Farmingdale Village Honors Tim Collins With Street Naming; Friends Share About His Lasting Legacy

FARMINGDALE, NY – A “Tim Collins Way” street sign was unveiled on Oct. 11 to honor Timothy Collins, formerly of Farmingdale.

Collins passed away in February 2008 from a 2-year battle with a brain tumor and was the proprietor of The Inn on Main, former owner of Mers Pub, a wrestling coach at Farmingdale Schools, and supporter of athletic teams, fundraisers, and organizations for the Farmingdale community, and especially husband to Teri and father of T.J.

The Tim Collins Way street sign now hangs on the corner of Main Street and South Front Street– where The Inn On Main once stood.

Friends, family, and community members showed their support and attended the sign unveiling, including Farmingdale Village Trustee Craig Rosasco, Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand, Deputy Mayor William Barrett, New York State Senator Steven Rhoads, restaurant owner Tom Soluri, Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes Jeffrey Pravato, and many others.

Mayor Ralph Ekstrand told Patch that Tim was a phenomenal person to the village, always giving back to the community.

“He did food drives and always helped people out with meals if they needed it,” he said. “Tim would send over some food from the restaurant to help them along. He was that kind of guy.”

Mayor Ekstrand said he knew Tim personally, frequenting Mers Pub.

“I went to his restaurant every Friday at 4 o’clock for happy hour,” he said. “We had regular seats at the bar and a couple of pints of Guinness. His buddy, Perry, and others were always there, too. It was great. The bartenders knew everyone. It was like a version of Cheers.”

At the street dedication, Pravato brought a proclamation that declared October 11, 2025, as Tim Collins Day in the Village of Farmingdale.

Craig Rosasco, who had been friends with Tim ever since they met at Mers about 20 years ago, said they had a corner of the bar as their spot.

“That's where we all hung out as kids once, of course,” he said with a laugh, “once I became 21.”

Rosasco shared his admiration of Tim, reflecting on the two decades of friendship they shared.

“He just befriended everybody,” Rosasco said. “He was the epitome of what a Daler should be. He was kind, he was generous, and he was an overall great guy.”

Some of Rosasco’s best memories were on fishing trips with Tim.

“Timmy was always taking bar patrons out on fishing trips,” Rosasco said. “He always had great fishing trips to Orient Point. He was also a huge Montauk guy, so we would spend time together there.”

And even with all of the above-mentioned, there was one trait that Rosasco said was most important: he was a family man.

“Out of all those things, the best thing he did was be a great husband and father,” he said.

Tim’s son T.J. was only a toddler when his father died. Since then, Rosasco has stayed close to Tim’s family.

He said they have done a charity golf outing every year for the past 17 years, out in Montauk during Columbus Day weekend, with 200 of Tim’s closest and dearest friends. They play golf to raise money for T.J.’s education.

“T.J.’s education is now all paid for, and he’s begun giving out the extra money that we raised through the program to other students in need.”

Rosasco said Tim is truly reflected in T.J. in more ways than one– his generosity, kindness, facial features, and more: “Timmy looks just like his son.”