Childrens Playhouses

Ghostbusters Headquarters

Whats in style for your kids

PHOTOS AND STORY BY ANDREA SHEAHAN

The interior of Sports Town playhouse

In the middle of March, the Long Island Builders Institute hosted its 26th
Annual EXPO at the Long Island Hilton. The event was more than a trade
show, this year the EXPO featured a childrens playhouse competition.
Teams were comprised of LIBI members showcasing the talents of Alure
Home Improvements, J. Ratto Landscaping with All Ways Elevators and
GRCH Architecture, Engel Burman Group and TRITEC Real Estate. All in all,
they created three childrens playhouses and one rocket ship.
The Rocket Ship, built by TRITEC, was donated to the famous Rocket
Ship Park in Port Jefferson. The proceeds of the raffle for Engel Burmans
Little Sunshine Playhouse were donated to Long Island Home Builders
Care, Inc., to help its feature charitable endeavors. The other two playhouses, Ghostbusters and Sports Town, were donated to benefit childrens
charities: Clark Gillies Childrens Foundation and the Brookville Center for
Childrens Services.
And what is a competition without judges? Not any judges; 12 children
judged the playhouses based on appeal, safety, most creative and kid
friendly. A most hands-on group of judges.
For the grown-up judges, LIBI got the best celebrity judges they could
wish for: the legendary Clark Gillies from the NY Islanders, Million Dollar
Contractor Stephen Fanuka and HGTV Design Star Tyler Wisler. What great
guys to talk to, mingle with and have fun with. Clark Gillies signed pucks
and hockey sticks and took pictures with his fans. Stephen and Tyler visited
the exhibitors booths and chit-chatted about the business. With cameras
flashing from every direction, they really gave a fresh breath and drew great
attention to the LIBI EXPO!

Playhouse judges Stephen Fanuka and Tyler Wisler

Characters of Ghostbusters entertaining visitors. You can almost

hear them saying, I aint afraid of no ghosts.

Sports Town

Hockey great Clark Gillies of

the New York Islanders

Richie Belz, Sal Ferro and Seth Selesnow

of Alure Home Improvement

Alure Home Improvements initial idea was

to ensure their playhouse was not just ordinary, but something functional that would
have a lasting impact on the children utilizing
it. Sal Ferro had an idea of doing a sports
theme as something that would resonate with
most kids and it morphed into incorporating
sports for unique functionality, (built in hockey
net, basketball hoop and soccer net) as well as
imagery depicting local professional
sports teams.
To match the sports theme, and thinking
inside the playhouse, Alure decided it
would be cool for the kids to feel like they
were walking into a real sports locker room,
which led to decorating the interior with lockers, memorabilia and cubbies for sports gear.
The greatest reward was not winning the
award, but watching a few kids grab some
basketballs and actually use the playhouse!
The team at Alure knew right then, this playhouse was going to make a difference.

The exterior of Sports Town

Inside the Ghostbusters themed playhouse, complete with

lockers and proton packs for fighting ghosts

Jay Ratto of J. Ratto Landscaping, Glen Cherveny of GRCH

Architecture and Nick Dalvano of All-Ways Elevator
108 HOUSE, June/July 2016

house-magazine.net

Thanks to the help, efforts and generosity of many people, organizations and companies involved, a custom built,
handicap accessible, Ghostbusters themed playhouse was
able to be donated to a not-for-profit charity in Glen Head,
NY. AHRC Nassau assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by offering services to help promote independent living, and by advocating on their
behalf.
With the collaborative efforts of Jay Ratto of J. Ratto
Landscaping, Nick Dalvano of All Ways Elevators and the
architectural assistance of Glen Cherveny of GRCH Architecture, the theme of Ghostbusters was selected for numerous reasons. Though originally released in 1984, the
movie is a timeless classic that continues to resonate with
both children and adults. With the production of the upcoming sequel underway, Jay, Nick and Glen felt the revival
of the movie would only increase the appeal to the
children.
Designing it after the firehouse exemplified in the movie,
the playhouse was sided using real brick stone veneer, has
a second floor with railing, a handicap ramp to allow all
children to have access and various Ghostbusters graphics
throughout. The design encourages children to use their
imagination and engage in character role playing. Complete with proton packs, ghost traps, lockers, fire bell, loft
area and more, kids can re-enact their favorite moments
from the movie, all while enhancing their cognitive, physical, social/emotional and language skills which aid in the
development of their individual skills.
The quality of this project is directly linked to the support
and donations received from selfless colleagues; Impact
Graphics, Riverhead Building Supply, The Northridge
Group, S&H Building Supply, Ocean Stone & Fireplace,
and Able Equipment Rental. Their assistance and efforts
are immeasurable and the construction of this playhouse
would not have been possible without them.

house-magazine.net

Bram, Morty and Harry Weber

Clark Gillies of the New York

Islanders and Andrea Sheahan
of HOUSE magazine
HOUSE, June/July 2016 109

Little Sunshine House

EB Construction created a childrens playhouse that
was just right for local charities. Calling it Perhaps one
of our most important projects. Jon Weiss, a partner in
EB Construction of Garden City, said the firm was proud
to have built a childrens playhouse that has been presented to the Long Island Builders Institute.
Made of sturdy materials and detailed with welcoming colors of yellow, blue and red, the playhouse is proportioned to meet the needs of the most active
children. Stated Scott Burman, a fellow partner of EB
Construction. We would like to think that when they
open that bright red door, it is about much more than
simply walking into a child sized house, but into the limitless world of their imagination.
The design made sure the playhouse had no sharp
edges or exposed nails. Durability and functionality
were key and, most important of all, whether it would be
fun to play in.
The playhouse included four windows to let in lots of
natural light, LED lighting for energy efficiency, air conditioning, detailed trim work inside, wood flooring with
a rubber floor on top, vinyl siding and cultured stone on
the outside, a custom made front door and it is also
wired for a television.

The Little Sunshine playhouse

Stephen Fanuka

Alan and Louise Kennemer

with Tyler Wisler (center)

Rocket Ship Monument

TRITEC built this rocket ship that was donated to Rocket Ship Park in Port Jefferson.
Contributors to the TRITEC Monument were
Central Outdoor Services, Kleet Lumber and
Procoat Painting.

EB Constructions Brandon Solomon,

Jon Weiss and Tom Craven
Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garrant

Children Alyssa and Amanda

Fricke judging the various
playhouses

110 HOUSE, June/July 2016

Everyone involved with the LIBI EXPO