Times of Huntington-Northport

From left: Dave Bush; trustees Elizabeth Cambria and James Kelly; Christine Berardi of National Grid Foundation; trustees Laura Gerde, Gretchen Oldrin Mones, and Jack DeMasi; and Elizabeth-Wayland Morgan. Photo from Vanderbilt Museum
Century-old estate trail reclaimed, enhanced

William K. Vanderbilt II built a hiking trail in the 1920s on his Eagle’s Nest waterfront estate in Centerport that became overgrown and disappeared into the forest. The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, located at Eagle’s Nest, has reclaimed the trail, and held a grand opening in November. Major project donors and museum trustees attended the event in the Rose Garden, which is also the trailhead.

Now called the Solar System Hiking Trail, the course includes a scale model of the Solar System, which complements STEM and astronomy-education programs offered by the Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.

“This is a long-awaited day. We are grateful to Christine Berardi and the National Grid Foundation for 10 years of outstanding, unwavering support and to Vanderbilt trustee Laura Gerde and her husband, Eric Gerde. Their ongoing contributions to our STEM programming include the exhibits in the Planetarium lobby. Their steadfast support makes it possible for the Museum to expand its work as a leader in astronomy and science education,” said Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan, executive director of the Vanderbilt Museum.

Other project donors are Marilyn and Russell Albanese, BAE Systems, Farrell Fritz Attorneys, Northwell Health, People’s United Bank, and PFM Asset Management.

Wayland-Morgan said Dave Bush, the director of the Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium, “single-handedly created the Solar System trail — I don’t think there’s a program like this anywhere else.” She also thanked Jim Munson, the museum’s operations supervisor. “Jim noticed portions of the original trail and saw its potential. He said let’s do this.” 

Bush said that scale models of the solar system have been created before at museums, science centers, and universities. “But the Vanderbilt’s trail is likely the only one that traverses a one-mile hiking trail with hundreds of feet in elevation changes,” he said. “It is an opportunity for visitors to learn about the bodies in our solar system and its vast scale, and to see and experience parts of the museum property that have never been seen before by the public.”

Stock photo

The Greek letter versions of the variants are beating up on Suffolk County, just as families prepare to gather during the holidays and New Year.

Suffolk County reported a 13.6% positive testing rate on Dec. 20, which is the highest rate in over a year, according to County Executive Steve Bellone (D).

“The omicron variant is, without question, powering a surge in cases here,” Bellone said on a conference call with reporters. “We are seeing that play out in long lines for testing as the holiday season continues and as Christmas and New Year’s approach.”

Indeed, Bellone announced that he is using his emergency powers to create three new testing sites on Long Island. The county will open a site at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach on Dec. 27, in West Sayville on Dec. 27, and in the Sound Beach area on Jan. 4.

Bellone said he chose these sites near locations where the positivity rate is higher.

Bellone encourages residents to visit the county’s website, at suffolkcountyny.gov/covid19 to get details about signing up for tests at these new locations.

As for holiday preparations, Bellone and Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, suggested residents could continue with their holiday gathering plans as long as they take adequate precautions.

“It’s important to be vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna,” Pigott said. “It’s more important to get that third shot, that booster shot, that’ll give you the maximum protection.”

Infectious disease experts urged residents to remain vigilant about the virus during the current surge and as people prepare to visit families.

“I would suggest making sure that everyone test for COVID and receive a negative test result” before family gatherings, Sean Clouston, associate professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine, explained in an email. “This is especially true for those in which there are individuals who are either unvaccinated, or those where attendees either are vaccinated but aged 60 and older.” Hospitals in the area have seen a dramatic increase in emergency room visits from residents who contracted COVID.

“The number of COVID hospitalizations has tripled in the last three weeks,” Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health, wrote in an email.

Popp explained that patients who have been vaccinated have a milder form of COVID, while unvaccinated patients have suffered more severe symptoms. About two thirds of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated at Huntington Hospital, while several patients are in the intensive care unit.

With the increase in omicron cases, Popp explained that “we are all concerned that we may be overwhelmed if too many sick patients will show up all at once in the emergency room.”

To be sure, even with the increase in hospitalizations from the fall, the number of people batting the disease in the hospital remains well below peak levels. As of a year ago, 526 people battled COVID in the hospital. This week, that number stood at 326.

“The numbers are increasing, but they are still less than they were,” Bellone said.

Dr. Sunil Dhuper, chief medical officer at Port Jefferson’s St. Charles Hospital, suggested a three-pronged approach to defending against the next phase in the spread of COVID.

Getting vaccines and boosters is the first and most important step. Treating vulnerable residents with monoclonal antibodies is the second, and testing and wearing masks is the third step.

GlaxoSmithKline’s monoclonal treatment, called sotrovimab, works the best against omicron, Dhuper said.

At this point, the supply of that treatment, however, is limited. Dhuper hopes to get the supply issue resolved this Monday.

Until that is resolved, however, only people who are unvaccinated and who are vaccinated and immunocompromised or over 65 are eligible for this treatment, which is what the National Institutes of Health and Department of Health have recommended, Dhuper said.

The shortage of monoclonal antibodies is “an issue that needs to be addressed at the state and federal levels,” Bellone said. “I’m encouraged by what we’ve seen happening there. It’s an issue that we’ve heard from hospitals. With this surge, we’re seeing all of the capacity tested once again.”

Indeed, hospitals remain prepared to increase their staffing levels, particularly in January when people return from traveling and visiting family members.

“Everybody is aware that we may call upon any employee at any time, even if they are on vacation if we begin to see that the system is getting overwhelmed,” Dhuper said.

Suffolk County police car. File photo

Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred at a Commack bank the afternoon of Dec. 12.

A man entered Chase bank, located at 39 Vanderbilt Parkway, at 12:59 p.m. and allegedly handed a teller a note demanding cash. The teller complied with the suspect’s demands and gave him cash from the drawer. The robber fled in an unknown direction.

The robber is described as an adult male, approximately 6 feet tall with a medium build. He was wearing a dark-colored jacket and hat and a blue face mask.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the robbery to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

Photo from Northwell Health
Workers come in two-hour shifts to provide gifts of joy

With holiday music blasting overhead, dozens of Northwell Health employees gathered together for a marathon gift-wrapping session to ensure that school-age children enjoy a happy holiday season.

“I am so proud of each Northwell employee and all of our community partners who made this joyful event possible,” said Edward Fraser, vice president of Community Relations at Northwell. “Today, literally hundreds of our team members joined together to wrap thousands of gifts for children in the communities we serve. It is our belief that no child should be denied the gift of joy at the holidays.”

Through an on-line platform operated by Northwell’s nonprofit project partner, Supplies for Success, employee donations were used to provide art supplies and other gifts for different age categories. No contribution was too great or too small. And, the results are impressive: more than $40,000 was collected for this worthy cause.

All the wrapped gifts will be distributed to families who cannot afford them in in four Long Island communities (Brentwood, Bay Shore, Freeport, Hempstead) as well as locales in Manhattan, Westchester and Staten Island.

Along with the gift, the final item placed in each bag was a hand-written, holiday message by the staff member who packed it. At the bottom of their bags, students will find such joyful messages as, “Happy holidays,” or simply, “Enjoy!”

The Northwell “elves” who participated in the gift-wrapping marathon, along with Mindy Richenstein, founder and president of Supplies for Success, said that the motto of the day was, “All children deserve the gift of joy at the holidays!”

Raymond Rondinone
Update: Raymond Rondinone has been found unharmed.

Suffolk County Police have issued a Silver Alert for a missing Fort Salonga man who suffers from dementia.

Raymond Rondinone, 91, was last seen leaving his home, located at 20 Breeze Hill Road at approximately 4 p.m. Rondinone was driving a 2020 white Toyota Camry with NY license plate Prisoner of War (POW) plate 106. Rondinone is white, 6 feet tall, 165 pounds, with grey hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a navy blue jacket, a red and white plaid shirt, and brown pants.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on Rondinone’s location to call 911 or the Second Precinct at 631-854-8299.

As a reminder, Silver Alert is a program implemented in Suffolk County that allows local law enforcement to share information with media outlets about individuals with special needs who have been reported missing.

Kevin Gershowitz (standing behind podium), President, Gershow Recycling, speaks during a press conference announcing the Town of Huntington’s anti-drunk and distracted driving campaign on November 30.

Gershow Recycling recently donated the use of a wrecked car in support of the Town of Huntington’s Anti-Drunk and Distracted Driving Campaign. Presented by Mark Cuthbertson, Councilman, Town of Huntington, and the Huntington Town Board, the program reminds residents of the dangers of drunk or distracted driving during the holidays.

Kevin Gershowitz, President, Gershow Recycling, took part in a press conference that was held on November 30, along with Councilman Mark Cuthbertson; Cathy Busuttil, whose sister was the victim of a drunk driving accident; Councilwoman Joan Cergol; Isai Fuentes, Program Specialist, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, New York State Office; and law enforcement personnel.

Mr. Gershowitz thanked the Town and MADD for their public awareness efforts and noted that Gershow takes in thousands of vehicles that were involved in serious accidents each year, some of which were the result of drunk driving. “There’s no reason to drive drunk today,” Mr. Gershowitz said. “Technology has afforded us the ability to use Uber, Lyft and all the types of ride-sharing services. I urge you: take advantage of it. Have fun, but stay away from your car if you’ve had too much to drink.”

Gershow has nine locations in Brooklyn, New Hyde Park, Valley Stream, Freeport, Lindenhurst, Huntington Station, Bay Shore, Medford and Riverhead. For more information, call (631) 289-6188 or visit www.gershow.com.

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After an abbreviated winter track and field season earlier this year, Huntington’s girls track team showed no signs of slowing down in a crossover invitational meet at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood Dec. 19.

Olivia Conte won the 55-meter hurdles at 9.17 seconds. Hope Bilkey finished second in the 55-meter dash at 7.95 seconds with Brianna Halbeisen placing sixth. Jannel Maroquin clocked in at 3:45.94 at 1000-meters good enough for fifth place. It was a Huntington one-two finish at the 300 meter distance with Bilkey and Conte with at 45.87 and 46.12 seconds. respectively.

The Blue Devils are back on track again at SCCC in the Jim Howard invitational Jan. 5. Start time is 5 p.m.

File photo

The Huntington Town Board held its December 14, 2021 meeting, where they allocated $22 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the Huntington Station Hub Sewer Infrastructure Project, opted out of the State Cannabis Law, and approved proposed amendments to the Matinecock Court Housing Development.

Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci and the Town Board approved an intermunicipal agreement with the County of Suffolk to transfer the Town’s $22,209,010 in American Rescue Plan Act Funds to the County of Suffolk for the construction of the Huntington Station Hub Sewer Infrastructure Project, spanning the New York Avenue/Route 110 Corridor from the Huntington LIRR Train Station to 14th Street with additional adjacent parcels to the east and west.

The Town opted out of allowing cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site consumption sites within the Town of Huntington, outside of the Incorporated Villages, as authorized under New York State Cannabis Law Article 4. The board also voted to prohibit the consumption of cannabis on Town property, including parks and beaches, and on streets and sidewalks outside of the Incorporated Villages.

The board approved the developer’s proposed amendments the court-ordered settlement agreement with Matinecock Court Housing Development Fund Corporation and Matinecock Court LLC for the proposed development for low-income housing at the corner of Pulaski Road and Elwood Road in East Northport. The amendments, subject to approval by United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York, decreases the total number of units from 155 to 146, changes the 50/50 rental/equity split to 100% limited equity cooperative, and requires payments in lieu of taxes.

In other action, the Town Board:

  • Scheduled two regular Town Board meetings for Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 2:00 PM and Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 2:00 PM.
  • Approved up to $125,000 in Environmental Open Space and Park Improvement funds for recommended neighborhood enhancements to install sidewalks, curbs, an ADA-compliant pedestrian ramp and trees along the south side of Madison Street to create safe community access to Heckscher Park.
  • The board amended the Town’s Affordable Housing Code (Chapter 74) to establish alternative formulas, created with the support of the Huntington Housing Coalition, for the calculation of affordable rents on smaller projects in commercial zones due to higher construction costs.

 

A portion of the cream cheese case in Bagel Express in Setauket. Photo from David Prestia

Across the North Shore of Suffolk County, bagel shops and bakeries have found that it has been a little difficult getting cream cheese.

While customers can still get their favorite spread on a sandwich or buy a cheesecake or Danish pastry, local bakery and bagel shop owners are having a difficult time procuring cream cheese, and the price of the product has increased over the last few weeks. The shortage has been felt across the nation.

David Prestia, owner of Bagel Express in Setauket, said he first heard about the shortage on the news. It was a bit concerning to him as his restaurant uses cream cheese often for their bagel sandwiches, even though they offer other options such as butter, egg salad and more.

Prestia said he deals with several distributors so he has only been slightly affected by the shortage. When a couple of them couldn’t fulfill his cream cheese order, he was able to go to another distributor. However, the amount he could order was limited. He said this distributor told him that they would have to limit orders until they could assess the situation.

Cream cheese comes in 50-pound blocks, and while it’s the norm to order a few blocks at a time, he and others have been lucky if they can get one or two per order.

Prestia said he also noticed the price was going up recently. He estimated, based on his experience, that it cost 20% more to buy the spread.

Cream cheese blocks can last 45 days if the seal isn’t broken, so Prestia said he should be good through the remainder of the year. He added that cream cheese is not the only thing in short supply and he has had trouble finding other products, including napkins and plates.

“It’s been so many different things that we’ve been short on and then when the stuff appears, then the price goes up and that’s the problem,” he said. “Prices are changing so rapidly. It’s hard to keep up with what’s going on.”

Cemal Ankay, owner of Bagelicious Cafe in Port Jefferson Station, has been experiencing the same issues as Prestia. He said he has been reaching out to different distributors throughout the state to get cream cheese.

Ankay said he always tries to have two-weeks inventory, and while he hasn’t been able to get as many blocks of cream cheese as he has in the past such as four or five, he has been able to get one or two here and there. He said it’s important to be proactive as the year winds down.

“Christmas week, that’s our busiest days of the year,” he said.

Product shortages have seemed to become the norm lately, Ankay said.

“After this pandemic happened, we always have different kinds of product shortages,” he said, adding at one point he had trouble getting bacon then cups for iced tea. He, too, has had trouble getting napkins.

Ankay has seen the prices skyrocket for cream cheese. He once paid $1.90 a pound but then last week it was around $2.49, and the other day he was told it would be more than $3.

“You’re lucky to get it,” he said. “I don’t want to say to my customers, ‘Sorry, I don’t have any cream cheese.’”

In Northport, Copenhagen Bakery & Cafe owned by Flemming Hansen has been facing similar problems getting cream cheese for items such as cheesecake, Danishes and their red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, according to employee Jessica Greenbaum. Like Bagel Express, they deal with a few distributors and have options regarding ordering. Recently, they ordered cream cheese from a distributor that they haven’t ordered the product from in the past.

“I hope it doesn’t come to, when in the morning you crave a cheese Danish, that we don’t have one,” she said, adding that the bakery has enough to get through the holidays as they don’t use as much of the spread as a bagel store would.

Grocery stores

The cream cheese shortage has affected local grocery stores, too.

Stefanie Shuman, external communications manager for Stop & Shop, said, “Like many retailers, we are seeing some shortages because suppliers are experiencing labor and transportation challenges due to COVID-19. With cream cheese, Kraft specifically has been having supply issues on Philly and Temp Tee [products] due to impacts from Hurricane Ida.”

King Kullen, which has stores in St. James and Wading River, is experiencing similar problems, according to Lloyd Singer, spokesperson for King Kullen.

“While we are in stock on most varieties, supply is tight and is expected to remain so through the end of the year,” Singer said.

Eric McCarthy and Deidre O'Connell in front of the new location.  Photo courtesy of Daniel Gale Sotheby's

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty has announced that it is in the process of moving its longtime Huntington office from Park Avenue to a prime location on the corner of Main Street and New York Avenue in downtown Huntington Village. The new office will reap the benefits of high visibility and heavy foot traffic in this destination village known for its popular restaurants, shopping, and entertainment venues. 

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer Deirdre O’Connell made the announcement with the expectation that the new office will open in early spring 2022.

“To say that we are excited about our new location is an understatement,” said O’Connell. “We are delighted to bring a state of the art real estate office to downtown Huntington Village. Not only is Huntington the hometown of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, our very first office was founded on this busy corner in 1922. Its opening will coincide with the start of our 100th anniversary celebration.” 

As the new home base for some 50 real estate advisors, the office, located at 263 Main Street with display windows running alongside New York Ave., has already been festooned with signs bearing Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty’s familiar whale logo.  

“We’re sad to say goodbye to our longtime home on Park Avenue,” said O’Connell, “but this new office will incorporate design elements developed to accommodate the latest technology, the health and safety needs of those who work there or visit, and include leading edge meeting rooms.” 

Eric McCarthy, sales manager of the Huntington office, is equally enthused about the move to Main Street. “An essential part of our culture is being part of the local community, and we will be in the thick of it here on Main Street. Huntington is among Long Island’s most desirable communities in which to live, and we look forward to inviting our neighbors, friends and passersby to stop in and say hello.”