Yearly Archives: 2024

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Police car

Suffolk County Police Hates Crimes Unit detectives are investigating a criminal mischief incident as a
hate crime that occurred at a Melville temple.

Threatening and derogatory anti-Hindu messages were spray-painted on the driveway and a sign, causing damage, at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, located at 2 Deshon Drive, sometime between September 15 at 7 p.m. and September 16 at 6:30 a.m.

Anyone with information is asked to call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or the Hate Crimes Unit at 631-852-HATE.

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Do you recognize this woman? Photo from SCPD
Do you recognize this woman? Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the woman who allegedly stole from a Commack store this month.

A woman allegedly stole clothes from Five Below, located at 108 Veterans Memorial Highway on September 5, at approximately 7:15 p.m.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

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Photo by SCPD
Suffolk County Police arrested five people on Sept. 17 for allegedly selling tobacco and vape products to people under the age of 21 during compliance checks at multiple businesses in Huntington, Greenlawn and East Northport.

In response to community complaints, Second Precinct Crime Section officers checked 10 businesses for compliance with laws related to the sales of vape and tobacco products.

The following people were charged with alleged Unlawfully Dealing with a Child 2nd Degree:

  • Esaa Ala-Adeen, 29, of Queens Village, an employee of Green Leaf Smoke Shop, located at 247 Broadway, Unit F, Huntington
  • Clarissa Villatoro Contreras, 27, of Huntington Station, an employee of Smoke & Vape Shop, located at 108 Broadway, Greenlawn
  • Kumra Ashok, 36, of East Northport, an employee of East Northport One Stop Deli & Food Market, located at 246 Pulaski Road, East Northport
  • Nicholas Paratore, 21, of Kings Park, an employee of Legacy Smoke Shop, located at 39 Larkfield Road, East Northport
  • Kadir Arslaw, 21, of Deer Park, an employee of Sammy’s Corner Convenience Shop, located at 2 Laurel Road, East Northport.All five were issued Field Appearance Tickets and are scheduled to appear at First District Court in Central Islip on a later date.

Caption: Stony Brook University’s Red Hot Clothing Recycling Bin. Photo by John Griffin 

Stony Brook University’s Facilities and Services recently rolled out revamped donation bins for its clothing recycling program. 11 “Red Hot” clothing bins were outfitted with enhanced signage and messaging to encourage students, faculty, and staff to think and act green.

The clothing recycling program has been in existence on campus for more than 20 years, but now, there is a scannable QR code on each bin that links you to the Stony Brook University recycling website. It also explains where your donated goods are going.

Wearable Collections, a New York City-based waste management company, owns the campus clothing recycling bins and collects the donations approximately every two weeks. According to the Wearable Collections website, the donations are diverted away from the landfill and instead go to someone in need, are turned into cleaning rags, or transformed into fibers that are used for mattress stuffing or high-grade paper.  The university collects around 10 tons, or about 22,046 pounds of material annually.

“We are excited to share that our new clothing donation bins have been installed across our campus,” said William Herrmann, vice president for facilities & services. “These bins make it more convenient for everyone to contribute, while also highlighting our commitment to reducing landfill waste and fostering a greener future. We look forward to seeing the positive impact these bins will bring not only to our campus but the wider community as well.”

The Stony Brook University recycling website also offers an interactive map that highlights where the clothing donation bins can be found around campus, including Chapin Apartments, Roosevelt Quad, and Roth Quad.  Items accepted include clean clothing– even with rips or tears– footwear, belts, handbags, hats, linens, towels, and curtains.

 

Legislator Rob Trotta (left) congratulates Chief Phillip Carroll of the Kings Park Fire Department and presents him with a proclamation to recognize this honor.

The Suffolk County Legislature passed legislation designating the first week in August as Firefighter and EMS Personnel Volunteer Week to recognize these volunteers for donating their time, expertise and resources to make Suffolk County a safer place to live.

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta realizes that all volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel are dedicated men and women who stop what they are doing at any given time to respond to an emergency. Instead of picking one person, he decided to give this recognition to the entire Kings Park Fire Department and EMS Personnel.

The King Park Fire Department started in 1913 and has 90 members who respond to over 2000 calls a year, which is almost six calls a day. It covers the areas of Kings Park, Sane Remo and Fort Salonga.

Its members are responsible for dealing with fires and medical emergencies, car and boating accidents, hazardous materials cases, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, and other situations that may arise. During the summer, the local parks can add to the 17,000 people that the department serves. On some weekends, Sunken Meadow State Park, which is in Kings Park, can have up to 60,000 visitors a day.

“I commend these men and women for their tireless dedication and for demonstrating their commitment to meet the needs of the community twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta.

 

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Police car stock photo

The Suffolk County Police Department will be holding an active shooter drill at the former Briarcliff Avenue Elementary School, 18 Tower Hill Road in Shoreham on September 18.

In the department’s continuing effort to prepare for an active shooter or emergency, police officers from SCPD and associated agencies will take part in an eight-hour training that includes tactical and medical care instruction.

Since the start of the new school year, SCPD officers have responded to approximately two dozen school threats. While patrol remains enhanced around schools, parents and students are reminded of the severity of these threats. The department also utilizes SHARE and the RAVE panic button that schools participate in.

 

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Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the people who allegedly left before paying the bill from a Lake Ronkonkoma restaurant this month.

Three men and a woman allegedly failed to pay for their meal at IHOP, located at 339 Portion Road, on September 8 at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

The Suffolk County Police Department Impound Section will hold an auction on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the department’s impound facility, located at 100 Old Country Road in Westhampton. The auction will begin at 9 a.m. and will be held rain or shine. There will be a preview of vehicles on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the impound yard. Vehicles will also be available for preview for one hour prior to the start of the auction on Sept. 21.

More than 100 lots will be auctioned off including sedans, SUVs and motorcycles. All vehicles will start with a minimum bid of $500 and are sold as-is. For a full list of vehicles, registration information and terms and conditions for the auction, visit www.suffolkpd.org and click on Impound Section and Vehicle Auctions or click here.

Pixabay photo

By John L. Turner

John Turner

As summer melds into autumn, the changes in temperature and daylight length are hardly, if at all, noticeable to us. But not so with the trees of Long Island’s forests. They are attuned to incremental changes in environmental conditions and have begun to prepare for the impending winter although it is still several months away.

The first and most conspicuous sign of this preparation is the color change in the countless leaves adorning the almost countless trees. During the summer leaves are filled with chlorophyll pigment necessary for plants to photosynthesize. As summer wears on, trees begin to break down chlorophyll pigments, reabsorbing the vital nitrogen and as a result other pigments are revealed. The color of the leaf depends on which pigments appear — anthocyanin produces red colored leaves, xanthophyll creates yellow, and carotene results in orange and gold. A fall season with cool nights and warm sunny days produces the most intense colors. 

There are a dozen or so tree species along the North Shore providing the riot of color a that a spectacular autumn burst can bring. Two wetland trees are especially colorful, indeed brilliant — red maple and black tupelo. Their leaves turn an intense orange-red, so colorful it appears if they are illuminated from an internal light source.  Tupelo starts turning early — beginning in mid-August. 

Add to this the butter yellow of the hickories, the lemon-yellow of sassafras, the bright red of scarlet oak (easy to understand how it got its name when you see it in autumn splendor), the similarly colored red oak, the solid tan of beech, the duller orange of black oak, and the solid gold of black birch, and it’s clear that Long Island’s forests can paint an eye-pleasing show!       

Fortunately, there are many parks and preserves along the county’s North Shore where you can see leaf change. Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown can be a go-to locale given the amount of red maple and tupelo growing in and along the park’s numerous wetlands. The same goes for the adjacent Blydenburgh County Park. Cordwood Landing County Park in Miller Place, a gem situated on the shore of Long Island Sound, produces a nice palette of color that includes two rarer orange-leaved trees — Hornbeam and Hop Hornbeam.  

A walk along the Long Island Greenbelt Trail in Arthur Kunz County Park on the west side of the Nissequogue River, accessed from Landing Avenue in Smithtown, can be good for leaf peeping with an added bonus of beautiful views of the river and its marshland, the grasses of which turn an attractive russet color in the fall. 

Makamah County Nature Preserve in Fort Salonga is similar — colorful woodland scenes with peeks out to the adjacent marshland. A less well-known county park, fine for leaf peeping, is Rassapeague County Park located in the Village of Nissequogue along Long Beach Road. 

A little further afield, the 100,000 acre Pine Barrens Preserve of central and eastern Suffolk County offers many places to view the leaf change and is especially beautiful in certain areas as the bright red and orange of the red maples and black tupelos blend with the tans, browns and burgundy of various oaks. Adding to the palette here are the medium green colors of Pitch Pine and in some places the darker greens of Atlantic White Cedar. 

Good places in the Pine Barrens to see the leaf change are the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Cranberry Bog County Nature Preserve accessed by County Route 63 in Riverhead, and The Nature Conservancy’s Calverton Pond Preserve in Manorville.

A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, author of “Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island” and president of Alula Birding & Natural History Tours.

This article originally appeared in TBR News Media’s Harvest Times supplement on Sept. 12.

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On Sept. 11,  at approximately 10:30 p.m., the Suffolk County SPCA received a complaint from a concerned citizen regarding a female beating a duck.

Detectives from the Suffolk County SPCA responded to Hauppauge and were provided videos of the incident that occurred on or about Aug. 26 at approximately 10 a.m. in a small pond located behind The Greens. A woman can be seen cruelly and unjustifiably beating a grey and black/brown Mallard type duck with a hard stick like object in the body, head, and neck area. The woman pursues the duck on land and into the water. It was observed to be deceased shortly after the encounter.

On Sept. 13 at approximately 10:30 p.m. in Hauppauge, SPCA Detectives arrested Audrey Zabielski, 73, and charged her with misdemeanor animal cruelty. Zabielski is scheduled to appear in First District Court in Central Islip on Oct. 3 at 9 a.m.

Animal cruelty will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. If you witness any incident of animal cruelty or neglect in Suffolk County please contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722.