Simple Good in Port Jefferson offers zero waste and sustainable products. Photo by David Luces
Millions of people around the world demanded action from world leaders on climate change as part of the Global Climate Strike Sept. 20. The protests have put the ongoing crisis back in the forefront.
Recently, New York lawmakers aimed to tackle the climate change issue head on, as they passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, a bill that will aggressively target greenhouse gas emissions in the state. On Long Island, there are plans for two offshore wind projects, located off the East End and South Shore. The wind farms will provide close to 1,700 megawatts of energy, and are expected to power more than 1 million homes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has mandated 9,000 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2035.
Simple Good in Port Jefferson sells items made to be reusable or nontoxic to the environment. Photo from Melanie Gonzalez
While those goals are in the distant future, there are still things the average person can do on their own to help in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation.
“It all comes to educating people and making sure they are aware of these issues,” said Melanie Gonzalez, owner of Simple Good at 35 Chandler Square in Port Jefferson which offers a number of sustainable and zero waste items.
Gonzalez said the inspiration for the store came after buying plastic toys for years for her son, Julian, when she noticed the toys would break easily and she was left with tons of plastic packaging.
“I was like, ‘What happens to all this plastic and where does it go?’” she said. “I was totally ignorant … but once I learned the facts [on plastic waste], it was life changing.”
Since then, Gonzalez has been an advocate of reducing plastic waste and protecting the environment. She believes Long Island has moved in the right direction on climate change and plastic reduction, but it may also come down to changing people’s habits and behaviors.
The Rocky Point resident said it could be as simple as switching your plastic toothbrush with alternative that is made out of bamboo, which is more cost effective and in turn better for the environment.
Gonzalez said everybody should avoid single-use plastic items and recommended using your own utensils when ordering takeout food. She also spoke on the importance of composting and recycling.
“People are frustrated about recycling,” she said. “Long Island isn’t the easiest place to recycle.”
Last year, the towns of Brookhaven, Smithtown and Huntington had a rude awakening about their recycling practices when China announced it would cut its intake of U.S. recyclables by a huge margin. Municipalities across the nation were affected. In just one example, Brookhaven Town has moved back to asking residents to separate their garbage.
Gonzalez said she remains optimistic that the climate change movement on the Island is on the right track.
A non toxic dishwashing bar that is sold at Simple Good in Port Jeff. Image from Melanie Gonzalez
Elisabeth Van Roijen, vice president of the Sierra Club at Stony Brook University, said Long Island is a much better place environmentally than it has been in the past.
With about 60 other SBU students, she attended the Global Climate Strike rally in New York City. The Sierra Club at SBU helps students gain experience in political activism as well as experience the outdoors first hand.
“The experience as a whole was incredible,” she said.
The senior at SBU said the plans for the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and offshore wind is something she is hopeful for.
“The only problem is that it takes time, but having a goal is good because it pushes us to achieve results faster,” Van Roijen said.
The chemical engineering major added that getting to those goals will need behavior and culture changes.
“We have to start teaching these things at a younger age, as it is much harder to break out of habits when you get older,” she said. “It comes down to being more mindful.”
Above, author Jungle Bob with the inspiration for his first book, a legless lizard.
Robert “Jungle Bob” Smith’s lifelong passion has been to learn everything he can about reptiles and amphibians. With a wealth of knowledge he has made it his mission to educate the public about these fascinating but mostly misunderstood creatures. The owner of Jungle Bob’s Reptile World in Selden and Oakdale presents hundreds of educational shows on Long Island every year and has a healthy following on YouTube.
Now the entrepreneur and educator can add author to his resume with the release of “Lenny … A Most Unusual Reptile,” the first in a series of children’s books with an anti-bullying message that teaches us that “our differences are what make us so unique.” Resembling a comic strip, the paperback also doubles as a coloring book with illustrations by Steve Sabella. I recently had the opportunity to interview Jungle Bob as he prepares for a book signing in Huntington on Oct. 3.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My family is from Hells Kitchen in Manhattan, but I grew up in West Babylon, which is my alma mater. I currently live in Islip Terrace.
When did you realize you had a special love for animals, especially reptiles?
It was when I first moved to West Babylon at age 6. Being from Manhattan everything was new to me, even grass and trees, but it was the wildlife that I couldn’t get enough of. West Babylon was more rural back in those days.
What was your favorite place to visit as a child?
My favorite place to go as a child was the pond down the block from my house, Beaver Lake. It was there that I encountered reptiles, amphibians, fishing, ice skating and first experienced the outdoors in general.
What was your favorite children’s book?
My mom was always reading to me as a child and there were many, but “Curious George” sticks out. Reading to my three kids, “Good Night Moon” was a favorite.
Aside from operating your pet stores, what else do you like to do?
Jungle Bob has performed over 1,000 educational shows in the area since opening 10 years ago. That has kept me pretty busy! I love the outdoors. Long Island has so many great places to hike. In the summer you can find me on any of the South Shore beaches, playing my favorite game Frisbee, which I am quite accomplished in. I am also a traveler with over 50 trips overseas, all in search of unusual wildlife and the outdoors.
What is your favorite animal?
A snake. Hands down. The first animal I ever captured was a garter snake in my front yard. I had been in the neighborhood for only a few days and didn’t connect with the local kids yet. One day I heard a scream from the other side of the hedges and this snake came slithering through to my side. I inexplicably picked it up just in time for all the locals to see as they had circled around the hedges to follow it. I was an instant celebrity. Then it bit me, and I was instantly cool. Luckily garter snakes aren’t venomous but I had no idea what species I was holding; it just fascinated me in the way it moved. It didn’t blink, it was smoother than it looked, and the kids were mesmerized. My dad was a WWII veteran and a NYC cop and he ran for his gun! My mother was praying in Italian! They had all the fake facts about snakes. I have been hooked ever since.
Did you have many pets growing up?
We had cats mostly, as my mom liked them, but in the basement I always had snakes, turtles and frogs.
What inspired you to write this book?
Reptiles truly suffer from fake news. Myths associated with them have survived for centuries, all the way back to the Bible in fact. And I saw this misinformation then seep into children’s books. Why are they always creepy, crawly and up to no good? I correct those misnomers in every lecture but then decided to go one step further and make a factual children’s book to reinforce the truth. Lenny was born.
How long have you been working on it?
Ten years! This book has been on my things to do list for a decade! I decided to just finish it in 2019 as a New Year’s resolution.
What is the book about?
Although the goal was to paint reptiles in the proper light, the book is about anti-bullying. We use animals instead of people to point out how wrong it is to make fun of someone else because they are different and acknowledge that not only is it okay to be different … it may work out to your advantage!
Tell us about the main character, Lenny. What kind of lizard is he and where does his species live?
Lenny is a reptile known as a legless lizard. There are many species of these around the globe. Steve and Imodeled the drawing after the Russian/Eastern European legless, but the story takes place in more familiar turf: Florida. There are legless lizards there too.
What other creatures are represented in the book?
There are snakes, who are the antagonists to Lenny; a tortoise who is wise and helpful; a raccoon and an owl who are the “bad guys,” more appropriately predators; and another legless lizard named Lena who befriends Lenny and sets him straight about who he is.
Why did you pick the topic of bullying?
It wasn’t the forethought 10 years ago, but it clearly emerged as the topic after my many many edits over the years. I watched kids get bullied in my youth and no one ever stepped in to help. It’s a horrible thing to do and this is just one more way to reinforce how wrong it is.
What message do you hope to pass on?
I hope that all aged readers (parents for sure) learn something new about our natural world, like the differences between snakes and lizards, and that all these unusual animals aren’t evil in any way and that reptiles are often the victims of mammals and birds, not the other way around.
How cool that you decided to make it a coloring book also.
We figured they would just sell in the stores and the kids could bring in their work to show me! We are making individual sheets of certain pages for that and plan to hang them on the walls of the stores.
What kind of feedback have you gotten?
Of course it appeals to all reptile enthusiasts but every parent who picked it up has said something positive about the anti-bullying message, the quality of the drawings, the coloring book aspect, etc.
Is the book self-published?
Yes it is. It was fairly painless actually, once we understood the limitations of printing something in a short run and the costs involved in general we got it done fairly quickly.
What advice would you give to someone who is writing their first book?
Get it done! Make time away from all other daily interruptions. My excuse is running a retail business with live inventory for 10 years. It distracted me to say the least.
Who is your target audience ?
This book is geared for 3- to 7-year-olds plus parents and grandparents, who tend to know the least about reptiles.
What will your next book be about?
It’s a secret, but anyone who has seen my shows knows the cast of characters I travel with! Castro the Cuban iguana, Jabba the African bullfrog, Rosie the tarantula and a dozen more should all have a book about them.
“Lenny … A Most Unusual Reptile” is available at Jungle Bob’s Reptile World in Selden at 984 Middle Country Road, in Oakdale at 4130 Sunrise Highway, online at www.JungleBobsReptileWorld.com and at Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington. Meet Jungle Bob along with Lenny the Lizard and friends at a book signing event at Book Revue (631-271-1442) on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.
Please note: This article has been updated to reflect a change in the time for the book signing.
Many businesses in the area will decorate their windows in support like the Cutting Hut in Port Jefferson Station.
Paint Port Pink, Mather Hospital’s annual breast cancer awareness campaign, returns this year with a full calendar of events. The month-long breast health outreach by Mather’s Fortunato Breast Health Center raises awareness, provides educational information and fosters solidarity in the community.
Paint Port Pink begins Tuesday, Oct. 1 with a Turn on Your Lights event for local community partners and residents, who turn on pink lights that were distributed by the hospital along with flags and information on breast health. Many community partners decorate their display windows with a pink theme and Mather recognizes the best efforts through their annual window decorating contest.
Mather Hospital employees dressed in pink during last year’s event.
New this year is Ladies Night Out at Comsewogue Public Library on Wednesday, Oct. 2, designed to celebrate women’s health by combining fun activities with wellness information. Participants can attend a mini-paint night, make their own body scrubs and get a back and neck massage by Mather-affiliated chiropractors. They can also learn about breast health from the Fortunato Breast Health Center’s Co-Medical Director Dr. Michelle Price, participate in a Reiki circle and get information on good nutrition for women from a Mather registered dietitian and sample healthy smoothies.
The Pink Your Pumpkin contest also returns this year. The contest asks participants to visit a local farm stand or craft store and find the perfect pumpkin, use their imagination to decorate it, and then submit a photo to [email protected] before Oct. 20. The top three winners will be selected by employee leaders at Mather Hospital on Oct. 21, and the results will be posted on Mather’s Facebook page.
Wear Pink Day is Oct. 18 – which is World Mammography Day – when Mather employees and community residents are encouraged to dress in pink and post their photos at #paintportpink.
Paint Port Pink community partners will again offer special promotions and fundraisers for the Fortunato Breast Health Center’s Fund for Uninsured, which offers no-cost or discounted mammography screenings to those with little or no insurance. These include Kilwin’s, Panera Bread, Chick-fil-A, Amazing Olive and Ethan Allen Furniture, Setauket.
The fall semester of HealthyU, Mather’s seminar series and exhibit fair, is on Saturday, Oct. 26. The day will feature many informative seminars including Women and Heart Health, the Brittle Bones of Osteoporosis, a Checklist for Health after 60, Tax Tips for Seniors and Staying Young Forever. Register for this free event at https://www.matherhospital.org/healthyu-registration/.
For more information about Paint Port Pink, please call 631-476-2723 or visit www.matherhospital.org/pink.
Starting this fall, registered voters may vote early in the general election. New York has long lagged behind most of the country when it comes to voting. During this past legislative session however, many election reform bills were passed and signed into law. These new laws significantly change the way you can register and vote in New York State. Some reforms have taken effect already, some will take effect in the next year, and two are constitutional amendments that need to be passed by both houses of the Legislature after the next statewide election (2020) and then be approved by the voters.
One of the key reforms adopted this year is the provision for early voting across the state. Because off-year elections (local races, not congressional or presidential) have significantly lower turnout than for federal/state election years, early voting in 2019 will serve as a proving ground for 2020’s expected high voter turnout for president.
The Suffolk County Board of Elections (SC BOE) has chosen 10 early voting sites in the county, one site in each township. The requirement that residents of each town vote only at the site in their town, rather than give them the flexibility to vote at any of the 10 sites, has been a strong concern. However in meetings with the SC BOE, they’ve said that short lead time (due to lack of NYS regulations), required new equipment, network security and avoiding anyone casting ballots in more than one poll site were factors.
AS OF SEPTEMBER 25, 2019, THIS HAS CHANGED. According to a Suffolk County Board of Elections statement: “Early voters will be able to cast a ballot at any of Suffolk’s 10 Early Voting locations. This expansion follows the Suffolk Board of Elections’ successfully completing vast interoperability, communications and security testing of the Board’s specialized iPads at each the County’s ten polling locations. This operational testing was necessary to ensure that a voter who voted in one early polling place wasn’t able to subsequently cast a second ballot at another polling place.”
You still must be registered to vote in advance of voting early in NYS. October 11, 2019, is the last day to register to vote in person at your county Board of Elections office or to postmark your voter registration form (which should be mailed to your county BOE office). In NYS, you cannot register to vote during early voting or at the polls on Election Day.
Voting at an early voting poll site will be different from the way you have voted on Election Day. There will be electronic poll books instead of the familiar paper registration books. However, you will still be expected to sign in, receive a ballot, complete the ballot and feed the ballot into a scanner for counting. The ballot at an early voting poll site will be identical to the ballot provided on Nov. 5, Election Day.
Once you submit your ballot in person, at an early voting poll site, you cannot vote again at an early voting poll site, at your usual poll site on Election Day or by absentee ballot. Once you submit your ballot, you have completed voting and cannot change your vote.
If you are at an early voting poll site or at your usual poll site on Election Day, and your name is not in the electronic poll book, ask to complete an affidavit ballot. Make sure you are at the correct poll site for your address (either in early voting or on Election Day), and if so, do not leave without completing an affidavit ballot.
Remember that if you prefer to vote on Election Day, Nov. 5, you still must go to your usual assigned poll site to vote (not the one early voting site in your town).
Suffolk’s 10 early voting sites will be open daily, including weekends, between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3, 2019. All sites will have the same hours, but those hours will be different each day to accommodate voters’ schedules. All 10 early voting sites are handicap-accessible. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 4.
For a list of the 10 early voting sites in Suffolk (which are subject to change) and their hours, call the SC BOE at 631-852-4500 or check its website https://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/BOE/Early-Voting-Information.
Lisa Scott is president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit https://lwv-suffolkcounty.org, email [email protected] or call 631-862-6860.
Please note: This article was updated on Sept. 27.
Al Kopcienski has been a longtime member of the Miller Place Fire Department. File photo by Greg Catalano
Starting in 1959 and continuing to now, Al Kopcienski has spent 60 years in the Port Jefferson Rotary, and in a meeting Sept. 26 members described the man as the epitome of the rotary motto: “Service above self.”
Al Kopcienski was honored at the last rotary meeting for 60 years of service. Photo from Port Jefferson Rotary
Back in the day, joining the rotary wasn’t as simple as asking to join. Kopcienski said he remembered being “put through the ringer,” before being inducted, having been sponsored by his father-in-law Stuart Gracey. Meetings back then were hosted at Teddy’s Hotel, located at the corner of Main Street and East Broadway before later moving over to the Elks Lodge.
In decades past, the rotary raised much of its money through concerts and minstrel shows, though the biggest fundraiser for years was the annual event held on the grounds of Mather Hospital, which in the early years included a horse show. Then, rotary members said Kopcienski would spend hours collecting rocks from the horse show grounds in case a horse would get injured on one. He would be a part of those fundraising efforts, joining other members in building giant cement fire pits and helping in square dances and barbecues.
Other than rotary fundraising, he has been particularly active in service projects to Camp PaQuaTuck, a summer camp for children with special needs, and the nonprofit marrow registry Gift of Life. He has built and maintained bus shelters in the Village of Port Jefferson, said Rotarian Ed DiNunzio, and has shopped for Christmas gifts for children who would not otherwise get them.
As an active member of the Miller Place Fire Department, he spent hours in 2012 on the east end of Long Island battling wildfires. His service in the face of disaster has traveled even further. He and his wife Honor have a home on the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean. In 2017 the category 5 Hurricane Irma followed by Hurricane Maria decimated the island. He has traveled there several times a year to aid in the cleanup and rebuilding.
“For the past thirty-seven years, I have consistently witnessed Al using his knowledge and expertise, and devoting his time and effort, to help the Club achieve its goals of service both to the local community, the larger community of Suffolk County and the world,” DiNunzio said.
Sound Beach Fire District headquarters at 152 Sound Beach Blvd. Photo from Google Maps
Sound Beach residents were invited to a public information meeting Sept. 24 at the Sound Beach Fire District headquarters to provide public comment on a proposed bond resolution to fund repairs and renovations to the building.
The scope of work for the fire district headquarters would cost $2,920,000, officials said. Repairs to the parking lot and concrete apron replacement would cost $750,000, while $250,000 would go toward epoxy floor finishing in the ambulance bays and apparatus room. Window replacements on both floors of the building would cost $400,000. Other repairs include a sprinkler system replacement and a new fire alarm system. The last major renovation on the building was 30 years ago.
The tax rate impact for homeowners would approximately be $4.53 per 100 of assessed value. Homeowners would see a $91 tax increase.
The referendum vote for the proposed projects will be held on Oct. 15 from 2 to 9 p.m. at 152 Sound Beach Blvd. If passed, construction could begin during fall 2020.
Veggies and fruits and flowers piled in pyramids and spilling out of bushel baskets, their perfumes rewarding summer’s work and heralding its end, holding on to summer and portending autumn turn me into a kid in a candy shop.
I know that when I talk about farm stands I tend to wax rhapsodic. I can’t help it. When I am anywhere that I can pick up the scent of ripe tomatoes ready for slicing or saucing; anywhere that I can indulge myself in bright bouquets of zinnias, asters, mums, Montauk daisies, statice and sunflowers; anywhere I can grab bunches of beets, kohlrabi, broccoli, eggplants, beans, squash, cucumbers, corn and peppers for pickling; anywhere I can get pears, peaches,plums, apples and quinces for pies and preserves, I get out of control.
I bring them home, arrange them in bowls and baskets because I love to look at them and also because refrigeration steals much of their flavor and texture. So I use them up quickly while they’re at their peak. Some I just wash and eat raw; others get sauteed, steamed, grilled or baked; and still others become soups, stews, sauces and relishes, chutneys, cakes and compotes to freeze or preserve and savor while Mother Earth sleeps and we dream our winter dreams.
Eggplant Caviar
YIELD:Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds eggplant
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
Coarse salt and black pepper to taste
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
10 fresh plum tomatoes; peeled, seeded and juiced
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise; score their cut surfaces with a sharp knife; place on cookie sheet, cut side up, 25 minutes or until pulp is very soft; set aside to cool. With a spoon scoop out pulp and drain in a mesh drainer 15 minutes. Reserve half of eggplant skin, then cut into large pieces; puree with garlic and basil in food processor; add drained eggplant pulp, salt and pepper and half the oil; pulse a few times to combine and form a coarse puree; transfer to serving bowl and chill well. Puree tomato pulp and juice with remaining one-quarter cup oil and salt and pepper to taste; place in small bowl as accompaniment to eggplant. Serve the same day with toasted Italian bread and extra virgin olive oil.
Apple Nut Loaf
Apple Nut Loaf
YIELD:Makes one loaf.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups peeled, cored chopped apples
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon plus one small pinch of salt
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place apple slices in a small heavy saucepan with the water and pinch of salt; simmer until apples are tender but not mushy; puree and set aside to cool. In a large bowl thoroughly combine the remaining teaspoon salt, flour, the ¾ cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; stir in walnuts. In medium bowl combine pureed apples with oil and egg; stir into dry mixture just enough to moisten. Turn into a greased 9- × 5- × 3-inch loaf pan, sprinkle top surface with the tablespoon sugar and bake one hour or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Serve slightly warm with butter or apple butter.
Lizzie’s Corn Relish
Corn Relish
YIELD:Makes 6 to 8 pints.
INGREDIENTS:
12 ears fresh corn
10 cups chopped green cabbage
3 yellow or red bell peppers, chopped
3 onions, chopped
8 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup mustard seeds
DIRECTIONS:
Remove kernels from ears of corn; separate any that stick together. In a very large nonreactive pot combine all ingredients; bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour into hot sterilized pint jars and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 15 to 20minutes. With rubber-tipped tongs remove jars from bath and set aside to cool. Check that all jars have sealed; refrigerate any that have not sealed within 12 hours and use as soon as possible. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark dry place until ready to serve with meat, poultry or fish.
Artist Carol Hummel and her daughter Molly Sedensky from the Hooked@LIM tree project wrapped a tree on the grounds of the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook with a dedication ceremony on Sept. 15. Using over 250 skeins of nylon yarn, the community-based project began in June with 40 volunteers crocheting the individual elements needed to cover the silver maple that stands adjacent to the Carriage Museum on Route 25A. Five other trees on the museum grounds were wrapped in 2015. “The Long Island Museum trees are truly art by the people, for the people, and should be cherished as symbols of community pride,” said Hummel.
Josephine Gruposso recently competed in a New York State bagging championship. Here she stands at the Northport Stop & Shop. Photo by Kyle Barr
What goes into bagging items in the grocery store?
It’s not a thought held by the hundreds who check out their groceries in local supermarkets every hour of every day. For Josephine Gruposso of Port Jefferson Station, it is a matter of deftness, intelligence and speed.
Josephine Gruposso recently competed in a New York State bagging championship. Here she stands at the Northport Stop & Shop. Photo by Kyle Barr
“I think it’s fun — some people might think it’s silly,” Gruposso said. “But when you work in a supermarket, with silly little things like this, I feel like bagging makes my time go quicker. It’s an amazing way to interact with your customers, an amazing way to interact with your employees.”
Just this last weekend Gruposso, 36, traveled upstate to participate in the 2019 New York State Best Bagger Finals at the Stop & Shop in Poughkeepsie. She, along with her Poughkeepsie-based teammate Joanne Chapman, huddled over shopping bags Sept. 21 to see who could stack and fill the fastest and neatest.
First, New York grocery stores held competitions in “heats” with multiple baggers competing against each other at a time. Each store sends two employees, and the Port Jeff Station resident was chosen for Stop & Shop.
Gruposso has been working with the supermarket chain since 2008 and has only recently started training as a customer service manager. She said she started to become interested in bagging skills when she worked the register many years ago in a store in Rhode Island. She first heard of the competition there, and though she only got to the second round in that state’s competition, she found the experience fun.
“I made it a game — and when we got really busy, I said: Okay I’ll put my timer here and we’re going to see how fast we can bag this.”
Gruposso said she has developed a bagging method that generally allows her to bag $20 worth of merchandise in under a minute, and a $100 order in one to two minutes. First, she separates the products, then places boxes around the sides of the bag to straighten and provide structure, then lays cans and bottles in the middle, which gives the packed bag balance and ensures the sides don’t tear.
“I made it a game with my cashiers, so at the same time I was practicing,” she said. “I would see how fast each customer would take me.”
She competed among 16 other contestants from stores around New York, including Stop & Shop, D’Agostino Supermarket, Gristedes, Hanaford, Price Chopper, PSK Supermarket, ShopRite and Tops Market. Those who win have the chance to travel to San Diego for the National Best Bagger Champion at the National Grocers Association annual convention.
Yes, there is a national competition, and there is a cash prize of $10,000.
The competition has gone on since 1983, when the American Paper Institute sponsored the first competition. Moving on since then, and with plastic bag laws across the state, the competition has switched to reusable bags.
The competition went well, she said, and while she didn’t win, she said she had fun watching others use different rapid bagging techniques.
The Town of Smithtown recoups $222,000 in losses from V. Garofalo Carting after sentencing with restitution in a plea agreement. Photo from the Town of Smithtown
A Smithtown garbage contractor has been sentenced for defrauding the Town of Smithtown for $222,000.
The scheme entailed illegally passing off over the course of several years consumer waste from locations across Long Island as commercial waste generated by businesses in the Town of Smithtown.
“These defendants were stealing money from the taxpayers in the Town of Smithtown and from their own hardworking employees,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini (D) at a Sept. 20 press event following the sentencing.
Mario Garofalo, 61, of East Northport, and his cousin Robert “Bobby” Garofalo, 64, of Kings Park, each pleaded guilty to felony charges May 13 for attempted enterprise corruption. The corporate entity, V. Garofalo Carting Inc., also pleaded guilty to enterprise corruption. The three defendants were sentenced by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice William J. Condon to conditional discharges, which include restitution payments of $222,000 to the Town of Smithtown. The case also found that the business had violated prevailing wage laws and was ordered to pay $32,000 to underpaid company employees.
“That’s $222,000 in residents tax dollars that these defendants pocketed for no reason other than their own greed.”
— Tim Sini
The Garofalo attorney did not respond to a telephone request for comment. Details in the plea agreement show that the company forfeited $1.1 million in cash plus assets that include a front end loader and a metal container. Payments were made to the town from that forfeiture.The remaining assets were used to cover court costs and other public safety initiatives.
The case, according to the DA, was an extremely complex investigation and prosecution.
In 1990, New York State ordered most Long Island landfills closed, according to the town. Consequently, the town has paid Covanta Waste Management for the disposal of commercial waste from certain businesses operating within the town. To be acceptable, the commercial waste must be generated from known businesses within the town, registered by unique accounts with the town, and the registered businesses must pay fees and receive a unique medallion identifying the establishment as part of the plan. Carting companies, including Garofalo Carting, submit a manifest each time Smithtown commercial waste is brought to Covanta, attesting to the contents.
The investigation revealed that the Garofalos and their company repeatedly disposed of waste at Covanta’s facility in East Northport that was collected throughout Long Island from their customers, including through roll-off containers, then falsely attesting that the waste was solely Town of Smithtown commercial waste.
In total, the investigation found that the Garofalo corporation unlawfully avoided paying $222,000 in fees, which were instead paid by the town as a result of the scheme.
“That’s $222,000 in residents tax dollars that these defendants pocketed for no reason other than their own greed,” Sini said.
The defendants profited from the scheme by falsifying business records, including their garbage disposal manifests, and submitting them to the Town of Smithtown for payment, the DA stated. The defendants also profited from the fees collected from their private customers for both garbage pickup as well as roll-off container rentals, according to the DA.
“Today’s verdict is the product of an intricate intergovernmental investigation, which was exceptionally well litigated,” said town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R).
During the course of the investigation, the Town of Smithtown also referred to the District Attorney’s Office the issue of prevailing wage claims by employees of Garofalo Carting.
With the criminal enterprise effectively shut down, the DA said justice has now been served for Smithtown residents.
“Enterprise corruption cases are often extremely complex, and certainly require a lot of hard work and dedication by investigators and prosecutors, but our office is determined,” Sini said. “We are committed to dedicating resources and utilizing innovative strategies to seek justice in each and every case, and that’s exactly what was done here today.”
“Today’s verdict is the product of an intricate intergovernmental investigation, which was exceptionally well litigated.”
— Ed Wehrheim
This case was prosecuted by county Criminal Investigations Division Chief Megan O’Donnell and Assistant District Attorney Lucie Kwon, of the county Financial Investigations & Money Laundering Bureau.
“I would like to commend the detectives who worked diligently on this case and I hope our strong partnership with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office sends a message that fraudulent business practices will not be tolerated in Suffolk County,” said county Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart.
The Town of Smithtown’s six-year contract with Garofalo Carting, which was from 2014 to 2020, is now void, according to the supervisor’s press office. The Town Board has instead hired National Waste Services, of Bay Shore, to replace services for garbage pickup at its Sept. 3 meeting. National Waste Services recently purchased Garofalo Carting and has retained the Garofalo trucks and employees, according to Smithtown’s Attorney Matthew Jakubowski.
The town paid $2.1 million to Garofalo Carting in 2018 for its services, which included garbagepickup for six of the 12 solid waste districts in the town. The contracts are based on weight of waste collected annually.
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