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Greg Flego has brought a little bit of Long Island hospitality to his Pennsylvania town.
The Northport native set up a Christmas coffee and cocoa station in his Doylestown, Pa., neighborhood to provide respite for weary delivery workers around the holidays.
Flego, 65, actually worked for UPS during a few short months while he was waiting for the NYPD to call back in the early 1990s.
He remembers how brutal the job could be, so he transformed an old doghouse into a refreshment center.
“[Nowadays] these guys aren’t done at 6 p.m.,” he said. “I see them out there, working outside at 9:30 at night. I figured, man, there’s nothing like a hot cup of coffee from out of nowhere.”
So Flego got to work this week turning an old doghouse into a rest station for the delivery drivers — with the idea of offering free hot cocoa, coffee, bottles of water, chips and candy bars. The station went live today at the curb.
“I think it came out nice,” said Flego, a 1977 Northport High graduate.
Already the neighbors are asking to contribute goodies to the rest station, he said.
“It’s a nice neighborhood, a cul-de-sac of about 10, 15 houses,” he said. “And the delivery guys are always here, a lot of them come up from Philly … To me it’s just a nice ode to the blue collar workers.
“We were always offering them waters and stuff, but this year I wanted to do something a little more satisfying. And I felt good doing it, ya know?
“It’s been such a crappy year and while I was doing it … I felt good putting it together and I felt good to know that they really do appreciate it.”
Flego also recalled working nights outside for the NYPD, and how far a nice gesture would go. Sometimes someone would come out with hot coffee, he said, “and it was just like, “Oh, perfect; thank you!”
Top: Greg Flego, 65, outside his Doylestown, Pa., home with his new holiday rest station for delivery workers. (Credit: Nadine Flego)
