Inside the
Fall Issue:

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All Because
of Harry...

Harry Chapin
Run Against Hunger

Be Not Afraid

An Extraordinary
Friendship

Larry Austin Helps Keep
Harry’s Long Island
Dreams Alive

Fighting AIDS
in Ethiopia:
One Person
Making a Difference

Bonnie Raitt
Honored With
Chapin Humanitarian
Award

Readers Help
Those Affected by
Hurricane Katrina

Chapin Family
& Friends Plan
Concert in NYC
To Benefit WHY’s
30th Anniversary

Goat Tales

Doing Something

Letter to the Editor

WHY Hosts Free
Anti-Hunger Forum
October 18th

Country Store
Owner Celebrates
“Harry Chapin Weekend”

Circle! Calendar

Larry Austin is Chairman of Long Island Philharmonic. Photo courtesy of Long Island Philharmonic.

Larry Austin Helps Keep Harry’s
Long Island Dreams Alive

by Freddy Zalta

Following the example of his old friend Harry Chapin, Larry Austin is never too busy to fight for a good cause.

Born in Brooklyn during the depression, his father was a postman who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Austin and his mother would help make belt buckles to sell to help bring in extra income.

When he was nine years old, Austin delivered the clothes from the local cleaners and he delivered the Brooklyn Eagle (newspaper) to help bring the family’s tight budget some needed extra cash.

He worked at night while he attended high school and attended night school at City College for eight years while starting his business during the day. Even today, at his family-owned business Austin Travel, his dedication is clear – Austin arrives at work at 7 a.m. each day and works until the evening.

Whether it was by chance, or perhaps because of fate, Austin met Harry Chapin at a Performing Arts Foundation (PAF) event in the late 1970’s, and it remains etched in his mind. At the time, Harry was leading the non-profit organization and trying to find leaders in the business community to help the organization grow.

“It was a Friday night in 1978 or ‘79 and it was at an old warehouse that was transformed into a playhouse with 256 seats,” recalled Austin. “Harry saw me and backed me up against the wall and nominated me to be the president. I didn’t have a chance to speak.”

Austin was hooked – and he worked tirelessly with Harry and others to foster the development of the fledgling cultural organization. Unfortunately, given that Harry was the primary source of revenue for the organization’s budget, PAF couldn’t sustain itself after his death and was forced to closed its doors forever.

But Austin remembered the spirit that drove Harry – that it is each individual’s responsibility to give back to his/her community. And like Harry, he has put those words into action – so much action, in fact, that it’s hard to believe he’s just one person.

For more than 30 years, Austin has been a vocal advocate for improving Long Island's transportation system, including the completion of the service roads and a fourth lane for the Long Island expressway. He also has fought for improved Long Island Railroad freight operations, and for renovations at Long Island's local airports.

He has served on the board of WLIW-TV (Long Island’s Public Television station) and has been a longtime leader of the Long Island Association (LIA), the region’s business and civic organization. In 1994, Austin was presented with the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award from the LIA for his dedication to the community. “My proudest moment,” he said.

He has also been honored by many organizations including the United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Suffolk where he was named Man of the Year by in 1993 and was recently honored with the Ernst & Young Lifetime Achievement Award.

As president and board member of the Long Island Philharmonic, Larry has more than once saved the orchestra when it was threatened with bankruptcy. In the “never give up” spirit he recalled from Harry, he’s now trying to save the Philharmonic again.

In a recent open letter to Long Island residents and the business community, Austin pleaded for support and donations to keep the cultural icon that Harry founded in 1979 alive. Austin wrote in Newsday: “Long Islanders, stand up now and say, ‘I know what we’ve got and this time I want to keep it.’”

His friendship with Harry is filled with memories. “I remember an evening we had dinner at his house and then went to Westbury to watch him perform that night,” he said. “I almost fell over when he introduced a song written by someone from Austin, Texas and said ‘You know Austin, it’s a city named after Larry.’

“He was one of a kind; I would get phone calls from him all hours of the day and night, whenever an idea sprung into his head,” Austin said. “I will never forget him. One in a million kind of man.”

Austin continues his friendship with Harry’s family today, not long ago hosting Sandy Chapin at his home for Passover for the Seder (meal).

“Listen to his (Harry’s) words in his songs and you will see just who Harry was and you will feel inspired,” he said.

But it’s no longer just Harry’s inspiration that’s driving Austin.

“It’s who I am,” he said.

Watch for the Next Issue of Circle! on December 7