Above, Chris McCrary is running for a spot on the Comsewogue library board. His opponent, Richard Evans, did not provide a photo to the library. File photo
Local voters approved their libraries’ budgets on Tuesday night and elected a new community member to serve on one district’s board of trustees.
Comsewogue Public Library residents elected Chris McCrary to their board with 116 votes, as compared to challenger Richard Evans’ 45 votes, Library Director Debbie Engelhardt said in an email. Both men had been vying for the seat of library board President Ali Gordon, who declined to run for re-election.
Gordon is also a member of the Comsewogue Board of Education.
With his win, McCrary, a 49-year-old high school biology teacher and neighborhood soccer and lacrosse coach, will join the board in July for a five-year term.
Comsewogue voters also passed the library’s $5.4 million budget, 149-25. That 2016-17 budget will raise taxes almost $0.13 for every $100 ofa home’s assessed value.
Over in Port Jefferson, voters also passed their own budget, 110-10, according to a message posted on the Port Jefferson Free Library’s website.
That $4.2 million spending plan will roughly keep taxes flat for library district residents.
Ann Moran, left, and Ernestine Franco, right, receive a Certificate of Appreciation from Councilwoman Jane Bonner, center. Photo by Heidi Sutton
The Sound Beach Civic Association hosted its third Lasagna Dinner fundraiser last Friday night at the Sound Beach Firehouse. The event drew about 90 people and raised over $900 for the Sound Beach Civic Veterans Memorial Park. According to Civic Association President Bea Ruberto, the funds are used to buy replacement flags and maintain the plantings at the park.
Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) made a special appearance to support the wonderful cause. “I came here to eat because I can never get enough lasagna and enough meatballs,” she quipped before presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to Ann Moran and Ernestine Franco of the Sound Beach Civic Association for their many hours of volunteerism.
Bonner commented that every time she drives past the memorial, which is located on New York Avenue across from the post office, “it’s always very, very beautiful, and the flags are always in great shape.”
Bonner thanked the civic for hosting this fundraiser “because honoring our veterans is not something we do often enough and this community is on the map because of what you’ve done,” adding “There is such a heart in Sound Beach and such a spirit of volunteerism in this community … You all go above and beyond and are shining examples.”
If you would like more information on upcoming events of the Sound Beach Civic Association, visit www.soundbeachcivic.org.
Kids relax at a previous fun run for the Royal Educational Foundation. Photo from Jill Russell
The Royal Educational Foundation is hosting its third annual Power of One Family Fun Run on Saturday, April 16, to benefit the Port Jefferson school district.
According to the event flyer, the 2-mile run is meant to “encourage physical activity and is intended to celebrate the positive influence we can have on one another within our families and community.” The course starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Port Jefferson Village Center on East Broadway and goes through the streets of the village, ending at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School on Old Post Road.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward the foundation’s efforts to improve the school district. Each runner or walker is $15, while families cost $50.
People of all ages are welcome to participate, and can register between 7:30 and 8 a.m. at the Village Center. Participants should check in no later than 8:15 a.m. Everyone will get a fun run T-shirt before the start of the race.
Setauket Union Free School District No. 2, the “school on the hill.” Photo from Beverly Tyler
By Beverly C. Tyler
My previous article, on March 17, detailed the story of the Setauket Christian Avenue African-American and Native-American settlement and the oral histories collected by Stony Brook University professor Glenda Dickerson and her Theater Arts crew for the 1988 play and exhibit at the fine Art Center. At the time, the Three Village Historical Society produced a journal of the play and the oral histories collected which is now available as a PDF file. In 2014, the society developed and installed a new exhibit that detailed the Setauket/East Setauket area where Native-Americans, African-Americans, German-Americans, Irish-Americans and a new group of Eastern European immigrants lived and worked between 1861 and the first three decades of the 20th century.
This new exhibit, Chicken Hill, a Community Lost to Time, is an exploration of the life of the native and immigrant population in the half-mile surrounding the present 1870 Setauket Methodist Church. In 1861, the Nunns and Clark brick piano factory was erected southwest of the then 1843 Methodist Chapel. Nunns hired mostly German immigrants. It went out of business in 1857. The building became the Long Island Rubber Company in 1876 and soon hired a work force of mostly African- American and Irish workers. By 1888, the majority of workers were Eastern European Jewish workers with a flavoring of Eastern European Catholic workers as well as all the previous ethnic groups.
One of the dozen or more oral histories in the exhibit is by Helen Strelecki Bubka, who grew up on Chicken Hill. “One of my fondest memories was how the boys, Hubbell and his brother Beeb, came to help me. There was a boy living in town and he was pestering me. … I was just a young teenager and I was frightened of him. I found out later that Beeb and Hubbell went and told him to leave me alone. That’s how close the relationships were with our friends on Chicken Hill. … We all got along so well together, black, white, Jewish, Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, it didn’t make a difference what nationality or color we were. If you needed help, you could depend on all your neighbors; one way or another, somebody would come through and pitch in and help. If somebody was ill, they would take food to them, they would try to help in so many different ways, it was such a close knit community, and I think that’s my fondest memory.”
Helen Strelecki was one of several children of Samuel and Sophie Strelecki. She was born and raised in Setauket on the family farm on South Jersey Avenue. Her Polish mother and Russian father emigrated from Europe. Helen attended the Setauket School, on the hill, just east of the Setauket fire house and the VFW log cabin building. Helen said, “Lunch times, we all ran home to get our lunch and run back to school quick so that we could, you know, play ball or something during the time.”
The Setauket Union Free School District No. 2 opened in 1911 and brought together students from the three schoolhouses in West Setauket, East Setauket and South Setauket. There are many stories that came from the students who attended the school until it closed in 1951. Many of these stories are detailed in the Chicken Hill exhibit.
Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.
Developer Mark Baisch wants to establish 40 one-bedroom apartments for senior citizens on the former Thurber Lumber property in Rocky Point. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Nearly a month after Rocky Point’s Thurber Lumber Co. Inc. closed its doors, developer Mark Baisch of Landmark Properties plans on transforming the property to make room for senior citizens.
Baisch said he wants to establish 40 one-bedroom apartments on the former 1.8-acre space near Broadway to help the area’s aging population. Baisch hasn’t finalized rent for these 600 square foot apartments, but said future residents will pay a little more than $1,000 a month.
Baisch has been met with some opposition on his plans.
“People say he does good work, but to come in and say ‘this is what’s going to work down here, even though you don’t want it,’ is kind of strange,” said Albert Hanson, vice president of the Rocky Point Civic Association and chair of the land use committee.
Hanson said the civic and members of the community, who found out about the plans in February, haven’t had ample time to brainstorm alternative ideas for the area. Hanson added that the area doesn’t need additional housing.
According to Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), Rocky Point is a high-density area already, and she added that the Thurber property is also a small area for Baisch’s apartments. The Legislator said she envisions different plans for the property.
“I would love to see a community center over there,” said Anker. “[The property is in] the heart of downtown Rocky Point.”
But Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) said Baisch’s plans comply with a land use plan conducted in the area several years ago. Brookhaven officials adopted the land use plan for downtown Rocky Point back in 2012. The plan called for medium density housing in downtown Rocky Point, among other improvements. Although some residents oppose the plan, the councilwoman said there is a need for these kinds of residences townwide.
“There’s a large number of seniors who live back in North Shore Beach …. and many have reached out to me excited about this,” the councilwoman said.
Baisch wanted to create apartment units because of the property’s sanitary flow requirements — the amount of sewage per unit is less for a 600 square foot unit. According to Baisch, the apartments will give seniors more freedom in their daily lives. He added that Suffolk County is committed to establishing a bus stop in the area to further assist prospective senior residents.
“They have to pay taxes, they have to pay their oil bill, they have to pay for repairs [for their home] — Rocky Point is probably one of the most unsafe communities I know of, to walk around,” Baisch said. “So they have all these things that are burdening them as seniors and they basically have nowhere to go.”
Baisch added that these residents could live comfortably in his apartments on their Social Security or the equity they received after selling their home. While some senior citizens, like Linda Cathcart of Rocky Point, don’t plan on selling their home any time soon, she said Baisch’s plans will bring a stable population to the area.
“There’s 40 units proposed, so you’re talking about possibly 80 seniors who could bring business to the existing businesses,” Cathcart said. “Also, it would encourage new businesses to come into the area.”
Cathcart added that Baisch discussed putting the original railroad station structure from the area on the property, in addition to the apartment units. The railroad structure dates back to the 1920s and 30s.
Despite the proposed plans for the property, Hanson said the civic and some community members were debating using other local talent or developers to establish a vision and plan for the area that appeals to other residents.
“We have to think of what we would like to see down there that would make us draw [people to downtown Rocky Point],” Hanson said about the property. “I think what a lot of people don’t want is losing the opportunity to actually have a downtown.”
Protestors gather at the Huntington train station on Monday afternoon. Photo from Michael Pauker
Protestors are no longer minding the gap when it comes to the state’s minimum wage.
Protestors flocked to the Huntington Long Island Rail Road station during the evening rush hour on Monday in support of an increase in the state minimum wage.
The group also hit several other North Shore train stations in areas where state senators have not yet committed to supporting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) proposal for a $15-per-hour minimum wage.
“This state thrives when every New Yorker has the opportunity and the ability to succeed,” Cuomo said in a statement in support of his minimum wage hike from $9 per hour. “Yet the truth is that today’s minimum wage still leaves far too many people behind — unacceptably condemning them to a life of poverty even while they work full-time. This year, we are going to change that. We are going to raise the minimum wage to bring economic opportunity back to millions of hardworking New Yorkers and lead the nation in the fight for fair pay.”
A protestor raises a sign on the platform. Photo from Michael Pauker
Members of the group Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, organized the protests with hopes of putting pressure on North Shore lawmakers.
“We’re making a splash during rush hour today to remind our state senators that the economic security of millions of New Yorkers is in their hands,” Rachel Ackoff, senior national organizer at Bend the Arc, said in an email. “Our state and country are facing an economic inequality crisis and raising the minimum wage is essential to help countless families get by and strengthen our economy.”
As for why the group chose to protest at train stations, Ackoff said it is a common ground for all walks of life.
“LIRR stations are the central meeting grounds of thousands of workers heading to and from their jobs each day,” she said. “We appreciated the cheers and thumbs up of the folks we encountered.”
Ackoff said many New York workers who are not making the minimum wage are struggling to support families.
“We’re so outraged by the fact that so many parents in our state, who are working full times jobs on the current minimum wage, aren’t even paid enough to provide for their families’ basic needs,” she said. ““It’s time for our state leaders to take action.”
She zeroed in on specific North Shore lawmakers, including state Sens. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset), and Michael Venditto (R-Massapequa).
A protestor speaks to a passenger at the Huntington train station. Photo from Michael Pauker
Marcellino, who presides over parts of Huntington, did not return a call for a comment.
Bend the Arc has several chapters across the country, and this year, they launched #JewsFor15 a campaign to support the fight for $15, by mobilizing Jewish communities across the country to support local and state campaigns to increase the minimum wage. They said they feel not supporting the $15-per-hour minimum wage is a violation of fundamental values as both Jews and Americans.
“By speaking up for the ‘Fight for $15 movement,’ we are honoring the legacy of our Jewish ancestors, many of whom immigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the century, worked in factories, and fought for higher wages and union rights,” Ackoff said.
Eric Schulmiller, of the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore in Manhasset, echoed the sentiment while speaking at the Hicksville train station.
“I’m here today because striving for social justice is a core part of my identity as a faith leader and a core part of Jewish communal traditions,” he said. “Jews have been engaged in America’s social justice movements for generations and we’re not about stand on the sidelines now, when countless American families are struggling to make ends meet and economic inequality is growing more and more severe.”
Councilwoman Jane Bonner and Councilman Michael Loguercio oversee the demolition. Photo from Town of Brookhaven
On March 21, Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) was joined by Councilman Michael Loguercio (R-Ridge) at the demolition of the building formerly known as the Oxygen Bar, on the northwest corner of Route 25A and Broadway in Rocky Point.
The demolition comes after numerous Brookhaven Town building code violations and resident complaints. The Town shut down the bar in 2011 due to an expired Place of Assembly permit after a non-fatal shooting of four people occurred there. It has been a vacant eyesore in the community ever since that time.
“This is a happy day in Rocky Point, and a long time coming,” Bonner said. “Removing this blight will keep the revitalization of our business district right on track. We’ve got more to do, and I look forward to working with our local business and community leaders to keep moving ahead.”
The Town purchased the property in November 2015 and Bonner is working with the Rocky Point VFW to transform it into a veteran’s memorial square, which will serve as the gateway to the downtown business district.
“Removing blight has such an immediate, positive impact on the community,” Loguercio said. “I commend Councilwoman Bonner for her determination to get this eyesore demolished.”
The chamber of commerce’s annual Easter parade and egg hunt returned to Port Jefferson on Sunday, March 27, bringing big smiles to the faces of local children. After walking through the village’s downtown area, the procession headed to the harborfront park so the kids could collect Easter eggs full of treats.
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Sasha Kim, 3, takes a break with her Easter eggs after the Port Jefferson parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
The Port Jefferson Easter parade makes its way through the village. Photo by Bob Savage
A young boy discovers Easter eggs at the Port Jefferson parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Kids take off to claim Easter eggs at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Kids hop a fence to scoop up Easter eggs at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Barbara Ransome reprises her role as the big bunny at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
A young girl searches for eggs at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
A bunny hands out candy at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
There is more than one bunny in town for the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Michelle Giunta and 10-month-old Sabina Vett, of Selden, are dolled up for the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
A girl heads out in search of eggs at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
A family takes a picture to remember the 2016 Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Megan Parris and son Deacon, 8, from Sayville enjoy the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
The Easter bunny hands out eggs and candy at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Participants in the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt show up in style. Photo by Bob Savage
The Gagas family from Selden — Daria, Steve and Sienna — have baskets of fun at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
A bunny hands out eggs and candy at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
Long Beach residents Michelle and Gigi are decked out at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
The Easter bunny takes photos with kids at the Port Jefferson Easter parade and egg hunt. Photo by Bob Savage
The front entrance of Huntington Hospital's new emergency department that will open in 2017. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
By Victoria Espinoza
The days of dreading the emergency room may be over come Jan. 2, 2017.
Huntington Hospital is more than one year into $43 million worth of renovations for its new emergency department, which was designed to herald in shorter wait times, a separate pediatric section, an expanded trauma center, and private rooms for all patients.
The department is expected to open the day after New Years Day next year, with all state-of-the-art equipment and protocol.
“Most of our admissions come through the ER, most of the people in the building came through the ER, so that’s your face to the community,” said Gerard X. Brogan, MD, executive director at Huntington Hospital and professor of emergency medicine at Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine.
The plan for Huntington Hospital’s new emergency department. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Brogan said the current ER sees about 51,000 patients a year, but was designed for 24,000. Coming in at around 31,000 square feet, this new facility promises to be bigger and better than anything Huntington residents have seen before, Brogan said.
“So this will be more than twice the size of the current department,” he said.
By far the most common complaint patients visiting the ER have is the wait time. And Brogan said the new layout and protocol would help cut wait time down and expedite the process of a patient being treated.
“Part of that bottleneck starts right up front. You wait to even get triaged and see a nurse,” he said. “This ER has four different triage stations, and at the time of triage there will be either a physician, a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner there. As you’re getting triaged the workup is already starting. We’re taking blood samples, we’re deciding if you need any X-Rays.”
Brogan also said that by the time a patient is sent to the department to be treated, “your blood is already cooking in the lab, radiology is already coming to find you for an X-ray and a doctor is already started to direct your work up.”
He said the hospital’s current ER has already put this method into effect and has cut down patients’ visit by an average of 48 minutes — about one third of their stay.
“It shouldn’t be a penalty for being sick that you sit in an ER for five hours,” Brogan said.
New staff protocol should also cut down wait times. This includes a new lab testing system that has just been put into use, which brings the quickest results in the North Well health system, according to Brogan. Biofire FilmArray, a molecular multiplex assay, allows for results to be returned within an hour rather than 24 hours. This helps patients spend less time at the hospital and allow for treatment to be administered faster if necessary.
The floor to ceiling windows that will be featured in the special results waiting area in the new Huntington Hospital emergency department that will open in 2017. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
“Determining someone’s illness and beginning to treat it quickly is vital for the patient,” Gary Stone, MD, associate chair of pathology and laboratory medicine said in a statement. “This faster laboratory test will also help Huntington Hospital’s emergency department to diagnose, treat and release patients faster.”
Another way Brogan said the ER plans to keep patients happy while they wait is through additional lounge areas.
“Some tests, by their very nature, take at least 45 minutes to an hour to actually perform, so we will have a special results waiting area with comfortable recliners and floor to ceiling windows,” he said. “You’re not going to be sitting on a stretcher, you’ll be out in a lounge area, looking outside and seeing sunlight or watching the sunset.”
The layout also aims at redoing the current entrance system, he said. There will be two entrances in the new ER, one for ambulances and one for patients and families coming in. “Now, if you’re walking your kid in with a sore throat there can be an ambulance unloading right next to you,” Brogan said. “This way, we keep the dramatic traumas which might be uncomfortable to young children around the corner.”
The new department will be giving patients single rooms that measure up to 11 feet by 13 feet.
“You can close your door, and you don’t have to see or hear or smell any of the other cases going on in the emergency department.”
In terms of the ER, which is now 20 years old, Brogan said nothing has been decided yet as to what it will be used for. But some ideas, he said, included creating an advanced treatment center — which would help patients whose illnesses might’ve taken days to diagnose and treat before — be treated within several hours instead of being committed to the hospital for a few days.
The pediatric emergency department has already been renamed after New York Islanders Hall of Famer Clark Gillies, who committed to donating $2 million to the department through the Clark Gillies Foundation. Staff said they are still hoping to receive other donations to rename parts of the ER including the special results waiting area.
Although residents won’t be able to walk through the doors for another 10 months, staff is already eager to share the space.
“I think for the patients, the experience is going to be just phenomenal,” Brogan said. “You’ll have your own room, auditory and visual privacy, with all the bells and whistles, and monitors in every room outfitted for the most complex patient.”
Rodger Podell became director of the Cold Spring Harbor Library about three months ago. Photo from Roger Podell
There’s a new director at the Cold Spring Harbor Library & Environmental Center.
Rodger Podell came on board about three months ago and is excited about the new bonds he has already made with residents of the area.
“I’ve really enjoyed meeting everyone in the community,” Podell said in a phone interview. “It’s been great to get out and meet with different parental groups. I’ve loved getting to know everyone.”
Podell is no stranger to Long Island, moving to Jericho in 1978 from New Jersey and graduating from Jericho High School. He worked as a freelance video camera operator for a few years on various television and news shows until the late’90s, when he decided to go back to school and pursue a field that had always interested him — library studies.
“I’ve always liked that libraries serve the community and serve all ages,” Podell said. “You can see infants coming in for story time, seniors coming in for social programs and everyone else in between. This is one of the few community-based organizations that serve all ages of the community.”
He graduated with a master’s degree in library studies from Long Island University in 1996, and started working at various school districts on Long Island including Middle Country.
The director also served as the head of school libraries for Western Suffolk BOCES for a few years, where he worked with school librarians throughout the district to help provide development ideas.
Before coming to Cold Spring Harbor, Podell was working as director of the Elmont Public Library in Queens, where he said he served about 1,000 people daily.
“I saw this position [at Cold Spring Harbor] and I had worked with the Cold Spring Harbor school district while at BOCES, so I was familiar with it,” he said. “It’s not only in a beautiful location, but there is also a real dedication here toward education. I could see that right away, and I knew that must carry over into the library.”
Podell said the library is dedicated to the community, not only through many educational programs but entertainment programs as well.
The Cold Spring Harbor Library offers exercise classes, story-time classes, book discussion groups and SAT prep courses.
Podell said a few programs stick out in his mind, like the Jedi Academy, an interactive Star Wars program hosted in February, and Cinderella, a musical production performed at the library in January.
Looking forward, the director said he hopes to continue to improve the library According to Podell, the children’s room was recently changed to better utilize space.
Aside from his director position at Cold Spring Harbor, Podell is also an adjunct professor at Long Island University Palmer School of Library and Information Science, and serves on the Long Island Library Resource Council’s Board of Trustees.
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