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Authors Posts by Rita J. Egan

Rita J. Egan

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Flax Pond Boardwalk. Photo by John Turner

A bill currently awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) signature will help to protect a local tidal wetland.

Flax Pond Tidal Creek. Photo by John Turner

Bill A10187 will establish the Flax Pond tidal wetland in Old Field as a sanctuary and also amend the navigation laws to prohibit the use of motor boats within that sanctuary.

The bill was sponsored by state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) in the Assembly and state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) in the Senate.

The bill states that “hunting, fishing, trapping and the use of motor boats are not compatible with the primary purposes and management goals of the sanctuary.” Once enacted, signs will be posted to warn boaters that they cannot enter. The law will not apply to emergency and rescue vessels.

Anyone found guilty violating the provisions will be fined up to $100 and/or imprisoned up to 10 days.

The Flax Pond tidal wetland area is about 150 acres and was acquired by the state in 1966. Is it under the joint jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Stony Brook University. SBU uses the wetland area as a field laboratory for research and education, while the DEC maintains it for habitat protection and for public use. 

In addition to the wetland, the property includes the SBU School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Flax Pond Marine Lab and the Childs Mansion. The home once belonged to Eversley Childs, who was president of the Bon Ami cleaning products company in the early 1900s.

Englebright said for about four decades he has been trying to get legislation passed to protect Flax Pond and said Mattera was a big help in getting it through the state Senate.

“We basically have joined together to put our shoulders to the wheel to get this bill through each of our respective legislative houses,” Englebright said. “And there it is, for the first time in all of these years.”

Mattera said he was happy to help to get the bill passed, and he’s optimistic that the governor will sign it.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any kind of an issue,” Mattera said, adding he feels its passing is crucial not only for the wetland but also for the surrounding area.

Mattera said securing state money to dredge the inlet at Flax Pond is next as there are concerns that the continuation of terrible storms hitting the area could close up the inlet.

Englebright said the Flax Pond tidal wetland area was created for the original purpose of academic research and education, and also for the public’s passive enjoyment. He said the bill makes permanent what the original premise was.

“The marsh has been degraded,” he said. “It has lost much of its usefulness due to unregulated activities there and extraction activities. It has undergone some considerable negative consequences.”

The assemblyman added that extraction activities include people taking oysters, blue mussels and crabs, especially in large quantities, and the shooting of birds makes it difficult for researchers to measure what’s left of the marine life. Motorboats and jet skiing in the wetland also complicate matters.

He said proper research depends on “having a pristine unspoiled place.”  

Environment

Englebright said it was important to protect tidal wetlands such as Flax Pond because they “are highly stressed due to climate change and sea level rise, as well as pollutants that are entering the estuaries and the pressure of extraction activities.”

He explained that a tidal wetland is a bio-geological phenomenon.

“The biological part is, of course, all of the organisms that grow in the marsh that contributed to the creation of the wetland itself,” he said. “The most prominent of that is a series of grasses. These are grasses that are able to tolerate salt.”

There are two dominant high marsh grasses that when the first settlers arrived here and there was no hay from a previous season, they were able to use them to feed their livestock. The high marsh grass — “salt hay” — continued to be harvested on Long Island until the 1920s.

Childs Mansion. Photo by John Turner

“The geological part of the marsh is why we don’t want the boats because the salt marsh is a sediment trap,” he said.

He added, sediment is important as it creates beaches such as those at West Meadow and Old Field. Tides carry into inlets silt and clay fractions which become the soil component of the wetlands.

Englebright said motorized boats or jet skis that generate “wave slap,” reenergize the movement of sediment or disturb the movement of the sediment, which in turn reelevates and suspends into the water the silt that can be up to 60% of the soil.

He added, “If it gets resuspended on the outgoing tide, the result is the loss of the marsh.”

History

Robert Cushman Murphy, who was an ornithologist, loved Flax Pond and was a close friend of philanthropists Ward and Dorothy Melville. For a while, he lived on the Melville estate in Old Field.

After the Childs estate went into probate in the early 1960s, according to Englebright, the executors almost sold Flax Pond to developers, who would have built condominiums along the periphery of the pond. Englebright said Murphy talked to Melville and then acting president of SBU, Karl Hartzell, to see what could be done to save the Flax Pond area. Cushman appealed to the Village of Old Field trustees, and when he realized they might side with the developers, Melville reached out to then New York State Gov. Nelson Rockefeller (R). The Stony Brook resident had just donated land to the State University of New York for the Long Island college to move to its current location.

“He had some clout and he used it on behalf of our community,” Englebright said. “It was political muscle that basically led to acquiring the property.” 

He said when the state university acquired half of the property they had to set up marine studies which justified their purchase.

“Of course, that has led to one of the great marine research centers of the hemisphere, if not all of Earth,” Englebright said. “It’s a globally significant research center. It’s an entire division now within the university.”

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Dr. Jennifer Englebright, center, with her father Steve Englebright, left, and her husband, Charles Regulinski.

Working toward an English degree, most students would never expect to become a dentist.

Jennifer Englebright was the honored speaker during Stony Brook University’s English Department Convocation Ceremony in May. Photo from Stony Brook University

However, that’s exactly what happened to Dr. Jennifer Englebright, the speaker at the 2022 English Department Convocation at Stony Brook University. A dentist at Port Jefferson Dental Group, Englebright, who graduated from SBU in 2005, told attendees that she considered her “English degree to be of utmost importance in my career.”

“It prepared me in ways I could never have imagined, and its value has become an inherent part of my work,” she said.

The Setauket resident continued in her speech that her English degree helped with the human side of dentistry by giving her “the power and expression of language.”

“Communication is vital in helping to alleviate the stress and anxiety so many patients feel,” she said. “Uncertainty often drives fear, but by methodically explaining exactly what the procedure is, in such a way that the patient can really understand it, helps temper that fear.”

Andrew Newman, professor and chair of the English Department at Stony Brook University, said it was the first in-person convocation since 2019, and Englebright was well received by students and faculty.

“While some of our outstanding graduates go on to careers in education, law or business, Dr. Englebright demonstrates that English is also great preparation for health care providers,” Newman said. “I think she would agree that she’s a better dentist for having studied Virginia Woolf with Professor Celia Marshik.”

Englebright said in a phone interview that many people don’t realize how versatile an English degree is.

“I found my English classes to be more inspiring for my career in medicine than science classes,” she said.

She agreed that reading the works of Woolf was a major influence in her life. Her senior honors thesis was about the author.

“She was all for women’s rights and women in higher education, trying to push and drive women forward to make their own money in their own careers,” Englebright said.

She also has been inspired by the poet William Carlos Williams who was also a doctor.

“I found writers like that to be actually more inspiring to go into medicine than just pure science,” Englebright said.

In addition to majoring in English at SBU, Englebright took several science courses. She was considering different career paths while attending college and ultimately was drawn to health care, especially dentistry. She volunteered at the college’s dental school and then worked with a local dentist.

After Stony Brook, she attended The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and graduated in 2009. She went on to do her residency at St. Charles Hospital. For the last 10 years, she has practiced at Port Jefferson Dental Group.

Englebright said science runs in her blood. Her father is state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), a geologist by profession who still works at SBU occasionally. Her mother June is a retired earth science teacher.

Jennifer Englebright said both her parents encouraged her to follow her passions in life and never steered her toward any one career.

“I had complete autonomy to explore whatever I wanted to do in life, and both of my parents gave me that platform to be able to do that,” she said.

When in third grade, she, her mother and sister moved to Wading River after her parents divorced, she said. After returning from Pennsylvania and living out east and in Melville, she decided to move back to Setauket. In 2020, Englebright married Charles Regulinski, Setauket Fire Department assistant chief. 

“I really wanted to come back to my roots,” she said. “I wanted to be in the Three Village area. I just love this area.”

Recently, Englebright, like many health care professionals, had to navigate her career through the pandemic.

At the beginning, dentist offices could function only during emergencies. Once doors opened to all patients, she said it was tough because there was no vaccine or any treatment for COVID-19. However, she said they didn’t have to change procedures majorly because they are always prepared to fight infections.

“We’re a very strict discipline, medicine, especially dentistry,” she said. “We’re very strict with infection control.”

She said, at first, people were hesitant to go back to the dentist, but ultimately the office rebounded as many were overdue for routine care or bad situations worsened as some people didn’t immediately attend to dental problems such as a broken tooth.

During her speech at the convocation ceremony, Englebright said she hoped she inspired the graduates to feel that they didn’t need to be “typecast to a role,” because they have an English degree.

“You don’t have to go into this expected role as a teacher or a lawyer, this traditional route,” she said. “You can really go into whatever you want, because you have the foundation to succeed in any field.”

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Residents enjoy a stroll on the community dock in Poquott. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Candidates for mayor and trustees in the Village of Poquott have no challengers this year. Voting takes place Tuesday, June 21.

Mayor Chris Schleider is not running this year after serving one term. Tina Cioffi, who was first elected as trustee in 2019, has decided to run for mayor this year. Current trustee Jacqueline Taylor and Darlene Mercieca will be up for the two open trustee seats. All seats are for a two-year term.

Tina Cioffi

Cioffi was appointed as deputy mayor of the village in 2021, at the beginning of her second term as trustee. In an email, she said she has helped Schleider as much as possible to learn about the position.

“After three years on the board, I feel I’ve got enough of a fundamental understanding of village operations and budget to take on the position of mayor and hopefully — with the support of the rest of the village team — keep Poquott moving in a positive and forward direction,” she said.

A former creative director in advertising for a Long Island-based advertising agency for 15 years, she has owned a marketing and communications consulting business since 2003. She moved to Poquott in 2008, and her husband has owned their home since 1986. Before she was voted in as trustee, she was appointed as communications commissioner in Poquott after volunteering to revamp the village’s website in 2017. She is also a member of the Poquott Community Association.

Cioffi said she felt the village has “bloomed,” and the community dock has “brought a lot more activity to our whole waterfront area and even our residents who were opposed to its construction in 2018 really grew to appreciate it during the COVID pandemic lockdown.”

The trustee said new friendships among Poquott residents have developed during the difficult times, and she has found that “new residents with young families seem to really be loving the very integrated vibe in Poquott.”

Regarding issues, the village, like surrounding areas, is experiencing an uptick in suspicious activities involving cars, especially when unlocked. Cioffi said, “It’s important to keep up communications with [Suffolk County Police Department].”

She also lists environmental challenges among the waterfront community’s issues which she said hopes “to work on with New York Sea Grant as well as our own environmental commissioner, Rich Parrish.”

Jacqueline Taylor

Taylor was appointed as trustee in 2019 and was reelected in 2020.

She has been a resident of the village for 21 years. In an email, she said she is an active volunteer. Her volunteer experience includes heading up fundraisers for the March of Dimes and cystic fibrosis.

She is also a member of the Poquott Community Association planning committee.

“I have gained much experience in the day-to-day responsibilities of running the Village of Poquott from our former Mayor Dee Parrish and our current Mayor Chris Schleider,” she said.

She added that being part of the planning committee has provided her “lots of insight into the wants and needs of our residents of all ages.”

“I am happy to work with a very dedicated board, and I am proud of the goals and projects that have been completed,” Taylor said. “I welcome the opportunity to continue to work for our residents to make our village the best that it can be.”

Taylor worked for the Bank of New York on Wall Street before becoming senior vice president of human resources and administration of Gold Coast Bank. She held the position until she retired in 2019. On the candidates’ campaign website, yourpoquott.com, she said “working with executive management, employees, board of directors and shareholders I have gained valuable experience in developing and implementing policies and procedures, strategic planning and adhering to proper regulations for compliance.”

Darlene Mercieca

Mercieca is a health care professional with 30 years of experience. She has been a director of multiple departments within Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, including working with vendor and employer contracts, according to her biography on the candidates’ campaign website.

In addition to holding an MBA in finance and a master’s degree in health care administration, she has continued her education at the School of Law at Pace University in White Plains.

She is currently a chief operating officer “overseeing over 200 staff members and budgets of $75 million. My professional experience focuses on daily operations, human resources and patient satisfaction.”

She became active in the community when her sister Dee Parrish became mayor by volunteering for events such as beach cleanup day and the annual lobster bake.

“I loved the sense of belonging within Poquott and decided to move from Stony Brook after 17 years,” she said. “I moved to Poquott in 2018 and joined the Poquott Community Association. Over the last four years, I have helped organize the Halloween family day, meet Santa day and summer movie night.”

Mercieca is also a court-appointed guardian to nursing home patients, helping to organize their finances and make health care decisions.

Voting information

Voting will be held in the Village of Poquott on Tuesday, June 21, at Village Hall located at 45 Birchwood Ave. polling place from noon to 9 p.m.

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Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Kevin Scanlon speaks at a meeting. File photo

A new superintendent will be overseeing the Three Village Central School district come July 6.

Kevin Scanlon will become the school district’s new superintendent on July 6. Photo from Three Village Central School District

TVCSD’s assistant superintendent for educational services, Kevin Scanlon, is ready to take over the reins with nearly 30 years of education experience behind him.

Last year, current superintendent Cheryl Pedisich’s announcement that she would stay on for one more school year coincided with Scanlon receiving offers from other districts. After the board of ed reviewed his résumé and interviewed him, they asked if he wanted the job. He said in a phone interview that after enjoying his work immensely in Three Village over the years, “I’m going to be happy to continue on in my new role.”

Background

The 52-year-old lives a short distance away in Smithtown, and he and his wife Kerri have two children, Meghan, 25, and Sean, 14. A native of Bay Shore, he grew up as the youngest of 11 children and began his college career at first majoring in accounting at Iona College. He soon switched to history, with a concentration on middle eastern history. Scanlon went on to get his master’s in criminal justice at the school and was employed by the college as an admissions counselor and then managed the dorms. He recently received his doctorate from St. John’s University and has an administration certification from Stony Brook University.

His interest in teaching grew when he was in college tutoring underprivileged students. He said that’s when “chalk got in my blood.”

“I felt I would do more for our world in general if I was working with kids like that,” Scanlon said.

Throughout his career, he’s taught social studies at every level from seventh grade to 12th, including Advanced Placement, honors and Regents classes.

“I’ve enjoyed that immensely,” he said. “I see so much of the good that our teachers do and teachers in general do, just affecting the future.”

His first teaching job was in a school in Upper Manhattan that saw an increase in crime right in its own hallways in the late 1980s and ’90s. The former amateur boxer, who spent eight years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, was conducting a student observation when he had to tackle a student with a knife in the hallway.

“The next morning, I was brought in to replace the teacher that was stabbed,” Scanlon said. “A little frightening, but well needed in that place. It was a very large high school in Upper Manhattan, 4,000 students. They set the state record for robberies and rapes in a school.” 

After working in the New York City school system, he went on to teach Catholic school for a short period in Connecticut. He also has taught night school in Brentwood High School for 10 years.

His first experience teaching in Three Village was in 1996 when he became a social studies teacher in Ward Melville High School, five years later he became chair of humanities at Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School and remained in the position until 2003.

He had a two-year stint in the Oyster Bay school district as district supervisor of social studies and became principal of Roslyn High School in 2005 after a scandal in the district which is the subject of the movie “Bad Education.” After spending seven years heading up Roslyn, he returned to Three Village in 2012 as assistant superintendent for educational services.

The future 

Scanlon said he is ready to work on some significant challenges when he begins his new position July 6. He said before the pandemic parents had been discussing school start times with the board and administrators. Many have said that some students, particularly high school students, have first classes that start too early and interfere with healthy sleeping patterns for teenagers. A start-time committee was formed before the pandemic, but discussions had to be put on hold as administrators dealt with COVID-19.

“We’ve had discussions on time and things of that nature, but we’re going to need to address some of that moving forward and involve all the constituencies in the district in that discussion,” he said. “Whether we do reconfigure or we stay in our current configuration, I think we need to at least discuss what that would look like going forward,” adding that things may not change drastically, but a closer look needs to be taken at the issue.

Scanlon also feels that divisiveness in the nation has carried over locally. 

“We want to try to heal the community as much as possible, and I think what will go a long way is continuing to be as transparent as possible,” he said.

One way Scanlon said that can be done is using social media more often to supplement the district’s website. He said it also ensures that the community is getting their information from the district itself, especially when it comes to matters such as the budget. The future superintendent said social media is also a way to “be open to listening to some of the differing opinions that exist in the district and try to make the best decisions possible for the students that we have.”

“I want to make sure that as we do move forward that we have people understand about what we’re trying to do, and improvements we are trying to make and planning for our future, but also involving all our parents, our community members, our students, our faculty, our administration, in those decisions as we go forward,” he said.

Scanlon added that Pedisich has always been open to parents, returning emails and phone calls, and he will miss how deeply she cares about the community. He said he’s happy he was able to work with her for the last 10 years. Scanlon said she approached every issue with a calm attitude and is “a real model to emulate.” 

While he will miss working with Pedisich, he’s proud to take on his new role in the district.

“I’m truly honored to be in this role,” Scanlon said. “I’m going to work my hardest for the benefit of the students and the families and the staff.” 

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File photo

Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a pedestrian in Greenlawn during the early morning hours of June 9.

Tagried Thompson, 33, of Huntington Station,  was walking on Park Avenue, north of Hartland Avenue, when she was struck by a northbound 2012 Honda Accord, at approximately 12:35 a.m.

Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. The driver of the Honda, Ramon Mendez, 32, of Brentwood, was not injured.

The vehicle was impounded for a safety check.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.

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State and local elected officials joined Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine at the Stony Brook Train Station June 7. Photo by Rita J. Egan

During the late morning hours of June 7, people gathered at the Stony Brook train station but not to board a train. They were there to call out the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Long Island Rail Road for not getting on board with modernizing the Port Jefferson Branch line.

Steve Englebright at podium. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) asked state and local officials to join him at a press conference at the station to urge the MTA and the LIRR to extend electrification on the Port Jefferson Branch. In addition to the elected officials in attendance, civic, chamber, business and environmental leaders were also on hand to show their support.

Many in attendance have vocalized the need for years, including during a December 2019 press conference at the train station. However, plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

East of Huntington the 24 miles or so of railroad tracks are not electrified, and the LIRR uses dual-mode trains that can switch from electric to diesel.

Those in attendance addressed concerns such as air pollution from the diesel trains and traffic congestion from residents driving south to take trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch. They also said electrification would benefit the area, including efficient experiences for passengers, more business drawn to the area, increased enrollment at Stony Brook University and real estate values increasing. 

Romaine said the Port Jeff Branch was the busiest line of the LIRR. He called diesel fuel “some of the most polluting fuel that we have.” He added that Suffolk County and Brookhaven “have been shortchanged by the MTA.”

He said that with the passage of President Joe Biden’s (D) $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill and more than $10 billion estimated to go to the MTA, it was time for Suffolk County residents to see improvements on the railroad

“That is supposed to help rebuild our infrastructure,” the supervisor said. “We’re asking for a 20th-century technology — electrification. Diesel is a 19th-century technology. We haven’t even asked for 21st-century technology.”

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) also called for infrastructure money to be spent in the area. Regarding North Shore residents traveling to stations along the Ronkonkoma Branch, he said everyone needed to come together to ensure that those in the area could drive to a nearby station without changing trains to get to New York City. He added with a feasibility study that was started in the 1980s, the time had come for change.

“We need to make sure that we’re here for the commuters,” Mattera said. “Mass transit is so important for our future, and MTA shortchanges us all the time.”

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said when the Climate Leadership and Community Protection legislation was passed on the state level in 2019, it included the call for electrification across all sectors — transportation, residential, commercial and more. He said the same year the legislation passed, the MTA purchased 55 diesel engines.

“Maybe they haven’t figured it out yet but diesels are, as the supervisor indicated, antique technology, and we need to move toward technology that doesn’t pollute the air,” Englebright said.

State Sen. Mario Mattera. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) said that the diesel engines not only are harmful to air quality, but also when they arrive at a station the vibration can be felt in nearby neighborhoods. Kornreich said there are people in Port Jefferson Station who “have to listen to the sound of diesel throbbing all night.”

Mitch Pally, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute and a former MTA board member, called on the state Climate Action Council to mandate the MTA to have responsibility in electrifying train lines across Long Island.

“Only in that way will the mass transit system that we have not only transport our people, but do it in an environmentally sensitive manner,” Pally said.

Anthony Figliola, who is running in the Republican primary for Congressional District 1, said after the press conference he was encouraged by the bipartisan support. He added that Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) is also supportive of electrification.

Figliola and Charlie Lefkowitz, president of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, were part of the North Shore Business Alliance formed in 2017 that worked on a feasibility study for electrification of the branch.  The MTA included $4 million in their five-year 2015-19 capital plan to pay for a feasibility study on electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch

Figliola said if elected to Congress he will be committed “to helping fund this critical economic development and environmental project.”

“The next step is for the MTA to complete the study,” he said. “My hope is the MTA will think twice before spending any additional dollars on more diesel trains.”

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A 1920s farmhouse sits on the property and will be demolished if efforts to save it are unsuccessful. Photo from Herb Mones

The Town of Brookhaven Planning Board closed a public hearing regarding a subdivision proposed for East Setauket at its June 6 meeting and placed it on its decision calendar.

The eight-lot preliminary subdivision which will feature a cul-de-sac and include a drainage basin is located at the southeast corner of Pond Path and Upper Sheep Pasture Road in East Setauket. The application was submitted by Anthony Martino, president of Winmar Homes based in Ronkonkoma.

Three residents and representatives from the Three Village Civic Association, George Hoffman and Herb Mones, attended the June 6 meeting to express their concerns regarding the board approving the preliminary subdivision with the consideration of cluster treatment by the developer.

The approximately 6 1/2 acre property, zoned as residential, is known locally as the Selleck property. On the property is a 1920s farmhouse that the developer plans to demolish. The civic association has asked for it to be protected.

The civic association and residents also listed concerns regarding the recharge basin, traffic and elevation of the planned houses.

Mones said time is needed to reflect on the development that has been used for farming in the past.

“It deserves a little more careful scrutiny and concern from the Planning Board in our opinion,” he said.

The civic association members also believe there is a better alternative to dealing with water runoff than a recharge basin, which will have a chain link fence around it.

Hoffman compared the recharge basin to a 1950s sump and said the development does not represent good planning. He said the corner of Pond Path and Upper Sheep Pasture Road is “the most prominent part of this community — it’s a very busy section.” 

Michael Kelly, who lives close to the planned development, said the thought of a recharge basin near his home keeps him up at night. He said there are others in the community that have not been maintained, are overgrown and “havens for rodents.”

Kelly added with an elementary school across the street that there is already enough traffic and accidents in the neighborhood, where he has lived for five years. Kelly said he has already witnessed a couple of accidents where speeding drivers have hit telephone poles.

Colleen Gitto, who also lives nearby, wanted to be assured that each lot would be a half an acre and was concerned that the two-story houses proposed may be elevated more and those homes would overlook nearby properties.

Patchogue-based attorney Larry Davis, representing the developer, said all lots would adhere to the 22,500 square feet required by the town, which is slightly more than half an acre.

Anthony Zalak, of J.R. Holzmacher Engineering in Ronkonkoma, said regarding the recharge basin they are bound by the town requirements, and it is designed to comply to the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, which requires 9 inches of rainfall to be held.

“If a recharge basin was eliminated, or diminished in size, that stormwater would have to go to some other systems which of course would be precast,” Zalak said.

He added that an estimate would be more than 70 leaching pools, which he said would have to be spread out through the subdivision roadway or in a combination of Upper Sheep Pasture and Pond Path. The plan is for red cedar trees along the roadways to screen the recharge basin.

Zalak said there will be no added elevation of the homes from the current plan.

He added that no traffic study has been conducted because eight parcels do not dictate the need for a study.

The engineer said some interim plans have been submitted to the town to try to include the existing farmhouse which involved clustering of the new homes.

“The layout of the entire parcel itself, its elevation to the east is much higher than down to the roadway at the west on Pond Path,” he said. “The configuration of this parcel layout involves cutting the roadway in and shaving it down — we’ll say from access on Upper Sheep Pasture. So, trying to retain that existing house really doesn’t work out well at all for conforming lots and configuration of the roadway to come in through the middle of the whole parcel and have a cul-de-sac of the property conforming to the cul-de-sac to the south side.”

The next day Mones said that the consideration for clustering that has been proposed by the developer does not allow enough land for the preservation that the civic association had hoped for.

Planning Board members said before placing the subdivision on its decision calendar, that the first decision would be for the preliminary subdivision. Since it would not be a final approval, there will be revisions and another public hearing will be held once final plans are completed.

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Northport girls lacrosse team. Photo from Northport-East Northport school district

The Northport girls lacrosse team found themselves in a second overtime period with Massapequa June 5 at Stony Brook University.  With one minute and 23 seconds left, Northport secured the win, 11-10.

It was the teams third consecutive Class A Long Island Championship win.

Head coach Carol Rose said, “This win means so much to our team as our goal was to ‘Get on the Bus’ to states. They are an amazing group of young ladies who have persevered all season as a top ranked team in the country. They are resilient warriors who are battle tested and ready for the next challenge.”

The Tigers will now travel to SUNY Cortland for the New York State Championship.

Updated June 9 to reflect correct score of 11-10.

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Image of proposed development, right, from the Planning Board’s webpage.

On the agenda for the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board June 6 meeting is an eight-lot preliminary subdivision with cul-de-sac and drainage basin located at the southeast corner of Pond Path and Upper Sheep Pasture Road in East Setauket.

A decision on the application submitted by Anthony Martino, president of Winmar Homes based in Ronkonkoma, was tabled at the planning board’s May 16 meeting.

The approximately 6 1/2 acre property, zoned as residential, is one that the Three Village Civic Association has been keeping an eye on. At a meeting earlier this year, members were given an update on the parcel. According to the civic’s land use chair, Herb Mones, the wish is that a “more responsible site development can be submitted.”

Known locally as the Selleck property, Mones said it is the last local farm south of Route 25A. On the property is a 1920s farmhouse that the civic wants protected and not demolished. Members also hope that the newly built homes will be clustered, leaving more than 2 acres to be preserved.

Last year it was determined that the property was sufficient for nine lots according to L.K. McLean Associates of Brookhaven.

The Brookhaven Highway Department, in a letter to the planning division last year, made several recommendations, including curbing and sidewalks on Pond Path and Upper Sheep Pasture Road and removing/replacing the existing curb on Pond Path at the intersection.

Last November, representatives from the Three Village Civic Association met with developers.

According to the civic, the parcel, which is near Nassakeag Elementary School and the town-owned Merritt-Hawkins House, was once part of the Merritt-Hawkins farmland.

The Town of Brookhaven Planning Board meeting can be viewed on the town’s website, www.brookhavenny.gov, or attended in person. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. on June 6.

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As votes were being counted in the Three Village Central School District for budget approval and board of education trustees on the night of May 17, the budget race was a close one.

At the end of the night, the 2022-23 budget of $224 million passed by 66 votes, 2,584-2,518. The new budget is $3.8 million more than last year’s contingency budget of $220.2 million, reflecting a 1.72% increase. The proposed tax levy is $165 million.

Last year, although 57.7% of taxpayers voted in favor of a $222.6 million budget — 2,286-1,677 — it failed to pass. The proposed 2021-22 budget pierced the 1.37% cap on the tax levy increase, necessitating a supermajority approval, or 60% of the vote.

TBR News Media asked readers how they voted on May 17 regarding the 2022-23 TVCSD budget.

Those who approved

Ian Farber, of East Setauket, and a member of the district’s budget advisory committee that was formed earlier this year, said he voted “yes.” He said he believes the district “made a good faith effort to increase the efficiency and efficacy of how our tax dollars are utilized.” He added he believed the committee helped facilitate that.

“While there is more work to be done, voting ‘no’ would not yield any positive outcomes,” he said. “Some in our community think that we operated this past year on contingency with no impact to the students and the instructional staff. While we fared better than other districts on contingency, some classes couldn’t be expanded and teachers that were previously dedicated to a specific school had to float between multiple buildings. The district was also prevented from paying back money into the reserves, putting us all at an increased fiscal risk.”

Farber said he felt if the district operated on a contingency budget for years in a row, it would erode the district’s educational institution.

Shoshana Hershkowitz, of South Setauket, also voted “yes,” saying that “the difference in taxes between the proposed budget and the contingency budget is minimal, and I think our schools have done an excellent job through several challenging years.”

She said addressing rising costs and making other changes is beyond the district level.

“If we want to address rising costs on Long Island, the way to do it is by looking at issues including the lack of affordable housing, health care benefits being tied to employment, and the fact that Long Island has over 120 school districts, which increases both cost and segregation,” she said. “Defunding our public schools, as some have advocated for, isn’t the way to reduce the cost of living in our region.”

She added that passing the New York Health Act would mean public sector benefits would no longer be part of school budgets.

Anne Chimelis, of Setauket, said this year as well as last she encouraged people to vote “yes.” She said having taught and lived in other school districts, she has witnessed when budgets are voted down, and she feels it doesn’t help the students. Voting a budget down is shortsighted, Chimelis said, and there are other ways to address it.

“The reality is your tax bill doesn’t really change that much when you vote down a budget, and things only get worse for your kids, for the district as a whole,” she said. “So, that’s not really the way to effect change in my opinion. There are many other ways to effect change.”

She applauded the formation of the budget advisory committee this year.

“I think having administrators, teachers, other people from the school community be part of that next year is a great idea, and I’m sure that in working together they can continue to find ways to spend money more efficiently without just summarily voting down a budget,” she said.

Chimelis said she wasn’t pleased that 4.5 nursing positions were being eliminated with the 2022-23 budget. The district’s decision was stated that the nurses were no longer needed due to the wake of declining COVID-19 infection rates. However, she said she wouldn’t vote down the budget for one issue.

For Farber, he would like the STEM program to be brought back to the elementary schools and expanded into STEAM to incorporate the arts.

“No budget is perfect, and 3V still has room to improve,” Farber said, despite his “yes” vote.

He added, “Continuing and expanding upon collaboration is how we improve.”

A ‘no’ vote

David McKinnon, who ran for school board in 2020 and 2021, was also a member of the budget advisory committee, which he said he believes made the process more transparent to the community but was not set up to constrain costs.

The East Setauket resident said he was disturbed that the teachers union, New York State United Teachers, injects themselves into local school district elections. According to NYSUT’s website, the “statewide union has a political fund-raising arm called VOTE-COPE.” The nonpartisan fund was established to coordinate “the voluntary contributions of members and supports NYSUT-endorsed candidates and campaign committees that are pro-public-education and pro-labor.”

McKinnon said, while he supports teachers and other workers, the campaign means more money is spent on advocating for residents to vote “yes” than “no.” NYSUT did not return requests for the amount of funds invested in the TVCSD election.

He said he believes “most people in the district want accountability on education and on spending” and that it would be best for residents’ decisions to be unaffected by a lobbyist group.

“Ideally decisions surrounding the schools would be made by the local community without external interference,” he said.

McKinnon added he believes with NYSUT getting involved that teachers may have a louder voice, when “there are multiple stakeholders,” students, parents, teachers, administrators and staff. He added he believes that the opinions of students and parents should be heard and balanced with the needs of teachers and administrators.

“Our school district is currently funded at close to the highest level in the nation on a cost per pupil basis, taking account of economies of scale related to school size,” he said. “Given this already very high level of funding, the fiscally responsible position is to keep the cost per pupil reasonably flat in terms of real dollars.”

McKinnon said with declining enrollment over more than a decade in the district there should be a zero budget increase.

“Instead, the budget has increased substantially over the last decade, except for last year,” he said.

Barbara Rosati, represents parents and educators through the group Three Village Parents Alliance, which has a Facebook page, a mailing list of nearly 200 residents and a website. She is also married to McKinnon. She said she voted “no,” and believes that just because she and others did so, it doesn’t mean they are unsupportive of the district or education.

Rosati said she and others believe the district’s core academic programs, especially at the elementary level, can be updated and improved. While she knows parents who have supplemented their children’s education through out-of-school tutoring or enrichment programs, she said it can be expensive and, for children, cumbersome.

She and other parents have also started a conversation with the district about “excessively early school start times,” and the TVPA group members are also concerned with growing property taxes, which they feel are due to excessive administrative costs.

“Yet, none of the tax increase on this year’s budget is aimed at addressing them,” she said. “After advocating for these issues, and closely following the district’s financial decisions, it would seem that this does not reflect a lack of funds but rather a lack of political will.”

She added, “Last year’s 0% tax increase budget could support all the existing programs, COVID-required extra instructional and noninstructional personnel, and also the addition of a few narrow interest programs.”

Marlo Dombroff, of East Setauket, also voted “no,” and she said she felt recommendations that the budget advisory committee made were not followed.

“When I evaluated the reasons for why the budget was to increase again, I couldn’t find a clear explanation of how the additional funds would directly benefit the students,” she said. “The budget continues to increase each year and it is almost imperceptible where those monies are going. As a parent, I don’t see any improvements in education. I had a child graduate last year who went through K-12, and I have a child now who is in 10th grade, who has been here also since kindergarten.”

As someone who has attended all board of education meetings, she feels changes and improvements suggested by parents have not been “put into place, regardless of heavy parent lobbying.” Dombroff said examples of needed improvements are to the elementary math classes and starting foreign language teaching in the elementary schools.

District’s statement

TVCSD Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich, who is retiring at the end of the school year, said in a statement the district was “thankful to the community for its participation in this year’s annual budget vote.”

“We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with all our stakeholders to ensure that the district maintains the robust and supportive educational program it provides for all students,” she said. “In recent years, specifically during the past few years of the pandemic, we were able to sustain and build upon our practices to meet this goal.”

Pedisich listed the district bringing students back to school full time and in person during the 2020-21 academic year and implementing “initiatives designed to support learners across all levels — from the youngest to our seniors — all while reducing costs through the consolidation of administrative positions and other operational efficiencies” among the district’s accomplishments in meeting its goals.

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