How Alston Station Square Thrives Amidst A Pandemic

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As the pandemic continues, many New Yorkers are taking a new look at how their homes have functioned over the past year.

The quarantines, lockdowns, and closures have transformed how we use our homes from simply a place to live, into so much more. Even as COVID-19 cases begin to fall, many are assessing how well their homes have functioned as a place not only to live but also as a place to work and play.

While residents of single-family homes have mostly had to keep to their own devices to find ways to entertain themselves and continue to feel a sense of community, Alston has curated unique ways to keep their residents as the center of the community while also encouraging the support of local restaurants and other businesses.

“Since we can’t go out and experience all of the entertainment and lifestyle offerings our community has, we’ve essentially found ways to safely bring that experience into the home,” Dorothy Stallone, general manager of Alston Station Square in Ronkonkoma, said during a recent interview. “Just because we can’t be in close quarters doesn’t mean we have to be alone.”

In fact, Stallone’s team at Alston Station Square seem to have gone above and beyond to foster a sense of community over the past year. The property has taken what would normally be in-person concerts from local musicians, wine tastings, yoga classes, and foodie events, and given them a ‘pandemic-safe’ spin.

Residents at the apartment community had come to enjoy and expect the regular happy hour, for example, held in the Clubhouses or outside courtyards. Now, during the pandemic, Stallone and her staff are hosting virtual happy hours where drinks and food are brought to the residents’ door as the community connects via video chat.

“It’s become a really great way for our residents to interact and find new friends to engage with locally,” Christopher Kelly, vice president of marketing at Tritec Real Estate, the company that owns Alston Station Square, said.

Over the past year, a variety of virtual events have become can’t-miss opportunities to have a laugh and connect with interesting neighbors.

“These are people you probably wouldn’t have spoken to in person, but now through our virtual events, it’s just easier to strike up a conversation,” said Kelly.

Over the holiday season, residents dressed as elves during a virtual tree lighting event where staff sent goodies to each resident's door. More recently during Saint Patrick’s Day, a bagpipe concert was held on the property and, over the summer, residents enjoyed live music from local NY artists like Dave March, Marc Morello, Cynthia Hazel and Lil Sumpin Sumpin.

What’s more, they were able to enjoy this from their private balconies and residents without balconies could watch a live stream.

The team has also invited local restaurants like Flanagan’s Pub and Mama Lombardi’s to stop in to host socially distanced food events.

“We really want our residents to experience the restaurants, entertainment and healthy lifestyle offerings that makes our area so unique. If they aren’t having these experiences, they likely won’t realize how incredible it is to live here and so it’s our job to provide that experience, especially during the pandemic,” Stallone said.

The Alston has also partnered with organizations to help support the local community during the pandemic. Stallone and her team are working with Lana’s World Hunger Dream and the Lighthouse Mission, two local non-profit organizations. During the most recent food drive, Alston residents were able to feed 40 local families.

“Our most important focus during the pandemic, however, has been to keep our residents COVID-safe,” Stallone said.

The property has worked closely with the state’s Department of Health to ensure the community is absolutely as pandemic-safe as possible, and since the property is built at a transit hub and within 20 minutes of two international airports, this has been especially important to the staff, and residents have taken notice.

When the pandemic began, Alston hired additional cleaning staff and even an AI robot to clean the property’s business centers, library, and meeting rooms, which are often used by residents working from home but still looking to step outside of their door a bit.

“We’ve really gotten a lot of good feedback from our residents about the additional cleaning,” Stallone says. “We knew this was the most important way to keep our residents safe but we never expected such an outpouring of support for the initiatives we’ve put in place.”

Last year, when gyms were finally able to open, Stallone and her staff removed machines from Alston’s fitness center to ensure residents were properly distanced even while working up a sweat.

“The common areas are beautiful and are continuously cleaned to make you feel safe. I enjoy living here so much I even recommended my brother to live here,” writes one resident on apartmentratings.com who gave the property a four and three-quarter stars rating.

Want to learn more about Alston Station Square? Follow us on social media @livealstonli to join our virtual events. Want to check out the property? Visit alstonli.com to set up a tour and find out more about leasing.

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