CHEERS TO BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS
John Dielman of East Setauket snapped this photo of a couple enjoying a gorgeous sunset on a recent visit to West Meadow Beach.
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New York State considers stronger horseshoe crab protections
By Mallie Jane Kim
New York’s horseshoe crabs may see new and permanent protections, if a bill in Albany is successful — something local environmental groups are rooting for.
“Horseshoe crabs were once abundant in our local harbors and lined the shores of Port Jefferson and Setauket Harbors during the May breeding season,” said George Hoffman, co-founder of the Setauket Harbor Task Force. “They are a big deal with harbor lovers.”
Horseshoe crabs, which are more closely related to arachnids like spiders and scorpions than crustaceans, are considered “living fossils” because they’ve existed, unchanged, for an estimated 450 million years, surviving through multiple mass extinctions.
But the species has faced a steady decline in the past few decades due to harvesting and habitat loss, which in turn affects species of birds that rely on horseshoe crab eggs as mid-migration sustenance. The crabs are commercially harvested for use as bait by eel and conch fishing operations, and their blue blood is used in biomedical research and for improving vaccine safety.
The new bill, introduced by Assemblymember Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), would amend state law to prohibit the taking of horseshoe crabs for commercial or biomedical purposes from state waters, but would allow for approved scientific or educational uses, like for zoos or aquariums.
The Assembly’s Committee on Environmental Conservation approved the bill on May 14, and it now sits with the codes committee. If the bill passes there, it would face a vote by the whole Assembly.
On May 21, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) introduced a “same as” bill in the state Senate, and because it counts as a revamped version of a previous horseshoe crab bill that already passed through relevant committees, this bill is ready for a floor vote.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, warned that because Connecticut and Massachusetts recently enacted stronger protections for horseshoe crabs and neighboring states are also eying changes, New York’s population could be at greater risk.
“We’re very concerned that’s going to draw more eyes on New York’s horseshoe crab population,” she said.
According to New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation, a permit holder can currently harvest up to 200 horseshoe crabs per day in New York. The state has an annual harvest limit of 150,000 each year.
A report by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission indicated coastwide harvesting of horseshoe crabs for bait peaked in the 1990s at about 2.75 million crabs, but was down to about half a million in 2022, partly due to more efficient equipment that allows fishermen to use much less bait.
Still, Esposito said harvesting horseshoe crabs to chop them up as bait is “archaic,” and said commercial fishing enterprises have been talking about finding alternative bait sources for decades. “This will incentivize finding alternative baits for fishermen to use to successfully catch conch and eel,” she said.
For Hoffman, stopping the “rapacious takings” that have lowered horseshoe crab populations is essential.
“We must do all we can to save them,” Hoffman said. “We can’t let them be hunted to extinction.”
Northwell Health opens Molecular Diagnostics Lab to diagnose cancer
By Daniel Dunaief
Northwell Health Cancer Institute and its Center for Genomic Medicine opened a Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, which will reduce the cost of testing and shorten the time to get test results for cancer tests.
At a cost of $3.2 million, the 2,800 square foot facility will use next generation sequencing to provide tumor and patient genomic profiling and to assist in testing for biomarkers and determining the choice of cancer therapy.
The MDL, which is using the space Northwell Health Labs owned, will offer an array of tests in a phased approach. It is starting with a set of single gene tests to inform precision therapies for lung, melanoma, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer, which can be conducted in 24 to 72 hours.
“We like to get cancer therapy started as soon as possible for patients with metastatic disease,” said Jeff Boyd, vice president and chief scientific officer and director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute’s Center for Genomic Medicine. When Northwell sent out similar tests to for-profit centers, the results, depending on the test, could take weeks.
The MDL is performing these tests on patients with advanced stage disease and/or recurrent diseases, which increases the need to generate results quickly.
“That makes a huge difference for the ordering oncologist and, most especially and importantly to the patient,” said Boyd. “The sooner they can get on precision therapeutics to treat the disease, the better. Outcomes will reflect wait time until you get therapy.”
Northwell treats more New York residents for cancer than any provider in the state, according to the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System, inpatient and ambulatory surgery data.
The center, which is located in Lake Success, started conducting tests several weeks ago.
The lab is using high-end DNA sequencing to extract and define the genomic details of each tumor. Each patient tumor is different, which affects decisions about the best possible treatment.
“When the diagnosis isn’t totally clear to the pathology team, the genetics of the cancer will often inform the diagnosis,” said Boyd. Some patients with the same type of tumor will respond differently to radiation.
The lab is offering four single-gene tests: EGF for non-small cell lung cancer, BRAF for melanoma, KRAS for colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancers, and BRAF/NRAS for melanoma.The MDL plans to offer a 161-gene NGS panel for solid malignancies, a 45-gene NGS panel for hematologic malignancies, and MSI-H, a genetic test that reveals whether tumors will respond to immunotherapy.
Long road
Northwell recruited Boyd to start a molecular diagnostic lab four years ago. He started working in February of 2020, a month before the pandemic caused local, state, national and worldwide disruption.
While he has other responsibilities, Boyd suggested that his “primary reason” for joining Northwell was to “create and direct a Center for Genomic Medicine.”
Northwell conducted extensive physical renovation of the core lab facility that houses the MDL. Northwell also hired six people for the MDL, which includes a lab director, a lab manager, two certified lab technicians, a director of bioinformatics and an LIMS administrator.
In addition, New York State Department of Health had to certify the tests. Northwell is working through certification for additional tests.
Patients don’t need to go to the Lake Success facility to benefit from the services offered by the lab.The cost to patients for these tests is less than it would be for a for profit lab, Boyd said.
“We are a non profit and all we’re looking for is the sustainability of the lab infrastructure,” he added.
At this point, the lab isn’t conducting any germ line testing to determine if there are genetic predispositions to various cancers.
“That might be one of those tests we role out in the future,” Boyd said.
For Boyd, who earned a PhD in toxicology and biochemistry from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, the work is particularly rewarding.
To see his job “impact care tomorrow” based on a particular genetic alteration, “it doesn’t get much better than that for an individual with my background and profession,” he said.
Sayville ends Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats baseball season
By Bill Landon
Having survived a must-win game the day before, Shoreham-Wading River (No. 3) lived to face Sayville (No. 6) at home Sunday, May 19, in a Suffolk Class A playoff match.
Sayville banked two runs in the opening inning, but the Wildcats answered when Kyle Stella drove in Christian Cox to get on the scoreboard. Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Daniel Laieta homered in the bottom of the second driving in to put his team ahead 3-2, a lead that would be short-lived.
Sayville leveled the game in the top of the 3rd but the Wildcats fell behind in the top of the 5th when Sayville drove in two more runs to make it 5-3. Sayville extended the lead to five in the top of the 6th at 8-3.
Shoreham-Wading River with three outs left, with their season on the brink, rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning plating three runners but Sayville ended the Wildcats season winning the game 8-6.
The Wildcats concluded their 2024 campaign with an impressive 17-5 record.
2024 Memorial Day events on the North Shore
By Heidi Sutton
Falling every year on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day honors the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in all branches of the U.S. military. May they never be forgotten. The following communities will commemorate this federal holiday.
Centerport
The Centerport Fire Department will host a Memorial Day Parade on May 27 at 9:30 a.m. from Centershore Road, Harrison Drive, east on Mill Dam Road Centerport, southeast on Prospect Road, south on Little Neck Road. Ends at Park Circle, Centerport followed by a ceremony at the memorial monuments in the park. 631-261-5916
Centereach
The Centerach Fire Department will hold its 2nd annual Memorial Day Parade on May 26 at 1 p.m. Parade kicks off at the corner of Horseblock Road and Middle Country Road and ends at the Centereach Fire Department on South Washington Avenue. 631-588-8652
Commack
VFW Elwood-Commack Post 9263 hosts a Memorial Day parade on May 27 at 10 a.m. Kick off is at the Home Depot parking lot at the intersection of Larkfield Road and Jericho Turnpike and head east on Jericho Turnpike to junction at Veterans Highway to Cannon Park for a ceremony. 631-368-9463
East Northport
Father Judge Council Knights of Columbus hosts the East Northport Memorial Day Parade with kick off on May 27 at noon at Clay Pitts and Larkfield roads and proceed to John Walsh Memorial Park. 631-262-1891
Farmingville
The Farmingville Fire Department’s annual Memorial Day Parade will be held on May 27 at 11 a.m. Parade starts at CVS on Horseblock Road to the memorial at Nicolls Road and Portion Road. 631-732-6611
Greenlawn
Organized by the Greenlawn Fire Department, a Memorial Day parade will kick off on May 27 at 9 a.m. on East Maple Road, south on Broadway to Greenlawn Memorial Park, at the corner of Pulaski Road and Broadway. 631-261-9106
Kings Park
The 97th annual Kings Park Memorial Day Parade, sponsored by American Legion Post 944, will be held on May 27 at 9 a.m. Kick off is at the RJO Intermediate School at Old Dock Road and Church Street to the Veterans Plaza at Route 25A for flag ceremonies. 631-269-4140
Holbrook
Holbrook Chamber of Commerce will host a Memorial Day Parade on May 27 at 10:30 a.m. Parade begins at 1069 Main St., heads south to Furrow’s Road, west to Grundy and culminates at the Vietnam Memorial. 631-471-2725
Huntington
The Town of Huntington will host a Wreath Laying Ceremony on May 26 at Veterans Plaza on the front lawn of Huntington Town Hall at 100 Main Street at 10 a.m. Patriotic music will be performed by the Huntington Men’s Choir. 631-351-3012
Mount Sinai
A Parade of American Flags will be on display at Heritage Park, 633 Mount Sinai-Coram Rd, Mt Sinai on May 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., courtesy of Boy Scout Troop 1776. 631-403-4846
Northport
Organized by the Northport American Legion Post 694, the parade will begin at 10 a.m. on May 27 at Laurel Avenue School and proceed down Main Street to the Northport Village Park. 631-261-4424
Port Jefferson
American Legion Wilson Ritch Post 432 will perform a Memorial Day ceremony at Port Jefferson Memorial Park, West Broadway, Port Jefferson on May 27 at 10 a.m. 631-473-9774
Port Jefferson Station
Join the American Legion Wilson Ritch Post 432 for a Memorial Day ceremony at Steven J. Crowley Memorial Park on Old Town Road in Port Jefferson Station on May 27 at 9 a.m. 631-473-9774
Rocky Point
The Rocky Point Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6249, 109 King Road, Rocky Point will host a Memorial Day service to honor the fallen on May 27 at 11 a.m. 631-744-9106
St. James
A Memorial Day Parade organized by Sgt. John W. Cooke VFW Post 395 will be held on May 27 at 10 a.m. The parade steps off at the corner of Lake Avenue and Woodlawn Avenue and proceeds to St. James Elementary School for a ceremony. 631-862-7965
Setauket
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054 will hold its annual Three Village Memorial Day Parade in Setauket on May 27 at 11 a.m. Parade starts at the corner of Main Street and Route 25A with an opening ceremony at the Village Green across from the library and a closing ceremony at Memorial Park along Route 25A. 631-751-5541
Smithtown
The Smithtown Fire Department hosts its annual Memorial Day Parade on May 27 at noon. Kickoff is at the corner of Main Street and Singer Lane, continuing west on Main Street to Town Hall. 631-360-7620
Sound Beach
The Sound Beach Civic Association will hold Memorial Day service at the Veterans Memorial Park on New York Avenue in Sound Beach on Monday, May 27 at noon. Students from the Rocky Point High School Music Department will provide patriotic music. 631-744-6952
NYS invests $15 million in CSHL’s Pancreatic Cancer Center
By Daniel Dunaief
The transition from studying pancreatic cancer’s playbook to attempting new moves to wrestle it into submission is getting closer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, thanks to support from New York State.
Recently, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced that the Empire State would contribute $15 million to a new Pancreatic Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as a part of the lab’s Foundations for the Future Expansion.
The funds will support the construction of a new center that will continue to try to defeat this insidious type of cancer as CSHL aims to develop new treatments.
“Patients should not feel there’s no chance and no hope” after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, said David Tuveson, Director of the CSHL Cancer Center and a researcher whose lab has taken innovative approaches to pancreatic cancer. “They are watching the evolution of an area in a disease that previously has been challenging to treat. Through fundamental research, we are coming up with new approaches.”
As CSHL works with human organoids, which are tissues grown from a patient’s own cancer cells that can be used to test the effectiveness of various treatments and any resistance from cancer, animal models, and other techniques, they have moved closer to finding targets that could lead to new therapies.
Any novel treatment would likely involve creating new companies, likely on Long Island, that could develop these treatments, file for patents, and build a commercial presence and infrastructure.
“It’s an investment by the state to accelerate our translational research so we can go from preclinical to clinical,” said Tuveson. “Part of that will be to generate private entities that can focus on turning a lead to first-in-class, first-in-human products. It allows us to build that infrastructure.”
Tuveson has been working on a potential treatment for several years. Other potential treatments are also in the earlier stages of development.
Governor Hochul suggested that the state’s investment fits in the context of an overall goal to boost the local economy with new biotechnology companies.
“New York State is leading on innovative healthcare space, and this funding will advance research to better understand pancreatic cancer – one of the most devastating forms of cancer,” Governor Hochul said in a statement.
Big Picture
The Pancreatic Cancer Center will take a wide range of approaches to this particular type of cancer.
The Center will be, along with Northwell Health, a “pipeline from fundamental discovery science” to clinical trials conducted with hospital partners, explained Bruce Stillman, CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
The center will address early detection as well.
For Tobias Janowitz, Associate Professor and Cancer Center Program Co-Leader at CSHL, the investment means “we can strengthen collaborations between experts in metabolism, immunology, cancer cell biology, and whole body effects of cancer, all of them interconnected and relevant to therapy development in pancreatic cancer.”
Janowitz explained that patients with pancreatic cancer have the highest incidence of cachexia, in which chronic illness causes a reduction in muscle and fat, lowers people’s interest in food and causes extreme and potentially terminal weight loss. Pancreatic cancer patients almost universally experience a loss of appetite and profound weight and muscle loss.
Understanding cachexia in the context of pancreatic cancer will “enable care for patients with other cancers, too,” Janowitz added.
From that perspective, Janowitz hopes the New York State funds could enable discoveries that reach beyond pancreatic cancer.
As an MD/PhD, Janowitz could be involved in the translation of fundamental discoveries into clinical research and, ultimately, clinical care.
Janowitz has a specific interest in optimizing the therapeutic window for patients with pancreatic cancer.
“We are looking for management options that intensify the anti-cancer effect,” while, at the same time, protecting or reconditioning the whole body, Janowitz added.
Janowitz is using special transcriptomics on clinical samples in collaboration with Jon Preall, who leads the genomics core facility.
In a statement, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Chair Marilyn Simons described the state funding as a “catalyst to mobilize further private investment in pancreatic cancer research at CSHL.”
Simons added that her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 75. A doctor offered him an exploratory operation, which enabled him to live another 14 years.
“Few people are so lucky,” Simons added in a statement. “Our wonderful scientists at Cold Spring Harbor are working with Northwell Health and the Feinstein Institutes to help more people get access to the latest biomedical advances.”
Reboli Center to host adoption event for Save A Pet May 25
By Julianne Mosher
The Reboli Center in Stony Brook is hosting its first-ever adoption event with Port Jefferson Station-based Save A Pet, but there will be more than just furry friends looking for a new home this Saturday.
“We do rescue events for other animal shelters when we can,” said Reboli Center Director Tasha Boehm.
While Boehm was scrolling through Instagram, she saw that Save A Pet was looking for a space for an upcoming adoption event. “So, I contacted them and said, ‘we’d love to have it,’” she said.
Located at 64 Main Street with its spacious backyard right on the Stony Brook Creek, Boehm and the shelter thought it was the perfect place to host an all-day event filled with dogs, music and raffles, evolving from a sole adoption event to a fundraiser.
“It’s going to be a great time,” Boehm added.
On Saturday, May 25 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., the free event welcomes anyone looking to adopt — not shop — from one of Save A Pet’s current residents.
According to Dori Scofield, president of Save A Pet, the nonprofit is a no-kill shelter 501c(3) organization founded in 1994. Supported solely on donations, the team at Save A Pet helps save animals on death row, better the lives of homeless, abandoned and abused pets, and neuters feral cats across Long Island.
Right now, Scofield said there are approximately 30 dogs on site — many of who might make an appearance during Saturday’s event.
“We have a lot of long-timers and handicapped dogs,” she said, adding that they won’t know which will be available at the event as every day when one gets adopted, a new one comes in.
“We have quite a few volunteers helping that day and we’re going to bring as many animals as we can,” she said.
At the brick-and-mortar shop, located at 608 Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station, they also house rabbits, guinea pigs, sometimes puppies, and cats.
“Saturday’s event is a really awesome opportunity for us,” Scofield said. “It’s a nice venue, there’s a lot of room for people and animals to sit on the green and listen to music.”
A special performance by Diamond Dan and the 12-6 Band will play outside while a button making craft will be available for the kids along with refreshments and over 20 raffle prizes. Participants are encouraged to bring beach chairs or blankets for seating.
All dogs that will be available are rescues, with many coming from Puerto Rico. Others are coming from southern states that are in jeopardy of being euthanized.
“This year is probably one of the worst years for overcrowded shelters,” Scofield said. “Adoptions are down across the board.”
While there is no rain date, the event will still go on — cloudy skies or not. The Reboli Center will have its latest exhibit up to admire from the Setauket Artists featuring 35 works from local artists.
“This event is special because, first and foremost, people will potentially meet their forever friend and new member of their family,” Boehm said. “It’s also a great way to get involved with the community.”
For more information, please call 631-751-7707 or visit www.rebolicenter.org.
Volunteers needed to place flags on veterans’ graves for Memorial Day
A time honored tradition for Memorial Day, Long Island National Cemetery, 2040 Wellwood Ave., Farmingdale seeks volunteers to place American flags on veteran’s graves on May 25 at 8 a.m. and to return to the cemetery on June 1 at 8 a.m. to remove the flags. No registration required. For more info, call 631-454-4949.
Volunteers are also needed to place flags at Calverton National Cemetery, 210 Princeton BLvd., Calverton on May 25 at 9:30 a.m. and to pick up the flags on June 1 at 9:30 a.m. and roll them up in bundles of 20 so they can be put into storage for the following year. Rain date is June 2. To register, contact Frank Bailey at [email protected] or call 631-732-4529.
Miller Business Center receives $5k grant from TD Bank
TD Bank recently provided a generous grant of $5,000 to the Middle Country Library Foundation in support of Strictly Business and the Women’s EXPO.
As the Strictly Business Enterprise sponsor, TD Bank supports the library’s efforts to bring valuable educational, networking, and tradeshow experience to the local and regional business community.
Held on May 7, the 16th annual Strictly Business event, a partnership between Middle Country Public Library’s Miller Business Center, the Greater Middle Country Chamber of Commerce, and the Brookhaven Chambers of Commerce Coalition, featured more than 80 local businesses and business organizations and welcomed over 550 attendees.
The 24th Women’s EXPO, a showcase and a marketplace for Long Island women entrepreneurs, will be held on Oct. 10 and features more than 80 exhibitors and over 2,500 attendees each year.
Pictured, from left, are Sophia Serlis-McPhillips, Library Director, Middle Country Public Library; Sal DiVincenzo, Coordinator of Digital Services, Middle Country Public Library; Edward Russo, Mortgage Loan Officer, TD Bank; Tom Kelly, Manager, TD Bank; and Elizabeth Malafi, Coordinator, Miller Business Center, Middle Country Public Library.
For more information about the many programs of the Miller Business Center, visit www.millerbusinesscenter.org.
Photo courtesy of MCPL
Theatre Three’s ‘The Producers’ will have you laughing from start to finish
By Julianne Mosher
Nobody does camp better than Theatre Three. This time with their latest production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, the Port Jefferson-based venue succeeds, yet again, with a phenomenal production of the hysterical musical that is bound to offend everyone and anyone in the best way possible.
Adapted from Mel Brooks’ 1967 film of the same name, the story follows two producers who scheme to get rich fast by fraudulently overselling interests in a Broadway musical they’re seeking to fail. Plot twist … it’s a smash hit, much to their dismay.
Theatre Three’s production is just as good as the latest Broadway revival (latest being 2001) which starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. The cast and crew outdid themselves with every detail — from the constant costume and wig changes courtesy of Ronald Green III (and there are quite a few) to Randall Parson’s scenic sets that switch between the office of Max Bialystock (Scott Hofer) and Leo Bloom (Tony Butera) to the rooftop of Nazi-turned playwright Franz Leibkind (Evan Teich).
Yes, a Nazi. Like I said, this play is going to offend.
Hofer and Butera in the lead roles of the producers shine on stage, again, on the same level that the show’s former Broadway legends bore in the past.
With several dozen different roles — it’s a Mel Brooks show, so of course it’s going to be chaotic — every person who enters stage right and left are fantastic with an ensemble cast that literally does it all. The singing is master level, the choreography is impressive and you’ll be laughing as soon as the curtain opens during the first number, “It’s Opening Night.”
After Bialystock and Bloom find the most offensive musical out there, Springtime for Hitler, they need to find financial backers. Bialystock, a Casanova to the wealthy elderly, uses his charm on widowers while Bloom meets the beautiful and talented Ulla (Brittany Lacey) who becomes the main female lead in the play they’re hoping fails … as well as Bloom’s love interest.
The next stop is to get the worst director out there — Roger De Bris (Ryan Nolin), a flamboyant failing director with his long-term, life “roommate,” Carmen Ghia (Jim Sluder). While Nolin and Sluder play near-deadbeats in the theater industry, both have remarkable talent in real life.
Directed by Jeffrey Sanzel, the three-hour-long show is so good you want to sit through it again and again. You’ll be bound to find something new at every showing.
So, like I mentioned earlier, Theatre Three does campy musicals extremely well. “When You Got It, Flaunt It,” right? And the only advice I have moving forward is to continue and “Keep It Gay” with all that talent on stage.
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Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson presents The Producers through June 22. Tickets are $40 adults, $32 seniors and students, $25 children (ages 5 to 12) and Wednesday matinees. Please Note: Contains adult humor and situations. To order, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.
See preview here.
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