Originally from Long Beach, Pontecorvo moved his family his wife, Edith, and children, Christina, 21, and Joseph, 17 -- to Island Park in the 1980s. Since then he has been one of the backbones of the neighborhood, while doing most of his volunteer work quietly, behind the scenes.
Pontecorvo, 46, has held just about every position on the Island Park Chamber of Commerce. A former chamber president, he is currently a member of its board of directors. Professionally, he has worked as a real estate agent for about 30 years.
"I offer the people I sell to honesty, in a business that has to be honest," Pontecorvo explained in an interview last year. "You can't lie to the people you sell homes and property to. They're going to be your neighbors, so I'm forming relationships for a lifetime."
For the past four years, Pontecorvo has worked out of Custom Wise Realty in Long Beach, selling homes to residents of Long Beach, Island Park and Oceanside. "I wanted to go into real estate because of the knowledge I had about homes and businesses in the area," he said.
"He is a phenomenal agent," said Jay Hellsinger, owner of Custom Wise Realty. "He's tremendous in everything he does and extremely helpful to everyone."
Hellsinger added that Pontecorvo's consistently positive attitude always reflects well on the office. "Everything he does is positive," he said, "and he always stops what he's doing and helps others in need."
Pontecorvo is a jack of all trades when it comes to community volunteerism. He is an elected member of the Island Park Library and has been appointed a trustee of the Legislative Committee of the Nassau County Library Association. In his free time he is a member of the Island Park Boy Scouts, the Long Beach Historical Society and the Oceanside Knights of Columbus.
Last June Pontecorvo came to the rescue of his son and hundreds of other West Hempstead High School seniors. On the night of their prom, the lights went out at Russo's on the Bay, a catering hall in Howard Beach, Queens. The power outage forced the cancellation of the prom and left students doubting whether they would ever have their night to remember.
Pontecorvo acted quickly. Spearheading a committee with other concerned parents, he persuaded Russo's to refund the $75 charge per person and book a later date for the prom. Once again he came through, going above and beyond, as he has done before.
"He's a dedicated individual," said Henry Monteverde of the Island Park chamber. "He's always been loyal, and gives himself a hundred percent to everything he does."
Elected officials have also recognized Pontecorvo's efforts in the community. "He is a quality man," said Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg at an award ceremony honoring Pontecorvo as Island Park's 2002 Businessman of the Year. "He gives so much to his community."
"When he gets involved in something, he really gets involved," said Nassau County Legislator Michael Zapson. "He makes this a better community, and whatever he does, he always does it well."
Most of Pontecorvo's volunteer work goes unnoticed. He works mostly behind the scenes, setting up community events, helping veterans in the area -- taking a central role in community activism. He was instrumental in finding a new location for the Island Park Library and making it a state-of-the-art facility.
Pontecorvo says he has an open door. Whenever someone needs advice about anything, or needs help, he rarely says no. His willingness to help anyone and everyone, to continue to help reshape the Island Park business community with tireless work behind the scenes, make Pontecorvo the Herald's Person of the Year.
