CLOSE

Yearly Archives: 2023

by -
0 985
Lou Gehrig with his teammates June 21 1939. Photographer unknown

By Daniel Dunaief

‘The greatest of all, the game which seems to breathe the restless spirit of American life, that calls for quick action and quicker thinking, that seems characteristic of a great nation itself, is baseball.’

— Photographer Charles M. Conlon, 1913

Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, Babe Ruth, Roberto Clemente and pictures of numerous other legends of the baseball diamond are coming to the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook.

Starting May 18 and going through October 15, the History Museum at the LIM is featuring two baseball exhibits.

In one, called Picturing America’s Pastime, the museum is showcasing a collection of images from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Archive. In the other, called Home Fields, the museum has brought together objects and photos from the Ducks field in Central Islip, the new and old Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Citi Field, Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds. The objects come from regional private collections, including some from the Shea family for whom the home of the original Mets was named.

The museum, which charges $10 admission, is hosting a members only opening reception on June 15. Membership costs $40 for an individual and $60 for a family. At the reception, the museum will serve baseball-inspired food, including Cracker Jacks and popcorn.

Picturing America’s Pastime

In one of the pictures, photographer Charles Conlon captured a determined Ty Cobb successfully stealing third base on July 23, 1910, with the throw going by New York Highlanders third baseman Jimmy Austin. Unlike the instant gratification of modern-day digital photographs, Conlon didn’t know he caught and immortalized the moment until later, when he developed the picture.

The exhibit mixes intimate photos of heroes and legends, with a picture from an unidentified photographer of Yankee legend Lou Gehrig holding court in the dugout with his teammates on June 21, 1939 at Yankee Stadium after returning from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Diagnosed with amyotropic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which is now widely known as “Lou Gehrig disease,” Gehrig gave his speech in which he declares himself “the luckiest man on the face of the Earth” 13 days after the photographer snapped the dugout picture.

“He’s having this semi-private moment with his second family,” described Joshua Ruff, the Co-Executive Director of Collections and Programming at the Long Island Museum. “It’s just amazing that somebody had the wherewithal to capture that photographically and to save that memory for us.”

The pictures also feature an image of Jackie Robinson, clad in a Montreal Royals uniform, entering the Dodgers clubhouse on April 10th, 1947, five days before Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball and seven years before the Supreme Court struck down segregation in public schools in Brown vs. the Board of Education. In the photo, taken by William C. Greene, Robinson is holding up a baseball glove in the air and entering a door with the words “Dodgers Club House” above and “Keep Out” below.

The pictures featured in the exhibit are “much more than about the history that’s being achieved on the field,” Ruff added.

The Picturing America’s Pastime exhibit also includes a photo of the 1920 St. Louis Giants from the Negro League, as well as the Muskegon Lassies with the team bus in 1947.

In a snapshot from Chicago’s Comiskey Park in May 1916 by an unidentified photographer, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson sits on the ground with four bats across his right knee. The photo was taken four years before Baseball Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis banned Jackson and seven of his teammates for life from the sport for the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

The pictures also include more recent heroes, such as Japanese sensation Ichiro Suzuki, photographed by Brad Mangin in 2006 at Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum. In his trademark move before he hit, Suzuki is tugging at the right shoulder of his uniform with his left hand while holding the bat vertically in his right.

Home Fields

The Home Fields exhibit, meanwhile, features a collection of paraphernalia from local ballparks, such as a bleacher from the old Yankee Stadium, and seats from the Polo Grounds (where the Yankees and, for two years, the Mets played), Shea (home of the Mets) and Ebbets Field, where the Brooklyn Dodgers played before leaving in 1958.

The museum, which has a Derek Jeter bat from 2007, will display a World Series ring from 1969, when the Miracle Mets defeated the heavily favored, 109-win Baltimore Orioles that included stars Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer.

A replay of seven minutes of the fifth and final game from the 1969 NBC radio broadcast will play in the background, providing ambient baseball sounds for guests. The museum is coordinating a revolving slide show of images from that game in the Home Fields exhibition.

The museum also has a piece of the outfield fence from Shea and pieces of the scoreboard from Yankee and Shea stadiums.

A private collector loaned the museum the on deck circle from 2000 subway series between the Mets and the Yankees. In that series, which was the third consecutive World Series victory for the Yankees, Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens threw a piece of Met Mike Piazza’s broken bat towards the Mets catcher as he made his way towards first on a foul ball, bringing both teams out of their dugouts.

Ruff suggested that the exhibits could spur a range of memories from fans of all ages. Born in Baltimore, he calls himself a “lifetime baseball fan” whose favorite players are Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray. He has loved attending Mets and Yankees games.

Ruff likens these two exhibitions to “playing in the sand box. Hopefully, that will be the same for people that walk through. Whether you’re a fan of the Mets, the Yankees, the Reds or whoever your team is, there’s a lot to appreciate and enjoy when you come see these shows.”

The Long Island Museum is located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook. For more information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

by -
0 926

Suffolk County Police arrested a Coram man for allegedly driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol after he crashed a vehicle into a gas station in Commack on May 10.

Hunter Addonizio was driving a 2010 Dodge Challenger westbound on Veterans Memorial Highway, and attempted to merge onto Jericho Turnpike, when the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a gas pump and another vehicle at Sunoco, located at 2211 Jericho Turnpike, at approximately 11 p.m.

A man and a woman, who were inside the vehicle that was struck, were transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of minor injuries.

Addonizio, 21, of Hayes Lane in Coram, was charged with Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and Alcohol.

by -
0 1918
File photo

Suffolk County Police arrested a man on May 11 for killing his girlfriend in Shirley on May 7. Oscar Morocho-Morocho allegedly punched and kicked his girlfriend Ruth Marisel Parra-Martinez, repeatedly over a period of time, outside of 30 A The Green, Shirley on May 7 at approximately 10:30 p.m. Parra-Martinez, 34, Undomiciled, died from her injuries. Morocho-Morocho called 911 and reported Parra-Martinez had died.

Investigation by Homicide Squad detectives determined Morocho-Morocho allegedly killed Parra-Martinez. He  was arrested on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens at approximately 1:25 p.m. Morocho-Morocho, 31, Undomiciled, was charged with Manslaughter First Degree.

by -
0 997
Ashley Brooke and Bel Powley in a scene from 'A Small Light'. Photo from NatGeo

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

‘But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.’ — Miep Gies

No figure is more iconic than Anne Frank. Whether seen as an ordinary girl in extraordinary times, or a remarkable individual robbed of her potential, her short life and terrible death epitomize the darkest era of the twentieth century. And while her memory transcends decades, she should be remembered as a person with hopes and aspirations, feelings, and foibles. Anne Frank was not a symbol; she was a human being.

The Diary of a Young Girl—often called The Diary of Anne Frank—appeared in its original Dutch in 1947. The first English translation, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, was published in 1952. 

Bel Powley shines in her role as Miep Gies in A Small Light. Photo courtesy of Nat Geo

The diary was given to Anne as a thirteenth birthday present on June 12, 1942. She chronicled her life in this book and two school exercise books. On March 29, 1944, she listened to a London radio broadcast by the exiled Dutch Minister for Education calling for the preservation of “ordinary documents … simple everyday material” as a testimony to the plight of Dutch civilians under the Nazi regime. She began revising the entries with this in mind. Her final entry was on August 1, 1944, three days before her arrest and deportation. Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl, two of the brave people who helped hide the Frank family, saved the loose pages of the manuscript. After the war, they gave the papers to the only surviving occupant of the attic, Anne’s father, Otto.

A stage adaptation premiered on Broadway on October 5, 1955. Adapted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (supposedly handpicked by playwright Lillian Hellman), the well-received production emphasized the hopeful aspects, highlighting (but perhaps ignoring true context) the signature quote: “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” 

In 1959, this version was brought to the screen in the equally lauded version. It was not until 1997, when Wendy Kesselman revised and re-envisioned the play, there was an Anne Frank properly representing the true darkness and struggle, divesting itself from the earlier incarnation’s occasional saccharine. The BBC produced a television film in 2019 with an entirely new script.

Of the cinematic incarnations, the most powerful is Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001). Due to a conflict between the producers and the Anne Frank Foundation, the creators were denied access to quote Anne Frank’s writings. Instead, according to producer David Kappes (in a private interview), the ninety-year-old Miep Gies was used as a primary source to tell Frank’s history. (Gies passed away in January 2010 at 100.) This account takes Anne beyond the annex, following her through deportation to the Westerbork transit camp, transport to Auschwitz, and finally, her death in Bergen-Belsen.

Gies told her story in the memoir Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family (1987). Subsequently, she was featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary Anne Frank Remembered (1995). 

[The following is based on a viewing of the first two episodes of A Small Light.] 

Now, National Geographic has produced A Small Light, an eight part miniseries streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. This begs whether there is a need for another screen version of the story. If it is A Small Light, the answer is a resounding “yes.” 

Masterfully directed by Susanna Fogel (from a screenplay by Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, William Harper, and Ben Esler), A Small Light takes Miep Gies from the sidelines. It presents her center in a wholly realized and beautifully dimensional account. The series is an inversion of previous Anne Frank stories. Rather than the claustrophobic fear of being surrounded by the horrors of the outside, this is the terror of living day-to-day in a world with danger at every corner and every turn.

Episode one opens in 1942. Miep Gies (Bel Powley) bicycles with a frightened Margot Frank (Ashley Brooke) through the streets of an idyllic Amsterdam festooned with Nazi banners interspersed with “Resist” graffiti. Miep is attempting to get Margot through a Nazi checkpoint. The scene is taut, tense, and done in quick, sharp cuts.

Before they reach the front of the line, the action shifts back to 1933. After a night of drinking, Miep joins her large, adopted family for lunch, having slept until 2 p.m. Her frustrated parents suggest that if she cannot find a job, she marry her adopted brother (who, unbeknownst to his parents, is gay). Miep lives a leisurely, almost bucolic life. 

After an awkward interview, Otto Frank (Liev Shreiber) engages the unskilled Miep as a secretary. Brash and temperamental, she still learns the business and begins to find her place in the organization. Life goes along with Miep meeting her eventual husband, the shy Jan (Joe Cole), in a bar. 

On May 10, 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Within five days, they had taken over the country. Laws change, and the harsh Nazi abuse transforms into greater crimes. (It is not until the middle of episode two that we see the brutality of the round-ups.) The infamous yellow star appears on clothing. 

Eventually, Otto shares the plan of taking his family, along with his employee Hermann Van Pels’ family, into hiding and asks for Miep’s help, to which she immediately agrees. However, Otto changes the moving date when his older daughter Margot receives deportation papers. The first episode returns to the opening scene as Miep gets Margot through the checkpoint and into the annex, the first glimpse of the hiding place.

The second episode shows the earliest days of the new life. On the inside, attitudes are already fraying as the Franks attempt to adapt. Miep must deal with the already frustrated and often frustrating individuals living like prisoners. She also faces the challenges of keeping the secret as well as finding food, ration books, etc. Husband Jan aids Miep but also begins his own journey to help the persecuted. This episode ends with the dentist, Fritz Pfeffer (Noah Taylor), completing the members of the attic.

The cast is uniformly exceptional. Liev Schreiber makes for a slightly mercurial but effective and compassionate Otto. Amira Casar’s Edith Frank is a stronger, more demanding Edith. Billie Boullet is an exceptional Anne, shining and passionate but grounded in reality. Ashley Brooke hits the right gentle notes as the reserved Margot. Joe Cole grows Jan throughout, going from reticence to strength with a charm that comes through.

But the center is Bel Powley’s exceptional Miep. She grows from the lackadaisical party girl and reluctant employee to a ferocious, committed portrait of real courage. Whether flirting with a butcher to get a better chicken or resigned to revealing the true situation outside the attic walls, her reality and depth are flawless.

From an educational standpoint, the series is invaluable. The current curriculum rightfully deals with turning bystanders into upstanders and changing the bullying narrative. Miep Gies reminds us never to stand by; as individuals, we must choose to make a difference. We must do more and must do better. For that alone, her story is beyond important. The fact that A Small Light is art presented with raw integrity elevates the message to a higher level.

by -
0 420
File photo by Raymond Janis

Residents deserve better than one-party rule

In the May 4 edition, the editorial board highlights that the Brookhaven landfill is a major issue in this year’s Town of Brookhaven elections [“The landfill election”]. We need bold leadership to tackle Long Island’s decades-long solid waste crisis. This is an issue of economic, environmental and racial justice that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Carting our garbage off of Long Island to another community is not a sustainable solution. We must reduce our waste, and this cannot only rest on individual households, but also on businesses and producers. We can incentivize waste reduction with pay-as-you-throw programs. We can also utilize the knowledge of experts like Stony Brook University’s research associate professor David Tonjes, whose work on waste management provides guidance on how we can address this crisis with innovation and ingenuity. We are capable of long-term, sustainable policy, but only if we have the political and moral courage to do so.

It is clear to me that the current Town Board are not the people to meet this moment. The past decade of one-party rule in Brookhaven includes a botched rollout of the recycling program, our roads in disrepair, and gerrymandering our council districts to bolster a weak incumbent in the 4th Council District. They have left us with a solid waste crisis, used nearly $250,000 of our taxpayer dollars to pay an EPA fine for air quality violations in 2020, and ignored the voices of the directly impacted residents of North Bellport time and again. They do not deserve to be reelected in 2023.

Outgoing Supervisor Ed Romaine [R] must be held accountable for his role in the failures of the Town Board he has led. Romaine is seeking the office of Suffolk county executive, and he must be questioned about the harm he has had a hand in creating in the Town of Brookhaven. We as voters must consider if he is fit to handle higher office, given the mismanagement of our municipal government under his leadership.

We deserve better elected officials than we currently have in our town government. The communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the landfill crisis deserve to be listened to by our representatives. There is too much at stake to accept the status quo and small-minded thinking of the current Town Board. It is time for bold solutions that meet the urgency of the moment. It is time for change.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

South Setauket

Still no funding for Port Jeff Branch electrification

Funding to pay for a number of transportation projects and pay increases for transit workers were items missing from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s [D] $229 billion budget.

There is no new funding to advance Hochul’s three favorite NYC transportation projects: the $8 billion Penn Station improvements; $7.7 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2; and $5.5 billion Brooklyn-Queens Interborough Express light rail connection. Also missing was funding to advance the $3.6 billion Long Island Rail Road Port Jefferson Branch electrification project. All Port Jefferson LIRR riders have to date is the ongoing LIRR diesel territory electrification feasibility study.

There was no additional funding to pay for upcoming 2023 NYC Transport Workers Union Local 100 contracts for LIRR and Metro-North Railroad employees. The MTA only budgeted for a 2% increase. NYC TWU president, Richard Davis, will ask for far more so his 40,000 members can keep up with inflation. Both LIRR and MNR unions, with thousands of members, will want the same.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Maryhaven: a breakdown of process

Our village process is broken. Let’s take the Maryhaven project as a recent example of what’s wrong.

This proposed development should have been brought to the Port Jefferson Village Board of Trustees via the Planning Board, which is responsible for overseeing all building-related matters.

But during the recent public hearing, we learned from the developer that he’d been in discussions with the mayor, deputy mayor and village clerk for well over a year, despite the fact there was still no proposal before the Planning Board. The first time the rest of the trustees heard about the project was when it was announced by the deputy mayor at a public meeting on March 6 of this year.

It’s likely the village attorney was also aware of these talks. As previously reported in this paper, he was pressing the village to be “proactive” and change the code to rezone the property in order to clear the path for the developers, whenever they were ready to apply. To that end, he proposed the May 1 public hearing. The attorney also suggested that if the code modification wasn’t suitable to the residents as is, there would be an opportunity to make adjustments. That is not entirely accurate.

We know this from our experience with the Mather Hospital expansion. Before the project came to a public hearing, the village made several decisions, from seemingly irrelevant (at the time) code changes to the most crucial, allowing the hospital a variance for extra clearance. The latter resulted in 2 precious acres of forest being cleared.

The impression the village gave at the time was that residents would still have a chance to weigh in. But when that time came, despite nearly 70 letters protesting the clearing of the forest and all the objections raised at the hearing, it was too late.

The Planning Board’s position was that its hands were tied by all those prior decisions, and it did not have the tools to consider the objections. In other words, we should have been paying attention when Mather first announced the master plan.

So forgive us if we’re skeptical when the village attorney tells us that we’ll have an opportunity to comment on the project overall at a later date.

Ana Hozyainova, President

Holly Fils-Aime, Vice President

Port Jefferson Civic Association

Declining public revenue in Port Jeff

The spirit of New York’s Freedom Of Information Act is transparency and access. Its introduction states, “The people’s right to know the process of governmental decision-making and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.”

The issue of the future tax revenue from the Port Jefferson Power Station is critically important to both the Village of Port Jefferson and the Port Jefferson School District. So, it is surprising to me that the LIPA settlement agreement is not made available on the village or school district websites. And when I asked the village that a link be included, I was told that the village attorney advised the village not to put it on the website. I would have to complete a FOIL application. I did so. It had no redactions, and nothing in the document contained any confidentiality clause. The Town of Huntington puts its Northport Power Plant LIPA agreement on its website. So what is the objection to making the Port Jefferson agreement accessible to all on our websites? Would they prefer to have the fewest taxpayers know its full terms and potential consequences?

While both the village and school district are quick to tell us how little our tax bills will rise when promoting 30-year bond proposals, their assumptions are highly suspect given the lack of any reasonable assurance that the LIPA benefit will survive beyond the glide path expiration just four years away. Both the Port Jeff and the Northport agreements state that any extensions under the same terms beyond the 2027 expirations are dependent on power needs of National Grid. With repowering off the table, and the state’s goal of 70% renewable energy by 2030, it would seem there is little likelihood of any significant extension beyond expiration. The Port Jefferson Village budget for 2023-24 reveals LIPA taxes covering 36% of property taxes while the school district budget includes LIPA representing 42%.

It’s time for the village and school district to face the elephant in the room and (1) make critical information available on their websites and (2) for any discussion of potential costs to taxpayers, include calculations that consider a potentially abandoned power plant and taxpayers having to face 60%-plus tax increases to make up the LIPA loss.

Robert J. Nicols

Port Jefferson

Time to put the brakes on spending

Port Jefferson and Belle Terre residents are facing a school district budget and bond vote Tuesday, May 16, at the Port Jefferson high school from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

It’s a rather hefty price tag being proposed: $47 million for the proposed 2023-24 budget and close to $16 million additional for a bond focused entirely on enhancements to the high school.

While district residents have been more than generous in past years in support of our schools, maybe it’s time to ask if spending over $50,000 each year to educate a student is really feasible. (That’s the amount when you divide the proposed 2023-24 budget by the 933 students in the district, as suggested by Deputy Superintendent Sean Leister as a simple approximation of the per pupil costs, at the village board meeting on May 1.)

Perhaps this is the time to put the brakes on this spending and take a hard look at the future of the high school and consider alternatives.

Charles G. Backfish

Port Jefferson

We need to say ‘no’ to the school bond

Port Jefferson School District residents will be asked May 16 to approve an almost $16 million bond entirely for the benefit of the high school building. The more crucial question to be asked is: “Why are we considering this enormous expenditure when our high school student population is still dwindling?”

According to the school district’s own numbers — found on the district website or online (Long Range Planning Study, Port Jefferson Union Free School District 2021-22) — our enrollment numbers are declining precipitously. On page 18 of the report, our high school’s total enrollment grades 9-12 by 2031 will be a mere 233 students. Divide that number by the four grades in the school and your average graduating class size by 2031 would be only 58 students.

Port Jefferson high school’s small size cannot be compared to that of a prestigious private high school. Even most of the top private schools like Choate, Phillips and Exeter keep their total high school enrollment over 800 students. Most parents want a high school atmosphere that is academically, athletically and socially rich for their children — a true preparation for college. A high school with less than 240 students can’t realistically provide that.

Our high school is presently functioning with the classroom configurations it has had for decades. Before we invest many millions to move art, tech ed and music to the main building to create team and trainer rooms, let’s first focus on what we do if the high school population keeps dwindling, as the district study projects. 

Perhaps we could maintain a strong pre-K through 8th grade school system here and investigate tuitioning out our high school students to Three Village and/or Mount Sinai. This solution has been used successfully by many small school districts. Other larger local districts are facing declining enrollments as well, undoubtedly because of the high home prices and high taxes presenting an obstacle to young families seeking to move to this area. Given that reality, neighboring school districts would welcome our high school students.

Right now, we need to say “no” to the school bond. Before we spend almost $16 million on the high school building, we must find a solution to this ongoing decline in enrollment. To keep ignoring this serious issue is unfair to our already stressed-out taxpayers — and equally unfair to our future high school students.

Gail Sternberg

Port Jefferson

Experience matters

Kathianne Snaden is running for mayor and Stan Loucks is running for reelection as a trustee for the Village of Port Jefferson. They have worked together on the village board for four years. 

Kathianne has shown to be tireless and dedicated to the betterment of every facet of our village. She has opened the doors to the internal workings of government by live streaming the board meetings, originating the Port eReport and the practice of responding to every and all questions from everyone. As the liaison to the Code Enforcement Bureau, she is totally committed to improving public safety and was responsible for increasing the presence of the Suffolk County Police Department. Kathianne is also our liaison to the Port Jefferson School District. This is an important relationship that was absent and created by Kathianne. 

Stan Loucks has been devoting his retirement years to the Village of Port Jefferson. Prior to his election to the village board in 2015, he was on the tennis board, the board of governors, the greens committee and the Port Jefferson Country Club management advisory committee for a total of 20 years, including chair. Stan has been the liaison to the parks and recreation departments, deputy mayor and liaison to the country club. 

He is a hands-on person who will always be directly involved in any issue related to his duties. He has been directly responsible for numerous projects and improvements such as renovation of the golf course; building a new maintenance facility, driving range, fitness center, membership office; upgrading village parks; initiating relationships with our schools and much more. 

Kathianne was TBR News Media Person of the Year in 2019, and Stan was Person of the Year in 2021. Seems like they would be the team that we would want to represent our village.

Experience, knowledge, integrity, dedication and hard working are qualities that we need.

Jim White

Port Jefferson

Editor’s note: The writer is a former Port Jefferson Village trustee.

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: [email protected]

or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

by -
0 1463
1 of 6
Iris Hoffman tries to fight off Hazel Carlson. Photo by Steven Zaitz
QB Ava Seifert. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Kenzie Bliven (left) wiggles away from Olivia Del Priore and Britany Delao Romero. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Northport QB scrambles with Brittny Cisneros Campos ing=hot pursuit. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Iris Hoffman (21) turns the corner as Dana Restivo looks for her flag. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Hazel Carlson fight for every yard against Whitman. Photo by Steven Zaitz

The Flag Football Force is strong in the reigning Long Island Champion Walt Whitman Wildcats. The Northport Lady Tigers found out the hard way.

On May the Fourth, Whitman blanked Northport 21-0, putting on a dazzling display of defensive dominance and offensive efficiency. The Lady Tigers, who have been beset by a rash of injuries, were on the business end of the Lady Cat light saber and dropped to 3-4-1 on the season and into seventh place in Suffolk Division I.  They will need to win their final two games against Amityville and North Babylon to qualify for the playoffs.

Whitman improved to 5-1 with the home win and are in the hunt for the division crown, which has developed into quite an interesting four-horse race. The Wildcats, along with Hauppauge, Half Hollow Hills and Sayville have a combined record of 24-4 at the start of this week and are fighting for first. The other seven teams in Division I are all below the .500 mark. This list now includes Northport. 

Tiger Head Coach Pat Campbell is not focused on the standings. He still has hope.

“This is our first year doing this thing, and I’m proud of way our girls have fought,” Campbell said. “That team [Whitman] won the Long Island Championship for a reason, and they have a really good defense that flies around the ball and gets to flags quickly. I thought we hung tough, but we made a few mistakes, and they took advantage.”

In what seems to be a trend across the flag football world, defensive touchdowns via interceptions are just as common as offensive touchdowns. That is exactly how the Lady Cats struck early in this game.

With Northport freshman quarterback Grace Gilmartin pinned against her own goal line, Lady Cat linebacker Brittny Cisneros Campos stepped in front of a short Gilmartin pass and waltzed in for a pick-six with 6:19 remaining in the first half. Just like that, the Empire had struck.

“Defense led the way for us today,” said Whitman Head Coach Ralph Milazzo. “Brittny is all over the place and has been the leader of our defense all year.”

Cisneros Campos, an 11th grader who wears number 11, led Whitman with nine flag pulls, four of which were behind the line of scrimmage, against Northport in addition to her interception and was part of a defense that swarmed around the ball from the opening whistle to the final gun. They had three interceptions on the day, four sacks and an incredible 12 total tackles for loss. Lady Cat DL Mary Pohalski had half a dozen of these TFLs.

“I never expected to have a defensive touchdown,” said the giddy Cisneros Campos. “It felt amazing to score one.”

Giving up a defensive touchdown and falling behind early is a pattern that is not unfamiliar to Lady Tiger fans, as this scenario has occurred in games against Half Hollow Hills and Hauppauge — both losses. 

Exacerbating matters, Northport is now on its sixth starting center — the position that is responsible for snapping the ball to and protecting quarterback Gilmartin from the defensive rush. Starting center Isabella Bica was lost to a wrist injury three weeks ago, and Sarah Power, Nina Corbett, Brooke Kershow and Nina Scala have all gone through what has become a revolving door for Campbell at this critical position. 

Stephanie Milonas, who is a quick scatback type of runner and pass-catcher, filled in dutifully on this day. She was fine snapping the ball, but the Wildcat defensive front was easily able to generate constant penetration and chaos in the freshman Gilmartin’s backfield.

“There are no excuses, and we always say, ‘next girl up,’ but we need to do a better job of blocking,” said Campbell, whose offense couldn’t generate much in the way of passing or rushing yards because of the relentless Whitman pressure.

The Wildcats would get another touchdown just before halftime that was set up by another interception, this time by Whitman cornerback Britany Delao Romero, who read a pass intended for WR Kenzie Bliven and returned it all the way to the Tiger 8-yard line. Two plays later, it was 14-0 in favor of Whitman.

As the defense grabbed many of the headlines for the Wildcats, senior quarterback Ava Seifert played an efficient game, completing 21 of 33 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. She sprayed the ball around to five different receivers, including nine completions to Wildcat basketball superstar Iris Hoffman. Seifert is hungry for another long, successful playoff run.

“It would be a really cool way to end my senior year and athletic career at Walt Whitman High School,” said Seifert of the prospect of another Long Island Championship. “Our coaches have put a lot of effort into making us successful and preparing us for each game.”

Milazzo has been pleased by Seifert’s handling of the offense and its ability to play complimentary football with his ferocious defense.

“Ava has been great for us,” Milazzo said. “She’s been in our system for two years with a lot of pressure on her shoulders and she continues to step up and make great plays.”

In its final two games, it is Northport who will need to find a way to step up and make great plays if this young team, made up of mostly underclassmen, is to fulfill their playoff destiny — while they still have control of it.

by -
0 428
Purple rocks with faces and names painted on them represented local lives lost to fentanyl. Photo from Kara Hahn’s office

Grieving residents and elected officials gathered on Tuesday, May 9, for a press conference in Hauppauge hosted by Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) for National Fentanyl Awareness Day. A pebble was dropped into a jar every 8 1/2 minutes during the press conference, representing the average span that another individual dies from a fentanyl overdose in the United States. Purple rocks with faces and names of lost loved ones painted on them were placed on the ground in front of the podium, representing the 175 lives lost each day due to this epidemic.

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, at podium, hosted a press conference on May 9 to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. Photo from Kara Hahn’s office

In addition to Hahn, several other elected officials attended and spoke at the press conference, including county legislators Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), Manuel Esteban (R-East Northport), Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) and Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport).

Several parents and family members of individuals who had lost their lives due to an opioid addiction also spoke. One common thread speakers emphasized was that prevention is key.

Something as simple as parents talking to their children about the dangers of drugs could encourage them to never experiment in that area. Dorothy Cavalier, currently chief of staff for county Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) and future candidate for Anker’s term-limited post, said that she’s “seen the great work that we can do and the amazing things that can happen when people just talk [to their children].” She warned that children might receive a pill from another kid at school thinking that it will help them focus while studying, but it might be laced with fentanyl.

Doctors overprescribing drugs for other issues could also lead to an addiction. Esteban said that there needs to be accountability for doctors to disincentivize giving out dangerous drugs too freely. “We need laws to hold doctors responsible who overprescribe,” he said. Piccirillo added that the county has won lawsuits against large pharmaceutical companies and put that money back into the community to help parents and children that are battling this addiction issue.

Several speakers also touched on the need for better treatment options for those attempting to overcome this battle with addiction. “We need programs that give people a fighting chance,” Esteban said. “Studies show they need at least three months. Why are we not funding these programs?” 

The mental health crisis was also discussed as a factor in this rising issue. Bontempi emphasized that part of this has to do with putting too much pressure on children and keeping expectations too high. Claudia Friszell, who lost her son to an overdose and is a drug treatment advocate, said, “We need to talk to our kids about dealing with stress and our emotions.”

Kennedy emphasized that we “need more funding for mental health treatment, which includes substance misuse.” She said that it should be a focus to get the federal and state governments to fund programs that get treatment to every individual who needs it.

Suffolk County Legislators Kara Hahn and Stephanie Bontempi hug after latter’s speech at the May 9 press conference to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. Photo by Daniel Febrizio

Many speakers wished to remove the stigma around drug addiction. Carole Trottere, who lost her son in 2018 and helped organize this event, said, “Some people think these kids deserved what they got or they knew what they were getting into.” She added that some people will say that all those who have died from overdoses were “just a bunch of drug addicts.”

Blue Point resident Dorothy Johnson, who lost her son in 2011, wants to remove that shame and stigma. She said that when returning to work after her son passed, no one wanted to talk about it with her. Johnson works in her community to get people discussing this issue so that those in need know they are not alone.

Steve Chassman, executive director for the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, emphasized that if a person is struggling with addiction they should reach out for help. “If you’re out in the cold from opiate or substance use, it’s time to come in from the cold, and we will help you,” he said.

Hahn began the press conference by informing the attendees of the fentanyl death statistics in the United States: seven every hour, 175 each day, 1,225 each week, more than 5,250 each month and more than 63,000 each year. The hope is that an environment is built where those battling drug addiction feel supported enough to seek help before they become another number in the rising fentanyl death total.

In a press release from Hahn, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. 

The release noted that since taking office in 2012, Hahn “has sponsored several pieces of legislation designed to help stem the tide of opioid deaths in Suffolk County.”

by -
0 834
Upside-Down Honey Cheesecakes

By Heidi Sutton

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a celebration to honor the woman who made you, well, you. After the Mother’s Day brunch is arranged and the cards and flowers are picked out, it’s time to show your mom just how much she means to you by making a dessert fit for a queen. Here are three delicious ideas.

Upside-Down Honey Cheesecakes

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appétit

Upside-Down Honey Cheesecakes

YIELD: Makes 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup water

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature

2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

Assorted fresh berries (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter twelve 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Place 1 cup sugar, honey, and butter in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and mixture is blended.

Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Whisk until mixture darkens slightly and candy thermometer registers 300°F, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; add 1/3 cup water (mixture will bubble vigorously); whisk to blend. Divide topping among ramekins (about 2 tablespoonfuls for each). Divide ramekins between 2 roasting pans and chill while preparing filling.

Using on/off turns, blend cream cheese and brown sugar in processor, scraping bowl occasionally. Add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla; process until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, processing just to blend between additions. Divide filling among ramekins.

Add enough hot water to pans to come halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake cheesecakes until set, about 35 minutes. Remove from roasting pans and chill until firm, about 1 hour. 

Run thin knife around sides of ramekins. Invert onto plates, scooping any remaining topping from ramekins over cheesecakes. Garnish with berries.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Recipe courtesy of Redbook

YIELD: Makes 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup sour cream

Topping

1 quart strawberries, hulled, thickly sliced

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350° F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl with mixer on medium, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and sour cream until combined. Continue to beat on medium until batter is thick and smooth.

Spoon batter into a zip-top bag. Snip a 1/2-inch corner from bag and fill liners slightly less than two-thirds full. Bake 24 to 26 minutes, or until lightly golden and a pick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes; remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.

Toss strawberries several times in a bowl with sugar and lemon juice until very syrupy. In large bowl, beat cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.

Use a skewer to poke several holes into top of each cupcake. Spoon some syrup from bowl over top, allowing it to absorb into cupcakes. Top with sliced berries and a dollop of cream. Arrange a few sliced berries in cream and drizzle with remaining strawberry syrup.

Frozen Raspberry Layer Cake

Recipe courtesy of Country Living

Frozen Raspberry Layer Cake

YIELD: Makes 8 to 10 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 10 3/4-ounce frozen pound cakes, crusts removed, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices

3 cups vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

4 cups raspberry sorbet, slightly softened

1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and picked over

3 tablespoons Chambord, or other raspberry-flavored liqueur

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare the pan: Trace and cut out a 9-inch circle from parchment paper and fit it into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Cut out a 3- by 27-inch strip of parchment and fit around inside of pan. Tape to secure parchment paper and set aside.

Assemble the cake: Cover bottom of pan with a single layer of pound cake slices and spread ice cream evenly over cake. Freeze until ice cream hardens – about 25 minutes.

Spread 2 cups sorbet over ice cream, followed by another layer of pound cake slices. Return cake to freezer for 10 minutes.

Combine raspberries and Chambord together in small bowl. Remove cake pan from freezer and place berries evenly over cake. Top with a final layer of pound cake and remaining sorbet. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until firm  at least 4 hours.

by -
0 1552
1 of 18
Ward Melville sophomore Julia Dank breaks free up the left sideline in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Johnna Rosenth sees and opening in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Pixabay photo
Flag football fans. Bill Landon photo
Patriot huddle. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore Julia Dank in on the “tackle” in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville quarterback Kaitlyn Lawrence throws deep in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore Ophelia Rosenth makes the catch in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lydia Cuff catches the sideline pass in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lydia Cuff pushes up the right sideline in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville freshman Anja Rosenth breaks free up the right sideline in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Julia Dank scores for the Patriots in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore Julia Dank breaks free down the left sideline in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Timeout Ward Melville. Bill Landon photo
Ward Melville quarterback Kaitlyn Lawrence throws over the middle in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore Julia Dank plows past a defender in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville quarterback Kaitlyn Lawrence on the sideline in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville freshman Anja Rosenth scrambles out of the backfield and turns up-field in a home game against Eastport South Manor. Photo by Bill Landon

With two games of the inaugural flag football season left, the Patriots of Ward Melville (5-1-1), in second place one game behind top seeded Patchogue, hosted the Sharks of Eastport-South Manor (3-4) in a League II matchup May 9. 

The Patriots struck first when sophomore Julia Dank broke free and went the distance for the score 10 minutes into the opening half followed by a touchdown pass from Kaitlyn Lawrence to Lydia Cuff to make it a two-score game. Eastport-South Manor answered when they scored with 16 seconds left and with the point after, trailed 12-7 at the halftime break. Dank scored again to open the second half on a 22-yard run but again Ward Melville failed at the point after attempt, to edge ahead 18-7. Both teams traded touchdowns late in the game, but Ward Melville slammed the door shut winning 25-13.

The Patriots retake the field May 11 with a road game against William Floyd before post season play begins Tuesday, May 16. 

by -
0 368
Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

What if my dog had opposable thumbs, understood technology, had his own phone and could, and wanted to, take pictures of me?

Yes, I know that’s a lot of “ifs,” but, given how often I take pictures of him in different lighting, rolling on his back in the grass, lifting his ears when I call for him and wagging excitedly to go in the car, I can’t help imagining the kinds of pictures he might take of me.

— Picking up poop. This one would probably be one of his favorites. Having an OCD owner, he might enjoy opening his phone and showing his pet pals how I turn my head as I reach for his solid waste. He might ask them to notice my shallow breathing and my pursed lips. He might also suggest they observe the way I pull my head back as far as my short arms allow from his poop while I try to get as much of it as possible into a bag.

— The frenetic play face. Sometimes, my excitement gets the best of me. My dog might show his friends how I purse my lips, raise my eyebrows and pull my cheeks back in an expression that looks like excitement bordering on mania. We were once sitting with another family in an already awkward social situation. When their dog came out, I instinctively made that face, causing the conversation to stop and adding to my list of awkward moments, courtesy of dad.

— The tug-of-war face. From his vantage point, I’m sure he sees me gritting my teeth as if I’m tugging with my mouth. He might point out to his pet pals, if he had a photo, that I bend my knees and make a low, growling noise to match his sounds.

— The bad doggy face. Sometimes, dogs struggle to distinguish between their toys and, say, a Derek Jeter signed baseball that either was too close to the edge of a desk or that fell on the floor. He might take out a picture that shows me pointing, stomping my feet, and shouting words that often include “no” or “don’t do that” or “bad doggy.”

— The don’t hump my leg face. The arrival of company sometimes gets the whole house excited. My dog might show his friends how his owners shake their heads, roll their eyes, frown, point and shout some combinations of the words “no” and “down” and “he doesn’t normally do this.”

— The down on all fours moment. I can imagine dogs chatting about how adorable — or maybe ridiculous — it is when their owners get down on their hands and knees to play. They might show their friends how we smile and tilt our heads as they approach. Then, of course, they might laugh as they observe how slowly we move in this position. They can cross the backyard on all fours in seconds, while we don’t stay down for long.

— The my-human-needs-a-friend face. Dogs can sense, either from the sounds we make or our body posture, when we are feeling down. My dog reacts to my tone. He jumps up, wags and throws his head into my knees when he hears me telling a story filled with conflict or when I raise my voice after hanging up after a frustrating call. In a picture, he might show me sitting at my desk, shoulders slumped, with my head down and my eyes nearly closed. In that picture, he might brag to his fellow dogs about his value as a companion.

— The my-human’s-team-just-won face: Pets probably find sports somewhere between amusing and unnerving. Humans shout at the TV, jump up and down, and scream “no” and “yes” in rapid succession. When it’s all over, if our team wins, we might reach down and pet them with so much energy and enthusiasm that we jump up and down, holding their paws as we dance and shout with them.

Prev1...215216217...334Next Page 216 of 334
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©