Kyle Gutman smiles with his newly refurbished Jeep. Photo from Kellie Ryan
By Victoria Espinoza
Kyle Gutman’s wish came true — and then some.
Lloyd Harbor resident Kyle Gutman was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014, at age 17. While undergoing treatment during his senior year of high school, the Make-A-Wish Foundation reached out to him to see if it could grant him a wish. On Dec. 19 Kyle Gutman, now cancer free, received his wish: to have his 1989 Grand Jeep Wagoneer restored.
Kyle Gutman and his father Jim purchased the Jeep together back in 2009 and worked on repairing it for years.
“We bought it together and played and worked on it for numerous years,” Jim Gutman said in a phone interview. “It was fun, he learned a lot with it. But there were many things we couldn’t fix ourselves, and he always wanted to get it fixed up to be proud of it.”
Tim Browner, president of AutoMat Customizing and Restoration, and Make-A-Wish helped bring the Gutmans’ Jeep to the next level.
Kyle Gutman smiles with his newly refurbished Jeep. Photo from Kellie Ryan
“He has such enthusiasm about the Jeep, as did the whole family,” Browner said in a phone interview. “You could tell it was more than just a method of transportation, it meant a lot to them. There’s always a reason why someone wants to restore a car.”
Browner restored the interior of the Jeep, with new seating, wood panels and more.
The transformed Jeep was presented to Kyle Gutman at the end of December in Browner’s location in Hicksville.
“It was really nice, seeing the look on his face,” Browner said. “I’m sure he’s going wild with it now.”
Kyle Gutman said he loved the reveal.
“It was awesome, I have never seen it look as good as it did and was very excited that I can finally take it home and use it again,” he said.
Kyle Gutman’s mother Tracy agreed that seeing the expression on his face the first time he saw the Jeep was priceless.
“His eyes lit up,” she said in a phone interview. “It was like watching a little kid at Christmas. He immediately went and sat in the car and it just suited him so. He and his father just kept looking at it like ‘wow.’”
Jim Gutman agreed the revel was exciting.
“We usually see the car outside the house, and it started out as a 17-year-old boy’s car, which typically ends up looking like their bedrooms after a while,” he said with a laugh. “So seeing it super clean and in the showroom was great. It just came out fantastic — I want to drive it everyday.”
Rather than ask for a trip to the Superbowl, or a vacation to a tropical island, Tracy Gutman said this wish is something her son will have forever.
“It’s something to look at to symbolize he beat this [cancer],” she said.
Kyle Gutman said he wanted his wish to be something he could have forever.
“I wanted my wish to be something meaningful that would last for a long time,” he said.
Jim Gutman said he never expected the car to become such an important part of the family.
“We originally just purchased it to be a little bit of a project for us,” he said. “Now it’s more like a collector’s car. I think this car will be around forever; it’ll be a family heirloom.”
Young members of the Northport-East Northport Community Drug and Alcohol Task Force smile with their flag as they prepare to walk in a parade. Photo from Anthony Ferrandino
By Victoria Espinoza
The Northport-East Northport Community Drug and Alcohol Task Force took 2016 by storm.
The organization raised $19,000 for a local youth group, organized its sixth annual Recovery Awareness and Prevention educational week districtwide and secured a $625,000 federal grant — not a bad way to commemorate its 10th year in existence.
The local organization works to eliminate drug use and substance abuse in the Northport-East Northport community as well as promote prevention, offer educational resources for parents and community members and more.
For the work the task force does for the community, Times Beacon Record News Media has chosen the members of the Northport-East Northport Community Drug and Alcohol Task Force as People of the Year.
Anthony Ferrandino, co-chair of the task force, said he’s pleased with the work the group was able to accomplish this year.
“It’s definitely a good feeling,” he said in a phone interview. “We’ve grown so much, it’s nice to break through certain thresholds.”
Sean Boylan, Ferrandino’s co-chair, agreed the task force accomplished a lot in 2016.
“We’ve come a long way as a task force,” he said in a phone interview. “This year was a tremendous amount of work.”
Anthony Ferrandino, co-chair of the task force, back left, and Sean Boylan, back right, stand with members of the task force at a board of education meeting. Photo from Sean Boylan
Ferrandino said the mission of the task force is to educate as many students, parents and community members as possible about the dangers of drugs — and it’s safe to say they exceeded their goal this year.
In June, the task force worked with the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport to host the premiere of a short film “Grace,” created by Marisa Vitali, a former heroin addict. The film depicted the struggles and triumphs of living life in recovery, and after the film Vitali answered audience questions and discussed her own personal experience with drug addiction. At the event, Ferrandino said he was thrilled to see how many community members they were able to educate that night.
Boylan echoed the sentiment, saying the success of the fundraiser was great but the real achievement was the conversations had.
“The tremendous event was the question and answer portion after the show,” he said. “We had many different subgroups talk about recovery and have real conversations with our community members. It was awesome.”
The premiere raised $19,000 in ticket and raffle sales, which was donated to the Youth Directions and Alternatives, a nonprofit with a new establishment in Northport that hosts free programs and events for the Northport youth. The YDA recently started offering a prevention program for kids as well.
Ferrandino said organizations like the YDA are key to reducing the amount of kids who turn to drugs.
“We collaborate with everybody,” he said. “It really takes an entire community to be on the same page to create change. We create partnerships and try to change the culture of a community.”
“It really takes an entire community to be on the same page to create change. We create partnerships and try to change the culture of a community.”
— Anthony Ferrandino
The task force is committed to branch out into the community as much as possible. They have organized countless Narcan training programs, prescription take-back events and most recently town hall events to try and collaborate with leaders with their new federal grant.
Late this September, the task force received more than half-a-million dollars in a grant that is part of the Drug Free Communities Support Program, a White House project that works to reduce youth substance abuse by promoting communitywide participation and evidence-based practices.
For winning this nationally competitive grant, the task force will receive $125,000 per year for the next five years. It enables the hiring of a full-time task force coalition leader and supports a range of coordinated practices and evidence-supported activities aimed at prevention. The programs include parent education, social media initiatives, pharmacist/youth collaboration and stricter law enforcement practices.
This is where the group wants as much community input and support as possible.
“We’re trying to create partnerships with local doctors, business owners and more,” Ferrandino said. They hope to use their grant as effectively as possible and educate as many residents as they can.
This past October, the task force successfully hosted its sixth-annual RAP Week — a five-day event in every school in the district that featured special guest speakers, activities and assemblies dedicated to raising awareness of prescription drugs, alcohol and other unhealthy habits in an effort to highlight the dangerous impact they can have on a person’s life.
Northport Superintendent Robert Banzer praised the work the task force does within the schools.
“We are very pleased The Drug & Alcohol Task Force is being recognized for their continued efforts to confront a pervasive problem facing the youth of our community,” he said in an email.“The Task Force, under the leadership of Anthony Ferrandino and Sean Boylan, is made up of a diverse group of community members who all share the same resolve: bringing an end to drug and alcohol abuse and providing resources, awareness and opportunities for healthy decision-making, free of addiction.”
Boylan said he is thankful for all the support the district gives the task force to allow them to dedicate an entire week to teaching the students.
He said one memory from this year that sticks out for him was walking in the Cow Harbor Day Parade down Main Street.
“We’ve done it for many years, in the past we’ve had ten kids walking with us,” he said. “But this year we had more than 70 kids and parents, holding banners and wearing shirts. It was so symbolic; to me that is the impact we’re having. It’s showing we’re making an impact on a lot of different levels.”
But the work is far from over, both co-chairs said.
“We have a long way to go,” Boylan said. The task force holds open meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the superintendent’s conference room at the William Brosnan Administration Building, and Boylan said new members are always welcome.
“What’s great about us is we’re made up of volunteers that bring their own passions to this,” he said. “They are dedicated to this community.”
Kings Park Superintendent Timothy Eagen speaks at a meeting. File photo
Kings Park Superintendent Timothy Eagen. File photo.
In two years, Superintendent Timothy Eagen has become the king of Kings Park’s school district.
Under his leadership, the district has created robotics clubs and educational programs for children from kindergarten up, started work on about $41 million in improvements to the district’s facilities, brought back old clubs and worked tirelessly to make sure the level of education students receive is up to par.
For these reasons, Times Beacon Record News Media has selected Eagen as a Person of the Year for 2016.
A North Shore native, the superintendent grew up in South Huntington and graduated from Walt Whitman High School. His undergraduate degree from Alfred University was in ceramic engineering, a specific education he said still helps him today.
“As an engineer you’re trained to solve problems, and that is essentially what I do for a living,” he said. “It’s not necessarily science problems, but whatever the problem of the day might be.”
He said after college he switched over to the “family business” of education. His mother and father are both retired teachers, and his sister is a high school English teacher.
Eagen worked in the South Huntington school district for 15 years, starting as a substitute teacher and working his way to assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
In 2014, he arrived at Kings Park — a community he has great respect for.
“One of the things I really like about Kings Park is the things that are important to the community and the school district,” he said. “Over the two years that I’ve been here and in my research when I was applying for the job, there were three things that stood out: Kings Park pride, family and service. Pride you hear about all the time — it’s a very proud community. And then family and service, it’s a very close-knit, family-type community. When somebody has an issue or a problem everybody comes out and helps. They really value service, whether it’s in the armed forces, police, fire, rescue or just typical service to the community. All of those things are part of what I believe in.”
Rudy Massimo, principal at RJO Intermediate School, said Eagen has had a tremendous impact on the morale at Kings Park.
“I’ve never seen teachers more impressed with a superintendent before,” he said. “He really turned around the entire district. To watch it happen is absolutely amazing. He has made [Kings Park] an amazing place to work.”
Kings Park Superintendent Timothy Eagen speaks at a meeting. File photo
When Eagen got to work, one of the first jobs he said he wanted to tackle was facility upgrades throughout the district.
“Every time we turned the corner it was another area that needed attention,” he said. “So the bond was big.” The capital project bond referendum was approved by voters in December 2015, and came in at about $41 million. Improvements like roof replacements, bathroom renovations, hardware replacements and asphalt and pavement upgrades are planned at every school in the district. Kings Park High School has some big-ticket items including auditorium upgrades, gymnasium renovations and the creation of a multipurpose athletic field and accompanying concession stand. The plan was divided into certain projects being carried out each year. This past summer the new track was installed and about $8 million in other improvements were carried out.
Eagen said he is proud of the improvements done thus far, and is eager to continue working to improve student experiences at facilities within the district.
In terms of curriculum, Eagen has assured Kings Park students are getting the most up-to-date education possible.
“Robotics has been pretty big,” Eagen said. “As well as classes focusing on programming, logic, research — things of that nature. We hear a lot about college and career readiness … there’s a lot of truth to that in concern to how competitive it is to get into college right now.”
Eagen said in his first year at Kings Park, students and parents approached him with the desire to create a robotics club, and he hit the ground running.
Through help from local legislators and school staff, the team was formed and was even able to compete at an annual competition hosted at Hofstra University in the spring.
“Under the heading of family, we all came together and made it happen,” Eagen said.
After the club was formed, Eagen began working to create a robotics program for all grades in the district. Students now work with programmable robots, that they can move, and make sing and dance. The district also offers a summer robotics camp.
“It’s just really cool,” Eagen said. “It’s the whole coding logic, it’s 21st century lessons. Really what we are trying to do is ensure every student graduates with a general understanding and some skills of programming, robotics, logic and code. It’s good stuff. Kids pick it up so quickly.”
Massimo said Eagen has created an environment for teachers and students to excel.
“He allows us to really run with our ideas,” he said. “You take pride in what you’re teaching your students. This initiative has encouraged us to return to creative academic freedom — sometimes you get lost in the testing world. He’s inspiring to everyone in the administration.”
The Kings Park school board agreed, Eagen has done wonders for the district.
“The board continues to be impressed with Dr. Eagen’s leadership and vision for the Kings Park Central School District as well as the Kings Park community at large,” members said in a joint email statement. “He is a constant advocate for our children — whether it be striving for advancements in our curriculum, our facilities and our programs or leading advocacy groups at the regional and state level on behalf of public education. Dr. Eagen is also a constant presence at community events — whether it be school concerts, plays and sporting events, or local events like parades or group meetings. We are fortunate to have him leading our school district.”
Mike Borella, left, stands with his parents, Carolyn and James Borella, at their family nursery in Nesconset. Photo by Kevin Redding
By Kevin Redding
Carolyn and James Borella of Borella Nursery have been making Smithtown a better, kinder and prettier place to live for decades — although they would probably refuse to take any credit for that.
The Borellas, whose family business of wholesale growing officially started in 1958, have gone out of their way to beautify just about every inch of the town, often free of charge, and that’s just a small percentage of the dynamic duo’s selfless efforts.
For all they’ve done to help their community and its people thrive, the Borellas have been recognized as Times Beacon News Media People of the Year.
Carolyn Borella, 61, said everything they do comes from the heart.
“We love living here, we love this community [and] all the businesses; we want people to live here and we want Smithtown to stay beautiful,” she said in an interview.
“[They] are two of the kindest, most giving and hard working people I have come to know.”
— Mike Donnelly
James Borella, 55, who was raised in the house that still stands next to the nursery, said he can’t imagine ever leaving where he’s been his whole life.
“I have a lot of friends retiring shortly or [who] have retired and they’re all moving and say ‘why don’t you move and retire out in the Carolinas or Florida?’ I say ‘there ain’t no way in hell I’m leaving here.’ Everything I love is within this town.”
When she’s not serving in the Nesconset Chamber of Commerce, Smithtown Business and Professional Women’s Network or at the Smithtown Historical Society planning festivals and taking care of the farm animals sheltered there, Carolyn Borella joins her husband in going to local restaurants to put poinsettias in their windows, donating leftover flowers and plants from their greenhouses to spruce up town hall, and growing vegetable flats for different churches to feed the local hungry.
With their son Mike Borella, 37, who works with them at the nursery, the Borellas built the first Garden of Freedom — a special garden decorated with statues, American flags and a banner thanking those who serve the country as firefighters, police officers, military personnel, as well as K9 dogs — in New York, for which they were recently recognized at a dedication and community celebration by Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy Jr. (R) and Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset).
According to Martin Aponte, president of the 9/11 Responders Remembered Park in Smithtown, the two have been instrumental in providing whatever the site needs since it opened in 2011.
“They have been so gracious with supplying us plants and bulbs and trees at no cost,” he said. “Around Christmastime, they have been giving us so much roping and so many wreaths; they are a staple in the town of Smithtown and their hamlet of Nesconset.”
Aponte said the Borellas are great people who believe in giving back.
“They’ve been generous with so many others throughout the community,” he said.
Just mentioning their names ushers in a wave of praise and admiration among Smithtown residents.
“[They] are two of the kindest, most giving and hard working people I have come to know,” Mike Donnelly, organizer of Smithtown’s 350th anniversary parade said, in which the couple was honored. “Their level of helping [and] sharing is beyond what most people are capable of being aware of. Running into them always makes me feel good.”
Christine DeAugustino, president of the Nesconset Chamber of Commerce, said the Borellas have been quietly supporting the town behind the scenes for years.
Speaking specifically about Carolyn Borella, DeAugustino said “the woman’s got a heart of gold.”
Carolyn Borella, known for loving all people and animals alike, recently held a fundraiser at the historical society and raised $6,000 for the maintenance and feeding of the animals, which include horses, ponies, sheep, chickens and barn cats. Fittingly, she also served as Mrs. Claus for holiday celebrations in Nesconset.
Carolyn Borella said her mother inspired her to give back.
“[Growing up] in Valley Stream, we were very money-challenged and I was raised by my mother, who was both my mother and my father because my father left when I was a very young girl,” she said. “My mother taught me three things: Soap and water is cheap; you will always be clean. I know how to cook and grow a garden, so you will always have food. And I will teach you what’s in your heart, and you will be the richest girl in the world … and I am; I may not have everything but I have it all.”
The couple met March 28, 1987, and got married 90 days later on July 3 at the foot of her mother’s hospital bed right before she died. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
“There ain’t no way in hell I’m leaving here. Everything I love is within this town.”
— James Borella
She said they have a complete ying-yang dynamic, and the fact they get along so well working together 365 days a year, 7 days a week, is a testament to that.
The nursery business came from James Borella’s family. His mother was raised in the world of greenhouses as his grandfather had a string of them in Flushing, Queens, back in the 1930s and ’40s. His father, on the other hand, was a potato farmer who would eventually be persuaded to drop his trade and start a nursery with his wife.
As James Borella said, it wasn’t much of a challenge for his father since working in the greenhouse is just “glorified farming.”
When his parents were retiring and mulling over the idea of closing down their long-running business, James Borella, who had been an employee, couldn’t bear seeing all their hard work disappear and decided to take it over in 1990.
From there, he was a one-man-band working behind the desk, growing in the greenhouses, hopping in the truck to deliver everything, until about 1995 when it was all getting too much for him to carry on his own.
He said he went to his wife and asked if she could come in and help, and she joined in, committed to building something together with him.
“That’s when Borella Nursery really started to go in a completely different direction and become the Borella Nursery it is today,” Mike Borella said, who works mostly in sales but also drives and delivers and helps customers. “From then until now, we’ve probably tripled our business.”
He said he wanted to make it known there are things besides working that his parents enjoy, like being in the Smithtown Bay Yacht Club.
But, naturally, the couple has taken it upon themselves to donate all the plants there, as well as organize three movie nights during the summer at Long Beach for the yacht club community.
“We set up a painter’s tarp, bring the movie, I bring a cotton candy machine and popcorn,” Carolyn Borella said. “It’s all free.”
Members of the Greenlawn American Legion Post 1244. Photo from Bob Santos
By Victoria Espinoza
Greenlawn American Legion Post 1244 has been giving back to the community since its inception in 1946. From returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, to student outreach programs designed to improve leadership skills, to efforts to recover veterans’ remains, the post’s work is seemingly never finished.
Members of the post are actively involved in national and local efforts to help improve the lives of veterans, though they also work to locate remains of veterans from conflicts as far back as the Spanish American War of 1898.
For their dedication to the community and veterans alike, Times Beacon Record News Media has chosen the members of the Greenlawn American Legion Post as People of the Year.
The post has been involved in the Missing in America Project since 2009, a national nonprofit organization that works to locate and identify the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans to provide a final resting place as a sign of honor and respect to those who have served the United States.
John Calderelli, a member of the Greenlawn post as well as a national representative of the Missing in America Project, said he felt compelled to work with the organization once he heard there were veteran remains stored in funeral homes across the country.
“That bothered me — it really didn’t sit well with me,” Calderelli said in a phone interview. “When you go into the service and make that agreement, there is an unwritten covenant that you will be buried in a federal cemetery with all your comrades in arms. To think veterans are lying on shelves for over 100 years. I think that’s wrong.”
Calderelli said he was outraged and couldn’t believe how many veterans were unidentified — and he still can’t believe how many more veterans he’s found since then. “I feel lucky I can help them,” he said.
Members of the Greenlawn American Legion Post smile. Photo by Bob Santos
The post has helped lay to rest at least 100 soldiers, including two from the Civil War. They organize burial ceremonies for all the veterans they find. Some ceremonies have included rider-less horses, Civil War re-enactors, and dove releases.
The Greenlawn post actively works with Sail Ahead, a nonprofit organization that uses sailing and the ocean therapeutically to help veterans with various service-related physical disabilities and illnesses, including traumatic brain injury and PTSD. For the past two years, the post has worked with them to take veterans out sailing for a day of relaxation on the Long Island Sound. This past July, more than 140 veterans and family members enjoyed a day of sailing and a barbeque at Centerport Yacht Club.
Bob Santos, a past commander of the Greenlawn post, said the day is for both enjoying and relaxing. Santos, who was awarded Legionare of the Year for the 10th District of New York for 2016, said he was sitting with a veteran who was a victim of PTSD and as soon as the boats took off, he loosened up.
“Before long, he was laughing and joking the way we do,” Santos said in an interview. “I saw him change. It’s a beautiful event.”
Santos said the post is working with Sail Ahead to develop more frequent sailing trips that allow veterans to take each other sailing on donated ships.
Bruce Blanco leads the American Legion Riders chapter in Greenlawn. The group of motorcyclists; who escort military units returning home from combat tours overseas, conducts cross-country fundraising events for wounded warriors and raises funds for countless local, state and national charities.
In 2016 alone, the riders have participated in more than 250 missions.
“I never want to see this disappear,” Blanco said in an interview. “The riders are trying to bring attention to what the American Legion does, and help to try and make it grow.”
The post does more than just support fellow veterans; they also regularly give back to the community with educational programs.
Vets in the Classroom is an annual event that takes place at Oldfield Middle School, where veterans talk to students about their experience of serving their country.
Ken Kirsch served in the U.S. Army as a war dog handler from 1979 to 1990 and is also a member of America’s VetDogs, a nonprofit that provides enhanced mobility and renewed independence to veterans, active-duty service members, and first responders with disabilities through service dogs.
He spoke to students at Oldfield Middle School and said the kids are eager to learn about their time overseas.
“It’s very important for these veterans, especially Vietnam-era veterans, because we were not encouraged to talk about our experiences when we came back.”
—Bob Santos
“The kids were really excited about having us,” Kirsch said in a phone interview.
The program is not only beneficial for students, but for veterans as well.
“It’s very important for these veterans, especially Vietnam-era veterans, because we were not encouraged to talk about our experiences when we came back,” Santos, who served from 1966 to 1970, said. “We came back to a different world. The country changed; the military was blamed for a lot. We were called baby killers. And you shrugged it off; but it left a mark.”
Santos said Americans’ indifference back home was the hardest to deal with.
“We felt that they were indifferent to what we had experienced,” he said. “They couldn’t relate to it, they didn’t want to and they were just glad it was over.”
The former post commander said it’s important veterans talk about it with kids to help heal and teach students about the importance of their service.
The post also sponsors students on a weeklong trip to learn about democracy and build strong leadership skills.
The Boys and Girls State is a program meant for high school juniors travel upstateand run for office, learn public speaking, create and enforce laws, and actively participate in all phases of creating and running a working government.
The post sponsors the trip and raises money to send as many students as they can every summer from Harborfields High School, Walt Whitman High School, Commack High School and St. Anthony’s High School. They have raised more than $25,000 in recent years alone.
Charlie Armstrong, a legion member who works with the Boys and Girls State program says the experience is priceless for the students.
“We, of course, do a lot to help the veterans in the community, but this is when we get to reach out to the youth and help them, because they are our future,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s nice both ends of the spectrum are being helped. It’s reassuring to know there is a future happening, and these kids are all so enthusiastic about it.”
Armstrong also educates Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in the community about flag etiquette and retirement, which includes how to handle and fold a flag and how to properly dispose of one.
“We show the proper respect for the flag and how the flag is seen as a symbol of freedom from oppression to other countries around the world,” he said.
The post has also helped support students who compete in the annual American Legion High School Oratorical Contest, a public speaking contest that awards college scholarships to students.
Current Post Commander Dennis Madden said he thinks the work the post does with the community helps residents look at veterans differently.
“We’re teaching kids about Americanism, what it means to be a dedicated citizen,” Madden said in a phone interview, talking about the school programs they work with. “The general public now sees the veterans in a different light, as citizens to the country rather than military men and women. It shows we’re regular people.”
A view of one of the four cars involved in a car crash on Larkfield Road in East Northport. Photos by Steve Silverman.
Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are investigating a multi-vehicle crash that killed a woman and seriously injured a man in East Northport Dec. 26.
Officers said Karla Kovach, 52, was driving a 2008 Kia northbound on Larkfield Road, near 5th Avenue, when her vehicle hit a 2008 Nissan that was slowing in traffic at 9:50 p.m. The Nissan, driven by Darin Costello, 37, hit the side of Mario’s Pizza, on Larkfield Road. After striking the Nissan, the Kia spun into the rear of a 2013 Mercedes, driven by Elias Francois, 46, which forced the Mercedes into the rear of a 2011 Cadillac, which was stopped on Larkfield Road.
A view of one of the four cars involved in a car crash on Larkfield Road in East Northport. Photos by Steve Silverman.
East Northport firefighters used heavy rescue extrication tools to remove the victims from two of the cars. East Northport Fire Department was on the scene with three trucks, three ambulances and fire police, under the command of Chief Wayne Kaifler Jr. and Assistant Chief Dan Heffernan and Dan Flanagan. The Greenlawn Fire Department and Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps assisted with two additional ambulances, while the Northport and Kings Park fire departments provided standby coverage at East Northport fire headquarters.
Kovach, of East Northport, was transported to Huntington Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Costello, of Northport, was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore with serious injuries. François, of East Northport, and her two child passengers were transported to Huntington Hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the Cadillac, Anthony Nullet, 25, of East Northport, and his passenger were not injured. Both Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps. and East Northport Fire Department responded and transported the victims to hospitals.
The Kia was impounded for a safety inspection.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Second Squad detectives at 631-854-8252.
Northport-East Northport Superintendent Robert Banzer. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Northport-East Northport school board members approved an almost $40 million bond referendum to improve school facilities and classroom space, infrastructure and athletic facilities during a Dec. 14 meeting.
The bond includes a $2 million plan for a new stadium and track at the high school, as well as a new turf field and the creation of security vestibules at every school in the district.
All schools in the districts will undergo improvements through the bond, with projects like bathroom reconstructions, classroom improvements, sink and countertop replacements, and sidewalk and paving improvements. Northport and East Northport middle schools athletic fields will also receive upgrades including replacing of the tracks, and improving of fields. The most costly improvements are set for Northport High School, where more than $16 million will be spent on athletic upgrades, science lab reconstruction and more.
At the meeting residents expressed concern with the creation of turf fields, citing health issues with the turf infill.
“I believe the board wants to and will get input and discussions on the type of fill. We want the safest choice of course for our students.” —Andrew Rapiejko
“Has there been any considerations for the potential health risks with turf burns, body fluids on the field, and joint injury in young athletes?” Tom Fischer, an East Northport resident asked at the meeting. “There is also an issue of artificial turf fields heating up substantially, and September this year was beastly hot. I really can’t imagine high school football players fully clad in that field-generated heat. That would certainly increase the risk of heat exhaustion.”
Trustee Regina Pisacani, who headed the Athletic Facilities Citizens Advisory Committee, the group which surveyed the school’s athletic fields and made suggestions for upgrades, said there were many debates on turf.
“The committee had a lot of different turf companies come in and we had a couple physical therapists who had concerns about the turf,” she said. “You can find articles for both sides of the coin. You can find articles that say there are significant injuries on turf and natural grass.”
Paul Klimuszko, director of physical education, athletics and health at Northport said students are not allowed to play if it’s too hot outside. Section XI athletics forbids schools from allowing players outside once it reaches 95 on the heat index.
“Once Section XI calls a heat advisory, there’s not playing on any of the fields,” he said. “You know I’ve never seen a heat advisory that says not on the turf but still on the grass. Once it gets to a certain temperature it’s no activities.”
When Northport resident Carl Lick asked for a definite plan from the board on the type of turf the district plans on using, he added, “Asbestos was safe until it wasn’t safe. Smoking was safe until it wasn’t safe. I think we have to err on the side of safety.”
Board President Andrew Rapiejko said the turf fields are a small amount of the whole bond referendum, and the board doesn’t plan on going into the nitty-gritty details of every part of the bond at this point.
“So the details of exactly which fill we are going to use, we’re not going to decide right away because I think there is a lot to that,” he said. “What the board at this point needs to look at is the cost, when it comes time for the decision of what kind of infill we will use. I believe the board wants to and will get input and discussions on the type of fill. We want the safest choice of course for our students.”
The bond had been discussed for several months leading up to last week’s vote, and input was taken from residents, special committees, board members, administrators and more. The scope of work was approved unanimously, and the bond will go to a community vote in February 2017.
A young girl picks out Christmas gifts at Target in Commack Dec. 14. Photo from Mallory Kerley
By Victoria Espinoza
For a few families struggling to make ends meet this Christmas, local organizations got together to ensure there would be presents under the tree.
United Way of Long Island, a nonprofit based in Deer Park, and Make it Count Foundation, a nonprofit based in West Islip, worked together to donate funds so that children and their families were able to search through Target in Commack and choose any gifts they wanted for Christmas this year. They were also given holiday treats as they shopped. Kids ran through the aisles of Target Dec. 14, browsing the Barbie dolls, Nerf guns, and other toys they could take home to make the holiday special.
“Helping children in need is priceless,” Jon Reese, president of the Make It Count Foundation said in an email. “I feel it is not only our responsibility, it is an honor. Especially this time of year, when we celebrate life and hope.”
Reese said Make It Count has worked with United Way of Long Island in the past on home renovations, health and community programs, and backpacks filled with school supplies.
A young boy picks out Christmas gifts at Target in Commack Dec. 14. Photo from Mallory Kerley
“We feel that when the Make It Count Foundation and the United Way of Long Island partner, we are able to leverage each other’s resources and make a greater impact,” he said.
According to Theresa Regnante, president and CEO of United Way of Long Island, this is the second year the two nonprofits have joined together to organize the event.
“We wanted these kids to be able to celebrate the holidays, and have the joy of opening gifts that they wanted,” she said in an email. “Jon Reese has been a fantastic partner in other areas of our mission, and coming together to help kids during the holiday season was a perfect fit. We have the connections to the partner agencies who work with families across Long Island, and they had the funds to donate to help them afford the gifts. It was an easy to decision to make to put this event together.”
Families had to be nominated to partake in the event, and Regnante said other local nonprofits helped in the selection process.
“We connected with Long Island Head Start, United Veterans Beacon House, and Family Service League, who are all partner agencies of ours, and asked them to nominate families who could use some extra holiday cheer to take part in the shopping spree, as well as families who are part of our VetsBuild and YouthBuild programs,” she said. “Target generously let us utilize their break room space and provided treats to the children before giving them a tour of the toy department. It was a fabulous effort all around.”
Regnante shared what makes the event special to her.
A young girl picks out Christmas gifts at Target in Commack Dec. 14. Photo from Mallory Kerley
“The best part of an event like this is seeing the smiles on the children’s faces as they pick up that toy they’ve been asking for for months, and knowing that they can take it home that night,” she said. “You have to remember, most of these children have only the basic necessities and rarely do they have the opportunity to get things that bring them true joy. Their families are working hard to give them the best life possible, and this event allows those parents and guardians to brighten the holiday season just a bit more. The holiday season is supposed to be filled with happiness, but it isn’t that way for those who are struggling.”
She said she watched a mother and her son go through the check-out line, and as they were walking out the door, he yelled out, “I feel like Christmas is here early!” as if he couldn’t believe he was actually allowed to leave the store with his new toys.
“Watching this little boy literally skip out the door warmed my heart,” she said.
The proposed plan for the Indian Hills Country Club. Photo from Northwind
By Victoria Espinoza
Fort Salonga residents are waging battles on two fronts. One fight is to prevent the rezoning of the Indian Hills Country Club, and the other to ensure their civic association is fairly and accurately representing them.
Earlier this year, Jim Tsunis, of the real estate agency Northwind Group, applied to Huntington Town to change the zoning for the property from one-acre single family to open space cluster district. The proposal includes plans to build 108 townhomes and two cottages in several areas on the golf course. Northwind refers to the townhomes as houses for a 55 and over community, and said their plan will preserve 120 of the 143 acres at Indian Hills, won’t impact the views of the club from Breeze Hill Road and Fresh Pond Road, and will preserve the character of the neighborhood.
But residents are far from convinced. They fear the impact the development could have on the environment, traffic and safety during construction, and property value of the homes in the area.
Division within the Fort Salonga Association
Members of The Fort Salonga Association and Fort Salonga Property Owners Association expressed these concerns, however, FSA sent Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone a letter approving the plan at the end of November.
Frank Capaccio, president of FSA, said in the letter that reaching the decision was difficult, but he explained that preserving the golf course is most important for residents.
“Our organization, for 70 years, has always been an advocate for what is best for the community at large,” Capaccio said in the letter. “While some feel the golf course should remain untouched and others feel 100-plus single family homes are a better alternative than townhouses, we disagree. The main purpose of establishing our organization was to preserve the quality of life and open space in our hamlet. Preserving the golf course does this.”
“We’re in a place we don’t want to be. We’re sort of fighting the FSA and we need to be fighting the developer. As we see it at the moment, there really is no difference.”
—John Hayes
The president acknowledged in the letter that the decision wasn’t unanimous among board members, and unknown decisions could still affect the plan.
“This was not an easy decision, and the ultimate configuration of development, including size, type, and quantity of homes, is yet to be determined,” Capaccio said.
Many residents are wondering why the association was compelled to make a decision so soon, before analysis was complete and a plan was finalized.
FSA director, William Berg said the board had initially planned to create a special committee to conduct an in-depth review of the plan’s environmental impact before any decision was reached.
“I volunteered … and [Capaccio] said he was going to contact other people, and then we never heard about a meeting or anything,” Berg said in an interview. “And then [25 days later], he emailed, saying it was time to have a vote.”
Berg said a fellow board member made a motion to delay the vote until the special committee was formed and able to share their findings, but it was declined, and the vote was carried out via email.
“One of the largest not only developments, but changes in zoning to occur in Fort Salonga’s history, there was no debate, there was no discussion,” Berg said.
According to Berg, 10 board members voted for it, two voted against, and one abstained. He said he doesn’t have the names of any of the members who voted for it. “It’s a secret,” Berg said.
At the last town board meeting, Petrone said the proposal was still in the early stages and the Huntington Zoning Board had not yet fully reviewed the plan to even schedule a public hearing.
“One of the largest not only developments, but changes in zoning to occur in Fort Salonga’s history, there was no debate, there was no discussion.”
—William Berg
John Hayes, president of the FSPOA and member of the FSA, said he doesn’t understand why a decision had to be made so quickly.
“It’s almost unprecedented for a civic association to go basically against the residents who clearly oppose it, at this stage of the game,” he said. “It is beyond any comprehension; we’re just scratching our heads. What’s the motivation here?”
Berg agreed the email vote was unusual.
“They can have email votes on minor issues, but when you have something like this, you normally would have a meeting and vote on it,” he said. “And it wouldn’t be done over a holiday weekend, in a rush.”
The FSPOA held a meeting a week earlier to explain the downzoning issue to their members, and Capaccio was present. Andrew Rapiejko, an FSA and FSPOA member who worked on the presentation, said it was announced at the end of the meeting that the FSA had posted a letter supporting the downzoning.
“There were gasps in the room,” Rapiejko said. He added it was also announced Capaccio was in the room, if he wanted to make a statement. Hayes said he declined, which they understood, since he was at the meeting as a private individual, but the president assured residents their questions would be answered at the Dec. 6 meeting.
Three days after the letter to Petrone from the FSA was posted on their website, the civic association announced they were cancelling the annual general meeting slated for Dec. 6.
In the letter, Capaccio explained the FSA voted to support the zoning change, but not the specific plan put forward by the club owner. He acknowledged the FSPOA’s disapproval of the plan, and the reason behind cancelling the meeting was an issue with three FSPOA members seeking positions on the board of the FSA.
“We determined that their initial independent nominations did not meet our requirements, which means their names would not have appeared on the ballot,” the president said. “In at least the last 40 years, this is the only time the FSA has had to prepare for a possibly contested election. While our by-laws allow for independent nominations and provide a process for a contested election, this is essentially a new process for us. As a result, the FSA board has decided we must postpone our annual meeting and election for 45 to 60 days so we can process an open and fair election.”
Rapiejko said this came as a shock to FSA members.
“These nomination petitions were sent in end of October, so they had them for a month,” he said. “All three candidates were sent certified letters saying that they were disqualified from the election. And the reasons given were confusing.”
“The rezoning does not compromise our one-acre zoning. The purpose of the cluster zoning law is to preserve open space.”
— Frank Capaccio
Rapiejko said members who hadn’t paid their annual dues made the nominations, thus the disqualification. Rapiejko was one of those members, according to the FSA, and when he reached out to correct them, that he had in fact paid his dues, they acknowledged the error, but the disqualifications stood.
“I got a response that said ‘Well, at that time of year we get a lot of checks and there was an error inputting your data that has been corrected’ and that was it,” he said. “No apology, no saying that we’re going to undisqualify the candidate. That was it.”
No new meeting has been posted to the FSA’s website as of publication, and the organization did not return request for comment.
“The rezoning does not compromise our one-acre zoning,” Capaccio said in the letter. “Any homes, cluster or single family, will not exceed the one-acre yield of the property. The purpose of the cluster zoning law is to preserve open space.”
He also stressed the FSA intends to continually represent the interests of the community at large.
“We have never been a single issue organization, representing only the few,” Capaccio said.
Rapiejko said the FSA and FSPOA have worked hand in hand on issues before, and he had hoped this time would be the same.
“It really worked very well,” he said of the partnership, recalling another zoning issue from 2003. “After that issue was over, the [FSPOA] was dissolved and we re-established spring of this year. We fully expected this to work the same way, to have that relationship. It wasn’t a competition.” He said the FSA does great work, and almost all of the FSPOA members are also members of the FSA.
Hayes said the current situation is far from ideal.
“We’re in a place we don’t want to be,” Hayes said. “We’re sort of fighting the FSA and we need to be fighting the developer. As we see it at the moment, there really is no difference. The only party that has benefited from their decision is the developer. It’s hard to split them at the moment. To say it’s unusual is an understatement, I think.”
Northwind didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Opposition to the rezoning of the golf course
Beyond the issues within the FSA, residents have major concerns with the impact rezoning could have on the Fort Salonga community.
“Once you concede to the change in zone, now you’re talking about negotiating where you’re putting the deck chairs on the Titanic.”
—John Hayes
Hayes said some support the rezoning but not necessarily the site plan.
“Once you concede to the change in zone, now you’re talking about negotiating where you’re putting the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Hayes said.
Rapiejko agreed the decision was a bit premature.
“For the FSA to pull out one piece of what this project is, and the downzoning is just one piece of the whole plan, and say ‘Well, this we believe is going to be good and is not going to have an impact,’ it’s just irrational,” he said. “It’s not logical, and that’s why you never want to do it. You always want to look at the whole plan to make a decision on the whole plan and the impacts of the whole plan.”
The proposed plan from Northwind calls for two areas of 46 town homes on the golf course, one area with 16 town homes, and two cottages. According to Hayes, the plan would also call for the use of a narrow private road in Fort Salonga as access for residents of Northwind. According to the company’s website, the plan will preserve 120 of the 143 acres of land at Indian Hills.
Rapiejko has worked in the Suffolk County Health Department for close to 30 years, where he has gained experience in dealing with environmental issues, and he said the title of the new project is insulting to people’s intelligence.
“He’s changed the name to The Preserve at Indian Hills, and he’s billing this as a preservation effort,” Rapiejko. “When I look at this golf course, I don’t see a preserve. What I see is a developed piece of property. When I look at this proposal, I’m seeing it as a tremendous increase in development.”
Rapiejko is worried about nitrogen pollution in drinking water.
“He’s changed the name to The Preserve at Indian Hills, and he’s billing this as a preservation effort. When I look at this golf course, I don’t see a preserve. What I see is a developed piece of property.”
—Andrew Rapiejko
“Nitrogen in our area is a huge, huge issue,” Rapiejko said. “And I see a very intense nitrogen use here.” He said the golf course is basically a peninsula surrounded by the Crab Meadow Watershed, the Long Island Sound and the Fresh Pond — and each would be sensitive to nitrogen and pesticides.
Rapiejko said the Suffolk County Health Department has been conducting a study on golf courses. A monitoring well for the Indian Hills Country Club found the current nitrate levels are more than five parts per million.
“That is prior to 32,000 gallons per day of sewage that he is going to be discharging as a result of his development, and discharging on site,” Rapiejko said. He added the plan calls for septic systems for each of the clusters, which will be recharged on site close to the water bodies. That could add more nitrogen to the waterways, as well as other things discharged from septic systems, like pharmaceuticals and personal hygiene products.
In the environmental proposal, nitrogen and phosphorus levels were tested at Fresh Pond in May and August — where most of the water from the area is discharged. Total nitrogen levels were 6.03 milligrams per liter, and 1.75 milligrams per liter for phosphorus. Rapiejko compared the numbers with Environmental Protection Agency water quality criteria recommendations, which recommend surface water nitrogen levels at 0.32 milligrams per liter and phosphorus levels at 0.008 milligrams per liter.
‘It’s kind of curious, because you do an environmental impact statement to asses the impact of what you’re proposing to do and to see if it’s significant,” Rapiejko said. “In this case, it’s obvious that there is already a significant impact with what is already here that needs to be addressed, no less worrying about impacts of a proposed development.”
Rapiejko said storm water runoff could also significantly impact the water quality at Fresh Pond.
Residents are also worried about the septic systems.
In this case, it’s obvious that there is already a significant impact with what is already here that needs to be addressed, no less worrying about impacts of a proposed development.”
—Andrew Rapiejko
According to the proposal, “each of these subzones will utilize a tertiary treatment system that is recognized by SCDHS, or one that may be approved as a pilot installation through SCDHS Board of Review approval.”
Rapiejko said this means the builder plans on using one of the new, innovative septic systems the county has been researching, which have not yet been approved and would require a variance from the town to use. The builder proposed The Preserve be used as a test site for one of the new systems.
“We don’t even know if these systems work or not,” he said.
Rapiejko compared this project to a similar development in Southampton — The Hills — which used the same engineer group as The Preserve. That project, if approved, would entail a golf course with more than 100 townhouses on the property, and Rapiejko said when he looked at the environmental proposal for that project, it came with seven alternatives.
The Preserve currently has two alternatives, one is no action, and the other is single-family, one-acre homes across the entire golf course, which would require eliminating the ponds and building on steep hills and slopes.
“Here he gave us one non-reasonable alternative,” Rapiejko said.
The plan calls for work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, with 32.75 acres needing to be cleared. Residents cite increased traffic and possible safety problems for bikers and walkers as other concerns.
According to the proposal, the average selling price per unit is about $800,000, which would total more than $85 million if all units were sold. The property was sold for $13.5 million.
A petition condemning the rezoning, with more than 400 signatures of Fort Salonga residents, is circulating.
The Huntington Zoning Board hasn’t reached a decision, which is the next step in the process.
Smithtown residents are up in arms about the sale and potential development of the district’s administration building on New York Avenue.
At the Dec. 13 Smithtown school board meeting, citizens gathered to express their dissatisfaction with how the board has handled the plan and criticized them for a lack of transparency.
Joe Fortunato, a Smithtown resident, said he came to the meeting to express his disappointment with the board.
“I understand the need for development in this town, but 250 units on 13 acres is ridiculous,” he said. “The zoning has to be changed, and we’re being almost railroaded into having to accept four-story structures in a neighborhood that we moved into 25 years ago that was very quaint in nature. To be forced to hear that we have to accept this as part of Smithtown revitalization is ridiculous.”
Fortunato said he doesn’t agree the plan will benefit the whole community in part because the increase in traffic will actually cause more problems.
“To be forced to hear that we have to accept this as part of Smithtown revitalization is ridiculous.”
— Joe Fortunato
Dennis Bader, like Fortunato, is a Smithtown resident who said he has lived through many development projects in the area. He asked the board how they came to the decision about the amount of structures in the complex, which the board said they had no control over.
“That was up to the developer,” district Superintendent James Grossane said.
Community member Richard Cardone said the board does not have their best interests at heart.
“Do you think all these people would be here if you had the town’s best interests?” he asked. “You’re going to lose the horseshoe of people that live around this school because nobody is going to want to live in a community with 200 plus apartments, with cars going all around here, the streets can’t handle anymore traffic than we have now. This community does not want this. I’m telling you it doesn’t belong here. Shame on you.”
Grossane addressed the audience before the public comment period.
“This decision was reached following several months of careful planning and extensive research,” he said. “This decision was not made lightly.”
Grossane said the New York Avenue building is more than 80 years old, and is in dire need of repairs, which the district would receive no state funding for because the building is used for administration and not instruction.
“Our enrollment continues to decline each year, by approximately 300 students per year,” he said. “In fact, our enrollment has fallen from a recent high of 10,800 in 2009 to the current 9,300, and is projected to continue to decline until it reaches approximately 8,500 students a few short years from now.”
He said one of the board’s primary responsibilities is to be fiscally prudent to the residents of the entire Smithtown district.
“The sale of the New York Avenue property amount to approximately $15 million or more to assist the district with future budgetary concerns,” he said.
Grossane said the district worked with town officials throughout the year to find the right bidder and to help a plan come to fruition, and he was surprised to hear Supervisor Pat Vecchio’s (R) comments that the school board had no communication regarding the property.
“The school board is being presumptuous in assuming the town board will change the zone,” he said in a previous interview. “There must be a public hearing and the people will be heard for or against such a change.”
The Smithtown school board voted at the Oct. 25 meeting to approve entering a contract with Southern Land Company LLC, for the sale of the property and the surrounding land.
According to Grossane, Southern Land Company is planning to building one- and two-bedroom apartments that will be “in keeping with the architectural style of Smithtown.”
The district was encouraged to explore the sale of the building by members of the community in the spring, in the hopes of avoiding the closure of Branch Brook Elementary School.
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