Village Beacon Record

Photo from Rage Room

By Chris Cumella

The area could soon have its own rage room — a creation designed for destruction. The local concept was conceived in 2019 by Michael Hellmann, who hopes to start up Rage Room Long Island.

A vacant storefront on Middle Country Road could be on its way to becoming the latest attraction that Selden has to offer its residents and visitors alike. The last hurdle for Hellmann and his crew is obtaining a permit from the Town of Brookhaven. Doing so will solidify their place in the Selden Plaza and create a therapeutic stress release for all who enter.

“We started this project two years ago,” said Hellmann, a Holbrook resident. “It is definitely an intense workout if you want it to be  — you can break a picture of your ex, you can make it whatever you want.”

Derived from Japan, the first rage room opened in 2008, known as The Venting Place. It was created in the wake of the nation’s Great Recession, putting stressed-out workers, students and people from all walks of life in an environment where destruction was therapeutic. Since then, over 60 venues are operating in the U.S. and rising, according to Hellmann.

He said that his premises would include two sizable rooms accompanied by a third, larger room designed for parties and other big groups. Once a waiver is signed, a mechanical arm will hand you a weapon of your choice to arm yourself with —including crowbars, sledgehammers, golf clubs and even pipe wrenches.

“Michael is very creative and is looking at the latest and most innovative methods,” said Michaela Pawluk, social media manager of Rage Room LI. “When you go to other rage rooms, you are just destroying things, but the way that he created it and designed it — it is an entire experience.”

Participants are equipped with thick coveralls and a face shield for bodily protection from the bits of cutlery, furniture and technology scattered throughout a room during their allotted time ranging from 15-30 minutes. For the larger room intended for parties, audiences will have access to larger objects to unload. These include an industrial humidifier and a 4-foot Xerox machine right out of an attorney’s office.

Recycling is the name of Rage Room LI’s game, and Hellmann and his team play strategically when scouting the town’s curbs for discarded objects large enough for further destruction. Once a customer is finished with their session, the leftover scraps are recycled once again in an environmentally conscious effort to avoid sending them to a landfill.

“We are literally getting things off the street,” Hellmann said. “We have a Rage Room LI van, and we drive around the neighborhoods to collect junk off the curb. We love finding things that are technologically based.”

A rage room is designed to be used in any way that customers see fit — from an outlet to unleash anger to a venue for birthday parties. Rage Room LI is attempting to break the stigma around the danger of rage rooms. One of their most significant priorities has been to facilitate a safe environment where people can let endorphins flourish and have fun.

To get up and running at the request of over 900 eager participants via email, Hellmann is seeking a permit from the town to register his business. All town board members have expressed interest in introducing Long Island’s first rage room, except for one hesitant councilmember concerned of misuse or bringing in troubling individuals.

Rage Room LI has seen support from a petition on Change.org to open shop that has garnered 586 signatures as at May 12 out of a goal of 1,000. Aside from the signatures, the purpose of creating the petition was to show local and neighboring residents that it is a worthwhile cause. It is a continuous effort which Pawluk encourages anyone who is interested to add their name to the petition to emphasize community solidarity.

Envisioning opening day leaves Hellmann and his crew optimistic that their business will make a tremendous splash in Selden. Rage Room LI is shaping up to succeed from the positive community feedback, project plans and potentially a permit at its side.

“At some point, people break things whether they want to or not,” Hellmann said. “We are just expressing positivity, that is mainly the goal.”

Leg. Kara Hahn during a press conference at the Arthur Kunz County Park in Smithtown on May 11. Photo by Kimberly Brown

By Kimberly Brown

Suffolk County deputy presiding officer, Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), officially launched Tuesday the Park Stewardship Program, where community volunteers are selected to oversee local parks that do not have staff. 

County nature trails are in need of assistance as illegal dumping and vandalism are often discovered on the paths where local residents take their daily walks. 

“The responsibilities of the stewards would be to pick up trash and to notify the parks department if there is vandalism or dumping,” Hahn said. “We’ve had very high profile dumping issues, so it’s good to have eyes and ears on the ground.”

The stewards are also encouraged to help with signage to assist local residents with navigating through the trails. 

Hahn said it is important to create more signage to help residents such as mothers with children to ensure they know how far the trail is to reach a particular scenic spot. 

Photo by Kimberly Brown

County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) expressed his gratitude for Hahn’s program, as his involvement in preserving Long Island parks dates back to 2006 when he won support for the transfer of the 365-acre former Kings Park State Hospital property to New York State parks department.

“This is very near and dear to my heart, I walk through here regularly,” he said. “This is the kind of thing that starts off small but may develop into a group where we can raise money so we can make improvements to the park.”

The falling of trees throughout Long Island trails since Hurricane Sandy in 2012 has been continuing many years later. The president of Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, David Reisfield, has taken it upon the Greenbelt organization to remove hazardous trees on trails that caused concern for residents. “This, to me, is the best thing,” he said. “We go out every Tuesday and cover three to four miles of trail, but the more volunteers the better. I could not be happier.” 

According to Hahn, stewards are not expected to cut down trees but are welcomed to use clippers for branches that may cause blockages on the trails. 

“It’s important that people get to go out and experience this, and sometimes a candy wrapper or a water bottle can mar that experience,” she said. “So, having stewards that are there to help pick those up is a good thing.”

If community members are interested in becoming a part of the Park Stewardship Program they can visit the county’s parks website at suffolkcountyny.gov/departments/parks and sign up online.

Katherine Liang of Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School with the bridge that earned her first place in BNL’s annual Bridge Building Contest

Sometimes the term building bridges takes on a more literal meaning. 

David Liang of Ward Melville High School placed second in the bridge building contest.

The Office of Educational Programs (OEP) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory announced local students who earned the top spots in both the  2021 Bridge Building Contest and 2021 Maglev Competition during an online awards ceremony on April 16.

Each competition, held virtually this year, offers students a hands-on opportunity to apply math, science, and technology principles as they design and build bridges and magnetic levitation cars.

“Conceiving, designing, and building the one-of-a-kind facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory takes extraordinary vision on the part of our scientists and our engineers to advance our science mission,” said OEP Manager Kenneth White. 

“These two competitions test the design and analytical skill of contestants to create bridges and vehicles to exacting specifications and performance expectations much like our facilities demand of our staff. We hope some of these contestants will be our staff one day to take on another engineering challenge supporting extraordinary discoveries.”

Bridge Building Competition

Victor Prchlik of Ward Melville High School took third place in the bridge building contest.

In the annual Bridge Building Contest, high school students became engineers competing to construct the most efficient model bridge out of lightweight wood. Efficiency is calculated from the bridge’s weight and the weight the bridge can hold before breaking or bending more than one inch. The higher the efficiency, the better the design and construction.

Dedicated Brookhaven Lab staff engineers and technicians tested 40 qualifying structures during a live online event on April 8.

Katherine Liang, a 9th grade student of Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School earned first place with a bridge that weighed 18.7 grams, supported 38.6 pounds. The bridge earned an efficiency of 936.29.

For some students, a trial-and-error process was key to solidifying a design. Liang said she built and tested five bridges by weighing them down with a bucket of sand before submitting her final winning structure.

Second place went to David Liang of Ward Melville High School, whose bridge weighed 19 grams, held 36.4 pounds had an efficiency of 868.98.

Victor Prchlik, also from Ward Melville High School, placed third with a bridge that weighed 23.7 and supported 44.5 pounds with an efficiency of 851.87

Jonathan Chung of Smithtown East High School won this year’s Aesthetic Award.

“The whole process was fun from start to finish,” Chung said. “One of the most challenging parts was getting the glue to stick the wood together. I ended up solving that problem by using a hairdryer to dry it.”

This year’s Bridge Building Contest Aesthetic Award went to Jonathan Chung of Smithtown East High School, pictured with physics teacher Dr. Gillian Winters.

Brookhaven Lab staff tested magnetic levitation cars built by students from Island Trees Middle School and Bay Shore Middle School to see who came up with the fastest design.

MAGLEV Contest

This year’s Maglev Contest for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students included two main categories for speed and appearance. Brookhaven Lab staff tested 21 maglev cars for speed on a fixed gravity track–13 of which reached the finish line.

Brady Leichtman of Bay Shore Middle School won first place in the speed category.

Second place went to Isabella Rouleau of Bay Shore Middle School. Jesse Bonura of Island Trees Middle School placed third and also won the top spot in the competition’s appearance category with a futuristic blue car. Bay Shore Middle School students Amber Marquez and Andrea Romero, placed second and third in the appearance category, respectively.

Brookhaven Lab staff tested magnetic levitation cars to see who came up with the fastest design. Bonura found that part of the fun was testing and reengineering the maglev’s design. “We’d make it quicker and test it over and over again to make it perfect,” Bonura said.

The maglev contest is based on research by two Brookhaven engineers, the late Gordon Danby and James Powell, who invented and patented maglev technology—the suspension, guidance, and propulsion of vehicles by magnetic forces.

Magnetic properties give the maglev trains their extraordinary capabilities for speed and stability. These same principles—using magnetic forces to move matter — are used in world-class research facilities at Brookhaven Lab, including the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) — which are both DOE Office of Science user facilities. Magnetic properties allow the machines to move particles at nearly the speed of light for research purposes.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.

Photos courtesy of BNL

METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

After setting the American record for the longest consecutive streak of 340 days away from Earth aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly returned and flopped into a pool.

While we all haven’t been away from Earth for any length of time, we have been living in a modified version of the normal we knew.

Like Kelly, we have spoken with our close friends and family through electronic devices that beam them onto a screen in front of us.

We have watched some of their drained faces, as they isolated themselves for a month or more, battling through the cough, fever and discomfort of COVID-19.

We have also seen our relatives at much greater than arm’s length as we celebrated landmark birthdays, the birth of new family members, and socially-distanced graduations and limited-attendance weddings.

In two weeks, I am anticipating the familiar feeling of diving into a familial swimming pool. That’s when I will see family members I haven’t seen in over a year.

We worked around our busy schedules not only to get vaccinated before we saw each other in real life, but also to do so long enough in advance of that meeting that our immune systems would have time to arm themselves against viral spike proteins.

This is the longest period my wife and I have ever been separated from our parents. We know how fortunate we are that our parents didn’t get sick.

We took nothing for granted, staying away from our parents and extended family. We might as well have been on the International Space Station, which was probably among the safest places people have ever lived, given the limited social contact in a controlled environment 254 miles from the nearest pool, family member or pizza restaurant.

We feel so much closer to a more familiar life than we have in over a year, as we anticipate seeing our parents and family members who can attend our son’s graduation. The planned visit has become a dominant and daily topic of conversation in our house. We are wondering what food and drink to serve, how to move everyone from nearby hotels to socially-distanced seating at graduation and what games to prepare in our backyard for our grown children to play with their cousins.

These questions and decisions might have seemed like a responsibility prior to the pandemic, as hosting anyone requires attention to detail and consideration for our guests. That responsibility has transformed into the kind of privilege we might have taken for granted in other years, before the pandemic disrupted family gatherings and turned the calendar into a reminder of delayed gratification of family gatherings.

While we will likely engage in the Texas two-step, trying to gauge how close we can get physically to each other, it’s easy to imagine that hugs, kisses and appreciative smiles will bubble up from the excitement of a backyard that has hosted more routine gatherings of birds, squirrels and chipmunks than of the people who stare at flickering screens in our home.

As we prepare to dive into our own family pools of support, affection and love, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who made such a return to normal possible, from those who explored the basic science that led to the vaccine, to those who developed and tested the vaccine, to those who treated family and friends, to those who stocked the shelves with the food and drinks we needed to take us from the uncertainty of the pandemic to the anticipation of a celebration. Absence made our hearts grow fonder for family and increased our appreciation for everyone who allowed us to reunite with the most important pieces of ourselves. In just a few weeks, we look forward to diving into a more familiar world.

Mockingbird. Photo from Unsplash

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

This is the time of year when our five senses go into overdrive. Let me enumerate. In no particular order of delight, I’ll start with sound.

The birdsong is sometimes loud enough to provide dance music at a wedding. There are all kinds of musical bars put forth: crooning, warbling, shrieking, hooting, gurgling. There is an incredible range of notes, from high soprano and countertenor to tenor and baritone, even bass. Sometimes the birds seem to be singing in a chorus, other times at counterpoint. If your bedroom window is open, they can wake you up at first light. There can be many birds in the trees or there may just be one mockingbird pretending to be an entire flock. 

The sight of the birds is as much a treat as the sounds, if you can spot them among the leaves. They can range from a nondescript small brown chick, who nonetheless utters the most melodious songs, to crimson or orange-breasted or blue-tailed or grandly multi-colored varieties of different sizes and shapes that perch briefly on the porch railing or snack on the front lawn. They can seem the model of purpose as they deliver food to the open beaks of their newly hatched offspring or of patience as they sit quietly atop the eggs and wait for the next generation to appear.

Speaking of sight, we go from the early purple of crocuses and joyful yellow of forsythia and daffodils to the lush pink of dogwood and cherry blossoms to the deep red of tulips and azaleas. All of that artwork is provided against a bright green backdrop of new leaves on the bushes and luxuriant attire for the tree limbs. Branches on either side of the road unite in the air overhead, creating sun-dappled tunnels as we drive the back-way routes.

The waves at the beaches are calm now, climbing the sand with rhythmic whispers, and the seagulls fly low, looking for a fish dinner in the clear blue water. Too soon, there will be motor boats and jet skis on the harbors and lawn mowers and leaf blowers keeping the landscape orderly — but not yet. The magic and peace of early spring are still, however briefly, with us to be treasured.

The smells at the beach of salt in the air and blossom-scent on the breezes are intoxicating harbingers of the season. Lilacs, that always know when it is Mother’s Day, perfume the neighborhood. And among us humans, there are always those early-bird few who fire up the grill and begin to barbeque on a sunny weekend afternoon. If we play our cards right, we might be invited to share in this primitive treat. The taste is so much better than anything cooked indoors.

Taste is tantalized by early fresh fruit, like locally grown strawberries, and by vegetables like baby asparagus and snow peas. Several different kinds of dark green lettuces are also ready for dining early in the spring.

As for touch, there is the sweetness of a gentle breeze, reduced on a rare spring day from a stern wind to a caress against the cheek. It carries with it the promise of a summer day and the seduction of a summer night.

Add to all of that, the temperature in spring can reach a universally perfect range. Now I know some people like it hot, really hot, even up in the 90s when they can happily sweat. And some people like it cold, even freezing, during which time they can feel energized and stimulated to ski and ice skate. But all humans feel comfortable moving about in a temperature of 75 degrees. Knowing that could be found most months in San Diego almost prompted my husband and me to move there some 50 years ago. Of course, there were other things to consider, and we ultimately moved to Long Island.

Not for a moment do I have any regrets. My five senses are glad we live here.

Photo by Pixabay

Next week, residents across Long Island will vote on what their next board of education and budgets should look like. 

Some districts have no unopposed runners, some have a handful of candidates vying for the same seat. 

We are happy to see that, although some districts within our area are having hostile debates, people have been interested in this upcoming year’s budget and the candidates running for the BOE seats. 

Oftentimes, parents and people in the community don’t know what’s going on until something happens — and that’s OK. Life is busy with working, raising a family and maintaining a social life — it can be hard to tune into a board meeting or flip through the pages of a proposed budget. 

But we’ve noticed this year that it seems a little bit different. Maybe it’s because of the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe people are more concerned than before. 

Whatever the reason is, we’re happy that residents are getting involved. 

Whether it’s voicing your opinions or concerns over a school board election, or preparing for the 2024 presidential election down the road, it’s important to exercise those rights. 

We have the luxury and the privilege to be a part of a democracy. People might not realize that the school board — that is “small” on the scale of things — has a huge impact on not just our children, but the community as a whole, especially regarding taxes 

Pay attention to these things, whether you have children in the district or not. Read the local news and pay attention to what’s going on.

If you don’t agree with something, prevention is key — complaining after the fact on a social media post won’t do much when everything is already set in stone. Your vote can make a difference.

School districts across our coverage areas will be holding budget votes and board of education elections Tuesday, May 18. Check your district’s website for details on times and locations, and continue visiting tbrnewsmedia.com for updates.

File photo

By Kimberly Brown

Karen Pitka and Paul Staudt are running Tuesday, May 18, for two available seats for a three-year term on the Mount Sinai School District Board of Education. 

Karen Pitka

Photo from Karen Pitka

Pitka has lived in Mount Sinai since 2011. Celebrating her 20th year as a fourth-grade teacher this fall, she is an educator in the school district. She has experience in teaching second and fifth grade, and spends her free time being director of the school’s drama club. 

Having the experience in teaching elementary school, Pitka also was the leader of her schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports team and has created presentations to faculty, staff and other Long Island educators about motivating and engaging elementary classroom practices.

When Pitka isn’t working, she spends time with her three children who are 7, 6 and 2 years old.

Having been recently nominated by the district administration and selected to serve on a standards committee for New York State educators, she is prepared to run for the school board.

“Being an elementary school teacher, I feel that I am well versed in what our children need,” she said, “All of our children have suffered greatly from the closure of the school in 2020 along with the hybrid learning plan into 2021. During these unprecedented times, I feel I will be able to offer the proper guidance as to what our students truly need due to being involved in it every day in my own classroom.”

Having young children in the community, Pitka has a vested interest in the well-being of all Mount Sinai students. She also feels having longevity in the district is important. 

Paul Staudt

Photo from Paul Staudt

Staudt, a heavy equipment technician for Komatsu America Corp, was born and raised in Mount Sinai. He has two children who are currently attending Mount Sinai schools. Both Staudt and his wife Krista have grown up in the same town and have been married for 19 years. 

After battling a very tough year with the pandemic, Staudt felt it was imperative to run for the school board. Despite the current BOE doing their best to work through the COVID-19 crisis, he believes he can offer a different perspective if elected. 

“Obviously over the last year, some issues and concerns have arisen from both the parents and teaching perspective,” he said. “There’s been a lot of issues with clarity. Their communication to the community, in my opinion, is outdated.” 

With a broad background of different jobs Staudt has accomplished throughout his life, he feels he is well rounded and will be able to aid the board in achieving transparency. 

“I am a nine-year military veteran, I have 23 years as a volunteer fireman, I am also a tradesman,” he said, “All of these things, coupled with my life in Mount Sinai, bring a different perspective to the board.”

Staudt said he feels the board needs more diversity: “I think that is what a school board needs, people of varying backgrounds with different perspectives. We, as a board, need to put our personal experiences together and use that to make decisions in the best interest of all of our children.”

As the school district makes the transition from online meetings to in-person, Staudt hopes the same amount of people who have been attending the online meetings will translate into coming down for the actual board meetings. 

“I’ve been around a long time, I grew up in this town, so to be able to step into this role and be able to look at things through a different lens is something you need to have on a board,” he said. 

Voting

The school budget and board of education votes take place Tuesday, May 18, at the Mount Sinai Elementary School back gym at 118 North Country Road, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

File photo

By Harry To

The Shoreham-Wading River board of education will be conducting its budget vote and board elections on May 18. The two candidates are running unopposed.

Robert Rose

Trustee Robert Rose is running unopposed, making this his fourth reelection since 2012. 

In an email interview with TBR, Rose highlighted his success in getting students back in the classroom. 

“I think the biggest accomplishment has been getting our students back in school every day,” he said. “I think our teachers and staff have done a great job during this global pandemic. I also think that our facilities have drastically improved over the last several years.”

Rose has more-than 20 years of experience in education. For the past 15 years, he has served as the assistant principal at Smithtown High School East.

James Smith

Board member James Smith is also running unopposed. He was first elected in 2018 after his second run for office. 

In the 2018 election Smith ran on a campaign of greater psychological and emotional resources for students, calling for more psychologists and social workers in schools. 

Smith has been an active Shoreham resident for about nine years. In that time, he became vice president of the PTA. He also coached kids through Sound Beach Soccer Club and Father Joe’s Soccer.

Smith did not respond to TBR’s request for comment.

Voting

Board elections will take place with the budget vote for a 1% tax levy increase and two capital project propositions Tuesday, May 18, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Shoreham-Wading River High School gym, located at 250A Route 25A in Shoreham.

File photo

By Chris Cumella

Michael Lisa is looking forward to serving on the Rocky Point Board of Education after running unopposed.

Along with incumbent Edward Casswell, Lisa plans to claim two open seats on the trustee’s board on May 18 after what will be a landslide victory for both candidates.

Caswell did not respond to a request for a conversation from TBR.

Working in the Massapequa school district for over 23 years, Lisa is a high school social studies teacher, but yearns to partake in a larger conversation about the future of education. 

His unique experiences garnered over two decades of being an educator is what Lisa believes will make him a benefit to the district upon election.

“I have aspired to become a member of the board,” Lisa said. “I’m ready to represent the Rocky Point community members in any way which I can.”

While managing projects on the technology committee for the Rocky Point School District, Lisa said that he had seen firsthand what has worked and what has not when it comes to tech in education. 

Remote learning is a hurdle that Lisa said must be overcome by providing a safer, cleaner in-person learning environment for students and staff to return to in the fall.

Within his classes, Lisa noticed a decline in classroom productivity resulting from remote learning, a compromise that has proven safe yet challenging for many in the school district.

“If we do get back to a sense of normalcy, of course, there will be some difficulty transitioning back,” Lisa said. “This social isolation has brought a great deal of anxiety among students. Not being in person, no real interaction with your classmates, it’s a struggle to reach many of these learners remaining at home.”

Further collaboration with teachers, members of the board, teachers, and students — Lisa is advocating for continuously collecting input from the Rocky Point community to reflect on what is working in their system and what must change. 

Lisa has analyzed the school district from various perspectives as a teacher, a community member and a father. 

Now he is taking the initiative to give back to his community by providing an optimal in-person educational experience for the youth of Rocky Point.

“I’m looking forward to engaging with our students and others to bring back this sense of normalcy that we all need for our wellbeing,” he said.

Nicole Hoefler, director for cardiac cath services at Mather Hospital in the new cardiac catheterization lab. Photo by Julianne Mosher

It’s finally here. 

Mather Hospital announced this week its new cardiac catheterization lab is completed and is ready to serve patients — as soon as it receives its final Department of Health inspection and approval in the upcoming weeks.

According to Nursing Director for Cardiac Cath Services Nicole Hoefler, Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson is joining the few places on Long Island in hosting a cardiac catheterization lab to provide less invasive heart-related services to patients who need it. 

“We’re here to basically help prevent serious heart attacks,” Hoefler said. “And prevent heart attacks that might be evolving.”

The labs specialize in using X-ray guided catheters to help open blockages in coronary arteries or repair the heart in minimally invasive procedures. These range from stenting to angioplasty and bypass surgery — that are less traumatic to the body and speed recovery. 

Photo by Julianne Mosher

“Sometimes, if a patient had a positive stress test, they’ll come in here so we can see what’s causing that pain they might have been having,” she noted. “Sometimes they need to have it for surgery clearance, like if they saw something on their EKG.”

The two new state-of-the-art rooms were approved by Northwell Health last year, alongside three other Northwell facilities. Construction began on the new spaces in August 2020, completing and turning over to the clinical staff on April 19. 

By adding the two labs into Mather, Hoefler said they can help save a life.

“Every minute that passes when you’re having a heart attack slows your heart muscle,” she said. “So not having to transfer the patient out, and just bring them in from upstairs will be life changing.”

Both rooms will be able to accommodate approximately 20 patients per day with the 12 hours the labs are open. 

The addition of the more than 3,000 square foot space is just another space that Mather can now provide patients better.

“I think the community just loves Mather,” Hoefler said. “Having this service
is just another reason to come here.”