CLOSE
Authors Posts by TBR Staff

TBR Staff

4867 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
TBR News Media covers everything happening on the North Shore of Suffolk County from Cold Spring Harbor to Wading River.

by -
0 473
Patricia Paladines. Photo by Carl Safina

By Leah Chiappino

The Center for Environmental Education and Discovery in Brookhaven has been connecting Long Islanders with nature since its inception in 2015. Setauket resident Patricia Paladines, who recently joined the board of directors, pledges to continue fostering that connection and hopes to expand the organization’s outreach to traditionally underserved populations.

Patricia Paladines

“Patricia is a naturalist, environmentalist, photographer and educator who has taught science and nature to students of every age from elementary school to college,” said Tom Pelletier, CEED board chair, in a statement. “Paladines’ photographs of people, wildlife and landscapes have been exhibited all over Long Island, she has a master’s degree in educational psychology, and she brings a wealth of skills and experience to CEED’s mission.”

Born in Ecuador, Paladines moved to Chicago with her parents when she was 3 years old. She relocated to New York in 1985 where she began a career in photography and design. Paladines worked as a research assistant in the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architecture at the New-York Historical Society, while doing some graphic camera work for Estée Lauder.

“I used to do a lot of black-and-white photography back in the ’80s and ’90s,” she said. “I did work in the darkroom, so I think my background as an educator kind of stems from that: Finding images, and finding things that interest me to share with others.”

Her work has been featured at the Islip Art Museum, The Art Guild of Port Washington, Tabler art gallery at Stony Brook University and the New-York Historical Society.

In 1995, Paladines took a job as executive assistant to the vice president of ocean conservation at the National Audubon Society in Islip, where she said she discovered the true beauty of Long Island’s outdoors, as well as a general appreciation
for nature.

“When I started working for the Audubon Society, I realized that Long Island was much more than shopping malls and expressways, which is what a lot of people think when they live in the city,” she said. “[My work] showed me the wild side of Long Island, and the birds and the ocean. Having grown up in Chicago, this was very different for me.”

Her enthusiasm led her to work at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, first through the Cornell Cooperative Extension, where she developed a program called Aspiring Latin American Scientists in 2000. She was responsible for leading naturalist tours, coordinating with college interns and giving public presentations. Having worked in environmental careers for some time, Paladines noticed Hispanic/Latinx communities were largely underrepresented in the field, even within the large environmental community in activities such as birding or hiking. She also coordinated presentations on various types of marine life to be done in Spanish.

She went on to initiate a partnership between the aquarium and Blue Ocean Institute after the aquarium decided not to renew an education contract with CCE a few years later. While managing the BOI program she received a grant from National Grid for an ocean literacy project. Paladines said with the grant she was able to develop workshops for teachers and schools, and one of the collaborations was with an English Language Learner class at Longwood High School filled with students from various countries who spoke different languages. She said it gave students the opportunity to “strengthen their English while learning about wildlife and the ocean.”

It is this kind of outreach Paladines wants to bring to CEED, encouraging the Hispanic community along the South Shore to utilize the facility and working on deploying “teams” from Bellport High School to build environmental leadership and to teach students how to bring it into their own communities.

In addition to her chosen fields, Paladines is married to ecologist and author Carl Safina. She also has a daughter, Alexandra Srp.

Pelletier said Paladines is an asset to the board.

“I mean, to put it bluntly, the environmental movement and nature center movement and all that tends to be pretty white,” Pelletier said. “We’re trying to do our part to change that. One of the reasons that we thought Patricia would be a really good fit for our board is that she’s done that kind of thing before. I’m kind of excited about having her on our board because that is one of our goals to do that: Make that kind of outreach and bring more people of color to our programs.”

Paladines’ appointment to the board comes as CEED attempts to get off the ground with expanding programming. A little more than three years ago, the nonprofit signed agreements with the Town of Brookhaven and with Suffolk County to use over 60 acres of nature preserve and green-space land, which includes the Washington Lodge estate where CEED is located.

by -
0 312
Photo from Town of Brookhaven

Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro has announced that the Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve will reopen to the public on Monday, Sept. 28.

Brookhaven residents are required to make free, online reservations at www.BrookhavenNY.gov/Ecology to book a visit to the Animal Preserve. Only Town of Brookhaven residents with reservations and proof of residency will be permitted to enter for now; masks are required, as well. COVID-19 safety precautions, limited admissions and social distancing measures will be in place to ensure the safety of all visitors and staff.

The Animal Preserve will be open Monday through Friday with eight sessions available for reservations each day: 9 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. The Animal Preserve will be closed for cleaning and sanitizing in between the morning and afternoon sessions.

The Information Center and greenhouses will not be open; access to bathrooms will be available. The Animal Preserve will be open from the main entrance through the Eagle exhibit. Animals available for viewing at this time include alpaca, Arctic fox, Bald eagle, bobcat, Boer goats, buffalo, coatimundi, hybrid fox, hybrid wolves, llama, mini pigs, Nubian goats, other goats, pine marten, prairie dogs, rabbits, red fox, red tail hawk, and skunk.

The Ecology Site is located at 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville. For more information, call 631-758-9664.

by -
0 299
1 of 3

Urban Air Lake Grove Adventure Park will re-open for business on Saturday, September 26 at 11 a.m., more than six months after it voluntarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with new cleaning and health protocols, creating a fun and safe indoor play experience for kids and families.

Located at 3147 Middle Country Road, Lake Grove, behind the Smith Haven Mall, the 48,000 sq. ft. indoor Adventure Park will include the Urban Air Sky Rider Indoor Coaster, a winding track that has young thrill-seekers flying along 30 feet in the air.

“The last six months have been extraordinarily challenging for kids and families. Kids want a place of their own to reclaim their sense of adventure and excitement,” said Urban Air Lake Grove co-owner David Wolmetz. “New Yorkers have proven we know how to get out into the world in a way that protects everyone’s health. We’re looking forward to hearing the park filled with laughter again.”

The park has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, including the play spaces, bathrooms and food service areas. Among the new health and safety protocols being put into place:

  • The park will operate at 25 percent capacity, with a new e-commerce ticketing system managing two-hour timed entry for all guests. Tickets are purchased online in advance.
  • To encourage social distancing, tickets will be offered for purchase at the door on a capacity only basis.
  • Guests will be given colored wrist bands corresponding to the time on their tickets and Urban Air staff will monitor the process to ensure all guests are able to safely experience the park and exit at their appointed time.
  • All Urban Air Lake Grove staff will submit to daily temperature checks, wear masks and practice frequent hand washing.
  • All guests will submit to temperature checks upon entry to the park and in compliance with NYS requirements, will wear masks while in the park.
  • Hand sanitizer kiosks have been installed throughout the park.
  • Every hour, play spaces and high touch areas will be wiped down and guests will be urged to use hand sanitizer. All individual-use attractions are wiped down after each use.
  • A new Urban Cafe ordering app is available to limit human to human transaction around food items. Guests can order on their phones and pick up when ready.
  • Plexiglass barriers and social distancing have been installed at ALL point of sale registers.
  • Tables and chairs are all spaced six feet apart in accordance with social distancing protocols.
  • The park HVAC system has been upgraded with MERV-13 anti-microbial filters, as suggested by NYS re-opening guidance.

“We have been working with the local officials and with guidance from the CDC to develop an appropriate reopening plan for Urban Air Lake Grove. After careful consideration, we decided to reopen our park with new health, physical distancing and capacity protocols and new ticketing procedures,” said Keith Handler, Co-Owner of Urban Air Lake Grove. “We believe in the power of enriching lives and creating joy through healthy, active play, and we have been working tirelessly to prepare to welcome you back into a clean, safe and fun family environment. We have always maintained stringent cleaning procedures that we are proud of and we’ve heightened our standards and protocols to keep you and our employees healthy and safe.”

In addition to the wall-to-wall trampoline adventures, adrenaline junkies will thrill to experience the following attractions:

  • High Ropes, an obstacle course in the sky;
  • Spin Zone Bumper Cars, where you can bump into your friends and send them into an uncontrolled spin;
  • The Drop Zone, an enormous inflatable landing pad perched below a series of trampolines;
  • The Runway Tumble Track, a unique attraction for flips, handsprings and cartwheels;
  • The Slam Dunk Zone, which allows guests to emulate their favorite basketball heroes with a trampoline-induced slam dunk of their own; and
  • Urban Air’s exclusive Urban Warrior Course™ and Battle Beam.

Urban Air also features the Urban Café, with food, drinks and snacks available for purchase. The location is available for birthday parties, corporate retreats, team building and private events.

For more information, call 631-861-4125 or visit www.urbanairtrampolinepark.com.

Photos courtesy of Urban Air Lake Grove

by -
0 1236
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It’s difficult to comprehend that women didn’t always have the rights that they have now, and many of those rights were only gained a few short decades ago.

Imagine when women weren’t able to open a bank account, have credit cards or a mortgage without a man’s signature until the passing of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974. Considering a woman founded our media company in 1976 and still sits in the publisher’s seat, the thought is unfathomable to many of us.

One of the trailblazers who worked for women’s rights to manage their own finances and their own lives was Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She accomplished this feat as the co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. The void her death leaves behind is immense. Let us remember all the work that’s been done and is still being fought for true equality. Now with her seat locked in political turmoil, we believe her legacy needs to be respected more than ever.

What we need to remember is sometimes the champion for equal rights, Ginsburg, needed to represent men to work toward the goal of all being treated equally. In 1972, Ginsburg argued in front of the Supreme Court when she and her husband represented Charles Moritz, a bachelor who was unable to take a tax deduction for taking care of his sick mother as a woman or a divorced/widowed man would have been able to do. It was an ingenious tactic, showing how any discrimination on the basis of sex was harmful to the whole, rather than one select group. Throughout her career, Ginsburg was the champion of many causes that have had a positive effect on both men and women of all colors and orientations. She believed that everyone has a right to vote, to access health care including birth control, to obtain an abortion, and that when two people of the same sex fall in love, they have the right to get married just like everyone else.

Replacing Ginsburg will be no easy task, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. President Donald Trump (R) said he will nominate a woman to the seat and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is eagerly waiting in the wings for the process to begin, despite arguing in 2016 that Supreme Court nominees should not be put to the bench in an election year. He and other Senate Republicans did not even hold a hearing for former President Barack Obama’s (D) court pick Merrick Garland that year. It’s the kind of House Rules situation you would expect more from a shady casino owner than the highest legislature in the land. It’s the kind of political skullduggery that does irrevocable lasting harm to democracy itself.

Locally, vigils held by two separate left-wing groups on Long Island’s North Shore have called for Ginsburg’s replacement to wait until after the election, and we’re inclined to agree. The dangerous precedent the U.S. Senate has engendered goes well beyond politics, but to the heart of democracy itself. There cannot be one rule for one party and another rule for the other, effectively eschewing several basic tenets of the Constitution.

There is a reason Ginsburg held on for so long, much longer than any of us would have stayed in such a stressful and high-profile position despite having five bouts with the cancer that eventually led to her death. One of her last statements dictated before her death was, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

The American value of equality for all is one that seems to be lost in our divisive times. We must honor Ginsburg’s legacy by remembering this ideal by moving toward the future and not slipping back to the 1950s where it was believed that women were only capable of being, as the saying goes, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. If that were true, we would have never experienced people like RBG.

by -
0 4351
1 of 8
Smithtown students rally in front of the Section XI building on Route 111. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Parent Ray Zuppa, below, said it playing sports can be done safely when wearing a mask.
A protester's sign rests on the statue of Richard Smith. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Students from other districts rallied with Smithtown athletes Sept. 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Students from other districts rallied with Smithtown athletes Sept. 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Students from other districts rallied with Smithtown athletes Sept. 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A student throws a football in front of the Richard Smith statue on Route 111. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Smithtown students and parents rally in front of the Section XI building on Route 111. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

Richard “Bull” Smith, who founded Smithtown over 350 years ago, never played quarterback. Nor could he run the pick and roll in basketball, turn a 6-4-3 double play in baseball or swim the 100-meter breaststroke.

However, his statue was smack in the middle of about 100 student-athletes, coaches and parents Friday, Sept. 18, as they gathered to protest the Section XI decision to suspend all high school sports due to the coronavirus until at least January 2021. They met right on the front lawn of Section XI headquarters on Main Street and Route 111 in Smithtown.

Groups representing Kings Park, East Islip, Northport, Commack, Ward Melville and Connetquot joined Smithtown residents, who began their protest at the school district’s administration earlier on New York Avenue, and held up signs imploring the decision makers to rethink this delay. Many of these devoted and impassioned protesters were at the same location, doing the same thing Tuesday, Sept. 15.

One of these protesters was Ray Zuppa, an attorney from Smithtown, who feels that high school athletic facilities are far less dangerous than other places that kids might go. He is also a strong believer that not having the chance to play sports is devastating to the youngsters’ development.

“I believe Section XI has let the kids down,” Zuppa said later during a phone interview. “I realize it is a serious virus, but the science supports that it’s difficult to catch outside and when wearing a mask.”

Zuppa’s son, Isaiah Zuppa, is the starting quarterback of the Smithtown West Bulls and was one of the highest-rated passers in Suffolk County in 2019. He was also in attendance at the protest.

“Isaiah is a shell of himself,” the father said. “It’s not just about the games, but all these kids are missing the camaraderie, the discipline, team dinners and the bonding — and you know what, the parents are missing it too. Sports is essential to a lot of families.”

Zuppa coached his son for many years in the Suffolk County Police Athletic League, and when the father was asked if he took solace in the plans to have football season in March, he was skeptical. 

“I think this March thing is just a way to kick the can down the road,” he said.  “I don’t think it’s really going to happen, and this is just a way for them to bide their time.”

The masked protesters were rewarded by the encouragement of honking car horns, and they created a party-like atmosphere as they tossed footballs, sang team fight songs and ran through tumbling routines at the foot of Smith’s statue. However, Tom Combs, executive director of Section XI, and the main target of the protesters’ ire, did not address the crowd or make an appearance from his nearby office.

“While this was a difficult decision, we feel it was the best move for the health and safety of everyone involved,” Combs said in a Sept. 11 statement on the Section XI website. “We still have a lot of hard work ahead in planning and executing on the three seasons across six months in 2021, but we look forward to the challenge and collaboration with our member schools and providing an impactful experience for our student-athletes and coaches.”

Despite Combs’ nonappearance, Zuppa still thinks these public showings are beneficial.

“They know we’re out here,” he said. “They know how we feel.”

by -
0 368
Photo by Tom Caruso

THREE’S COMPANY

Tom Caruso of Smithtown visited the David Weld Nature Sanctuary in Nissequogue over Labor Day weekend and noticed several butterflies and bees clustering on thistles in the meadow. He snapped this beautiful photo showing two different butterflies and a small wasp (in center) all sharing one flower. He writes, ‘Nice way to bring summer to an end.’

Send your Photo of the Week to leisure@tbrnewspapers.com

by -
0 423
Photo from SBU

The coronavirus pandemic is a time like no other in U.S. history. The virus, which hit the New York area particularly hard, had Stony Brook University and Stony Brook University Hospital on high alert for months on end.

The hospital not only saw the heroic actions of doctors and nurses already on Stony Brook Medicine’s staff, but was also assisted by visiting nurses; medical students who graduated early to help fight on the frontlines; doctors and researchers jumping on ways to find a possible cure as quickly as possible; and essential workers who played an integral role in ensuring every process and procedure ran as smoothly as possible.

Students on the Stony Brook University campus during the Fall 2020 semester are wearing masks as a precaution against COVID-19 spread. Photo from SBU

On the University’s main campus, 3-D shields were printed as a PPE shortage was looming; hand sanitizer was created by several chemists in the Chemistry laboratory; and a prototype of a respirator was put together by a team from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences which could be assembled quickly and used if necessary.

Now, Stony Brook University Libraries has announced the development of “Documenting COVID-19: Stony Brook University Experiences,” a new digital archive project established to collect, preserve, and publish the institutional history of Stony Brook University during this unprecedented moment in history.

“The archive will primarily be formed from submissions received directly from students, faculty, staff, and alumni that document life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews, first-hand accounts, flyers, photographs, and more will be important sources to consult in the future to study, interpret, and derive meaning from this historic time period,” said Kristen Nyitray, University Archivist and Director of Special Collections and University Archives at Stony Brook University.

All from the Stony Brook University community are invited to contribute to the archive by submitting content or participating in an interview via a dedicated web page, “Documenting COVID-19: Stony Brook University Experiences” from which the library project team will collect information, photos, videos, personal stories and other COVID-19 related information.

For more information, visit www.library.stonybrook.edu/special-library-initiatives/documenting-covid-19/.

by -
0 1288
File photo

When Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) announced the 30-member police reform task force last Wednesday, Sept. 9, there was not much in the way of fanfare for what should be a big moment for the general police reform movement.

Like the sound of a flat trumpet announcing the arrival of the king, it did not create any kinds of sensation other than pursed lips and a general groan from the community at large.

The news has left people on both entrenched sides of the police debate uncomfortable. One side probably thinks it is a dangerous waste of time, the other believes it to be an attempt at lip service, one piloted by the same people advocates accused of sustaining bad practices within departments.

The muted and sometimes hostile response to the new task force is likely due to how long it took the county to actually release its own plans. It has been over three months since Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) released his first executive order mandating that the government actually looks into this. Police reform advocates have hounded his heels since then but the county exec stood mum. Perhaps he, like others, was confused by what the county should have been doing to prepare for what is likely seen as another unfunded mandate from New York State.

But this is bigger than that, or at least, it should be. Bellone and other police officials should have been upfront about what they were going to do and how they would do it. At least then they wouldn’t have been in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation as they are now. Especially because without a plan, Cuomo has promised municipalities’ police departments could lose state funding.

Suffolk County police officials throughout the entirety of the police debate have touted recent advancements in anti-bias training and department reform that was happening even before Minneapolis man George Floyd was killed at the hands of police.

And to say there haven’t been significant efforts would be a disservice to the several notable people within the police department who have strived to increase inclusivity and enact change for the better. Most times, however, it’s better to let the people themselves tell you if that change has been enough, rather than just sitting in the echo chamber that is bureaucracy.

The 30-person task force is effectively evenly split between Suffolk County officials/police reps and other religious, racial and community groups. This disparate set of characters plans to hold eight meetings, one for each precinct plus the East End, then using another large survey the county has announced alongside the task force, craft some sort of policy plan.

The Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association will of course advocate for no changes to police budgets or personnel. Their leadership has been staunch supporters of Blue Lives Matter rallies and have routinely decried any and all Black Lives Matter protests, even though in the county the vast majority have been peaceful and civil. That’s not to say police don’t have the right to speak up for themselves. We know just how much work goes into serving a community as an officer — from the holidays not spent with families to the danger they put themselves in every day. But we need to listen to communities, especially the large communities of color, for whether they feel police actually treat them the way many of us on the North Shore feel we are positively reflected.

We at TBR News Media think there should be a minority report, or potentially multiple minority reports, to go along with whatever result gets crafted before the governor’s April 2021 deadline. That way we can see what was left on the cutting room floor and, more importantly, how either police reps or reform advocates feel things should be done if they had their way.

It’s time to stop thinking of this task force as an afterthought and move toward some consensus that leads to real change.

by -
0 410
Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum sounds the Shofar, a hollowed-out ram's horn used to usher in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Photo from Village Chabad

By Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum

Can we cancel 2020? Like simply skipping directly to 2021? Will anyone be upset about it?

I have seen many funny memes about 2020. But one particular meme got me to laugh pretty hard. It’s actually not about 2020 but about the current Jewish calendar year we are about to close, 5780.

“They say our actions on the High Holidays determine what will be decreed for the upcoming year. So whatever the heck you guys did last year, please don’t do it again!”

LOL.

After LOL’ing, it got me thinking about “cancelling 2020” and “cancelling 5780.” And then, a quote came to mind. A quote that is simply so perfect for our situation.

The quote is from Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe. He was imprisoned and tortured in Soviet Russia because of his work to spread Judaism behind the Iron Curtain.

After he was released from prison, his disciples asked him how he felt about it. He replied, “If I would be offered millions to experience one more moment of suffering – I wouldn’t buy. And if anyone would want to pay me millions to take away one moment of my suffering – I wouldn’t sell!”

The Rebbe didn’t elaborate further, but I think that the message is simple. Challenges are difficult, but they can also uplift you. One should never choose to experience challenges, but in hindsight we can appreciate how it made us better.

So I don’t want to cancel 5780.

Not the moments that forced me to take a step back from the hustle of life.

Not the moments that reminded me what’s important and what’s less important.

Not the new appreciation of what is essential, and what is not truly essential.

Not the beauty I saw all around me, when the entire country simply rallied to help one another.

Not the feeling of closeness to G-d when I prayed from the bottom of my heart that things should get better already.

Not the time spent with my family with very little distraction.

Do I want more of it? Not even if you pay me millions. But I do know that 5780 had many gifts. Hidden, but gifts nonetheless.

Onward and upward!

May we all be blessed with a Shana Tova U’metuka. A happy, healthy and sweet new year up ahead for ourselves and our loved ones.

Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum is the senior rabbi and spiritual leader at the Village Chabad Center for Jewish life & Learning in East Setauket. Visit EnjoyHighHolidays.com for a schedule of COVID-safe outdoor holidays at Village Chabad. Masks, social distancing, and preregistration is required. To RSVP for a “60 Minute Power Hour” Rosh Hashanah service and Shofar blowing on Sept. 20, visit MyVillageChabad.com/HHPowerHour.

Prev1...184185186...487Next Page 185 of 487
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©