The King Kullen supermarket on Route 25A will close its doors next month. Photo by Phil Corso
A North Shore grocery chain is shuttering one of its locations next month just as summer breaks into full bloom.
Joseph Brown, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer for King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc., said the East Setauket location on Route 25A will close its doors for good on June 11, answering to rumors that have been swirling through the Three Village area over the last several weeks. The chain’s workforce, however, will be taken care of, Brown said.
“We do not anticipate a layoff of employees, as they will be offered relocation to other stores, including our nearby supermarkets in St. James and Selden,” Brown said.
The East Setauket King Kullen opened back in 2005 in the same shopping center as two other grocery chains — Wild by Nature and Super Stop and Shop. The former grocery chain also operates under the King Kullen brand, which Brown said was not going anywhere.
“It has been a privilege to serve the Three Village community and we remain committed to the area through our East Setauket Wild by Nature,” he said.
Andrew Polan, president of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, said his group was sad to see the supermarket chain go after several years of service to the community. He said it was likely that oversaturation in the area could have made it difficult for King Kullen to prosper as it stood alongside two other major chains.
“Anytime something closes down, it’s a cause of concern for us. King Kullen is a longtime Long Island company and we’re sorry to see this happening,” he said. “I’m sure the increase in competition in the area has made it difficult for businesses to survive.”
King Kullen operates several other locations in communities near the North Shore area including Mt. Sinai, Lake Ronkonkoma, Middle Island, Commack, Northport, Huntington and Huntington Station among others.
Local firefighters douse a house fire on East Neck Road in Halesite on May 16. Photo by Steve Silverman
About 50 firefighters doused a blaze at a Halesite home on Saturday morning. There were no injuries.
Local firefighters douse a house fire on East Neck Road in Halesite on May 16. Photo by Steve Silverman
Under the command of Halesite Fire Department Chief Dan McConnell, firefighters from Huntington, Centerport and Cold Spring Harbor fire departments responded to the scene on East Neck Road. Volunteers from the Halesite Fire Department responded to reports of a house fire at about 10 a.m., according to Steve Silverman, a spokesman for the Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs Council.
The firefighters began an aggressive interior attack through the front door and up a spiral staircase to the second floor. They were able to confine the fire to the attic and rear of the home. The remainder of the home sustained smoke and water damage, Silverman said.
The Halesite Fire Department was on the scene with two engines, a ladder truck and ambulance. Huntington Manor Fire Department was on standby at Halesite’s fire department.
Firefighters had the blaze under control in just over an hour, Silverman said.
The Suffolk County Police Arson Squad and the Huntington Town fire marshal are investigating the case.
Two girls haul a full trash bag at Washington Avenue park after community members worked on May 16 to clean it up. Photo from Dina Simoes
The Comsewogue community came out in full force on a rainy Saturday to clean up their hometown.
Washington Avenue park is buried behind trash bags after community members worked on May 16 to clean it up. Photo from Dina Simoes
In honor of the eighth annual Great Brookhaven Cleanup, residents hit Washington Avenue park, at the corner of Oak Street in Port Jefferson Station, and School Street Park, on School Drive in Terryville behind John F. Kennedy Middle School.
According to Dina Simoes, one of the Washington Avenue organizers, there were more than 50 volunteers at that site, many of them students.
At the smaller but equally enthusiastic cleanup at School Street Park, some kids were led in their beautification efforts by Old Town Blooms founder Craig den Hartog.
Kiernan Urso as Oliver and Jeffrey Sanzel as Fagin in a scene from ‘Oliver!’ at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson. Photo by Peter Lanscombe, Theatre Three Productions, Inc.
By Erin Dueñas
Twelve-year-old Kiernan Urso can trace his love of acting back to preschool where a creative teacher engaged him and his classmates in games of “Let’s Pretend” where the only limit was their imaginations.
“She let us choose whoever we wanted. We would all pick a character, and she would write a script based on the characters,” said Kiernan. “I remember once there was a play with Peter Pan and Rocky Balboa and three Disney princesses. That’s when I learned that performing was a way of communicating.”
In addition to “Let’s Pretend” sessions, the Longwood Middle School sixth-grader said he would accompany his father, a teacher in Longwood, to the plays put on at school.
“I remember sitting in the front row and thinking I can see myself doing that.”
On May 23, Kiernan will take to the stage as the title character in “Oliver!” at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson.
It will be his third time on the main stage there, having appeared in “A Christmas Carol” as Scrooge as a Boy this past year and Tiny Tim the year before. Kiernan said he is excited to play Oliver.
“He is very innocent but very strong,” Kiernan said of his character. “He can survive anything. Despite his life, that hasn’t gone well, he’s a fighter and he won’t give up.”
But playing the title role, which puts him in nine of the play’s 12 scenes, is also making Kiernan nervous.
“Playing the main character is nerve-wracking,” he said. “What are people going to think? I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”
With rehearsals at least five times a week, preparing for “Oliver!” has taken up a lot of Kiernan’s time, but he manages to complete schoolwork thanks to supportive teachers and making good use of his time.
“I get my homework done during the school day and maybe some in the morning,” he said. “I don’t know how I do it but it works out.”
The demanding rehearsal schedule also keeps Kiernan’s mom Christina busy, driving her son back and forth from their home in Ridge to Port Jefferson.
“It’s all worth the crazy hours. It’s such a great experience for him” she said. “To see that spark in your child’s eye — to see him love it and not just like it. It’s all worth it.”
A self-described movie buff, Kiernan said he enjoys watching movies with a lot of drama, and he said he would love to appear in a horror movie one day. He is a big fan of television as well, counting the ABC show “Once Upon a Time” as a favorite.
“I love how they twist fairy tales and compress them with our modern world,” Kiernan said. “I would love to be on that show someday. I don’t even care what character I would play.”
Kiernan said eventually he would like to audition for commercials and possibly even Broadway. A dream role would be to play King Triton in “The Little Mermaid.”
“He’s in control and I like the feeling of how he can boss people around.”
For now Kiernan is enjoying his time at Theatre Three, which he said is unlike anything he has ever experienced.
“The adults here treat you like one of them,” he said. “They are not distant and they try to help you out and do what it takes to make you comfortable.”
Kiernan said he is particularly inspired by Jeffrey Sanzel, who is directing “Oliver!” and playing the role of Fagin. Sanzel also plays Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”
“The way he directs, acts and portrays any character he plays is amazing,” Kiernan said. “I want to be like that when I grow up.”
Sanzel is equally impressed with Kiernan.
“When he auditioned for Oliver, we saw something truly extraordinary,” Sanzel said. “It was a combination of raw honesty and underlying fire. In Kiernan, we saw the passion and the light that shines through underneath. The audience will root for him from the first moment to the last.”
Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson, will present the timeless musical “Oliver!” from May 23 to June 27. For more information, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.
The Facts: I am the owner of a family-operated business. My wife and my son John are employed by the business. My other son, Tony, has no interest in being involved with the business. When my wife and I die, I want John to inherit the business, which is my largest asset. However, I want Tony to inherit assets of equal value.
The Question: Are there specific issues I need to address when developing an estate plan?
The Answer: Absolutely. For starters, you need to take an objective look at your business and decide if the business can continue to operate without you.
Even though your wife and son are employed by the business, if you are the person with the knowledge, expertise and contacts upon which the business depends, there may not be much value to the business after your death. In that case, having John inherit the business may result in him actually being short changed with respect to your estate.
If the business cannot thrive without you, instead of inheriting a valuable asset, John could find himself struggling to keep the business afloat and possibly be faced with winding down the business and looking for a new job.
If you determine that the future success of the business is not dependent upon your involvement, you need to determine the best method for calculating the value of the business upon your death. The valuation should take into consideration how John’s involvement with the business may have increased its value over the years.
If, for example, John worked without pay or at a reduced salary, or if he worked more hours than nonfamily employees because it was understood that he would one day inherit the business, then the value of the business should be adjusted down to reflect that fact. If it is not adjusted, John will inherit a business whose value was in part created by him, and Tony will inherit equally valuable assets without having contributed to their value.
Once you have determined how the value of the business will be calculated, you need to consider the value of all of your other assets. If the business is your most valuable asset but the combined value of your other assets is comparable to the value of the business, you can simply leave the business to John and the rest of your estate to Tony.
However, if there is little else in your estate other than your business, such a distribution will not result in equal shares passing to your sons. To address this problem, you can buy a life insurance policy and name Tony as the beneficiary. If you buy a policy with a death benefit that is comparable to the value of your business, when you pass Tony will receive funds equal in value to the business that you leave to John.
Linda M. Toga, Esq. provides legal services in the areas of litigation, estate planning and real estate from her East Setauket office.
The former Islander Boat Center could soon become 52 apartments. File photo by Erika Karp
A second apartment complex on West Broadway got the green light recently, when the Port Jefferson Planning Board gave conditional approval to 52 units at the former Islander Boat Center property.
The 20 conditions the board put on Overbay LLC’s project at its May 14 meeting include items to control drainage at the site off of Brook Road, which is not far above the water table, Planning Board member Barbara Sabatino said in a phone interview. The applicant must also give the village “a final eyeball” on the structures’ elevation and colors before it can be granted building permits.
Overbay’s two buildings would go up next door to a planned 112-unit apartment building — the Residences at Port Jefferson — at West Broadway and Barnum Avenue, the site of the decrepit former Heritage Inn. The board approved that project, from applicant TRITEC Real Estate Company, at a meeting last month, according to minutes from April 16.
The Residences at Port Jefferson are to be built on a property roughly double the size of Overbay’s.
Both sites at the western entrance to Port Jefferson Village would have parking underneath the apartments and would replace longtime community eyesores. Neither required variances for approval.
The two projects have another thing in common: Both have faced opposition from some village residents who say they are concerned about increased density and traffic.
“We don’t want to be urbanized,” Phil Griffith said at a public hearing in March. “It is just too much. Too, too much.”
With the Overbay apartments, cars would access the site from Brook Road, while cars visiting the Residences at Port Jefferson would enter through a driveway on West Broadway or an entrance on Barnum Avenue.
The proposal the Planning Board approved for the Overbay project does not include commercial space, which had been a component — along with more apartments — in previous proposals for the site.
Glam-style living room, carefully designed by Port
Washington-based Fox + Chenko Interiors. Photo from Fox + Chenko
Long Island is springing back to life, and Mother Nature isn’t the only one getting a makeover.
Just as April showers help give birth to May flowers, spring is giving life to some new looks inside homes — a focus on modernized glamour décor, with ice colors like white and gray becoming more popular, according to some Long Island designers.
From one designer’s perspective, the rise of glam could be signaling a shift in mood among the masses from depression to hope.
“I think that people are feeling optimistic,” said Daryl Pines, president of the Interior Design Society of Long Island — a group with membership of residential interior designers from across the Island. That could be largely financial — the economy’s bouncing back, some say, as the unemployment rate is currently the lowest it has been in several years. “We’ve been in a downturn [for] a long time and I think people just want better things in their lives. So if you think that people [want] to be home and make their own glamour, maybe they’re just saying, ‘Enough! I don’t want to be downtrodden anymore. I don’t want to be depressed. I want to make something glamorous at home.’”
Designer Jen Fox, co-owner of Fox + Chenko Interiors in Port Washington, said she has definitely noticed a “cleaner and sophisticated” look gaining popularity, and a “phasing out” from the early 2000s, where everything was warmer in color tones, like greens, olives, reds and mustards. She’s also noticed, along with the cleaner, sleeker look, a lot more texture in items like fabrics, rugs, wall coverings and mirrored surfaces. This inclusion of texture is taking the place of other items people might have in their homes, Fox said. “I think people are looking just maybe to live more simply in terms of the sheer volume of things to decorate with,” she added.
Designer Caroline Wilkes, of Merrick-based Caroline Wilkes Interiors made a similar observation.
“It is the details in design that are a key trend this spring, with a spotlight on surface texture,” Wilkes said in an email. “This embellishment can be found on anything from custom furnishings, window treatment fabrics and accessories. It is this attention to detail that shapes a decor into something very special and noteworthy, making a room feel personalized.”
As far as colors go, Pines said she’s noticed blue being of greater interest to clients, particularly to South Shore residents who are still in the process of rebuilding their homes after Hurricane Sandy destroyed them.
“They’re all water-based people and attracted to a little bit of that blue in what they’re doing,” she said.
Some popular pieces have taken on some modernized looks, according to Fox. For example, textured items like sisal rugs are taking the place of colorful Persian rugs that gained popularity years ago — where the pattern is emphasized more in the weave of the rug, versus the rug’s color. A wing chair, a more traditional piece, can be made into a more transitional item with a metallic look, Fox said, noting that metallic is big in the glam look.
Overall, there’s a return to the deeper tones and a greater saturation in color in this season’s looks, Pine said.
“It’s a happier feeling, but it’s juxtaposed against a very pale, [glam],” she said.
For more information, visit the Interior Design Society of Long Island’s website at www.idslongisland.org.
Brett Rainey poses with his girlfriend Danielle and a puppy. Photo from Lisa Karrer
A 27-year-old Huntington Station motorcyclist was killed after colliding with a minivan on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington.
Brett Rainey was riding his 2000 Yamaha north on Walt Whitman Road at about 5:30 p.m. on May 15 when he struck the passenger side of a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country as the driver attempted to make a left turn into a parking lot. Lucas McAfee, an 18-year-old man from Fort Salonga, was driving the minivan.
Rainey was transported to Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the minivan and three male passengers were not injured and remained at the scene, according to police.
The death of Rainey has hit his family hard. His older sister Lisa Karrer said her brother was a great man who died too soon.
“He was beautiful,” she said. “From the day he was born he was amazing.”
Karrer described her brother as someone who was always by her side and had a great love of motorcycles. She said he got his first motorcycle at age 4 and spent much of his life riding dirt bikes, motorcycles and Jet Skis.
“He loved the thrill, its freedom and passion,” Karrer.
Rainey’s sister said her brother suffered from a drug addiction for eight years before going to rehab and getting clean. She said he spent his last two years sober, living with her and making his life better.
“He changed his life and he was finally happy,” she said. “He was finally living his life for the first time.”
The 27-year-old was also a father to a 5-year-old girl who was adopted by a family member a few months after being born. The tough decision came from Rainey, who knew she was better off being adopted by a family member, Karrer said.
“He was loving, he loved everybody,” his sister said. “He was always there for anybody.”
Rainey channeled his love for all things mechanical into working as a mechanic for the last couple of years. He also worked at a PetSmart in Huntington Station. When reached for comment, a PetSmart manager who would not give his name said the loss “hit the team really hard.”
Karrer said the family doesn’t want the driver and passengers involved in the minivan to blame themselves. She called it a “terrible accident.”
Services for Rainey are being held in New Jersey, where he is from, his sister said. It will take place this Saturday at Ora L. Wooster Funeral Home in Clementon, N.J.
He is survived by his girlfriend Danielle, sisters Lisa and Laura, his sister-in-law Deborah, his mom Drena Kanz, father Doug Rainey and two younger siblings Lilly and Ries.
Karrer and her wife Deborah Porretto will be hosting a memorial gathering at their home at 39 Dawson Street in Huntington Station on May 30 beginning at 1 p.m. for anyone and everyone who would like to come.
Port Jefferson Free Library board President Laura Hill Timpanaro and Library Director Robert Goykin present the findings of the library’s strategic plan to more than 40 community leaders on Wednesday. Photo from Robert Goykin
Port Jefferson Free Library is checking out architects as it moves toward expanding its facilities, officials announced on Wednesday at a breakfast meeting with community members.
At the meeting, library staffers updated a few dozen neighborhood leaders on the library’s strategic plan, which its board of trustees recently finalized and includes ideas of how the institution will serve residents in the future. Those plans involve branching out to two properties adjacent to its central building at the corner of Thompson and East Main streets: a residence on Thompson that it has acquired and a business on East Main that it is in the process of acquiring. The goal of expansion is to bring the Teen Center, which is now housed in a separate building across East Main, into the main building.
And an “inadequacy of library meeting space, in addition to parking challenges, were prime considerations,” library board President Laura Hill Timpanaro said in a statement.
The library is looking to hire an architectural firm that will consider the area’s historical character while designing the potential expansion, Library Director Robert Goykin said in a phone interview Thursday. “The library board is extremely committed to preserving the historic streetscape and the historic nature of this corner of the town.”
Once the board hires an architect, there will be public meetings to get community feedback and suggestions during the design process.
“We want to keep the public informed and aware every step of the way,” Goykin said.
According to a press release from the library, the adjacent property on East Main Street, which currently houses Scented Cottage Garden, measures 7,750 square feet.
Marge McCuen and Mary Lee, who co-own the property with their husbands, John McCuen and Roger Lee, said while the sale of the property is not final, the business will be closing on May 31.
The library director said the property would help the space-strapped library meet village parking requirements while satisfying the library’s needs.
Goykin said the meeting Wednesday at the library was positive, as the community offered supportive comments “and really showed how much the public appreciates the library here in Port Jeff.” He said it’s a good sign for the future, in terms of receiving community input on the design of the facility expansion.
“To see this diverse group of people seemingly in agreement … is a good start.”
This version corrects information about the sale of the Scented Cottage Garden property.
Rich Zayas Jr. works his girlfriend’s tattoo. Photo by Chris Mellides
By Chris Mellides
The intermittent sound of buzzing machinery rattles off like machine gun fire, while guitar riffs and drum work pour from the sound system of the Inked Republic storefront at Westfield South Shore mall in Bay Shore.
Inked Republic is a retail store that doubles as a tattooing and piercing parlor owned and operated by Tattoo Lous — a company established in 1958 that has several shops scattered across Long Island.
Inside Inked Republic, apparel featuring tattoo-inspired designs sits on shelves and hangs from racks, and opposite them is an array of custom guitars that are proudly displayed on the far wall of the shop.
The work of Jay Mohl. Photo from Mohl
Just past a roped-off motorcycle emblazoned with skulls and a Lou’s company logo is the shop’s live tattooing area. The first of two work stations belongs to Rich Zayas Jr., a 36-year-old Long Beach native living in Bay Shore, who works for Tattoo Lou’s and who has been tattooing professionally for just under four years.
Zayas is of average height and has long hair tucked underneath a black baseball cap that he wears backwards. His loose-fitting, black T-shirt has an oversized print of some original artwork drawn by Dmitriy Samohin, an artist from Ukraine, that features a skull design with octopus tentacles.
He and his girlfriend, Melissa Ann White, make their way to his workstation, passing the front desk where the glow of warm neon lights casts a shimmering bright blue hue onto the piercing supplies and tattoo aftercare products shelved behind glass displays.
Zayas says that he started work on White’s back tattoo in 2012, and that it was finally time to finish it. The design: a Day of the Dead-themed sugar skull girl wearing a cowl.
As he begins prepping his station, Zayas reaches for the bottom shelf of his stickered tackle box to reveal a rainbow assortment of tattoo ink in the neighborhood of 200 bottles. “It’s totally normal for artists to have this much,” says Zayas.
A tattoo parlor operating inside a mall is a recent phenomenon. “Irish” Jay Mohl, 45, owns Irish Jay Tattoo in Miller Place and is an artist with 23 years tattooing experience. He recalls a different time when first getting his start in the industry back in 1992.
“When I first started, it was a completely different business; there was a different mentality and it was a very rogue profession,” says Mohl. “You had a whole different segment of people that came in here. They were drinking and crazy, and you had total outlaws coming in, and now it’s not crazy anymore; it’s very normal.”
Now that tattooing has gone mainstream, body art is no longer a choice of expression solely for outlaws and drunks with criminal records. People from all walks of life, who value the beauty of art and the freedom of self-expression, have made and continue to make the leap into body modification. With the practice having become more culturally accepted, more people are seeking quality artists, and the demand for custom tattoos has risen.
“[Tattooing] is so culturally accepted right now, it’s almost like a rite of passage,” said Mohl. “I think it’s become a new way of people expressing themselves, and with the popularity of it on TV and all the media and everything like that, it really has opened the door for a lot of people.”
Work by Lake Ronkonkoma tattoo artist Stacey Sharp. Photo from Sharp
Mohl isn’t alone, as more and more artists have noticed this trend and understand the changes affecting the industry as a whole.
Zayas understands this shift, and his employment at a retail and tattooing hub nestled in a shopping mall shows just how far the industry has come. Years ago, a mall would have been the unlikeliest of places to get tattooed, but things have undoubtedly changed, with artists adapting to new customer demands for convenience and greater accessibility.
“Being in the mall kind of closes that weird stigma gap in between things to where you can have the lady that’s shopping in Lord and Taylor or Macy’s come in and maybe have something that was done bad years ago…fixed or covered up,” Zayas said. “Or maybe [she can] get that first tattoo that she’s been petrified about forever.”
When it comes to the kind of art being tattooed, themes and the art itself range anywhere from lettering to hyperrealism. Deciding on the right design and its placement will always be dependent on the client’s tastes, personality and life experiences.
Stacey Sharp, a 42-year-old tattoo artist working at InkPulsive Custom Tattooing in Lake Ronkonkoma, said that people who get tattooed do so to express themselves and to connect with others, and sometimes certain events in a person’s life can heavily influence their choice in art.
“Life-changing experience I think is a big one — a birth, a death, something that’s profound,” says Sharp. “There are a lot of people that say, ‘I normally wouldn’t do this, but I feel like this is a momentous occasion and I have to keep that with me all of the time.’”
On the other hand, Sharp also acknowledged there are people who have always known what they’ve wanted to get tattooed.
“Other people, they know from a very young age like, ‘Hey, this is what I’m going to get done … and I know that I want to have these marks,’” said Sharp.
Now that spring is here, artists say that they expect a bump in business. And while the winter season sees serious collectors taking advantage of shorter wait times, the warmer weather allows people showing more skin a reason to flash some new ink.
“Summer and spring are always the biggest, and I think it’s just because people are showing more skin,” says Mohl. “It’s almost like they’re priming themselves all winter, working out in the gym … and it’s kind of like a new paint job on a car; people want to get it, and they want something to show.”
As far as tattoo tips are concerned, artists agree that researching a new artist or shop and planning ahead are things that customers should do before booking time in a chair to undergo a lengthy session.
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew; I get a lot of people that do that a lot,” Zayas said. “If you want to get a sleeve for your first tattoo, you totally can, but just find a decent artist that is going to work with you and design you a cool custom piece.”
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