Yearly Archives: 2025

Third Annual Event Hosted by Cona Elder Law honors couples and their secrets to relationship success

 Long Island couples who have been married 50 years or more gathered for a pre-Valentine’s celebration at the 3rd Annual “Lasting Love” Valentine’s Dinner on Feb. 11 to toast their successful relationships.

“This room is full of beautiful people who got it right,” said Jennifer Cona, Founder and Managing Partner of Cona Elder Law. “There are a lot of things older adults can teach us, including the secrets of staying together. Lessons of patience, of compromise. All those things that it takes to stay together for so long.”

Held at Verona Ristorante in Farmingdale, each participating couple feasted on a complimentary traditional Italian dinner including appetizers, dinner and dessert plus a glass of wine or a cocktail.

Couples also had the opportunity to share their stories about how they met and how they have been successful in their marriages and offer advice to younger couples on their own path to relationship success.

“We got married very young and we grew up together,” said Shelley Rudes of Woodbury. She and her husband Jonathan have been together for 51 years. “We never go to bed angry.”

“I think it takes a lot of patience and a sense of humor,” said Diane Powell, of Roslyn. She and her husband Tom have been married 52 years. “You need to keep your relationships with friends and family and be ready to face things you don’t expect. You have to stick together in good times and bad.”

The event was sponsored by Melville-based Cona Elder Law, which concentrates in the areas of elder law, estate planning, estate administration and litigation, and health care law. Cona Elder Law takes a holistic approach to elder law, providing support and resources for older adults and caregivers, and maintains long-term, partnering relationships with clients to provide the best solutions for multiple generations.

 

The E-ZPass Group is issuing an alert to all E-ZPass customers about a text messaging scam targeted at customers of tolling agencies across the United States. The scam aims to deceive customers into entering their personal data and financial information to a fake website.

Customers receiving text messages claiming to be sent by “E-ZPass Toll Services” that directs them to click a link to pay an outstanding toll balance to avoid a late fee should be aware that this message is fraudulent. The toll account information provided in these texts is neither valid nor accurate.

E-ZPass warns customers to delete the texts immediately and do not click on any links embedded in the text messages. Customers who have clicked the link and completed the form should immediately contact their financial institution and notify E-ZPass of any erroneous information posted to their accounts. In New York, customers can call 1-800-333-8655.

Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public service announcement warning the public about a wave of fraudulent SMS texts attempting to scam toll road users.  The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received over 2,000 complaints reporting fraudulent texts representing road toll collection service from at least three states. The complaint information indicates that the scam appears to be moving from state to state. The texts claim the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contain almost identical language. The “outstanding toll amount” has been similar among the complaints reported to the IC3.  However, the link provided within the text is created to impersonate the state’s toll service name, and phone numbers appear to change between states.

E-ZPass advises customers that if you receive one of these texts, file a complaint with the IC3, www.ic3.gov.

“Scam attacks through emails and text messaging are on the rise in our country and protecting the safety of E-ZPass customer information is of paramount importance to us”, stated PJ Wilkins, E-ZPass Group Executive Director. “We will continue to work with our partnering states to alert our customers of any criminal activity that places them at risk, and we encourage E-ZPass customers to be vigilant in ensuring that their personal and financial information is not compromised by falling prey to these fraudulent schemes.”

by -
0 652
FIle photo

Suffolk County Police arrested a Huntington High School student on Feb. 11 for allegedly making a threat of mass harm on social media.

Following a tip, Second Precinct officers responded to Huntington High School, located at 188
Oakwood Road, at 11:30 a.m. after the student allegedly made a threat of mass harm on Snapchat.

The female student, 18, was charged with Making a Threat of Mass Harm. She will be taken for
evaluation and will be arraigned on a later date.

by -
0 686

Long Island’s most popular amusement park adds more value through the new ‘Wave Twister’ ride, new games, and additional amenities—at last year’s prices 

Adventureland, 2245 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale has announced it will be freezing its prices— without freezing the fun! Long Island’s most popular amusement park, offering family fun for everyone since 1962, is offering more value this year, and for the same ticket prices as last year. The park is freezing its admission rates, group rates, season pass rates, and birthday party rates at the same prices from the 2024 season. 

“At a time when everything around us is going up, we are proud and excited to be able to provide our guests this price freeze on admission,” said Jeanine Gentile, Adventureland Park Manager. “We are still making additions to the park, so you will definitely see some great changes for this upcoming season. But one thing that will not be changing is the admission prices for the 2025 season!”

The price freeze is not the only exciting news from Adventureland. For the first time, the amusement park is offering payment plans through FlexPay for online orders of $100 or more. This brand-new option will allow visitors to book tickets and purchase season passes online—now—and conveniently pay over time. Daily tickets and season passes are currently available for purchase online. For full details please visit https://adventureland.us/?keyword=Tickets

Last year, Adventureland announced plans for a multi-year, five-phase $15 million redevelopment. Now currently in phase 2, the amusement park promises a ‘Bigger and Better’ 2025 season, which includes two new outdoor games: ‘Wave Blaster’ and ‘Jungle Run.’  Additionally, plans are in place to install three new concession stands and a third restroom facility. Especially exciting is the highly-anticipated new family ride, ‘Wave Twister,’ scheduled to open this spring.

The opening weekend of the 2025 season will be March 22 and March 23. For further information, call 631-694-6868 or visit Adventureland.us. 

 

Stony Brook Medicine participates in the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" campaign to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease.(2/7/25)

On Friday, February 7,  National Wear Red Day®, staff from Stony Brook University Hospital wore red to help raise awareness of women’s No. 1 killer – cardiovascular disease. The annual #WearRedDay during American Heart Month honors those we have lost to heart disease and aims to raise awareness of the actions we can all take to prevent it.

Photo from SCPD
Suffolk County Police have arrested a man for allegedly driving while intoxicated following a tractor trailer crash on the westbound Long Island Expressway in Dix Hills on February 10.

Timothy Murray was driving a 2016 Freightliner tractor that was pulling a trailer westbound on the Long Island Expressway, when the vehicle left the roadway at the right shoulder, crashed into the guardrail, and came to a stop east of the Exit 50 off ramp, at 7:48 p.m. Several hundred feet of guardrail and two streetlamps came down in the crash. Another vehicle struck debris in the roadway and became disabled.

Two lanes of the westbound Long Island Expressway were closed for over six hours to remove the vehicles and clear the roadway, including clean-up of motor oil and approximately 50 gallons of spilled diesel fuel. Suffolk County Motor Carrier Safety Section responded and completed a post-crash inspection and NYDEC Hazmat Spill Response was on scene for the diesel fuel spill.

Murray, 64, of Mastic, was charged with Driving While Intoxicated. He was held overnight in the Third Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on February 11.

by -
0 599
Do you recognize this man? Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man who allegedly stole merchandise from a South Setauket store in February.

A man allegedly stole home goods from Target, located at 265 Pond Path, on February 6 at approximately 8:20 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.

by -
0 1608
Do you recognize this couple? Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man and woman who allegedly stole merchandise from a South Setauket store in January.

A man and woman allegedly stole beauty products from Target, located at 255 Pond Path, on January 28 at approximately 7 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.

Detectives from the Suffolk County SPCA have charged a Kings Park woman with alleged animal cruelty, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia after the execution of a search warrant on her residence on Feb. 8.

Roy Gross, Chief of the Suffolk SPCA, said that its detectives charged Cazandra Nucci, 42, with multiple misdemeanor animal cruelty charges, alleging that Nucci neglected eleven sugar gliders and nine cats in her care by failing to provide a safe and clean environment. Additionally there were 9 dead sugar gliders and 1 dead snake.

The operation was executed with assistance from the Suffolk County Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit, Homicide Section, 4th Precinct Patrol, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office BEAST Unit, Town of Smithtown’s Fire Marshal’s Office, Code Enforcement and Animal Shelter.

Upon executing a search warrant in the afternoon of February 8, 2025, detectives found the home the animals were confined inside had noxious air and odor of feces, urine, and rot were so pungent it made personnel cough and gag upon entry and stung their eyes. The animals found indoors were in an overcrowded area of hoarded garbage over six feet high in some spaces. Dozens of apparent drug paraphernalia were strewn about the residence, crack cocaine and MDMA were recovered along with nine deceased sugar gliders. The conditions inside were so extreme that personnel had to crawl over the piles of debris inside. The residence has been placarded as unfit for human occupancy by the Town of Smithtown Code Enforcement.

Nucci was booked at the Suffolk County Police Department 4th Precinct and released. She is scheduled to appear at First District Court in Central Islip, on February 28. The animals will soon be available for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.

The Suffolk County SPCA remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all animals in the county. Animal cruelty will not be tolerated. If you witness any incident of animal cruelty or neglect in Suffolk County please contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722.

2025 Rocky Point Civic Association

On February 4, Councilwoman Jane Bonner (right) was at the Fischer VFW Post 6249 in Rocky Point where she led the swearing-in of the new Rocky Point Civic Association board members.

Pictured left to right are Dean Gandley (Treasurer); Quentin Palifka (Trustee); Alicia Palifka (Trustee); Kathleen Weber (Membership Secretary); Jennifer Hald (President); Tina Bogart (Sergeant at Arms); Thomas Buttacavoli (Vice President); Leah Buttacavoli (Trustee) and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (right). 

“The Rocky Point Civic Association has worked for many years to help make the community a better place to live,” said Councilwoman Bonner. “I congratulate the incoming officers and look forward to working with them in the future.”

The Rocky Point Civic Association was founded to promote the welfare and quality of life in Rocky Point and the surrounding community. Regular meetings are on the first Tuesday of the month. For more information, go to www.RPCivic.org or email [email protected].