The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America Vigiano Brothers Lodge 3436 gathered in Harborfront Park Saturday morning to remember two Long Island brothers who perished during the September 11 attacks.
Joseph, a police officer, and John, a firefighter, were among the nearly 500 Long Islanders who died 20 years ago on 9/11. Both brothers were from Deer Park.
Every year, the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America host a candlelight vigial to remember the lives of the Vigiano brothers and the other first responders who lost their lives that day.
Zebra Tech employees, who are also first responders, gathered on Friday, Sept. 10 at 9:45 a.m. to remember their fellow service members who lost their lives during September 11, 2001.
During the event, Zebra Emergency Response Team members came in uniform, including Scout Master Jeff Weissman, Sound Beach Fire Department Chief Darran Handshaw, Terryville Fire Department Ex-Captain Martin Sebel, Rocky Point Fire Department firefighter David Singer, Middle Island Fire Department Ex-Chief Craig Tunjian, and Sayville Community Ambulance 2nd Assistant Chief Liz White.
Weissman spoke about how his scout troop worked with Symbol (now part of Zebra Tech) employees at the building to gather 180,000 bottles of water that were trucked into Ground Zero to support the rescue and recovery efforts.
To maintain and keep Port Jefferson village’s pollinator gardens, Trustee Rebecca Kassay has implemented a new program and is looking for volunteers to help.
According to Kassay, the village is home to several gardens that attract bees, butterflies, insects and some birds that help keep plants and flowers growing. These gardens full of plants naturally attract, feed and provide habitat for different wildlife.
Starting this week, Kassay is looking for the community to come together and learn about these different gardens. On Friday, Sept. 10 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., interested gardeners can meet with like-minded people at Harborfront Park Gardens, to focus on the border along the traffic circle by the Village Center.
“Whether you’re an avid gardener, or this is your first time working with pollinator plants, we encourage you to join for these hands-on working and learning sessions,” Kassay wrote in the Port Jeff community garden newsletter.
The program is open to volunteers ages 10 and up.
“Volunteers will learn about pollinator and native gardens, and their ecological importance, as well as getting to know specific pollinator plants,” she added. “How to care for them, where to source them and more — all while pruning, weeding, diggingand making the village’s pollinator garden’s look as attractive to humans as they look to wildlife.”
There will be two more meet-ups, one on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Harborfront Park and another on Oct. 17 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the triangle garden at High Street and Spring Street.
I honestly don’t remember a whole lot from elementary school, but I still remember September 11, 2001.
I remember it was a beautiful, warm day. There was not one cloud in the sky and we were all so excited that we would be able to play outside for recess and gym class.
At just 8 years old, I was in the fourth grade at East Street Elementary School in Hicksville — just a little over an hour away from one of my favorite places, Manhattan.
My dad was a truck driver back then, and he was always in the city making deliveries. He’d take me and my brother out there every other weekend and show us his favorite spots. One of them was the World Trade Center.
“Isn’t it amazing?” I remember him saying, “They look like Legos from far away.”
Back at school that Tuesday morning, I remember simply going about our day. Things eventually got weird, though. My principal came to speak to my teacher out at around 10 a.m. outside of the classroom, and I remember her face when she came back inside. She was white as a ghost.
Throughout the day, my classmates started to get pulled out one by one. I remember being mad that I couldn’t go home, like everyone else. I remember being jealous but, looking back, they were being taken out because their fathers and uncles were first responders and their families were scared.
When our parents picked us up later in the afternoon, I remember everyone just feeling so sad. The sky wasn’t that pretty blue anymore — it felt like a dark cloud washed over us, which on reflection might have been smoke heading east. Everyone’s energy was low. The news was the only thing we watched for hours.
My dad made it home later that night and he was shell shocked. From his truck route in Queens, he said he saw the smoke. He was on the parkway, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, fleeing with the rest of the people trying to evacuate Manhattan.
My family was lucky — we didn’t lose anyone that day, and being so young I don’t know if I was able to recognize what happened until much later in life.
I knew it was a sad day. I knew that something bad happened. I knew that I had to wear red, white and blue on Sept. 12 and that a lot of people were missing and dead.
But when I became a journalist, I started to talk to more and more people who were impacted on the anniversaries of the attacks. Every year since the age of 8, it began to become more real to me.
After college, I met my best friend, Nicole, who’s aunt worked in the first tower. She died on impact when the plane crashed through her office.
Hearing these stories opened my eyes more. I grew up with 9/11 and felt it firsthand. But growing up, I started to learn more about the actual people whose lives were lost that day. I heard their stories and they eventually became real persons to me — not just numbers in this crazy story.
It’s amazing to think that 20 years have passed since the events which took place that horrible day. It’s amazing to see what has happened since then —wars, recessions, other bombings and a pandemic. And it’s amazing to believe that families, like my friend Nicole’s, have been without their loved ones for two decades.
No matter what age you were when the events happened — or even if you hadn’t been born yet — I think the anniversary of 9/11 should remind all of us to hug our families a little harder. Tell them you love them, and never forget the thousands of people who were impacted that day.
Julianne Mosher is the editor of the Port Times Record, Village Beacon Record and Times of Middle Country.
Her husband, a lieutenant in the FDNY’s Rescue 2, left his Miller Place home on Monday afternoon, Sept. 10, for his 24-hour shift in Brooklyn. He was supposed to come home Tuesday night, but he unfortunately never walked back through the door.
“I left all the lights on in the house,” she said. “I left the front door unlocked because I figured maybe if he gets his way home somehow, he would just come in.”
The mom of three boys, ages 13, 8 and 6, had just finished dropping them off at the bus stop when the first plane hit the tower on Sept. 11.
“As the day unfolded, and I was watching the news, I realized he could be there because even though he didn’t work in Manhattan, he was in a rescue company,” she said.
But Peter was always fine, Alice thought. “Then by six o’clock, when obviously he never called and then he didn’t come home, it became very real.”
Looking back two decades later, she doesn’t know how she did it.
“It was beyond horrible,” she said. “But especially as a mom, that’s really the key. I went into mommy gear right away. My kids needed me more than they’ve ever needed me, and I reallyneeded to keep my head screwed on straight.”
Photo from Alice Martin
Peter C. Martin began his career as an FDNY firefighter in 1979. A native of Valley Stream, he graduated from St. John’s University where he met his future wife.
“He was good at it and he loved it,” she said. “I think most of them do … It really is a calling.”
A full-time dad, who also worked at the Suffolk County Fire Academy as a teacher, she said her husband was just “a really good guy. A wonderful dad, and a wonderful husband.”
The two were married for 17 years when he passed away.
“It’s strange … I’ve been without him longer than I’ve been with him,” she said. “I never remarried, and my heart still belongs to him.”
According to Alice, Peter was just 43 years old on 9/11 and was among seven that were killed that day in his firehouse.
“I started calling the firehouse in Brooklyn and nobody was answering. My kids started asking questions,” she recalled. “And as the hours were going on, I felt useless because I wanted to do something. So, I actually started calling hospitals that I knew they were taking the wounded to.”
She eventually got a call that her husband was missing and unaccounted for.
“That’s when neighbors started coming over, people started reaching out to me, which was comforting in some ways and frightening at the same time,” she said.
Alice said the outpouring amount of love and support she and her boys got from the local community during that time was “wonderful.”
“I can say nothing bad,” she said. “There was just such a generous spirit from the people of Sound Beach, Miller Place and Rocky Point … That whole area, the letters I got from strangers.”
Peter was the only 9/11 victim from Miller Place.
“I have to say it was a horrible, horrible situation, but it was also — now looking back — just unbelievable, the goodness of people to strangers they never met,” she said.
Along with learning that a community can come together, Alice said she’s learned two other things after that day’s events.
“I believe in the gift of time with finding a new normal and learning how to live,” she said. “I started taking one thing at a time, whether big or small, I just took everything one thing at a time.”
Twenty years later, with her now-grown sons and a grandson who bears Peter’s name, they still talk about him every single day.
“Now the good thing is any stories that are told, it’s peaceful because we’re not crying, we’re just talking about him,” she said. “You just keep going, and I’m still going.”
Alice said that her husband would be “busting over the moon” knowing that he’s now a grandpa, and that the baby is Peter Charles Martin, the second.
Photo from Alice Martin
“He’d be so happy to see that these three little boys have become three wonderful men, all doing wonderful things, all living their dreams,” she said.
And the sons followed in their dad’s footsteps. All three have begun careers helping other people; as a registered nurse, paramedic and licensed Master of Social Work.
“They’re definitely making a difference in the world,” she added. “He’d be so proud with everything.”
Peter loved snacks and Alice will be reminded of him when she bakes certain things.
“I don’t believe in closure, but I do believe in the gift of time and the healing that can come with that,” she said. “The hardest part is you have to go through it.”
It’s been 20 years since the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, which now means that high school students were nowhere near alive when the events actually took place.
The history teachers in local schools remember that day vividly — some were just children themselves in school that warm Tuesday morning.
Districts across the Long Island now include what happened that day in their curriculum — a day that impacted nearly 500 Long Islanders who were among the nearly 3,000 people killed at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93.
At Port Jefferson high school, 11th grade U.S. history teacher Jesse Rosen said that the district uses the story of one of its own to teach students about what happened — the documentary “Man in Red Bandana.”
“As a department, we were exposed to this heroic story through a former graduate of PJHS, James Burke,” Rosen said. “James’ uncle, William F. Burke Jr., gave his life in the line of duty as an FDNY member on September 11, 2001. As a result, James and his family were introduced to other stories of heroism.”
Rosen, who is in his 15th year at the high school, said he was a freshman at SUNY Albany during the September 11 attacks.
This image of James Burke hangs on the bulletin board of Jesse Rosen’s U.S. history classroom. It is a true reminder to ‘Never Forget.’ Photo from PJSD
“I remember an introductory to psychology class being canceled, walking back to my dorm seeing many other students with canceled classes,” he said. “After putting on the television in my dorm room, I recall watching the plane hit the second tower. Above all else, I recall a state of shock and confusion. At the time, I was completely unaware of the magnitude of the events that were unfolding.”
Bryan Vaccaro, a global studies teacher at the high school, was younger than his current students in 2001. He was in third grade.
“I can vividly recall that day moment by moment,” he said. “Most kids in my class were being picked up from school but me, and I wondered why everyone was leaving but me. When I got home seeing the images unfold on television was surreal, almost as if you couldn’t believe what was happening. An extra level of worry settled in as well since my uncle was a firefighter in the FDNY in Company Squad 270 at the time whose main focus was search and rescue.”
Vaccaro, who has been with the school district for five years, said that when he has to teach his students about September 11, it’s important to tackle the topic head on and make sure students are aware of how the events unfolded that day.
“Many don’t know that there were four total planes in three different locations, simply because at this point none of them were born,” he said. “We always welcome hard-hitting questions in the classroom and discuss thoroughly.”
He added when students learn about the events, they’re overwhelmed with emotion — shocked because although they’ve been exposed to images and videos of the attacks, they have minimal knowledge about what actually happened.
“By the end of the lesson I think their understanding is heavily increased,” he said. “My main premise for my 9/11 lesson is to prove that there are impactful moments in history where time stands still, and you can vividly depict where you were at that specific time.”
Vaccaro said each generation has those moments.
“Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy assassination, the Space Shuttle Challenger, 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombing, etc.,” he noted. “And I make sure the students understand that it could happen next week, next year, 20 years from now, but there will be those moments for them. It makes history real and personal.”
Over the last 20 years, Island residents have felt a deep connection to that day. Vaccaro said that while it’s a sensitive and hard topic to talk about, it needs to be done.
File photo
“I don’t think it’s difficult to teach a subject that hits home for Long Islanders,” he said. “It’s something that needs to be embraced wholeheartedly. It’s part of our story as a region and a country. It showed our resolve as people and proof that we can unite in times of chaos and tragedy — a characteristic that makes us the greatest country in the world.”
High school social studies and special education teacher Melissa Zinger has been an educator for 15 years, the last 10 at Earl. L. Vandermeulen High School.
“On September 11, 2001, I was attending college on Long Island and was at home,” she said. “I remember my mother calling and asking me if I had heard what happened and to turn on the news. As we were on the phone the second plane hit. As I continued watching the news, my dad stormed through the front door in a panic after he raced home from work. He immediately did two things. He tried calling the Red Cross as he told me, ‘They will need blood and supplies,’ and next he made sure our American flag was hanging outside.”
Zinger said that reflecting on what happened 20 years ago, she realized that her parents’ reactions were different than what she was feeling personally.
“I watched the day unfold in shock, and my dad watched the day unfold with fear,” she said.
Now as a teacher, she said her approach to teaching about 9/11 has changed.
“In my first few years of teaching, the approach was more reflective as students had their own memories of that day,” she said.“And over the years, the students only know about 9/11 from what they have heard, so the approach has to also be educational, informative and reflective.”
As an educator, she has her own connection, experiences and emotions from that time, but she is able to see what her students feel depending on the closeness to their homes and experiences of their families.
“Over the years the responses from students have changed as the students have no longer ‘lived through it’ as opposed to have lived through the impacts from it,” Zinger added. “In the beginning years of my teaching, students would share their memories of that day, one student I recall even remembering the exact name of the color crayon he was using when his mother got the call. Presently, I believe that the students are aware of the events and some more personally than others, however, a true understanding of how tragic and life changing for a country I believe they don’t. All they know is life post-9/11.”
While members of the Port Jefferson Fire Department were out helping residents during Hurricane Ida, they had their own issues back at the village’s firehouse.
According to the Port Jefferson Fire Department, water from the storm made its way into the firehouse, flooding the inside and submerging its antique Engine 3 in three feet of water.
The 1946 American LaFrance’s engine crank filled with water and might have been completely ruined if it weren’t for the help of a fellow fireman.
Danny Gruosso, a volunteer with the Terryville Fire Department and resident of Port Jefferson Station, said that this isn’t the first time he’s worked on the vintage truck known as, “The Frog.”
Photo from Port Jefferson Fire Department
Being a member of the adjacent department and a heavy equipment diesel mechanic by trade, Gruosso was asked before the COVID-19 pandemic to check the vehicle out since it was having some issues.
“Then I get a phone call on Friday after the storm that the truck was underwater,” he said. “They called me in a panic, and I said, ‘Don’t touch it, leave it alone. Leave it in the parking lot and I’ll be down there soon.’”
Gruosso headed down to the firehouse and pulled the engine’s filters out. He drained the oil and refilled it, flushed it and cleaned it. After a three-day-long process, he was able to save the motor.
“I was thankful that the storm was low tide because if that would have been saltwater, it would have been bad,” he said. “I still have a couple more things to just look over, but for the most part, she’s ready to rock and roll.”
A tedious project, he was happy to help out.
“Between the two departments we’re like a family,” he said. “We always look out for each other, and we have a lot of respect for each other. It’s a good thing.”
While the antique engine survived this storm, Gruosso said he’s ready to help again if Port Jefferson sees more flooding during the rest of this season.
“I told them, if we’re going to get another storm, I’m coming down. I’ll take the day off and personally drive down here and drive it back to my house,” he said. “It won’t fit in my garage, but I live up the hill and I’ll put it in the driveway with my other trailers.”
Golfers dressed as caddies at a previous Putt & Pub Crawl. Photo from PJ Rotary Club
By Julianne Mosher
It’s going to be a “hole” lot of fun.
The Port Jefferson Rotary’s Winter Golf Classic fundraiser is usually held every January, but for 2021 they’re taking it to the village on Sunday, Sept. 12.
The fourth annual Putt and Pub Crawl is a community favorite where golfers from amateurs to professionals can golf inside and outside of nine of their favorite restaurants and bars in downtown Port Jeff.
“This is one of our biggest fundraisers,” said president of the rotary, Robert Dooley. “It’s a bunch of likeminded people who come out to have fun and support our local businesses.”
The Port Jeff Rotary Club serves the local communities of Port Jefferson, Belle Terre, Port Jefferson Station and Mount Sinai. The club’s foundation gives awards and scholarships to local students, works to alleviate hunger in the community through food drives and collections and helps support local nonprofits.
According to Dooley, the Putt and Pub Crawl started a few years ago when the Rotarians were thinking of new ways to fundraise and help local people, businesses and the community. Normally held during the village’s off-season, the golf outing is geared to bring business to the restaurant scene during a slower time of the year.
“Port Jeff in the winter is normally a slower season,” he said. “So we let those businesses kill it in the summer, and if there’s any way we can help create a bump in sales during the winter, we’re there to help.”
That’s when the rotary teamed up with business owners to set up golf holes inside and outside their stores, so people could play, drink and eat in an easy, slow-paced event that appeals to everyone. The first outing was in January 2017.
“We tried to do something a little more active, presented this idea, and it turned out that 100 people came that first year,” he said.
This year, the event was rescheduled from January to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You go at your own pace to restaurant to bar to restaurant,” Dooley explained. “It’s nothing that’s overly competitive — just having a good time and raising some money in a fun, casual setting.” Each restaurant creates its own setup, and many get creative with it. Some fan favorites include a station outside the Port Jefferson Brewery, Tommy’s Place and one inside Barito Tacos & Cocktails.
Upon arrival and check-in at Danfords Hotel, golfers receive an itinerary with three drink tickets and appetizers for participating locations.
Starting at 10:30 a.m. and concluding at 6 p.m., the Putt and Pub Crawl is an all-day event where participants can come and go as they please. The event wraps with a reception where various awards are given out including best dressed team and best and worst golfers.
“People are chomping at the bits to help people and organizations in need, and to have fun with their loved ones,” he added. “This is an opportunity to help the community and have fun while doing so.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.portjeffrotary.com. Please note this event is for individuals 21 years of age or older.
Pictured left to right: Volunteer Christopher Wesselborg, Executive Director Marc Alessi, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker, Chief Operating Officer Douglas Borge. Photo from Sarah Anker
It was a night to remember.
On Saturday, Aug. 28, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) was one of many who attended the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe’s Sound of Science musical event in Shoreham.
The event, sponsored by the TSCW and the Rites of Spring Music Festival, featured interactive exhibits and activities related to the connection between science and music, a tribute to scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla, and electric musical performances from the Rites of Spring Ensemble.
The show included 12 musicians who played innovative music on electric instruments. Unlike other concerts, the show was featured at a unique venue and open-air theater with Tesla’s famous tower base as center stage and his laboratory as a backdrop.
It began with an interactive surround-sound experience on the octagonal tower base, plus exhibits featuring singing Tesla coils, theremin and the science of sound.
After, the Rites of Spring Ensemble performed an electric concert featuring new music by Kanasevich, Mazzoli, Clyne, Akiho, Rodriguez, Romitelli and Little.
“The Sound of Science was a fantastic event that was enjoyed by all,” Anker said. “Thank you to the many Tesla Science Center board, staff and volunteers that continue to find creative and exciting ways to share the contributions of the world-renowned scientist and inventor, Nikola Tesla, with our community.”
The TSCW is a not-for-profit organization that aims to develop the site of Nikola Tesla’s last remaining laboratory into a global science center that provides innovative learning experiences, supports the advancement of new technologies, and preserves Nikola Tesla’s legacy.
In July, the organization hosted another event to celebrate Tesla’s 165th birthday.
Earlier this year, they held a “Metal for Tesla” event where people donated previously used metal to raise funds towards rebuilding Tesla’s famed towner on the Shoreham grounds.
For more information about upcoming events and programs or if you’re interested in volunteering at TSCW call (631)-886-2632 or visit teslasciencecenter.org.
The North Shore of Long Island was hit hard when the aftermath of Tropical Depression Ida swept along the East Coast.
While the storm pummeled the Island Wednesday night, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Suffolk County. Severe flooding headed down Main Street, E Broadway and the side streets of Port Jefferson, causing damage to local stores, the Port Jefferson Fire Department and Theatre Three.
Photo from PJFD
On Wednesday night the fire department responded to numerous water rescue emergencies, and multiple victims were rescued from their vehicles by its High Water unit. They were joined by the Terryville Fire Department and Mount Sinai Fire Department.
According to the PJFD, in some cases, civilians were found on the roof of their vehicles, or trapped within a floating vehicle. Additionally, a landslide took place on Dark Hallow Road, which left the road essentially impassable with nearly 4-feet of mud and debris.
As a result of the landslide, eight families were evacuated from their apartment building due to unstable conditions of the land.
While fire department volunteers made their ways out to help others, they, too, were victims of the storm. The firehouse on Maple Avenue suffered extensive flood damage.
“Our firefighters did an excellent job coordinating multiple rescues,” said Chief of Department Todd Stumpf. “We have a lot of cleanup ahead, but we are fully in service and able to respond to all emergencies.”
Photo from PJFD
He added that fortunately no injuries were reported during the storm.
Down the street, Theatre Three said they had more than three-and-a-half feet of water inside as of Wednesday morning.
Executive artistic director Jeffrey Sanzel said that the theatre has had its fair share of floods throughout the years, and even though they were more prepared for Ida than others in the past, it was still a hard hit.
“This will be two or three days of cleaning,” he said, “But we’ll get it done and you won’t know what happened.”
Water record-setting levels heading too close for comfort to the stage downstairs. Sanzel said water knocked over and carried one of the dumpsters outside, as well as damaged dozens of costumes, furniture and a beautiful, donated upright piano that is now ruined.
Other businesses like Ruvo and Lavender Fields had flood damage and are currently in the midst of cleaning up.
“Port Jeff was hit again with a flash flood of over 7’’ of torrential rainfall,” said Mayor Margot Garant. “While it hit hard, we remain resilient and continue our work with the state emergency office and state agencies on our flood remediation efforts.”
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