Who are these men on Salisbury Park Drive?

As drivers pass by the home on 1995 Salisbury Park Drive, many slow down and take a second glance. Most joggers and walkers can't resist peering over their shoulders to sneak a peak. Even golfers stop their carts and stare for a bit.

It appears to be men at work – not out of the ordinary for a home on the residential road that snakes along Eisenhower Park's golf courses in Salisbury. The unusual part? These workers never move from their spots – day or night.

They are works of art crafted by Giuseppe “Joe” Telese. Using odds and ends and materials like wood, steel and polyester, Telese created a scene of mock men working on ladders around the house.
   
His reasoning behind the creative scene is simple: “I like to make people happy,” Telese said. “Life is too short.”
   
Telese, 58, who runs a hair salon out of his home, does not surprise regular customers with his artistic antics. Throughout his shop, Joe’s European Haircutters, regulars are accustomed to seeing homemade wooden figurines, a wall mural depicting a famous Venice scene and several other hand-painted models.
 
“When I saw it, I cracked up and said ‘Joe’s at it again,’” said Joel Beja, a longtime customer who frequents Telese’s shop despite moving to Commack several years ago. “If you look around and see the things he creates …  he has an eye.”
   
Telese grew up in Durazzano, Italy, a village outside Naples. “I grew up with nothing,” he said. “We had a tough life.”

Shortly after marrying his wife, Maria, the newlyweds moved to America in 1975. At the time, many Italians from Durazzano had settled in the Salisbury/Westbury area.        
Without speaking a word of English, Telese started cutting hair at a barbershop on Post Avenue in the village of Westbury. With help from a fellow barber, he learned the language and soon opened his own shop. Telese owned and operated his salon at a storefront on Post Avenue for about 20 years.  When the number of walk-in customers decreased, Telese took his business to Salisbury, where his regulars continue to flock.
   
Joe and Maria Telese have two daughters, Marianna and Rebecca, both teachers. Marianna works at nearby W.T. Clarke High School.
   
The hair stylist’s art hobby also extends into music – he sings Italian favorites on the weekends at an East Northport restaurant.
 
Whenever he works in front of his home, Telese is accustomed to explaining his work of art to drivers or joggers who stop to chat. As Telese trimmed a tree one morning, a walker greeted and complimented him on the scene. “He had never said a word to me until today,” Telese said with chuckle. “I have made many new friends this way.