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Victoria Espinoza

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Victoria Espinoza is the editor of the Times of Huntington & Northport. She once broke her elbow trying to eat a cookie.
https://www.victoria-espinoza.com/

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Staff members of Cause Café gather outside the front entrance. Photo from Stacey Wohl

Morning routines for residents in Huntington are about to get a little sweeter.

Fort Salonga’s Cause Café is the newest coffee shop working to bring jobs to young adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Stacey Wohl, founder and co-owner of the café, has run the Our Coffee with a Cause coffee brand business with her two children, Brittney and Logan, since it was founded in 2012. Cause Café will sell its coffee, as well as breakfast foods, sandwiches and more.

Brittney and Logan, who both have autism, were named co-owners of the business in November 2015, and will both be working at the coffee shop. The shop is a crucial resource for young adults with disabilities, the owner said.

Staff members cut the ribbon at the opening of Cause Café. Photo from Stacey Wohl
Staff members cut the ribbon at the opening of Cause Café along with Councilman Mark Cuthbertson. Photo from Stacey Wohl

“I started talking to other parents and they had no job opportunities for their young adults with autism,” she said in an interview on Tuesday.

Although programs are set up for internships to work with nearby businesses, Wohl said they don’t translate into actual jobs.

“They fall off the cliff at about 22 years of age,” she said.

Aside from the kitchen staff and the counter manager, Wohl said every other employee at Cause Café is working with some form of a disability.

“I wanted a retail place where people saw the young adults with special needs and they were visible in the community,” Wohl said. “There are some companies who hire the disabled, but they are behind the scenes. [Here] they are right alongside with typical individuals in the community, doing some of the same jobs. They are involved in every aspect from the beginning.”

The founder said she is hoping to inspire other businesses to hire the disabled, and also expand this store into a chain, to create as many job opportunities as possible.

“I could open up 10 stores right now with the amount of people that want a job,” Wohl said. “I have parents calling me every day all the time, emailing, Facebook, calling. There are no jobs for kids with special needs.”

According to Disability Statistics, in 2014, 34.6 percent of Americans between the ages of 21-36 were employed. In New York, out of about 1.1 million residents with disabilities, only about 351,000 were employed.

The United States Census Bureau said between 2008 and 2010, individuals with disabilities accounted for 9.4 million, or 6 percent, of the approximate 155.9 million employed citizens.

In terms of what this coffee shop will offer to residents’ palettes, the choices are international and diverse.

The interior of Cause Café. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
The interior of Cause Café. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

“I always wanted to go to France, so France came to me,” Wohl said of the theme of the shop and many of the items on the menu. She said the store is highlighting some products that “you can’t really find unless you go to Provence,” seeing as many items have been imported straight from that region in France.

Andrew Popkin, sous-chef at Cause Café, said that the menu features all homemade items that are both healthy and delicious. Popkin said the menu will have weekly seasonal specials, and some of the highlights for him include the buttermilk pancakes with maple butter syrup and the quiches.

“Our food is going to match up to [competitors] and, at the same time, you’re helping kids out who don’t usually have the opportunity to work,” Popkin said of why residents should stop in for a meal.

Cause Café is located at 1014 Fort Salonga Road and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting this Saturday, May 7.

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Huntington's south parking garage at the Long Island Rail Road station. File photo by Rohma Abbas
Huntington's south parking garage at the Long Island Rail Road station. File photo by Rohma Abbas
Huntington’s south parking garage at the Long Island Rail Road station. File photo by Rohma Abbas

Starting this week, the second level of the south parking garage at the Huntington Long Island Rail Road station will be closed, for the completion of a waterproofing project.

According to the town, waterproofing is the last phase of the garage’s rehabilitation, which began last year. Waterproofing was completed on the upper levels before work was suspended due to the winter weather. A town statement said it is estimated that the second level will be closed for about five weeks; after that, work will be done on the stair tower and handicap ramps, and then comes the detail work, which includes pavement markings on the third, fourth, and fifth levels.

Parking should be available in the surface parking lot on the west side of New York Avenue between Railroad and Church Streets, according to the statement.

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By Marissa Paganelli

Cancer survivor and Northport native Alexis Attardi is returning to hospitals — but this time, it isn’t for treatment. Instead, the 19-year-old is helping patients who are fighting the battle against cancer she once fought.

Attardi, a sophomore at Adelphi University, works with Love Your Melon, a nonprofit started by college students in 2012 that raises money for cancer research by selling hats. For each hat sold, one is also given to a child cancer patient.

Love Your Melon has made a name for itself through college representatives like Attardi, who take their time to spread the word and deliver hats to local children’s hospitals.

“Giving a hat to a child with cancer is meant to bring continuous smiles and support to someone fighting,” Attardi said. “Losing hair is a part of the fight where the request of a hat from a loved one is supposed to make the process easier and something these children can look forward to wearing.”

Attardi was 11 when she was diagnosed with stage four of anaplastic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a strain of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system from cells called lymphocytes, a kind of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections.

The only response Attardi said she could muster when the doctor told her was “Am I going to die?”

She said she was told that she was going to be in for the fight of her life, and was given a 70 percent chance of survival.

Attardi was just starting middle school at the time, and was scared no one would want to be her friend because of the way she looked. She had lost 30 pounds and most of her hair as a result of her 15 chemotherapy treatments.

Attardi received her treatments at Stony Brook University Children’s Hospital where staff members and nurses soon became her closest friends. Whether it was coming into her room to spend time with her or just to check in and see how she was doing, she said the staff made the hospital feel like home.

“It was the little signs of thought and care that made being in a hospital and not in school with my friends a bit easier,” Attardi said. She missed her last three months of sixth grade due to treatment.

After her yearlong battle, Attardi was told she was cancer free.

“It was a miracle to hear those words, and a feeling I can’t put words to,” she said.

Attardi said she understood that her cancer could come back at any moment, and it’s because of this she works so hard to give back to children and people who face the same obstacle she once did.

“As a cancer survivor and captain of Adelphi’s Love Your Melon campus crew, giving back is what I’m all about,” she said.

Attardi said she plans on returning to Stony Brook  University Hospital.

“I just want to contribute the same help I was given and I know even the littlest things, like receiving a beanie, means so much more than it would be thought.”

Attardi’s commitment to her cause has impressed her peers.

“I have no doubt Alexis can make a huge impact in children’s lives,” said Erica Massmann, a member of Adelphi’s Love Your Melon crew who has worked alongside Attardi in recruiting new members on campus. “Being a cancer survivor herself, Alexis knows what these children are going through. She can take her experiences with her fight with cancer and bring that into the community to help make a difference.”

Attardi said she has come out of this experience a stronger person.

“I’ve realized life isn’t about materialistic things,” she said. “Helping others is a task that has continued to shape me as a person.”

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Harborfields High School. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Five candidates are vying for two open seats on the Harborfields board of education.

Hansen Lee

Hansen-LeewIncumbent Hansen Lee is seeking a second term while board member Irene Gaughan is not seeking re-election.

In an interview with TBR News Media, Lee said he was the best option to represent the community because he is proactive with engaging students and parents.

“I haven’t missed a concert in the last eight years … and I attend at least one varsity and junior varsity sports game per team. I want to be visible, so that when I make a board decision, I have first-hand knowledge of what’s going and what the community thinks.”

Lee has served the district for the past 17 years with the Harborfields Alumni and Community Educational Foundation and as a district volunteer.

He said technology is an area he has worked to improve in the district. Instituting Wi-Fi, and the use of Google Chromebooks in schools are some of the accomplishments he is proud of initiating in his first term.

Chris Kelly

CK-PicwChris Kelly ran for a seat last year, and this year, said he wants to help the district think more long-term.

“Harborfields needs someone to go through the numbers, and I’d like to do some long-term planning,” he said in a phone interview. “I can predict variables and prepare us for years to come, and keep the district on top.”

Kelly has been working in the market data business for the past 19 years, and is a self-proclaimed “numbers guy.” He has volunteered for the Harborfields Get Out the Vote committee, the Parent Teacher Association, and has worked with Fair Start: Harborfields Residents for Full-Day Kindergarten.

“I get to see the glue that holds the school together,” he said.

Marge Acosta

Marge-Acosta-for-BOE-pic-grwMarge Acosta, a former primary school science teacher, threw her hat into the ring. The Centerport resident said she thinks her education experience and “insight on how children learn,” could be used to help bring in new programs to the district. Acosta said she would like to see more science, technology, engineering and math programs integrated into district curriculum.

“It is crucial for kids to have success in the future,” she said of these programs. “Obtaining a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and effective in preparing our children for the 21st century must be our first priority.”

Acosta is a member of the Harborfields full-day kindergarten committee, Fair Start and the PTA.

Colleen WolcottColeen-Wolcottw

Fellow Centerport resident Colleen Wolcott also entered into the race. She has experience as a special education teacher and said she wants to “maximize opportunities for students with special needs,” bring additional electives to the high school, and develop marketing tools to improve communication and the dissemination of information between the board and the community.

Wolcott is the current president of the Harborfields Special Education Parent Teacher Association, and is a member of the district’s health and welfare committee, the Washington Drive PTA, and the Harborfields Alliance For Community Outreach.

“I’ve gotten in the trenches,” she said in a phone interview. “I know the administration well and I’ve gotten to see how it all works.”

Joseph Savaglio

Joe-SavagliowRounding out the panel of candidates is Joseph Savaglio, a Long Island native who said he wants to use his experience with overseeing budgets to help control costs and improve the educational system at Harborfields.

“I would like to see an expansion of curriculum in arts and languages,” he said, “as well as restore some programs we lost in special education and sports.”

Savaglio has been a resident for 27 years, and working with real estate management companies, has managed properties all over the country.

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Volunteers from National Grid worked to improve the community garden in Huntington Station on Wednesday, April 20. Photo from Wendy Ladd

Everything’s coming up roses in Huntington Station, thanks to volunteers who spent last Wednesday afternoon working on improvements to the Gateway Park Community Organic Garden.

In honor of Earth Day, more than 70 volunteers from energy company National Grid’s Power to Serve program worked to develop a drainage system, clean up debris and plant flowers.

Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) thanked the volunteers for their efforts, including a new rain garden “that will make the garden more environmentally efficient and enjoyable for the many gardeners and children who attend the educational programs there.”

Many other local legislators were present at the scene, including Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D), State Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington Station) and Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport). Lupinacci also gave National Grid’s President Ken Daly a proclamation for the volunteer work.

The community garden on New York Avenue, at Lowndes Avenue, covers more than an acre and has 115 garden beds for families to grow their own fresh fruits and vegetables. Food grown there is also donated to local food pantries.

According to National Grid, flooding had been an issue in the garden, so the company worked with the town to develop a drainage plan to capture the runoff and prevent flooding in the raised planting beds. Volunteers hand-dug a 4,000-foot trench to install an underground drainage system and put down rocks to capture runoff and direct that water into the newly planted rain garden.

Rain gardens provide environmental benefits, as they capture and clean rainwater before it enters the groundwater system.

Volunteers also planted colorful moisture-tolerant plants, removed litter and weeded the garden.

The effort came “at a perfect time for Huntington Station, with two redevelopment projects underway and renewed community support for revitalization,” Eric Alexander, director of Vision Long Island, a nonprofit geared toward smart growth, said in a statement. “Tangible improvements including a new rain garden were made from the National Grid volunteers and gave a lift to the garden and the Huntington Station community.”

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Northport High School. File photo

By Victoria Espinoza

Three incumbents are up for re-election on the Northport-East Northport board of education and are defending their seats against two challengers.

Shawne Albero

Shawne-AlberowShawne Albero, one of the five contenders, has been in the Northport community for the past six years and has been involved with both the Northport Middle School Parent Teacher Association and the Special Education PTA.

“We need a fresh perspective to help further utilize the talents of our community,” Albero said.

She said she is an advocate for providing students with more detailed report cards that give further insight into a student’s mastery of each academic subject.

Albero said, if elected, she would work to bring in more state and federal aid to help provide more programs and opportunities for students.

Allison NoonanAllison-Noonanw

Allison Noonan, a social studies teacher in Syosset school district, is another resident making her first run at a seat. She is involved in the PTA and SEPTA, and believes her newcomer status is exactly why she is the right choice for the job.

“I am not a part of the board that supported a failed administrator,” Noonan said of former Northport-East Northport Superintendent Marylou McDermott.

She said under McDermott’s tenure, district facilities, like the athletic fields, bathrooms and classrooms, fell into disrepair, and she would work to fix those problems.

Julia Binger

Northport-East-Northport-School-Board-President-Julia-Binger_ABBASwOne of the incumbents, Julia Binger, is seeking her third term, after first winning her seat in July 2010. She has previously served on the board’s audit committee and as its president. She said among her proudest accomplishments on the board is recruiting the school’s new superintendent, Robert Banzer.

“I think we came up with a really excellent candidate that I am very pleased with,” she said.

She is also proud of the budgets she has helped shape, which she said maintain a healthy funding reserve for the district.

Lori McCueLori-McCue-Photow

Trustee Lori McCue is also hoping for a third term on the board. She has worked with the Ocean Avenue Elementary School and Northport Middle School PTAs, and has volunteered with the Northport Relay For Life event.

McCue said she was the lead trustee on the district’s energy performance contract, which will result in $13 million in future capital improvements for the district, including upgrading fixtures to LED lighting and other improvements that will make buildings more energy efficient.

McCue is also the chairperson of the audit committee and a member of the policy committee.

“We have worked to have nearly every policy online in an easy format,” McCue said in a phone interview about her work on the policy committee.

Andrew Rapiejko

AndrewRapiejkowCurrent board President Andrew Rapiejko is finishing his sixth year on the board and wants to continue to serve the district.

Like Binger, he is proud of his work in the search to find a new leader for the district.

“Hiring the superintendent, who’s done a tremendous job this year, was a big accomplishment,” Rapiejko said in a phone interview. “Being able to sort through the applicants and choose someone who’s the right fit was a challenge.”

Rapiejko said it is important for Banzer to have experienced people with him while he transitions to his second year at the helm.

The current president once served as chairman of the audit committee.

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Supervisor Frank Petrone shows off the rain barrel that Huntington resident Claudia Liu painted, which one resident will win this Saturday at Family Earth Day Expo. Photo from A.J. Carter

Huntington is getting ready to go green.

This Saturday, April 23, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Huntington Town will host its annual Family Earth Day Expo at Town Hall, an event that helps residents learn about the many programs and businesses on the North Shore that are working to reduce their environmental footprint, as well as how the community members themselves can play a part.

“Each year the town tries to highlight how residents can help preserve the environment while saving themselves money,” Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) said in a statement. “Whether it’s … bringing e-waste for recycling or dropping off unneeded and unwanted medicines, residents will find a variety of ways they can get into the Earth Day spirit.”

One issue that will be highlighted at the expo is the risk pharmaceutical drugs have on the local water supply and marine life, such as when medications are flushed down the toilet or are present in human waste.

In a joint effort with the advocacy organization Citizens Campaign for the Environment, residents will be able to turn in medication they no longer need to the Suffolk County Police Department, which will dispose of it in an environmentally safe manner.

According to the World Health Organization, there is some discharge of pharmaceuticals into water sources, and Citizens Campaign said, “pharmaceutical drug contamination has been proven to adversely impact fish and aquatic life.”

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, male fish have developed eggs when exposed to female hormones in birth control pills. Anti-depressants and beta-blockers reduce fertility or affect certain aquatic organisms’ reproductive systems.

Staying on the theme of safe ways to dispose of materials, the town will also, in sponsorship with Covanta, a global corporation that works on sustainable solutions to waste-management challenges, give residents the opportunity to properly dispose of electronic goods with a recycling event.

Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D) said it’s a day not only for adults to learn but also for kids to enjoy as well.

“Children and parents alike will definitely have the opportunity for a lot of hands-on fun at this event,” he said in a statement. “It is equally important to be able to show families across Huntington how easy it is to protect kids from harmful chemicals and pesticides, how to make homes and cars more energy efficient and how to save money in the process.”

There will be residential solar energy and organic garden demonstrations, as well as lessons for kids on how compost is made and how to plant a seed in a recycled pot.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk, a nonprofit community education agency, will also provide a variety of sea specimens that kids are welcome to touch, to demonstrate the importance of protecting the marine environment.

There will be a raffle to win a custom-painted rain barrel, painted by former Huntington resident Claudia Liu. The 50-gallon barrel is both a decorative item and a utilitarian one, to be placed in a yard to capture and store rainwater for use with gardening, which helps conserve water. The winner will be announced at the expo.

Family Day Earth Expo will take place in the parking lot of Town Hall on Main Street, at Jackson Avenue, in Huntington.

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Harborfields High School. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Full-day kindergarten is one of the several new programs featured on the adopted 2016-17 budget for the Harborfields Central School District.

The board of education presented a cap-piercing $82.8 million budget last night, with a 1.52 percent increase to the tax levy cap.

Francesco Ianni, assistant superintendent for administration and human resources, speaks during the budget presentation. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Francesco Ianni, assistant superintendent for administration and human resources, speaks during the budget presentation. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

The district has been looking at several options for a budget this year, some that stay within the .37 percent state-mandated tax levy cap and maintain current programs, and others that go above the cap but add new programs and features to the district.

The adopted budget included a new music elective at the high school, third grade string, a teacher’s aide testing room at Oldfield Middle School and a BOCES cultural arts program.

Since this proposed budget is higher than the tax levy cap, the budget will require a 60 percent supermajority of voter approval, and taxpayers in the area will not be eligible for the $130 state tax rebate, which is part of a state incentive program that encourages municipalities to comply with the cap in exchange for the tax rebates.

Board member Hansen Lee said he thinks the community will get behind this budget.

“I’m really optimistic that this budget will pass,” Lee said at the meeting. “We’re Harborfields, we always come together for the success of our kids and the greater good. Most of all I want to say thank you to the community for your continued input in the entire process.”

Many residents have said they will stand behind the budget due to the inclusion of full-day kindergarten, which the district said would cost about $600,000.

Members of the group Fair Start: Harborfields Residents for Full-Day Kindergarten, traveled to Albany in March, hoping to spread awareness of their efforts to support full-day kindergarten on a state stage.

Board member Suzie Lustig said it is time for full-day kindergarten.

“[Full-day kindergarten] is part of a 21st century education,” she said at the meeting. “It’s part of what our future is. The time is now to be progressive.”

Board member Donald W. Mastroianni recorded the only vote against the adopted budget.

“In my opinion, a budget that stays within the cap this year would absolutely be an educationally sounds and fiscally responsible budget,” he said. “And it will continue to fully support the excellence of Harborfields. I cannot support the budget proposed that would pierce the cap this year and I will be voting no.”

This year, the district received nearly $16 million in state aid, which will make up about 19 percent of the budget, according to the district. The 2016-17 tax levy of $62.1 million will make up 75 percent of the budget, and the final 6 percent will come from reserves and fund balance.

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A scene at the 52nd Cold Spring Harbor High School commencement on Sunday, June 14. Photo by Karen Spehler
Robert Fenter, left, is welcomed as the new Superintendent of the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District by board of education President Robert C. Hughes. Photo from Cold Spring Harbor Central School District
Robert Fenter, left, is welcomed as the new Superintendent of the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District by board of education President Robert C. Hughes. Photo from Cold Spring Harbor Central School District

By Victoria Espinoza

Cold Spring Harbor schools have a new superintendent.

Robert Fenter, who comes from Oceanside School District as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and research, was appointed at a meeting on April 14 to take over for current Superintendent Dr. Judith Wilansky starting July 1.

In a statement, Fenter said his past dealings with various district officials made him happy to be coming aboard.

“The Cold Spring Harbor Central School District is one that is well known for its commitment to excellence,” Fenter. “My interactions with the school leaders, teachers, staff, and parents whom I have met thus far have provided me with a glimpse into the very special place that I will officially become part of in just a few short months. I am grateful to the board of education for providing me with the opportunity to serve in the capacity of superintendent of schools as I will work closely with the entire community to continue the tradition of quality programs, all for the benefit of our students.”

Wilansky will be retiring from her post after eight years as superintendent. She was the first female superintendent Cold Spring Harbor appointed, and served for the second-longest term in the district since her 2000 appointment as a central office administrator.

“I have been most impressed by the board’s efforts to ensure a comprehensive and rigorous search process,” she said in a statement. “I congratulate Mr. Fenter on his successful candidacy and am confident that our schools will continue to flourish under his leadership.”

Cold Spring Harbor Superintendent Judith Wilansky is leaving her position next school year. Photo from Karen Spehler
Cold Spring Harbor Superintendent Judith Wilansky is leaving her position next school year. Photo from Karen Spehler

Board of Education President Robert C. Hughes said Fenter was the obvious choice to replace Wilansky, during the board’s months-long search.

“Throughout the interview process, it was clear that Mr. Fenter possesses those qualifications,” he said in a statement. “Mr. Fenter joins us as an extremely well-respected educator.”

Fenter will be the 10th superintendent for the district. He currently serves as president of the Nassau County Assistant Superintendent’s Organization and has served as the New York State Education Department’s liaison for middle level education, students ages 10 to 15, from 2001 through 2009. He is also a past president of the Nassau County Middle Level Principal’s Association and was a state education department representative for the Schools-to-Watch Visitation team.In a previous interview, Wilansky said she would miss the students the most.

“I’ve been here long enough to see children go through their entire school career,” she said. “I was at the middle school’s winter concert recently and it dawned one me that I would miss their graduation, and that’s what I’ll miss the most — seeing these kids graduate and having the opportunity to watch them grow up.”

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Three dogs were rescued from a house fire on Clinton Avenue. Photo by Huntington Fire Department

Three dogs were rescued from a house fire on Saturday, April 16, in Lloyd Harbor.

Three dogs were rescued from a house fire on Clinton Avenue. Photo by Huntington Fire Department
Three dogs were rescued from a house fire on Clinton Avenue. Photo by Huntington Fire Department

Just before 8 p.m., Huntington Fire Department volunteers arrived at a house on Clinton Avenue in Huntington, where the fire had spread to the first and second floor, the attic and the detached garage.

Fifty firefighters using eight trucks had the fire under control within an hour, and during that hour three dogs were rescued, according to the department.

All the dogs are doing well, the department said.

Chief Jesse Cukro led the command and operations support of Deputy Chiefs Rob Conroy, Brian Keane and Scott Dodge. There were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Suffolk Police Arson Squad and Huntington Town Fire Marshal.

The Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington Manor and Melville Fire Department’s assisted Huntington Fire Department in putting out the flames. The Huntington Community First Aid Squad provided EMS support.

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