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Long Island Expressway

The front entrance of the new welcome center. Photo from Gov. Cuomo's office.

Despite original resistance from local officials, a rest stop is officially open for business on the Long Island Expressway in Dix Hills between exits 51 and 52 off the eastbound lanes.

The 15,200 square-foot Long Island Welcome Center features restrooms, a Taste NY food market and several information kiosks to inform travelers about local tourism spots. It’s the first rest stop of its kind on the Island.

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) and New York State Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington Station) shared concerns last year with some of the details in the plan, including its proximity to residential areas, and the communication between local officials and the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

But Stern said he is pleased with the compromises that were made to put residents’ fears at ease.

“I’ve spoken to many area residents who said trucks idling all day and night was an ongoing and unacceptable concern,” the county legislator said in a phone interview.

An aerial view of the new welcome center. Photo from Gov. Cuomo's office
An aerial view of the new welcome center. Photo from Gov. Cuomo’s office

According to a press release from the governor’s office, the residents have been heard. No tractor-trailer or bus parking is allowed at the welcome center, including the service road that supports the facility.

“This is an example of all levels of government working and coming together, which we can now see reflected in the final design of the welcome center,” Stern said. “This is a really important element that was encouraging to the residents.”

Trucks and buses have been redirected to recently renovated New York State Department of Transportation sites at exits 56 and 66.

Stern said the residents are still waiting to see the future of the rest stop and how it will be used, but they found the truck ban encouraging.

Lupinacci agreed the compromise with Dix Hills residents was a step in the right direction.

“I am pleased to learn that the New York State Department of Transportation has considered the concerns of local residents in the Dix Hills Area and compromised on the original plans of the Long Island Welcome Center,” he said in an email. “The welcome center, which has been drastically reduced in size from original blueprints and will not sell any alcoholic beverages, will offer local produce and regional goods to Long Island’s travelers. I will continue to listen to local stakeholders and welcome feedback from Dix Hills residents during the first few months of the welcome center’s operation.”

Cuomo said the welcome center is an important asset in encouraging tourism throughout New York.

“Tourism and agriculture are critical drivers of the Long Island economy and with the new welcome center, we are making smart investments to support these industries throughout the region,” he said in a statement. “With a Taste NY store to raise the profile of Long Island’s quality food and craft beverages, and interactive I Love NY kiosks to engage visitors and connect them with Long Island’s rich history and boundless recreational opportunities, this state-of-the-art center represents the very best that Long Island has to offer.”

A view of the kiosks available for visitors to use at the center. Photo from Gov. Cuomo's office
A view of the kiosks available for visitors to use at the center. Photo from Gov. Cuomo’s office

The Taste NY Market will showcase a broad selection of fresh breakfast and lunch items, including soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts using ingredients sourced from Long Island growers, along with grab-and-go snacks and specialty local items for sale.

The welcome center will also be home to an outdoor farmers market open on Saturdays and Sundays through the season that will provide locally grown and produced foods to visitors.

As for the touch-screen I Love NY kiosks, they provide travelers the opportunity to learn more about the Long Island tourism region. An interactive map provides suggested destinations based on users’ interests, allowing them to browse regional attractions from historical sites to local wineries, and create an itinerary which they can take with them via email.

A Department of Motor Vehicles self-service kiosk will also be available for use, making it the first time a kiosk will be permanently located outside of a DMV office. Customers will have the opportunity to renew their vehicle registrations quickly and efficiently, as well as conduct other DMV transactions without having to visit a local office.

Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) said the new welcome center will help Huntington’s economy continue to grow.

“From world-class food to pristine beaches and beautiful parks, Long Island has long been a top destination for tourists,” Petrone said in a statement. “This new welcome center will play an important role in growing our economy by showcasing many of Long Island’s products and natural beauty to the thousands of travelers on the Long Island Expressway every day.”

Ivan Ceron was arrested for driving drunk the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Police arrested a 23-year-old man after receiving multiple reports of a 2010 Nissan driving on the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway in Commack early Tuesday morning, Sept. 6.

Ivan Ceron was charged with driving while intoxicated after officers said he was driving east in the westbound lane on the LIE near Exit 52. Canine Section Officer Ralph Fuellbier located the wrong-way vehicle, and worked with the Highway Patrol Bureau to pull over Ceron.

The Bellrose resident was also issued summonses for driving the wrong way, driving an unregistered vehicle and operating a motor vehicle below the minimum posted speed limit.

Ceron, is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip today, and no attorney information was immediately available.

 

Scott Martella. File photo

By Victoria Espinoza

Northport resident and Communications Director for Suffolk County, Scott Martella, died over the weekend as a result of a three-car crash on the Long Island Expressway in Manorville.

Colleagues remembered the 29-year-old man as a devoted public servant with a continuing desire to make his community better.

Martella, 29, had worked for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) since last June, after working as an aide for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) office.

Bellone said he remembers his communications director as a leader who was always willing to help others.

“Scott Martella dedicated his all too brief life to public service and to helping others,” he said in a statement. “The hundreds of people Scott has worked with over the years and the thousands of people whose lives he has positively impacted would describe him as nothing short of an amazing person.”

“Long Island is a better place today because of his service and dedication to the community.”
— Andrew Cuomo

Bellone said he asked Martella to join his team because of his intelligence and love of community.

“I will miss Scott’s smile, his advice, his laugh, his sense of humor, his dedication and his drive,” he said.

Cuomo shared a similar sentiment regarding the Northport resident.

“Scott was a dedicated, beloved public servant who worked day in and day out to improve the lives of his fellow New Yorkers,” he said about Martella’s time working as an aide for New York. “Scott was always full of big ideas to help solve the toughest challenges of the day, and he was deeply respected for his strong work ethic, candor and fighting spirit. Long Island is a better place today because of his service and dedication to the community.”

Martella had a history of serving his community far earlier than working for Cuomo’s office. He was elected in 2009 as the youngest board member, at 22, for the Smithtown Central School District, and even served as vice president.

Theresa Knox served on the board with Martella in 2009, and said it was clear even then how successful he would be in life. She said despite his age, he was able to take his job very seriously — without taking himself too seriously.

“He could recently remember what it was like to be a student, so he understood just how these decisions would affect them,” she said. “He was always interested in learning, and he cared about the district so much. He was young, but he was really well suited [for being a member of the board].”

Scott Martella served as communications director for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Photo from Facebook
Scott Martella served as communications director for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Photo from Facebook

Knox said despite his maturity, there were still moments when he served where she saw him as another one of her kids — adding he was actually younger than her two oldest children.

“There were times when I could hear my own kids saying what he was saying,” she said. “But he was so mature, and you could tell he was going to have a fine career ahead of him.”

She said when he got the offer to work for Cuomo’s office, he saw it as an opportunity to be a clear advocate for the Smithtown community.

“He understood that this job was more than sitting behind a desk,” Knox said.

The Northport resident was named one of the winners of the 30 Under 30 Young Professionals award by the Huntington Chamber of Commerce in 2012.

In an Instagram post, the chamber said he was a “dedicated leader in various roles.”

Martella was driving a 2014 Honda with his fiancée Shelbi Thurau, 29, another Northport resident, when they were hit by a gray Subaru Outback while traveling west on the LIE towards Exit 68 at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21.

Carmelo Pinales, the driver of the Subaru, lost control of the vehicle, which crossed over the grassy median, went airborne and struck two vehicles, according to police. He was driving with Winnifer Garcia, 21, of Hempstead, his sister Patricia Pinales, his 10-year-old son Cristopher Pinales, and his sister’s 3-year-old daughter.

Aside from Martella’s car, Pinales also hit a BMW. Inside, were driver Marvin Tenzer, 73, and his three passengers, Sandra Tenzer, 69; Helen Adelson, 69; and Isidore Adelson, 81.

Pinales was pronounced dead at the scene, along with his sister and Martella. Thurau, Garcia and the Tenzers were transported to local hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Cristopher Pinales was pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital after succumbing to his injuries later that day, police said, as well as Adelson. His wife Helen Adelson was pronounced dead on Monday at Stony Brook University Hospital.

This version correctly spells the first name of Carmelo Pinales’ 10-year-old son.

FIle photo

Suffolk County Police arrested a Smithtown man on Friday morning for driving without an interlock device and without a license after he was pulled over for speeding on the Long Island Expressway in Farmingville.

Highway Patrol Bureau Police Officer Howard Dwyer, who was on patrol as part of the Selective Intensified Traffic Enforcement team, was driving on the west Long Island Expressway, east of exit 62, when he saw a Anthony Cook, 30,  in a 2008 Chevrolet drive past his vehicle at a high rate of speed without break lights at about 8 a.m.

Officer Dwyer pulled the vehicle over and it was later determined Cook’s license had been revoked seven times. The driver was charged with operating a motor vehicle without an interlock device, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle for failure to pay child support and was issued several summonses including one for speeding.

Cook, a Smithtown resident was released on bail, according to police.

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Richard Clinton mugshot from SCPD

A robbery suspect allegedly ripped a woman out of her car while she was stopped at a traffic light Tuesday morning.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the woman was driving to work and had exited the Long Island Expressway at exit 56 shortly before 9 a.m. She was waiting at a red light at the north service road’s intersection with Route 111 in Hauppauge when a man who was walking in the roadway opened the car’s front passenger door and got inside. Police said the woman tried to fight off the robber as he stole her belongings.

From there, police allege the man got out of the car, walked around to the driver’s side, opened the door, forcibly removed the victim from the car and dragged her onto the pavement. He allegedly got into the driver’s seat and took more of her property, as she again fought him.

Police said the suspect ran away as other people started to approach the car to aid the victim.

Officers searched the area and broadcasted a description of the suspect, police said, and about 10 minutes later found suspect Richard Clinton a short distance away, at Route 111 and Motor Parkway.

Clinton, a 34-year-old whose last known address was in Medford, was arrested and treated at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore “for the effects of narcotic drug use,” police said. He is charged with second-degree robbery, resisting arrest and three counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Attorney information for the suspect was not available. According to police, Clinton will be arraigned at a later date.

Anyone who may have witnessed the alleged robbery is asked to contact detectives from the SCPD’s 4th Squad at 631-854-8452.

File photo

Local politicians and Huntington Town residents have successfully lobbied the state Department of Transportation to halt construction of a rest stop on exit 51 of the Long Island Expressway.

Individuals were up in arms over the proposal, and lawmakers expressed their dissatisfaction about the plans. Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) said it’s an unacceptable location for a rest stop and said the rest stop itself is unnecessary.

“It backs a residential area,” Stern said in a phone interview. “Unlike other rest stops or centers, where they carry on commercial activity, on the LIE, here all the exits are about a mile apart. There is an ample supply of restaurants, shopping centers and restrooms at every exit, so there is no need for a separate rest stop at this location.”

Stern said the plan calls for featuring the state’s Taste NY program, designed to promote New York’s agriculture vendors. This particular Taste NY would serve as a gateway for Long Island wine country out east, according to Stern.

“This exit is a long way from being a gateway to the East End,” Stern said about why this exit choice doesn’t make sense to promote Taste NY.

According to Stern, Suffolk County has made an offer to work with New York State to create a Taste NY location off exit 67 in Yaphank, which Stern said is a more appropriate location.

Gary Holmes, director of communications for the state’s Department of Transportation, said no work is currently being done at exit 51.

“The commissioner has held several productive meetings with local and state officials on Long Island, and while no decisions have been made about the rest stop at exit 51, we look forward to continued conversations about the health and safety of all users of the LIE,” Holmes said in an email. “LIE motorists deserve a safe place to rest and we’ll keep working on the best way to do that.”

Town Councilwoman Susan Berland (D) said the rest stop should not be added, and that she started fighting plans for it 15 years ago.

“I led the charge against this rest stop when I was vice president of the House Beautiful Dix Hills Civic Association,” Berland said in a phone interview. “I have always been opposed to this.”

She also said the Taste NY aspect is inappropriate, and that the state should not be selling alcohol on an expressway: “The last thing you want to do is give people the opportunity to get alcohol there.”

Berland said the rest stop is too close to a residential community, and the construction the state’s done so far was done without permission. She said residents are already being impacted by the sound of the LIE because brush berms have been removed.

Assemblyman Chad A. Lupinacci (R-Huntington Station) agreed that the rest stop is disruptive to residential life near exit 51.

“The location is poor because of the noise and the secondary effects it will have to the area and the residents,” Lupinacci said in a phone interview. “I am totally against it.”

Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) agreed with his colleagues that the rest stop should not go up, and that the voices of Huntington are not being heard.

“It doesn’t sound like the Town of Huntington was involved in this decision,” Spencer said in a phone interview. “I always think coordination and communication with the community is key.”

Stock photo

A Middle Country man may have been unwell on Wednesday when his pickup truck crashed into the center median on the Long Island Expressway, before he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Suffolk County Police Department said the 63-year-old Coram man, David Hutchings, was driving a 2005 GMC east near exit 63 in Holtsville at about 1:15 p.m. when he collided with the median near the carpool lane. The pickup came to a stop after the crash.

According to police, officers and rescue personnel arrived to find Hutchings unconscious behind the wheel. The Holtsville Fire Department ambulance brought him to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said detectives from the SCPD’s 6th Squad, who are investigating the incident, believe Hutchings experienced a medical emergency, causing the fatal one-car crash.

The pickup was impounded for safety checks.

Stephen Ruth mugshot from the SCPD

Police arrested a Centereach man on Tuesday afternoon who they say used a pole to turn red light cameras away from the road and potential violators.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the suspect used an expandable pole to tamper with the cameras, pushing the lenses toward the sky. Officers from the SCPD’s 6th Precinct Crime Section received anonymous tips regarding a video post on social media that allegedly shows 42-year-old Stephen Ruth tampering with several of the cameras in Ronkonkoma, including one on Ocean Avenue at the Long Island Expressway’s south service road on both Aug. 21 and Aug. 24. Shortly before being arrested on Tuesday afternoon, he also allegedly tampered with two other cameras on that same service road, at the intersection with Hawkins Avenue.

After an investigation, officers arrested Ruth at his home on Stewart Circle.

He was charged with four counts of third-degree criminal tampering and four counts of second-degree obstruction of governmental administration.

Attorney information for Ruth was not immediately available on Wednesday.

The red light cameras, which are maintained by Baltimore-based Affiliated Computer Services Incorporated, take photographs at busy intersections throughout Suffolk County, recording license plates of vehicles whose drivers run through a red light or do not come to a complete stop before making a right turn on a red signal. The company reviews the photos snapped — and gets final approval from the county — and for each confirmed violation, the registered owner of the vehicle receives a $50 traffic citation.

Suffolk’s red light camera program began in summer 2010, and signs alert approaching drivers at every intersection where there is a camera.

Unlike other moving violations, red light camera violations do not add points to a driver’s license, as the cameras only record rear license plates and cannot confirm the driver of a violating vehicle.

File photo

A routine speeding stop in Huntington yielded much greater results over the holiday weekend when Suffolk County police arrested Bayshore man Mohamed Khan for driving while intoxicated, among other charges, authorities said.

Suffolk County Police Highway Patrol Officer Robert Scudellari initially flashed his lights behind Khan, 42, for speeding on the eastbound Long Island Expressway between exits 51 and 52 around 1:50 a.m. on July 3, police said. The officer soon learned that Khan, who was driving a 2013 Kia, was also under the influence of alcohol and his license had been revoked, the Suffolk County Police Department said.

Mohamed Khan is accused of driving while intoxicated, among other charges. Photo from SCPD
Mohamed Khan is accused of driving while intoxicated, among other charges. Photo from SCPD

Police also said the man was in violation of his New York State driver’s license restriction that he operate a motor vehicle only if it is equipped with an ignition interlock device, cops said.

Khan was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle without an interlock device, police said. He was also charged with criminal contempt in the second degree for violating a court order that stipulated he refrain from consuming alcohol, cops said.

The Suffolk County Police Department also said the man had an outstanding warrant for committing the same offence back in January, and had collected seven traffic tickets for vehicle and traffic law violations by the time of his arrest.

His attorney could not be reached for comment.

File photo

A pedestrian was killed in a crash with a federal vehicle while walking along the highway on Wednesday night.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the man had been walking west on the Long Island Expressway, west of Exit 49 for Route 110 in Melville, at 10:30 p.m. when a U.S. Postal Service tractor trailer hit him.

After notifying his family, police later identified the pedestrian as 52-year-old Melville resident Stephen Puleo.

The truck’s driver, Northport resident Russell A. Davenport, 62, was not hurt, remained at the scene and attempted to assist Puleo.

A physician assistant from the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office pronounced Puleo dead at the scene.

Police also performed a safety check on the vehicle at the scene.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call the SCPD’s 2nd Squad, whose detectives are investigating the case, at 631-854-8252. All calls will remain confidential.