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Stony Brook

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Porta-potties are located outside the locked bathroom facilities at the popular Stony Brook beach.Photo by Rebecca Anzel

By Rebecca Anzel

The absence of functioning public bathroom facilities has caused a problem at a popular Stony Brook beach.

Because the health department does not permit swimming where there are no restrooms, there will be no lifeguards on duty this season, town spokesman Jack Krieger said.

A recently added sign warns beachgoers to swim at their own risk, due to the lack of lifeguards.

Stony Brook Beach is crowded in the summer with families, children and dogs, village resident Nicole Mullen said. She goes to this beach on Sand Street four to five times a week.

Now that the bathrooms are closed, though, she said some beachgoers are less than thrilled.

Mullen said she is lucky to live nearby, but for the typical folks that frequent the beach, the nearest public bathroom is in Fratelli’s Italian Eatery — about a 10-minute walk away.

“It feels like the town put so much money into West Meadow Beach, upgrading it, and they cut back here,” — Nicole Mullen

The Town of Brookhaven did not open the bathrooms at Stony Brook Beach, which is commonly referred to as Sand Street beach by residents, because findings in an engineer’s report commissioned by the town found structural and plumbing issues with the 50-year-old building, said town spokesman Kevin Molloy. The beach will remain open all summer, albeit without lifeguards.

“I have been working with the Parks Department to address the issues with the bathroom facilities at Stony Brook Beach as it is of great importance for our community to have access to our beautiful Town beaches,” Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) said in an email. “I have, and will continue to, explore the options for reinstating lifeguards with [Brookhaven parks commissioner] Morris.”

The Town placed two porta-potties outside the existing, closed bathroom structure, Cartright added. Though Mullen said the town does not clean them.

It is unclear when the beach’s restrooms will be renovated. Molloy said the estimated cost of the work is a minimum of $400,000. Parks Commissioner Ed Morris is just beginning the budget process for 2017.

“It feels like the town put so much money into West Meadow Beach, upgrading it, and they cut back here,” Mullen said. She added that the restrooms look the same now as they did when she worked at Stony Brook Beach in the 1980s.

Her friend Michelle Roach agreed. “This beach is a little hidden treasure,” she said, adding that she prefers Stony Brook Beach because it is free to park in its lot. There is a $5 charge to park at West Meadow Beach, which is about 3.5 miles away.

“Moving forward, I will continue to work with Parks to address repairs to the bathrooms with the expectation that they will be opened as soon as possible,” Cartright said in an email.

New Mobi-Mats make sand easier to navigate for those with wheelchairs, other mobility devices

Deputy Parks Commissioner Rob Maag, Councilwoman Jane Bonner, Aisha Grundmann, Supervisor Ed Romaine Jason Soricelli, Program Supervisor for Wheelchair Programs, and Alex Grundmann, stand on a new Mobi-Mat at Cedar Beach West in Mount Sinai. Photo from Town of Brookhaven

By Rebecca Anzel

Brookhaven is laying the groundwork to make its beaches more accessible to residents.

Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) announced new sand surfacing mats, called Mobi-Mats, at Cedar Beach West in Mount Sinai and West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook.

“The mats open up opportunities that didn’t exist before for people that, whatever the reason, the sand was not easy to navigate,” Bonner said. “So often times they wouldn’t go to the beach.”

The nonslip, semi-rigid roll-up beach access mats, completely made from recycled polyester roll by New Jersey company Deschamps Mats Systems Inc., enable residents who are elderly or using wheelchairs, crutches, strollers or other mobility devices to more easily traverse sandy beaches. They are low maintenance — the tear-resistant, permeable structure allows sand to filter through — and are easily maintained by removing any excess sand buildup with a broom or leaf blower. Mobi-Mats have already been used at beaches in Nassau County, including Jones Beach, and by the Marine Corps for the past 20 years in vehicular beach landing operations.

Accomplishing this project was easy, Bonner said. She saw a picture of the Mobi-Mats online over the winter and showed it to Parks Commissioner Ed Morris, who ordered them. “Everything in government should be that simple,” she said.

Rocky Point resident Aisha Grundmann said the mats are “wonderful” and installing them was “a great idea.” Her son Alex, 11, uses a wheelchair and asks to go to Cedar Beach more frequently now that he knows the mats make it easier for him to navigate across the sand.

“Multiple people have asked Alex for a beach playdate now, where they otherwise maybe wouldn’t have,” she said. “I can’t think of a more accepting community.”

Alex, who is going into fifth grade, is a local advocate for greater mobility not just for wheelchairs, but for everyone. He influenced improvements to the playgrounds and restrooms at his school to make them more handicap-accessible.

“The feedback for this project has been some of the most positive feedback I’ve ever received since I’ve been in office,” Bonner said.

Cedar Beach West and West Meadow Beach are just the first of Brookhaven’s beaches to get the mats. According to a town spokesman, Brookhaven purchased three — and there are plans to expand the program.

“They will be placed at some point at all of our beaches to allow people with disabilities or physical limitations to also enjoy the beach — one of the great pastimes on Long Island,” Romaine said. “We think this has a large impact on people’s lives.”

He added that for wheelchair-bound Brookhaven residents, beaches also have “beach-ready” chairs with larger wheels available upon request from the lifeguards.

Mobi-Mats are available for use between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

In a celebration on the July Fourth weekend, a Black Lives Matter banner is dedicated. Pictured are, Racial Concerns committee co-chairs Kay Aparo and Barbara Coley, Janet Hanson, John Lutterbee and Sara Lutterbee. Photo by Barbara Coley

The congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook took a stand in favor of equality the day before the country’s Independence Day.

They held a ceremony to celebrate the placement of a banner below the fellowship’s identifying sign at its entrance on Nicolls Road.

“Unveiling the Black Lives Matter banner on the Fourth of July weekend,” said Barbara Coley, co-chair of the congregation’s Racial Concerns committee, “reminds us that one reason we cherish our country is that we have the freedom to call attention to the struggle for justice for all.”

The idea for the banner originated with fellowship member Laura Lesch.

She attended a Unitarian Universalist congregation where a similar banner was displayed while visiting Florida in January. She took a photo and showed it to Coley upon her return. The photo spurred congregants to do more than just talk about the topic.

A Black Lives Matter banner is dedicated on the July Fourth weekend. Photo from Barbara Coley
A Black Lives Matter banner is dedicated on the July Fourth weekend. Photo from Barbara Coley

Coley presented a proposal to the board of trustees that UUFSB display a Black Lives Matter banner.

“The board wanted to make sure that the congregation learned about the BLM movement,” said Coley, “and had opportunities to express their support and/or concerns about displaying such a banner at a predominantly Euro-American house of worship.”

The question the Rev. Margie Allen posed to the congregation was: “Does our congregation consider itself willing to display the Black Lives Matter banner?”

“We stand with African American citizens in support of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Allen said.

“And we want the surrounding community to know that we support this 21st century civil rights movement – as does the Unitarian Universalist Association.”

Members and friends were invited to express their opinions at two forums.

One concern voiced was a mistaken notion that the BLM movement is anti-police. Another, that it might invite vandalism, was deemed valid.

“But when banners were defaced or destroyed in other places, congregations replaced them and used the attacks on banners as teachable moments,” said Coley, “by inviting community members to participate in discussions where they learned the history, purpose and goals of the movement.”

The banner was approved by a large majority – 92 percent of the congregation – June 1.

The design includes the Unitarian Universalist Association’s standing on the side of love symbol as well as the words ‘Black Lives Matter.’

This tangible expression of support is in keeping with a long history within the Unitarian Universalist tradition of working to advance civil rights as individuals and as congregations.

 

Kings park residents and their elected officials stand opposed to any plans to build a bridge or tunnel across Long Island Sound. File photo

By Phil Corso

North Shore boaters are making waves over a lack thereof.

Members of the Smithtown Bay Yacht Club and the Stony Brook Yacht Club have been kicking up sand for weeks with hopes that county and town officials would throw them a lifesaver and dredge the waters where the Stony Brook and Porpoise Channels merge on their way out into Smithtown Bay along the North Shore. And while there has been some support vocalized via elected leaders, action is still pending.

Members of both yacht clubs, though fierce competitors when the two cast off in interclub fishing contests, came together in the name of public safety this boating season when they penned a letter on June 2 to Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D). Using urgent language, commodores for both groups, including Mike Kozyrski and Kevin Rooney of Smithtown and Denis Lynch of Stony Brook, asked for a quick dredging of the channel leading out to Smithtown Bay in the name of boater safety.

“At dead low tide, there is oftentimes less than a foot of water in the channel leading out into the Long Island Sound,” Kozyrski said. “Should a boater experience a serious medical emergency out on the water, the bay constable or other emergency personnel may be unable to transit the channel in order to assist them. In our opinion, this is a personal tragedy simply waiting to happen.”

Rooney, coordinator of the dredging project for the Smithtown Bay Yacht Club, said the low-tide and low-water situation has reached a “critical stage” due to the continued shifting of sand and bottom material into the channel.

“It is not an overstatement to say that the very lives of our members, their families and all other boaters are potentially in serious jeopardy due to inaction by various government agencies to prioritize and complete the necessary dredging of the Smithtown Bay channel,” he said. “The situation is dire. And it is totally unacceptable.”

In their letter, the commodores said the area in question was mostly limited to where Stony Brook and Porpoise Channels merged. Navigation buoys turn in a northwesterly direction there, leading into the bay and out into the Long Island Sound. If not dredged properly, the boaters argued that personnel could be unable to reach someone in need of assistance from the shorelines of Port Jefferson or Eaton’s Neck.

“By the time they arrive, it may be too late,” Lynch said.

Bellone, who has put his administration at the forefront of the fight to improve water quality on Long Island, expressed the importance of dredging earlier this year when his administration announced the completion of a project at Champlin Creek in the Town of Islip. A spokeswoman from his office said the Town of Brookhaven submitted a formal request this week before the county’s dredge project screening committee, which will consider making the area a part of the dredging program.

Earlier this month, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) requested that Suffolk County dredge more than a dozen spots across the town for the 2016-2017 dredging season, including the waters of Stony Brook.

“Dredging our waterways is essential for both the economic and ecologic health of our region,” said Romaine, who is a past member of the Suffolk County Dredge Project Screening Committee. “Keeping these channels safe, open and usable on a consistent basis is essential for the health of these waterways, and for boaters to safely enjoy during the summer months.”

The commodores said they hoped lawmakers would put the channel on a regular maintenance dredging schedule in order to allow unlimited access to the Long Island Sound for both boaters and emergency personnel. They, along with other activists across the North Shore, have started a grass roots lobbying campaign with the goal of expediting that kind of schedule.

“This is not about boater convenience,” Kozyrski said. “This is simply about the health and safety of all boaters from our two towns — something clearly needs to be done and we hope that our county and town officials feel the same sense of urgency that we do for the safety of our club members, friends and neighbors.”

A historic Stony Brook homestead has a massive overhaul in the works.

The Three Village Community Trust recently announced the completion of the long process of securing state grant funding and implementing state requirements for selecting a contractor for this first, exterior phase of restoration of the Hawkins Homestead on Christian Avenue. General contractor Long Hill Carpentry, a North Shore, family-owned firm, will begin work this week, the Trust said.

“The deterioration of the exterior shingles requires total replacement of the siding, but offers an opportunity to upgrade the exterior walls from the outside,” the trust said in a statement. “Shingles will be removed, allowing for inspection and any necessary repair of the wall framing. This will also allow insulation and new electrical wiring to be installed. Replacement of the shingles will follow these infrastructure upgrades.”

The trust also said it was able to locate red cedar shingles that fit the appropriate measurements to replace the existing shingles with the same exposure.

The next phase includes continuing exterior restoration and infrastructure modernization for 21st century residential use. The trust is working on a way to offer teaching workshops in the window and door restoration projects for those seeking to learn skills in historic preservation, the group said.

State grants secured by Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) will fund much of the first and second phases of this restoration project. The trust said it was also prepared for additional expenses for unanticipated needs when undertaking any historic restoration project.

Because of the generous support of the Three Village community, the trust has been able to meet these needs as we wait for the state funds to be processed. Contributions made to the trust’s acquisition and restoration fund make it possible for the work to continue and were greatly appreciated.

Jazz Loft’s Tom Manuel and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine get ready for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo by John Broven

By John Broven

Jazz past, present and future arrived with a blast at Stony Brook Village on Saturday, May 21, with the opening of a new home dedicated to the music: The Jazz Loft at 275 Christian Ave.

Jazz Loft’s Tom Manuel and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine get ready for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo by John Broven
Jazz Loft’s Tom Manuel and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine get ready for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo by John Broven

The celebrations commenced with an early afternoon street parade, New Orleans-style, prior to a ribbon cutting in which Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) presented Tom Manuel, the Jazz Loft’s founder and president, with a proclamation from the Town of Brookhaven.

Also in attendance were Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Gloria Rocchio, president of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, which owns the Loft’s historic building.

Soon the first notes were struck by the LIU Post Big Band performing Duke Ellington’s “Far East Suite” under the direction of Manuel to a standing-room-only crowd.

Visitors were able to view the Loft’s museum exhibits featuring greats such as saxophonist Louis Jordan, the biggest African-American star of the 1940s and a massive influence on the subsequent rock ’n’ roll era; heartthrob crooner Arthur Prysock; upright bassist Lloyd Trotman, a prolific session musician; society bandleader Lester Lanin; and the seafaring vibraphonist and composer Teddy Charles.

In the evening, the Jazz Loft Big Band concluded the day’s festivities backing up vocalist Lauren Kinhan, a member of the New York Voices, for a supper-club audience on a stage constructed from the dance floor of the famous Roseland Ballroom on 52nd Street in Manhattan.

From left, Assemblyman Engelbright, Supervisor Romaine, Tom Manuel (holding proclamation), Councilwoman Cartright and Gloria Rocchio. Photo from WMHO
From left, Assemblyman Engelbright, Supervisor Romaine, Tom Manuel (holding proclamation), Councilwoman Cartright and Gloria Rocchio. Photo from WMHO

“Our opening day was so moving to me,” Manuel, of St. James, said in a recent interview. “To parade through Stony Brook with 100 people in tow, a dozen classic cars honking those great vintage horns, cutting the ribbon — there just aren’t words to express my joy. It was a real highlight to have so many people there that helped make the Jazz Loft become a reality. It also was a real treat to look around the building and see some up-and-coming students in the same space as some of the jazz world’s greatest musicians.”

Manuel, an educator, musician and jazz historian, said the Jazz Loft is unfolding plans that “relate to our tri-fold mission of jazz preservation, education and performance. Our performance calendar for spring and summer brings to the Loft and Stony Brook Village some outstanding talent, recognized not just locally, but nationally and internationally. Our education calendar is about to be unveiled and includes some wonderful listening lectures and Jazz 101 classes presented by outstanding educators and performers.”

He added that the Loft is looking forward to displaying new acquisitions including memorabilia from jazz legends such as Dave Brubeck, Buck Clayton, Ruby Braff, Lloyd Trotman and others.

From today, June 2, the Jazz Loft will be open Thursdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 adults, $7 seniors, $5 students, children under 12 free. For more information, including upcoming concerts and programs, visit www.thejazzloft.org or call 631-751-1895.

John Broven is a member of the editorial staff at Times Beacon Record Newspapers and the author of three books: “Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans” (recently republished), “South to Louisiana” and “Record Makers and Breakers.”

Musicians celebrate the opening of The Jazz Loft. Photo by John Broven
Musicians celebrate the opening of The Jazz Loft. Photo by John Broven

Above, the Stony Brook Village Center in the 1940s. Photo from the WMHO

By Ellen Barcel

It’s been 75 years since the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (originally the Stony Brook Community Fund), under the direction of philanthropist Ward Melville, constructed the Stony Brook Village Center. It was planned as a “living Williamsburg” recognizing the historic importance of the village “where culture would blend with natural beauty as a part of everyday life — the first planned business center in the U.S.”

Ward Melville in front of the Stony Brook Post Office in the 1970s. Photo from WMHO
Ward Melville in front of the Stony Brook Post Office in the 1970s. Photo from WMHO

Interestingly, the selection of Stony Brook as the site for this center came about by accident. The Melville family was on its way to the South Fork when, taking the wrong train, they found themselves in Stony Brook. “[Frank and Jenny] fell in love with the area,” noted Stephanie Ruales, special events coordinator at the WMHO. They vacationed in the area and finally, son Ward Melville planned the Stony Brook Village Center.

The WMHO has mounted a special exhibit, “It Takes A Team To Build A Village,” which will run now through Sept. 7, to display the memorabilia associated with the history of the center.  “We started to look for a couple of pictures and found so much,” said Gloria Rocchio, president of the WMHO and exhibit curator.

“What’s very interesting to me, what I didn’t know, was that Jenny Melville [Ward Melville’s mother] was Canadian and that she bought up property here in the early 1930s, the Depression. When she died, Ward Melville picked up the gauntlet. She was the one who started the garden club — the tea house (later becoming the Three Village Inn) at the old homestead,” said Rocchio.

Co-curated by Ruales and Rocchio with help from Karen Kennedy, the exhibit consists of dozens of enlargements of historic photos, showing the village before, during and after the construction as well as the original blueprints for the village center and letters documenting the purchase of the land. In addition, there’s the original model of the proposed village center used by Melville to present the proposal to the village back in 1940. The exhibit also includes some items from the 1940s, representative of the time.

Just a year later, July of 1941, the new village center was completed. Over the years, various businesses have come and gone, including a four-lane bowling alley in the basement of one of the buildings. In the early 1940s, the automatic pin setting machine didn’t exist, so pinsetters, usually young men, stayed down by the pins, ready to reset them after each bowler’s turn.

The old Hallock Homestead which is now the Three Village Inn. Photo from WMHO
The old Hallock Homestead which is now the Three Village Inn. Photo from WMHO

When searching out the historic photos and documents, Ruales noted that they found an eight-millimeter film of the grand opening of the center, “something we didn’t know that we had. We had it converted” to a DVD and it is running on a loop at the exhibit.

One of the unique features of the village center is the mechanical eagle on top of the Stony Brook Post Office, which flaps its wings every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Noted Marie Gilberti, communications manager at WMHO, Ward Melville himself, “planned and instituted,” the eagle.

But, the eagle was installed for a few years, with its wings flapping up and down, when Melville decided he didn’t like the way it looked. The eagle was taken down and reconfigured, so that the wings flap back and forth now.

Melville also had the Dogwood Hollow Amphitheater constructed opposite the bank in Stony Brook. Concerts were held there through the 1950s and 60s. “Big name” entertainers performed at the concert, noted Rocchio. They included Liberace, Ferrante and Teicher, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Louis Armstrong, Pete Seeger, Victor Borge, the Clancy Brothers and Lionel Hampton. “Mr. Melville paid for it himself,” Gilberti added. But, unfortunately, the concerts outgrew the venue and were stopped in 1970.

The mechanical eagle on the Stony Brook Post Office still flaps its wings every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Photo by Ellen Barcel
The mechanical eagle on the Stony Brook Post Office still flaps its wings every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Today, live concerts are still held, but in front of the post office, sponsored by the WMHO. “We’re going to have a concert from each decade this summer,” said Rocchio. She noted that a history of Dogwood Hollow will be on display at the Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., in a building (originally the fire house) owned by the WMHO.

The Jazz Loft will be a center for music education. It is open through Saturday, May 28, from noon to 5 p.m. Beginning June 2, it will be open Thursday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. For details, events and performers, go to www.thejazzloft.org. Beginning in September, Swing Dance Long Island is schedule to hold its dances there.

According to Ruales, the whole idea for the exhibit came from Rocchio. “She was in charge of the exhibit.” It was her idea “to celebrate [the anniversary] and … for people to come and see the history,” of the area.

The name for the exhibit, “It Takes A Team To Build A Village,” came about because “we are honoring a lot of people who were involved in constructing the center. It’s a huge village center,” added Gilberti.

Ward Melville, left, with Governor W. Averell Harriman and his wife enjoy a Dogwood Hollow concert. Photo from the WMHO
Ward Melville, left, with Governor W. Averell Harriman and his wife enjoy a Dogwood Hollow concert. Photo from the WMHO

Future events connected with the 75th anniversary include a ceremony on July 9 recreating the 25th anniversary celebration. “We’re going to have antique cars from each decade in the village,” said Rocchio. A talk by her is also planned for the future. “There are so many things I’ve been taught by Mrs. Melville [Dorothy Melville, Ward’s wife] that no one knows. I worked for her for 10 years. She was the president” of the WMHO. “I was the Administrator at that time.” Rocchio added that putting together the exhibit and various events connected with it “has been a labor of love.”

The exhibit is currently on display at WMHO’s Educational and Cultural Center, 97P Main Street, Stony Brook through June 19 (Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and June 20 through Sept. 7 (daily, 10 a.m. through 5 p.m.) — closed Memorial Day and July 4. There is no admission charge, but donations are suggested. For further information, call 631-689-5888 or visit www.wmho.org.

A photo captures construction underway at the Stony Brook Village Center in 1940. Photo from the WMHO
A photo captures construction underway at the Stony Brook Village Center in 1940. Photo from the WMHO

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Bank of Suffolk County, built 1911, photo 1915. Photo from Beverly Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

When Ward Melville began his plan to construct, in Stony Brook, a compact Federal-style shopping center, there were stores and shops spread out along Main Street, Shore Road, now Dock Road, and Christian Avenue. Main Street in Stony Brook during the 19th and early part of the 20th century was an active commercial area with a variety of shops. South of Grist Mill Road and the mill pond there were a number of small homesteads and farms, a harness maker’s shop and a blacksmith shop, and a schoolhouse. The business area really began at the Grist Mill and pond, and except for Jacinsky’s Saloon and a bakery opposite Grist Mill Road, all the stores were on the west side of the road between the pond and the harbor. Shops included an ice cream parlor, drug store, hardware store, tea room, secondhand clothing store, Chinese laundry, a tailor shop and harness maker’s shop that became a butcher shop and grocery store about 1900, a barber shop, livery stable, shoemaker’s shop, post office and at least two general stores.

The butcher in Stony Brook at the turn of the century was Orlando G. Smith. His brother, Charles E. Smith, ran a butcher shop and general store in East Setauket. Orlando took over the butcher business from Bennie Wells who died in 1875. In 1898, Orlando built a new shop on the site of an earlier butcher shop run by George Hawkins. According to Percy Smith, in his booklet A Century of Progress, “In the mid-90s — 1890s — farmers around Stony Brook began decreasing the sales of their livestock, and Orlando Smith was forced to find another source of supply. The closest place was Bridgeport, about 15 miles across sound, but Smith encountered many difficulties obtaining meat from even so short a distance. His order had to go to Bridgeport by mail. The meat was then hauled to the Bridgeport docks and shipped by boat to Port Jefferson. There it was loaded into a wagon and brought to Stony Brook. During this time, Orlando bought what meat he could, but this had dwindled mostly to calves, lambs and pigs.

Orlando Smith’s butcher shop was located south of where the Reboli Center, formerly the Bank of Suffolk County, Extebank and others, is now. In 1913, Percy Smith took over the butcher business after it had been owned for less than a year by Captain Robert F. Wells and then by Percy’s father, W.H. Smith. In 1922, Percy moved to a new location in the old post office building, which was located a few lots north of the present Reboli Center, on the site of Gould’s General Store.

The Bank of Suffolk County began its operation in 1907 in a building at the south corner of the old business triangle, which is now part of the village green. The building, featuring a shingled, mansard roof, was owned by the Odd Fellows and contained a drug store and soda fountain, a library, lodge and dance hall. The bank moved to its present location in 1912 and its original building was torn down as part of the rehabilitation of the Stony Brook Shopping Center in 1941.

When the bank moved, it occupied a location, which was formerly owned by Dan Sherry, who ran a livery stable before the turn of the century. Just north of Sherry’s was the home and general store of J.N. Gould. Gould’s home later became the home of Doctor Squires. North of Gould’s home was the general store and the home of Edward Oaks. Oaks, in 1873, was a “dealer in dry goods, groceries and other supplies.” According to Percy Smith, Oaks’ general store (later Topping’s general store) was the “better” general store in town.

“It had everything,” commented Percy, “bales of hay, kerosene, hardware, patent medicine, food and clothing.”

Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.

File photo: Stony Brook University's social and behavioral sciences building
Miguel Angel Condori mugshot from SCPD
Miguel Angel Condori mugshot from SCPD

Stony Brook University Police are deploying additional officers around campus this week after a graduate student was forcibly touched over the weekend, authorities said Monday.

The suspect, who police identified as 33-year-old Miguel Angel Condori, was accused of groping a graduate student on Saturday inside the third-floor bathroom of the social and behavioral sciences building on campus, university police said. Officers have been searching campus buildings for the suspect and continue to do so while increasing police presence at strategic locations.

A surveillance image and mugshot of the suspect was posted to the Stony Brook University emergency alerts website, showing the location where the incident allegedly occurred around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The image described the suspect as a light-skinned Hipsanic male standing at about 5 feet, 5 inches with black hair pulled back into a bun, university police said.

Any information on the suspect was to be directed to university police at 631-632-3333.

Stony Brook University students took a break from drowning in their studies to continue a storied tradition by dumping makeshift vessels made out of cardboard into a campus pond, hoping they could stay afloat.

The Roth Pond Regatta shipped off its 27th consecutive year at the university on Friday as a way for students to blow off steam before finals start next week. Each year, students cram into their homemade boats made of cardboard, duct tape and paint and race across the 200-yard body of water at the center of campus.

More than 3,000 people make their way through the regatta each year, a university spokeswoman said. This year’s special theme for the race was “under the sea and far beyond,” with some of the nearly 40 boats including the S.S. Leaky Leakey, the S.S. Free Willy, and the Titanic itself.