CLOSE

Yearly Archives: 2015

by -
0 380
A horseshoe crab no more than 4 years old. Photo by Erika Karp

With its horseshoe crab population dwindling, Town of Brookhaven officials are calling on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to ban harvesting within 500 feet of town property.

At the Mount Sinai Stewardship Center at Cedar Beach on Tuesday, Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) announced the Brookhaven Town Board is poised to approve a message in support of the ban at Thursday night’s board meeting.

A horseshoe crab no more than 4 years old is the center of attention at a press conference on Tuesday. Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine is calling on the state to ban the harvesting of the crabs within 500 feet of town property. Photo by Erika Karp
A horseshoe crab no more than 4 years old is the center of attention at a press conference on Tuesday. Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine is calling on the state to ban the harvesting of the crabs within 500 feet of town property. Photo by Erika Karp

Horseshoe crabs are harvested for bait and medicinal purposes, as their blue blood, which is worth an estimated $15,000 a quart, is used in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries to detect bacterial contamination in drugs and medical supplies, due to its special properties.

While there is already a harvesting ban in place for Mount Sinai Harbor, Romaine is seeking to expand the restriction across the north and south shores so the crabs have a safe place to mate.

The crabs take about nine years to reach sexual maturity.

“We think it is time not to stop or prohibit the harvesting of horseshoe crabs … but instead to say, ‘Not within town properties,’” Romaine stated.

Brookhaven’s Chief Environmental Analyst Anthony Graves and clean water advocacy group Defend H20’s Founder and President Kevin McAllister joined Romaine at the Tuesday morning press conference.

Graves said the ban would help preserve the 450-million-year-old species’ population.

Preserving the species affects more than just the crabs: If the population continues to shrink, other species — like the red knot bird, which eat the crab eggs — will suffer.

“They are in some ways an ecological keystone species,” Graves said. “That means that they serve a function beyond their individual existence.”

East Coast waterways are the epicenter for the crabs and, according to McAllister, states like New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia have already enacted harvesting limits. The crabs’ nesting season starts in mid-May and lasts until the end of June. Officials said the crabs are oftentimes harvested at night and illegally.

Romaine said he has asked all of the town’s waterfront villages to support the measure. If the DEC moves forward with the ban, Romaine said the town could help the department with enforcement by establishing an intermunicipal agreement.

A DEC representative did not immediately return a request for comment.

by -
0 338
Suffolk County Department of Public Works Commissioner Gil Anderson outlines the proposal that would change the way drivers enter Nicolls Road off Route 25A. Photo by Phil Corso

Suffolk County is turning a corner.

A problematic intersection where Nicolls Road meets Route 25A is in the county’s crosshairs as officials seek ways to make it more pedestrian-friendly and safer for drivers. Three Village residents heard a presentation on the proposal last Monday evening, where elected officials and administrators outlined plans to install a new sidewalk on the northern side of the intersection.

“The county has been responsive to our concerns about pedestrian safety here,” said Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-East Setauket). “Right now, the 25A-Nicolls Road intersection is sort of scary for pedestrians trying to make their way across. The aim here is to improve safety and I wanted to make sure the public was included.”

Gil Anderson, commissioner of the county’s Department of Public Works, pointed to a blueprint of the proposal, which would remove an access ramp for drivers making a right onto Nicolls Road from 25A, and instead make the access point to the major roadway in the same spot as motorists making a left onto it from 25A. The intent, he said, was to ease the flow onto Nicolls without impacting eastbound traffic along 25A.

“Our intent is to improve safety at this intersection,” he said. “The county will be putting in sidewalks to connect the existing sidewalks put in by the state.”

As it stands, there are two ways to access Nicolls Road from 25A. Drivers going east on the route make a right onto the road via the access ramp in question under the county proposal, while drivers going west on the route make a left off 25A at a traffic light where the two roadways meet.

Bill Hillman, chief engineer with the county Department of Public Works, called the intersection the “genesis of pedestrian safety issues and vehicular issues” for the Three Village area and said this proposal could solve a lot of those problems. He said eliminating the current access ramp for cars going east on 25A making a right onto Nicolls Road was the safest way to handle the situation, and the county would be exploring the possibility with the state’s permission, because state-owned 25A is the crux of the county’s traffic issues at this site.

Some residents asked about the possibility of bike lanes being included in the proposal, and Anderson said civic members and elected officials should reach out to the state, which maintains Route 25A, with hopes of breaking through.

“If the civic reached out to the state, now would be an opportune time,” he said. “Route 25A is a state jurisdiction when it comes to bike lanes. They’ll take your requests a lot more seriously than ours.”

Hahn said she also requesting planning money on the county level for a bike path down Nicolls Road and near Route 25A and hoped it gets considered for the betterment of Stony Brook University students who frequent the area either by bike or foot.

“I’m hoping that money stays in and gets implemented one day,” she said. “Many students utilize the sidewalk and this will improve safety, no doubt.”

by -
0 491
File photo

Police charged a woman with reckless endangerment after she allegedly fired a rifle from her apartment balcony on Monday evening.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the 26-year-old suspect, a resident of the Brookwood Village apartments in Coram, fired the rifle multiple times into a wooded area near her apartment on Dunstan Place at 6:53 p.m.

Police said no one was hit by the shots and there was no property damage.

Officers arrested suspect Suzanne Pesola and recovered two rifles and ammunition, police said. The woman was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal contempt.

Pesola has a previous charge pending against her, a harassment charge from late April. She was listed as being represented by Legal Aid in the New York State court system’s online database and attorney information on the newer charges was not immediately available.

Detectives from the SCPD’s 6th Squad are investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 631-854-8652.

by -
0 548

A pumped-up crowd in the Centereach High School gymnasium cheered, clapped and clamored to see which of the district’s elementary schools would come out victorious at Monday night’s STEM Celebration.

The evening marked the district’s first celebration of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Hundreds of students, parents, teachers and administrators flooded the school to see students use their skills to build paper helicopters, newspaper tables and cup towers, and compete against each other to build a spaghetti tower. In addition, students from the district’s eight elementary schools presented their LEGO engineering creations to judges.

1 of 10
Hawkins Path Elementary students show off their LEGO Engineering creation at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Henry Ciavarella, 7, builds a newspaper table at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Jade Senh, 10, Gabby Fiore, 9, work together to create a “lunar lander” system, which had to keep two marshmallows, the astronauts, safe after dropping the creation. Photo by Erika Karp
Ryan Ortiz, 4, goes fishing with the fishing pole he created at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Hawkins Path Elementary School students build a spaghetti tower using only a few materials at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Middle country elementary school students show off their LEGO Engineering creation to a judge at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Eric Bruen, helps Cody Bruen, 10, and Natalia, 11, build a newspaper table at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Nick Sorrentino, 10, William Mercado, 10, successfully constructed a “Lunar Lander” at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Eugene Auer Elementary School students race to build a spaghetti tower at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp
Ajay, right, and Christian, left, carefully place the last cup on their cup tower at the Middle Country school district’s STEM Celebration on May 18. Photo by Erika Karp

by -
0 597
Officials cut the ribbon on the new Port Jefferson Village tennis courts. Photo by Barbara Donlon

Port Jefferson officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday for newly renovated tennis courts behind Village Hall that will double as a soccer field.

Renee Lemmerman waits on a service at the new Port Jefferson Village tennis courts. Photo by Barbara Donlon
Renee Lemmerman waits on a service at the new Port Jefferson Village tennis courts. Photo by Barbara Donlon

The village recently upgraded the three tennis courts, off Roessner Lane and across from Rocketship Park, using a $30,000 grant from the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grant Program, which the village matched equally.

According to a press release from the village, the courts’ surface is now a combination of sand and synthetic grass, making it possible for residents to take down the removable nets and use the facility to play soccer.

Doug DeGroot, owner of the Hamptons Tennis Company and a Sag Harbor resident, donated labor and new net posts.

“This project is a reflection of a great partnership,” Mayor Margot Garant said in an interview at the ribbon-cutting.

More than 7,500 people use the site annually and the village predicts usage will double this year now that it can be used for soccer.

“The upgrade of the tennis courts will attract tennis and soccer enthusiasts, creating an inviting, safer court area available during two sports seasons,” Renee Lemmerman, village recreation superintendent, said in a press release.

Garant said she is happy the courts were redone in a timely manner, as they had become unusable, with damage even beyond what patching could repair. She said it would have cost more to resurface the courts than to upgrade them.

by -
0 308
File photo

Police subdued a man who had allegedly threatened bystanders and officers with a 20-inch machete on Monday afternoon in a Costco parking lot.

The Suffolk County Police Department said officers arrived on the scene shortly after 1 p.m., following numerous witness reports of a naked man waving a machete at people in the lot on Middle Country Road in Lake Grove. The suspect then barricaded himself in the cab of a 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer, which police said he was operating for a New Jersey-based transport company but was also where he was living.

According to police, the man refused to exit his vehicle when Sgts. Keith Serper and Brian Michels and officers Richard Regula, Christopher Tenbrink, Anthony Sepe and Jean Hutchinson arrived on the scene. But he later attempted to leave the tractor-trailer cab with the machete in his hand, and the officers held the doors shut to contain him. Police said the suspect opened a small window and tried to exit the cab through it, and threatened the officers with the weapon.

Regula, Tenbrink and Serper approached the man closely enough to discharge a Taser. Police then entered the truck cab and subdued him.

No bystanders were hurt in the incident.

The 37-year-old man from Bay Shore, who police identified as Jose Amaya, was arrested and brought to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation.

He was charged with menacing a police officer, fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Attorney information for the suspect was not immediately available. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

by -
0 1639
File photo

Update: Police reported at 6 p.m. on Tuesday that Edwin Phelps, the possibly suicidal Setauket man who went missing on Monday evening, has been found unharmed.

A missing Three Village man might be suicidal, and police are seeking the public’s help to find him.

The man, 34-year-old Setauket resident Edwin C. Phelps, had made suicidal statements to his girlfriend, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. She reported him missing at 7:45 p.m. on Monday and police issued a Silver Alert for him, under a county program that shares information with the public about missing people with special needs.

Phelps was described as Filipino, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 175 pounds. He was last seen wearing gray jeans, a black collared polo shirt and a jacket with the design of the Filipino flag, which is blue, yellow and white. His car is a red 2002 Toyota Solara, a two-door sedan, with the New York license plate GLY 8402.

Police said Phelps, an Old Town Road resident, is bipolar and has been suicidal in the past.

Anyone who sees Phelps or his car is asked to call either 911 or detectives at 631-854-8652.

by -
0 3088
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.

by -
0 1617
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
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.

by -
0 400
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
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.

Prev1...144145146...193Next Page 145 of 193
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©