Smithtown West 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown West 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown West 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown West 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown West 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown East 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown East 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown West 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown East 2022 education. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown East 2022 graduation. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Seniors from Smithtown High School East and Smithtown High School West filled their schools’ football fields as students for the last time on Thursday, June 23.
Smithtown East’s commencement ceremony celebrated the graduation of 401 students and featured the district’s Assistant Superintendent Kevin Simmons, who was the principal at East for 3 1/2 years before moving to the district office, as the keynote speaker.
The two student speakers were Aman Mistry, who was voted by fellow seniors as the honor speaker, and Trishaulla Kanhai, who is president of the Class Council.
At Smithtown West, 358 students received their diplomas. Superintendent Mark Secaur addressed the students. National Honor Society President Tyler Nagosky was chosen by his classmates to speak at the ceremony and co-presidents Hunter Hayes and Madison Hilman also delivered speeches.
We don’t usually go to bed thinking, “what if I’m wrong?” We don’t get up asking ourselves the same question.
We develop our beliefs, stick with them and, as time goes on, we defend them or push for change based on something we think, or are fairly certain, we know.
But it’s worth considering the possibility that we might be wrong, particularly in connection with something as important as the only habitable planet we know.
If you don’t believe climate change is a threat and you think rules restricting environmental pollution are unnecessary and a federal government overreach, have you considered the consequences of being wrong?
I won’t trot out all the climate science experts who have what they consider incontrovertible proof that the climate is warming based on years of data.
You’d probably come back with the argument that the data can be interpreted in other ways or that science itself rarely has complete certainty.
You might even suggest that a warmer climate would mean we wouldn’t need to use as much heat during the winter months and that some crops might grow better during a longer, hotter growing season.
While I don’t ascribe to those thoughts —which a headline grabbing Republican recently espoused — because of the danger to so many staple crops from a warmer season that could include droughts and storms that cripple cities and destroy crops, I want those who don’t believe climate change is real to consider what might happen if they are wrong.
At the time of this writing, the Supreme Court hadn’t ruled on West Virginia vs. Environmental Protection Agency. If the conservative majority, who have been reshaping the political and legal landscape at a rapid pace, rules as expected, the EPA will have less authority to regulate power plant pollution.
That would mean power plants won’t have to comply with federal rules that limit the gases they emit into the environment and the pollutants they send into the air.
These companies may be able to make more money by continuing to operate as they had in the past. Yay for them? Right? Well, not so fast.
What’s the risk if they are wrong? We all make decisions when weighing risks, whether it’s the types of stocks we invest in, the places we go that might be dangerous at night, or the undercooked foods we eat.
So, if they’re wrong, the world continues to heat up, storms such as hurricanes move more slowly, dumping more rain on any one area, crops get destroyed, glaciers continue to melt causing sea levels to rise, and biodiversity declines, wiping out species that might have otherwise led to cures for disease or provide future food sources.
Some areas also become uninhabitable.
Our children, grandchildren and future generations can’t come back to tell us who was right. What we do or don’t do, however, will undoubtedly affect them.
Using the same logic climate change deniers use to suggest that nothing is certain, it seems critical to hedge their bets, protecting us from a future they believe is possible but unlikely.
Even if the Supreme Court acts (or acted, depending on the timing) as expected, we don’t have to be fatalistic or cynical about the next steps in the battle against our own gaseous waste.
Utilities and other companies that produce these gases have to take responsibility for their actions, regardless of what the Supreme Court says or does. Even reluctant legislators have to consider what might happen if they are wrong. Yes, leaders have numerous other problems.
We can’t ignore the Earth. If some people consider the consequences of freeing up companies to send carbon dioxide into the only air we have, they might be making a one-way mistake. They must consider what will happen if they are wrong.
Women need some good news right about now, after the Roe decision, and here it is: Women are more likely to live past 90. But there is a caveat. We have to be optimistic. Now, don’t poo poo this statement. It comes from a large study by researchers at Harvard University and was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Entitled, “Optimism, Lifestyle and Longevity in a Racially Diverse Cohort of Women,” the study deals with 26 years of data from almost 160,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79. All the participants were selected for their optimism with quantitative measures of testing. Researchers found that the top quarter of the women in the study with the most positive outlook would probably live 5.4% longer than the least optimistic 25% of participants. Further, the more optimistic women were 10% more likely to live past the age of 90 than the least optimistic cohort.
The link between optimism and longer lifespan could be seen across racial and ethnic groups. “Optimism may be an important asset to consider for promoting health and longevity in diverse populations,” states the article. Non-Hispanic White, Black, Hispanic/Latina and Asian, American Indian and Alaskan native women were in the group.
“A high proportion (53%) of the women [in the optimism group] achieved exceptional longevity,” according to the study. “Higher optimism was associated with longer lifespan and a greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity overall and across racial and ethnic groups. The contribution of lifestyle to these associations was modest. Optimism may promote health and longevity in diverse ethnic and racial groups. Future research should investigate these associations in less long-lived populations,” concludes the Journal. Francine Grodstein, ScD and Laura D. Kubzansky, PhD, were the principal researchers of the study.
Interestingly, of those tested, women with higher optimism levels were more frequently non-Hispanic White with higher education levels.
This study also suggests that optimism is “just as important as exercise when it comes to longevity.” The researchers found this to be true even when other factors like depression, chronic health conditions and racial, social and economic background were taken into account. So a positive outlook on life may be just as important as fitness—or so lazy optimists would like to believe, and based on this large study, they may be right.
Stress, on the other hand, can take a toll on mental and physical health. According to an article in this past Tuesday’s New York Times, “certain types of stress can even age your immune system.”In a study involving 5700 adults aged 50 and over, stresses like job strain, stressful life events, every day or lifetime discrimination (including sexism or ageism) and traumatic life events were cross referenced with immune cell counts from participants’ blood. Simple aging is also a stress on the immune system.
One way to prevent or minimize immune cell aging may be to minimize or do away with unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking. But all kinds of stress, we intuitively know, can effect physical health.
How do we help ourselves further reduce stress?
Taking stock of our emotions is a good place to start. Knowing and acting on what brings us joy and where we can find social support can help. “That may mean pursuing hobbies, spending time with loved ones, or unplugging from work or social media when you can,” suggests Hannah Seo, writing for the NYT. “Mindfulness practices, exercise and healthy eating habits can also help you feel good physically, which in turn can make you feel good mentally,” according to Renee Eddy, a New York City psychotherapist, quoted in the NYT.
My best defense against stress is having social support from family and friends. My son, daughter-in-law and grandson recently visited for four days, and just interacting with them was a joy. My friends call and just chatting leaves me feeling happy, not to mention more informed.
Stresses can negatively affect longevity. Joy and optimism, we are told by current research, can increase lifespan.
A few books in the Smithtown Library children’s collection were part of pride displays that were temporarily removed in the children’s department before the board rescinded an earlier vote. Photo from Smithtown Library Facebook
Within 48 hours, The Smithtown Library Board of Trustees reversed a controversial decision made at its June 21 meeting.
Initially, the trustees voted 4-2, with one member absent, to remove pride displays, which included signs and books, in the children’s sections in its Smithtown, Commack, Kings Park and Nesconset branches. Two days later, the board held an emergency meeting and reversed its decision, again 4-2, with one board member abstaining.
The reversal came after criticism from the community on social media platforms. Among the critics were Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), the New York Library Association and author Jodi Picoult, who grew up in the town and was a page at the library when she was younger. She said on her Facebook page the initial decision “disgusts me and makes me reevaluate an institution that I have praised for being formative in my life as an author.”
The books remained available in the library’s children’s collection during the temporary removal and could be checked out, according to a June 22 memo from library trustees. Pride displays in the adult and teen sections remained.
After the reversal of the decision during the board’s emergency June 23 meeting, another memo was posted to the library’s website announcing the rescinding of the decision.
“The majority of the board recognizes that our earlier decision was made without the time, care and due diligence that a decision of this type deserves and that it was the wrong decision,” the memo read.
No public comments were accepted during the June 23 meeting, which was held via Zoom.
Thomas Maher, vice president of trustees, said at this meeting he supports the LGBTQ+ community’s rights. He said during the June 21 meeting, there was a passionate discussion about the displays, and the subject was discussed for a while. It was discovered there wasn’t a library policy about internal displays. He said his initial vote to remove the displays “was intended to enable the library to continue to offer all of its existing resources to all of its patrons in a peaceful and cooperative manner during this time of transition.” On June 23, he voted for the return of the displays.
Trustee Marie Gergenti voted twice for the removal. She said during the June 23 meeting she received messages from patrons.
“They felt that little children were exposed to some images in some of those books, and they weren’t happy about it,” she said.
Theresa Grisafi, a trustee who also voted twice for the removal, added many felt the displays in the children’s rooms were not age appropriate for young library patrons.
“The concern was for the small children,” she said.
She said she tried to convey that at the initial meeting and said it had nothing to do with anyone’s personal feelings.
Trustee member Marilyn LoPresti abstained from voting on June 23 and said she would like to research the matter further.
Library board president Brianna Baker-Stines said at the June 23 meeting, “We assumed a role that was not our job.”
Baker-Stines added that it was the librarians’ jobs to set up displays and “we need to trust the staff we hired.”
In an email to TBR News Media, Baker-Stines said in order to create a policy regarding internal displays, legal counsel advised that a standing committee for policy creation would first need to be created. While the board has multiple standing committees, the previous ones were only ad hoc. Baker-Stines said during her time on the board the members have only had to amend policies and not create new ones, unless based on an immediate need such as the work-from-home policy adopted at the beginning of the pandemic. She said the members realized it would take several steps to establish a proper committee.
“We knew that this process might take several meetings, which may be why some trustees were in a rush to remove the pride display that night,” she said.
Initial news coverage reported that the books were removed from the children’s collections when they were not.
“I think the wording on the motion may have led some of the media to believe the books were removed all together,” she said.
Baker-Stines said she “was devastated by the vote to remove the pride displays” and added “the library should be a safe space for every member of the public.”
As former library page and reference clerk at Hauppauge Public Library, she said, “I have been a part of the creation of many library displays, including Pride month displays. These are materials that can be lifesaving, and also materials that are requested by patrons during this time.”
Currently, the trustees have 900 emails to go through after the community reacted to the board’s initial decision.
David Kilmnick, nonprofit LGBT Network president and CEO, said while the removal of the displays never should have happened, the community’s response “shows the power that we have as a community to do the right thing and that right thing is so simple — it is creating safe learning spaces for all of our children.”
He said the removal of the displays could have a traumatic effect on “someone seeing themselves exist one day and then erased the next and for no good reason other than hate and bias.”
Kilmnick added the community’s response showed an “outpouring of support and love.”
“There are more people on the side of equality, equity, safety and love than on the other side,” he said. “We just all have to work together and not be afraid, and it showed what we can do in a very fast, rapid, effective way when we do this together.”
The pride displays in the Smithtown Library branches will remain until July 15.
The Atelier at Flowerfield, 2 Flowerfield, Suite #15, St. James hosts a three-day Comic and Character Design studio workshop with artist Robert Rosenberg at Atelier Hall on Wednesday, July 7, Thursday, July 8 and Friday, July 9 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Robert Rosenberg is a recent graduate of SUNY Stony Brook and will begin an MFA in Illustration at FIT in September. He is an illustrator and the creator of several comics which can be viewed on his website, City Slicker Blues. In this workshop, he’ll share his love of comics and character design with The Atelier at Flowerfield.
He will outline what goes into designing good characters, as well as what comics are and what makes a comic good. He will discuss, demonstrate and teach the use of traditional comic making tools, such as dip pens, ink brushes, and technical pens; as well as some digital tools for comic creation.
Come join the fun and learn how to create your own unique characters and stories!
Cost is $135 per person. To register, call 631-250-9009 or visit www.theatelieratflowerfield.org
Dr. Gregson Pigott, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, said that due to the heavy rainfall that occurred recently, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services has issued an advisory against bathing at 63 beaches, including beaches within and adjacent to various north shore embayments (Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington Harbor and Bay, Centerport Harbor, Northport Harbor and Bay, Port Jefferson Harbor Complex, and Stony Brook Harbor), along the northern shoreline of the Great South Bay, Sag Harbor, and those Long Island Sound beaches that are directly impacted by nearby storm water discharges (list attached).
The advisory is based on the potential that bacterial numbers in excess of New York State standards, resulting from the heavy rain, will impact these areas.
The beaches covered by the advisory are located in areas that are heavily influenced by stormwater runoff from the surrounding watersheds and/or adjacent tributaries, and, because of their location in an enclosed embayment, experience limited tidal flushing.
The Department recommends that bathing and other water contact be suspended in affected areas until the waters have been flushed by two successive tidal cycles (at least a 24 hr. period) after the rain has ended. Unless sampling done by the Department finds elevated bacterial numbers persisting beyond the 24-hr period, this advisory will be lifted Wednesday, 6/29/22 7am.
For the latest information on affected beaches, call the Bathing Beach HOTLINE at 631-852-5822, contact the Department’s Office of Ecology at 631-852-5760 M-F, or visit the website link: www.suffolkcountyny.gov/health.
The 2022 Dennis Cannataro Music series kicks off with the Just Sixties Band on July 7.
This article has been updated to add one more concert on August 11.
Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta has announced the return of the Dennis Cannataro Family Summer Concert Series to the Smithtown Main Library, 1 North Country Road, Smithtown which start on Thursday, July 7 and run through Aug. 11.
These concerts are made possible by a Suffolk County Omnibus grant obtained by Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. “The free shows provide a great opportunity for everyone to enjoy themselves, hear some great music and to support our downtown merchants and local restaurants,” said Legislator Rob Trotta.
The concerts are held every Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. Bring a chair or blanket for seating.
The line-up is as follows:
July 7 – Just Sixties (60s)
July 14 – One Step Ahead (Greatest Hits)
July 21 – Petty Rumors (Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty)
July 28 – Endless Summer (60th Anniversary of the Beach Boys)
August 4 – Captain Jack (Billy Joel)
August 11 – The Gold Coast Orchestra (Motown)
For more information or in case of inclement weather on the day of the event, please go to the Smithtown Library’s website at www.smithlib.org or call 631-360-2480 ext.150 after 3 p.m.
How changing political boundaries can have real consequences for voters and their representatives
An early political cartoon criticizing former Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry’s practice of drawing bizarrely shaped state senate districts for partisan gain. Stock photo by Pixy
Redistricting is shaking up this election season.
Redistricting is the process by which new political boundaries are drawn to reflect the changes in populations across regions and states. New congressional districts, as well as state Senate and Assembly districts, are redrawn by state Legislatures every 10 years to accord with the most recent U.S. Census results.
‘Government at its worst.’
— Mario Mattera
This year, a cloud of uncertainty was placed over the electoral process when the state Court of Appeals blocked the New York State Legislature’s plans for redrawn district maps. The majority 4-3 decision sent the responsibility for redrawing the lines to an out-of-state independent commission.
State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James), whose District 2 was altered significantly under the new lines, accused the majority in the state Legislature of attempting to gerrymander his district.
“What happened was — and I’m going to say this — the Democrats went in and gerrymandered the lines in the Senate and the congressional lines,” he said.
Unlike the district lines for the state Assembly, which Mattera suggested were worked out through a series of compromises between party leaders, the state Senate could not find a working agreement for new lines. The state senator also said that the lines could have been revised before they went to court, but the majority objected, hoping to win a favorable opinion for its unfair district maps.
“The judges ruled it gerrymandering, so it went to an outside commission called Special Masters, out of Pennsylvania, and it cost the taxpayers money to do this,” he said.
Mattera expressed frustration at the process, which he said wasted time and taxpayer dollars unnecessarily. He called the recent redistricting process “government at its worst.”
‘I’m never disappointed when the process is done fairly and when it’s done by a bipartisan group that is drawing the lines.’ — Jodi Giglio
New boundaries, altered communities
Under the new district maps, people in communities throughout Long Island will see major changes this year in their political representation. Mattera, whose district currently includes Setauket, Stony Brook and Old Field, will no longer represent those areas after this year.
“Even though, as a Republican, I wasn’t getting the best results out of Setauket and Stony Brook, I still loved my district,” he said. “I did very well in knowing the people and getting to know everybody, and now I’ve lost all of the Township of Brookhaven.”
Mattera is not alone in losing a significant portion of his current constituency. State leaders all across the Island have had their district lines redrawn as well.
“Southold in its entirety has been taken away from Assembly District 2 and has been placed in Assembly District 1,” said state Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead), who represents the 2nd District.
Despite losing Southold, Giglio is not disappointed by the changes in her district. She considered the redrawing of the Assembly lines a product of bipartisan negotiations and was glad to pick up new constituencies elsewhere.
“I’m never disappointed when the process is done fairly and when it’s done by a bipartisan group that is drawing the lines,” she said, adding, “I was pleased to pick up many people in the 2nd Assembly District and will continue to work for the people of Southold as I have grown very close to them.”
‘It’s a fact of life.’
— Helmut Norpoth
Redistricting, past and future
Helmut Norpoth, professor in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University, detailed the long history of partisan squabbles over district lines. He said gerrymandering has existed since at least the early 19th century.
The word “gerrymander” was created after the infamous Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, a Founding Father and later vice president who first employed the tactic to create bizarrely shaped state senate districts. Norpoth said gerrymandering has been around “forever” and that “it’s a fact of life” whenever district maps are redrawn.
Norpoth and two of his students recently submitted a proposal to the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission. Their work is centered around making district maps fairer and elections more competitive.
“One of the requirements that we followed in our proposal is to keep communities intact and minimize any splitting of a natural community into different districts,” Norpoth said. Districts “have to be contiguous, they have to be compact. They have to be as competitive as possible, so that the balance can give both parties a chance.” He added, “There are so many different angles that you have to abide by. It’s sort of a magic act to put it all together.”
‘It’s becoming clear that it’s easier to draw unfair districts.’ — Robert Kelly
While there are so many variables considered while drawing district lines, supercomputing may help to speed up and simplify the process. Robert Kelly, professor in the Department of Computer Science at SBU, focuses on automated redistricting, which uses a mathematical formulation to generate district lines based on a wide range of constraints.
“That allows us to look at, for a given state, what the constraints are in redistricting, whether they be constraints by the state constitution, state laws or constraints given by federal court rulings,” he said. “With that, we can formulate a way to evaluate the quality of the given redistricting plan and then we can try to optimize that result.”
While advancements in computer programming and supercomputing are helping researchers improve redistricting models, Kelly acknowledged that they can also be used for nefarious purposes.
“It’s becoming clear that it’s easier to draw unfair districts,” he said. “The conclusion would be that with the availability of so much digital data that allows you to predict the voting patterns of individual voters and allows you to manipulate these district boundaries, it is creating a situation where more and more states are creating district boundaries that favor the political party that happens to be in power in the given state.”
With so much controversy today surrounding redistricting, it is questionable whether the problems of partisan gerrymandering will ever go away. Despite considerable effort by researchers like Norpoth and Kelly, conflict over district boundaries may be a feature inherent to any system that requires those lines to be redrawn.
When asked whether the redistricting process could ever become fairer, Kelly said, “Yes, I believe it could be more fair. … But would I predict that would ever happen? I would not bet on it.”
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from Kings Park Day on June 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY
The Kings Park Chamber of Commerce hosted the 44th annual Kings Park Day on June 18. The community descended on Main Street for a street fair with live music, food and crafts. The event was also the perfect place to shop for Father’s Day.
Frank Boulton, third from right in front row, cuts the ribbon with County Executive Robert Gaffney, second from left in front row, state Senator Owen Johnson, third from left, and other officials in April 2000. Photo from the Long Island Ducks
Buddy Harrelson’s oft-stated line was true when he and Frank Boulton founded the Long Island Ducks and “fans come first” remains a baseball and business mantra for a thriving organization that still draws legions of fans to the ballpark — over eight million since the team played its inaugural season in 2000.
Patrick Czark, 10, of Setauket, shows off the bat he received for being the first child in line for tickets in 2012. Photo by James Teese
With deep community ties — Boulton from Brightwaters, Harrelson in Hauppauge — the high school baseball player turned successful bond trader and New York Mets World Series champion — created and grew what has become one of Long Island’s great attractions. And the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), also founded by Boulton, became a reality as an independent league as the owner negotiated to bring a ballpark and a team to Suffolk.
“So, I started working on the Atlantic league in the early to mid 90s,” Boulton said. “It took me about five years to get everything put together in the ballparks and the ballparks being built for the Atlantic League.”
Already an owner of minor league teams, Boulton always wanted to bring a ball club to his Long Island home, seeing the potential as he had elsewhere.
“We saw that [in other locales] we had the same kind of families in Wilmington, Delaware as in Long Island … very similar,” he said.
He saw similar “socioeconomic groupings” and “thought that with our density of population [on Long Island] and the fact that we really didn’t have anything like [a minor league team].”
“At the time, you know, there was no aquarium,” he said “People would go to the beaches … we were an island … with beaches, sailing, even water skiing. But being a baseball guy, I just saw the demographics were just too ripe here.”
“And I wanted to take what I learned on the road,” he added. “Just like a Broadway show when they first take a show on the road.”
In fact, part of the move to create the ALPB and the Ducks was spurred by the New York Mets organization vetoing an unaffiliated minor league team within 75 miles of their own ball club. Boulton had originally hoped to move his New York Yankees farm team to Suffolk; the Yankees were OK, the Mets were not.
Public private partnership
Now known as Fairfield Properties Ballpark, in 2000 the Ducks played under the banner of EAB Ballpark. It was, and remains owned by Suffolk County, which also collects the monies from the naming rights.
Boulton has nothing but praise for the state and county officials who helped make the stadium a reality.
“As a young man, I had been involved with the YMCA,” Boulton said. “I’ve been involved in many different community endeavors …So I got to meet a lot of elected officials. I had worked with [State Senator] Owen Johnson and … without Owen Johnson, this ballpark probably wouldn’t have been built.”
Johnson went to the New York State Empire Development Corp.
“We gained $14.3 million dollars, economic state, a grant for which Suffolk County [gained the benefit],” he added. Bob Gaffney was the County Executive at the time, and he and his guy [Deputy CE] Eric Kopp … were very instrumental. They were both big baseball fans, Bob and Eric. The county level [of government] was great!”
Then-Commissioner of Public Works for the County, Charles Bartha, remembered a fast-paced project.
“[The ballpark] was designed and built in just 14 months from when the grant was signed,” the engineer said.
The lead architectural firm was BD Harvey, he said, a national firm that was one of only a handful that did work on big ballparks.
The county’s officials had “a strong feeling and confidence in Frank [Boulton’s] ability to promote and run [the team and ballpark.]”
The county, said Boulton, “has seen a return on its money from day one.”
Lined up for tickets
The Czark Family. Photo by James Teese
After a decade, the fans still lined up. In 2012, this reporter recalls, some light snow and low temperatures did not deter faithful fans on a Saturday morning for the opening of the then-named Bethpage Ballpark ticket office.
The Czark Family from Setauket comprised the first fans in line for a second consecutive year, having arrived Thursday morning.
“I was not ready [for the snow] but we got through it.We were online about 48 hours,” Christopher Czark said. “The kids just enjoy coming out to the ballpark. The Ducks always have something new every year. The girls like Sundays when they get to run the bases and meet the players. It’s a great experience for them.”
Getting fans and community involved
During games, fans are a part of the show. In-between every inning, the Ducks hold what they call “fan-interactive promotions” on the field. The activities, which fans sign-up for, are sometimes sweepstakes, other times funny contests such as ’dizzy bats” or ”musical chairs,” and sometimes a celebration of a young fan’s birthday — joined by QuackerJack and serenaded by the on-field host.
Even for family members less enthusiastic about baseball, there is constant action and entertainment. Sunday is Family Funday, including the post-game opportunity for kids to line-up by first base and run the bases to home plate.
And special games are followed by numerous Postgame Fireworks Spectaculars, a favorite for thousands of fans who regularly fill the ballpark for the pyrotechnic display.
More seriously, at every home game the team recognizes local veterans as well as active-duty service men and women, this year with the Suffolk County Office of Veteran Affairs and New York Community Bank, in a program called “Heroes of the Game.”
“The feedback we received from fans, veterans, sponsors and the community has been tremendously positive,” said Ducks President and General Manager Michael Pfaff.
In fact, when the public address system marks the moment, the fans — in a county which is home to nearly 100,000 veterans — consistently rise to deliver a standing ovation.
Outside the ballpark, QuackerJack and team members are often seen in the community, participating in local parades and charity drives, visiting hospitals, schools and more.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ducks hosted numerous donation events at the ballpark, and acted as a vaccination site.Programs to aid the community are ongoing and effective fundraisers, whether its “Home Runs for Hunger” or “Breast Cancer Awareness Night,” the Ducks are a vibrant and contributing force in the surrounding communities.
Ducks fans all
After being refused the chance to relocate his Yankees farm team, Boulton had a realization: “If I had had a Yankee team, I would have been splitting the baby. So, now we have Yankee fans that are Ducks fans, and we have Mets fans that are Ducks fans.”
And just plain Ducks fans, of course.
Whether it’s through promotions, the reasonably priced tickets and concessions, or the free parking, the Ducks endeavor to provide a cost-effective choice for a family’s scarce disposable dollars.
Twenty-one seasons and counting, and fans still come first.
James Teese has written for numerous Long Island news outlets and has covered the Long Island Ducks since their first Opening Day.
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