In honor of Black History Month, Errol Toulon Jr. (D), of Lake Grove, is the first African American Suffolk County sheriff. Ever since his youth through the lessons that he learned from his father, Toulon has been motivated to achieve his duty and responsibilities.
As a kid, he asked his father, a longtime correction officer, what he did for a living. His dad replied, “We rehabilitate individuals that are incarcerated, we never throw away the key and we try to help these people safely return back to society.”
The story of Toulon Jr. began in the Bronx, where he was born in 1962, and he lived in the city until 1990.
Yankee batboy
Errol Toulon Jr. as a Yankee batboy. Photo from Errol Toulon Jr.
A talented baseball player who excelled as a center fielder and a leadoff hitter during his high school and college years, Toulon had the unique chance of being a batboy for the New York Yankees in 1979 through 1980.
He was in the locker room to observe the impressive leadership skills and character of the late Yankee great catcher Thurman Munson. In the Bronx, Toulon watched Billy Martin manage the baseball stars of Reggie Jackson and Bobby Murcer, and he also met boxing champ Roberto Durán.
As a young man in the Yankee Clubhouse, Toulon encountered a young boy, and asked him his name. It was Hal Steinbrenner, who now owns the team after his father George.
The former batboy ended up becoming the first African American sheriff of Suffolk County, and had a wonderful time being welcomed back by senior management of the Yankees. Players like Ron Blomberg and Mickey Rivers were pleased to see their former batboy who has always worked to protect his community. Still to this day, Toulon is an avid baseball fan who glowingly recalls his special time in pinstripes around the “Boys of Summer.”
City correction officer
Errol Toulon Jr., left, with Hal Steinbrenner, general partner of the New York Yankees. Photo from Errol Toulon Jr.
During those earlier years, Toulon took the city correction officer exam, after he completed an associate’s degree in business.As a 20-year-old, he became one of the youngest recruits within the New York City Department of Correction.
He observed the older jails that were built from the 1930s through 1960s, were cold, secured with steel, and lacking any of the advancements of the penitentiaries of today. Early in his career, Toulon was impacted by watching inmates hold few liberties and living in poor conditions.
There were dangerous moments during fights, riots and emergencies, that saw officers isolated and unable to see each other where their own safety was compromised. Over the years, Toulon has learned from these lessons to ensure the constant support of the current officers of his department.
As a lifelong officer, a captain and official, Toulon always follow the examples that were established by his father. Toulon Sr. was employed by the NYC Department of Correction for 36 years in positions ranging from officer to a warden at Rikers Island.
From his dad, he learned the value of attention to detail and always treating his staff with the utmost amount of respect. Whether it was his junior years as a correction officer or as the present Suffolk County sheriff, Toulon never loses focus on the evolving complexities of operating the county system of imprisonment. Over the past decades, he has been involved in hostage crisis, handling drug abuse, attempted escapes, and seizure of guns and contraband that were smuggled into jails by prisoners.
Suffolk County sheriff
Gov. Andrew Cuomo administers the oath of office to Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. during his inauguration ceremony in 2018. Toulon was joined by his wife Tina. File photo by Kevin Redding
Toulon has always believed in the necessity in analyzing the complexity of criminal justice problems that are always evolving. There was recently a major riot in St. Louis, where the inmates broke windows and set debris on fire. Always understanding the usefulness of information, Toulon’s Sheriff’s Office examines these situations by calling different corrections agencies around the country. They try to determine the root of local or national incidents and utilize these resources to be prepared to sufficiently handle these concerns in Suffolk County.
Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) has worked with him through their tenures in office.
“Sheriff Toulon leads a proud department of men and women dedicated to upholding the law and running the Suffolk County Correctional Facility,” she said.
There is always the major process of investigating prisoner grievances over health care, food, communication with family members, religious services and more. Toulon tries to improve these concerns before they materialize into a major crisis.
During his career, he has dealt with the Ebola and swine flu outbreaks and the health implications within the jail environment. Through the determination to always contain the strength of these sicknesses, protective measures were already established within the county jails before the first COVID-19 case hit New York in last March.
Due to the pandemic, new ways had to be developed to handle the services that were needed for the prisoners. Toulon’s office made a goal in always sharing current information on the threats and changes that COVID-19 presented to both the outside world and the jails. The virus prevented family visits, but prisoners were allocated two extra calls a week, pictures of loved ones were printed for inmates, and there were virtual substance and psychological programs.
Professional and educationalexperiences
Errol Toulon Jr. with Yankees Mickey Rivers and Ron Bloomberg
Education has always been an important part of Toulon’s life which he has incorporated into his many correctional positions. He has a doctorate in educational administration, an advanced certificate in Homeland Security Management and an MBA.
Since his election as sheriff, Toulon has spoken to many educational programs with local school districts to address the daily concerns that his department handles, always with a positive demeanor.
VFW Post 6249 Rocky Point Comdr. Joe Cognitore has always viewed Toulon “as an upstanding and an energetic people person that has always protected our residents, worked well with community leaders, aided veterans that have fallen on criminal times in jail, and he has helped create local 9/11 memorials.”
For two years, Toulon taught at Dowling College as an adjunct faculty member. He planned to instruct students at St. John’s University, but was unable to do so due to his present position.
Harvard University has invited Toulon to address its student body on his professional and educational experiences. While he enjoys his current position and is hopeful that he will be reelected to another term, Toulon enjoys teaching, and he would like to teach again. A leader with a tremendous amount of energy, there have been some personal battles that he has had to endure as a survivor of pancreatic cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Whereas Toulon is determined to have a secure prison system within the county, provide resources and support for his officers, he also wants to ensure that prisoners do not return. Through the Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry Team, known as the START program, correction officers help inmates find housing, jobs, medical services and food, and to become productive and safe citizens.
The COVID-19 rollout in New York state has brought hope to residents, after nearly a year of shuttered businesses, isolation and general fear for their own health and safety. For many, hope turned to frustration as they attempted to navigate the New York State signup website, phone hotline or even a simple Google search to find other options.
Leah Chiappino
Even as a 20-year-old digital native, attempting to navigate the world of vaccine signups was difficult to put it mildly, and infuriating to put it bluntly. Through my part-time work at a law firm, I began trying to book appointments for elderly clients at the end of January. I was able to secure a few appointments by luck, as I happened to look on the state-run site at exactly the right time to see open appointments. Of course, the website crashed, but I notified clients, friends and family to call the hotline.
From there, securing an appointment seemed to become more difficult, even as more locations opened up. Getting an appointment seems to be a combination of pure luck, persistence and patience.
Distributing a vaccine to combat a pandemic is an extraordinary feat. It is unrealistic to expect the process not to have any roadblocks. However, the system seems to lack basic necessities to account for the inconveniences encountered by those trying to make vaccine appointments.
The average New Yorker does not have 12 hours to sit at a computer in a virtual wait line, only for the computer to crash when they finally get an opening.
My 89-year-old grandfather cannot figure out how to merge a call to give the operator consent for me to make an appointment. Someone in their 90s cannot figure out what to do when the website crashes. There’s also no real database that shows every single possible vaccination site, pharmacy or other center that allows people to get an appointment — at least in Suffolk County.
Seniors, essential workers and vulnerable populations deserve better.
Through my failures and successes in trying to get the vaccine appointments, I have acquired a few tips and tricks, as well as answers to commonly asked questions.
1. Community is a great resource for finding out the latest information, unavailability, hearing tips from other people who made an appointment successfully and guiding others through the process. The Long Island COVID-19 Vaccination Information Facebook group posts multiple times a day and offers direct links to state-run distribution sites, as well as consistent posts and guidance as to when appointments open.
2. Pharmacies will only vaccinate, pursuant to New York State executive order, those 65 and older and exclude essential workers and those with comorbidities. Appointments can be made online at Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS and Stop & Shop. In my own experience, appointments tend to open up on these sites after midnight.
3. Another helpful tool is the TurboVax website — an A1 site that automatically posts appointments on social media when appointments are available. Most of the appointments are New York City vaccine sites, which usually require patients to live or work there in order to receive the vaccine, and have stipulations as to what category of eligibility they can vaccinate (essential workers, seniors or those with comorbidities). However, Long Islanders can make appointments at state-run vaccination sites, which also appear on TurboVax.
4. Those with comorbidities need to bring a doctor’s letter, medical documentation showing their comorbidity or a signed certification to their appointment. Those with comorbidities can be vaccinated at state-run mass vaccination sites, as well as through local department of health sites. Local departments of health can determine how the supply is distributed to area sites.
5. It is essential to be persistent. Sometimes, you call the hotline and the operator will not look more than 50 miles from your home zip code, or will say that appointments are unavailable when they are showing on the website. There is some lag between the site and the hotline, so always be sure to double check. In general, however, hotline workers are kind, informed and helpful. Any frustrating guidance, they tell you, comes from the state and general lack of supply. They are doing their best, so be kind. It usually helps.
Leah Chiappino is a 20-year-old contributing writer with TBR News Media. Currently a junior at Hofstra University, she is a political science and journalism double major. She is a resident of Smithtown.
Art is an expression of personal inspiration, and the Smithtown Township Art Council’s latest exhibit at the Mills Pond Gallery, A Sense of Place, examines how Long Island acts as a muse to local artists. The show opens Feb. 20.
The beautiful exhibit fills four gallery rooms and the center hall gallery on the first floor of the historic 1838 Greek Revival mansion in St. James. A mixed media display, it includes book art, sculptures, acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings. With 62 works by 48 artists from 32 communities across Long Island, the exhibit is a cross-section of local culture and influences, capturing scenes of nature and community.
“Long Islanders will see art about Long Island … places they see daily or places of their memories. We think the exhibit will help people reconnect with this place where they make and live their lives and hopefully inspire them toward ongoing care and interpretation of these places,” said Executive Director Allison Cruz.
‘Walks Through Avalon’ by Loretta Oberheim
Increasing awareness about the environment was a goal for both Cruz and a number of the artists. Galvanized by the natural world and forged by remembrance, the art encompasses genres including realistic landscape vistas and abstract or surrealist renderings. How nature and memory intertwine is a recurring theme of the show, expressed through individual perspectives.
“People will see beautiful forms of art and how artists felt in that time and that space and maybe it will get them to appreciate those places. Maybe this will make them want to venture out. It’s the little places that have been preserved … and the county parks, little gems that need more appreciation. The more that they are highlighted in exhibits, the more people will get to see them” said artist Loretta Oberheim, of Ronkonkoma.
Her abstract expressionist piece, Walks Through Avalon, is a sculpture mounted on canvas and made of alcohol inks on yupo paper. It is Oberheim’s homage to Avalon Nature Preserve in Stony Brook, which she cites as one of her “happy places.”
The exhibit explores the myriad ways Long Island informs artistic development and depiction.
“I’m always on the lookout for an interesting or beautiful scene and feel fortunate to live in an area with such picturesque beaches, farms and woodlands,” said artist Robert Roehrig of East Setauket. His two landscape oil paintings, Facing the Sun and Winter Scene, Frank Melville Park, are tributes to local vistas: Cupsogue Beach County Park in Westhampton Beach and Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket, respectively.
More than just imagery, the show incorporates the artists’ descriptions of their art and what inspired them, details that add insight into the impact of the installation, according to Cruz. “Artists couldn’t just submit the art; they also had to explain the connection they have to Long Island. [I asked them to] tell me what gives you a connection to this island that we live on,” she explained.
‘Winter Scene, Frank Melville Park’ by Robert Roehrig
It is the second exhibit for which Cruz utilized this process. She previously included written testimonials of the artists’ motivations for the Celebrating Creativity exhibit back in Novemberand was encouraged to do it for this installation after the positive response from visitors.
During the era of COVID-19, the gallery has striven to remain a respite for individuals seeking an escape into artistic beauty. The effort is a continuation of the gallery’s ongoing commitment to engaging the public and providing an escape from the doldrums and despair of the pandemic for both the artists and audience.
Nesconset artist Catherine Rezin’s piece, a watercolor and gouache painting, Along Great River, is a rendering of a photograph her husband took of the bank of the Connetquot River at Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River.
“From the perspective of an artist, it is important to be seen, to allow other artists to see my work and to be inspired by their work. For the rest of the public, it is important to be able to go somewhere and retreat from reality, to connect with nature through art and to connect with Long Island through art,” said Rezin.
Participating artists include:
Marsha Abrams (Stony Brook), Lucia Alberti (Smithtown), Tina Anthony (Northport), Shain Bard (Huntington Station), Ron Becker (Deer Park), Joyce Bressler (Commack), Jean Marie Bucich (River Vale NJ), Carol Ceraso (Hauppauge), Rocco Citeno (Sayville), Donna Corvi (Montauk), Gráinne de Buitléar (Belle Terre), Lou Deutsch (Stony Brook), Michael Drakopoulos (Port Jefferson), Karin Dutra (Port Jefferson), Paul Jay Edelson (Poquott), Ellen Ferrigno (Port Jefferson), Dorothy Fortuna (Smithtown), Donna Gabusi (Smithtown), Jan Guarino (East Northport), Margaret Henning (Sayville), Libby Coker Hintz (Blue Point), Irene Ruddock (Stony Brook), James Kelson (Stony Brook), Lynn Kinsella (Brookhaven), John Koch (Port Jefferson Sta.), Lee Ann Lindgren (Breezy Point), Olivia Mathon (Smithtown), Eileen P. McGann (Island Park), Carissa Millett (Setauket), Hillary Serota Needle (Dix Hills), Loretta Oberheim (Ronkonkoma), Eileen W. Palmer (St. James), Catherine Rezin (Nesconset), Robert Roehrig (East Setauket), Lori Scarlatos (Saint James), Gia Schifano (New Hyde Park), Anita Schnirman (Kings Park), Faith Skelos (Smithtown), Paul Speh (Ronkonkoma), Mike Stanko (Valley Stream), Madeline Stare (Smithtown), Barbara Stein (Port Washington), Nicholas Valentino (North Babylon), M. Ellen Winter (Northport), Mary Jane van Zeijts (Stony Brook), Mary Waka (Ronkonkoma), Patty Yantz (Setauket) and Theodora Zavala (East Meadow)
The Mills Pond Gallery, located at 660 Route 25A, St. James, will present A Sense of Place from Feb. 20 to March 20. The gallery is open Wednesdays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Mask wearing is mandatory and social distancing protocols are strictly observed. For more information, call 631-862-6575 or visit www.millspondgallery.org.
Through a Zoom meeting Feb. 4, the Smithtown Town Board and residents gathered together virtually to elaborate on the efforts of the town and H2M Architects and Engineers, of Melville, to implement a comprehensive master plan within the next couple of years. The meeting followed other public outreach meetings that have been held since the middle of January to discuss specific plans for Commack, Hauppauge, Nesconset, Kings Park and St. James.
On December 15, 2020, the town released a draft comprehensive plan and initiated the State Environmental Quality Review process.
Directing participants through a slideshow of statistics and ambitions allowed Allyson Murray, principal planner of the Planning Department, to detail the progress of their collaborative efforts with H2M.
Murray said that the town’s former plan “is outdated,” considering the last time it had been adopted was 1957 — and once more before that in 1949. She especially elucidated that the plan’s proposals were only hypothetical and subject to alteration at any point in the next two years.
“There have been questions in some of the past presentations where people thought some of the made recommendations in the plan were 100 percent going to happen,” Murray said. “That’s not really the case — these are guiding policy recommendations that may be implemented.”
The town extended its public outreach to the community in advance in 2019. Murray emphasized that announcements had been made at each of the Town Board meetings, fliers distributed in the downtown areas and in schools, and mentioned the various articles featured in local newspapers.
The presentation made available to those on the call had been made possible from the result of public outreach that the Town Board extended. In addition to the 1,200 responses that the town had garnered in the spring of 2019, it also hosted 370 participants over the course of six community-planning workshops.
“This is the public input over the course of months we were taking it,” Murray said. “H2M took these comments, met with the town, and began preparing that draft plan.”
The plan’s formulation took one year following community feedback.
Smithtown residents felt there was an increased need for safety and renovations, also people needed high quality to be upheld and refurbishments made in several areas of the town.
Pedestrian safety was highlighted as a significant concern, which included enhancing walkability along Main Street as well as the general streetscape. The community also wanted to see the removal of fences that separate the town, county and state parks, and more buildings added to the National and State Registers of Historic Places.
Murray advised what the next steps of the plan would entail for the town and community. In March, a public hearing on the draft plan is set to occur with a date to be determined, which would allow for further public feedback and revision of the plan as necessary. Another hearing will occur in May when the final comprehensive plan will be formatted.
The Town Board recommends that the community continues to provide as much feedback as possible by utilizing its website and to see what the comprehensive plan holds in store for Smithtown’s future.
News of the COVID-19 vaccine was met with immense excitement and demand after the pandemic ravaged for almost a year with no apparent light at the end of the tunnel.
Excitement stifled among New Yorkers, many say, as the distribution of the vaccine supply in New York state has been filled with supply issues, appointment cancellations and an online portal that is difficult to navigate.
Distribution began with health care workers in December (Phase 1a) and on Jan. 11 (Phase 1b) expanded to other frontline workers such as teachers and police officers, along with anyone ages 65 and older.
This seems to have been when the demand surged out of control. Long Islanders have been trying to access the portal to make an appointment only to find available appointments to be both miles and months away, leaving residents to consistently call the New York State hotline, hoping for a cancelation and appointment to open up — a process especially challenging for elderly residents. As of Feb. 8, the state has received 2,808,825 vaccinations and administered 2,228,567. On Long Island, 82% of the vaccine doses distributed have been used. There are about 7 million eligible residents throughout the state.
On Feb. 15, those with certain comorbidities and underlying conditions will be eligible to sign up for appointments.
“The entirety of our week seven allocation was delivered to providers yesterday and already New York has administered 90% of its first doses while prioritizing fairness and equity,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said in a statement. “Week after week we exhaust our vaccine supply and are basically left waiting for the next week’s delivery. This is not unique to New York. It’s happening in states across the nation because the previous administration grossly mismanaged and politicized the vaccine distribution process from the beginning by not ordering enough vaccines from manufacturers. With new leadership in Washington, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight but we must manage our expectations. Production of the vaccine alone will take six to nine months. In the meantime, we will continue to distribute the supply we do get quickly and fairly as we have from the start.”
To try to find out the best way to go forward, TBR News Media spoke with a bipartisan group of local elected officials to ask what we can hope for in the future, where they think the biggest problems are in the distribution chain and whether or not they have received the vaccine.
File photo by Kevin Redding
Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY1)
“We need to make it easier, not harder, for New Yorkers to get the coronavirus vaccine who want it,” Zeldin said in a statement. “New York’s rollout has been an unmitigated disaster: Unused coronavirus vaccines sitting in freezers for weeks, doses ending up in the trash, local health departments overwhelmed with vaccine demand, thousands of appointments canceled, New Yorkers showing up to appointments only to be turned away and more. While these drug companies need to continue ramping up the production and distribution of vaccines, the state needs to ramp up its strategy, rules and communications.”
“While I believe vaccine distribution should be prioritized to those who need it most — the elderly, frontline workers and more — as soon as the doctors say it’s my turn, I won’t hesitate to get it.”
When asked about the state health department lacking vaccine supply from the federal government he said, “Drug companies need to continue ramping up production and distribution, but when these vaccines get to states around the country, they need to be put into people’s arms effectively and efficiently, not thrown in the trash.”
File photo of Jane Bonner
Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point)
Bonner said that the issue with the distribution is at the federal level. “President Biden [D] said throughout the entire campaign that he had a plan [for vaccine rollout] and clearly he doesn’t,” she said. “Never make campaign promises that you can’t keep.”
Bonner has been working with her elderly constituents to try and guide them to the New York State website, or to the hotline.
“Seniors have lost so much throughout this pandemic,” she said. “They really need to be able to socialize and go out again. We need to work together for our seniors, and to get the schools and businesses open.”
Bonner has not yet received the vaccine, as she wants elderly people to receive it before she does.
File photo by Kevin Redding
County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai)
Anker has sent letters to Cuomo, as well as U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) seeking answers for the failures in the vaccine rollout.
In a letter to the governor dated Jan. 11, Anker conveyed the frustrations of senior citizens and essential workers trying to get appointments immediately after the Phase 1b distribution, only to find out they were already booked
“As the Suffolk County chairwoman of both the health and seniors committees, I am writing to acknowledge my frustration and concerns regarding the disbursement of the COVID-19 vaccine in the county,” she wrote. “With my district having one of the largest senior populations in Suffolk County, I offer the suggestion of providing accessible locations, including community on-site availability, to our senior communities who are more at risk of COVID-19. While I appreciate the many Suffolk County staff members doing their best to facilitate the vaccination process and the patience and cooperation of the residents eagerly awaiting their turn in getting inoculated, I ask that a more cohesive process be implemented as soon as possible as we move forward in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Anker wrote to Cuomo again Feb. 3. “Since the county is not able to provide vaccinations to our senior citizens under New York State executive order 202.91, it would be helpful to have a comprehensive list that outlines all locations, including pharmacies and other vaccination sites,” she said. “Without this information, we as elected officials cannot provide our constituents, in particular our senior citizens who may not have the ability to register online, with accurate information and guidance about how and where to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Anker also stated in the letter the Suffolk County Disabilities Advisory Board advised her that accommodations were not being made for disabled people at state-run vaccination sites. For instance, the New York State COVID-19 vaccine form, which patients are required to fill out before receiving the vaccine, does not have a braille version nor is it compatible with screen reading software for the blind. Anker also reached out to Schumer and Gillibrand on Feb. 3. expressing concern with the limited federal supply of the vaccine being distributed to the county.
“Currently, the vaccinations that are available are a mere fraction of what our constituents need, and the current climate is getting more desperate. Increasing vaccinations are not only the best way to combat the pandemic, but paramount to keeping our large population of seniors and others healthy,” the letter read.
“I say I’m like a dog with a bone,” Anker said. “I will not let this go until I’m assured that this process is fixed. I don’t want to wait a week. I don’t want to wait a month. I know that we may not have the vaccines right now, I understand that,but while we’re waiting fix the process.”
She said she has been working with local pharmacies to try and get them a supply of vaccines, as well as local senior communities to figure out their vaccination plans.
Anker has not yet received the vaccine but said that she “probably will” once she is eligible.
Leg. Nick Caracappa
County Legislator Nick Caracappa (R-Selden)
“I believe I share the same view as many residents of Suffolk County in that the initial rollout of the vaccine was a disaster, with the short supply and limited venues of distribution,” he said in a statement. “Recently, this office has aligned with other county, town and state officials in demanding that the governor stops ignoring the needs of Suffolk County. Additionally, I’d love to see the New York State health commissioner and local government agencies collaborate to expedite supply and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to our frontline workers, essential workers and vulnerable senior citizens.”
“The time is now to get our residents a sufficient supply of the vaccine to combat this deadly virus once and for all,” he added. “I encourage all those who are eligible for the vaccine to sign up as quickly as possible. Although I haven’t received the vaccine to date, I intend on doing so once I qualify in accordance with New York State guidance.”
When asked to expand on what he meant by the governor “ignoring the needs of Suffolk County,” as well as how specifically the state health department and local governments could collaborate, he said, “The governor should have sent more doses to Suffolk County and more specifically to Brookhaven Town. County and town agencies have the venues available to provide ample locations to receive these much-needed vaccinations and easing the overcrowding we are experiencing at the limited locations currently available. We should work collectively with the state, county and town to arrange for these vaccines to be expedited and administered to those who need them. We all knew this vaccine was coming but the preparation to distribute was completely mishandled.”
Steve Englebright
State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket)
“New York’s vaccination rollout and its online system for determining eligibility and booking appointments has resulted in a great deal of anger and frustration for residents anxious to get vaccines for their parents or themselves,” Englebright said in a statement. “We need to have a simple, more user-friendly system for signing up online forvaccines.A universal preregistration system where eligibility can be approved, and appointments allotted as doses arrive would save us all a lot of time and angst.”
Although he has yet to be vaccinated, he knows the importance of getting it to Long Island seniors.
“It makes little sense for residents of retirement communities to make appointments and travel separately to mass vaccination centers when medical teams can bring vaccines to them. For seniors who have their homes in the community and, soon, residents with comorbidities, there should be pop-up vaccine centers run by hospitals or the County Department of Health at local libraries and senior citizen centers. Elected officials on the state, county and town levels could help get the word out to their local communities.”
Photo from Kara Hahn
County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket)
Hahn shared constituents frustrations regarding the New York State online registration system and expressed regret that she is limited in what she can do to reform it as a county legislator. She called the process of seniors trying again and again to get an appointment without success as “dehumanizing.”
“I feel their pain,” she said.
Hahn has been working with the county to establish distribution locations within the community for when supply is more abundant.
She has not received the vaccine, as she is not yet eligible but said she will when she is.
Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim. Photo from Nicole Garguilo
Smithtown Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R)
Wehrheim said that he signed a letter to the governor Jan. 14, in coordination with the Suffolk County Supervisors Association asking that essential town workers be vaccinated. He said that a lot of town workers were exposed to COVID-19 in recent weeks and he was concerned, but if they were still quarantined when the storm hit, town workers would still be quarantined.
“The majority of our employees still are not included in any vaccine schedule as of today, endangering our abilities to provide essential services like senior meal delivery, animal shelter staffing, duties of the town clerk and the functions of our building departments,” the letter read. “Should these workers be included in a phase in the near future … allow us to help the process by setting up vaccination sites in each of our towns and by including municipal workers in the next phase of vaccine rollout to ensure that our essential services are not disrupted.”
Wehrheim said that he had not yet heard back from the governor. He also has not personally received the vaccine.
Smithtown Town spokeswoman, Nicole Garguilo, said the town has received approval from the county to use Nesconset and Branch Brook elementary schools as vaccine distribution sites as supply becomes more widely available. “If the county doesn’t get the number of vaccines from the state that they require, they’re not going to greenlight any other vaccine distribution sites,” she said.
Another roadblock is the fact the site needs to be staffed with certified vaccinators, a process that takes four-to-six weeks. While the site must be supervised by a nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant or a licensed physician, pharmacists, midwives, EMTs, medical students, podiatrists, dentists, dental hygienists and students in medical studies programs can get certified to give the vaccine, pursuant to New York State guidelines.
Garguilo said the town is working on partnering with a private pharmacy or hospital in order to streamline the vaccine process. The town’s priority would be to get vaccinations for teachers, as well as seniors in assisted living communities who live on a fixed income and are generally not technically savvy.
“That would make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time,” she said. You would give the schools everything they need to get back to in-person learning and you would help the people who have those who are in that high-riskcategory that have suffered the most through this pandemic,” she said. Ideally, they would have “targeted vaccine weeks” in which they would focus on vaccinating the schools, and the senior population, one at a time.
Mario Mattera. File photo
State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James)
Mattera said the “whole” problem with the vaccine distribution is a lack of federal supply being delivered to the state. “Every CVS, every Walgreens, every pharmacy, just like with the flu shot, could go and get the supplies and give it, our residents could go right around the corner from their home to go and make this easy … the problem is the federal government releasing as many [vaccines] as they can.”
When asked what he thinks the realistic timeline for the vaccine to be widely available is, Mattera said, “I really wish I could answer that. If I had the crystal ball, I guess I would be a hero. I just really feel the more companies that the FDA approves … there’s going to be more that’s going to be distributed out there.”
He is specifically optimistic for the Johnston & Johnson vaccine, which will be administered in a single dose. He also said that he has not personally received the vaccine, as he “wants everyone else to go” first. He emphasized the importance of following social distancing measures and wearing a mask to continue to curb the spread of the virus.
File photo
County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga)
Trotta said the state should have granted eligibility to a smaller population, such as those 85 years old and over, studied the backlog, and then opened it up to other groups such as teachers.Cuomo “created the panic,” he said. Trotta added the state was “giving people the hope that they’re going to get [the vaccine], and in doing so “clogged the system up.”
“Anybody with common sense would never do that,” he said.
Trotta has not yet received the vaccine because he is not yet eligible, but he was able to secure his parents an appointment at Jones Beach after spending hours on the computer attempting to secure one.
“Everyone was very nice,” he said. “The National Guard’s running it. It went very smoothly, and it could have all been like that if they would have just opened it up slower.”
Steve Stern. Photo from Stern’s office
State Assemblyman Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills)
“The COVID-19 vaccine is a light at the end of the tunnel and our best hope for recovery from the pandemic for our health standpoint and for our economic recovery,” Stern said in a statement. “I share the frustration that my neighbors feel about the scarcity of vaccines, difficulty securing appointments and a hard-to-navigate system. New York has been receiving 250,000 vaccines a week for the entire state, which has 19 million residents, seven million of whom are eligible under current CDC guidelines. This is clearly inadequate and totally unacceptable. Our new administration in Washington is actively working to procure and produce more vaccines, vials, syringes and to develop logistical support to enable the states to vaccinate at least 150 million Americans by the end of March. Our office has been working with our partners in state government to ensure that we receive our fair share of vaccines and that residents are kept informed about how they are vaccinated when they are eligible. I have not received the COVID vaccine and like my neighbors, will wait until it is my turn. It is in all of our interests to have as many of our neighbors vaccinated as soon as possible to bring an end to the pandemic.”
File photo
County Legislator Susan Berland (D-Dix Hills)
“Suffolk County is ready with the infrastructure and personnel necessary to help vaccinate the public,” she said in statement. “The problem we’re facing now is that we don’t have enough vaccines. Recognizing that demand is clearly outpacing supply, I will continue to advocate for increased supply from the state and federal governments so we can reach our goal of vaccinating 75% of our eligible residents as soon as possible.”
Berland said she is “neither eligible for, nor has she received, the vaccine.”
File photo by Alex Petroski
State Sen. Jim Gaughran (D-Northport)
“What we’ve seen so far has been problematic,” Gaughran said. “The biggest issue is twofold: One is the lack of supply coming out from Washington, and what I think made it even worse was that the state was told it was going to get a supply that it never got; and two, the rollout itself, including at the state level, has been problematic.”
He acknowledged that there have been issues with the state website crashing, and appointments being made when there was a lack of supply.
“It’s been a mess, but I believe it’s going to get significantly better,” he said “I think you’re going to see an addition to the large state-run sites, large county-run sites. Eventually it will be distributed even more on a community-by-community basis.” He is hopeful that the senior population can be vaccinated within “the next month or so.”
Gaughran added he has pushed for additional community pop-up distribution sites, as well as a plan to vaccinate seniors that are “shuttered in their homes.” He also acknowledged seniors are having difficulty navigating the vaccine website and there needs to be a solution to make it more accessible. He said that he worries that once the vaccine becomes more widely available, people are going to be making cancelations to try and get an earlier appointment which could create a “bureaucratic nightmare,” and feels as though there needs to be a system in place to prevent that from happening.
The state senator said that he has not yet received the vaccine, as he is not a member of any occupational group that is eligible, nor is he over 65.
“I’m waiting for millions of other people to get the vaccine before it’s my turn,” he said. “But once it is, I’m going to sign up.”
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County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport)
Spencer said that his office has been getting calls from seniors, who are having trouble getting on the phone, or going on the computer to make an appointment.
“For seniors that may be less tech savvy, to go online and make the appointment is not so easy for them,” he said. “My wife was able to do it for her parents, but she had to do it, they would never have been able to do it. Sometimes the website is down, sometimes the hotline is down, so I think that that’s probably one of the biggest things is expanding that infrastructure once you’re actually doing the vaccines. I think this is almost as much as an IT job as it is a health department job.”
Spencer stressed the importance of making sure the vaccine is going into underserved areas, not only in the United States but around the world.
“I believe there’s a lot of nationalism that’s going on right now. People are like, ‘We’ve got to get enough vaccines for people in our country,’ and I can understand that, but there’s definitely been some reports that if we don’t vaccinate in a lot of our third-world countries, it will becomenot only a humanitarian crisis, but it’s an economic crisis too.”
Spencer is focused on ensuring that vaccines get to communities of color hard hit by the pandemic.
“If we don’t get enough vaccinations in areas where there are Hispanic and African American populations, where they may be in close quarters there’s less opportunity for social distancing, we’re not going to be able to control the virus as effectively,” he said. He added that he is advocating to place vaccine sites in communities like Brentwood, Huntington Station, Central Islip and Gordon Heights that are walkable.
Spencer has not yet received the vaccine but will do so once he has “the opportunity.”
The county legislature passed a bill to crack down on reckless bicycling this week, Port Jefferson officials created a village task force that will help prevent problems and keep patrons safe. File photo from SCPD
The Suffolk County Legislature recently approved a bill to crack down on “reckless biking,” which could stop riders from endangering themselves and others on the road.
Sponsored by county Legislator Rudy Sunderman (R-Mastic), the bill claims to crack down on trick riding — like popping wheelies and swerving into traffic — and biking while intoxicated.
While it was approved 13-4, Deputy Presiding Officer Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) abstained from the vote.
“There were pieces of his bill that I really liked,” she said, “And there were some things I didn’t agree with.”
Hahn, who is still in public hearing with her complimentary bike bill, said hers focuses more on the education for drivers when put in contact with bikers on the road.
“Legislator Sunderman’s bike bill regulated dangerous behaviors by bicyclists, while my bill tries to clarify the laws about drivers and how they should pass bicyclists on the road,” she said.
She added that motor vehicle law states that a driver must pass a bicyclist at a safe distance.
“My bill states drivers need to give them at least three-feet [space],” she said.
Hahn said two legislators from the East End had some concerns regarding her bill, and she is “working to address them.”
The next general meeting is March 2 where Hahn hopes she can close the public hearing so the bill can move to the Public Safety Committee on March 11. If her bill passes, it can be voted on by the full Legislature on March 16.
Meanwhile, the Village of Port Jefferson has implemented their own policies.
According to trustee Kathianne Snaden, a new code was introduced in the fall of 2019 to pre-vent problem bikers causing issues in the village.
It started when Snaden and her daughter were outside and a young person was recklessly riding his bike in front of them, doing tricks.
“When the bicycle just about came over me and my daughter’s heads and landed in the street in front of a car, I said, ‘That’s it, I’m done. We need to do something about this.’”
That’s when the village brought in the new code, which enforces code officers to confiscate a bike from a bicyclist involved in any type of reckless behavior. The bike then must be picked up and signed for by a parent.
“Because of COVID, things were quiet in the village,” Snaden said. “But then we put together the outdoor dining and the ‘trouble’ bicyclists saw it as a beautiful stage to start performing their acts in front of the patrons.”
She said that’s when code enforcement “really put down the hammer and started implementing that code.”
Snaden said that since summer 2020, bikes have been taken and bikes have been returned to parents, with the majority of them “mortified by their children’s behavior.”
“I want to be proactive and just get them off the street, so no one gets hurt,” she said.
Along with code enforcement, the village has recently started up a task force for business owners, the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, the commissioner of public safety, the code chief, the village attorney and a representative from the Suffolk County Police Department.
“It’s eyes on the street,” she said.“And now we’re working more as a team.”
The Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau announces a variety of upcoming youth and young adult programs planned for the month of February.
In partnership with Microsoft-Huntington Station, the Youth Bureau will offer three programs in February. On February 16th, the Rock Your LinkedIn Profile Workshop will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. virtually. Participants will learn exactly how to build their online brand, grow and engage a LinkedIn network, and sharpen a basic resume.
On Wednesday, February 17th, the Minecraft Hour of Code Workshop will be held from 11 a.m. to noon virtually. Students ages eight and older will have fun learning and being inspired by Minecraft, computer science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Using the power of code and AI, students will learn to program a character to prevent forest fires and regrow a forest.
On February 18th, middle and high school students are invited to participate in the Black History Museum: Virtual Museum Experience from 3 to 4:30 p.m.. Students will virtually visit this museum and learn about the Freedom Riders in the 1960’s, and the work they did to protest segregation in public transportation. After the event, students can email the Youth Bureau and request a Town Certificate of Community Service Credit for participation.
The Youth Bureau will have a live virtual encounter with the butterflies and bugs of the Long Island Aquarium on February 19th from 10 to 10:40 a.m.. This free program is limited to 30 participants.
On Friday, February 23rd, there will be a District 7255 Virtual Student Interact Meeting for any students interested in learning more about the Interact Club’s community service and leadership opportunities. This meeting will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Interact Clubs organize at least two projects every year, one that helps their school or community, and one that promotes international understanding. Rotary Club adults sponsor, mentor, and guide Interactors as they carry out projects and develop leadership skills.
The Choosing Your College: How to do an Effective College Search Webinar will be held for students and parents on Thursday, February 25th from 6PM to 7PM. Topics that will be covered include when to begin thinking about your college list, making big decisions such as choosing a major, do’s and don’ts for choosing schools, college characteristics to consider, and effective college search engines and how to use them. A question and answer session will be held at the end.
Finally, the Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau is conducting a Community Needs Assessment Survey from February through April of 2021. Feedback from the brief survey will allow the Youth Bureau to effectively plan programs for the remainder of 2021. All survey participants (students and adults) will be entered into a gift certificate raffle for the month, and the winner will receive a $30 Grubhub gift card. The raffle winner for February’s survey respondents will be announced in March.
The 4th Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department has partnered with the Town of Smithtown Horizons Counseling and Education Center and the Smithtown Youth Bureau to host the “Operation Medicine Cabinet” medicine take back event. This drive thru event will take place on Monday, February 8, from 10 am. to 1 p.m. in the back parking lot of the Town of Smithtown Horizons Center, located at 161 E. Main Street in Smithtown. This event will give residents an additional location to dispose of medication safely.
Residents are encouraged to bring any expired or unused medication in a Ziploc type bag to the Horizons Center for proper disposal by the Suffolk County Police Department. No syringes, auto-injectors, or liquids will be accepted. Safe disposal of medications helps to prevent both potential abuse and the environmental damage caused by medications in water systems.
Residents can additionally dispose of medication at all times at the Department of Public Safety, located at 65 Maple Avenue in Smithtown. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, please call the Department of Public Safety at 631-360-7553 prior to arriving in order to ensure availability.
Hank Aaron: “I tell young people — including my granddaughter — there is no shortcut in life. You have to take it one step at a time and work hard. And you have to give back.”
These were the words of one of the most prolific baseball players ever to hit against opposing pitchers. Aaron had staggering numbers that saw him compile 755 home runs, 3,771 hits, 2,297 runs that were driven in, and he held a career batting average of .305.
On Jan. 22, this noted giant within “America’s Pastime” died at 87 years old.Always armed with a big smile and a can-do attitude, Aaron was a true ambassador to baseball that saw him reach some of the highest personal achievements that any person has ever gained in this game.
Surpassing Babe Ruth was an endeavor that Aaron worked on during the length of over 20 years in baseball. After the 1973 season, he hit 713 home runs and had to wait the following season to surpass this record. At 9:07 p.m. on April 8, 1974, in front of over 53,000 fans, Aaron stepped up to the plate, with light bulbs going off, and reporters were eager to write about the two-run home run swing that surpassed Ruth.
Since he left baseball in the late 1970s, Frank Tepedino worked at Port Jefferson Sporting Goods, where he was a fixture behind the counter. For decades, he screened T-shirts, uniforms and he provided professional advice for local families to help them pick out baseball equipment.
This Brooklyn native and resident of St. James was a talented hitter who was on the rosters of the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves. He was later a 9/11 firefighter who threw out the first pitch in the New York Yankees playoff game against Oakland Athletics, only weeks after the nation was attacked by terrorists.
During his career, Tepedino played next to the historic baseball figures of Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer and Aaron. Tepedino opposed baseball legends of Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt and Bridgehampton local farm boy Karl Yastrzemski.
Frank Tepedino, a resident of St. James, retired from the baseball scene decades ago, but the memories of playing alongside Hank Aaron, who passed away last month, in the 70s are memories he could never forget. Photo courtesy of Frank Tepedino
Tepedino recalled that it was an amazing experience to compete against the best players ever to put on a uniform. According to him, “Players like Aaron changed the entire atmosphere of the game, the stadiums and their own teams. They were a different caliber of talent and playing with Aaron, you always appreciated his work ethic toward the game. You always wanted to do your best within his presence. If you appreciated baseball greatness, Aaron was one of the top five ever to take the field.”
When looking at the newsreels and pictures of Aaron hitting the pitch from Los Angeles Dodgers’ Al Downing over the left field wall, Tepedino can be seen welcoming him after he rounded the bases. On an electric night, the look of Aaron running around the bases and being patted on the back by two fans was one of the greatest sports scenes ever recorded. With his sideburns and blue Braves jacket, Tepedino along with his teammates and coaches, greeted Aaron at home plate.
During this chase to surpass this record, Tepedino recalled, “Everyone was wondering when Aaron was going to hit enough home runs — except Aaron. As a power hitter, he was fully confident that he would eventually catch Ruth.”
The game resumed with Aaron staying in the game for one more at bat, but he was physically and mentally exhausted from this daunting experience, and Tepedino replaced him in the lineup.
It was a wonderful night for baseball, but there were many concerns over the personal safety of Aaron.Even in 1974, 20 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that ended the “separate but equal” conditions within public schools, poor conditions for Black Americans were still present.Tepedino remembered that these ballplayers had to face difficult segregation conditions within hotels, restaurants and traveling accommodations.
Long after President Harry Truman (D) desegregated the armed forces, Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier and President Lyndon Johnson (D) signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans were still battling for equality. During his own career, Tepedino met Robinson and as he played for the Yankees, he was trained by Olympic hero Jesse Owens. Tepedino looked back “in awe” of these athletes that accepted an immense responsibility to fight for an entire race of people in America.
In 1948, a younger Aaron cut class in Mobile, Alabama, to see Robinson speak at a local drugstore. After seeing this extraordinary player and activist speak, Aaron was determined to be a professional ballplayer who later faced similar hatred problems that Robinson had to endure with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
At an early age, Aaron was continually warned by his parents to stay clear of the Ku Klux Klan that marched near his home and widely displayed burning crosses. In 1952, Aaron signed his first professional contract with The Negro Leagues team of the Indianapolis Clowns, where early scouts determined that he was an “all-around hitter.”
Tepedino identified the racial complexities of this time, noting that “the Black ballplayer in the South still had limited rights, compared to when we played games in Chicago, where you would see leaders like Jesse Jackson visit our teammates in the locker room.”
For Aaron, it was an amazing chase to overcome Ruth’s record, but at a dangerous personal cost.Starting in 1973, the Atlanta Braves had a security presence for him during home and road games.Eventually the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent agents on the field to protect him from the numerous death threats that he received.
Every day, Aaron read hate mail that threatened the kidnapping of his children if he attempted to break Ruth’s record. Aaron later stated on CNN, “I’ve always felt like once I put the uniform on and once I got out onto the playing field, I could separate the two from, say, an evil letter I got the day before or event 20 minutes before. God gave me the separation, gave me the ability to separate the two of them.”
Hank Aaron. Photo from the Baseball Hall of Fame
In 1973, for most of the season the Braves were contenders to make the playoffs. At 39 years old, Aaron was at the cusp of passing this record by hitting 40 home runs. Tepedino remembered that the enhanced scrutiny and media hype never impacted Aaron’s performance on the field. Tepedino also described the positive support that his manager Eddie Mathews had toward his former longtime teammate in Aaron.Both Mathews and Aaron terrorized opposing pitchers within the heart of the Braves lineup by hitting between them 863 home runs. Next to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, this was one of the most feared tandems ever to consistently oppose pitching for many years.
Unlike daily media scrutiny of today, Aaron during most of his pursuit, only had the Braves beat writers covering the team. It was not until he was within reach of Ruth that there were over 50 reporters following his every movement until April 8, 1974.
Tepedino enjoyed playing with Aaron and remembered him to be a “soft-spoken man, that never bragged, was approachable, that always flashed a big smile. During this stressful time, the team realized that he was under immense pressure, and we all gave him his space.”
With a full house of fans, and Gov. Jimmy Carter (D) in attendance, Aaron’s home run was hit beyond the left field reach of Dodger Bill Buckner. With his family around him, Aaron later held onto the ball that was retrieved from the fans. After the game, he spoke with President Richard Nixon (R) who congratulated him on this endeavor. Later after Aaron crossed home plate with this record in his name and surviving through this immense pressure, the prolific hitter said to the media, “I just thank God it’s all over.”
The last time that Tepedino saw Aaron was five years ago at a major dinner in New York City to support Baseball Assistance Team. They were with many other former ballplayers helping to raise money for some of their peers who had fallen upon hard economic times.
While Tepedino was pleased to see Aaron and to say hello to this legendary figure, these former players were once again together to share a special “comradery and fraternity” of former athletes who were reminiscing about their days in the sun.
Through the passing of an absolute gentlemen in Aaron, who was a special player and a citizen to fight for enhanced rights for African Americans, Tepedino surely has witnessed major American memories within local and national history.Through his own immense baseball talent, Tepedino shared the field with athletic figures who will never fade away from “America’s Pastime.”
Sean Hamilton of the Rocky Point High School History Honor Society contributed to this article.
Bikes outside the dorms at Stony Brook University. Photo from Kimberly Brown
"Ready for the iced tea and a chat" at Mimi Hodge's Sound Beach home. Photo from Mimi Hodge
A scene outside Bea Ruberto's home in Sound Beach. Photo from Bea Ruberto
Snow covered SBU. Photo by Kimberly Brown
Students trek to the dorms during the storm. Photo by Kimberly Brown
A winter wonderland at Stony Brook University. Photo by Kimberly Brown
A scene outside Bea Ruberto's home in Sound Beach. Photo from Bea Ruberto
A scene outside Bea Ruberto's home in Sound Beach. Photo from Bea Ruberto
A scene outside Bea Ruberto's home in Sound Beach. Photo from Bea Ruberto
Ducks at Niegocki Farms in Mount Sinai enjoy the snow Feb. 1. Photo by Tricia Niegocki
Tricia Niegocki's son walks through the snow at Niegocki Farms in Mount Sinai. Photo from Tricia Niegocki
A pig at Niegocki Farms in Mount Sinai hanging out in the snow. Photo by Tricia Niegocki
Outside the Wagner building, a Stony Brook University student braves the cold, on his way to get a meal from West dining. Photo by Chris Cumella
Stony Brook University's Roosevelt Quad hidden behind ferocious winds and pristine, untouched, freshly-fallen snow. Photo by Chris Cumella
Gwendolyn and Gordon Jensen enjoy the snow in Smithtown. Photo by Donna Jensen
Caroline Busby enjoys the snow in St. James Feb. 1. Photo by Patricia Busby
Michael Bilotti, 5, of Nissequogue, built a snowman named Blueberry. Photo by Doug Bilotti
On Monday, Feb. 1, the first snowstorm of the year hit Long Island, causing people to stay home and shovel nearly two-feet of snow. We asked residents to share their snow day photos with us.
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