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Yearly Archives: 2015

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Town recycling program expands North Shore reach, teaming up with Huntington village to save money

A worker sorts through waste at Brookhaven Town's recycling facility. File photo

Smithtown linked up with yet another North Shore community this week as it expands its role in the single-stream recycling program on Long Island.

The town board voted Tuesday to allow an intermunicipal agreement with the incorporated Village of Lloyd Harbor for participation in its single-stream program, making Smithtown’s recycling team that much larger. The town has already teamed up with the neighboring Brookhaven Town and the Huntington village of Asharoken over the last several months.

Town officials said Lloyd Harbor Mayor Jean M. Thatcher approached Smithtown with hopes of getting its hands on the single-stream wealth. The village currently collects about 365 tons of recycling each year.

Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio (R) inked a deal with Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) earlier this year, buddying up to reduce waste by recycling more efficiently via Brookhaven’s new state-of-the-art facility, operated by Green Stream Recycling in Yaphank.

Under the single-stream system, residents can put all recyclables at the curb together, rather than sorting paper from bottles and cans. The result is more residents recycling more materials.

Russell Barnett, Smithtown’s environmental director, said Lloyd Harbor’s recycling will be added to Smithtown’s recyclables for shipment to the Brookhaven plant. Lloyd Harbor would not pay a tip fee, nor receive any revenue for the deal, Barnett said.

“Village residents would enjoy the convenience of single-stream recycling, mileage for the village truck would be reduced and the environment would benefit from increased recycling and reduced vehicle emissions,” he said in a statement. “Smithtown would retain the $15 per ton paid by Brookhaven for recyclables delivered to the Green Stream Recycling plant to cover handling and transportation costs.”

Barnett said the town has seen a dramatic increase in recycling since penning the Brookhaven deal. And the Lloyd Harbor agreement was not a new discussion either, as Barnett said Smithtown has already finalized similar agreements with the local villages of Asharoken, Nissequogue, Head of Harbor and The Branch.

“We’ve gotten a number of calls from residents expressing support for the new program as being more convenient to them,” Barnett said in an earlier interview. “It saves Smithtown money in many ways.”

Barnett said Smithtown’s expenses have gone down nearly $600,000 annually because of single-stream’s benefits. Since joining Brookhaven, Smithtown has been shipping its recyclable waste to the Yaphank facility instead of handling the materials within the town, costing more in labor expenses.

The single-stream recycling system, which has been nicknamed the Green Stream Machine, can process 48 tons of material per hour.

In June 2014, Brookhaven Town officials announced the town’s recycling rates had increased by nearly 25 percent since the program’s launch in January 2014, therefore saving taxpayers more than $287,000 to date.
Romaine said earlier this year that solid waste was an ongoing concern in the town of Brookhaven and single-stream helped to address that, increasing the overall amount of garbage being recycled by nearly 25 percent.

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The two-part boating safety course is at the Setauket Fire Department station on Nicolls Road, on April 14-15. File photo

Suffolk County residents can take a free boater safety course next week, to meet a new New York State requirement for operating motorboats.

All people born on or after May 1, 1996, must take an approved boater education course to operate such a vessel. The course, which will be held on April 14-15, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Setauket firehouse substation on Nicolls Road, is free. However, the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation charges a $10 fee for a boating safety certificate after training is completed.

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) is sponsoring the two-day boating safety course.

Advance registration is required for the two four-hour sessions, and participants must attend both of the sessions to receive credit.

Call Hahn’s office at 854-1650 to reserve a spot.

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First of many school improvement plans submitted for review

The Bicycle Path school will be getting a new security vestibule in the near future. File photo by Erika Karp

The Middle Country school district is ready to move forward with several capital improvement projects for some of its 15 schools but is facing obstacles as state approval for the projects could take 34 weeks.

At the April 1 school board meeting, board President Karen Lessler gave an update on the approximate $125 million bond voters approved last November. Currently, the district is looking at roof repair, resurfacing tracks, security upgrades and more.

“The obstacle that we are currently facing is that the type one projects, which are one-shot projects that are not so complex, are taking eight weeks to get through the [New York State Education Department],” Lessler said.

According to the facilities planning division of the state education department, final engineering review will take about 32 to 34 weeks. There are approximately 930 projects awaiting review. According to Saverio Belfiore, of Melville-based H2M architects + engineers, the district’s engineering firm, roof repairs and track resurfacing projects for the high schools have been submitted to the education department.

A representative from the department did not return a request for comment.

Some of the bonded money will be used to replace 4,000 windows district wide. Many windows have not been replaced in more than 20 years, officials previously stated. Window replacement qualifies as a type one project and will be replaced overnight and throughout the summer, according to Lessler.

Security is another high-priority item for the district. Currently, details are being finalized with building principals for security upgrades to each building. According to Belfiore, upgrades to the secured entry vestibule at the prekindergarten centers, Eugene Auer Elementary, North Coleman Road Elementary and Oxhead Road Elementary have been submitted.

Belfiore said many of the district’s projects are type one and should be approved in the shorter time frame, while the other projects should begin this summer.

Putting the obstacles aside, Lessler said everything is moving along.

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Old Homestead Road is one street in northern Port Jefferson ready for repaving after a harsh winter beat them up. Photo by Elana Glowatz

Following a snowy winter that punished local streets, leaving numerous potholes, Port Jefferson is kicking off the paving season with a few village roads that are in particularly poor condition.

The board of trustees approved Old Homestead Road and the adjacent Landing Lane, Cove Lane, Chips Court and the northern half of Sands Lane for repaving at its business meeting Monday night. The village is contracting with Suffolk Paving Corp. to redo the roads, at a total cost of almost $285,000.

Sands Lane is one street in northern Port Jefferson ready for repaving after a harsh winter beat them up. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Sands Lane is one street in northern Port Jefferson ready for repaving after a harsh winter beat them up. Photo by Elana Glowatz

“They are beyond — Old Homestead is in real bad shape,” Mayor Margot Garant said. “Sands Lane, Cove Lane, Landing [Lane] and Chips [Court] are completely falling apart.”

The roads are scheduled to be milled down on Thursday, with paving to follow a few days later, on April 13-14.

“It’ll be good to get some of these roads done,” Trustee Larry LaPointe said.

Though the five streets approved Monday will be the first in the village to get some TLC, they will not be the last — the board also approved a $25,000 transfer for the public works department from its storm sewer expenses to its street maintenance fund to help repair roads.

The section around Old Homestead is “in desperate need of paving” but village employees “will be working on additional roads using their own equipment, so the paving doesn’t stop there,” Garant said during the public forum portion of Monday’s meeting.

Pedestrians, like drivers, will see improvements during paving season — Garant said the village will be repairing sidewalks as well, including one on the frequently traversed Arden Place, which has municipal parking lots on either side.

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The Sagtikos Parkway. Photo from NYSDOT

Members of the public will get to weigh in on the future of the Sagtikos-Sunken Meadow Parkway at two New York State Department of Transportation informational meetings next week.

The state department is seeking input for a Sagtikos State Parkway/Sunken Meadow Parkway Operational Study. The goal of the study is to “examine how the roadway functions, identify causes of traffic congestion and accidents and determine how the corridor will function in the future.”

According to the DOT, an average of 90,000 vehicles per day use the Sagtikos-Sunken Meadow State Parkway.

Residents, businesses, and all interested groups are encouraged to attend and provide input regarding the Sagtikos-Sunken Meadow Parkway Study within the towns of Islip, Babylon, Smithtown and Huntington, the department said in a statement.

The meetings will take place on Tuesday, April 14, and Thursday, April 16, 2015. The April 14 meeting is being held at Deer Park High School, 1 Falcon Place, Deer Park, between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The April 16 meeting is being held at William T. Rogers Middle School, 97 Old Dock Road, Kings Park, between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Study-area maps, traffic and accident data, and other related information will be on hand for review. State engineers and representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments on this operational study.

“Input and suggestions from the local community are strongly encouraged,” according to a DOT statement.

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The North Shore Public Library. File photo by Elana Glowatz

Budget season is in full swing and the local libraries aren’t excluded. Voters will take to the polls on Tuesday, April 14, to weigh in on proposed spending plans and elections of library trustees.

North Shore Public Library Director Laura Hawrey said in a phone interview that the proposed small increase of 0.9 percent from the current year would allow for additional programs at the library. Language programs, including Spanish, Italian and English, will have additional offerings.

“All of the language programs are very popular,” she said.

In addition, the library will continue to build its multicultural program, which exposes people to music and arts from different cultures.

Following another trend many libraries are experiencing, North Shore will continue to supply readers’ demand for e-books.

“We are increasing the e-books and decreasing the amount of [printed] books,” she said.

But old-fashioned book lovers shouldn’t be worried. Hawrey said books could be easily accessed through interlibrary loan. The loan system has contributed to a decrease in a need to have as many books in-house.
Under the spending plan, an average resident in the Rocky Point and Shoreham-Wading River school districts will pay an additional $3 annually.

Incumbent library Board of Trustees President Bill Schiavo is running unopposed for his third five-year term. In a phone interview, the retired high school English teacher and Stony Brook University professor said he has always been a book and library lover.

Schiavo said he and his fellow board members have worked to make sure taxpayers are getting some bang for their buck.

“Any increase we have, however minimal, is designed to go [toward] new programs,” he said.

Schiavo said he first ran with the goal of creating an annex library in the Rocky Point area, as the community needs more meeting spaces for residents. While this hasn’t come to fruition just yet due to financial constraints, Schiavo said the whole board is well aware of the need and will continue to look for space.

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Punched and pushed
A complainant reported being harassed by a male and a female while waiting outside a Patchogue Road convenience store in Port Jefferson Station at around 5:30 p.m. on April 4. According to police, the victim, who refused medical attention, was punched and pushed by the suspects. No arrests have been made.

Sideswiped
A man refused to press charges after he was pushed and hit on the side of the face while walking on Patchogue Road in Port Jefferson Station on March 31 at 6:33 a.m. The man didn’t require medical attention.

Check it out
A 60-year-old Port Jefferson Station man was arrested on April 3 for grand larceny and second-degree forgery after he entered the Sola Salon Studios in Port Jefferson Station and stole a wallet that contained cash, credit cards and other items. Police said the man then forged a signature on one of the stolen checks.

Got your nose
Two males got into a bit of a tiff on April 5 at around 1:30 a.m. at Junior’s Spycoast in Port Jefferson. According to police, a man was punched in the nose and neck, causing injury. No medical attention was provided, and charges haven’t been filed.

Garden of mystery
An unknown individual took two batteries from a 2007 Chevy and a 1995 GMC from the Gera Gardens property in Mount Sinai. The incident occurred between 2 p.m. on March 31 and 7:30 a.m. on April 4. One of the vehicles had a broken windshield as well.

Gone with the wind
A woman reported leaving her cell phone behind at the Miller Place Stop&Shop checkout line on April 3. When she returned, the phone was gone.

Gas station rage
A complainant reported an individual was trying to start a fight at the BP gas station in Miller Place on Route 25A. During the April 2 criminal mischief incident, the suspect damaged the complainant’s 2009 Toyota Camry by kicking the rear passenger door, causing a minor dent. Shortly before the incident, police had responded to a suspect approaching another customer at the same gas station and engaging in a verbal dispute and throwing a bottle at the complainant’s car. It is unclear if the two reports are related.

Criminal homemaker
At approximately 4 p.m. on April 4, an unknown individual stole assorted groceries and household items from the Rocky Point Waldbaum’s on Route 25A.

Talk to the hand
Police responded to an assault at the Shoreham-Wading River High School property on March 30 at around 12:30 p.m. According to police, a complainant was talking to the suspect, who didn’t like what he said and then punched the man. The complainant was treated at a local hospital.

Bad impression
A 27-year-old Wading River man was arrested in Shoreham on April 3 after he lied about his name during a traffic stop by Roswell Avenue.

Planking
A homeowner on Valiant Drive in Centereach discovered four planks missing from a fence. Police said the incident occurred between 9 p.m. on April 4 and 10:30 a.m. on April 5.

Poor home improvements
An unknown person damaged a property on Lake Grove Street in Centereach at approximately 10:45 p.m. on April 2. Police said a window and sheetrock were damaged.

Bonnie and Clyde
A male and female took merchandise from a Middle Country Road CVS in Centereach on March 31 at around 9:30 a.m. and then fled the scene.

False advertisement
An individual responding to a Craigslist advertisement of a quad for sale, posted by a resident of Avondale Drive in Centereach, drove off with the vehicle on March 30. According to police, the suspect is a white male, thin and approximately 6 feet tall. Police are still investigating.

High-way
Police arrested a 22-year-old Middle Island man in Centereach on April 1 for operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs. The man was heading eastbound on Route 25 in a 2003 Chrysler when police pulled him over by Wood Road for driving at an excessive speed, and observed he was under the influence.

Soda and sun
A 22-year-old Sound Beach woman and a 30-year-old Miller Place man were arrested in Selden on April 2 for stealing a pair of sunglasses and soda from a Walgreens on Middle Country Road.

Pestering phone calls
Someone reported an incident of aggravated harassment at North Suffolk Cardiology on Research Way in East Setauket on April 3 at 9:23 a.m. Police said the complainant reported a caller making harassing statements on a personal cellphone.

Makeup, wallet stolen
Someone stole a wallet and makeup from Kohl’s on Nesconset Highway in East Setauket on April 3 at about 3:34 p.m.

Harassment
A man told police he was receiving harassing phone calls on Millie Lane in East Setauket on April 3 around 4:20 p.m.

Cards swiped
Someone entered an unlocked 2005 Chevrolet parked at a home on Rack Lane, East Setauket and stole a Visa card and a Home Depot card. The incident was reported on April 2 at 11 p.m.

Hug it out
Someone claimed they were punched and shoved, but police said the individuals involved know each another and no arrest was made. The incident occurred on Christian Avenue, Setauket at 3 a.m. on March 30.

Money grab
An unknown person entered an unlocked 2011 Chevy Tahoe parked on Cabin Lane in East Setauket on March 30 at 8:16 a.m. and took money.

Hole in one
Someone entered Sports Authority on Nesconset Highway in Stony Brook and took golf clubs without paying for them. The incident occurred on March 31 at about 1:40 p.m.

It wasn’t me
A 23-year-old man from Central Islip was arrested in Smithtown at the 4th Precinct on April 2 and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and false information. Police said that the man told officers the driver of a motor vehicle fled the scene of an accident after crashing a 2004 Cadillac into a pole on March 28 at about 4:05 a.m. at the corner of Smithtown Boulevard and Old Nichol’s Road, when in fact he was the driver.

April foolery
A 37-year-old woman was arrested at the 4th Precinct in Smithtown on April 1 and charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration and second-degree harassment. Police said the incident occurred at the precinct. The woman refused to comply when ordered out of a holding cell after being arrested in Shirley and charged with operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs. Then while being assisted out of the holding cell, the woman grabbed and scratched a Suffolk County Police Department employee’s arms.

Sloppy driving
A 19-year-old man from Holbrook was arrested in Nesconset on April 2 and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol. Police said he was driving on Smithtown Boulevard in a 1999 Toyota when he was observed swerving from his travel lane and crossed over into the shoulder. He was arrested at the scene at about 2:30 a.m.

Jewelry thief nabbed
Police said a 24-year-old woman from Islip was arrested on April 1 and charged with fourth-degree grand larceny of property valued at more than $1,000. Police said the woman stole jewelry from a Lawrence Drive location in Nesconset sometime between Oct. 8 and Nov. 17. She was arrested on Lawrence Drive at about 3 p.m.

Faker caught
A 17-year-old male from Brentwood was arrested in Smithtown and charged with false personation. Police said that on March 27 in Commack on Jericho Turnpike at 2 p.m. he made a police report using someone else’s name, using a fake picture identification and continued to identify himself as someone else. He was also charged with falsely writing a statement.

Bad reality check
A 51-year-old man from St. James was arrested at his home on Hill Road in St. James on April 5 and charged with second-degree possession of a forged instrument. Police said he possessed a forged instrument — a Chase bank check — that he made payable to himself.

Injeanious
A 27-year-old man from Great River was arrested in Smithtown at the 4th Precinct and charged with petit larceny on April 3 at about 9:30 a.m. Police said he took jeans from Kohl’s on March 18 at about 5:32 p.m.

Street fight
A man told police he was punched several times by another person on Main Street in Huntington at about 2 a.m. on April 4. The two are not looking to file charges, police said.

Seating squabble
Two people got into a dispute about a seating area at Starbucks on Wall Street in Huntington at 9 p.m. on April 4, and one person punched the other. The two customers refused medical attention, cops said.

KO
Someone punched another person in the face at a store on East Main Street on April 1 in Huntington at about 1:53 a.m. The person refused medical treatment and refused to press charges.

On second thought
An unknown person kicked in the door of a Soundview Road home on April 1 at about 6:30 p.m. in Huntington, but fled when someone inside the house yelled. The person didn’t get inside.

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Above, a goldenrain tree in early summer with bright green-colored pods. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Have  you ever walked or driven past a plant you just loved — one you might even want to add to your garden, but you don’t know what it is? Maybe no one’s around to ask? Yes, identifying an unknown plant can be challenging.

For a number of years, I had seen a unique tree with yellow spring flowers followed by seed pods which start out green but then turn a brownish color, resembling paper lanterns. Each pod contains several seeds. I asked a number of gardening friends, yet no one was able to identify it. Finally I resorted to the web, and in just a few minutes, quickly found the answer.

The tree was a goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), a native of Asia. It is also called Pride of India or China tree. The small- to medium-sized tree makes a nice specimen or ornamental tree and is grown in home gardens primarily for that purpose. The mature tree is about as wide as it is tall. In autumn, the leaves turn bright yellow. It even has winter interest as some of the “lanterns” will remain on the tree for a while.

While some consider the goldenrain tree invasive, particularly in Florida, it is not on Suffolk County’s banned or management lists. The management list consists of plants which, while currently legal to sell or propagate, are considered somewhat invasive and therefore it is recommended they not be planted. The low maintenance tree does well in hardiness zones 5 to 9, meaning that an unusually cold winter, like we’ve had the last two winters, should not be a problem. The moderate to quickly growing tree prefers full sun. It even tolerates a bit of a dry spell, meaning that Long Island’s occasional droughts will not affect the tree. It is somewhat salt tolerant, so should do well near roads where winter salt spray hits nearby plants, and tolerates some pollution. All in all, it’s a sturdy tree with few pests and year-round interest.

It does well in varying soil pH levels, from strongly acidic, 5.1 to 5.5, through mildly alkaline, 7.8. This means that you can plant it in areas where you have “rhodies” and azaleas, which require very acidic soil, or in a lawn where you find yourself liming the soil to make it more alkaline. As with all trees, keep the grass away from the trunk so that lawn mowers and “Weedwackers” don’t damage the bark.

Another identification needed was of a “really cool” hanging plant a gardening friend of mine saw at a recent home and garden show. I recognized it immediately as a variety of sedum, but which one? Another quick online search gave the name — Sedum morganianum. It’s a flowering perennial plant, a succulent, note the blue-green fleshy leaves, native to Mexico and Honduras.

This sedum can be grown outdoors in late spring, summer and early fall, but once it gets really cold, needs to be grown indoors as a houseplant. Don’t overwater — sedum can rot in soil that isn’t well drained. It propagates easily from broken pieces (the plant is somewhat fragile when touched), just like most cacti. If grown indoors, it likes a sunny location but not excessive heat. It’s also known as burro’s tail because of its unusual shape. Like most succulents, it needs good drainage.

As this plant can get very large, make sure to put it in a sturdy container. A hanging basket is best or a large pot on a pedestal, both of which show off its training nature. Dark red flowers appear April to July.

To track down an unidentified plant using the web, type the description into your search engine. I used “photo trees with seed pods” and up popped dozens of possibilities. I was then easily able to pick out the goldenrain tree. For the sedum, I typed in “photo sedum hanging basket.”

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Above, Kim Plaspohl fires a pitch from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Both teams stranded runners on base after several innings, but the Smithtown West softball team left fewer players stranded, to pull out a 4-0 victory over visiting Newfield on a cold, dreary Tuesday afternoon in a League II matchup.

Newfield senior Jennifer Sarcone struck first with a deep shot to left center for a standup double but was stranded at the bottom of the first.

Danielle Balsamo reached for the ball but not in time to make the out. Photo by Bill Landon
Danielle Balsamo reached for the ball but not in time to make the out. Photo by Bill Landon

Smithtown West sophomore Tara Killeen drove in senior Kassie Furr on a sacrifice fly to give her team a 1-0 lead to start the second inning, and the duo did it again in the top of the third when Killeen smacked a fly ball to right field to drive in Furr to take a two-run advantage.

“I didn’t think we came out with as much energy as we normally do,” Newfield pitcher Tabitha Butler said. “We should’ve got more lift on the ball. All we were doing is driving balls into the ground right at them so we weren’t’ finding the gaps.”

Smithtown West head coach Dave Miller sent in freshman right fielder Madison Mulder to pinch run at first, who stole second base on the very next pitch, but again, the Bulls stranded a runner on base.

Newfield head coach Jessica Palmaccio said her team didn’t execute when the opportunity presented itself.

“They were exactly what we thought they would be,” Palmaccio said. “They’re a good team. We’re a good team, but we didn’t do what we needed to do today. That’s all.”

Smithtown West lit up the scoreboard once more when Furr drilled a hit to rightfield to drive in sophomore Kaitlyn Loffman to edge ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

“We came out knowing what to expect and we came out ready to play with good communication,” Smithtown West senior pitcher Kim Plaspohl said. “I felt confident because I knew my team would back me up.”

Furr, who defensively collected two line drives in the dirt to stop both, was there for her pitcher.
“I just knew I needed to support my pitcher and a play like that could mean the game,” she said. “So I knew when it was hit I needed to do whatever I had to do to get to it.”

Kiley Magee makes a catch. Photo by Bill Landon
Kiley Magee makes a catch. Photo by Bill Landon

Newfield’s Butler thought that her movement could’ve been better to help her team not just from the plate but from the mound.

“I didn’t hit all of my spots and that’s where they took advantage of it,” she said. “That’s where they got their hits.”

Killeen, in scoring position, was driven home by Smithtown West sophomore Amber Meystrik’s bat to take a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

“Their energy was more than ours was today,” Sarcone said. “We had opportunities today that we didn’t take advantage of.”

Newfield threatened late, but couldn’t capitalize and fell to Smithtown West to drop to 2-3, while the Bulls improve to 2-1.

“I thought the girls played very, very well,” Miller said. “My pitcher was great. She didn’t walk anybody and our short stop [Furr] played better than I’ve ever seen her play. She’s a four-year varsity player.”

Smithtown West was scheduled to travel to Riverhead on Wednesday while Newfield was slated to host Copiague.

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By Leah Dunaief

“Woman in Gold” is based on a true story. It is also eerily similar to another true story to which I am privy.
The movie, currently playing in limited release and shortly to move into local theaters, is about an octogenarian Jewish woman who struggles to reclaim paintings looted from her family by the Nazis a half-century earlier.

Dame Helen Mirren plays Maria Altmann, an Austrian who barely escaped with her new husband before the jaws of Nazi death clamped down on Jews and dissidents following Austria’s annexation by Germany in 1938. Ultimately, they lived out their lives in Los Angeles, but much of their extended family stayed and perished in the Holocaust. Their possessions were confiscated, including five paintings by Gustav Klimt. Those paintings, including “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer,” became Austrian icons; but for Maria Altmann, the portrait was simply of her Aunt Adele. The loss of those paintings came to symbolize the terrible loss of her immediate family, her home and her world.

As the years went by, claims of looted property began to surface. In the 1990s, Maria Altmann tried to reclaim her family’s art through the early channels for such action in Austria. She encouraged the son of a friend, a young and struggling lawyer, to represent her. He is the grandson of one of Austria’s most famous musicians, Arnold Schoenberg. He is also an American with little emotional connection to his grandfather’s country, nor Altmann’s cause, but he was initially attracted to the fight for the potential monetary windfall. Their battles with the Austrian government continued for a decade, during which they were aided by an Austrian journalist.

In a similar story, my friend Alice was also born in Austria and lived with her parents and brother in Vienna until the Nazi annexation. Her father was a lawyer, and when warned by one of his clients that he was on the round-up list for the next morning, he managed to escape with his immediate family to the west. They, too, eventually arrived in America, having left all their possessions behind in their hasty flight. One of their pieces of art was an original drawing by Picasso. Alice and her brother, now the rightful heirs, determined to enter claim for their stolen art, especially the most valuable piece by Picasso.

Their claim dragged on through the courts for the better part of a decade, roughly at the same time as that of Maria Altmann although much less in the news. Remarkably, they too were joined in their struggle by an Austrian journalist, whose efforts ultimately helped make the claim successful.

Like Altmann and E. Randol Schoenberg, Alice and her brother, against their will, returned to Vienna for hearings. It was an emotional journey back to the streets of their childhood for them. The film does justice to Altmann’s terrible memories with repeated cuts back in time to the growing atrocities of the late 1930s.
There is another interesting parallel when the claims succeeded. In the movie, the primary Austrian antagonist asks for some sort of shared ownership from Maria Altmann. His suggestion is curtly dismissed by Mirren. As my friend Alice was handed the framed Picasso by an Austrian official, she was told sarcastically that she’d “probably just sell it for the money!” to which she replied, “And that is now none of your business.”

She did not sell it, but rather gave it a position of honor in her Washington Heights apartment. It was, for her, the tiniest satisfaction from a bitterly lost world.

Maria Altmann did sell the painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer to Ronald Lauder, Estée Lauder-heir and owner of the Neue Gallery of Austrian Art on 86th St. and Fifth Ave. in New York. She used the money to help Schoenberg establish his law practice and to help both family members and charities close to her heart.

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