HICKSVILLE – Bill Foley, who has lived in Hicksville for 57 years, was fed up with seeing his neighborhood looking dirty. After fighting for the approval to fix up a vacant lot, he made the area into a garden and has spent nearly every day since picking up trash, planting and weeding. Four years later, officials were so impressed that they renamed the area Foley Gardens.

The retired firefighter, 84, now gets some help from family, the volunteer fire department and people doing court-appointed community service. Foley says he's no hero, but worries about what will become of Foley Gardens once he can no longer tend to the park.