48 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MAY 2018
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THE DUBNERS:
GREENING THE ISLAND By JEFF BERMAN
The Dubner family’s half-centurydeep
roots in the local horticultural
industry grew deeper last year when
they opened Heritage Farm & Garden,
allowing their passion to blossom in
the retail garden center market.
The 42-acre store in Muttontown
is run by Wendy Dubner Master,
daughter of Long Island landscaping
and nursery industry veteran Steven
Dubner — both of whom pursued
careers in law before plowing ahead
with the family business.
“When I started the landscape
business, it was purely a vehicle
to help me pay for college and law
school,” Steven says. “Once I was a
member of the New York State Bar,
I said to myself, ‘I will just keep
the landscaping business two more
years.’ And here I am still doing it. I
get to live my passion.”
Steven founded the eponymous Steven
Dubner Landscaping, Inc., 52 years
ago, Northeast Nurseries in Cutchogue
three decades ago and Metro Green
Visions, which shares Dix Hills office
space with his landscaping company,
about eight years ago.
Last year, the family bought Martin
Viette Nurseries, which closed after
87 years, and opened Heritage,
which boasts an impressive
selection of annuals, perennials,
shrubs, trees and more — including
Wendy’s acclaimed pottery designs.
Prior to opening Heritage, Wendy
worked in the industry for over 25
years, designing pottery and home
décor, as well as consulting with
many national retailers providing
trend direction.
The family, while being reluctant to
publicize it, has always been heavily
involved in philanthropy. Steven
started a local chapter of the Boy
Scouts of America troop for kids
with Down syndrome and learning
disabilities, created a children’s
garden at the Holocaust Memorial &
Tolerance Center of Nassau County
in Glen Cove and most recently,
the Center for Developmental
Disabilities in Woodbury recruited
Heritage to form an educational
program for some of its 5 to
21-year-old students with learning
disabilities.
Wendy will help, but her mother,
Candy, will oversee the program
for Heritage and handle most
interaction with the students,
Wendy says, adding that it
represents a way to “use the facilities
and location here to do something
good for people in the community,”
which is “one of our goals.”
It’s just another example of how this
family is making the Island more
beautiful.
Heritage Farm & Garden is located at
6050 Northern Blvd., in Muttontown.
They can be reached at 516-922-1026
or heritagefarmandgarden.com.
Wendy and Steven Dubner use
their local landscaping and nursery
businesses to charitable ends.
Bryan G . Van Huele
Financial
Services Professional
Agent, New York Life Insurance Company
(929) 328 - 9772
bvanhuele@ft.newyorklife.com
39-02 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11354
Registered Representative for NYLIFE Securities LLC
(member FINRA / SIPCA),
a Licensed Insurance Agency
SMRU 1765602 Exp. 02/13/2020
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