The former Quincy city councilman hasn’t been in Pembroke long, but he has been busy, with roles on the Recreation Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and Wage and Personnel Board. He also is involved in a number of projects, starting with the Mattakeesett Street baseball complex, where he encouraged project leaders to push for their field of dreams.

“He’s very good for the town,” said Steve Nagle, who worked with Hanley on the Mattakeesett Street project. “A lot of people don’t know that because he doesn’t need to be in the forefront.”

Though his work is often behind the scenes, Hanley was a part of several big projects in 2009.

In March, he helped organize a St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser at the Pembroke Knights of Columbus, where he is a member, to support the council’s second annual special needs prom.

His efforts to bring American Legion baseball to Pembroke saw further success this summer when Post 143 sponsored both a senior and junior team, allowing more youth to participate.

In August, Hanley was at the helm of the Zoning Board when Adam and Colette Worrall brought their request for a special permit to open a body art studio on Mattakeesett Street. The  controversial proposal drew many neighbors’ concerns. Hanley and his fellow board members allowed them to be heard, handling the situation with patience, fairness and a clear purpose: to do what was best for Pembroke. In the end, the board voted unanimously to allow the permit, based, they said, on the solid reputation of the Worrall family.

Shortly after, Hanley chaired another controversial ZBA hearing, when T-Mobile presented a plan to install a wireless tower on West Elm Street. Again, neighbors turned out; again, their voices were heard. This time, the application was rejected. But all three board members carefully handled what was an emotional issue, allowing not only residents to speak their minds but T-Mobile representatives as well.

This fall, Hanley and a group of local businessmen spearheaded a plan to bring lights to the Pembroke High School turf field — a $350,000 project that is expected to come in at less than half that price thanks to donations and volunteer labor.

In December, Hanley gave up his seat on the Zoning Board to take one on the Housing Authority, with hopes that he could contribute something to the affordable housing program in Pembroke, having grown up in “the projects” in Quincy.

“It’s important to him that people who are down on their luck or have had something tragic happen in their life have the opportunity to have that [affordable housing] as a transition — that it stays available for people in need,” AnnMarie Hanley said.

The Hanleys moved to Pembroke almost six years ago, choosing to raise their four children — John, Kerri-Ann, Erin and Margaret — in town because of the new school system and proximity to AnnMarie’s family and Greg’s work.

It didn’t take long for Hanley to get involved.

“He’s very caring and thoughtful. Someone would say that they needed help with something, and that’s how he would get involved, or he would find out that someone was in need and he would want to find out how to help that person,” AnnMarie Hanley said. “Sitting back and just waiting for someone else to do something isn’t his nature.”

Nagle was president of Pembroke Youth Baseball and trying to get town approval to build Little League fields on Mattakeesett Street when he first met Hanley, a member of the Recreation Commission.

“I was going to the meetings and kind of banging my head against a wall [trying to get the project approved],” he said.

The day before Nagle was due to appear before the Conservation Commission to get approval for two Little League diamonds, Hanley suggested they try for a third — a large, high school size field.

“I said, ‘Greg, I’ve been trying to get this done for two years and now you’re throwing a monkey wrench in it; they aren’t going to go for it,’” Nagle recalled.

But eventually, the project got approval.

“It was Greg that pushed for that big diamond — that’s the reason it’s down there,”  Nagle said. “Now it’s one of the best around; that whole complex is great.”

Nagle and his company, Mass Bay Electric, have been recruited to help install stadium lighting at the high school football field, another of Hanley’s projects.

“He’s got a knack of being able to deal with all the politicians and kind of say the right things to the people that need to be quelled or quieted down and assured that it’s going to get done correctly,” Nagle said. “I think a lot of towns don’t have that type of person who is willing, not to take all the glory, but to get it done for the kids.”

Pembroke Youth Baseball’s current president Paul Mahoney also “butted heads” with Hanley over his push for the third field at Mattakeesett, but he has to admit: it worked.

“Greg has an idea and he’s not afraid to push it forward. He’s not afraid that it might ruffle a few people’s feathers,” Mahoney said. “If he sees we don’t have something he’ll say, ‘Let’s go get it.’ … One way or another he’s going to find a way to do it.”

The desire to get things done is what led Hanley to run for state representative in 2006.

“There was so much to be done and you could only go so far to get it done before you hit your state representative, and Greg felt that person was not accessible to the residents,” AnnMarie Hanley said. “He got frustrated … so he ran to be that accessible person.”

Though Hanley lost the election to incumbent Daniel Webster, he continued to work in local politics, particularly on the Recreation Commission, drawing from his experience as a Quincy councilman — where he and his wife helped build a number of parks.

“He’s very focused when he takes on a project. He won’t start it and drop the ball,” said Sue Roche, acting recreation director. “He keeps us abreast of what’s going on at Town Hall, which is a big asset.”

He and fellow Recreation Commission member Tom Drummand helped launch an indoor baseball clinic at the community center this winter, Roche said.

“I really believe he wants the best for the kids, and with the knowledge that he obtained being on the city council, and all the training that he got, it makes him one of those people that knows how to get something done,” AnnMarie Hanley said.