The recently planted peace pole on Shore Drive in Sound Beach. Photo by Ernestine Franco
By Ernestine Franco
“May Peace Prevail on Earth.”
This sentiment appears on a peace pole recently installed by the Sound Beach Property Owners Association at the East Beach entrance on Shore Drive, between Amagansett and Brookhaven drives, overlooking the Long Island Sound.
In addition to English, seven other languages — two on each side of the pole — proclaim the plan to promote peace.
The Rocky Point Rotary Club is sponsoring a plan to link 10 communities along the corridor of routes 25 and 25A to promote peace.
Starting in May, Patrice Perreca, the Sound Beach Civic Association membership chair and a board member of the SBPOA, became interested in the International Cities of Peace movement, the goal of which is to encourage the establishment of cities of peace around the world.
The mission is to promote, document and provide resources and information for organizations working to establish peace throughout communities.
The peace pole embodies the motto, “’Let there be peace on Earth,’ one of my favorite hymns,” Perreca said. “And the best line is, ‘Let it begin with me.’”
Peace poles are symbols of May Peace Prevail on Earth International, founded in Japan in 1955. An estimated 250,000 peace poles throughout over 190 countries have been “planted” over many decades.
On Sunday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m., Kevin Mann, president of Rocky Point Rotary, will perform the dedication. All are invited to partake in the culture of peace.
Long Island’s fishing industry may have dodged a bullet this hurricane season, although the official season for the Atlantic Basin does not end until Nov. 30. Yet stormier seas may be brewing for the years ahead.
Local fishermen sounded an upbeat tune after a sequence of intense tropical cyclones did not make landfall. While precipitation disrupted some local events in recent weeks, fishing operations have gone along without interruption.
Eric Huner owns and operates Captain Fish Port Jefferson, a fishing charter boat based in Port Jefferson that transports tourists and locals for fishing charters.
“For me personally, it didn’t affect me at all,” he told TBR News Media. “I can’t say there’s any real loss, probably for any private fishing boat like myself.”
On the commercial fishing side, the experience was relatively similar, according to Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.
“As far as those guys that were fishing, most guys were out fishing the next day” after Hurricane Lee brushed past the Northeast, she said. “There wasn’t really much of an impact, thank goodness.”
Difficult past, uncertain future
Those interviewed suggested the Long Island fishing industry had averted a major threat with these storms avoiding landfall.
Reflecting upon the commercial impacts of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Brady remembered it as “particularly vicious” for the shoreline, with consequences for the fishing industry as well.
However, Huner said that irregular winds and tidal patterns are increasingly commonplace, complicating matters for his business. With projections for more frequent and intense storms, Huner said his line of work is becoming less predictable, noting the increasing difficulties in deciding which days to fish and selecting departure times.
“This year was the first time I took notice of the weather patterns being very difficult to predict,” he said. There was “a lot of volatility in the wind patterns, difficult to find windows of opportunity to go out,” adding, “It was not a normal, stable summer.”
More broadly, Brady expressed reservations about the regional trend toward offshore wind, saying this infrastructure could disrupt the local fishing industry.
“Offshore wind is going to, from our perspective, industrialize the ocean beyond any kind of repair,” she said. “It’s a very frightening time for our ocean, and that’s why we’re fighting so hard against it.”
Optimistic outlook
Huner said that the fisheries remain well populated despite the climactic challenges, a positive indicator that conservation efforts are working.
He also stated that the nature of the trade requires frequent adaptation to changing conditions. “The local fisherman is a pretty experienced person on the water,” he said. “I’m constantly reviewing what the weather forecasts are, what the wind forecasts are — and that’s a big part of my job.”
He added, “It takes a little more work, and if this is going to be what we call our ‘new normal,’ then we’re just going to have to be really on top of it.”
Adding to these sentiments, Brady said local fishermen are used to adapting “to changes in the water every day.”
“Those who are good at this trade tend to be experiential learners,” she said. “Every day, the ocean can change. The tides change. The moon changes. So they learn to adapt based on living it.”
I commend this newspaper for its thorough and balanced Sept. 14 and Sept. 21 articles on the proposed conversion of the Long Island Power Authority into a fully municipal utility that would directly operate the electrical transmission and distribution system that it has owned for decades.
LIPA, which is the country’s third largest municipal utility, is legally required now to outsource its operation to another entity. Right now that is PSEG Long Island. Before that, it was National Grid.
LIPA’s staff of 60 experienced utility professionals supervises PSEGLI’s performance according to metrics taking 207 pages to outline. Each year, LIPA pays PSEGLI $80 million for just 18 executives to plan and direct the 2,500-line call center and other workers whose pay is provided by LIPA. That’s more than $4 million for each PSEGLI-supplied executive.
There is considerable overlap between the top PSEGLI staff and the LIPA staff that supervises and grades PSEGLI’s performance. Both the Legislative Commission on the Future of the Long Island Power Authority and LIPA agree that if LIPA hired a dozen more staffers, it could run the system itself, dispensing with PSEGLI’s management and saving about $75 million each year.
This savings would be real, even if PSEGLI were doing a good job. But it hasn’t been. Their performance in storm restoration after Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020 was so bad, and their reports on the causes of the failure of the outage management system were so dishonest, that LIPA considered PSEGLI to be in default of their contract.
Beyond PSEGLI’s shortcomings, the problem is the structure of the unique and convoluted “hybrid” system itself. Besides the extra cost, the inefficiency of this two-headed structure is why LIPA is the only large municipal utility in the country to be operated this way.
As a LIPA trustee for five years, I saw the difficulties, delays and expense that this structure results in. For example, it required three months and a resolution voted by the LIPA Board directing PSEGLI to develop and implement an accurate and modern asset management system for the billions of dollars of LIPA-owned assets before PSEGLI would take such action.
The delays and inefficiency of this management structure do not show up as a specific dollar cost in LIPA’s budget, but they are there and impede LIPA’s adaptation to the new reality of stronger storms and a faster transition to a renewable energy system.
LIPA needs the simple, common municipal utility structure recommended by the state’s Legislative Commission. The Board of Trustees should be reorganized so some trustees are appointed by both Suffolk and Nassau County executives, rather than now where all the trustees are appointed by the state’s political leadership in Albany.
Locally appointed trustees should give LIPA needed credibility with its Long Island customer base and might make it more responsive to local concerns. In recent years, there has been significant hostility resulting from inadequate understanding by both PSEGLI and LIPA of the impact of changes in tariffs, and from the location and details of new facilities or even just taller and thicker poles.
Finally, one trustee should be named by the union — IBEW Local 1049 — representing the utility’s workforce to ensure that their interests are represented at the highest level.
The legal structure in which the workforce is actually housed is critical. Their transfer from PSEGLI to LIPA must be done in a way that continues their employment under federal labor jurisdiction and preserves their well-earned pension rights. Any proposal that might put them under weaker state labor jurisdiction and possibly jeopardize their pensions has no chance of passing the Legislature, nor should it.
Long Islanders should support this once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix a broken utility structure.
The writer served on the Long Island Power Authority Board of Trustees from 2016 to 2021.
The two recently acquired books are on display at the Three Village Historical Society headquarters for a limited time. Photo by Kimberly Phyfe, Development Coordinator at the TVHS
By Scott Ferrara
There’s no doubt that Long Island played a major role in the success of the American Revolution. In fact, Setauket was home to numerous people who comprised a network of clandestine intelligence operatives known as the Culper Spy Ring.
One of those Setauket spies was Abraham Woodhull (1750-1826). Woodhull, known for his alias Samuel Culper Sr., resided in British-Occupied Setauket during the war and used invisible ink to send encoded messages of enemy troop movement to General George Washington.
Unfortunately, few artifacts and personal belongings of Woodhull’s survived, both through the passage of time as well as the 1931 fire that razed his former home.
On July 26th, 2023, the Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) acquired two books at auction that belonged to the Woodhull family, one of the books bearing Abraham Woodhull’s signature. These books hold promise as a cultural resource for the community, and for their research potential of Three Village history and the history of our nation.
The third page of The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul by Phillip Doddridge contains Abraham Woodhull’s signature. Photo by Kimberly Phyfe, Development Coordinator at the TVHS
The first book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul by Phillip Doddridge, was signed by Abraham Woodhull prior to both the American Revolution (1775-1784) and activities of the Culper Spy Ring (1778-1783). Abraham wrote his name on the first page of the book as well as a brief description of where he was at the time, Newfoundland.
We know he was only 23 years old at the time, had not yet married or taken over the family farm and estate. His youthful decisions had found him aboard the ship the Dolphin during a very tense moment in American history. After all, Abraham had conveniently provided us the date of his travel, Aug. 27, 1773.
This date provides clues as to the social environment Abraham was reading this book in. August of 1773 was a very tense summer in our nation’s history. Only three months earlier, in May of 1773, King George signed into effect the Tea Act which undercut colonial merchants, who had been prospering in maritime trade, and increased the power and influence of the British East India Company. This discriminatory act angered American colonists and sparked resentment that would eventually lead to war.
These tensions would eventually boil over in December of that same year when the Sons of Liberty threw bricks of tea into the Boston harbor in an act of protest and defiance of the British King; an event known today as the Boston Tea Party. What was Abraham doing so far away from home during such a kinetic social time? Who or what was in Newfoundland that would draw him away from his family? These, among many more questions, have yet to be answered.
Abraham, later in life, gifted this book to his second wife, Lidia, shortly before Christmas in their wedding year of 1824. We know this because she had inscribed her name and a brief note on the page following her husband’s earlier signature. Abraham passed away two years later.
The book moved through many hands over time until the departure of its most recent owner in Islip last year. The book, along with the rest of their estate, was inventoried and listed at private auction where it was identified by friends of the TVHS.
The inside cover of The Holy War by John Bunyan bears the signatures of Charity and William Woodhull. Photo by Kimberly Phyfe, Development Coordinator at the TVHS
A second book was also included in the auction lot. This book bears the signatures of Charity Woodhull and William Woodhull, likely niece and nephew of the patriot spy, Abraham. This book is titled The Holy War by John Bunyan (1682). The Holy War is a fiction book with Christian themes that tells the story of a mighty king who is overthrown by evil rebels and must fight to reclaim his throne.
The acquisition of these books is exciting for the Three Village community. The TVHS can now appropriately curate them, while making these artifacts accessible to scholars. In fact, these books have incredible research potential both historically and genealogically.
The Three Village Historical Society is currently exhibiting the Woodhull books for a limited time. These books can be viewed at TVHS headquarters located at 93 N Country Road in East Setauket.
Guests are welcomed to visit TVHS.org to book a docent- or self-guided tour of the historical society’s museum or a walking tour throughout the Three Village community (operated by Tri-Spy Tours). The TVHS’s Spies! exhibit also features interactive software, hands-on learning activities, and the original Abraham Woodhull costume worn by actor Jamie Bell in the TURN: Washington’s spies television series. The society also welcomes researchers who wish to study theircollections for academic or independent research projects.
Acknowledgments: Acquisition of these historical items would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Three Village Historical Society’s staff and trustees. Specifically, the Collections Committee comprised of Christina Tortora Ph.D., Brian Bennett and Judi Wallace, as well as Brookhaven Town Historian Barbara Russell, Three Village Historian Beverly C. Tyler, the Society’s director Mari Irizarry, and President of the Board of Trustees, Jeff Schnee.
Author Scott Ferrara is the Exhibits & Collections Coordinator at the Three Village Historical Society.
This week’s featured shelter pet is Jitterbug, a white and tan female terrier mix currently up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
Approximately three years old, sweet Jitterbug is a Southern Belle who was adopted from Florida and then surrendered to the shelter on Sept. 16 due to a penchant for escape.
Jitterbug is a social butterfly who loves to meet new people. This young lady is spirited and full of boundless energy. She needs help with some manners, but is otherwise a delightful young girl.
If you would like to meet Jitterbug, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with her in a domestic setting.
The Smithtown Animal and Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only). For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com.
Generations ago, the pioneers of suburbia planned our region with one mode of transportation in mind. Cars.
Our forebears, led by urban planner Robert Moses from the 1920s onward, developed our region around the automobile, viewing the car as the mechanical embodiment of core American values: individualism, autonomy, freedom and progress.
To accommodate their automotive aspirations, they built elaborate networks of roads and bridges, connecting every home to every school, supermarket, shopping mall and office park along a continuous stretch of pavement.
Generations later, we now know this thinking was profoundly short sighted. Modern realities of endless traffic congestion painfully extinguish yesterday’s fantasies of limitless open road.
Today, we exist in a decidedly auto-focused, auto-dependent context whereby every essential activity in our lives is mediated by — and requires access to — a motor vehicle.
While cars are indisputably an important component of our transportation ecosystem, they cannot be the only mode of transportation available to us.
Many seniors or people with disabilities cannot operate a car. Young people entering the workforce often cannot afford the high costs of car ownership and maintenance. It should come as no surprise that these demographics are fleeing our region in droves.
A recent AAA report estimates the average annual cost of car ownership is now over $12,000 per year — up more than 13% from last year. For our residents, cars represent a growing liability, disrupting our finances and hindering our quality of life.
Hiking and biking trails are a possible remedy to our transit woes. While creating valuable recreational opportunities, these amenities fulfill an even greater need by opening an alternative to our cars.
For example, the North Shore Rail Trail extends from Mount Sinai to Wading River, running parallel with state Route 25A. For nearby residents, the trail facilitates access to every storefront, parkland and local institution along that highly trafficked corridor — without an automobile.
Unlike the road, that confines us to the interior of our cars, the trail places us outdoors and in relation with nature. Trails restore that vital connection to the land severed long ago through auto-focused regional planning.
The time is now to expand and interconnect our existing trails. Like our roads, we must connect every community on Long Island along one continuous greenway.
The North Shore Rail Trail and the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway are separated by just over a mile. Planning must commence now to link these trails together.
But we cannot stop there. We must plan and construct new hiking and biking routes, introducing these trails to communities currently without them.
Unlike past decision-making, our plans for new trails must be done purposefully. Greenways should not be limited to parks and open spaces — they must also extend into our neighborhoods, our commercial districts and our schools.
Still, an integrated transportation network must account for all modes of transport — private and public. A more agile and efficient bus system is in order. We call upon Suffolk County Transit officials to explore shorter buses that can better maneuver and adapt to meet the needs of riders.
Our commuters require faster, more frequent rail service. The electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road would satisfy this end. We call upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and our New York State delegation to advance this plan more aggressively.
With creative thinking, community-based planning and bold vision, we can revolutionize our transit network, rectifying decades-old faults and counteracting our regional decline. Together, let us blaze new trails ahead. Suffolk County’s new GEAR Up program is a step in the right direction.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, left, and Marty Buchman, a member of the board of the New York Bicycling Association. Photo from Bellone’s Flickr page
Suffolk County’s transportation network may soon undergo significant transformation.
In 2020, the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning published its Hike and Bike Master Plan, which calls for 1,200 miles of new pedestrian and biking infrastructure countywide.
To mark Car Free Day on Friday, Sept. 22, county officials joined transit advocates along a bike path in Kings Park, announcing a new program to achieve the goals of this master plan through intermunicipal coordination.
“Today on Car Free Day, I am proud to announce that we are taking our Hike-Bike Master Plan further, taking additional steps to create a safe and comfortable biking environment in Suffolk County,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D).
The new program, GEAR — Guidance for Enhancing Active Recreation — Up Suffolk, will authorize the county’s Department of Economic Development and Planning to provide free technical and design assistance to municipalities to implement active transportation projects. This undertaking aims to help Suffolk’s towns and villages expand trail access by reconfiguring local roadways.
While various trail networks already exist, Bellone said the GEAR Up initiative could help “fill in the gaps” between existing trail infrastructure.
“Where are the gaps? They’re roads,” he said. “In many cases — most cases even — they’re local roads.”
Bellone said the county government seeks to offer conceptual and preliminary designs, conducted in coordination with local municipalities, tailored to meet a community’s needs.
These proposals may include corridor designs, bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, curb extensions and flashing beacons, among other design elements.
“We want to create an interconnected biking and hiking network that you can use [to] travel across the county,” Bellone said.
Marty Buchman, a member of the board of the New York Bicycling Association, pointed to the deficiencies of past planning and its impacts today on local communities.
“Suffolk County was never designed for the amount of population that it contains right now,” he said. “The roads were designed for a rural county,” adding, “The situation of cars in Suffolk County is going to get worse.”
Buchman advocated for planners and municipalities to view the bicycle as an alternative to the automobile. He suggested trails could help alleviate several of the challenges drivers experience on roadways.
“I’d like to see more paths — not just recreational paths but paths for transportation,” he said, advising “that a bicycle be looked at as more than just a fitness tool or an outdoors tool but a way for people to get from point A to point B.”
He added, “That’s not going to happen without the required or needed infrastructure.”
Bellone outlined multiple benefits of expanding trail access, such as environmental protection, economic development and downtown revitalization.
Amid escalating fears of a youth exodus from Long Island, Bellone said promoting alternative modes of transit can help the county retain and attract young people.
“We are in a competition for innovators, young people, entrepreneurs and skilled workers,” the county executive said. “We want them living in our downtowns. We want them raising their families here because that will bring more jobs, businesses and sustainable economic growth.”
“You get that when you make investments in the things that improve people’s quality of life,” he added.
Buchman referred to hiking and biking infrastructure as an apolitical policy area: “This is not a political issue,” the transit advocate said. “Republicans ride. Democrats ride. People ride.”
In achieving the goals of the master plan, Bellone said intergovernmental collaboration would remain crucial while working toward the objectives of the 2020 master plan.
“Having an interconnected hiking and biking network throughout Suffolk County helps every community and family across the county,” he said.
The county will accept applications for the GEAR Up program on a rolling basis.
Stony Brook University might need to rename a wing of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics the Breakthrough Prize alley. That’s because theoretical physicist Alexander Zamolodchikov recently shared a $3 million prize in fundamental physics, matching a similar honor his neighbor on the floor and in the department, Peter van Nieuwenhuizen, earned in 2019.
Zamolodchikov shared this year’s award with University of Oxford Professor John Cardy for their contributions to quantum field theories which describe particle physics as well as magnetism, superconducting materials and the information content of black holes.
“I’m not working for prizes, but it’s kind of encouraging that other people think that my contribution is significant,” said the Russian-born Zamolodchikov, who joined Stony Brook in 2016 and had previously worked at Rutgers for 26 years, where he co-founded the High Energy Theory Center.
While Zamolodchikov was pleased to win the award and was understated in his response, his colleagues sang his praises.
Zamolodchikov is “one of the most accomplished theoretical physicists worldwide,” George Sterman, Director of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics and Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, said in a statement. “He has made groundbreaking advances, with enormous impact in many physics fields, such as condensed matter physics, quantum statistical physics and high energy physics, including our understanding of fundamental matter and forces.”
Sterman added that Zamolodchikov’s insights have influenced the way theoretical physicists think about foundational concepts.
“Having such a giant in your institute is always great,” said van Nieuwenhuizen, who said the two Breakthrough Prize winners sometimes discuss physics problems together, although their fields differ.
Founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner and Anne Wojcicki, the Breakthrough Prizes are referred to as the “Oscars of science.”
A scientific throwback
Zamolodchikov has a “very pleasant personality” and couldn’t be a better neighbor in a corridor in which five of the offices house distinguished professors, van Nieuwenhuizen said.
Van Nieuwenhuizen, who was a deputy for C.N. Yang for six years, said the two of them often discussed whether to continue to build a theoretical physics department or to branch out into applied physics.
The direction for the department “wasn’t so obvious at the time” but the institute members decided to continue to build a fundamental physics group, which attracted the “right people. In hindsight, it was the right decision,” van Nieuwenhuizen added.
In some of his lectures and discussions, Zamolodchikov, who often pushes his glasses up on his forehead, works with equations he writes on a blackboard with chalk.
He suggested that many in the audience prefer the slow pace of the blackboard and he uses it when appropriate, including in class lectures. Having grown up in pre-computer times, he considers the blackboard his “friend.”
“He’s a throwback,” said van Nieuwenhuizen. “I happen to think that is the best way of teaching.”
Thinking about eating bread
Zamolodchikov said he often gives his work considerable thought, which he believes many scientists do consciously and subconsciously, wherever they are and what they are doing.
When his daughter Dasha was about four years old, she asked him what he was thinking about all the time. He joked that he was contemplating “how to consume more white bread.”
Even today, Dasha, who conducts biological research, asks if he is “still thinking about white bread.”
Family commitment to physics
When Zamolodchikov’s father Boris returned from World War II, the Soviet Union built a physics institute in his town of Dubna.
His father had an “exceptional understanding” of some parts of physics, such as electromagnetic theory and he would talk in their house about science. Boris Zamolodchikov was chief engineer of a laboratory that was working on the first cyclotron.
“He convinced us that physics was something to devote the life to,” Zamolodchikov explained.
Zamolodchikov (who goes by the name “Sasha”) and his late twin brother Alexei (who was known as Alyosha) looked strikingly similar, but were never sure whether they were fraternal or identical twins. The twins collaborated on research in physics until Alexei died in 2007.
Zamolodchikov and his brother understood each other incredibly well. One of them would share a thought in a few words and the other would understand the idea and concept quickly.
“It was some sort of magic,” said Zamolodchikov. “I miss him greatly.”
Indeed, even recently, Zamolodchikov has been working to solve a problem. He recalls that his brother told him he knew how to solve it, but the Stony Brook Distinguished Professor forgot to ask him about the details.
When Zamolodchikov, who thinks of his twin brother every day, learned he had won the prize, he said he feels “like I share this honor with him.”
Description of his work
In explaining his work, Zamalodchikov suggests that quantum field theory, which was questioned for some time before the mid-1970’s, has been used to describe subatomic physics.
On a general level, quantum field theory helps explain nature in terms of degrees of freedom.
“I was trying to solve simplified versions of these field theories,” said Zamolodchikov. He provided insights into what quantum field theory can describe and what kind of physical behavior would never come from quantum field theory.
His work shed light on phase transitions, from liquids to gases. He was able to find a solution through quantum field theory that had a direct application in explaining phase transition.
Experimentalists did the experiment and found the signature he expected.
“When I make a prediction about the behavior in phase transition and they do the experiment and find it exactly as my prediction, it’s remarkable,” he said. “My prediction involves an exceptionally complicated but beautiful mathematical structure.”
Peter Xavier Carolan of Mendham, New Jersey, formerly of New York City and Northport, passed on Thursday, Sept. 14. He had recently celebrated his 75th birthday and 39th wedding anniversary.
Born on Aug. 23, 1948, in Brooklyn to Peter and Margaret (Pace) Carolan, the young Peter grew up in Northport and attended Northport High School, graduating in 1966. He then graduated from Niagara University in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in travel, trade and transportation. In 1975, Peter completed his master’s in business administration from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Prior to and while completing his master’s, Peter worked for American Express in the Park Avenue, New York City office. He later moved to Citibank until 1979, when he left to commit full time to his growing import-export business, Real Torino. A workaholic by nature, for 40-plus years, Peter successfully managed multiple companies importing breadsticks (grissini), pasta and other Italian food products nationwide.
In addition to his many personal accomplishments, his greatest joy was celebrating the successes of his children. In recent years, his five grandchildren always put a smile on his face. His generosity and loyalty were omnipresent, and he would do anything to help someone he considered family or a close friend.
Loving husband of 39 years to Elena (Bibini) Carolan, he was the devoted father of Peter G. (Katelyn), Monica (Brett), Sofia and Ellie and beloved grandfather and “Pop Pop” to Mia, Carter, Kirsa, Luce and Aurelia. He is survived by siblings Leonard (Christine) Carolan, Margaret (Len) Modelewski and Frances (John) Marino.
He reposed at Nolan Funeral Home, in Northport, on Sunday, Sept. 17.
A Catholic funeral Mass was celebrated on Sept. 18, at Saint Philip Neri Church in Northport. Interment followed in the parish cemetery in East Northport.
Donations in lieu of flowers in Peter’s memory may be made to The Peck School, 247 South St., Morristown, NJ 07960.
Senior Kenzie Bliven hammers away at the ball as Bay Shore goalkeeper Sabrina Frazer makes one of her 19 saves in Northport’s 4-0 victory. Bliven would score three consecutive goals in the first half of the game. Photo by Steven Zaitz
From left, Caitlin O’Malley, Mary Breckling and Samantha Ferrara strategize during a time-out. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Northport Tigers Field Hockey battle Bay Shore. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Northport Tigers Field Hockey battle Bay Shore. Photo by Steven Zaitz
By Steven Zaitz
On the first day of spring in the year 2021, the Northport Lady Tigers lost a field hockey match.
It was a chilly day on the campus of Smithtown High School East as the Lady Bulls and the Lady Tigers would need an overtime session and a shootout to decide a victor.
Smithtown East’s Dani Brady, who is now a junior at the University of Maryland, netted the winner against Northport’s future hall of fame goalkeeper Natalie McKenna and this set off a wild celebration for the Lady Bulls with Brady at the bottom of a raucous pile.
Fast forward two and a half years later to the first day of autumn, 2023, and the Lady Tigers still have not lost a game since that long-ago day in St. James.
Last Friday, senior forward Kenzie Bliven rattled off three goals in a four-minute span of the first quarter to help defeat the combined forces of Bay Shore and Islip by a score of 4-0. It was the seventh win of the year for Northport, who have now won a mind-blowing 62 games in a row. The team is also seeking its third straight New York state championship and fourth straight Long Island championship, as there was no statewide tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Northport besieged Bay Shore/Islip goalkeeper Sabrina Frazer with 23 shots on goal as Bliven, who leads the Lady Tigers with seven goals this year, worked relentlessly at the goalmouth to hammer away at her natural hat trick. Senior Makenzie Maniscalco added a goal in the second half for the Lady Tigers, and freshman sensation Julianna Tietjen had three assists while junior Lily Beamer had one.
Senior Grace Wickard and junior Mariselle Camillone split time in goal for the shutout. Northport has outscored its opponents by a combined 20-1 so far this season despite losing a star player such as McKenna, her sister Olivia McKenna, Emma McLam, Sydney Wotzak, Mackenzie Sweeney, Emma Fabrizio, Mallory Bennett and Julia Cavallo, who are all spread across the country enjoying life as college freshmen.
In an oddity of the scoreboard, the Lady Tigers have scored either four goals or two goals in all their games this season. But despite the relatively tame output on the scoreboard, Northport has relied on its trademark watertight defense to sustain the winning streak.
Northport put its streak on the line away to the Commack Lady Cougars Wednesday, Sept. 27, when the Lady Tigers went for a 63rd win in a row. The result was too late for press time.
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