporter later.
(Gannon was subsequently elected to the top spot. Member Chris Zaberto was tapped for deputy chair. That left one seat to fill. It was still vacant as of this writing.)
“I’m going to miss you all. It’s been a great run,” Currie concluded, seeming to choke up a bit.
“You don’t have a gavel to pass?” joshed member Anthony Sutton.
“Nah,” Currie responded with a slight shrug.
Currie will be sorely missed.
“He was a wonderful board member,” recalled Gannon, adding that her predecessor ran “meetings so well” and had kept everyone “organized and moving forward.”
And in no way did he ever abuse that position of authority, she said, noting that Currie was “so supportive” and had always encouraged colleagues to ask questions and “really dig into issues.”
He took that valued input and was able to sum it up in ways that helped both fellow board members and the public understand what was going on with complex projects.
“He leaves large shoes to fill. One of the great things he did was, he got us started having a deputy chair,” Gannon said of Currie at the board’s Oct. 8 meeting.
Gannon took that spot in 2023. She signed resolutions and plans and ran meetings when he wasn’t available.
“In order to enable continuity of business for the town and the applicants, I think it’s a wise thing to continue that practice,” Gannon said, nominating Zaberto as deputy chair. Member Jack Mattes seconded the motion.
In accepting, Zaberto promised Gannon that he’d do his best to “uphold your chair in your absence.”
“I appreciate you agreeing to do it. John appreciates it too,” she responded.
Grateful for Currie’s years of service, the town wasn’t going to let things go at that.
It threw him a surprise going-away bash at Mamma Rosa Ristorante and town Supervisor Robert Scorrano presented him with a proclamation from the town declaring Friday, Sept. 12 “John Currie Day” in Somers.
The proclamation made note of his civic service, including that with the Lions Club where “he was awarded multiple Gold Awards for his hard work and commitment,” and his dedication to coaching children’s sports.
His service on the Planning Board helped ensure that the town remained “a vibrant, well-planned, and welcoming community for all residents," it read.
As chair, the proclamation continued, Currie “contributed invaluable knowledge, sound judgment, and thoughtful decision-making that has helped guide responsible growth and development in our community.”
Along with his presence on the Planning Board, missed will be Currie’s “witty humor” which had “brightened many meetings,” it said, adding that the town wished him and his wife “a wonderfully happy and healthy retirement.”
He even got his name up in lights via the town’s digital sign at Reis Park.
Currie and his wife, Judie (Mirra), are looking forward to a future without a lot of snow to shovel.
While they plan to sell their home here and decamp to sunny Florida, the couple will rent somewhere in the Somers area so they can remain close to their respective children and six grandchildren.
Currie has one son: Robert. Judie has three daughters: Samantha, Joanna, and Jennifer.
(Currie’s first wife, Audrey, passed away in 2017.)
So what’s next on the agenda?
Playing a little more golf and taking trips abroad for sure.
A first-generation American, Currie hopes to re-visit the Emerald Isle -- where both his parents were born -- and Italy.
Dad’s from County Antrim in the northeast part of Ireland; mom hailed from County Sligo, which is on the country’s west coast.
While Currie has given so much to the community, the community’s also given a lot to him.
"I love this town," he said with no irony intended.
Which is why Currie’s not planning to stray that far – at least for part of the year.
As his folks might say: "Slán go fóill."
That’s Irish for “Bye for now.”
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