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Kyle Barr

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Superintendent Jessica Schmettan. File photo by Kyle Barr

Board approves 2019-20 district budget

The Port Jefferson School District named the first female superintendent to the post Tuesday, and to top it off, she’s a nine-year Port Jeff resident.

At the board of education meeting April 9, the board named current Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Jessica Schmettan, 42, as the new superintendent effective Nov. 1 this year.

“I’m a resident, a taxpayer, and I have two kids in school,” Schmettan said of her connection to the village. “I’m just so excited to be chosen.”

The Port Jefferson School District welcomed new upcoming superintendent Jessica Schmettan, center with black coat, April 9. Photo by Kyle Barr

The upcoming superintendent beat out a field of over 20 candidates, many of whom Kathleen Brennan, the board president, said were highly qualified for the position.

“Just because she was an inside candidate, she was not tossed any softballs,” said Brennan. 

Schmettan holds a bachelor of science in special education from Long Island University, a master’s degree in instructional technology from the New York Institute of Technology, and School District Leader certification from the College of
New Rochelle.

Before coming to Port Jeff in 2016, she began her career as an educator in the Three Village Central School District. She also has experience with special education from the Roosevelt Union Free School District and United Cerebral Palsy of Long Island. She went on to work for seven years in the Sachem Central School District as administrative assistant for instructional support and programming and later assistant superintendent for elementary curriculum and instruction.

Though there was one other female interim superintendent in the past, Schmettan is the first full-time woman appointed to the position

“It’s exciting for my daughter so she can see what she’s capable of,” the upcoming superintendent said.

In August 2018, current Port Jeff superintendent Paul Casciano declared his intention to step down from his position. In the following months, continuing into the new year, the district worked with Suffolk County BOCES in the process of finding a new superintendent. Deputy Superintendent Sean Leister said most of the costs to the district were from advertising in newspapers, including The New York Times. While he is still waiting for the bills to come back with precise amounts, he estimated the cost to be about $15,000 to $17,000 to the district. 

While Casciano originally intended to stay until July, he extended that until Oct. 31 to aid in the transition.

“I’m so proud of Jessica as the first woman to be appointed to the head of schools in Port Jeff,” the current superintendent said. “She’s proved she has a deep knowledge of our core mission, teaching and learning.”

During the meeting, Brennan spoke directly to Schmettan. “One of the things you said in response to one of the questions you asked was you’re going to have to have courageous conversations. And that phrase struck me, and that kind of describes Port Jeff going forward, we are going to have to have a lot of courageous conversations.”

“I’m a resident, a taxpayer, and I have two kids in school.”

—  Jessica Schmetta

Many of those conversations will revolve around the impact of the settlement with Brookhaven town and the Long Island Power Authority over the taxes levied on the Port Jefferson Power Station. The settlement agreement cuts LIPA’s taxes on the power station in half incrementally for the next eight years. 

Schmettan said she plans to resurrect the budget advisory committee, so the public can get involved in the process of crafting future budgets. She expects the district will continue to see cuts and will have to make some difficult decisions, but she is optimistic about the future of the district, saying “we’re up to the challenge.”

Board adopts 2019-20 budget

The Port Jefferson school board has approved a budget that, while consolidating programs, will still see a small increase. Along with the budget, the board is asking residents to approve the use of capital reserves to fix sections of the high school and elementary school roofs.

The board approved a $43,936,166 budget April 9, a $46,354 and 0.11 percent increase from last year’s budget. The tax levy, the amount of funds the district raises from taxes has also gone up to $36,898,824, a $464,354 and 1.27 percent increase from last year, staying directly at the 1.27 percent tax cap. Officials said they had a lower tax cap this year due to a reduction in capital projects funded by general appropriations. If the district pierced the tax cap, it would need 60 percent of residents to approve the budget come the May vote, rather than the normal 50 percent.

Leister said the district has slashed and consolidated a number of items, including professional development for staff, private transportation allocation, and a $142,000 reduction through scheduling and enrollment efficiencies for staff. The district has also cut the teacher’s retirement system by $25,000 and staff retirement system by $60,000. The biggest increases in budget came from health insurance for staff, increasing by approximately $555,580, and benefits, which increased by $408,480.

The district also plans to use $400,000 in the general fund budget to relocate the middle school office into an existing upstairs science classroom for what district officials said was security reasons.

Leister said the district should be creating a tax calculator for district residents to roughly calculate their school taxes. The program should be available up on the district website in about a week.

The board is also asking residents to vote on allowing the board to allocate funds from capital reserves, the funds built up over time from money unused by the end of each school year, to fix portions of the elementary school and high school roof, equaling $3,600,000.

The board will have its budget presentation May 14 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium before asking residents to vote on the budget May 21. Residents can vote from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.

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File photo

Suffolk County Police said Sunday they have arrested two alleged motorcycle gang members in connection with drugs and weapon charges during a traffic stop in Centereach April 6.

Police said a 6th Precinct police officer pulled over a vehicle, driven by Salvatore Manfredonia III, on Hawkins Road for failing to stop at a stop sign at around 8:45 p.m. Manfredonia was allegedly found to be in possession of Oxycodone. His passenger, John Balogh, was found in possession of a 9mm handgun. Police said Manfredonia is a member of the Satans Soldiers Motorcycle Club, and Balogh, a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, had just left the Hells Angels April Bash held on Lynbrook Street in Centereach.

Manfredonia, 35, of 15 Louise Drive in West Nyack, was arrested and charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree. Balogh, 58, of 1500 Parker Street 5B in the Bronx, was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon 2nd degree, criminal possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of marijuana. Balogh was arraigned at the First District court in Central Islip April 7, and is next set to appear in court April 12. Police said Manfredonia will be arraigned on a later date.

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File photo

Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that seriously injured a motorcyclist in Miller Place April 7.

Margaret Befanis, of Port Jefferson Station, was driving a 2017 Nissan Sentra eastbound on Route 25A and was turning left into North Country Plaza when a 2017 motorcycle, being operated by Joseph Sinacore, of Miller Place, struck the car at around 1:40 p.m.

Sinacore, 27, was airlifted via Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries. Befanis, 69, was transported to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson with minor injuries.

The vehicle and motorcycle were impounded for a safety check. Anyone with information about this crash is asked to call the sixth squad police at 631-854-8652.

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Andy Fortier dressed as Willy Wonka during the 2015 Port Jefferson prom. File photo by Elana Glowatz

For more than 50 years, parents of students, along with volunteers, in Port Jefferson have made magic out of the stone edifice of the Port Jefferson high school.

While other area school districts host their proms in outside venues, every year, the Senior Prom Committee in Port Jeff works for months on end creating an elaborate design for the annual senior prom, tailoring the high school’s gymnasium, cafeteria and bathrooms to fit a theme, one that often takes a magical or fantasy bent. Andy Fortier, who is in charge of the prom’s construction, said he sees the prom as magical — one last time for youth to be youth before it heads into adulthood.

Earl L. Vandermeulen High School is decorated in a Peter Pan, Neverland theme for the 2018 senior prom in Port Jefferson June 25. Photo by Alex Petroski

“Prom is the most beautiful thing, you put into it what you get out of it,” he said. “When you see your kid walk down that red carpet, it’s something magical. This lets the kids be kids again for one more time.”

While the outpouring of funds from the community changes year to year, Fortier said some costs have increased close to 30 percent since he started helping with the Port Jeff prom eight years ago. It’s not so much construction material that has gone up in price, but insurance, catering and lighting, things Fortier said the committee has little control over.

Fortier, a musician and artist in the village, said work goes on all year from whatever time its volunteers are willing to give. He’s thankful for whatever people can offer, whether its work from volunteers or support from the community.

Port Jeff resident Angela Crugnale, who runs the overall operation and financing of the prom, said prices for construction materials will fluctuate from year to year, and while she said the committee does not release the total cost for the prom, this year the prices of materials were much higher than in previous years.

“It seems that this year, everything we’re purchasing has really gone up,” Crugnale said. “Everything across the board it seems has gone up from last year.”

The committee gets most of its funding from parents of the students graduating from the school, which often graduates less than 100 students per class. The 2018 graduating class numbered 89. This year’s graduating class is expected to be at 98.

The prom committee looks to the families of these graduating students to sell raffle tickets to other locals at $100 per ticket to make up much of the prom’s funding, the winner of which can win $20,000 as first prize and $300 for second. Each family of a graduating senior is asked to sell 10 tickets, though there’s nothing to force them to do so.

“It’s kind of the gift from the senior parents to the senior class,” Crugnale said. “The prom has happened since [the 1950s] either way, whether we have $100 or $900, just to say, the prom will be the prom.” 

Earl L. Vandermeulen High School is decorated in a Peter Pan, Neverland theme for the 2018 senior prom in Port Jefferson June 25. Photo by Alex Petroski

Starting in October and working through the end of June, Crugnale and Fortier said the work is nonstop, and it depends entirely on volunteers, from painting scenes and thinking of creative scenes that are also interactive. Crugnale, who started working with the prom committee in 2012, even before her first child graduated in 2012, said the school district has become more involved in the prom over time.

“I loved it from the first moment I saw it, I knew it was special,” she said. “It’s super nice kids get to be involved in something like this. I wanted this to continue to be something for all the kids in Port Jeff.”

The prom committee is hosting its annual golf outing May 6 to finance the prom. Tickets are at $150 a person for a full day of 18 holes of golf and afterward will attend a separate dinner at Harbor Grill at 6 p.m. Tickets for dinner are separate and are priced at $50 a head. Tickets are open to village residents and others alike. To reserve a foursome or for more information, residents are asked to contact Mike Ambrozy at 917-270-7436, [email protected] or Jim Desmond at 631-331-6946,
[email protected].

If residents wish to purchase raffle tickets, they can contact the prom committee at [email protected].

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Denise Mordente during a budget presentation at Port Jefferson Village Hall April 1. Photo by Kyle Barr

The LIPA settlement has weighed heavily on this year’s Village of Port Jefferson budget, leading to a budget that pierces the 2 percent tax cap while at the same time cutting several thousand in expenditures.

The new total budget is $10,310,869, $331,277 less than 2018-19. The budget will leave $6,451,427 needed to be raised in taxes, a 3.33 percent increase from last year, piercing the tax cap.

For homeowners, this change could mean a $21 annual increase to property taxes on the low end, and up to $130 on the high end for more modern homes. For businesses, older buildings might see a $130 annual increase, while modern structures could see an increase of $256, according to the village board.

The village board voted unanimously to adopt the budget at its April 1 board meeting. 

This includes a loss of $208,622 in annual revenues from taxes on the Long Island Power Authority-owned power plant. 

In the agreement signed by Brookhaven Town and the Long Island Power Authority, the $32.6 million tax assessment on the power plant is going to be reduced by around 50 percent incrementally over the next nine years to $16.8 million, starting with the 2017-18 tax year. Denise Mordente, the village treasurer, said since the date of that agreement overlapped with the existing budget, they had to make up for two years of LIPA’s glide path, rather than one.

“Next year we can budget for [a single year of the glide path] … this is double the amount,” Mordente said. “That’s why we have to cut this year.”

Personal services increased among multiple departments due to collective bargaining agreements and an increase in minimum wage, the treasurer said, though the treasury department’s total expenses decreased by $29,287 due to letting go of a staff member.

Village officials have cut $331,280 in total from the expenses of numerous departments, including $41,326 from code enforcement through cut salaries, though Mordente said code enforcement often doesn’t use the total of its budget. Other cuts included $18,117 from the Village Center, mostly from materials expenses. Meanwhile, the parks department saw a near 10 percent increase from both employee services and contractual expenses. 

The village is also looking at a $271,019 decrease in expenditures due to the ambulance services now being handled fully by Brookhaven Town in what was formerly the Mount Sinai Ambulance District as of January 1.

The village continues to pay down on several bonds, including the 2013 $2 million public improvement bond, the 2011 $5.5 million public improvement bond and the 2016 $1.48 million bond anticipation note. As of Feb. 28, the village has $5.74 million left to pay off.

The village board is still considering what it will do with the Port Jefferson Power Station in the future. Deputy Mayor Larry LaPointe said he has been in talks with LIPA, and the quasi-governmental agency has responded positively to suggestions that it be turned into a battery storage facility or a site for renewable energy, but talks are still ongoing.

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Suffolk legislators Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) along with women’s groups and members of local soccer teams attend a press conference April 2 for Equal Pay Day. Photo from Kara Hahn’s office

Suffolk County and Town of Brookhaven officials celebrated Equal Pay Day April 2 by vowing to call attention to the gender pay gap between men and women, especially in the sports world.

Members of the Island-wide Gender Equality Coalition, soccer coaches and student athletes joined forces at a press conference in Hauppauge to highlight workplace gender discrimination in compensation and call on the U.S. Soccer Federation to end gender discrimination in soccer for the sake of future generations of young women athletes and the integrity of the sport. In addition, they called for women all over the country to sign their petition and help them send a message in the world of athletes and beyond. 

“As the mother of a young girl, I want my daughter to know that her mother fought for equal rights and equal pay for women when I had the opportunity.”

— Valerie Cartright

On International Women’s Day March 8, the U.S. women’s soccer team filed a gender discrimination suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, citing salary disparities and unequal support, including inferior training, promotion and playing conditions than their male counterparts. Despite consistently greater success on the field than the U.S. men’s soccer team, the three-time world champion, four-time Olympic gold medal U.S. women’s soccer team said they continue to be paid a fraction of the salary paid to men’s team members. They also allege, unequal treatment by the federation often exposes female athletes to more hazardous conditions to practice, train and compete.

“Young girls around the world idolize the U.S. women’s soccer players because they exemplify unmatched strength, skill and fearlessness,” said Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket). “Their lawsuit sends a message of solidarity with women worldwide who are fighting for equality in the workplace and presents an important teachable moment for our children about gender disparity and the ongoing fight for women’s equal rights.”

At the Town of Brookhaven board meeting March 27, Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) sponsored a resolution to make April 2 Equal Pay Day within the town, which was passed unanimously by the board.

“Pay equity is critically important to having a fair and just workplace,” Cartright said. “Unequal pay and gender discrimination impact a woman as an individual; it impacts her family and the larger society. On a personal level, as the mother of a young girl, I want my daughter to know that her mother fought for equal rights and equal pay for women when I had the opportunity.”

“Their lawsuit sends a message of solidarity with women worldwide who are fighting for equality in the workplace.”

— Kara Hahn

In New York State, the gender pay gap, or the earnings ratio of women’s median earnings divided by men’s median earnings, is 80 percent. In 2017, women living in Suffolk County earned 78% of what men earned, according to Hahn’s office. Women who are identified within minority groups fare even worse, with black woman earning 79% and Hispanic woman earning just 58% as compared to white men.

“Today, we are wearing red to symbolize that women are ‘in the red’ in terms of pay, as compared to men performing similar work,” said Colleen Merlo, the executive director of L.I. Against Domestic Violence and chair of the Gender Equity Coalition. “This issue is not just a women’s issue, it affects children and families.”

Hahn said she created a letter writing campaign and petition about attaining gender pay equality and to help the U.S women’s soccer team. The petition can be accessed at Change.org under the title Pay and Treat Women Soccer Players the Same as Male Players at https://chng.it/k54wZZqJH6 and a sample letter can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yycb3f8v.

During the next two months leading up to the World Cup in France June 7, the group hopes to obtain 75,000 signatures for the petition, which they will then deliver to U.S. Soccer Federation officials. A 2015 petition supporting the team garnered more than 69,000 signatures, according to Hahn’s office.

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The beach over in Harborfront Park near where Robert Finke expects to launch their boats. Photo by Kyle Barr

A new rowing club is racing its way into Port Jefferson Harbor, and its coach is hoping to give high schoolers the first opportunity to get their hands on the oars.

Northport resident Robert Finke has been hard at work setting up a rowing club for residents and outside neighbors alike. The new coach of the rowing club sees the sport as wholly different than any other usual ball-based sport.

“It’s the ultimate team sport, but it’s hard to describe it without first doing it,” Finke said. “It’s you with eight people or four people or whatever boat you’re in, truly having to work together.” 

Starting out, the club will be hosting learn-to-row classes, which will take place at the beach in front of Harborfront Park starting April 15, with the first session going through April 19. Starting out, Finke and his two fellow coaches, the latter two working part time, will focus on young people in grades 9 through 12. Cost is $65 per person to row per session or $15 per child for an individual day, and he has a capacity of 65 to 80 kids per session. The second session is set for April 22 through 26, after which he plans to open up the club for rowers of all ages. Times are Monday through Friday 4 to 6 p.m.

Finke said he had been searching for a location all over the island, from the north to south shores. He settled on Port Jeff due to the harbor, it being shielded from most but the northerly winds, and because out of those he contacted, the town’s recreation department was very open to the idea.

“This is a great addition to Port Jefferson,” said Renée Lemmerman, the village recreation director. 

“It’s the ultimate team sport, but it’s hard to describe it without first doing it.”

— Robert Finke

Lemmerman was also excited by Finke’s past performance, him being an ex-coach of the Harvard University crew team, where he said he took several students who did not know about rowing and got them racing at a competitive level. While he raced crew at Rutgers University, he has also coached in schools in the Manhasset school district, and most recently, was a coach in the youth program in the Sagamore Rowing Association in Oyster Bay.

The new club is not the first crew to use the harbor as its training ground. The Stony Brook University Crew, the school’s rowing club, has used the harbor for training its members in the past as well, though Lemmerman said this is the first instance of having an official club for the Village of Port Jefferson.

The head rowing coach said plans for after the learn-to-row sessions are to start a 6-week spring youth season from May 1 through June 12 with day slots, one for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and another for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Each will have two time slots, one for 3 to 4:30 p.m. and another for 5 to 6:30 p.m. He said once the groups have set a good rhythm, he plans to set it up to compete against other local clubs and schools.

The master’s program, for those above high school age, starts April 1 and goes until April 1, 2020. A yearly membership is $750 per person, and the deadline to register is April 20.

“In rowing, it’s the boat, everyone’s very dedicated to the boat,” Finke said. “Kids get exposed to me, me, me, Lebron James every day. Rowing is the exact opposite of that, the exact yang for ying. The more fun and culture you have in a rowing club, the faster you go.”

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New plans for stairs near Toast Coffeehouse. Left photo by Kyle Barr; right image from Deck and Patio Company

The stairs leading up from the parking lot in front of Portside Bar & Grill is full of dried grass and aging streetlights with extension cords reaching out the top like lifelines on ancient scuba gear.

Now, a Smithtown-based metal fabrication company is proposing a complete remodel of the path leading up to the stairs, even including a waterfall and pond.

Sean Hanley, left, and Mayor Margot Garant discuss new staircase and park. Photo by Kyle Barr

“That water feature would bring the whole thing to a whole other level,” Port Jefferson village Mayor Margot Garant said. “It would be just so calming.”

Sean Hanley, whose wife, Melissa Hanley, owns Salon Blonde hairstylists across the street from the staircase, has known the area for a long while, and approached Garant at the start of the year about transforming the aging staircase and pathway.

“My mother lives in the village — we’re really local, and I always felt that space needed some work there,” he said. Hanley is the owner of LB Fabrication & Automation, a metal fabricator and mason based in Smithtown. 

The designs were created in part by Hanley and by Huntington Station–based Deck and Patio Company, which he hopes will be used when it comes time to start the landscaping portion of the project.

“The space is not totally flat in there, so it doesn’t allow for seating areas everywhere, and we just had to come up with something nice,” the metal fabricator said. “Really want to dress up that sign and walkway so people feel comfortable walking up those stairs.”

Last year in the winter of 2017 and 2018, the village closed the stairs for what it said was necessary renovations due to safety concerns. Garant said she would like lighting that maintains a rustic aesthetic of nearby signage on storefronts.

While the plans don’t include them, Hanley has discussed putting in a waterfall feature on the left-hand wall, which can be seen from the parking lot. They are also considering putting in a stream that would go from the waterfall over to a planned pond. The metal fabricator said the pond can be built so it can be drained down below ground far enough so it won’t freeze during the winter months.

“Everybody was really on board with this,” Garant said.

Plans for pocket park near Toast Coffeehouse. Image by Deck and Patio Company

The concrete pathway would be replaced by herringbone brick that continues up the stairs to the top level. Hanley also said he wants to create a decorative latticing underneath the stairs to cut off access for pedestrians, and that he would want to clean up the stairs themselves of rust.

Along with plans for the stairs, Hanley is also in talks with the village to replace some of the signage in parks, such as Founders Park, with those made from powdered aluminum, so it won’t rust.

Garant said she needs to show the plans to the Business Improvement District. She also intends to speak to the owners of Portside Bar & Grill about adding additional fencing along their building to shield from view when employees use the bottom side entrance. She also said she intends to look into opening up the alleyway between The Kate & Hale and The Secret Garden.

The mayor and metal fabrication owner said there are still details to be worked out over how many companies the village will put out to bid for, what will be the total costs and what is the phasing plan for the project. Overall, they hope to have the project done by the end of spring.

While the details need to still be worked out on which companies will complete the project, Garant said she is looking to see if they can do parts of the project with in-house staff.

“It’s still a public project,” she said.

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File photo

Suffolk County police arrested six people March 30 for selling alcohol to minors at businesses located within Brookhaven Town in the 6th Precinct.

Police said they conducted several stings in response to community complaints, and 6th Precinct Crime Section officers conducted an investigation into the sale of alcohol to minors during which 17 businesses were checked for compliance with the law.

The following people were arrested and charged with unlawfully dealing with a minor:

  • German Estevez-Rodriguez, 40, of East Setauket, employed at Upper Main Street Deli, located at 1600 Main Street in Port Jefferson
  • Joseph Ragan, 18, of Coram, employed at Speedway Gas Station, located at 1445 Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station
  • Isaiah Tyler, 19, of Coram, employed at Speedway Gas Station located at 1956 Route 112 in Coram
  • Nurettin Keski, 45, of Brentwood, employed by Valero Gas Station,located at 1274 Middle Country Road in Selden
  • Buenaventura Benitez, 45, of Smithtown, employed at NY Food & Drinks, Inc. located at 2505 Middle Country Road in Centereach
  • Ervin Rhames, 21, of East Patchogue, employed at Speedway Gas Station, located at 501 Route 112, Port Jefferson Station

Eleven establishments within the 6th Precinct complied and refused to sell alcohol to minors.

All six people arrested were issued field appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear at first district court in Central Islip May 28.

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Cottone at Sensationally Sweet in Patchogue which was helping to promote the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk. Photo from Nic Cottone

LI Spidey-Guy shows the real compassion of a hero.

When heroes don their masks, who do they become?

In the main Marvel Comics book series Spider-Man, it’s Peter Parker who’s behind the facade. But as recent films like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” put it, can anybody wear the mask? Can anybody embody those simple ideals of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, helping people because one has the capacity to do so?

Port Jefferson Station native Nic Cottone puts on the mask and becomes Spider-Man, not in the way that he flings webs and swings around New York City, but that he uses the mask to make people’s days a little brighter. He said the mask does something to a person, makes them fit into the person they most want to be.

“It’s because of the mask, nobody sees who you are, even if you’re scared nobody can see it,” Cottone said.

Cottone, 24, is a cosplayer, one who dresses as a fictional character from all sorts of media, from television to movies and, of course, comic books. Cosplaying is often displayed at “nerdy” events like conventions, where those dressed up will sometimes act in character, often to the pleasure of those in attendance. The young man got his start at cosplaying when he was in eighth-grade, though he started focusing on comic book characters in 2011, and 2012 at the tail end of his time in high school.

Nic Cottone during Gaming Night for Autism Awareness hosted by Game On in Miller Place. Photo from Nic Cottone

Since then, along with the nonprofit group of fellow cosplayers, the East Coast Avengers, Cottone has traveled throughout Long Island and far beyond, attending as Spider-Man for charity events and fundraisers. He assisted in events like Kids Comic Con at Bronx Community College, looking to give kids a creative outlet along with others closer to home such as Miller Place video game shop Game On’s annual events that help children with autism. He’s attended functions with hospitals and has even professionally gone to children’s birthday parties, who often can’t contain their excitement in seeing Spider-Man in the flesh.

The Port Jefferson Station resident, who professionally as Spider-Man goes as LI Spider-Guy, is unassuming, a young man who speaks in subdued tones that rise in pitch whenever he has the opportunity to speak about his passions. Most of those passions take the form of helping his fellow man.

“It’s just incredible, I guess,” Cottone said. “It’s the feeling you get when you can make people happy, when you can make people smile.”

Cottone started out in superhero cosplay portraying Captain America sidekick Bucky Barnes, at first likening the character to an almost-parody of American exceptionalism, but as he grew into it, he found that he saw the rational side of the hero, one who embodies the pinnacle of the American dream, one that centers around helping those who can’t help themselves.

But in his heart, he’s always liked the character of Spider-Man, the story of a young man from Queens, an unlikely hero in the first place. He’s a shy young man, smart, but socially awkward. Though even after he’s bitten by a radioactive spider, it takes a tragedy, the death of his father figure, for him to come to terms with the need to help people, simply because he has the power to do so.

“When I started in 2012, I wanted to inspire others to be their own heroes,” he said. “In high school, I struggled with confidence, I struggled with my drive. I struggled with finding a direction. When I realized I had the power, anybody could have the power to inspire others, that’s when I dedicated myself to being the best I could be for myself and for other people.”

It’s become a lifestyle. He’s done extensive online research on the physique of Spider-Man. And though he’s been exercising since high school, he’s tailored his diet to fit the look. For a year, Cottone has been taking his coffee black to excise as much sugar from his diet as he can.

The first spidery outfit Cottone bought came right after the release of the movie “Captain America: Civil War.” Upon first seeing the character, portrayed by Tom Holland, the Port Jeff Station native, and several of his friends, all thought the actor and character resembled him, in more ways than one. But those close to him know the comparison goes beyond the superficial. Fellow East Coast Avenger and friend Rafael “Captain” Pedragon said the Port Jeff Station native is, in many ways, better than the character of Peter Parker ever was.

“Peter Parker took a long time to realize his destiny, but Nic just knows,” Pedragon said. “He believes in his journey, he believes in what he does. Even when things are going rough with him I do see that he just pushes forward. In my eyes I think he’s better. That’s how I see him. Personality-wise he’s stronger mentally than Peter Parker ever was in the comic books.” 

The first suit he bought was from a company called Zentaizone, but when Joshua Darbee, the owner of Red Shirt Comics in Port Jefferson, asked him to attend free comic book day in May 2017, Cottone decided to go all out and buy a suit from RPC Studios, which many in the cosplay community see as some of the highest quality, movie prop level quality spidery suits. He now owns several suits, all different variations of the same character from movies, video games and the comics. It’s a commitment in both time and money, but the 24-year-old said it’s worth it to be the most authentic superhero he can be.

Nic Cottone at Public School 48’s Read Aloud Day in Brooklyn. Photo from Nic Cottone

Since it opened in 2017, Cottone had become a regular in Red Shirt Comics. Darbee bonded with the young man over comics and days of conventions gone by. It’s also how the store owner learned about the young man’s compunction to use superhero costumes to help people.

“The best story I have about Nic, the day he earned his CPR certification, he came in and he just wanted to share it, he was so proud and so happy,” Darbee said. “It was characters like Spider-Man and Captain America who were always so willing to go that extra mile for their fellow man, that he wanted to at least in some small way to be able to be there for somebody else, so he went out of his way to get that CPR certification, so if there was an emergency, he could be there for someone.”

Cottone graduated from Suffolk County Community College with a degree in psychology before moving on to Queens College looking at elementary education. First, he intended to become a high school teacher, but later he moved onto elementary, seeing it as a way to better help people develop in their formative years. He became disillusioned with the larger education system, saying it emphasized learning to the curriculum rather than developing as a person. 

After graduating from Queens College, Cottone returned to Long Island where he spent a year as a teaching assistant at the Maryhaven facility in Port Jeff, where he assisted children with developmental disabilities. Now he’s looking for full-time work while doing tutoring and working with children with autism.

To hear him say it, all the best things that have come to him recently have been because of Spider-Man. He met his girlfriend because of his love of the character and of comics in general. 

Better still, he doesn’t think he will stop any time soon.

“Ultimately we are alive for a very small amount of time, to be able to enjoy the things you’re passionate about is something very important to me,” he said. “It’s another aspect of life imitating art.

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