CLOSE

Monthly Archives: November 2016

by -
0 3672
Raffaella Sordella. Photo from the laboratory of Raffaella Sordella

By Daniel Dunaief

Raffaella Sordella, whose lyrical name reflects her upbringing in Italy, takes the fight against cancer personally. That’s because she underwent surgery for a tumor in her pancreas a few years ago when she, her husband Manuel Barriola and their young daughters Victoria and Alicia were living in Boston.

“The past few years I have made friends with many people who share firsthand experience with cancer,” she recalled in an email. “I have witnessed their strength and courage and they have been an incredible source of inspiration for our work, especially at times when the glass looked half-empty.”

Indeed, while she fought cancer herself, Sordella and the lab she leads as an associate professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory battle against the deadly disease every day. Recently, she made a discovery about a gene that has been among the most studied and carefully combed genetic regions of the human genome. A tumor suppressor gene, p53 protects against tumor growth. An increasing number of findings, however, point toward the possibility of p53 mutants that promote tumors.

In research published in eLife, Sordella found just such a mutant. Looking at a variation in which the gene is truncated, or cut short, a range of cancers can develop and can cause greater threats to a patient’s health. “Despite four decades and all these papers, this is completely new,” Sordella said.

As many as 10 to 15 percent of tumors of the pancreas, ovaries, melanoma, head and neck and small cell lung carcinoma have this truncated version of p53, according to Sordella. “If you have these mutations, your colon cancer tends to become more metastatic,” she said.

Sordella and her colleagues studied the signaling pathway that regulates the activity of this gene. They have found a path that may become a target for drugs. Her lab is in discussions with a pharmaceutical company to start clinical trials. Sordella suggested that this type of finding addresses the notion of individualized medicine, in which doctors and scientists search for the specific genetic regions that contribute to cancer, looking for ways to block them, turn them off or slow them down.

In this truncated version of p53, the genes are active in the mitochondria, or the powerhouse of the cell, where the energy molecule adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is produced. Sordella is studying how this mutant p53 can affect metabolism.

“The result is exciting because it was so unexpected,” Scott Lowe, the chair of the Cancer Biology & Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, wrote in an email. “The current work shows that these mutations can act as an ‘accelerator’ of tumorigenesis as well.” Lowe was a co-author on the study, who described his lab’s contributions as providing human data on the prevalence of truncated mutations in p53 in human tumors.

Researchers have dedicated considerable effort to understanding the tumor microenvironment. They are seeking to understand what a cancer might need from its immediate surroundings. Scientists studying other diseases, such as fibrosis, tissue chronic injuries, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are also dedicating considerable resources to understanding the microenvironment. The recent discovery has encouraged Sordella and her colleagues to explore the role of cancer cell metabolism, cancer cells and their interaction with the tumor microenvironment, while also exploring the druggability of downstream pathways. This form of the gene is interacting with cyclophilin D, which is an inner pore permeability regulatory. Cyclophilin D, as a result, could become the target for future drug treatments.

Lowe suggested that the “current study raises the possibility that cancers with truncating mutations in p53 would be susceptible to agents that block cyclophilin D,” but added that it “should be clear that this will require much further testing.” Still, he concluded that it “is exciting as the possibility of this approach was not previously appreciated.”

Sordella came upon the discovery of the role of this form of the gene by chance. The focus of her lab is to understand the mechanism of resistance in small cell lung cancers. She generated a model in which there was resistance to a particular inhibitor. When she conducted an expression profile, she found a shift in the molecular weight of p53. Cloning and sequencing the gene demonstrated an alternative splicing, or cutting, that nobody had described.

Sordella credits partners including Edward Kastenhuber, Marc Ladanyi and Lowe at Sloan Kettering with assisting in the analysis of the gene. Sordella appreciates the financial support of Swim Across America, an organization that raises money for cancer research and that has supported her research for several years. Swim Across America takes “great pride in each new finding as these are the building blocks for achieving the ultimate goal,” Daniel Cavallo III, the beneficiary chair of the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of Swim Across America, wrote in an email. “All you need to do is speak with Dr. Sordella for a short time and it is so clearly evident just how passionate she is about her work,” Cavallo said. “Her hard work, dedication and commitment to the cause are extraordinary — this along with her achievements are part of why we continue to fund her research.”

As a child, Sordella said she had an interest in becoming a physicist. After witnessing the suffering and strain cancer inflicted on her family, including an uncle and grandfather who succumbed to the disease when she was 13, Sordella decided that battling this disease would be her mission. Her family, she said, instilled in her the sense of finding purpose beyond the accumulation of wealth and has established a foundation with the goal of caring for the elderly and promoting education. She hopes her work contributes to her family’s legacy. “Hopefully one day soon, I will be able to celebrate with them a new great victory in the fight against cancer,” she said.

by -
0 311
From left, juror Caitlyn Shea and Alex Cartwright in front of Alex’s wining artwork, “Pearl”. Photo courtesy of HAC

BEST IN SHOW The Huntington Arts Council held a costume party reception for its annual Nightmare on Main Street art exhibit last Saturday afternoon. Juror Caitlyn Shea chose Alex Cartwright’s piece “Pearl” as the winner in the Best in Show Senior Division, which was featured on the cover of TBR’s Arts & Lifestyles last week. Best in Show Junior Division was awarded to Jack Ruthkowski, for his piece “Jimmy.” The exhibit will be on view through Nov. 5. For more information, visit www.huntingtonarts.org.

by -
0 616
William Connor in his favorite room in the house — the kitchen. Photo from Amy Connor

By Rita J. Egan

Back in April, Northport Middle School student William Connor participated in the show “Chopped Junior,” and when it came to the outcome, he had to keep it a secret until the Food Network broadcasted the episode on Oct. 25. Turns out the local junior chef made it all the way to the dessert round before being eliminated. In the episode, titled “Snapper Snafus,” William and three other contestants were judged by a panel that included Danica Patrick, Jamika Pessoa and Scott Conant. Ted Allen was the host.

On the night of Oct. 25, William said his parents held a big party. He said on hand were his parents, Amy and Gene, siblings, James and Sarah, as well as his grandparents, friends, teachers and the two chefs, Rob Thall and Michael Roberts, who helped him train for the show. His parents also recorded the show. “I’m glad we taped it, though, because sometimes people were cheering so loud that I missed part of what happened,” he said. The 13-year-old admitted he was nervous, because even though William knew what happened, he was curious to see how it was edited and what the result would look like. “It was interesting to see the way they edited it, which was really awesome.  I was extremely proud of going on the show and making it that far and getting to show the skills I have in culinary,” he said.

After the network aired the show, William said he received many compliments from family and friends. “And everyone said they wanted to eat my curry ice cream,” he said. When he was at school the next day, in addition to receiving congratulations, someone gave him a note signed by 20 people, many he knew and a few he didn’t from different grades. He said it read, “Great job. We all watched you on ‘Chopped Junior,’ and you really inspired us.”

Now that the show has aired, William, who admitted he had hoped he would make it at least past the appetizers round, can talk about what went on during taping. “There was one time when Scott Conant said he didn’t know what a cheese ball was, so the next day I had to go back to film some more commentary stuff, and I brought him a cheese ball.  I didn’t get to see his reaction because we were in two different studios that day, but they told me he liked it,” he said. William also said that during the entrée round he had trouble finding basil leaves due to another contestant using all of them. He spotted another type of leaf, smelled it, realized it was mint and decided to use it for his pesto. “The judges loved it. They thought it was very creative of me,” he said. The future professional chef also said he was proud that he received positive feedback about his ice cream. “Ted Allen wanted to taste it, which he never does,” he said.

While William is back to life as normal, with school and Boy Scouts, he has kept in touch with one of his competitors. “I’ve been in touch with Taylor, who got cut first — I think we got the closest.  We’ve been trying to get together but she lives in the city so it can be kind of hard.  She wants to be a chef too, so maybe we’ll be in culinary school together,” he said.

William’s appearance on the show has turned into a great learning experience for the Northport resident. “I think it really actually transformed me into the chef I am at this moment. I mean, it made me realize that I’m not perfect, nobody is perfect, and I still have a lot to learn.”

by -
0 1097

By Elof Axel Carlson

Elof Carlson
Elof Carlson

In politics we use the term politically correct to describe what we believe is an insincere phrase to hide a harsh reality. Thus to those who object to elective abortions as an act of murder, the term pro-life is favored. To those who feel this is a woman’s decision, the term pro-choice is favored.

What about describing the learning abilities of a child? When intelligence tests used to be applied to all children in public school starting in 1910, terms like feebleminded were replaced by terms like imbecile, idiot and moron on the low end of intelligence quotient measurements and terms like gifted and genius for the high end.

By the 1950s these low-end terms were replaced by the term retarded, but the high-end terms (flattering to parents) were retained. By the 1980s the term retarded was dropped in favor of exceptional child where the term exceptional could be used for any departure from average but usually was applied to what formerly were called retarded children.

There is less argument, however, about physical descriptions of children with disabilities or departures from average appearance or function. I doubt if those who dislike political correctness would want to replace today’s Down syndrome (or trisomy 21) with its original term mongoloid idiocy. Would you rather have your child described as having Tay-Sachs syndrome or its prior description as infantile amaurotic idiocy? Would you rather have your child described as having Hurler syndrome or its original term gargoylism?

In the 1970s terms with racist (mongoloid idiot) or insulting (happy puppet syndrome) connotations were replaced with neutral names, usually the name of a physician who first described the condition or the family in which it originally occurred. The term senile means old (and its root is found in innocuous terms like senior or senator), but in common use for senile we think of the negative side of aging — loss of mental acuity, deteriorating hearing or vision, loss of capacity to smell, arthritic achy joints, impotence, incontinence and a host of degenerative conditions.

I am old but still (fortunately) capable of writing books and articles. While being old is not a blessing, I do enjoy having an income (pension and Social Security) without having to worry each day about going to work. I have time to read lots of books. Nedra and I can enjoy traveling whenever we wish to do so. But I would not say to others that these are my senile activities.

Politicians call these slogans acts of spinning. My English teachers called them euphemisms. Psychologists call the practice reframing. Diplomats call the practice tact. Caring or thoughtful people call it sensitivity. In the vernacular it is about not calling a spade a spade.

Some find it refreshing to use the older terms and phrases because it may disguise or subtly reveal the underlying bias the terms harbor. But sometimes reframing leads to delightful wit like Alban Barkley at the Democratic convention in 1948 who responded to claims that Democrats were bureaucrats. “What is a bureaucrat?” he asked. “A bureaucrat is a Democrat who has a job a Republican wants.”

Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Dept.of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.

by -
0 1844
'I Spy A Dragon Fly' by Rita Swanteson will be on view at the Port Jefferson Village Center through Nov. 17. Image from Mac Titmus

By Rita J. Egan

The North Shore Art Guild is exhibiting for a cause. From Nov. 3 to 27, the organization will present Artists United in the Fight Against Cancer, at the Port Jefferson Village Center. The exhibition will benefit the Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Art Therapy Program. Mac Titmus, president of The North Shore Art Guild, said 30 percent of the event sales will go toward the program. With a decline in federal and state funding, the raised funds will help the cancer center avoid cuts in the program.

‘Street Artist,’ oil on canvas by Joe Miller
‘Street Artist,’ oil on canvas by Joe Miller

The center offers therapeutic programs to provide relief from pain, fatigue, boredom and stress for both children and adult patients. Titmus said the guild invited both members and nonmembers to submit work for the exhibit demonstrating the theme Through the Eyes of a Child. The guild president said when it comes to shows such as this one the group looks for a broad theme for the artists to work with. “We always try to think of a theme that is going to inspire the artists, and being that this is something to do with young children in the oncology unit, we try to visualize how the world would look through the eyes of a child,” he said.

The show, juried by local accomplished artist Linda Louis, will feature 98 pieces from 67 artists. According to Titmus, the artwork was chosen from 118 submissions, and the selection represents a mixture of mediums including watercolors, acrylics, photography, mixed media and more.

Healing through art therapy

Stephanie Condra, a licensed creative arts therapist who works with oncologists and bone marrow transplant patients at Stony Brook, said art therapy is instrumental in allowing patients to express their feelings during treatment and hospitalization as well as providing important coping skills. “It can be very psychotherapeutic in nature. It can do a lot of processing of thoughts and feelings of fear and anxiety and anger, as well as actively in the moment give something very positive to focus on,” she said. According to the therapist, in addition to creating art, this type of therapy provides other creative choices including working with a patient using guided visualization, playing music or even talking in imagery and metaphor. Condra said patients can experience a lot of anxiety when it comes to their treatment and future. “I think that’s one of the great benefits of art therapy, that they get much more of a choice and control in what is going on in that moment, when a lot feels out of control with the treatment.”

Finding the words through art

Joan Alpers, director of Child Life Services at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, agrees with the benefits for patients when given a choice with art, and she said therapists who work with pediatric patients also offer games and playing with objects. “It’s both providing different kind of choices to people where choices of course are being taken away, and it’s also providing the opportunity to kind of normalize an experience, where, of course, necessarily medicine and medical protocol take first stage.”

Alpers said communicating through art is an important tool when it comes to pediatric patients. “Sometimes what happens is children just don’t have the words for things. They just don’t have the capacity to tell us how they are feeling or what’s going on or put it in words. But they certainly can make us a picture or show us in their play,” she said.

Children stand in front of one of the art pieces that will be on view at the PJVC through Nov. 27.

In addition to the guild’s exhibit on the second floor of the Village Center, Alpers and Condra said on the third floor artwork from pediatric patients will be on display in the hope that art lovers will be able to relate to the need for such a program. “Kids are filled with life even when they are sick, and kids want to paint and make and do, even while they are dealing with their treatments for cancer and devastating illnesses,” said Alpers, adding, “A lot of the work that we’ll show from the kids is bright and airy and beautiful, because that’s what kids need to be and do in order to create hope, in order to make a pleasant day out of a difficult day.”

Making a difference

Titmus said even though cancer can be a difficult subject, the guild has a goal in addition to raising money when visitors come to the exhibit. “We’re hoping that they understand a little bit more about art therapy,” he said. The art guild president said the goal is to donate $20,000 to the cause. In addition to the funds raised with event sales, the guild, which includes 140 members, has already begun raising money for the art therapy program through private donations and sponsorships by reaching out to local businesses and corporations. Artists also paid an entrance free of $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers to be considered as part of the show, and these fees will also go toward the donation.

The exhibit, which is presented in cooperation with Stony Brook Cancer Center, the Village of Port Jefferson and the Port Jefferson Conservancy, will feature a reception on Nov. 12 from 4 to 7 p.m. where many of the artists will be on hand. Raffles will be sold to raise additional funds and among the prizes are four one-day passes to Disney World and a chef’s dinner from Ruvo East in Port Jefferson. Both Condra and Alpers feel that events such as this help patients by acknowledging their journeys, something that is important to those suffering from cancer. “When they hear that there are people in their own community that are there behind them, I think that’s extremely valuable and extremely important in terms of their care, their hope and their resilience,” Alpers said.

The Port Jefferson Village Center, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. except holidays. For more information, call 631-802-2165 or visit www.northshoreartguild.com.

by -
0 404
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Gregory Moore and his wife Elissa watch their new roof being installed by All Pro Remodeling, with materials donated by Owens Corning. Photo by Alex Petroski

By Alex Petroski

It’s impossible to adequately thank military members and their families for their sacrifices, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

The Port Jefferson Station-based company All Pro Remodeling teamed up with manufacturer Owens Corning to provide veteran Gregory Moore and his family with a new roof for their home on Sandpiper Lane in Coram Nov. 1. All Pro supplied the labor free of charge and Owens Corning donated the materials as part of their Roof Deployment Project. The 501(c)(3) charity Support Our Troops assisted in selecting the Moores.

“I’ve heard of things like this, but it never happened to me,” Moore said. “I was always grateful for any veteran getting help, because there’s a lot of veterans in need that are too proud to say they need a roof, a car, or any help because we were raised like that — to be independent. So when things like this happen to me, it’s just amazing.”

Moore, 39, and his wife Elissa have lived in the home for five years with their two sons — Dana, 15, and Mason, 10. Moore served in the United States Marine Corps for eight years and currently works out of MacArthur Airport as a member of the National Guard.

He said his roof had several leaks and the family was already budgeting to repair it in the near future. Moore and his wife both recounted the moment he broke the news to her over the phone. Understandably, there were tears.

“It means a lot — it debunks all of the stories out there that we don’t appreciate our veterans, because we do.”

— Elissa Moore

“It means a lot — it debunks all of the stories out there that we don’t appreciate our veterans, because we do. There are a lot of programs out there that benefit military families. It shows that military families are appreciated. The sacrifices that are made, it affects not only the soldier, but the family as well.”

All Pro Remodeling owner Mike Hughes said he’s had this idea for some time.

“This is the first time I’m doing something like this,” he said. “I always wanted to, I just didn’t have the means. This year it worked out, so I was happy to give back and help a veteran.”

Moore said he has some plans for the money they’d been saving now that the roof no longer needs fixing. The couple plans to bring their son Dana to visit the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, and they’ll also be renovating a bathroom in their home.

“Thank you to Owens Corning and All Pro,” Moore said. It’s awesome. I’m very grateful for it.”

Owens Corning sales manager for the North East region Joe Russo embraced the importance of taking care of veterans.

“It’s something that makes me proud of my company, that they support military families,” he said. “They’re the ones that protect our freedom and it makes me feel good that we can do something like this.”

by -
0 313
Stony Brook University women’s soccer team drafted 4-year-old Rylie Laber. Photo from Stony Brook University

Kevin Redding

On July 4, 1939, New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig stood before 60,000 fans at Yankee Stadium and confirmed his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and closed his statements by saying: “I might have had a tough break — but I have an awful lot to live for.”

This sort of display of courage and determination in the face of great affliction is now being echoed by a 4-year-old girl named Rylie Laber, a student at Middle Country’s Bicycle Path Pre-K/Kindergarten Center, who loves to play soccer and takes great joy in learning new things in the classroom.

Those who know her best describe her as energetic, loving, happy, competitive and sassy, with a great laugh. Her spirited personality serves as the ultimate remedy for the rare genetic disorder she’s suffered from since she was 6 months old.

Stony Brook University women's soccer head coach Brendan Faherty places a cap on Rylie’s head after she was drafted. Photo from Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University women’s soccer head coach Brendan Faherty places a cap on Rylie’s head after she was drafted. Photo from Stony Brook University

Called Shwachman Diamond Syndrome, the disorder causes bone marrow failure, pancreatic insufficiency, malabsorption of food and vitamins, and growth difficulties. For most of her life, Rylie’s day-to-day schedule has consisted of countless doctor and hospital appointments, infections, taking medications with every meal, bruising easily, mouth sores, and a lot of dehydration due to fevers. Even two hours of mindless fun at Chuck-E-Cheese when she was only 2 years old led to a miserable three months of being sick with a chronic cold and fever.

But since late August, when she was taken under the wing of SUNY Stony Brook’s women’s soccer team through the Team Impact program, she’s turned over a new leaf and has something to consistently look forward to. In turn, her involvement as an honorary team member has made life better for her family, and the team itself has been impacted greatly by her fun-loving presence.

Rylie’s grandmother Mary Balint, who has full custody, which she shares with Rylie’s father, said that even with her illnesses, Rylie’s always been very cheerful and happy, and that’s only increased tenfold since joining the team.

“She is pushing forward and she absolutely loves her team,” Balint said. “Just last month she had asthmatic bronchitis and every day she was like ‘I’m not letting this stop me. I’m going to practice. I’m going to be with my team, I’m going to do what I have to do,’ so she’s definitely fighting through whatever she needs to fight through to stay with this. She’ll do anything for them. It’s just made her so much stronger.”

Because of how rare Rylie’s illness is, every other year she and Balint journey to Camp Sunshine — which provides retreat and support for kids with life-threatening illnesses and their families in Maine — for a medical conference. This is where Balint first heard about Team Impact, the organization that drafts kids to become members of local college athletic teams.

Initially, as Balint was looking into the program and submitting Rylie’s application, she was told that they generally didn’t start kids until they were 5, but that was until they learned that she had a special interest in soccer — which she’d been playing since she was 3.

Rylie Laber stretches with the Stony Brook University women’s soccer team. Photo from Mary Balint
Rylie Laber stretches with the Stony Brook University women’s soccer team. Photo from Mary Balint

That’s when the organization touched base with Brendan Faherty, Stony Brook’s new head coach of the women’s soccer team, who, along with the student athletes, took to her immediately. Rylie joins the Seawolves in the weight room, goes to practice and games, stretches with them on the sidelines, and kicks the ball. As Balint says, everything they do, she does. According to Faherty, it didn’t take long for Rylie to be herself among her new friends and teammates.

“In the beginning, she was a little bit shy,” he said, “but that lasted about five minutes. She’s super outgoing. She just wants to talk to everybody — goes from one player to the next — and she’s got a great attitude, and really cares about everybody in the program. … We try to spend as much time as we can with her. We went to one of her soccer games and she’s actually really good. She’s super aggressive on the field and she scores a lot of goals and just seems to really love soccer.”

In terms of Rylie’s impact on the students on the team, Stony Brook senior and teammate Lindsay Hutchinson said that Rylie was with them for almost the entire season, and every day the Seawolves spent with her was guaranteed to be a good day. The Stony Brook team even improved upon its record this season with Rylie by their side.

“She just kind of puts everybody in a good mood,” Hutchinson said. “Personally, it gives me a greater appreciation of life, because Rylie just walks around like the happiest child in the world, even though she has a lot of things going on — probably more than we realize. She clung to us right away. Every time she comes to see us, whether it’s at practice or a game, she’ll run right out on the field and give us all hugs.”

For Balint, it was always important that Rylie be kept in the loop as to what was happening with her medically, rather than try to mask it, and said that she knows a lot more about her illness than a 4 year old should. At school, she stays on top of all the medication she needs to take and makes sure that she’s using her own crayon box, to avoid coming in contact with others’ germs, and even a small cold could wipe her out for three weeks straight. Being on the team is Rylie’s incentive to keep herself in tip-top shape, especially since she’s going to be part of the team again next year.

“Sometimes, I sort of use it as a bargaining chip,” Balint said. “If she won’t do something that she has to do, I’ll say to her ‘you think your team would like that?’”

In fact, the team has such an effect on her that she’s even developed a variety of superstitions once it’s game time.

“She has to wear the strings out of her shorts,” Balint said, “and she’s gotta wear her red jersey to school and white jersey to the game. Right before every single game, she runs to the coach with a package of Scooby Doo fruit snacks and he has to eat them. It’s been her little superstitious tradition now.”

by -
0 2095
Robert Murphy. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Robert Murphy (R) is the man with experience.

As interim highway superintendent for Smithtown, re-electing a candidate who has already gotten his feet wet — learning how the department operates and how best to allocate the budget — is in Smithtown’s best interest.

He’s proven to be the guy for the job, and can bring trust and confidence back following the communities concerns after former Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen (R) resigned.

Smithtown Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) noted receiving more complimentary calls at the beginning of this year — with the handling of two snowstorms — than any other year.

Murphy is a lifelong resident of Smithtown, minus a 12-year stay in Arizona, so he’s familiar with the area and has almost 25 years of experience in the engineering field. Prior to being named the deputy highway superintendent in 2012, he spent two years as a capital projects manager for Suffolk County.

He believes in supporting an uptick in worker morale, bringing in jobs and projects to workers that will leave them with a sense of pride, and we applaud his efforts.

While his challenger, Democrat Justin Smiloff, is young and enthusiastic, he does not have the same set of skills. He has his own advantages, including his age, with ideas to modernize and upgrade the department, but we think Murphy is the right choice.

by -
0 1983
State Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci. File photo by Rohma Abbas

Truth be told, this was the most difficult endorsement decision we had to come to during this election cycle.

New York State Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington Station) is looking for his fourth term in office, and challenger Ed Perez (D) is a formidable opponent. In the end, we stand by Lupinacci. He has supported water quality legislation, heroin legislation and worked to increase financial aid opportunities for SUNY students. He is also still acutely aware of the local problems facing his area, like the rash of violent incidents Huntington Station has seen in the past few years. We believe Lupinacci will continue to have a positive impact on his district and will both draft and support bills that will improve the quality of life for his constituents.

We were almost swayed by Perez. He is exactly what a voter should want of a candidate: a resident who has lived in the area for many years, is deeply involved in local organizations and has a record of working to improve his community. Perez was also up to date on the issues facing the 10th district. We believe he has a very strong chance of winning another race — if he chooses to run again. In fact, we hope he does.

by -
0 2113
Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci, left, and Ed Perez, right, speak on the many issues facing Huntington Station and other areas of the 10th Assembly District. Photos by Donna Newman

Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington Station) was first elected to represent New York’s 10th Assembly District in 2012, and Nov. 8 he’ll try for a third term against Democrat Ed Perez, a Huntington resident and a current member of the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

The two were interviewed at the TBR News Media main office ahead of Election Day to discuss the state of the 10th district, which covers in large part Huntington Town.

In addition to his duties with the board of elections, Perez is also the president of Diversity Resource Network, a marketing consulting organization. He identifies himself as a “social entrepreneur” because of his 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector.

Lupinacci served on the school board of the South Huntington School district for eight years prior to his election in 2012. He’s a real estate attorney and an adjunct professor at Farmingdale State College, Hofstra University and St. Joseph’s College.

In his four years in the Assembly, Lupinacci has fought to cut taxes, make college more affordable and address the growing problem of addiction in the district. Perez has lived in the Huntington community for 23 years, and he said that has played a role in his desire to run.

“I care deeply about New York State and I care deeply about the Huntington community,” Perez said. He described some of the efforts he’d like to see to stimulate the district’s economy by upgrading the infrastructure in the community.

“We have a problem from Pulaski Road to Jericho Turnpike,” he said. “We have a strip there that has no sewers so that impedes development from investors to come in.”

Perez serves on the town’s zoning board of appeals.

“If we get the infrastructure of sewers going in, and it can be done in phases, we could get other types of businesses coming in,” he said. “Investors are not going to come in and invest in your community unless you have the sewers there.”

Lupinacci’s approach to stimulating the local economy focuses on higher education.

“A few years back we instituted a program that if you graduate in the top 20 percent of your high school class majoring in a STEM program, you can go to a SUNY or CUNY school for free as long as you’re staying five years in New York state afterwards,” the incumbent said. He said he’d like to see something similar done to funnel students toward community colleges. “We wanted to make sure that we would allow better tax credits for the students who are graduating and staying in New York afterwards because we want to give them an incentive to stay here.”

A central component of Lupinacci’s platform is to root out political corruption in the Assembly and across New York’s government. He helped to pass legislation to stop politicians found guilty of corruption from receiving taxpayer-funded pensions and said he plans to keep fighting in that direction.

“We need to make the Assembly more transparent in the coming years, and also limit outside income in terms of what legislators make,” Lupinacci said. He added he’d like to see Assembly committee meetings televised and term limits for all members.

The common ground in election oversight, and the claims of a “rigged” election made by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were addressed by both candidates.

“It is not a rigged system,” Perez said. “Nobody wants to go to jail because they’re not doing the appropriate thing at the board of elections.”

Lupinacci wouldn’t support his party’s nominee’s claims of an unfair system.

“I think our board of elections workers are great people and they’re very good on Long Island, but there are problems some times when the elections are very close,” he said. “We do have recounts and such [when elections are close]. Do I think the election is rigged? No.”

Violence has become an issue at the forefront of daily life in the district. The incumbent discussed some of what he’s done to combat the issue and some of his future plans.

“We’ve been working along with [New York State Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosett)] and people in the community to increase cameras in the area, so not only in terms of actual police officers but more surveillance in the area to see what’s going on,” Lupinacci said. He added that community outreach programs and a stimulated economy could also help.

Perez commended Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) for increasing patrols by park rangers in town parks as a means to improve security in the community. He added that economic development and improvement of infrastructure could also help to reduce crime in the area.

“It’s about economic development and socioeconomic issues which makes kids sell drugs and get involved with gangs,” he said. “I think that looking at infrastructure is very important.”

Prev1...111213...16Next Page 12 of 16
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

©