Tags Posts tagged with "The Stony Brook School"

The Stony Brook School

Photo from The Stony Brook School

By Samantha Rutt

Following adjournment from the previous Town of Brookhaven Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, The Stony Brook School’s application for expansion was approved Wednesday, Sept. 20, with some modifications.

Amid public scrutiny, the school altered its plans to expand, eliminating the proposed indoor practice facility.

“We want to be good neighbors, we really do,” Joshua Crane, head of The Stony Brook School, said. “The idea that just because we can, didn’t really sit well with us. So when we came up with the idea of this new building, we proposed it out in a particular portion of our campus — that ultimately would have an impact on neighbors from a height and size perspective.”

The boarding and day school’s original plan included the construction of three new buildings on the campus, including a sizable indoor practice facility, reaching a height of 46 feet and a floor area ratio of 35,000 square feet, along with a new dormitory building and STEM building. 

Leading up to Wednesday’s meeting, nearby residents voiced concern about the school’s plan, alleging it would decrease property values and increase traffic.

“Local real estate agents suggest my property value will decrease … especially if there is a huge metal building constructed in what is basically my backyard,” said Stony Brook resident Jenny Lorenzen.

Several residents attended Wednesday’s ZBA meeting, hoping the school would uphold its promise to do away with the indoor practice facility. At the meeting, the prep school’s lawyer, Eric J. Russo, had a sidebar conversation with neighborhood representatives, promising to uphold the updated plans.

Crane spoke about the updated plan for constructing a facility to adequately house the school’s program needs.

“We’ve gone back to the drawing board, and we’re looking at a different area of campus,” he said. “That will basically give us about a third of the size that we had originally proposed but still meet our program needs because athletics is becoming more and more important here.”

Residents’ primary concerns were consistent with the size of the proposed sports facility and the addition of entry and exit routes that could add traffic to existing narrow roadways in the neighborhood.

“Bottom line is I do not want this project to affect our neighborhood roads,” said Anne Ryan, a Stony Road resident for over 40 years. “I understand the need to update the campus, but it should not affect our peaceful neighborhood.”

Following the outcome, former opponents of the project expressed their relief. “I am thankful,” Lorenzen said of the newly updated plans. “I am hopeful for the continuation of tranquility and peace in our lovely Stony Brook neighborhood.”

The Stony Brook School. Photo from Facebook

By Samantha Rutt

The Stony Brook School, a private Christian college-preparatory school just off Route 25A in Stony Brook, applied as of July 12 to the Town of Brookhaven Board of Zoning Appeals for a proposed expansion to add three new buildings to the 55-acre campus.

The boarding and day school’s plan includes the construction of an indoor practice facility, a three-story dormitory building and a three-story STEM building. The school’s original application proposed installing a parking lot from campus near the sports facility with exit points onto Chub Hill Road, Stony Road and Woodbine Avenue, potentially resulting in an uptick in traffic in the neighborhood.

Over a dozen residents turned out at Brookhaven Town Hall Wednesday, Aug. 23, presenting a signed petition, copies of emails and a collection of pictures to the zoning board.

At the meeting, representatives from The Stony Brook School presented the board with an updated plan that slightly altered the soon-to-be-constructed building’s exit points, resulting in lower-grade disruption to the surrounding neighborhood.

Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods have begun an outreach effort opposing the expansion, placing fliers in mailboxes and alerting residents of the incoming project.

In addition to fliers, nearby residents created a petition in opposition to the prep school’s plan. The petition addressed the Town Board and further explained the collective concerns throughout the neighborhood. Over a dozen Stony Brook residents signed the petition.

“My neighbors and I are very concerned this will intrude on the quiet enjoyment of our homes and potentially diminish property values,” said Stony Brook resident James Orlando in an email to members of the ZBA.

“This connection creates a new entrance to the interior of campus, which will bring increased student, parent, sports team and other school-related traffic into our neighborhood,” he added.

“I have contacted local real estate agents who have all said my property value will decrease if these buildings are constructed in what is basically my backyard,” Jenny Lorenzen, a Stony Road resident, said.

Some residents considered the expansion plan a safety hazard and a disruption to the tranquility of their neighborhood, noting the potential for increased traffic congestion and noise, decreasing property values and environmental impact.

Lorenzen and other residents voiced concerns at the zoning meeting, centered around emissions from the facilities as they will be air-conditioned and in use year-round. She is also concerned about other potential environmental impacts, mentioning clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency and road surveys.

As is, the neighborhood boasts narrow roadways that poorly accommodate two-way traffic. In addition, public school buses from the Three Village Central School District cannot enter the area. Instead, children must walk to designated bus stops at Quaker Path, Cedar Street or Christian Avenue.

Following the Aug. 23 meeting, the ZBA adjourned its review of the prep school’s application until Sept. 20.

by -
0 1245
Photo from The Stony Brook School

By D. Bruce Lockerbie

On Sept. 13, The Stony Brook School marks the 100th anniversary of inaugural ceremonies that, in 1922, made the front pages of national newspapers. Here’s the backstory.

The Stony Brook School’s Frank E. Gaebelein, center, board and faculty members, and students in 1922. Below right, Frank E. Gaebelein in 1963 the year of his retirement after 41 years as headmaster. Photo from The Stony Brook School

Early in the 20th century, Presbyterian pastors decided to follow the example of Methodists, establishing summer conferences to instruct Sunday school teachers for the next year’s Bible lessons. The most prominent voice belonged to the Rev. John Fleming Carson, whose Brooklyn congregation was the second largest in the country. Carson had a summer home on Christian Avenue in Stony Brook — now the Stony Brook Community Church’s administration building — and so recommended locating the proposed Presbyterian enterprise here.

His colleagues agreed and, in 1907, acting as the Stony Brook Assembly, began buying property: What we know as the Three Village Inn, along with “riparian rights” to Sand Street Beach and a large tract of land opposite the railroad station. By 1909, the Assembly was ready for its first season, held in a tent where the North Shore Montessori School stands today, at 218 Christian Ave.

The next year a “tabernacle,” modeled after popular evangelist Billy Sunday’s contemporary venues, was constructed — then the largest meeting space on Long Island. Summer-long attendance soared into the thousands as world-renowned preachers and other public figures came to speak. Guests from across the continent swarmed to the site, building summer cottages and even impressively large homes in the surrounding area. By 1918, two hotels had been added on the grounds. The Assembly’s influx of “summer people” had replaced shipbuilding as Stony Brook’s economic cornerstone.

From its outset, however, the Assembly had also weighed founding a school to occupy its facilities year-round. World War I delayed that decision, but by 1920 the Assembly board was ready to act. Their priority was to appoint a founding headmaster to execute faithfully the Assembly’s “Platform of Principles,” a creed-like document still in effect for every member of the board, administration and faculty, affirming its theological beliefs.

Among other nominees, the board chose Frank E. Gaebelein, a 22-year-old Harvard University graduate student. At a glance, he seemed stunningly unqualified for the job. Brilliant but painfully shy and handicapped by stammering speech, he had never set foot on the campus of an independent boarding school, and had never taken a course in education or administration. His only apparent assets were as a classical pianist — taught by a pupil of German composer Johannes Brahms — and his early avocation as an Alpine mountaineer.

Nonetheless the Assembly founders saw in this young man a deep spirituality and evidences of promise to be fulfilled over the next 60 years as a pioneering Christian educator and internationally respected spokesman for such schools.

The Rev. John Fleming Carson (1911) founder of Stony Brook Assembly and The Stony Brook School

Gaebelein spent a year developing his philosophy of schooling, hiring a faculty and recruiting students from families willing to risk their sons’ education by a novice. Expecting 100 boys, he enrolled only 27, scattered in grades 4 through 12, for whom he had already hired nine teachers. They would all reside and study in Hopkins Hall, one of the summer hotels but without central heating.

On Sept. 13, 1922, the auditorium swelled with supportive constituents and the merely curious for the inaugural ceremonies. Francis L. Patton, president of both Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, described “The Fourth R,” meaning religion, but the founding headmaster gave a more interesting address, stating his vision for “a grand experiment” in straightforward language.

Gaebelein’s remarks were historic and unique because his message ran counter to what leaders of every other college-preparatory school of that era would proclaim. To be sure, many of them were church-related, some with ordained clergy as headmasters, most with religious-sounding mottoes and even daily chapel services. But none would have dared to declare — as did Gaebelein on that inaugural day — that The Stony Brook School would strive to be both an academically demanding college-preparatory school and a place where its motto “Character Before Career” is set in a context of biblical teaching and example.

Over its history, the Assembly ceased its conferences in 1958, the school added female students in 1971, Frank E. Gaebelein Hall was built in 1982 and the number of day students has increased substantially. This year, some 440 students come from across the U.S. and 20 other nations.

Regarding this notable year, Joshua Crane, today’s head of school, said, “Our centennial year has been a remarkable time of reflection and celebration for The Stony Brook School as we consider the wisdom of our founders, the hard work and selfless dedication of our faculty and staff, and the students who have been the beneficiaries of an outstanding, rigorous education steeped in the Christian faith.”

The school will celebrate Founders’ Day on Friday, Sept. 16, at The Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club.

Bruce Lockerbie served on the administration and faculty of The Stony Brook School for 34 years. He is author of 40 books, including “The Way They Should Go” (Oxford University Press, 1972), a history of the school’s first 50 years, and editor of Frank E. Gaebelein’s posthumous collection of essays, “The Christian, the Arts, and Truth” (Multnomah Press, 1984).

The Stony Brook School hosted a car processional to celebrate the class of 2020 May 23. For the celebration, the school invited seniors and their families to decorate their cars, show school spirit, and parade through campus. 

As cars drove up Chapman Parkway, the road that cuts down the middle of the school’s grounds, each student was announced and greeted by members of the school community, including faculty, staff and dorm parents. Because of space and social distancing constrictions, only seniors and their immediate families were permitted to attend. 

Sterling National Bank, which is situated directly in front of the school, offered their parking lot for cars to line up before the procession to help provide extra space for students waiting for their moment to shine.

The event was also live-streamed for those who were unable to attend. All in attendance were required to respect social distancing guidelines and to remain in their cars at all times.

Emmy Specht delivers groceries to her neighbors in Bellport. Photo by Joanne Specht

Since schools shut their doors back in March, one student from The Stony Brook School has been keeping busy helping her neighbors in Bellport to beat food insecurities.

Emmy Specht among food items donated by friends and neighbors. Photo from Joanne Specht

Emmy Specht is spearheading a food drive and fundraising effort for those who have been struggling to buy groceries because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 17-year-old has been buying and collecting the food and then boxing up and delivering groceries to recipients.

Specht said a few weeks ago she had the idea to start a food drive and contacted Yolanda Lucas, the Day Care and Family Support coordinator at Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area. Lucas connected her with those who she knew needed help. Specht started spreading the word, and soon friends and neighbors were dropping off food on her front porch. When she heard that classmates and relatives in the Three Village area wanted to donate but were unable to make the drive to drop off items, she created the fundraising page Food for Suffolk County.

Lucas said she has been impressed by Specht’s endeavor, and how the high school senior took the initiative to contact her and is running the drive on her own. Lucas said it gives her a renewed sense of hope about young people.

“She’s doing it out of a concern for others,” Lucas said.

Specht, who has traveled to school in the Three Village area since she began her academic career in the Laurel Hill School, has been able to deliver food to 10 families each week, and so far she has raised $7,000. She added that her guidance counselor, Debbie Abrahamsen, whose husband, Stan, owns the Chick-fil-A in Port Jefferson, even contributed 30 gift cards for meals which include a sandwich, side and a drink, which she said is helpful for families to get a hot meal.

“It’s really amazing, and I’m really appreciative, especially since I know it’s a challenging time for everyone,” Specht said.

Abrahamsen said she cried when she heard about the student’s endeavor, especially since she recognized that as a senior Specht may be grieving the loss of prom and graduation.

“Instead of it being about her, she’s helping those in need,” the guidance counselor said. “I just think that’s amazing. How many high school seniors have that type of compassion.”

Every week, Specht aims to have three boxes for each family, and even though she isn’t able to meet them face-to-face, Specht has interacted with some from a distance.

Recently, the student received an email from a woman asking for help. The woman had seen the groceries her son had received from Specht and explained to the student how she was disabled, and her fiancé is an essential worker. She lives separately from her son, who has his own family, and in addition to her children living with her and her partner, there is also her mother who lives with them. In the email, the woman said they were using rent money to buy food. The high school senior said thanks to the generous donations she has received; she was able to help the mother’s household too.

Emmy Specht prepares boxes for a recipient. Photo by Joanne Specht

Specht is no stranger to philanthropy. She and her sister Rae, along with friends Maddie Joinnides and Eloise Kocay, founded Four Girls for Families. The nonprofit was inspired by a family visit to Cambodia. Specht’s father, Brian, works for Tara Toy Corporation and travels to China regularly. One year when the family accompanied him on a work trip, they paid a visit to Cambodia.

She said being in Cambodia and seeing kids her age who were unable to have essentials such as an education and clean water affected her greatly.

“That was unsettling to see kids my own age going through something so hard,” she said.

While she and her family visit the country every year, a trip planned for this June had to be canceled due to the pandemic.

Her mother, Joanne Specht, said she wasn’t surprised when Emmy started her food drive as she has always had a soft spot for others, and in addition to Four Girls for Families, her daughter volunteers at Sunrise Day Camp in Wyandanch, which is a camp for children with cancer.

“She’s always looking for ways to help people,” the mother said. “She’s got a very kind heart.”

Emmy Specht said the new fundraising project has taught her about the problems people face on Long Island.

“I’ve never really seen the kinds of needs that are here on Long Island,” she said. “It’s not on the other side of the world. There are also problems here.”

For more information on how to donate to the food drive, visit foodforsuffolkcounty.org.

by -
0 2303
The Stony Brook School STEM faculty Jeremy Donovan, left, and Stan Winston wearing the laser cut face shields designed and assembled in The Stony Brook School’s STEM lab. Photo from The Stony Brook School

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and shortage of materials hospitals are facing, a small group of high school students and faculty from The Stony Brook School have come up with a solution that can be produced in their STEM lab and, soon, across the country — protective face shields at a fraction of the originally expected time and cost, according to a press release from the private school.

Stony Brook University Hospital recently reached out to the surrounding community to secure usage of 3D printers to produce face shields. The hospital, whose design would take approximately three and a half hours per shield, sought to commision 5,000 shields per usable printer.

When the Stony Brook School was alerted of this, Stan Winston, director of STEM Education, and Jeremy Donovan, STEM teacher, thought they could come up with a much more efficient solution with the help of their highly-skilled students. In a little over 24 hours, Winston had presented the idea to his classes — in virtual classrooms since the outbreak of the pandemic — and a prototype was made.

After three major roadblocks were overcome by the students, a final solution was found. In lieu of a time-intensive 3D print, a face shield constructed with the STEM lab’s laser cutter could be made in just 35 seconds. With the new design and process, about 100 can be made each hour at a cost of under 50 cents each, and the school will be producing at least 5,000 of them for SBU Hospital.

Students instrumental in coming up with this solution were Stony Brook School sophomores Cole Spier and Tiger Winston and junior Ethan Magnuson.

“Our students are committed to serving the world with their character and leadership,” Stan Winston said. “With their years of problem-solving experience in our STEM courses, along with a huge community effort, we have reached a great solution to a pressing issue facing our country today.”

Stony Brook University Hospital has accepted the school’s design and proposal, according to The Stony Brook School.

by -
0 64
Jane Taylor, third from left, with some of her fellow board of trustee members at the Sept. 26 Three Village Chamber of Commerce meeting. Pictured with Taylor is John Tsunis, Michael Ardolino, Colette Frey-Bitzas, Elizabeth Miastkowski, Gloria Rocchio, Charles Lefkowitz, Andy Polan, Ron LaVita, Leah Dunaief, Billy Williams, Carmine Inserra and the Hon. Howard Bergson, who swore in the members. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce

The Three Village Chamber of Commerce welcomed a new executive director at the beginning of September.

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor congratulates Jane Taylor on being chosen as Three Village Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year in June. Photo from Town of Brookhaven

Jane Taylor, who retired in June as assistant head of The Stony Brook School, has taken on the leadership role. The position has been vacant since David Woods’ retirement last year. Taylor has been involved with the chamber for 20 years and a member of the board for more than five. In June, she was named Three Village Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year.

Charles Lefkowitz, first vice president of the chamber, said Taylor is the “last part of the puzzle for the reorganization of the chamber.” Over the last few years, he said the chamber has been undergoing a reorganization that has included planning events 12 months in advance and changing how they arrange networking activities to allow for more mingling.

“Jane Taylor is an outstanding selection for the executive director for the Three Village chamber, and she comes with a wealth of community involvement and knowledge of the Three Village area,” Lefkowitz said.

Taylor’s association with the organization came about when she first started at The Stony Brook School. She said she felt it was vital to network with community members to talk about issues and connect with local vendors.

“I felt it was an organization that was committed to the community and was something that was built on the importance of developing relationships,” she said.

When Taylor, who grew up in Pittsburgh, first moved to the Three Village area with her husband, Robert, 45 years ago, she started working at the school as a physical education teacher and coach. Taylor said when she started she was able to connect with the local athletic communities including Ward Melville and Port Jefferson.

“The local business community is one of the key elements that make a community healthy and vibrant.”

— Jane Taylor

“I realized that people really cared about this place and wanted me to be successful even though we were competing against these schools,” she said.

Taylor said her new responsibilities as executive director of the chamber include working with the board identifying goals for the coming year, making sure the e-newsletter is posted, building membership, visiting businesses and not-for-profits in the community, maintaining communication and “whatever needs to be done.”

She said she feels local businesses play an important role in communities, covering everything from when a baseball team needs a sponsor to who is hosting the Christmas parade.

“The local business community is one of the key elements that make a community healthy and vibrant,” she said, adding that she looks forward to helping local businesses grow.

Taylor lives with her husband in Stony Brook, has two grown children and two grandchildren. She said she has learned to juggle a lot in the past and looks forward to her new responsibilities.

“You just take what’s in front of you, put one foot in front of the other and assume the goodwill of everybody,” Taylor said.

Vietnam-born Hakin Lienghot, the subject of Eileen Davenport's first novel, was 'adopted' by Three Village community

Eileen Davenport, on right, is writing a novel about Hakin Lienghot, on left, who was adopted by the Three Village community following his immigration to the United States from Vietnam. Hank Boerner, at center, worked for American Airlines and helped the then-13-year-old get a flight to his new home. Photo from Eileen Davenport

Eileen Davenport has embarked on a writing journey, and she’s hoping local residents will join her on a trip down memory lane. The Setauket resident is working on a book about Hakin Lienghot, better known as Kin, a young man adopted by Three Village community members when he immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 1967. She is reaching out to the community asking for stories involving her longtime friend.

Davenport said Lienghot, who now lives in Rhode Island, was a Montagnard child from Da Me in the Central Highlands of Vietnam whose people were mistreated by their fellow Vietnamese. When James Turpin, an American doctor, visited his village with the independent relief organization Project Concern, he met Lienghot and discovered the teenager dreamed of one day going to college. When the doctor returned to the United States, he addressed the members of the Three Village Jaycees, a junior chamber of commerce where members were between 18 and 35 years old. He asked the community to help him bring the young man to the states.

Hakin Lienghot arrives at John F. Kennedy airport and is greeted by the Fleeson family, who he stayed with over winter break. Photo from Eileen Davenport

“All these people in Three Village started to stand up and say, ‘We will help this boy to get here,’” Davenport said in a phone interview. 

She said she’s not certain of all the details, but Lienghot was offered a five-year scholarship to The Stony Brook School, and members of the Jaycees offered additional help. A clothing store owner said he would give Lienghot clothes, others said he could stay at their home during school breaks. Hank Boerner, who had just moved to Stony Brook and worked for American Airlines, offered to approach the company to arrange Lienghot’s transportation.

When the 13-year-old landed at John F. Kennedy Airport, the Jaycees, his future schoolmates, the local public school band and the Stony Brook Fire Department were there to greet him. She said the young man carried two bows and two arrows in his hand.

“His father said, ‘Here take this to your host family as a gesture to say that we are so happy and proud that they took you,’” Davenport said. “It was just this big hospitality thing.”

Lienghot said he was overwhelmed when he arrived at the airport, as he didn’t expect to be greeted by so many people, and his knowledge of English consisted basically of “yes,” “no,” and “thank you.”

“I didn’t expect anything like that so I was overwhelmed; I was frightened,” Lienghot said. “But I was cool on the outside, and I was frightened on the inside. I didn’t know how to talk to people or communicate. They had someone from the Vietnamese consulate to interpret for me.”

He remembers it snowing when the Fleeson family of Stony Brook drove him to their home where he stayed with the family until school began after winter break. He remembered that first night trying Campbell’s chicken noodle soup and not liking the  taste of it, and the next day throwing snowballs with the neighborhood children, and the Fleesons taking him to Sears in the Smithhaven Mall.

Eileen Davenport and Hakin Lienghot dance at his wedding. Photo from Eileen Davenport

He said he tried his best to fit in with the American children he met, so much so that it wasn’t until he matured that he realized the significance of his experiences here.

“I would love to hear about what people remember about me, because I was so focused on fitting in,” he said.

Lienghot, who is now a clinical social worker specializing in children with ADHD and autism has fond memories of his time in the area. He said he would walk down Quaker Path to go to West Meadow Beach and Christian Avenue into Stony Brook Village. From his walks to the village, he remembers looking out into the harbor and going to the shops, and he got his first American haircut from a Stony Brook Village barber.

He started at The Stony Brook School during a time when there were only 47 boys in the prep school, and Davenport said the students came from some of the most elite families, such as Edmund Lynch from the Merrill Lynch family.

While the original plans were for Lienghot to return home during summer vacation, circumstances in Vietnam prevented it. The Viet Cong attacked his village, and people were shot at point-blank range. In the attacks, he lost his brother-in-law and cousin as well as 36 others in his village. When he did get home in 1969, he was almost drafted when he was stopped while riding a scooter. He said he pretended to only know English, and for identification he just showed his Stony Brook School ID. After that, he knew he couldn’t return to his village again. 

The Three Village Jaycees, who already helped Lienghot with food, clothing and books, now opened up their homes to ensure he would have a place to stay during every school break and summer vacation.

“It was a collective community thing, really kind of parenting him,” the writer said.

Hakin Lienghot arrives at John F. Kennedy airport with flight attendants. Photo from Eileen Davenport

Davenport said she hopes Three Village residents can help her with the story of Lienghot, because her family only became a part of his life after he left The Stony Brook School. She said it was in the early 1970s when her father, Ed McAvoy, joined the Jaycees and was the newly elected president of the group. Lienghot was graduating from high school at the time, and her father decided to go to the graduation ceremony.

As her father was leaving, her mother Mary Ann said to him, “Just make sure he has somewhere to go.”

When Davenport’s father saw Lienghot, the young man didn’t know where he was going for the summer, and McAvoy invited him to stay at his home for the summer with his wife and four children.

While Lienghot was at the McAvoys they helped him pack for college and obtain his green card since his student visa ended. The young man had a four-year scholarship playing soccer at Barrington College and eventually went on to Boston University. Every college school break he came back to the McAvoy family, and through the decades has visited the family regularly.

“He kind of adopted us as family and we adopted him,” Davenport said.

The new author said many have told Lienghot to write a book, and but he never believed anyone would be interested in his story. She said while she has no experience in writing books, she’s an avid reader of memoirs and non-fiction inspirational stories, and she believes many would read a book about a community coming together and taking in an immigrant child during war.

The future author said to her adopted brother,  “I read stories like this all the time, and I know it’s a good story to tell.”

Those who remember Lienghot can email their stories to [email protected].