One-man civic band

Neil Cosentino, head of the Bay World Public Trust, turns his retirement years into a series of community projects.

By SUSAN THURSTON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 20, 2002

Don't ask Neil Cosentino to go golfing.

Too boring, he yawns.

Then what about a night on the town?

Nah.

But invite him to a contentious, hours-long meeting about the Gandy Connector and his adrenaline starts racing.

He loves debating the road project like most people love their first car.

Maybe even too much.

Cosentino has launched a one-man crusade to build an expressway tunnel under Gandy Boulevard -- his solution for linking the Gandy Bridge to the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway. Skeptics say it can't be done. Even his supporters have their doubts.

Cosentino marches on, like the soldier of his youth.

"It's all going to work itself out," he says from a home office buried in reports, news clippings and maps.

"It's a no-brainer."

The Gandy marks the latest in a line of community projects Cosentino has tackled as head of the Bay World Public Trust. Some have worked out. (Salvaging the old Gandy Bridge for recreation.) Others have failed. (Landing the 2012 Olympics).

Longtime associates credit him for having good ideas, but fault him for refusing to let the facts change his opinion. He made foes during the Friendship Trail Bridge campaign and, in many minds, lost credibility over the games.

"He's a nice guy and civic-oriented, but he will drive a superficially logical argument to an illogical end," says Ed Turanchik, who was involved with Cosentino during the bid process.

"No matter how many times we told him that you can't do the Olympic games in April, he assured that we were wrong and he was right."

The white-haired activist blames the criticism on differences of opinion. Everyone's entitled to one, he says, and he's not afraid to give his.

Cornelius "Neil" Cosentino was born Aug. 7, 1937, in New York City. He knew from age 5 he wanted to be a pilot. He saw a World War II fighter plane fly over his porch and longed to climb in the cockpit.

Cosentino attended a high school for future aviators in Brooklyn and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

He soloed his first military flight in 1958 and earned his wings on Mar. 18, 1960 -- a date etched in his mind.

That year, he met the H-Bomb. His job: stand on alert in Europe, awaiting the president's "Go code" to drop the nuclear weapon.

While on break in London, Cosentino fell in love with a German hairdresser named Maria, his future wife.

He did three tours in Vietnam, logging 1,260 hours of combat flying time. He saw plenty of death.

He retired in 1978 and settled in Tampa, where he bought a house on Davis Islands across the fence from the Peter O. Knight airport. He couldn't live without the constant roar of planes.

After retiring, he went to Iran to help the Imperial Air Force and flew planes for a Bahamian businessman. In the early 1980s, he and his wife built their dream log cabin in the mountains of Boone, N.C.

Cosentino, now 65, started the Bay World Public Trust in 1993. He hated the prospect of leisurely retirement.

The independent think tank focuses on aviation and other transportation-related projects. The eight members meet about once a week, offering their opinions for free.

They want credit and respect, but rarely get either, he says. "I'm like Rodney Dangerfield."

Ray Leviston, a longtime friend and fellow thinker, says Cosentino often gets an unfair shake. Sure, he bombards the community with e-mails and phone calls, but -with such dedication.

"I find that very rare in a person these days," says Leviston, a military retiree who works at a computer network company. "He'd be a bad person to be against if you have something to hide."

Cosentino never gave up when people pooh-poohed his plan for the Friendship Trail Bridge. He still hasn't dropped the idea of creating an air taxi system between Florida airports.

His e-mails clog computers from here to Tallahassee.

"Some people think he's way out in left field," said Al Steenson, a member of the Gandy Civic Association who has lived in the area for 22 years. "But he's very persistent and he doesn't cut corners."

Cosentino says the state could save millions building the 1.3-mile tunnel as opposed to the state's options: an elevated highway on the north edge of Gandy or a bypass through neighborhoods to the south.

He has spent months trying to convince homeowners and decisionmakers. He likens the naysayers to those who thought the world was flat.

"They just speak too soon," he says.

Tunnel or no tunnel, Cosentino plans to keep the trust going for the rest of his life. Call him obsessive or overzealous. You won't be the first. He considers the work his contribution to society. He gets by just fine on Social Security and his military pension.

For now, he's dabbling in another kind of community service: politics. Cosentino is a write-in candidate in the November election for State House District 56. He faces incumbent Sandra Murman and challenger Mark Howard.

He knows his chances of winning are slim to none. Write-ins gain name recognition, but rarely votes.

No matter, he says.

It beats golfing.

-- Susan Thurston can be reached at 226-3394 or thurston@sptimes.com.

NEIL COSENTINO

• AGE: 65
• FIRST LOVE: Flying planes for the U.S. Air Force.
• WEDDED LOVE: Maria, a hair stylist on Davis Islands.
• CURRENT LOVE: Debating the Gandy Connector.
• WAR ACCOLADES: Distinguished Flying Cross.
• COMMUNITY ACCOLADES: Saved the Gandy Bridge.
• HOURS AS A PILOT: 6,000
• HOURS ON THE COMPUTER: Two or three a day.
• IDEA OF FUN: Talking about bridges, roads and airports.
• LAST TRIP: Cuba with a delegation from the University of South Florida.
• HOPES TO SEE: The lifting of the Cuban trade embargo.

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