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Yearly Archives: 2022

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Michael Ardolino

By Michael Ardolino

In last month’s column, I wrote about how the real estate market experiences its ups and downs. A few current trends are an example of how true that is.

Mortgage rates

While mortgage rates dropped half a percent the week ending July 7, they shifted slightly back up the following week to 5.51% for a 30-year fixed mortgage.

Keep in mind that the rates we have been seeing are still historically low, even with experts forecasting that the Federal Reserve will boost rates by ¾ of a percentage point at its next meeting.

Some financial experts believe we are headed toward a recession, and you may wonder what happens to interest rates in that scenario. Due to fewer people taking out loans, banks may offer interest rate programs to incentivize people. Currently, interest rates are still very low and can be locked in.

Inventory trend

After an extended seller’s market, there still isn’t enough inventory to keep up with the demand. Keep an eye on mortgage rates, though. Some may decide not to buy or sell, thinking they’ll get a better deal by waiting. This may not be the best decision for buyers or sellers and may also lead to an inventory increase. 

Experts are now forecasting that the increase will be more than 9% by the end of 2022, which means more competition. This increase will not occur instantaneously; it will take some time. Get that For Sale sign up before your neighbor does.

Foreclosures may play a factor in inventory increases, too. The COVID-19 Eviction and Foreclosures Act of 2020 enacted a moratorium until Jan.15, 2022. 

While experts are seeing a steady climb in foreclosures throughout the country, the ATTOM U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows New York’s foreclosures are 13.3% less than the same period in 2020. It’s a trend to keep an eye on as the more houses foreclosed on, the more properties are available to buyers.

Another factor is the federal act helped slow down foreclosures during a time when homes were appreciating. For some who were about to default on their mortgages before the moratorium, they can now sell their homes for more money and pay off what they owed.

To touch on appreciation, according to a One Key MLS report, median sales prices in Suffolk County showed a nearly 11% increase from June 2021 to June 2022.

Here’s more good news for Suffolk County. In the last few months, the majority of homes were still selling in less than a month and about 23% quicker than they did last year during the same period. 

Pricing

It’s all about pricing. When talking to a real estate professional, they should discuss current market factors, as well as details of your home, and help you price it accordingly. Also, proper pricing will enable you to sell your home to your timing and pricing expectations.

Takeaway

There are many moving pieces regarding how well a person will do when selling or buying a home. Considering buying your first home, downsizing, moving into a bigger place or to another state before the end of the year, now is the time to discuss your plans with a real estate professional. So … let’s talk.

Michael Ardolino is the Founder/Owner-Broker of Realty Connect USA.

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Northport Public Library, 151 Laurel Ave., Northport will host a Job Fair on Wednesday, July 27 from 10 a.m. to noon.  Meet representatives from Elara Caring, SCOPE, Forest Hills Financial Group, NYS Dept of Corrections, NY Life, Citation Healthcare Labels, Developmental Disabilities Institute, Retail Management Inc, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Circor, Suffolk County Police Dept, Suffolk Transportation and more! Bring your resume and dress to impress. To register, visit bit.ly/NorthportDOL. For more information, call 631-261-6930.

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It is very important to stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids, especially if you have a history of stone formation. METRO photo
Once you’ve had one stone, your risk for others increases

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

Kidney stones can have no symptoms, but more often they present with the classic symptoms of blood in the urine and colicky pain. This pain can be intermittent or constant, and it can range from dull to extremely painful, described by some as being worse than giving birth, shot or burned. The pain may radiate from the kidneys to the bladder and even to the groin in males, depending on the obstruction (1).

Stones are usually diagnosed through the symptoms and either abdominal x-rays or non-contrast CT scans.

Unfortunately, the first line treatment for passing kidney stones — at least small ones — involves supportive care. This means that patients are given pain medications and plenty of fluids until the stone(s) pass. Usually stones that are <4mm pass spontaneously. Location is an important factor as well, with stones closest to the opening of the urethra more likely to pass (2).

Generally, if you’ve passed a kidney stone, you know it. In the case of a stone too large to pass naturally, a urologist may use surgery, ultrasound, or a combination of methods to break it into smaller pieces, so it can be passed.

Unfortunately, once a patient forms one stone, the incidence of others increases significantly over time. The good news is that there are several lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

First, it is very important to stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids, especially if you have a history of stone formation (3). You don’t have to rely on drinking lots of water to accomplish this. Increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables that are moisture-filled can help, as well.

Calcium from diet vs. supplements

One of the simplest methods is to reduce your intake of calcium supplements, including foods fortified with calcium. There are two types of stones. Calcium oxalate is the dominant one, occurring approximately 80 percent of the time (4). Calcium supplements, therefore, increase the risk of kidney stones. When physicians started treating women for osteoporosis with calcium supplements, the rate of kidney stones increased by 37 percent (5). According to findings from the Nurses’ Health Study, those who consumed highest amount of supplemental calcium were 20 percent more likely to have kidney stones than those who consumed the lowest amount (6). It did not matter whether participants were taking calcium citrate or calcium carbonate supplements.

Interestingly, calcium from dietary sources actually has the opposite effect, decreasing risk. In the same study, those participants who consumed the highest amount of dietary calcium had a 35 percent reduction in risk, compared to those who were in the lowest group. Calcium intake should not be too low, for that also increases kidney stone risk. Changing your source of calcium is an important key to preventing kidney stones.

Watch your sodium intake

It’s important to reduce sodium for many reasons, but we’ll provide one more here. Again, in the Nurses’ Health Study, participants who consumed 4.5 g sodium per day had a 30 percent higher risk of kidney stones than those who consumed 1.5 g per day (6). The reason is that increased sodium causes increased urinary excretion of calcium. When there is more calcium going through the kidneys, there is a higher chance of stones.

Limit animal protein

Animal protein also may play a role. In a five-year, randomized clinical trial, men who reduced their consumption of animal protein to approximately two ounces per day, as well as lowering their sodium, were 51 percent less likely to experience a kidney stone than those who consumed a low-calcium diet (7). These were men who had a history of stone formation. The reason animal protein may increase the risk of calcium oxalate stones more than vegetable protein is that animal protein’s higher sulfur content produces more acid. This acid is neutralized by release of calcium from the bone (8). That calcium can then promote kidney stones.

Reverse blood pressure naturally

Some medical conditions may increase the likelihood of stone formation. For example, in a cross-sectional study with Italian men, those with high blood pressure had a two times greater risk of kidney stones than those who had a normal blood pressure (9). Amazingly, it did not matter whether or not the patients were treated for high blood pressure with medications; the risk remained. This is just one more reason to treat the underlying cause of blood pressure, not just the symptoms.

The most productive way to avoid the potentially excruciating experience of kidney stones is to make these relatively simple lifestyle changes. The more changes that you implement, the lower your likelihood of stones.

References: 

(1) emedicine January 1, 2008. (2) J Urol. 2006;175(2):575. (3) J Urol. 1996;155(3):839. (4) N Engl J Med. 2004;350(7):684. (5) Kidney Int 2003;63:1817–23. (6) Ann Intern Med. 1997;126(7):497-504. (7) N Engl J Med. 2002 Jan 10;346(2):77-84. (8) J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988;66(1):140. (9) BMJ. 1990;300(6734):1234.

Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com.

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The Liverpool Shuffle

Harborfields Public Library, 31 Broadway, Greenlawn hosts an outdoor concert by Beatles tribute band The Liverpool Shuffle on Wednesday, July 27 at 7 p.m.

Originally formed in 2003 by Joe Refano, (formerly of Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz’ Monkees Band), The Liverpool Shuffle brings together veterans of the New York Music Scene with a combined 200 years of musical experience between them. They are all avowed BEATLEMANIACS and it shows! The Liverpool Shuffle provides a fun, entertaining LIVE BEATLE SHOW with a real emphasis on the music. They play it the way The Beatles did!

Join the Liverpool Shuffle on the front lawn of the Library for an exciting outdoor concert. Tickets are not required, the concert is open to all. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. In the event of rain, the performance will be postponed.  A rain date will be announced if needed.

For more information, call 631-757-4200.

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Suffolk County Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the drowning death of a woman in Mount Sinai on July 21.

Sixth Precinct officers responded to 10 Kingston Road at 7:51 p.m. after Kihee Kim, 94, was found unresponsive in a backyard pool.

Kim, who was staying at the home with a relative, was transported to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson via ambulance where she was pronounced dead.

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Image from Metro

For many in the area, Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. is a time they put aside to talk about stocks and investing.

Through the pandemic, Steven Kelman, of Port Jefferson Station, and Bill Greenbaum, of Fort Salonga, have been offering the Bates House Investment Group through Zoom. The workshop provides those interested in learning about investing with a weekly discussion and learning experience. Members discuss different investments such as stocks, bonds and more. They also talk about how current events affect portfolios, and the workshop leaders share insights into investing, investment resources and analyzing the stock market.

“We had some people that started with absolutely no knowledge at all, and they’re presenting reports like they’ve been doing it for 20 years now,” Kelman said.

The workshops initially were offered through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Stony Brook University, better known as OLLI. Before the pandemic, the class was moved from SBU to the Bates House in Setauket. When COVID-19 hit, and the pandemic lockdowns began, Zoom enabled Kelman and Greenbaum to reach more people, even those who don’t live in the Three Village area or on Long Island. Kelman said with non-OLLI members interested in participating, the workshop leaders decided to make it available to anyone interested and no longer offered the class through OLLI.

Greenbaum said Zoom has worked out well for them.

“During the pandemic, it’s really been wonderful that it was a connection point for everyone,” he said.

Greenbaum, who was a global controller in the finance department of Disney before he retired, said when he was younger, he would look over his grandfather’s shoulder when he read stock reports. Kelman, who for 42 years worked for the Federal Aviation Administration after serving in the U.S. Air Force, said he’s been interested in investing on and off for 30 years.

The approximately two dozen workshop members are nonprofessionals, Kelman said, and they range in experience from advanced to beginners. He added that a few have lost a spouse and weren’t sure what to do regarding investments, and the workshop has provided a good starting point.

Greenbaum said it’s impressive to see newcomers who sometimes might sit back at first, but as they begin to learn become more experienced. The two have also learned from the members, Kelman said.

“The diversity of the group is quite amazing, people from all walks of life,” Greenbaum said.

Members attend for free, and no money is actually invested in the market. Each individual picks a stock and researches it. They each then present their choice to the class and the group will discuss and then virtually buy it if they all agree on it. The members keep track of how the stock does and have a mock portfolio. After investing in a particular stock, they will also discuss if they made the right decision.

Kelman said they track about 35 to 40 stocks. He said it constantly changes as they set up a fictitious figure of $250,000. Once they get to that amount, they have to sell something to buy additional stocks, which also teaches when to sell.

Even though the group doesn’t actually invest, many take what they learn and invest on their own.

Greenbaum added that with the market going down recently, the group also provides a form of moral support.

“It’s nice to have a group of people that you could share that with,” he said. “Normally you can’t. This topic is not for everybody.”

For more information, contact Steven Kelman at 631-473-0012.

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Daisy Edgar-Jones and Taylor John Smith in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
Daisy Edgar-Jones in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
Daisy Edgar-Jones in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures
Daisy Edgar-Jones and David Strathairn in a scene from the film. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

Released in 2018, Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdad Sings became one of the best-selling books of all time, with over twelve million copies sold. The story of Kya, a North Carolina marsh girl, was selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club and Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of 2018. In 2019, it was number one on Amazon.com’s Most Sold Books in fiction, as well as The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 and 2020. By February 2022, the novel had achieved 150 weeks on the best seller list. Witherspoon’s production company acquired the rights and has produced the film version. 

The book alternates between two timelines. The first, beginning in 1952, traces Kya’s life as it deteriorates, leaving her alone to fend for herself. The second begins in 1965, with the teenage Kya’s involvement with Chase Andrews, Barkley Cove’s former star quarterback. The relationship builds to Chase’s mysterious death in 1969, for which Kya is arrested and tried.

Lucy Alibar (who co-wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild with Benh Zeitlin) has masterfully fashioned a screenplay that honors Owens’ book but somehow transforms the narrative through judicious editing and small touches connecting past and present. Under Olivia Newman’s seamless direction, the film manages the timeline effortlessly. Cinematographer Polly Morgan has richly shot the film, celebrating the natural world but also giving a dark edge to the town scenes. This triumvirate knows how to call attention to even the subtlest details, weaving the two threads and moving the action perpetually forward.

The film closely follows the book’s dual arcs. Young Kya lives with her loving mother and siblings in a rustic cottage. A child of nature, Kya constantly explores, wondering at flora and fauna. However, her father is short-tempered and abusive. After a particularly brutal beating, her mother leaves, followed quickly by Kya’s older brother and sisters. Left with her often drunk father, Kya navigates his moods and mercurial nature. From him, she embraces the creed that you “can’t trust nobody.” But one day, he abandons the girl. Alone, Kya must learn to survive. 

An African American couple running a small store adjacent to the marsh provides her with the only humanity she knows. Kya grows up an outcast but a survivor. (Her one-day foray to school is particularly painful and poignant.) The only other kindness she receives is from a boy, Tate, who one day guides her home when she is lost.

The young adult Kya becomes involved with Tate, who loves her but goes off to school, never explaining (until later) why he did not reach out to her. Following this, Kya embarks on an unsatisfying and tense relationship with Chase. Although romance and connection are absent, she is still devastated when she discovers Chase’s engagement. 

While there is a good amount of plot, occasional sections sag from a lack of tension. A sense of foregone conclusion hovers over many of the events in Kya’s life. Fortunately, a strong cast holds the film together. 

Daisy Edgar-Jones balances Kya’s acceptance of her outsider status with her desire for a “normal life.” Her fragility contrasts with her self-awareness and a sense of inner core. She brings believability to the transition from uneducated recluse to the gifted artist and published naturalist. (Jojo Regina ably plays the young Kya.) 

Taylor John Smith is sweet and earnest as her true love, Tate. Harris Dickinson’s Chase is a bit too villainous at the outset, presenting no surprise when he turns out to be cruel and manipulative. Sterling Macer Jr. and Michael Hyatt are warm and knowing as the couple who see value in Kya, eschewing the slight caricature of the book’s characters. As Kya’s lawyer Tom Milton, David Strathairn effectively channels Atticus Finch right down the white suit; but his folksy charm balances a low-burn need to see justice. As Kya’s nightmare of a father, Garret Dillahunt brings humanity to the abusive patriarch. 

While the courtroom scenes are almost pedestrian (and fairly predictable), they accomplish what they must do. It is in the more reflective moments where the film succeeds best. Kya learns that “being isolated is one thing; living in fear is another.” Facing her own struggles, she finally understands why her mother had to leave. 

The final sequence is beautiful, honoring the novel’s conclusion but emotionally elevating it, rewarding the viewer with a powerful, honest catharsis. For fans of the book and novices of the story, Where the Crawdad Sings is an engaging, emotional, and effective film.

Rated PG-13, the film is now playing in local theaters.

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Without remediation, the clubhouse at the Port Jefferson Country Club may fall off the bluff within years. File photo by Raymond Janis

During a public meeting at Village Hall on Monday, July 18, Mayor Margot Garant presented to the board of trustees the options for the upland projects to stabilize the East Beach Bluff.

The Port Jefferson Country Club, a village-owned property, is now at risk of losing its clubhouse as coastal erosion has withered away the bluff. Without remediation, the clubhouse is likely to fall off the cliff within years.

Proposals to address the problem have been hotly contested by the public, with one faction favoring preserving the clubhouse and the other favoring a retreat plan. During the meeting, the mayor presented the board with both options, outlining the logistics and some of the expected costs for each.

The upper wall

The first option is a 47-foot-deep steel wall between the clubhouse and the edge of the cliff. This wall would be capped by timber, which Garant said would be safer, cheaper and more aesthetically appealing than a concrete cap.

To slow further erosion, the plans include extensive revegetation of the bluff. This would also avert additional expenses related to drainage.

“When this is installed with all of that vegetation, you’re not going to need any more drainage because that wall will become a stopgap and the vegetation will just soak everything up,” Garant said.

The conceptual layout of the planned design also accommodates two regulation-size tennis courts along with three pickleball courts.

Garant said this project would be approached in two phases. The first phase involves a section of wall aimed at preserving the clubhouse, while the second involves an extension of the wall for racket sports amenities.

Still without hard figures on the expected cost of the wall, Garant recommended that the board move forward with exploring this option. “I recommend putting the upper wall out to bid and getting a hard number on that,” she said.

Managed retreat

The alternative proposal involves the demolition of the current clubhouse, immediate installation of a drainage system along the bluff, and the renovation and expansion of The Turn pub and grub facility to accommodate the existing clubhouse operations.

This retreat plan, based on an estimate provided to the mayor, would cost the village approximately $5 million to $6 million.

The board is likely several weeks away from making any decisions on this matter. 

For additional background, see The Port Times Record’s April 7 story, “On the edge: Port Jeff Village weighs the fate of country club.” 

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"Horseshoe Crab Rising" 48" w x 34" h, by Hank Grebe

An artist’s little black book is often a secret stash of intimate expressions, innermost thoughts, and experimental techniques that lay the groundwork for their final piece. Now some of those secrets will be revealed at the next art exhibit at the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s Mills Pond Gallery in St. James. The juried show,  titled Little Black Book, opens July 23.

‘Eva and the Socks’ by Kyle Blumenthal. Images courtesy of STAC

Juror Carol Fabricatore invited artists to enter works that captured the spirit, movement and emotions of their subject. When selecting the pieces for the show she looked for “works inspired by life…works that conjured narratives…that took us to places we had never seen… or introduced us to people and places.”

Artists build their work through inspiration, references, sketches, models, underpaintings and other modes of planning. Entrants were required to submit writeups digital images, sketches, etc. that showed the evolution of each piece they entered into the show.  

The result is 60 works of art by 40 artists created using a variety of mediums including acrylic, charcoal, collage, colored pencil, gouache, graphite, ink, oil, pastel and watercolor.

Exhibiting artists include Amal, Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Nancy Bass, Hema Bharadwaj, Kyle Blumenthal, Renee Caine, Nan Cao, Benjamin Cisek, Caryn Coville, Yunyi Dai, Kirsten DiGiovanni, James Dill, Jacob Docksey, Amanda Dolly, John Edwe, Ella Emsheimer, Nicholas Frizalone, Ayakoh Furukawa-Leonart, Hank Grebe, Susan Guihan Guasp, Stefani Jarrett, Roshanak Keyghobadi, Myungja Anna Koh, Mark Levine, Yuke Li, Edward Mills, Adam Mitchell, Amuri Morris, Patricia Morrison, Eddie Nino, Moriah Ray-Britt, William Reed, Melanie Reim, Marie Roberts, Dominick Santise, Fang Sullivan, Tracy Tekverk and Nina Wood. 

Little Black Book will be on view at the Mills Pond Gallery, 660 Route 25A, St. James through Aug. 27. Gallery hours are Wednesdays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, July 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information or directions, visit www.millspondgallery.org or call 631-862-6575. 

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Suffolk County Police today arrested a woman for alleged unlicensed massage and sex abuse during a raid at a massage parlor in Ronkonkoma.

In response to numerous community complaints, Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Community Support Unit, Fourth Squad detectives, Property Section officers, and Brookhaven Fire Marshals conducted an investigation at Loving Care Foot Spa, located at 152 Ronkonkoma Avenue at 3:55 p.m.

Chunjuan Zhang, 52, of Flushing, was charged with two counts of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession and two counts of Sex Abuse 3rd Degree.

Zhang was given an appearance ticket and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on a later date.

The Brookhaven Fire Marshal issued six violations for fire code and building offenses.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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