Authors Posts by Phil Corso

Phil Corso

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Phil Corso is TBR’s managing editor. When he’s not plugging away at stories, he finds joy in the finer things in life, like playing drums, watching hockey and discussing the latest Taco Bell items.

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A scene from the street renaming ceremonies held at the beginning of this month in Town of Smithtown. The signs now sport the names of late firefighters Richard Weisse and Ross Huffer. Photo by Ron Monteleone

Smithtown’s streets have a little bit more valor, thanks to a recent dedication in honor of two firefighters who served the North Shore and the state.

Ex-Captain Richard Weisse Sr., a 42-year member of the St. James Fire Department, was honored on Nov. 1 with the renaming of Fifth Street in St. James to Richard D. Weisse. The ceremony took place with family and friends, Town of Smithtown Councilmen Bob Creighton (R) and Ed Wehrheim (R), and Town Clerk Vincent Puleo. Weisse served as a member of various response groups, including the St. James F.D., the Fire/Rescue/Ambulance Company, Engine Company One and more as a third-generation fireman. His two children have continued the tradition.

On the morning of Nov. 15, 2014, he was conducting a food drive for a local pantry with junior fire department members when he was summoned for an alarm at the local high school. Subsequently, after adjudication of the alarm and completion of the food drive, he collapsed. The St James F.D. was summoned, members initiated lifesaving efforts and then transported him to Stony Brook University Hospital. Lengthy resuscitative efforts at the hospital were performed, but Weisse passed away.

Ex-Chief Ross Huffer, who was a 48-year member of the Nesconset Fire Department, was also honored with the renaming of Mildred Court in Nesconset to Ross E. Huffer. The ceremony took place with Smithtown officials, family and friends, and with members of the department. He was the Nesconset chief of department from 1982-84. He received the Medal of Valor for saving a resident from a house fire in December, 1981. He also received the Smithtown Fire Chiefs Council’s Unit Citation in 1992 and 1994.

Huffer was directly responsible for restoring the department’s 1937 American LaFrance pumper. His restoration of the pumper resulted in the department winning numerous awards. He died from an apparent heart attack when he returned from an alarm.

Huffer’s name was added to the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany.

Senator Chuck Schumer is taking wireless network companies to task for poor service in areas of Long Island. File photo by Elana Glowatz

What started as an isolated “sexting” incident has spread across two school districts in greater Smithtown and led to two arrests and more than 20 suspensions, school officials said Tuesday.

It all started in late October, when two 14-year-old boys from an unspecified high school in Smithtown used a cell phone to record a sexual encounter with a female acquaintance off school grounds, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement. That explicit content was later distributed electronically to others in an act referred to as sexting to students at Kings Park High School, which led to widespread suspensions there, Kings Park Superintendent Timothy Eagen said in a statement.

Police did not specify the age of the female or where she attends school, or whether the sexual act was consensual or forced.

Both boys were arrested and charged with two felonies — disseminating indecent material to minors and promoting a sexual performance by a child — and a sexual abuse misdemeanor and were scheduled to appear in family court on a later date, police said. Cops did not release the names of the students because they are minors.

In a statement, Smithtown Schools Superintendent James Grossane confirmed the two boys were high school students within the district, but did not specify whether they attended Smithtown High School East or Smithtown High School West. He said district disciplinary action would be determined pending the outcome of an investigation, and the district was working with the SCPD to find a resolution.

“We are greatly disturbed by these allegations and we express our heartfelt concern to the alleged victim and their family,” Grossane said in a statement, referring to the girl whose image was captured and disseminated. “This is a very serious matter and the district is currently conducting an internal investigation to further explore this incident. We encourage parents to take this opportunity to speak with their children about the long-term negative consequences that the inappropriate use of social media may have on their lives and for parents to monitor their child’s online and cell phone use to the best of their ability.”

Policing the digital realm was not a new topic for the Kings Park schools superintendent. The sexting incident occurred about two months after Eagen hosted an online safety and cyber bullying public forum at Kings Park High School.

“Yes, we do have a serious problem,” Eagen said in a notice posted on the Kings Park Central School District’s website. “However, from my perspective it is that our young people are carrying mini-computers in their back pockets that are both unfiltered and largely unsupervised. This is a shared problem, and more than just an issue of one student, one decision, or one suspension”

In the notice posted online, Eagen referred to modern youth as the “iGeneration,” that has grown up in an era of immediate technological stimulation via smartphones and tablets. He notified parents that students had access to various smartphone applications at their fingertips solely designed for the purpose of concealing pictures and videos, and he suggested changes be made inside the home.

“Some students have shared with us that they sleep with their phone under their pillow,” he said. “This is dangerous and very problematic. The best advice that I was given a few years ago was to create a family electronic device charging station. At night before, bed, all devices go to the family charging station. Something to consider.”

Eagen said his goal over the coming months was to work with the district’s principals and parents to urge young people “to be good citizens and report problematic behavior to an adult.”

Three Village gathers in footprint of former Capital One building to open new arts center

A scene from Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Reboli Center in Stony Brook. Photo by Phil Corso

A group of dedicated Three Villagers has blended together a perfect cocktail of art and history, and anyone passing through historic Stony Brook village can have a taste.

The Reboli Center for Art and History held its ceremonial ribbon cutting in the company of founders and supporters on Tuesday morning while standing within the footprint of what used to be a Capital One bank. But they did much more than snip a piece of blue ribbon — they ushered in a new era in Stony Brook history, where North Shore residents can admire work from the late Joe Reboli of Setauket and take part in artistic and historic programming delving into the story of Three Village, Suffolk County and Long Island.

“It has been my dream, ever since he passed away, to have a place where the community can come and see his work,” said Lois Reboli, wife of the late artist. “He loved this community, he was very involved in the community and I am just beyond excited about this opportunity.”

Joe Reboli was born and raised on Main Street, not far from where his name was memorialized on Tuesday. He and his family had a long history in the area: His grandfather ran a business across the street, and his aunt worked in the same building when it was a bank decades ago.

He died in 2004 at age 58 after being diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. Since his death, Lois Reboli has been attending makeshift meetings at coffee and kitchen tables across Three Village with a squad self-identified as The Rebolians, working to make sure Joe Reboli’s story lived on. The list of names added to that squad has not stopped growing since his death.

Joe Reboli and his work line the walls of the new art and history center. Photo by Phil Corso
Joe Reboli and his work line the walls of the new art and history center. Photo by Phil Corso

One of the first people to make that list was Colleen Hanson, who worked as executive director of Three Village’s Gallery North from January 2000 until her retirement in September 2010. She worked alongside Lois Reboli after the artist passed and also helped launch the first Reboli Wet Paint Festival weekend at Gallery North in 2005. She said it was a long-standing mission of hers to honor Joe Reboli and keep his work at the forefront of the Three Village conversation.

“I made a vow that we would do something for him,” she said. “If we were to find a space, it had to be in Three Village and it had to have a Joe-like feeling. Now, I pinch myself and think, ‘This is so cool.’ We love this community. We want it to be even better and richer for everybody, and I see this as a beautiful upbeat place where people want to be.”

Lois Reboli started to see her team assemble before her eyes, with Hanson and former Gallery North assistant to the executive director, B.J. Intini. The three dubbed themselves the “tres amigas,” and that nickname followed them all the way to Tuesday’s ribbon cutting.

The founders received help from many along the way, but there was one significant piece of assistance they said they never saw coming.

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) was in talks with Lois Reboli regarding the potential creation of a Reboli arts center, and he helped the “tres amigas” create a not-for-profit called the Friends of Joseph Reboli, with a mission of collecting, preserving and exhibiting artwork and artifacts related to Joe Reboli. The group filed for federal 501(c)(3) status in 2012.

“This is not going to subtract from our existing cultural institutions,” Englebright said. “It is going to make this area an attraction and enhance it.”

It wasn’t until March 2015 when Hanson said she heard of the Capital One bank in Stony Brook potentially leaving the historic-landmarked building at a price tag of $1.8 million, and they have not looked back since. The Rebolians started raising money and seeking help from the greater Three Village community to acquire the space.

Englebright spearheaded a state grant at $1.3 million toward the purchase price, and that was coupled with two anonymous $150,000 donations that allowed them to plant a Reboli flag in the property.

Lois Reboli signed that contract on Sept. 25 — her late husband’s 70th birthday.

The Reboli Center for Art and History will keep Joe Reboli’s artwork alive with thriving displays and exhibits. A Reboli atelier will also complement the center’s work by establishing an education program at a Flowerfield facility, where participants can develop and foster a contemporary painting community grounded in classical traditions of drawing and painting — just like Joe Reboli would have wanted.

The rest of the story has yet to be written.

“It was very important to me that people didn’t forget his work,” Lois Reboli said. “He loved this area.”

Double ‘O’ Landscaping Inc. owner Richard Orvieto. Photo from the attorney general's office

The owner of a Stony Brook landscaping company was convicted and sentenced for failing to pay full wages to workers and gaming the state unemployment insurance system, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

Richard Orvieto, owner of Double “O” Landscaping Inc., previously pleaded guilty to failing to pay his employees overtime, refusing to pay them owed wages after firing them and defrauding the state unemployment insurance system by paying workers in cash and not reporting their wages on quarterly tax filings, Schneiderman said. He was sentenced last week to pay restitution of $13,032 to three former employees and an additional $19,856.64 to the state Department of Labor. He must also pay a mandatory fine under state labor law, will be on probation for three years and must complete 50 hours of community service, Schneiderman said.

“It doesn’t matter if you own a restaurant or a landscaping company — you must pay your workers the money they are owed and pay them on the books,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “My office will continue to crack down on wage theft and return earnings that rightfully belong to workers.”

Orvieto’s defense attorney, Paul Kalker of Hauppauge, was unavailable for comment.

Based in Stony Brook, Double “O” Landscaping has provided landscaping and light construction services across Long Island. Between Aug. 24, 2011, and Jan. 31, 2014, Orvieto hired workers to perform those services, but did not pay them overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, the attorney general said. He also paid his workers in cash off the books, and did not report or pay unemployment insurance contributions for these wages to the state, Schneiderman added.

The attorney general said that in 2013 Orvieto fired three workers and never paid them for their last week of work.

The business owner pleaded guilty to failure to pay wages under the state labor law, a misdemeanor; and Double “O” Landscaping pleaded guilty to falsifying business records in the first degree, a class E felony.

State law requires that employers pay wages no later than seven days after the end of the week when the wages were earned. Employers must also pay one and a half times the workers’ regular rate of pay for any hours worked beyond 40 per workweek. A first offense failure to pay wages is a misdemeanor, while a second offense within five years is a felony.

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The Stonebridge Country Club is doused in flames Tuesday night. Photo from Jeff Bressler

By Phil Corso

A brutal blaze overtook the Stonebridge Country Club in Smithtown on Thursday night.

Calls came into the Smithtown Fire Department around 6 p.m. for the fire at 2000 Raynors Way inside the country club’s maintenance shop and golf cart storage facility, a spokesman for the department said. It took several crews of emergency responders to battle the flames, but no one was injured in the incident, officials said.

The cause the fire was under investigation.

Firefighters battle the blaze at the Stonebridge Country Club. Photo by Jeff Bressler
Firefighters battle the blaze at the Stonebridge Country Club. Photo by Jeff Bressler

“Upon arrival at the scene, the alarm was quickly upgraded to a working structural fire,” said Jeff Bressler, public information officer for the Smithtown Fire Department. “The two-story building was fully engulfed in fire and exterior attack began to get it under control.”

Bressler said the building suffered major damage. Its upper level, which was used to store golf carts, was deemed a total loss. The lower level, which housed maintenance equipment, was also heavily damaged.

Firefighters knocked down the front entry of the building once the flames were under control and started searching the inside, where they found no one was in the building and there was no extension of the fire, Bressler said.

It took fire officials from Smithtown, Hauppauge and Nesconset’s fire departments and ambulance support from Central Islipe and Hauppauge’s volunteer ambulance groups.

This version corrects the day of the fire.

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By Phil Corso

A difference in philosophy underscored the race between an incumbent Republican legislator and his Democratic challenger.

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. Photo by Rohma Abbas
Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. Photo by Rohma Abbas

Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) was first elected to the Suffolk County Legislature in 2013 and said his first term in office opened his eyes to the county’s financial woes. But to keep working at it, he must first win re-election against Kings Park resident Richard Macellaro.

The two sat down in the Times Beacon Record Newspapers newsroom last week to discuss their campaigns and demonstrate why they deserved to represent the county’s 13th District, which encompasses Smithtown, Fort Salonga, Kings Park, Nissequogue, St. James, Commack, Head of the Harbor and East Northport. Trotta kicked it off with strong rhetoric.

“It’s been an eye-opening experience over the past two years. I am shocked and saddened at how bad the county is fiscally,” Trotta said, highlighting the crux of his concerns looking ahead in the Legislature. “I’ve seen serious, serious problems. Worse than anybody even knows.”

The legislator said the looming threat of the county’s bond rating being reduced coupled with the growing sentiment that it’s too expensive to live in Suffolk have made his job all the more challenging. The blame, Trotta said, rests on out-of-control spending, too much union involvement in politics, and too much money being tossed around in campaign contributions.

A mismanagement of funding was at the heart of almost everything Trotta discussed as key campaign concerns. He cited recent development — part of a downtown revitalization plan — in Wyandanch as “overkill” and cautioned that communities like Kings Park would benefit from his voice of concern as the community looks toward a similar revitalization.

Democrat Richard Macellaro. Photo by Rohma Abbas
Democrat Richard Macellaro. Photo by Rohma Abbas

“Kings Park is a diamond in the rough, and we have a plan there when it comes to sewers,” he said. “But we don’t want it to be another Patchogue.”

Macellaro — who identified himself as a “new kid on the block” when it comes to seeking political office, despite unsuccessful bids for the state Assembly in 2010 and Smithtown’s Town Board in 2013 — said he wanted to put his experience as a civic member of the Kings Park community to work. With the campaign slogan “A different voice, a different choice,” the Kings Park resident said he hoped to use the office to prevent an increase in property taxes by consolidating all the county’s school districts, allocating just one per town. While a move like that does not rest in the hands of a Suffolk County legislator, Macellaro said he would use his office as a bully pulpit to enact the change.

“It can be done,” he said. “Someone has to begin to force the school districts to lessen property taxes for our residents.”

Another important issue he said he planned on addressing, if elected, was working to construct an all-encompassing master plan for the county. Doing so, he said, would revitalize downtowns throughout the county, enhance transportation and ultimately help entice young families to stay in Suffolk.

Beyond finances, Trotta said he was not a proponent of the county’s Red Light Safety Program, which utilizes cameras at traffic signals to catch and ticket cars that run red lights. He argued that some of its regulations, including the right-on-red violations, are nothing more than a money grab on innocent residents. But Macellaro, who has worked for the county’s traffic and parking violations agency in the red light division, said he disagreed.

“I think the government is functioning very well,” he said. “Taxes are what we pay for the lifestyle we choose.”

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Smithtown Town Hall. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

Smithtown’s 2016 preliminary budget proposal called for a small increase in taxes despite some spending cuts, but officials said they anticipated no layoffs because of it.

The $101 million budget, if approved, would reduce the amount of money the town spends by about 3.4 percent when compared to this year’s budget, the preliminary proposal said. An average Smithtown home assessed at $5,500 would see an increase of roughly $18.01 in annual taxes, or $1,271.25 in total, the budget said.

As for the town’s tax levy, the budget pegged it at $55.49 million, which was more than last year’s $55.04 million levy.

In his budget message, Smithtown Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) said the town was building on an initiative started in 2015 in a five-year capital plan that targets strategic infrastructure upgrades.

“[The budget] substantially moves the town to a structurally balanced budget that does not reduce resident services,” Vecchio said. “It recognizes the initiatives started in 2015 of replacing only essentially needed positions as employees retire or otherwise leave the employ of the town.”

Last year, the town used more than $5 million of surplus funding to balance the budget. But this year, the town was able to use much less than that at $500,000. The use of surplus funding to balance the budget was one of the key reasons Councilmen Bob Creighton (R) and Ed Wehrheim (R) voted against the proposal last year, but both officials told Times Beacon Record Newspapers last week that they were glad to see the town working to end that practice.

In regards to the town’s general fund, Vecchio said taxes increased by $31.62 for the average home without the use of surplus dollars, which he called a change from Smithtown’s past practices. Expenditures went down by nearly $1.1 million, or 2.5 percent, he said.

“The town continues a ‘pay as you go basis’ for repairs and separation pay for retiring workers,” the supervisor said. “Large capital expenditures have been reduced in the operating budget because they have been included in the 2015-19 capital program, which acquires long-term assets through borrowing instead of the use of current operating funds.”

The town was also able to meet the 2 percent tax cap with help from roughly $900,000 in health insurance and workers’ compensation increases, which a decrease in required state pension contributions help address, Town Comptroller Donald Musgnug said. Also included in the budget were longevity and step increases for nearly 30 Smithtown Administrative Guild and 375 Civil Service Employees Association union workers, he said.

Projects in line with the town’s five-year capital budget plan between 2015 and 2019 helped Smithtown save money in the 2016 preliminary budget, officials said, citing various savings that came as a result of them. The town’s LED streetlights project helped save $200,000 in utility costs, and taxes in the outside village fund decreased by $8.80.

The town also allocated savings of about $35,000 in the animal shelter supervisor’s salary to pay for trap, neuter and release services as well as the hiring of a part-time trainer to help train the eight dogs housed at the shelter, town officials said.

On the subject of Highway Department savings, Vecchio said $500,000 of surplus funds there was used to stabilize taxes. Funding was also increased in the town’s snow coffers by $2.14 per household assessed at $5,500 because of severe storms, which he said exhausted funding last year.

The Town Board must adopt the budget by Nov. 20.

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Bob Creighton is running for re-election. Photo by Rohma Abbas

By Phil Corso

Larry Vetter is running for the Smithtown Town Board. Photo by Rohma Abbas
Larry Vetter is running for the Smithtown Town Board. Photo by Rohma Abbas

Over the past several years, if a Smithtown Town Board vote resulted in a 3-2 tally, chances were incumbent Republicans Bob Creighton and Ed Wehrheim were the lone naysayers. Both electeds have been seeking re-election this fall, as political newcomers from both sides of the aisle have stepped up for their seats.

Creighton, 77, came out on the bottom of a three-way Republican primary back in September, losing the GOP line on Tuesday’s ballot to both Wehrheim and Lisa Inzerillo, 50, of Kings Park, while still retaining a spot on the Conservative, Independent and Reform party lines. Meanwhile, Democrat Larry Vetter, 62, threw his hat into the race over the summer and has been vying to break the town’s all-Republican board.

All the candidates, except for Inzerillo, sat down with the Times of Smithtown last week to discuss top issues facing Smithtown and what their plans were to address them if elected.

Creighton said he hoped his record would speak for itself in his bid for another term, citing his background in law enforcement and private sector success before joining the Town Board in 2008. In the interview, both Creighton and Wehrheim discussed that familiar 3-2 split on the board and argued that dissension too often got in the way of progress.

Ed Wehrheim is running for re-election. Photo by Rohma Abbas
Ed Wehrheim is running for re-election. Photo by Rohma Abbas

Earlier this year, Creighton, who is in his second four-year term on the board, took to a work session to propose that the town consider installing commissioner positions similar to those held in neighboring townships like Brookhaven and Islip, which he argued would streamline workflow and make department heads more accountable. Town Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) was outright against the proposal and opposed it each time it was discussed before the board, which Creighton said stonewalled it from progressing.

“I’ve worked to try and change government a little bit and to make it more accountable, but it really hasn’t been acted on,” Creighton said of the plan, which Wehrheim also supported. “It will not be acted on until two of the other council people take a stand, which they will not do as long as Mr. Vecchio is there.”

Wehrheim, who is running for his fourth term on the board, said he would use another term in office to stimulate economic growth in the town, specifically with downtown business revitalization and infrastructure repairs in mind.

When asked how he planned on bettering his standing in the classic 3-2 Town Board split, Wehrheim said he would only keep doing what he has been doing — bringing business to every work session with hopes of spurring action.

Bob Creighton is running for re-election. Photo by Rohma Abbas
Bob Creighton is running for re-election. Photo by Rohma Abbas

“It’s a political issue that doesn’t need to exist. It might be great press, but I don’t pay much attention to the dissension,” Wehrheim said. “I bring business to every board meeting, because I have constituents that need me to discuss issues important to them.”

Wehrheim cited a recent legislative effort he championed alongside Creighton, adding that the two “went back and forth” over a minimum wage proposal for the town’s seasonal workers. That minimum wage hike was subsequently included in the 2016 preliminary budget in September.

Vetter, the lone Democrat in the four-way race, said one of the key points that set him apart from the rest, in his first run for public office, was his “outside looking in” perspective coupled with his extensive background in environmental science and business. He centered his campaign on attacking the “Long Island brain drain” and fighting to keep young adults in Smithtown by making it a more vibrant place to live and raise a family.

“I have four adult children — they’re all gone and off Long Island,” Vetter said. “I have three grandchildren I’m watching grow up on Skype. Everything springs from that, and that includes industrial development, downtown revitalization, housing initiatives, and other aspects, like sewers, infrastructure.”

Vetter said that if elected, he would only seek out one or two terms before removing himself from the board because of his strong support for term limits.

Earlier this month, Vecchio joined other marquee Republican names in Smithtown on the steps of Town Hall to endorse Inzerillo, flanked by councilmembers Tom McCarthy (R) and Lynne Nowick (R) as well as Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) and state Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James).

Inzerillo, however, did not respond to several attempts to organize a four-way candidate debate at the Times of Smithtown’s headquarters. She was also absent at other debates throughout the town, with the latest one a week before Election Day at the Smithtown Fire House.

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File photo by Desirée Keegan

Just months removed from a special election that brought her into office, Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) faces her first re-election bid.

Kennedy was elected to represent the 12th District — which includes Smithtown, Nesconset, Hauppauge, the Village of the Branch, Lake Grove, and parts of Commack, Islandia and Ronkonkoma — in April to succeed her husband, former county legislator and now county Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R), and has since placed constituent concerns at the core of her campaign. Her Democratic opponent, Adam Halpern, has not actively campaigned and did not attend a debate at the Times of Smithtown’s headquarters.

In the interview, Kennedy prided herself as being a researcher and a behind-the-scenes government official who wears her heart on her sleeve. While serving on the county’s operating budget committee, she said she takes the county’s finances very seriously and often refers to tax dollars as “OPM” — other peoples’ money.

“I debated hard whether or not to run, but I love government,” she said. “I love the ability to help and serve. There has to be a voice of reason that realizes the enormity of the financial problem we are in.”

With her husband also serving the county as comptroller, Kennedy said she gained perspective on what kinds of things Suffolk could and should do to make money.

“We don’t collect what we should collect,” she said, referring to certain taxes not being actively pursued in areas like hotels, motels or bed and breakfasts. “We need to recoup that money. If we did, we wouldn’t be seeing historical buildings fall, or arts and entertainment budgets being cut.”

The legislator has spent her time pushing for top-tier constituent services while also keeping her ear to the ground when it comes to the county’s business community. She has been attending several Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency meetings since being elected and said she wanted to work to employ tax incentives to draw businesses to the region.

As for quality of life concerns, Kennedy said public safety projects like new sidewalks and infrastructure upgrades were top priorities of hers. She has also identified herself as an environmentalist and backed that up by pushing for projects that aim to clean up the county’s water.

One of her biggest qualms with how county government works, Kennedy said, was an overabundance of management. If re-elected, she said she would advocate for less management and more action.

“We’re top heavy,” she said. “There is more management than necessary. I have never seen so many titles.”

In order to make the county a more vibrant place for young people to grow and raise families, Kennedy said the Legislature needed to act on keeping taxes low and the streets safe. If re-elected, she said she would keep her constituents at the heart of her decision making.

“We have to get our act together,” she said. “It’s sad to watch people have no opportunities. They are struggling to stay in their houses and I don’t think life should be that hard.”

Three of the nation’s top comics to appear on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts

The Smithtown Fire Department is planning a comedy night to raise money for truck repairs. File photo

The Smithtown Fire Department will hold its third annual Bulldog Restoration Comedy Show to benefit the restoration of the department’s 1935 Mack Hook and Ladder truck.

The restoration of a historic piece of Smithtown and the Fire Department’s history is being totally paid for by the generosity of firefighters and donors. No taxpayer dollars are being used to fund the project.

Appearing at the 8 p.m. show are three fan favorite comedians. On the schedule are Dion Flynn, the face and voice of Barack Obama on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Seth Herzog, comic, actor and warm-up act to get the audience going each night on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and the great Gilbert Gottfried, beloved stand-up comedian, actor and voice artist.

Tickets are priced at $60 each and include the show, an open beer, soda and wine bar and intermission snacks.

To purchase tickets online visit the Smithtown Fire Department website at www.smithtownfd.org or call 631-486-0958.