The landscape truck after firefighters put out the flames on Saturday, April 16. Photo by Huntington Fire Department
Firefighters worked to extinguish flames that engulfed a landscaping truck in Lloyd Harbor this past Saturday, April 16.
The landscape truck was completely engulfed in flames. Photo by Huntington Fire Department
Huntington Fire Department volunteers arrived at 1:45 p.m. at a residence on Lloyd Point Drive, where the truck was parked in the driveway. Crews from two engines battled the blaze, which consumed the truck.
Units were under the command of Chief Jesse Cukro, who was assisted by Deputy Chiefs Rob Conroy and Brian Keane. The Lloyd Harbor Police Department and Town of Huntington Spill Response were also on the scene.
A view of a spine captured using the O-arm. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
By Victoria Espinoza
Huntington Hospital has been under the leadership of Dr. Gerard Brogan for the past year, and since he assumed his post, the hospital has implemented new surgical procedures, protocols and equipment to ensure patients are offered the most advanced and effective treatment they can get.
Brogan, the executive director, first joined the team at Huntington in January 2015 but has been a resident of the town for the past 20 years.
Dr. Gerard Brogan, has been exectuive director of Huntington Hospital for about 15 months. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
“My philosophy is I want to work at a hospital where I would go as a patient or would send my family to,” Brogan said in a phone interview. “If anything happens to me in Huntington, I am coming to this ER.”
Huntington recently became the first hospital on Long Island to offer the O-arm, a surgical imaging system that generates a three-dimensional computer model of the spine. This over $1 million equipment helps doctors have a more precise view of what they are operating on during surgeries, like screwing nails into the spine.
During the operation, the neurosurgeon refers to the monitors, which provide real-time verification of the location of surgical tools and implants with submillimeter accuracy.
The first surgery using the O-arm was successfully completed at the end of March, and according to Brogan, six more successful surgeries have followed.
The executive director said this equipment ensures “the ultimate in surgical precision,” and that the use of this machinery is “an indication how cutting-edge our hospital is.”
“If you want to be a leader for excellence, you need this capability,” he said.
Dr. Robert Kerr, chief of neurosurgery at Huntington Hospital, was the first to use the O-arm.
“When you have to place a stabilizing screw into the spine and it passes within millimeters of the spinal cord, nerve root or vital arteries, there is no substitute for the kind of accuracy the O-arm provides to a neurosurgeon,” Kerr said in a statement.
Changes at the hospital are coming in even bigger packages.
A view of a spine captured using the O-arm. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
The hospital is currently in the middle of creating an entirely new $43 million emergency department, which Brogan said will cut down waiting times, help diagnose patients faster and overall improve the quality of a patient’s stay while in the emergency department.
He said some of the protocol changes have already been implemented in the current emergency department, cutting down patients’ wait time by an average of 48 minutes, due to methods like including physicians when a patient is first being triaged and beginning blood work sooner, but added that he is excited to see further changes implemented.
“I think for the patients, the experience is going to be just phenomenal,” Brogan said.
Awards have followed the success of Huntington, with the hospital recently named a national 2016 Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The hospital is one of 11 named to this list, in the Northwell Health system. The nursing staff at the hospital also received Magnet Recognition for excellence in nursing for the past 12 years, a national recognition that less than eight percent of hospitals worldwide have earned.
“If we are going to do something [at Huntington Hospital],” Brogan said, “we do it as well, if not better, than anywhere else in the country.”
Huntington Manor Fire Department worked to free the driver from the Dodge Neon pictured above. Photo by Steve Silverman
The driver of a Dodge Neon was trapped between two cars on Sunday night. Photo by Steve Silverman
Firefighters worked to free a driver trapped in the wreckage of a Dodge Neon at Advanced Auto Care, on East Jericho Turnpike and Alpine Way in Huntington Station.
Huntington Manor Fire Department responded to the scene on Sunday night, at about 11:15 p.m., and used heavy rescue extrication tools to remove the doors and free the driver from in between two parked vehicles that the driver had crashed into.
About 30 Huntington Manor firefighters were on the scene with three heavy rescue trucks and a fire engine, under the command of Chief Frank McQuade and Assistant Chiefs Mike DePasquale and Jon Hoffmann. The Huntington Community First Aid Squad transported the driver to Huntington Hospital.
Councilwoman Susan Berland supports a limit of gas-powered leaf blowers. File photo by Victoria Espinoza
The fight against gas-powered leaf blowers continues in Huntington.
Councilwoman Susan Berland (D) launched an initiative to educate Huntington residents on the environmental and health effects of specific leaf blowers this past week. Berland posted a video on her page within the town website that shows a presentation with Quiet Communities and the American Green Zone Alliance, both organizations that work toward protecting the health, environment and quality of life from the use of industrial outdoor maintenance equipment.
“The pollution generated by gas-powered leaf blowers is completely avoidable, as is the high-frequency noise generated by these blowers, which carries through entire neighborhoods and has been associated with permanent hearing damage,” Berland said in the video.
She highlights a lithium battery-powered leaf blower as a preferable alternative to gas-powered blowers.
“Lithium battery-powered leaf blowers give off zero toxic emissions and generate 50 percent less noise than gas-powered equipment,” Berland said. “There is no soil or water pollution and the price is comparable to other types of lawn maintenance equipment.”
Quiet Communities Executive Director Jamie Banks talked in the video about the public health and environmental effects of gas-powered blowers.
“If you think about what it takes to maintain a gas-powered engine, there are a lot of solid and toxic chemicals,” Banks said. “They come usually in cans or nonrecyclable plastic containers with residue. These can be thrown into landfills; the chemicals themselves can be spilled into the soil and eventually reach water supplies and marine systems.”
She also highlighted the health risks that come with using or being around the usage area of a gas-powered leaf blower.
Gas-powered leaf blowers have raised some concerns with Huntington residents.
“Workers who have these machines on their backs, they are very close to the source of the exhaust emissions and other ground source particulates,” she said, noting that children playing nearby may also be exposed.
Both the exhaust emissions and the ground source particulates can negatively affect health.
A 2013 assessment by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said, “Outdoor air pollution is carcinogenic to humans, with the particulate matter component of air pollution most closely associated with increased cancer incidence, especially cancer of the lung. An association also has been observed between outdoor air pollution and increase in cancer of the urinary tract/bladder.”
The American Lung Association also said in its 2014 State of the Air, “Short-term exposure to particle pollution can kill. Particle pollution does not just make people die a few days earlier than they might otherwise — these are deaths that would not have occurred if the air were cleaner.”
The noise effect of leaf blowers was also mentioned in Berland’s presentation.
According to public advocacy group Dangerous Decibels, once a sound reaches 85 decibels or higher, it can cause permanent damage to your hearing. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said noise from leaf blowers can reach at least 90 decibels.
According to the Center for Hearing and Communication, rainfall measures about 50 decibels, normal conversation is about 60 decibels and freeway traffic or a vacuum cleaner could reach about 70 decibels.
“The health risks posed by gas-powered landscaping equipment need to be addressed,” Berland said.
She is also encouraging residents and landscaping companies in the Huntington area who only use electric-powered equipment, as opposed to gas-powered equipment, to take a “green pledge” and add themselves to a list that will be featured on the town’s website.
Berland has been working on legislation that would limit use of gas-powered leaf blowers in summer months, as residents have voiced their concerns about the blowers at town board meetings and have asked for Heckscher State Park to be designated the town’s first green zone — an area maintained with zero-emission lawn care equipment.
At previous town board meetings, Berland’s proposal has not picked up much steam with other board members.
Frank Cosentino is the second president of the Huntington Station BID. Photo from Cosentino
There’s a new president of the Huntington Station Business Improvement District.
Frank Cosentino has taken over after the BID’s first president Keith Barrett decided to step down and “let some new blood in.”
Cosentino has owned County Line Hardware in Huntington Station for the past 30 years, and has been a member of the BID for three.
“It was a surprise,” Cosentino said of his nomination in a phone interview. Although Cosentino resides in St. James, he said Huntington Station has become his home town. “Everyone becomes like a family,” he said “ You just want to work to make the area better.”
Of his plans for the future of the BID, Cosentino said he wants to start spending more money on the people and businesses that are giving money to the BID.
“I want to start promoting the businesses in the area more,” he said.
Cosentino said he wants to focus on different businesses every month along a theme, like a month of home improvement and another month of car-related businesses.
“I want to highlight what is already available in Huntington Station,” he said.
He also said the BID is currently working toward revamping its Facebook page, so that the BID can send out notices about events to member and help create programs that teach business owners how to utilize Facebook better.
“We want to develop a seminar to help teach people how to set up a Facebook page for their business, and how to gather likes and create events,” he said.
Cosentino said Huntington Station can sometimes be the “forgotten child,” but to him is just as important, and he wants to continue to work to make the area a more desirable place for people to visit and live.
Graduating with a degree in chemistry from Alfred University in 1977, Cosentino worked at a chemical company until 1985, when the opportunity arose to purchase what is now County Line Hardware.
He worked at a hardware store during college, so he thought his background in the profession made the buy the right choice. “I had always wanted to own my own business,” he said.
Barrett did not run for re-election and said the board had known for the past year that they would need to find a new president.
“He’s a great guy, a successful business owner, and I think he will bring some new ideas,” Barrett said in a phone interview. “He cares about Huntington Station.”
Barrett will stay on as a board member, and he said he hopes that Cosentino will help make the BID more business oriented in future projects.
“I have known the people in the BID for a long time,” Cosentino said. “The fact that they’ve put their trust in me … makes me feel really good.”
The Lloyd Harbor house still stands after the fire. Photo from Steve Silverman
Five Huntington area fire departments worked together on Wednesday night to fight a fire that caused extensive damage to a home in Lloyd Harbor.
Fire fighters work to put out the flames of a Lloyd Harbor house fire. Photo from Steve Silverman
The Huntington Fire Department responded to a call at 8 p.m. for a residential structure fire on Seacrest Drive in the Lloyd Neck neighborhood of Lloyd Harbor that involved the house’s attached garage and second floor. The Halesite, Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington Manor, Centerport and Greenlawn fire departments assisted the Huntington department About 85 firefighters used ten trucks to get the fire under control in two hours, under the command of Chief Jesse Cukro, supported by Assistant Chiefs Rob Conroy, Brian Keane and Scott Dodge.
Firefighters were able to stop the blaze and contain the damage to the center portion of the home. No residents were home at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Lloyd Harbor Police Department and Suffolk Police Arson Squad.
A service dog presentation at MetLife Stadium this past year. Photo from Don McKay
The Northport Cow Harbor Warriors will be presenting a service dog to a 2005 Northport High School graduate and veteran this Saturday, April 9, at 7 p.m.
Hosted in partnership with the Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Semper Fi Fund, the veteran, who served as a U.S. Marine during Operation Iraqi Freedom, will receive the dog at Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub in Northport as part of a fundraiser for the Cow Harbor Warriors Weekend.
The warriors weekend is an event hosted on Sept. 9 and 10, where wounded warriors and veterans in need, along their families, are invited to Northport for a weekend of recreation, celebration and appreciation.
“Service dogs are invaluable in helping our veterans adjust and adapt to life after war,” Don McKay, president of Cow Harbor Warriors said in a statement. “It’s simply incredible to witness the life-changing impact these dogs can have for our warriors.”
Live music will be provided by Common Ground, and raffle prizes include an inflatable stand-up paddle board, private charter sunset cruise, half-day bass fishing trip, a fun day on the water and more. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.cowharborwarriors.com for $40, with buffet, beer and wine.
Northport Superintendent Robert Banzer speaks to the board about capital projects. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
The Northport Board of Education voted to include more than $3 million worth of capital projects on the ballot last Thursday. Improvements range from renovating the softball field at Northport High School to irrigation for the Pulaski Road school.
A total $1.639 million of the improvements are included in the budget, and the remaining approximate $2 million worth of improvements would have to be funded by a capital reserve fund, which the public would need to approve separately.
Superintendent Robert Banzer said the district is proposing $1 million in capital funds be spent on replacing a boiler at Ocean Avenue Primary School and upgrading the fire alarms at Dickinson Avenue Elementary.
“Over the last few years we have been replacing boilers, and so we can almost see the end with this project,” Banzer said at the meeting. As for the fire alarms at Dickinson, he said “we need to get to each of the classrooms the strobes with the alarms and the smoke heads. And that’s what this money would allow us to do.”
The boilers would come in at $800,000 and the fire alarms at $200,000.
According to the district, other projects not funded by the capital reserve could be funded through additional state aid.
With the state budget passing on Friday, it was confirmed that districts will be receiving full restoration of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, a deduction of state aid taken from all New York school districts, enacted several years ago in an effort to close a state budget deficit.
“This is sort of saying if we receive more state aid, here are some projects that have emerged over the last few months,” Banzer said.
Totaling almost $640,000, these improvements include renovating the softball field at Northport High School, district wide door lock replacement and installing irrigation at the Pulaski Road fields.
“There has been a discussion about replacing our door locks … so that they can lock on both sides,” Banzer said. “This is a safety issue as well as helping us streamline our classroom’s keys and locks.”
As for the field repairs, Banzer said there has been a lot of talk about the conditions of Northport’s fields.
The $2 million capital reserve fund would go toward replacing the gymnasium ceiling at Northport Middle School, renovating the locker rooms at the middle school and replacing a boiler at the Pulaski Road school, among other improvements.
BOE Vice President David Badanes made a motion for all projects to go on the ballot, as well as an additional project: replacing the tennis courts at Northport Middle School.
The Northport-East Northport Public Library’s budget was approved. File photo
The votes are in, and all library budgets in the Huntington area have passed.
The Harborfields Public Library $4.8 million budget passed with 244 votes in favor and 29 against, resulting in a 0 percent change from last year. Centerport resident David Clemens was also elected to the library’s board of trustees. Clemens is currently a trustee of the Suffolk County Historical Society and chairman of the library committee.
Huntington Public Library’ $8.8 million budget is also a 0 percent increase from the 2015-16 budget. There were 201 votes in favor to 34 against, and incumbent Trustee Charles Rosner was elected for another term.
Director Joanne Adam said the new fiscal year’s budget included expanding operating hours on Friday nights during the summer months so the library can be open until 9 p.m. on Friday nights yearlong. Another addition from the budget Adam touched upon is the library rejoining Partnership of Automated Library Systems.
“This will enable our patrons to pick up their hold items at any library in the county and will make the process of borrowing items from other libraries much easier,” Adam said.
Northport-East Northport had the highest vote count, with 408 votes in favor and 65 against for the nearly $9.8 million budget. The budget has a $21,100 overall increase in the tax levy.
Incumbent Margaret Hartough was re-elected as trustee there. She is currently the head of the teen services department at the Half Hollow Hills Community Library.
Finishing off the list is Cold Spring Harbor Library and Environmental Center, which passed the approximate $2 million budget, another budget with a 0 percent increase, with 143 votes in favor and 22 against.
Trustees Dana Lynch, Gayle Quaglia and George Schwertl were re-elected for another term.
“The residents of Cold Spring Harbor have continually demonstrated their commitment to the Library,” Director Roger Podell said in a letter posted on the library’s website.
Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasich answers questions from the audience at the Paramount in Huntington. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
The race for commander-in-chief made a pit stop in Huntington on Monday with Republican presidential candidate John Kasich (R-Ohio) stumping at The Paramount.
Kasich, the governor of Ohio, spoke face-to-face with New York voters ahead of the April 19 primary with hopes of gaining momentum against his Republican counterparts in the race. He received some of his loudest cheers from the audience after delivering a line about his approach toward what has been a contentious campaign cycle battling the likes of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasich greets the crowd at the Paramount in Huntington. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
“I may have been ignored for six months in my campaign because I spent my time taking the high road to the highest office, not the low road,” Kasich said.
Trump, a businessman, is currently leading in national polls as he has been for several months, but Kasich has been picking up speed as the Republican primaries make their way to the east coast. Real Clear Politics said Kasich has more than doubled his poll numbers from March 1 to April 1 going from 9 percent to almost 21 percent.
Audience members in the Huntington theater asked Kasich questions, many about whether or not he can actually take off the gloves and take on Trump, who has become known for his outlandish rhetoric and heated campaign rallies.
Kasich said while of course he could do it, he doesn’t necessarily want to.
“I don’t want to live in the negative lane,” he said. “I’ve got two 16-year-old twin daughters and a heck of a lot of people… in the state of Ohio who at this point are pretty proud of what I’ve done. I’ll fight, but I’m more interested in giving you the visual. I’d rather do it in a more positive, upbeat way, giving people hope.”
The governor tried to convince voters that he would be able to defeat both his Republican challengers, and eventually the future Democratic nominee by securing votes from both sides of the aisle.
“These things can’t get done with just one party,” he said. “If I’m president, we’ll have a conservative agenda, but we are not going to tell our friends in the other party to go away, to drop dead or demean them. We are going to invite them in. Before we’re Republicans or Democrats, we are Americans.”
In terms of specific policies, Kasich made several promises for his first 100 days in office, if he were to be elected.
“We will have a system that puts a freeze on all federal regulations except for health and safety, so we stop crushing small business,” he said. “I can tell you that we’re going to have lower taxes on businesses so they’ll invest in America and not in Europe, we’re going to have a simplified tax system with lower taxes for individuals and we’re going to have path to a balanced budget.”
He also addressed how he would handle immigration, an important subject to Suffolk County residents.
According to the Long Island Index, the number of white residents has declined in the past 10 years, as Hispanic and Asian populations have continued to grow. According to the United State Census, in 2014, foreign-born persons made up nearly 15 percent of the total population.
Kasich said he would implement a guest worker program that would help the 11.5 million illegal immigrants who have not committed a crime find a path to legalization.
“We’re not going to hunt you down,” he said.
Kasich said that Suffolk County is a diverse area with residents on all ends of the political spectrum, and he acknowledged he could represent more than just one party.
“I happen to be a Republican but the Republican Party is my vehicle, not my master,” Kasich said.
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