Yearly Archives: 2018

Planning board ready to make decision on South Setauket rentals

by Rita J. Egan - July 25, 2018

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A rendering of the proposed Heatherwood rental units in South Setauket. Rendering from Heatherwood

The Town of Brookhaven is in the final stages of deciding whether to allow a controversial retirement community to be constructed.

Commack-based Heatherwood Luxury Rentals has proposed plans to build on nearly 26 acres of its more than 70-acre golf course on the southeast corner of Arrowhead Lane and Route 347. It was put on the planning board’s decision calendar at its July 9 meeting, and now they have 62 days from July 9 to render a decision.

The property at the intersection of Arrowhead Lane and Route 347 is currently a golf course. Photo by Andrea Paldy

If approved, the company would construct Heatherwood Golf at Setauket, a 55 and over community with 200 rental housing units, 403 parking stalls and additional garages. Heatherwood also plans to redesign the golf course, reducing it from 18 holes to nine. The property falls in both the Comsewogue and Three Village school districts.

John Gobler, a 48-year homeowner in Heatherwood Village South in South Setauket, attended the July 9 meeting objecting to plans for the new development having only one entryway to exit and enter, which would dump traffic onto Arrowhead Lane. He said the intersection of Arrowhead Lane and Route 347 has been a problem for several years due to the number of cars exiting onto Arrowhead and the timing of lights at the corner, where he has witnessed only four or five cars being able to go through a green light.

He questioned a traffic engineering study by Stonefield Engineering & Design, LLC conducted June 13 of the traffic volume count of cars exiting Arrowhead to Route 347. He said the company found a total of 183 cars during 7 to 9 a.m. and 141 vehicles 4 to 7 p.m. Gobler said he sat at the intersection and monitored traffic for a 20-minute period, 8:55 to 9:15 a.m. three separate days when school wasn’t in session and counted exiting cars from Arrowhead. His average was 89 for the 20-minute intervals, which would be 266 cars during the morning rush hour. He said Stonefield’s count of 183 cars over a two-hour period would mean only 31 cars every 20 minutes.

Frank Filiciotto, a traffic consultant with Stonefield, said there are always spikes in traffic, which could account for Gobler’s observation. He also said the 183 and 141 numbers represent one-hour volumes within the periods of time specified and not the entire time specified. He said the company has been monitoring traffic in the area for four years. One observation of cars entering and exiting nearby Fairfield Knolls North by the company showed a daily total of 218 cars observed during 7 to 9 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Stonefield broke the figures down to 60 in the morning period, 80 from 2 to 4 p.m., and 78 during the evening period. The monitored development is 0.65 miles northeast of the proposed apartments and is also age restricted. The company prorated the numbers since Fairfield Knolls has 91 more units than what is proposed for Heatherwood. He said the amount of traffic was similar to what they originally projected and should not negatively impact the area.

“The overpacking of the site with housing, adjacent to a residential neighborhood, and built on an already highly trafficked Route 347 demonstrates poor planning.”

— Herb Mones

“This isn’t assumption,” Filiciotto said. “This isn’t opinions. This is fact. We went out, and we calculated the amount of traffic Fairfield North was generating during peak hours.”

In 2014, Councilman Dan Panico (R-Manorville) sponsored the resolution for a zone change for the property from A Residence 5, which allows one housing unit for every 5 acres, to Planned Retirement Community, which would allow a 55 and over community. On Dec. 16, 2014, the town board approved by a 4-3 vote. Councilwomen Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) and Connie Kepert (D-Middle Island) as well as Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) dissented.

The town board placed conditions on its zone change approval, including requiring Heatherwood owner Doug Partrick to donate 40 acres of land to the Manorville Farm Protection Area, removing a billboard at the golf course and constructing a sidewalk on the east side of Arrowhead Lane. Panico’s office confirmed the town accepted the 40 acres of property in 2015 in lieu of the Pine Barrens Credit redemption required under the Planned Retirement Community code.

Development of the golf course has faced opposition from elected officials and local civic associations since it was first presented in 2014. Cartright remains opposed to the project as it stands, according to her legislative aide Jennifer Martin.

Herb Mones, chair of the Three Village Civic Association’s land use committee, said the civic group opposed the initial zone change for the golf course, and he said many felt it was controversial due to the town board approving it over the objections of Cartright.

“The overpacking of the site with housing, adjacent to a residential neighborhood, and built on an already highly trafficked Route 347 demonstrates poor planning,” he said.

Sal Pitti, president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, said the group still stands opposed to the development.

“The community spoke in force back when the project was proposed, and they said we don’t want it,” Pitti said. “The aspect that bothered us the most for the acceptance of the project was that a donation of land went to another council district instead of ours.”

6th Precinct officer rescues two from a capsized canoe

by TBR Staff - July 25, 2018

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SCPD-canoe-rescue — Suffolk County Police Department officer James Behrens assists Luis Ramirez back to shore after his canoe capsized in Miller Place. Photo from SCPD

By Anthony Petriello

A Suffolk County Police Department officer’s quick thinking and decisive actions saved lives on the morning of July 11 in the Long Island Sound off the coast in Miller Place.

Trouble arose in the water at about 9:20 a.m. that morning, but luckily for two Suffolk County residents enjoying the day canoeing on the North Shore, officer James Behrens of SCPD’s 6th Precinct arrived on the scene quickly to assist when the vessel capsized.

“I’m just glad everyone came out of the situation okay,” Behrens said.

Behrens responded to a 911 call citing men yelling for help in the water off of Landing Road in Miller Place. Thinking fast, he said he removed his bulletproof vest and gun belt and grabbed a life ring from his police cruiser. The original report said there were four victims in the water, according to the officer, so Behrens determined his life ring would not be sufficient for the rescue. Behrens said he saw a paddleboard in the yard at a nearby residence, the owner of which was not home, and commandeered it for the rescue. He then proceeded into the water for an approximately 600-foot swim out to the capsized canoe.

Although the victims were wearing life preservers, the water that day was extremely choppy, and the men were having trouble staying above the waterline, according to Behrens. Shortly after he reached the men and aided them onto the paddleboard, Town of Brookhaven Bay Constable Steven Bennett arrived on a boat and assisted Behrens in pulling the first victim, Edgar Guirola-Hernandez, 33, of Brentwood, out of the water.

Suffolk County Marine Bureau Officers Neil Stringer and Christopher Erickson arrived aboard Marine Delta and pulled the second man, Luis Ramirez, 44, of Centereach, as well as Behrens, out of the water. The victims were evaluated by the Miller Place Fire Department at the Cedar Beach Marina and refused further medical treatment, according to a press release from the SCPD.

“He went above and beyond,” said SCPD Sgt. William Gibaldi, of Behrens’ efforts, who was at the scene shortly after the men were rescued. “Officer Behrens was very quick thinking, grabbing a paddleboard and doing what was necessary to save the men.”

Huntington resident cocreates Goodgrief app

by TBR Staff - July 25, 2018

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GoodGrief App Connect — The Goodgrief app

By Amanda Perelli

When Huntington resident Kim Libertini isn’t teaching, she’s working on building a digital social network for others, like herself, who are coping with personal loss and grief.

Libertini found help dealing with her personal loss through private messaging with Robynne Boyd, of Atlanta, and now the two have created a tool they hope will help others do the same. The plan for Goodgrief, a mobile app that allows grieving individuals to anonymous connect and chat one-on-one with each other, started in late 2016.

Kim Libertini and Robynne Boyd are co-founders of the Goodgrief app

“I had lost my partner,” Libertini said. “It was the summer of 2015. I was in the process of navigating the grief path. A friend that knew my partner that passed also knew Robynne, who at the time was going through a different form of grief.”

Boyd’s marriage had ended before she learned that her mom was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. A mutual friend felt Libertini could understand Boyd’s situation, as the Huntington resident had been previously divorced and her mother had died of illness. So he introduced them in a group text message.

“Eventually we just privately started chatting,” Libertini said. “We kind of navigated our different grief paths for the course of a year, just through texting, and in a year we built a friendship backward.”

The two women started talking about their grief and losses first, according to Libertini, but as their relationship grew, they started sharing surface-level details with each other about their families and day-to-day lives.

“As we were developing this friendship through texting and this support system for each other, we realized we were onto something and that we should offer this to other people,” Libertini said.

After researching the concept online, Boyd and Libertini failed to find a private one-on-one service — not a Facebook support group or blog. Together, they moved to fund a new app through a partnership with Winnona Partners, an Atlanta-based mobile developer.

Users of the Goodgrief app create a profile including details such as their age, type of loss, who they lost, how long ago the event occurred and can note extra features such as his or her religious affiliation if it is important. Each individual can then choose if he or she wishes to make a connection based on factors such as someone of the same gender or grieving from the same type of loss. Personal contact information, such as phone number or email, is not revealed by the app unless users choose to exchange it after connecting.

The app has had more than 700 downloads and 500 active users since its soft launch in January. Boyd and Libertini have utilized users’ feedback to improve the experience, revising and adding more features to the app. Boyd, a writer, came up with the name Goodgrief.

“Goodgrief is clearly a term we use when we feel overwhelmed and as if there is too much to cope with,” Libertini said. “Simultaneously Goodgrief can mean that there is good to be found.”

The Huntington resident said she is grateful for the deep friendship she’d built with Boyd in sharing their pain and helping one another cope.

Using social media, Libertini said the women have been trying to spread the word of Goodgrief, and hope the app’s community will continue to grow. She wanted to see the app help others, like it’s helped her.

“It’s been a silver lining,” Libertini said. “When you experience a tragic loss it’s often very difficult to accept what’s happening. I think it’s given me some type of purpose. It’s given me focus, and it’s given me the ability to see something that’s very terrible that’s happened to me as something good for someone else.”

When asked if the two co-founders have plans to meet face-to-face in future, Libertini said, “We’ll probably save that for Oprah.”

Miller Place resident, county legislator bothered by state of 25A medians

by Alex Petroski - July 25, 2018

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25A medians-petroski — John Cerato stands next to an overgrown median on Route 25A in Miller Place. Photo by Alex Petroski

Growth is usually a positive thing, but growth in Miller Place has become a stick in the eye to a longtime resident and elected official alike.

John Cerato, a 20-year Miller Place resident who previously lived in Rocky Point, told TBR News Media this week he has progressively seen the condition of vegetation on many of the medians on Route 25A — a New York State highway — falling into a state of disrepair as it becomes overgrown and unkempt. He said he sees it predominantly as an aesthetic issue, but also has some safety concerns related to the increasingly out-of-control shrubbery.

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) echoed much of Cerato’s observations about the medians in a June 18 letter to the editor in which she proposed removing the shrubs and weeds taking over the road dividers and replacing them with flower beds.

A median near where North Country Road and Route 25A merge in Rocky Point, which includes a sidewalk and crosswalk, is almost too overgrown to walk on.

“This will not only save money by reducing maintenance (which obviously is not being done as often as needed), but it will also provide a visually pleasing appearance as we travel along Route 25A in the 6th Legislative District,” she said.

In the letter, Anker said she has facilitated a partnership between the New York State Department of Transportation and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office through the Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program to provide some maintenance on the medians recently, but even that hasn’t quite been enough.

“We recently heard back from the [NYSDOT] regional director, Joe Brown, that later this month they will begin to start replacing the 12 overgrown medians on Route 25A with a blue lyme grass similar to what has been successfully installed on Route 112,” said Anker’s Legislative Aide Robyn Fellrath-Maresca in an email July 19. “The grass is easier to maintain and minimizes weed growth. Legislator Anker appreciates the response and hopes that the change will improve the visual landscape of the community.”

Fellrath-Maresca added that Anker’s office had received numerous complaints about the medians in recent months from constituents.

Stephen Canzoneri, public information officer for the regional DOT office that covers Suffolk County, shared an update on the matter via email July 25.

“NYSDOT is improving the medians along Route 25A,” he said. “The current landscaping will be removed in the coming weeks and replaced with blue lyme grass, the same grass which is already in place along the renovated portions of Route 112. DOT will continue to work with residents and local elected officials to beautify our roadways.”

Cerato pointed to a particularly troublesome area on Route 25A in Rocky Point, where it merges with North Country Road on its north side. A walkway between the two roads is overgrown to the point that those looking to cross over Route 25A from north to south would have to step onto North Country Road or fight through the shoulder-high vegetation. Cerato said he has seen cases when parking at North Shore Little League baseball fields south of Route 25A is full, so people who park across North Country Road and walk to the fields are forced into unsafe situations.

“To have to sort of put up with this is ridiculous I think,” he said.

The Miller Place resident said he is also concerned that if an accident occurs on one side of the road and causes the cars to jump the median into oncoming traffic, those motorists would have no time to react.

“There should be some visibility,” he said. “You’re not going to have any idea they’re coming.”

Theater Review: Engeman Theater champions the little guy with ‘Newsies’

by Melissa Arnold - July 24, 2018

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Newsies Press 1 — Mike Cefalo as Davey, Dan Tracy as Jack Kelly and the cast of 'Newsies'

By Melissa Arnold

This summer, the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport is transporting audiences to a New York City of long ago in its production of “Newsies.” This feel good, family-friendly show, which opened last Thursday, is thoroughly entertaining and will have you rooting for the cast from start to finish.

“Newsies”’ journey to the stage is an interesting one — the show is based on the 1992 Disney movie of the same name, and made its Broadway debut in 2012, where it won two Tony Awards. The book was written by Harvey Fierstein, with music by Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”) and lyrics by Jack Feldman.

Both the film and musical are loosely inspired by the real-life events of the Newsboys Strike of 1899. The newspaper business was booming in 1898 while the United States was involved in the Spanish-American War. But when the war ended in September of 1898, so did the clamor for news. And this is where “Newsies” begins.

In the summer of 1899, a ragtag group of Lower Manhattan paperboys are lamenting the slow news climate, and famed publisher Joseph Pulitzer is brainstorming ways to boost his profits. At that time, newsies purchased their own papers from the publishers to sell on the street. Pulitzer decides to hike the prices the newsies pay, and since most of the kids are poor, homeless or trying to support their families, the backlash is immediate.

Whitney Winfield as Katherine Plumber in a scene from ‘Newsies’

Led by the charismatic and scrappy 17-year-old Jack Kelly, the kids form a union and declare a strike. The show chronicles the uphill battle Jack and his friends face to be taken seriously and shines a light on unfair child labor practices of the era. At the core of “Newsies” is the power of resilience, community and standing up for a cause — and that spirit is as relevant today as it was then.

Under the direction of Igor Goldin, this production’s cast features a number of actors making their Engeman debut. Among them are Dan Tracy, whose confidence and comfort on stage give his portrayal of Jack Kelly a lovable swagger. Tracy does a great job balancing Jack’s tough guy exterior with a more hidden tender side, which shines through in songs such as “Santa Fe” and “Something to Believe In.”

Mike Cefalo and Zachary Podair, who play the rookie paperboy Davey and his kid brother Les, are also new to the Engeman. The pair have a natural chemistry and strong voices — listen for Cefalo in “The World Will Know” and Podair in “Watch What Happens.” As the youngest member of the cast, Podair is charming and funny, and he’s sure to have a bright future ahead in acting.

Whitney Winfield, in the role of Katherine Plumber, certainly holds her own with a big voice in “King of New York” and “Something to Believe In.” Her character is loosely based off of reporter Nellie Bly, who was a trailblazer for working women and female journalists. Winfield plays the role with a contagious positive spirit and moxie.

Dan Tracy as Jack Kelly in a scene from ‘Newsies’

The ensemble is every bit as enjoyable as the main cast. Worth noting is their incredible talent for dance — choreographer Sandalio Alvarez and dance captain Claire Avakian are to be applauded for their hard work. “Newsies” is full of pirouettes, backflips, cartwheels, jumps and more tricks that will blow you away. Even the curtain call is an impressive showcase for their skill, where you can tell the cast is enjoying the show as much as we are.

The double-decker set designed by DT Willis depicts a Manhattan street, with metal staircases, a fire escape and a cityscape background. The set is multifunctional, transforming easily from a rooftop to the city square, a deli, theater and office with some quick work from the cast, who also functions as stage crew.

With every show at the Engeman, it’s the little touches at the theater that make the experience extra special. Show up early to enjoy one of several “Newsies”-themed cocktails, listen to ragtime or put yourself on the front page with their crafty wooden newspaper prop. Feel free to ask the staff to take a photo — they’re easy to find in old-time flat caps and suspenders. Be sure to check out the playbill for some fascinating information on the show’s historical background.

The John W. Engeman Theater, 250 Main St., Northport will present “Newsies” through Sept. 2. Tickets range from $73 to $78. For information or to purchase tickets, call 631-261-2900 or visit www.engemantheater.com.

All photos by Michael DeCristofaro

Long Island Museum to host Baroque concert

by Heidi Sutton - July 24, 2018

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WSHU Public Radio will present a special concert at The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook on Sunday Aug. 5 at 3 p.m. in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Sunday Baroque, the station’s program of Baroque and early music.

Sunday Baroque host and flutist Suzanne Bona and pianist Brenda Moore Miller will perform works by Bach, Handel and more. The concert, which will be held in the Carriage Museum’s Gillespie Room, will be followed by a meet and greet with the musicians. Tickets are $30 and are available online only at www.wshu.org.

Lifelong Huntington firefighter to lead 175th celebration

by Sara-Megan Walsh - July 24, 2018

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Combating fires in Huntington has progressed a long way from the use of leather buckets and wooden ladders over the last 175 years.

The Huntington Fire Department will be celebrating the 175th anniversary of its volunteer fire company’s formation July 28 with a parade kicking off at 4 p.m. from town hall to its Leverich Place station. The department’s oldest active living member, Henry Gerdes, has been selected as the parade’s grand marshal.

“Huntington has grown tremendously and so has the fire department,” he said, since its founding in 1843. “You have to grow with them.”

“Huntington has grown tremendously and so has the fire department.”
– Henry Gerdes

Gerdes, 98, has volunteered his time to help the Huntington Fire Department since he was a boy working in his family-run ice cream and candy shop on Main Street. He recalled pouring cups of coffee for volunteer firemen heading on their way to work only to learn they couldn’t always hear the firehouse’s siren.

“If the wind blew the wrong way, they couldn’t hear it,” said Gerdes, who worked down the street from the Main Street station. “I would have to call them up, having to use a nickel at my payphone.”

He alerted volunteers of fires using payphone No. 28 in his family’s shop. After a few months, the process improved when telephone operators learned of what he was doing and stepped in to help direct firefighters directly to the site of the fire to meet the trucks there.

Gerdes officially joined the Huntington Fire Department in December 1939 and upon returning from serving during World War II he rose to the rank of captain. The 1950s and 60s were a busy time for the firehouse, he said, as the town was rapidly expanding and changing.

“We had no masks, no tanks and you walked into a fire as you were, you were lucky if you had a raincoat.”
– Henry Gerdes

“Daytime fires would be brush fires or nothing,” Gerdes said. “But come night or the winter, everyone had coal stoves and fireplaces. There were a lot of chimney fires.”

In 1959, the fire station was relocated from Main Street to its current spot on Leverich Place.

“There used to be no traffic to worry about,” Gerdes said. “They had to move the Main Street firehouse because it was impossible to get to with trucks and cars.”

Firefighting methods and the department’s equipment have drastically improved since the early 1900s, according to Gerdes, who emphasized that while the department purchased top-of-the-line trucks the volunteer’s safety was treated very differently.

“We had no masks, no tanks and you walked into a fire as you were, you were lucky if you had a raincoat,” he said. “The first one on the truck gets first selection.”

While Huntington’s Main Street and New York Avenue business district had fire hydrants installed in the late 1800s, Gerdes said firefighters often had to go looking for a wrench to open it up. For residential fires, volunteers had to locate the nearest well or pond to drain water to extinguish the flames.

“When I first joined, they didn’t have 50 fires a year,” he said. “Now, they have more than 600.”

“Recruitment is a constant issue. We were always looking for volunteers. Today they are still looking for volunteers.
– Henry Gerdes

In 2017, Huntington Fire Department volunteers responded to 655 calls including emergencies, car crashes, fires and automated alarms with October being the busiest month. The department has grown to consist of three companies: The engine, hose, and hook and ladder units.

One thing that’s remained unchanged over the years, according to Gerdes, has been the need to ensure there are enough active volunteer firefighters, and now, first responders, to ensure residents’ safety.

“Recruitment is a constant issue,” he said. “We were always looking for volunteers. Today they are still looking for volunteers.”

The lifelong firefighter warned that it’s not all “fun and games” but a work that requires significant training and irregular hours, including late nights and holidays. Yet, he has taken pride in serving the department and being part of its history.

“The fire department I belong to is the best,” Gerdes said. “They do a good job, they work hard, and they do the right thing. I’m very proud of them and anything I did to help them along the way.”

Residents are invited to join the firefighters in their 175th anniversary gala celebration from 5 to 11 p.m. following the parade at the Leverich Place fire station featuring complimentary bounce houses and slides for kids, pony rides, a dunk tank and other carnival-like activities. Entertainment will be provided by the Little Wilson Band and free refreshments will be served.

Basketball brings vets, students together in Centereach

by Rita J. Egan - July 24, 2018

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When it came to this year’s annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the Centereach Pool Complex, Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) decided to do something different. On July 21, the 2018 version of the event was transformed into the Hoops for Military Heroes.

“We always try to do something to highlight veterans and try to bring them together with other community members,” LaValle said.

Farmingville Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Post 400, Tordik-Diedrich-Duffield VFW Post 4927 and AMVETS Post 48 are all in the councilman’s district, and he said he thought the basketball tournament would be a good way for the veterans and young people in the area to interact.

This year’s event attracted more than 60 students in seventh to 12th grade and approximately a dozen veterans, according to LaValle. Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Daniel Losquadro (R) donated funds for the beverages and snacks, and members of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials refereed the games for free. All funds raised will be donated to local veterans’ organizations.

The councilman said the event was successful, and he already has ideas for next year, including assigning a veteran as captain to each team.

“I would definitely love to continue this tradition,” LaValle said.

Suffolk County Sheriff talks school security, gangs and staffing issues in exclusive interview

by Kyle Barr - July 24, 2018

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Toulon-2-072018_Kyle-Barrw — Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. speaks during an interviw at TBR News Media in Setauket July 20. Photo by Kyle Barr

Seven months into Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr.’s (D-Lake Grove) term, several issues have become top priorities. He sat for an exclusive interview at the TBR News Media office with the editorial staff July 20 to detail the road ahead.

Staffing issues within Sheriff’s office

The sheriff’s office is short-staffed specifically due to officers retiring or leaving for higher paying jobs elsewhere, according to Toulon.

“I’m almost signing one to two retirement letters a day,” he said. “We just lost two — one going to [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] police and one going to the New York City Police Academy. I’m expecting to lose two in the near future; more going to other law enforcement [jobs].”

The department is short on 76 mandated posts that the two county corrections facilities are supposed to have. This has led to an increase in overtime for existing corrections personnel. Toulon said he sees the low starting salary for Suffolk County corrections officers as the primary driver of the staff shortage. Those in the positions are paid $30,000 per year initially, reaching about $76,000 after 12 years. Starting salaries in Nassau County or New York City corrections are about $10,000 more.

“The people in our custody that have detainers are not good people. I wouldn’t want them on our streets – I wouldn’t care what their status is.”

— Errol Toulon Jr.

Toulon said 30 people will be graduating from the county academy Aug. 8 to fill some of the vacancies.

A pay raise would have to be approved by the Suffolk County Legislature, though Toulon said he supports it.

School Security

As the occurrences of school shootings seemingly increase nationally, especially after the Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida, security has become a hot topic amongst school districts and communities. The sheriff’s office is working on the issue as well. Toulon said getting everybody on the same page when it comes to securing schools is a tough but essential job, which requires coordination between school security, police departments and the sheriff’s office.

“When you are going into these schools you frequently realize some of these schools have armed security, some have unarmed security, and some have security that are armed because they hired retired law enforcement, and it’s not publicized,” Toulon said.

School security officers obviously do not have standards as far as uniforms across county school districts. Further confusing local law enforcement, each school might have different protocols in engaging an active shooter, whether they will actively engage the shooter with a firearm or focus on getting the children to safety.

Toulon said he and his officers have gone into schools at the request of the districts to perform security assessments. So far 10 out of 69 school districts in Suffolk County have taken the Sheriff’s department up on the offer.

Toulon said an ideal setup might be having standardized training for all school districts and school security officers in the county not only so they would know what to do in a school fire, bomb or shooting scenario, but also because it would train them to interact with any local police that arrive on the scene.

The sheriff’s office plans to host a forum for Suffolk County school superintendents August 16 at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue to talk broadly about school security and to share ideas.

Dealing with gangs and immigration officials

Toulon said that while county jails only hold people charged with local crimes, they do work with the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency when it comes to some inmates.

“I’m almost signing one to two retirement letters a day.”

— Errol Toulon Jr.

“The sheriff’s office doesn’t profile people,” Toulon said. “If you blow a stop sign or a red light, we are going to pull you over. The people in our custody that have detainers are not good people. I wouldn’t want them on our streets – I wouldn’t care what their status is.”

Toulon stressed that the sheriff’s department does not participate on any ICE raids. He advised the immigrant community to know their Miranda Rights, that they do not have to communicate to police without a lawyer, and that anyone concerned about an arrest could contact the sheriff’s office.

Many people in local communities are concerned about activities perpetrated by the local incarnations of the MS-13 gang. Several high-profile gang murders were prosecuted in the past few years, including the 2017 murder of two young girls in Brentwood, complicating community-law enforcement relations and heating up a polarized, politically-based national discourse. Stories of abuses of power carried out by the federal agency, mostly in areas nearer to the southern border, have not been representative of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office’s dealings with ICE, Toulon said, adding that he would not tolerate inappropriate behavior from any uniformed officer within the facilities he oversees, be them staff under his purview or otherwise.

Toulon said comments made by President Donald Trump (R) on the matter have made his job tougher, especially when dealing with local immigrant communities.

“The tensions that I see in the immigrant community come from what they see going on in the rest of the country,” Toulon said. “The fact that our current president tweets about it and makes comments about a whole population – that is not fair, it makes my job a lot more difficult.”

Another hurdle arises in Caithness II power plant quest

by Alex Petroski - July 24, 2018

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romaine-pjpowerstation-featured-w — Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine and the town board have taken steps that would allow the construction of a power plant in Yaphank, complicating the status of Port Jefferson's LIPA-run plant. File photos by Alex Petroski

It’s one step forward, two steps back for Caithness Energy, LLC in Brookhaven.

After securing a win in its efforts to advance the construction of a 600-megawatt power plant in Yaphank earlier this month, Caithness Energy LLC, an independent, privately held power producer informed by Brookhaven Town its special use permit for the site expired July 15.

The special use permit, initially approved in 2014, granted Caithness permission to build a power plant on the site, according to Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto. It was granted for two years and one-year extensions were approved twice, which is the limit under town law.

“We’re looking into it, but believe it has no bearing and we look forward to the next steps before the Planning Board,” Caithness President Ross Ain said in a statement.

The possibility that the permit might have expired was first raised by Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) during a July 12 meeting. She abstained from voting on a motion to lift a restrictive covenant preventing the project’s advancement due to amendments made to Caithness’ original 2014 plans, which included a reduction to the plant’s output capacity and updated technology. The other five councilmembers and Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) voted to remove the covenant.

“They’ll have to file a new application for the special permit and we’ll certainly accept it,” Eaderesto said.
The town attorney noted Caithness still has a pending site plan application before the Planning Board, which would remain as such as a new special use permit is sought.

The proposed project has drawn opposition for its potential environmental impact from groups like Sierra Club Long Island and state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket).

In addition, Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant has spoken out against the proposal, warning the construction of a second Caithness plant could push her community “off the economic cliff.”

The village has argued a way to make good with Long Island Power Authority over its decreasingly needed plant — and LIPA’s legal contention its Port Jeff plant’s property tax value is over-assessed and has been for years — could be to increase its output capacity. If constructed, the Caithness II plant, which would be built nearby the company’s first Yaphank plant opened in 2009, could theoretically kill plans to repower the Port Jefferson plan, according to the village.

Port Jeff Village and the town have said a settlement is nearing in an eight-year-long legal fight with LIPA, that will likely result in a gradual decrease in revenue from the plant’s property taxes, which help fund budgets for the village, Port Jefferson School District, the fire department and the public library.

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