Times of Huntington-Northport

David Conklin Farmhouse

The weather looks lovely this weekend so the Huntington Historical Society will be offering tours of two of their historic properties!

The David Conklin Farmhouse, 2 High Street, Huntington will be open on Sunday, April 11 from 1 to 4 p.m.

​This farmhouse was built c. 1750 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally the home of David and Sybel Conklin, the house was occupied by the Conklin family for over one-hundred and fifty years.

A volunteer docent will lead you through the original rooms of the house where Sybel Conklin and her children lived and worked while her husband, David, was held prisoner by the British in 1777. You will also see rooms decorated to reflect the Federal and Victorian periods.  Stop by to get a spring dose of local history! Admission is a suggested donation of $4 per person. Parking is available on site. Masks are required.

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Soldiers and Sailors Building

Soldiers and Sailors BuildingThe Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, 228 Main St., Huntington will be open on April 11 as well from 1 to 4 p.m. (free admission). The building was completed in 1892 as a memorial to the 40 townsmen who died in the Civil War.

The idea for a memorial was first proposed in 1865.  Huntington’s leading citizens joined together to create The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Association in 1886 and fundraising efforts finally bore fruit when the building was completed in 1892. It is the first of several monumental civic structures built in Huntington in the two decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century.

This building, which you see before you as you leave downtown Huntington going east, was used as the town library. After the library moved to its current location at the other end of Main Street in 1958, the building was used by the Huntington school district. From 1969 on it became home to the Town Historian. In 2000, the Association donated the building to the Huntington Historical Society. The Society undertook an ambitious eight year restoration project and re-opened it as a museum in 2008.

Today, the building houses the Society’s History and Decorative Arts Museum and features changing exhibits from the Historical Society’s collection. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and as part of Old Town Hall National Register Historic District.

Parking is available on site and masks are required.

Activists attend a rally for police reform in Hauppauge March 15. File photo by Julianne Mosher

By Harry To

Suffolk County Legislator Sam Gonzalez (D-Brentwood) was the lone vote against the reform plan for the Suffolk County Police Department. The reform plan passed 16-1 in the county Legislature earlier this month.

“The passage of this plan today is truly a historic moment in Suffolk County, and I am grateful to all those who came to the table and everyone who took part in the reform process to tackle the toughest of challenges,” said County Executive Steve Bellone (D) in a press release.

In a statement, Gonzalez said that he voted “no” on the reform plan because independent oversight of police conduct was not included, leaving the plan “insufficient.”

“This reform plan is about our future; not only will it affect residents today, but it will also impact generations of residents long after us,” Gonzalez said. “The plan is insufficient and will not be effective unless there is serious discipline for wrongful actions. Clearly, there is a crisis of mistrust and for change to be successful — there must be accountability.”

Progressive groups across the country have advocated for police reform.

Indeed, many Long Island advocates share Gonzalez’s gripes with current reform plans. As a result, they drew up “The People’s Plan,” which includes civilian oversight for police misconduct and the creation of unarmed traffic enforcement.

“The plan that was released by Suffolk County in response to Governor Cuomo’s (D) executive order falls short of the transformative changes to the way we conceive of public safety that this moment in our community members are demanding,” said Jackie Burbridge, co-founder of the Long Island Black Alliance.

On the other side of the aisle, state Republicans attacked the reform bill for different reasons. Some cited the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes as a reason for opposing the reforms, such as state Sen. Alexis Weik (R-Sayville).

“One-party control in Albany has led to laws that have immediately released violent criminals, the repeal of 50-a, and an overall disdain for the men and women of law enforcement,” she said in a press release. “In light of the rising violence we see day in and day out on the news, particularly recent acts of violence against the Asian American community, we must shift course to a focus on restoring safety and accountability to the policies coming out of Albany.”

Still, the 1,000-page Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task Force Report received overwhelming bipartisan support from county legislators March 30.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police 4th Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the woman who allegedly stole items from a Commack store in March.

A woman allegedly stole assorted apparel and other items from Walmart, located at 85 Crooked Hill Road, on March 11 at approximately 11:45 a.m. The merchandise was valued at approximately $225.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

The police are seeking a man who allegedly stole from a Commack Walmart. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police 4th Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a man who allegedly stole items from a Commack store in March.

A man allegedly stole flashlights from Walmart, located at 85 Crooked Hill Road, March 11 at approximately 3:55 p.m. The man fled in a black Hyundai. The flashlights were valued at approximately $390.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

The Huntington Arts Council recently announced the winners of its High Arts Showcase XVII art exhibit.

High Arts Showcase XVII is a component of the JOURNEY Arts in Education Program providing partner school 11th and 12th grade students with the opportunity to present their talents in a gallery setting through this exclusive visual art exhibition. Participating school districts include Cold Spring Harbor Jr/Sr High School, Commack High School, Harborfields High School, Huntington High School, King’s Park High School, Northport High School, Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, and Walt Whitman High School. For more information on the artists and their work click here.

Congratulations to the following students awarded Best in Show and Honorable Mentions for their work:
  • Best in Show
    “Isiah” by Anthony Colley, Harborfields High School
  • Honorable Mentions
    “Conceptual Portrait 1” by Samantha Drouin, Commack High School
    “Grandpa John” by Olivia DeFeo, Northport High School
    “Primary Tribal” by Kendal Eggert, Kings Park
    “The Son of Man” (video) by Lauren Gooding, Huntington High School

The exhibit is on view at the Huntington Arts Council’s website, www.huntingtonarts.org, through April 10.

Photo from SBUH

In response to an easing of state regulations and their approach to patient care, area hospitals are relaxing restrictions about patient visitors.

Cheryl Miranda, director of Patient Experience at Huntington Hospital, has been planning the new visitation policy since the beginning of the month. Photo from Huntington Hospital

Starting this past Monday, Huntington Hospital will allow patients who do not have COVID-19 to have one visitor per day, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. St. Charles and St. Catherine of Siena hospitals also allow one COVID-19 negative visitor per day during those same hours.

Huntington Hospital is responding to the medical, emotional and personal need its patients have for the support of family and friends during whatever health challenges they face.

“There is nothing like having your loved one at your bedside, holding your hand,” said Cheryl Miranda, director of Patient Experience at Huntington Hospital, which is a part of Northwell Health.

Family also provides helpful information, helping medical professionals know whether a patient’s behavior is different from normal

“As a nurse, I’ve always felt that family is part of the caregiving circle,” Miranda said. “The family knows their loved one better than anyone. They will help us provide better care.”

St. Charles Hospital and St. Catherine of Siena started allowing one hospital visitor per COVID-negative patient per day starting about four weeks ago.

Stony Brook is making several changes to its visitation policy.

As of April 1, the hospital is allowing two visitors for patients in labor and delivery, for pediatric patients and for patients in end-of-life situations. This will increase from one to two.

Patients receiving same day surgical procedures will also be allowed a patient visitor until a procedure begins. The visitor is required to wait outside during the procedure and then can return during the patient’s release from the hospital.

Inpatient child psychiatry will also allow a visitor, as will cancer center and outpatient offices.

Approved visitors to Stony Brook must wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth the entire time, will have symptom checks, including thermal scanning, will not be allowed outside the patient’s room, must maintain six feet of distance and must wash their hands on entering and leaving the room.

Hospitals had generally restricted most or all patient visitors over various periods in the last year amid the pandemic to limit the spread of COVID-19. Nurses throughout Long Island and the world have used tablets, phones and other technology to help their patients connect with family members, enabling them to see spouses, siblings, children, grandchildren and friends from hospital beds that often had them feeling isolated during their health battles.

Allowing visitors, who are still required to wear masks, will help hospitalized patients feel more normal and receive the kind of support that can brighten their day while shortening their hospital visit.

A hospital employee will screen patients on their way into the hospital, asking them questions about any possible symptoms and taking their temperature.

Visitors who are COVID-19 positive can’t enter. Additionally, visitors who come in from out of the state or whom they believe necessitates a screening will have a rapid swab.

“We are not asking everyone to be tested,” Miranda said.

The hospital is spreading the word about its new patient visitor policy by changing its on-hold messages, is sharing information on TV sets and is telling families directly during virtual visits that one person at a time can come to the hospital.

Patients can determine who visits, which includes family members and friends.

“There is nothing like having your loved one at your bedside, holding your hand.”

Cheryl Miranda

Miranda said the medical staff is well-prepared for an increase in visitors through the hospital.

“I don’t have to tell anybody in this building to follow precautions,” Miranda said. “We’ve all been through this for 13 months now and there isn’t anyone” who needs reminding about personal protective equipment, hand washing or social distancing.

Initially, Huntington Hospital workers will escort visitors to patient rooms, reminding them about safety policies.

During visits, patients and visitors are expected to wear masks. If a family member comes during mealtime or brings food, the patient can eat, but should do so at a safe distance.

Miranda, who has been at Huntington Hospital for 20 years, realizes the suffering patients and their families have endured during the pandemic.

“To tell someone they can’t be here is an awful, awful thing,” Miranda said. “My heart goes out to the families that haven’t been allowed to be here” and to the patients who “haven’t been able to have their loved ones at their side.”

Miranda has been planning this new visitation policy since the beginning of the month.

The hospital has learned numerous lessons about health care, including by providing virtual support for patients.

In addition to bereavement support groups, which have been particularly busy as families mark the one-year anniversary of the loss of a loved one, the hospital is adding a long-haul support group.

Starting on Thursday, April 8 at 2 p.m., Huntington Hospital will offer support to people who have a lingering cough, ongoing debilitating fatigue, body aches, joint pain, shortness of breath, loss of taste and smell, difficulty sleeping, headaches and brain fog.

People interested in joining that group can email Kacey Farber at [email protected].

Dr. Jean Cacciabaudo, associate medical director at Huntington Hospital and a cardiologist, will sit on the long haulers support meeting. Cacciabaudo, who had COVID-19 and has some long haulers symptoms, will attend not just for herself, but to provide the physician’s perspective.

Miranda said the bereavement support groups have helped family members amid a loss.

“It’s the beauty of humanity, when we reach out and help each other,” Miranda said. “There’s no magic solution for grief and loss. For some people, it’s just about remembering all the wonderful things they had when they had that person and sharing that with other people. It’s about not being isolated. That’s a big key.”

Team Breakfast for Dinner had to break through a block of ice to release the keys to their food trucks and begin the competition. Photo from Breakfast for Dinner @bfdfoodtruck on Instagram

By Nancy Vallarella

Season 13 of “The Great Food Truck Race” is looking to be a lucky one for Long Island’s team, Breakfast For Dinner.

Harry Poole, of Smithtown, from team Breakfast for Dinner. Photo from Breakfast for Dinner @bfdfoodtruck on Instagram

Long Island natives Kate Wurtzel and Harry Poole, both of Smithtown, and April Nothdurft, of Islip, have taken first place in the weekly episodes 1, 2 and 3, which started March 7.  Their journey can still be followed through the bone-chilling wonderland of Alaska, on the Food Network channel, Sundays at 10 p.m.

In January 2020, the program’s host, Chef Tyler Florence, posted a casting call on Instagram. Mom and spice-blend entrepreneur Wurtzel responded and then scrambled for culinary talent to compose a team.

Harry Poole, a never-met-before neighbor and chef/owner of two family-owned restaurants — Jackson’s in Commack and Morrison’s in Plainview — joined Wurtzel and Poole’s longtime co-worker Nothdurft.  A day later, the trio interviewed with the Food Network via Skype.

The team had a concept. Poole’s wife Shelby designed a logo, and team Breakfast For Dinner was set to film at the end of March last year.

Then COVID-19 struck, closing down not only their businesses but also their Food Network dream. The months passed.

“It felt as though the opportunity was lost,” Poole said.

While the members of team BFD were acclimating to the “new normal” in the fall, Food Network reached out to the trio, and the race was back on.  With renewed spirit Wurtzel, Poole, and Nothdurft gave the opportunity their all. They became fast friends, fierce competitors and a family.

Team BFD can only speak about the episodes that have aired. Competing in the frigid and icy conditions of Alaska was a daily obstacle. Slipping, sliding, falling, on-the-fly snow-chain installation and driving trucks with 110 pounds of propane on board up and down snowy mountains became part of the daily routine.

Fortitude, teamwork, positive attitudes and culinary skill have all played in the success team Breakfast For Dinner has achieved.

In episode 1, contestants met on a snow-covered mountain top in Anchorage, where they had to break through a block of ice to release the keys to their food trucks and begin the competition. The fun continued in episode 2 in the city of Palmer, with an outdoor cookout requiring a fire started with flint for an old-fashioned cook-off in blustery conditions. Onto Homer for episode 3, where the competitors found themselves at sea catching salmon before traveling to a location to prep the day’s menu and begin selling from their food trucks.

Today, Wurtzel is growing her spice-blend company Keep It Spicy!; Poole continues to use Wurtzel’s spices in his food served at Jackson’s and Morrison’s; and Nothdurft is a mixologist at The Brixton in Babylon.

Three competition episodes remain. Tune in to see if Long Island’s team makes its way to winning $50K.

File photo

Last week, a Shirley man was killed on the streets of Port Jefferson in broad daylight. 

He was gunned down at 3:35 p.m., outside the Dunkin’ Donuts that many of us frequent on our way to work.

It’s a tragedy. No one deserves to die.

But here’s where another problem lies: The impact of social media when it comes to an incident such as the one on that Wednesday. 

People began spreading rumors across Facebook, in private — and not so private — groups. They claimed there was an active shooter, a robbery gone wrong, a drive-by gunman attacking the innocent women and children enjoying the sunshine.

None of that was true. 

It was mind-boggling, seeing what people were posting online while an active investigation was going on. They blamed the local government, the Suffolk County Police Department, the school district, the media — one resident even posted that this event in our village was all the fault of President Joe Biden (D). 

Some residents began playing detective or journalist — they wanted to track down the guy who “soiled” our perfect little town. Some used it as a jumping pad for their own agendas.

Everyone made it about them. 

Even a comment such as, “That could have been me dead,” is false. This was a targeted attack between two men. 

We understand this was scary — we were frightened, too. But this was someone’s son, a brother, a friend. No matter what he got caught up in, someone lost their life the other day.

Stop meddling in what the police and local government are trained to do in these situations. 

On Facebook, people shared photos of David Bliss Jr. dying in the street. In one of the photos, you see him lying there, covered in blood while people hold up their phone cameras around him.

How would you feel? Your last visions of the world are of people leaning above you, filming your last breath. 

We are disappointed in the community. Instead of coming together, they are taking the event personally and spreading fear among others. 

Let the mayor do her job. Let the police do their job and let the media do their job. 

Things are kept private for a reason. Names and residencies are not released because an investigation is ongoing. Any leaked information can completely ruin a case. 

And that’s the worst part. People began believing false rumor-filled Facebook threads and posts. The rumors caused anxiety and instead of coming together, it pulled people even further apart. 

We found out the shooter was from Port Jefferson Station — not far from where he killed the 25-year-old man — and he was found within 72 hours thanks to the village cameras and hard work of law enforcement.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened on social media as we have seen it happen with other incidents across the Island, state, country and around the globe. And in those events, social media took over, too. 

Only newspapers and their digital media check all facts. Social media does not. 

It’s sad, it’s terrible, but it happened, and we need to grow from it. 

We can all do better.

Go to TBR News Media for accurate breaking news.

Photo from Pexels

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

When I was in college, I learned an important lesson in class that had nothing to do with the subject I was studying. Many years ago, I attended an early morning anthropology lecture.

Pacing at the front and bottom of a semicircular stage, the professor shared details about the hungry ghost festival. In various parts of Asia and India, people practice a ritual in which they relieve the suffering of their deceased relatives by providing food. During this time, the professor said, people prepare meals and leave empty seats for ghosts, who ritualistically consume the food.

Seated next to a friend from our dorm, I was busily taking notes, not only because I wanted to do well on a future test, but because I also found the description fascinating.

That’s when the professor became distracted. Someone from the audio visual department was quietly packing up equipment at the back of the room.

“Excuse me,” the professor yelled to the man. “What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry,” the man said.

“Well, you should be,” the professor barked back.

The man continued to try to pack up the materials quietly. The noise, which I barely heard from a seat that was much closer to the back of the room, was still too much for my professor.

“You’re sorry, but you’re still disrupting my class!” he shouted.

“I’m packing up the material. I work for the university. One of the other classes needs it now,” the man replied. “I’ll keep it down.”

“No, this is ridiculous,” the professor said through gritted teeth. “I won’t tolerate this. You will leave.”

The man stood still, unsure of what to do. In that moment, I felt like I had a choice: I could either say something to support the man in the back of the room or walk out of the class. By doing and saying nothing, which is what I did, I felt like I was accepting the professor’s behavior.

When the man spent one more minute doing his work, the professor demanded to know where he worked so he could show up and bother him while he was trying to concentrate.

All these years later, I still think of that small moment. These types of incidents require a readiness to think, speak or act, especially to something that disturbs or distresses us. It’s akin to what coaches say all the time in sports: know what you’re going to do with the ball before it comes to you. If you have to think too much about your next move, it’s going to be too late.

A recent anti-Asian incident in New York City, in which security guards watched as a man knocked down and kicked a 65-year-old woman on her way to church, reminded me of the need to be prepared to do the right thing, even when someone wrongs someone else.

We are more likely to act when we are prepared to help, even if the moment creates discomfort for us.

Nowadays, we all have an opportunity to support each other, particularly amid anti-American attacks on members of the Asian American community. These cowardly verbal and physical assaults will become less prevalent if perpetrators know we’re all prepared to stand up for our friends and neighbors who have become the target for random anger during the pandemic. Asian Americans are not an enemy of the rest of us any more than our heart is the enemy of our body. We should stand with, and for, each other.

President Kennedy greets Peace Corps volunteers in 1961. Wikipedia

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Here is an idea that you may find goofy. It has to do with the unaccompanied young people hoping to enter the United States at our southern border and our sperm count crisis.

I don’t know how many of you remember when President John F. Kennedy called to our young and proposed the Peace Corps initiative exactly 60 years ago. How we responded stands as one of our finer moments as a nation. 

In that program, those wanting to make a difference in the world could volunteer to work in other countries on health campaigns, encourage entrepreneurship or teach English to name a few possible jobs. 

Today, the opportunity still exists to serve in over 141 countries (as of 2018), and what was required then still is: resiliency and heart. Those who entered the two-year program had appropriate skills and found the experience gratifying, even life changing.

Now I propose turning the idea on its head. The unaccompanied minors gathered at the border, mostly 16-to-17-year-old males, probably have little in the way of skills except for two assets: youthful energy and desperation. These are both of powerful value.

The government could offer them the following path into the country: They would agree to be assigned to families in different cities and towns and to help those families as directed. This proposition might be of particular aid in agricultural settings but certainly not limited to those. They would not be paid but would enter into a work-study program in which they might gain education, room and board. They would provide much needed work to those who have lost immigrant helpers on farms, in hospitality jobs and childcare, for example, over the past few years due to limitations on foreign workers imposed by the government. 

In return for their efforts, these young people would earn, in due time, a path to citizenship, just as there once was an offer to foreign-born males during WWII to enter the army in return for naturalization. There is still such a pathway today which they could eventually opt for.

A reverse Peace Corps program would require a complex administration in which the families offering such a position would be carefully vetted, as would the young people entering the country. And monitoring within the country would of necessity be in-depth and ongoing. The young people would have to be protected from gangs seeking to force them into their ranks, as well as from exploitive families. Duties would have to be carefully laid out, with hours and goals met. 

It occurs to me that there have been such immigration programs in history, most recently the Kindertransport that brought some 10,000 children up to the age of 17, whose lives were in mortal danger from Nazi atrocities, to England between 1938-1939. After the war, several thousand remained in Britain, and as adults “made considerable contributions to Britain’s services, industries, commerce, education, science and the arts for the defense, welfare and development of their country of adoption.” [Wikipedia.]

Now back to our own situation. Not unrelated, there has been a serious drop in births in the United States over the past half century, in part due to economic circumstances and even to declining sperm count as a result of ongoing pollution. We have learned from previous recessions that for every one percent increase in unemployment, there is a reduction of one percent in the birthrate. 

The current pandemic is anticipated to bring a baby bust, not a baby boom. Even before COVID-19, underpopulation was expected by some researchers, as our falling birthrate was most recently below the 2.1 babies per woman (2019) required to sustain our population through birth alone.

We are, after all, a nation of immigrants, and those seeking to enter our country, by and large, bring the aforementioned energy and grit, determined to realize the “American Dream.” They are an easy way to solve the need for more people. The ultimate goal here is for any such policy to be done according to the law.