Camilo Rivera was arrested for slashing a man and causing serious injury. Photo from SCPD
Suffolk County Police Department 2nd Precinct officers were called to Fairgrounds Avenue in Huntington Station Sept. 20 after a 911 caller reported a male had been slashed at approximately 11:45 a.m.
The man, Juan Rosa Corrado, 38, was transported to Huntington Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
Following an investigation, Second Squad detectives arrested Camilo Rivera, 40, and charged him with first-degree assault.
Rivera, of Huntington Station, was held overnight at the 2nd Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at 1st District Court in Central Islip Sept. 21. Attorney information was not immediately available.
Rocky Point Middle School staff members celebrate earning a 2016 Inviting Award given out to inviting schools. Photo from Rocky Point school district
By Desirée Keegan
Even if you didn’t attend Rocky Point Middle School, chances are you’d be treated like a family member upon entering, and now they have the hardware to prove it.
It was the most fulfilling day in Rocky Point Middle School Principal Scott O’Brien’s 25 plus year career in education. Nearly 60 educational leaders from around the world visited the grounds of his school and talked to personnel and pupils to determine whether or not he’s helped create an environment where students and staff could reach their full potential.
Rocky Point Middle School was one of just five middle schools and high schools in New York to be selected to receive the 2016 Inviting Award from the International Alliance for Invitational Education.
“It was so rewarding to see all of these educators from around the world intently walking round and visiting different areas of our building, talking to our teachers and especially our kids and really excitedly taking away ideas that we have in place, so they can bring it back to their respective countries,” the principal said. “It was absolutely the highlight of our last school year, and I would say, my entire career. It was a proud moment for all of us.”
Students welcome their international guests. Photo from Mark Moorland
The application process took a year and a half and included extensive training for the staff; self-evaluations of the school’s practices, policies, procedures and programs; and the large visits from international administrators and teachers.
Nicole Gabrinowitz, a seventh-grade math teacher at Rocky Point Middle School, said she knew how inviting the school was from the moment she walked through the doors seven years ago.
“I’ve taught over the last 21 years at many different schools, and when I finally started teaching at Rocky Point Middle School, right away I knew that this was the best building I had ever been in,” she said. “Dr. O’Brien and [James] Moeller, the assistant principal, are such good leaders. Teachers are free to have their own opinions, [O’Brien and Moeller’s] doors are always opened, they’re opened to ideas and the staff is very friendly.”
Gabrinowitz played an active role in the application process. She was on the committee dedicated to applying for the recognition, was at nearly every meeting, helped coordinate meetings with every visitor, wrote up proposals and essays and attended conferences on what it takes to be an inviting school.
Once she saw what the program was all about, she said she knew the school was a perfect match.
“When you walk into our school, it is not intimidating, it is friendly,” she said. “We greet you, the kids have great programs, it’s well-lit, the teachers are nice, and there’s really no negative atmosphere anywhere in the entire building.”
The visitors were impressed with a lot of what the school had to offer. There were dogs in the classrooms for children to read to if they felt intimidated or nervous reading to adults; inclusion, honors and standard classes; a variety of teaching styles; a speech therapist and a counseling center.
“I know that they were impressed,” Gabrinowitz said. “I spoke to probably every visitor that came, getting to know them and telling them about our school. They responded well, we accepted all of the guests with opened arms, and we had students also talk to the visitors, telling them how wonderful the school is and described what was going on inside the classrooms.”
Patrick Panella, a guidance counselor at the school for the past 15 years, also said the programs the school has to offer generate a lot of excitement.
“Some of the clubs we run that get student involvement lends support to other students and community members,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the community as a whole. Our clubs have volunteer and outreach programs doing volunteer work at nursing homes, for example. Friends of Rachel does a lot of things to involve the students in helping and being kind to others, and having the positive culture that the staff has embeds that in the student body as well.”
Being a part of the program was also a great opportunity for the administration and staff to self-reflect.
“Part of our mind-set now is that we want to reevaluate the programs that we’re currently offering — thinking of other things we could offer that would benefit the students, staff and community,” Panella said. “And always looking to better what we do here, so that was a big part of being involved in the invitational education process.”
Principal Scott O’Brien was also named Administrator of the Year. Photo from Rocky Point school district
Gabrinowitz said the school has already begun that process.
Part of the application process also included a student survey. The children were happy, but one thing they asked for was a recreation room. The school’s leadership team listened. Students can now sign up to enter a brand new rec room during lunch, to play games like knock hockey and table tennis. The math teacher said the school also has a courtyard that was pretty, but wasn’t being maintained as nicely as they would like. A garden club emerged after that renovation effort, which got more students involved to beautify the space.
The hallways are also going to see some more changes.
“They’ve been very decorative all the time, but now we encourage our teachers to display more of our students’ work, even in math and science, so our hallways are full of their work all the time,” Gabrinowitz said. “And we’re rotating the work and I think that helps when the students are walking down the hallway and see their own work hanging up and can be proud of it.”
An announcement letter from the Inviting School Award Committee commended the school’s outstanding learning climate and its impact not only on students but staff, parents and the community as well.
Gabrinowitz said she hopes Rocky Point Middle School can set an example for others.
“Everything that Rocky Point has, we’re so much more inviting than so many of the other schools I’ve seen around us,” she said. “They may not even realize they’re not that inviting, and I think that part of our job is to educate other schools on being an inviting school. It was such a long process and we did so much — Rocky Point Middle School is already a great place, and it’s even better now, and will only continue to grow, because this process never ends.”
Participants from the Walk a Day in Our Shoes event Sunday, Sept. 18, smile as they start their trek. Photo from Angela’s House
By Victoria Espinoza
More than 700 people walked a day in someone else’s shoes this past weekend.
Angela’s House, a Hauppauge-based nonprofit organization that offers support for families and children living with severe medical conditions, hosted its second annual Walk a Day in Our Shoes 3K Walk fundraiser at the Holtsville Ecology Center Sept. 18.
$45,000 was raised to help bring awareness to the organization’s cause. Limited options exist for families with children born and diagnosed as being medically frail, chronically ill or suffering from any type of life-threatening conditions when or if they leave the hospital.
Bob Policastro, founder and executive director of Angela’s House, said he was unaware of the limited options parents have until his daughter, Angela, suffered severe brain damage during birth, which left her very medically frail and in need of nursing care.
“The process is incredibly painful,” Policastro said in a phone interview. “You’re in this situation no one wants to be in, and you need to figure out how you’ll be there as a parent for your child.”
Participants from the Walk a Day in Our Shoes event Sunday, Sept. 18, smile as they start their trek. Photo from Angela’s House
Policastro said he and his wife, Angie, had a hard time finding a specialized home or facility near where they lived in Hauppauge and eventually settled on a specialty hospital in Connecticut. The lack of services locally put additional emotional and physical strain on the parents because they were forced to travel more than two hours to spend time with their daughter in Connecticut. Angela eventually succumbed to her illnesses and died shortly after her first birthday.
The Policastros created the nonprofit in 1992 and since then have opened three homes in East Moriches, Smithtown and Stony Brook where children with serious medical conditions live and are cared for 24 hours a day.
The funds raised from the event will help continue the care in these three homes, as well as programs to help other families learn about the resources available for them and their loved ones who are struggling with life-threatening medical issues.
One mother wrote about her experience with Angela’s House. Her son Johnny required a tracheotomy and a feeding tube around five years old. She said as his condition worsened, she was no longer able to take care of him at home, and that’s when she found Angela’s House.
“Bob and his wife Angie have been working tirelessly to have a home built for children [whose] medical needs were too great for families to care for their child at home but whose family is on Long Island,” she wrote. “Johnny spent nearly 16 years at Angela’s House and during that time he has received excellent medical care and a tremendous amount of LOVE. The wonderful nurses and aides tirelessly provided Johnny with kisses, hugs and jokes. Johnny rewarded them with the simplest of gestures … his smile.”
The day included face painting, a D.J., a zoo and lunch provided by Applebee’s.
Local politicians and members of the Setauket Harbor Task Force announce a state grant that will improve water quality. From left, Setauket Harbor Task Force Chairwoman Laurie Vetere, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine, Setauket Harbor Task Force Co-founder George Hoffman and state Sen. John Flanagan. Photo by Alex Petroski
Advocates for the health of the Setauket Harbor were given an essential resource to aid in efforts to improve water quality in the North Shore port this week.
State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) announced he secured a $1 million grant from New York State for Brookhaven Town at a press conference Sept. 20 to be used to improve water quality in the harbor.
The announcement came on the heels of a recent water quality study of Setauket Harbor done by Cornell Cooperative Extension and commissioned by Brookhaven, which turned up troubling results. Setauket Harbor is part of the larger Port Jefferson Harbor complex.
“The recent water quality report commissioned by Brookhaven pointed out that Setauket Harbor has significant water quality issues caused mainly by road runoff from rain water flooding into the harbor after storms,” Laurie Vetere, chairwoman for Setauket Harbor Task Force, a volunteer group, said during the press conference.
“It’s clear that the harbor has some serious challenges.”
— George Hoffman
The grant will fund three projects relating to the harbor.
Half of the $1 million will go toward improvements to the dock. Forty percent will be used on storm water infrastructure improvements and the remaining $100,000 will be used to remove silt that has accumulated in the harbor and its water sources.
Nitrogen pollution and coliform bacteria have plagued Setauket Harbor in recent years.
“I don’t think we were surprised — the harbor has been struggling for years,” George Hoffman of the Setauket Harbor Task Force said in an email. “It has been closed to shell fishing for more than a decade and the main creek leading to the harbor is filled with sediment and not stopping contaminants in storm water from flowing into the harbor … it’s clear that the harbor has some serious challenges.”
Restrictions were placed on shell fishing in other Long Island waterways by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 2015 because of water quality concerns.
Flanagan said the grant should be a step in the right direction to improve the harbor’s waters.
“Long Islanders are blessed with access to magnificent waterways like Setauket Harbor,” he said during the press conference. “That’s why it is important that all levels of government work together to preserve and protect these fragile ecosystems. This state funding will help support critical improvement projects to restore and revitalize this beautiful natural resource and it is my pleasure to partner with [Brookhaven Town Supervisor] Ed Romaine, the Town of Brookhaven and Setauket Harbor Task Force to help bring this project to reality.”
Flanagan, who is up for reelection in November, said in an interview following the press conference that environmental issues are an “A-1 priority” to his constituents.
“They deeply care about the environment,” he said. “I have a lot of coastal property in the district I’m fortunate enough to represent … it’s all important stuff.”
Romaine (R) has been an advocate for legislation to improve Long Island’s water quality for decades. In June, the town approved a law proposed by Romaine that prohibits structures being built within 500 feet of any Long Island waters from having cesspools or septic systems.
“I thank Sen. Flanagan for his strong advocacy on behalf of the Town to help us get started on improving the water quality in Setauket Harbor and the watershed that surrounds it,” Romaine said. “By acting now, I believe we can prevent further contamination, reverse the damage that has already been done and begin to restore this beautiful natural resource back to a healthy and environmentally sound waterway.”
Right to left, Barbara Jo Kingsley, Neil Leinwohl, Renee Caine, Lynda Wright and Andrea Baum, winners of The LIM juried art show. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Barbara Jo Kingsley of Huntington Station with her first place entry, 'Mississippi River Blues.' Photo by Heidi Sutton
First Place winner: “Mississippi River Blues,” Serigraph by Barbara Jo Kingsley of Huntington Station
Estevan Cortez, Education Coordinator from the Long Island Violin Shop, provided musical entertainment for the afternoon. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Right, ‘Hello,’ oil by Renee Caine, third-place winner. Image from LIM
Artist Julie Doczi stands under her entry, 'The Young Cellist,' pastel. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Above, ‘Love the One You’re With,’ inkjet on canvas by Neil Leinwohl, second-place winner. Image courtesy of LIM
Gregory Pfeiffer and Kathee Shaff Kelson in front of their artwork at the reception. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Honorable Mention 'Bridge of Dreams' by Lynda Wright of Hicksville. Image from LIM
Sungsook Setton with her two entries, 'Sotto Voce' and 'Coda,' ink and watercolor on paper
Grace Kim with her oil painting, 'Music, Far from East' at the reception. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Honorable Mention: 'Trumpet Player,' photography by Andrea Baum of Lynbrook. Image courtesy of LIM
Winners honored at art reception last Sunday
By Heidi Sutton
The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook kicked off its annual juried art competition, I’ve Got the Music in Me, with an artist reception on Sept. 18. Amateur and professional artists across Long Island were invited to submit up to three works with a music theme for the exhibition, which is now on display in the Visitors Center.
Executive director of The LIM, Neil Watson, congratulated the artists and thanked them for rising to the occasion and addressing the theme of the exhibit. The idea for a music-themed art exhibit came out of the previous exhibition in the Visitors Center — Common Ground: The Music Festival Experience — and also from the fact that the museum is now home to the singer/songwriter series Sunday Street as well as the North Shore Pro Musica group (chamber music), among others. “For us, it is very important to have music and as a theme it is a challenge, visually, so I appreciate all of the artists who did this and the show is a really handsome exhibition,” said Watson.
Museum staff members combed through 144 pieces submitted by 68 artists to come up with the final 59 entries that make up the exhibition, and juror John Cino chose a first-, second- and third-place winner along with two honorable mentions. (See juror’s comments under each photo.) Barbara Jo Kingsley of Huntington Station captured first place with her serigraph, “Mississippi River Blues”; Neil Leinwohl of Rockville Centre took second place with “Love the One You’re With”; and Renee Caine of Holtsville garnered third with her oil painting, “Hello.” Honorable mentions were handed to Hicksville’s Lynda Wright for her acrylic painting,“ Bridge of Dreams” and Andrea Baum from Lynbrook for her photograph titled “Trumpet Player.”
Lisa Unander, director of education at the museum, said that, when choosing the five selections, Cino noted that “Music means a lot of different things to different people. Many artists in this exhibition chose to depict musicians making music or listeners responding to music. At least since the time of [Wassily] Kandinsky there have been artists who have attempted to create a visual analogy of music which is essentially the organization of sound over time.” The exhibit runs through Oct. 23. For more information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.
Members of the Third NY Regiment, 22nd Regiment of Foot, and the cast of ‘A Tale of Gold’. Photo by Jameson Wessels
By Ed Randolph
It was a hot but beautiful afternoon when a regiment of British soldiers and loyalists arrived to harass Coram local and former patriot minuteman, Gold Smith Davis. Spectators stood in surprise and suspense awaiting his fate as the infamous “Long Island Lobsterback” and members of the 22nd Regiment of Foot tied Mr. Davis to a wooden column on the porch, beating him with the butt end of a musket and stabbing him with a disjointed bayonet.
Though blood was splattered on Mrs. Davis’s pristine white porch, Mr. Davis survived the ordeal and was rescued by Setauket local and hometown hero Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge. Accompanied by members of the Third NY Regiment, he surrounded the British forces in a tactical ambush.
Musket fire was exchanged between the rivaling forces. Outgunned and cornered, the lobsterbacks were forced to retreat in haste as the patriots secured an unlikely victory in the heart of Long Island. Other eyewitness reports suggest Mr. Davis was hung upside down over a well, but these claims remain unconfirmed. Both reports suggest he was reunited with his wife Elizabeth.
Unsuspecting visitors found themselves thrust into the middle of an 18th-century reenactment battlefield as a volley of musket fire echoed through the crisp summer air. After the spectacle, those in attendance enjoyed the Davis Meeting House Society’s outdoor Yard Sale and Craft Fair. Numerous vendors and visitors were in attendance and enjoyed the splendid sound of fife and drum. This event was hosted by the Davis Meeting House Society on Sept. 10 and was made possible by the Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation.
For more information on Gold Smith Davis visit www.davistownmeetinghouse.org.
For more information on becoming a Revolutionary War reenactor visit www.3rdny.com.
Callie Hernandez (Lisa) in a scene from ‘Blair Witch’.Photo courtesy of Lionsgate Publicity
By Kevin Redding
In the summer of 1999, “The Blair Witch Project” was unleashed on audiences everywhere and shook things up in a huge way. The low-budget film’s remarkable authenticity — from the talent of its anonymous actors to the way it was shot on hand-held cameras to the conceivability of the events — and genius viral marketing in the early days of the internet convinced millions of moviegoers that the madness they were seeing unfold on screen was real and a direct result of piecing together “found footage” from a trek in the woods gone horribly awry.
This subgenre, which we’ve since been beaten over the head with to the point of desensitization, was spectacularly fresh at the time and unlike anything anybody had ever seen before. It worked like gangbusters and the film’s incredible box office success — raking in about $248.6 million off a $60,000 budget — influenced the next crop of indie filmmakers and certainly spawned its fair share of countless imitators that continue to this day, none of which have yet to rise to its level.
Whether it scared you or not, “The Blair Witch Project” remains a masterfully crafted and wholly unique piece of horror that can never be replicated.
A scene from ‘Blair Witch’. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate/ Chris Helcermanas-Benge
This past weekend, the film’s direct sequel “Blair Witch” is just further proof of that. Resurrecting such a hot property like this was inevitable in the modern age of nostalgia-based reboots, but the studio did something promising by handing the keys to the cabin to some of the most interesting young horror filmmakers working today: director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett, the team behind subversive and exciting films like “You’re Next” and “The Guest.”
Unfortunately, their well-established chops aren’t reflected in the film. With Wingard and Barrett at the helm, it’s just even more baffling that the end result is so uninteresting, by-the-book and overall kind of obnoxious in that modern, big-budget “cash grab horror movie” kind of way.
Gone is all the subtlety, atmosphere, tension and dread of the original; in its place are loud and unearned jump scares every couple of minutes, bland and laughably unrealistic characters we don’t care about, and a plot that doesn’t do anything to really enhance the lore and mythos of the witch, leaving me to wonder what the point of this sequel was at all.
It’s difficult to even consider this a sequel as much as an outright remake, because although “Blair Witch” equips its new generation of soon-to-be faces on “Missing” fliers with updated gadgets like Bluetooth earpiece cameras, drone cams and GPS for new inventive angles for the subgenre, it’s basically a beat-for-beat copy of that first one, but without the things that made it really effective.
Here, we follow James (James McCune) in his determination to go and find his long-lost sister, Heather from the original, who disappeared in that dreadful Black Hills Forest 15 years ago (this one takes place in 2014).
Valorie Curry in a scene from ‘Blair Witch’.Photo courtesy of Lionsgate/ Chris Helcermanas-Benge
A recent video taken in that stretch of woods was uploaded to YouTube, and blurry footage of a woman convinces him that it could be her and she could still be out there. Even though in the universe of this movie the footage of the original film exists and has been seen and is well known, James decides to gather up a group of friends and go ahead and suffer exactly as his own sister and her two pals did.
One of the friends, Lisa (Callie Hernandez), is a filmmaker set on documenting the experience. Because the leads in the original were likable and realistic human beings, it’s extremely sad to watch their journey as we know full well that they’re not going to make it out alive. Here, there’s no emotional attachment to anyone on screen and so it’s tough to root for anyone but the witch herself.
With the inclusion of two weird locals, the pack of Abercrombie models we’re supposed to believe are real everyday people discover that there’s more to the woods than mere folklore and gossip. Things unravel pretty quickly like in the first film: stick figures are found outside of their tents, people disappear, they walk for hours only to wind up at the same spot. There are also bizarre things thrown in that don’t really go anywhere. It definitely feels like Wingard and Barrett were boredly waiting the whole movie just to get to the last 15 to 20 minutes where they could finally let loose and show off a bit. They take everything up a few hundred notches and for the first time, the movie feels a little interesting and fun. They basically take us through a virtual reality haunted house ride that’s pretty intense and stressful, even though it winds up just being a bigger and louder version of what we’ve seen before — which pretty much sums up the entire film.
In a recent Facebook post, actress Heather Donahue —whose tearful face adorns the iconic image of “The Blair Witch Project” — declared that “scare for scare, the new ‘Blair Witch’ is better than the original” and I couldn’t disagree more.
There’s nothing in the original that breaks the illusion that we’re watching real people going through a real, horrifying situation. Whereas in this one, there’s nothing that feels genuine; instead we’re very aware that we’re watching bad actors pretending to be scared in a very scripted movie. The first one sends chills down your spine with just the sound of a twig snapping and a distant voice in the dark and changed movies forever. This one shoves everything in your face, blares in your ears and is afraid to try anything that hasn’t been done before. It simply doesn’t hold a candle to what a couple indie filmmakers did in 1999 with just a couple cameras and a couple actors in the woods.
“Blair Witch,” now playing in local theaters, is rated R for language, terror and several disturbing images.
Centereach's Annalie Buscarino makes a diving save off a penalty kick. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
With a 5-0 league record, Smithtown West hosted the Centereach girls’ soccer team, and on paper, it looked to be an easy matchup. But the 1-4 Cougars gave the team a run for its money.
In a raucous game that was stopped multiple times for players to receive yellow cards, leading to both fan and coach ejections, the Bulls’ lone goal came with 12 minutes left to play, as Smithtown West escaped with a 1-0 victory.
Centereach’s Emily Tirado and Smithtown West’s Jillian Meaney leap up to head the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
Although the Bulls spent most of the game on the Cougars half of the field, Centereach’s defense stood its ground and time and time again was able to clear the ball down field.
Play was stopped as the coaches questioned many calls made by the officials. There was a lengthy delay for an injured player with 27 minutes left, and a minute later play stopped as the officials ejected Smithtown West’s head coach Rob Schretzmayer.
With all the play stoppages, neither team could find a rhythm, and the game stretched beyond two hours in length.
On a penalty kick, Centereach senior goalkeeper Annalie Buscarino stood tall in the net, and dove to the right side of the net, deflecting the ball for the save to the astonishment of the Bulls’ kicker.
“They always come out hard and we were definitely expecting a lot, because they’re the No. 1 team in the league right now, but I think we did a really great job at stepping up and I was very happy with my team’s performance,” she said. “Defensively and offensively, we moved the ball and we have to keep up this momentum to bring in some wins this season.”
Smithtown West’s Jillian Meaney’s foot decided the game with 11:21 left to play, when the freshman’s shot found the right corner of the net for the lone goal of the afternoon.
“It was a short corner — we planned it before,” Meaney said. “I had a good angle to shoot and I just shot it.”
Centereach head coach Andrew Nardi said his team studied and prepared to take on the team atop the League III leaderboard.
Smithtown West’s Sarah Harrington battles Centereach’s Jessica Desena for the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
“Smithtown West — they’re undefeated, but we had a game-plan and we stuck with the game-plan,” he said. “And it helped us. We just got unlucky in that last 12 minutes.”
Centereach senior Lauren Buscarino, Annalie’s twin sister, was under no illusion that her team would have an easy time against Smithtown West.
“We were expecting a hard game, and we had to step up and we did that,” she said. “We kept our spirits up; we played up to their level. We’re both division [III] teams, so it’s easy to fall back a little, but today we played up to them.”
Meaney said she thought her team may have underestimated Centereach.
“I didn’t think they were going to be that strong,” she said. “We came in weak and we should’ve gone in stronger. I’m happy we were able to stay up, and we kept pushing through the game, even after all the crazy stuff that went on.”
Smithtown West assistant coach Steve Ianone said it was difficult for his team to gain any kind of traction during the contest.
“The game was stopped so many times during the course of play … neither team could get into any kind of groove, so we just couldn’t get a flow going,” Ianone said. “I was pleased with everyone’s overall performance on the field today, though, especially with the stop-and-go play.”
It’s official: bagging your groceries will cost you.
The Suffolk County Legislature approved a 5-cent fee per plastic grocery bag this month, which will be collected and kept by stores. The main goal of the legislation is to reduce bag waste by incentivizing shoppers to avoid the fee and bring their own bags.
“I feel relieved,” Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) said in a phone interview. “But I am also concerned.”
Spencer said he is “sensitive” to struggling families with the current cost of living, and doesn’t want them to feel like this is a new fee or tax being imposed on them.
“This is nothing new, people are paying for these bags already,” he said.
“Plastic bags are a mistake of the past. Reusable bags are the solution for the future.” —Adrienne Esposito
According to the legislator, grocery stores already work the price of the plastic bags they give away into the price of products they sell.
A report conducted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments about plastic bags stated consumers pay $37.50 per year in hidden bag costs passed on by retailers.
But some residents are not on board with the future fee. Suffolk County Legislator Sara Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said she heard many responses from senior citizens in her district that they don’t like the new bill.
“I had an overwhelming response from residents not supporting the fee,” she said in a phone interview. “To [the senior community] it’s just another expense. The 5 cents goes right back to the retailer, and it should really go to a designated environmental fund.”
The idea of the fee going to an environmental cause was first implemented in Washington D.C., the first place in the United States to impose a 5-cent fee on plastic bags, with the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act. According to the legislation, only 1 out of the 5-cent fee is collected by the store, and the rest is deposited in the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund.
In a 2013 study of the D.C. law, researchers found that both residents and businesses reported a significant reduction in disposable bag use and a majority of residents and businesses supported the bag fee. In addition, both residents and businesses said they saw fewer plastic bags littering the area.
Spencer said creating legislation similar to that in D.C. was discussed, with part of the fee going toward an environmental cause, however it ended up being out of his control.
“I would love to do that, but we don’t have the taxing authority,” Spencer said. He explained it would require state action for part of the fee to be divided and sent to an organization.
“I would love to see that money go towards conservation,” he said. “But it is important to move forward now and not wait for the state to act. On a county level, we’ve taken the lead.”
Spencer said he hopes eventually the state will create legislation that will supersede his own, but for now he must continue to do his job.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito applauded Spencer’s legislation.
“Plastic bags are a mistake of the past,” she said in a statement. “Reusable bags are the solution for the future. This legislation will reduce plastic bag use by 60 percent or more and that will make our communities and our bays cleaner and greener, and save us money. Kudos to Suffolk County Legislator Doc Spencer for his leadership and persistence in protecting our environment.”
The CCE said there is more plastic in the oceans than plankton, with 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile. Many marine animals are choked and strangled by bags, or die consuming them. The CCE said plastic pollution negatively impacts 267 species of marine life.
John Durso, president of Local 228, a retail labor union and Long Island Federation of Labor, said the bill will introduce positive change to Suffolk County. “The Suffolk County plastic bag law is truly an innovative bill that takes great steps to cut back on environmental waste, while also addressing the needs of local workers and businesses,” he said in a statement. “We were glad to work with the Suffolk County Legislature to collaborate on a landmark legislation that will protect our environment for future generations of Suffolk County’s working families.”
Above, Alan Cumming signs one of nearly 300 books during the evening’s reception as Dr. Jud Newborn looks on.
Above, Alan Cumming, left, and host Jud Newborn share a laugh during the slideshow and interview program. Photo by Jessica and Andy Attard, FlashBack Photography
Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre hosted an exclusive, sold-out event, An Evening with Alan Cumming, on Thursday, Sept. 15. Curator/interviewer Jud Newborn presented a kaleidoscopic slideshow that covered all aspects of Cumming’s diverse career with film clips and photos, some from Cumming’s brand new book of his own 45 photoessays, “You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams.” The program was followed by a gala reception and book signing, with live jazz by guitarist Mike Soloway of Huntington.
Alan Cumming and Councilwoman Susan Berland at last Wednesday’s event. Photo by Jessica and Andy Attard, FlashBack Photography
Huntington Town Councilwoman Susan A. Berland (D) surprised the actor, author and activist with a special town proclamation lauding his many career achievements.
The event sold out within 24 hours of being announced, with each ticket holder received a copy of Cumming’s new book. The Scottish actor, renowned for his remarkably eclectic career, is famed for his Emmy-nominated role as Eli Gold in the hit TV series, “The Good Wife,” for his Tony-winning Broadway performance in the musical “Cabaret,” for numerous films by leading directors and for his earlier New York Times Number 1 best-selling memoir, ‘Not My Father’s Son.”
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