Mills Pond Elementary School student Luciana Brown will represent Team USA on the BMX world stage at the 2024 UCI BMX World Championships this coming May.
The 7-year-old beat out dozens of other racers to qualify for the world championships, which take place in South Carolina.
Luciana’s mother, Toniann Brown, said her daughter is feeling “proud and full of love.”
Luciana’s nickname on the track is “Beast Baby.”
By Julianne Mosher
The Engeman Theater’s latest production of Jersey Boys will have you singing, dancing and laughing all night long. Based on the life and music of The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli, the show is set in 1960s New Jersey as we follow the four Italian boys through the successes and struggles of reaching, and fulfilling, fame.
Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the show is presented almost like a documentary (as it’s based on a true story) with each member giving their perspectives of the band’s history. We start off with Tommy DeVito (Nick Bernardi) and his original group, The Variety Trio, which included his brother, Nick DeVito (Justin Wolfe Smith) and his close friend, Nick Massi (Stephen Cerf). The three perform in clubs, while also participating in some questionable and illegal activity.
There, they meet a young kind who sits in the shadows of the club and sings along. Frankie Valli (Joey Lavarco) and Tommy brings him up on stage. With his high soprano voice and large range, Lavarco can easily be mistaken for the original Frankie Valli — an impressive talent that not everyone on that stage could do.
While Frankie starts to enjoy singing with the trio, the trio each get thrown in the slammer until Tommy is eventually freed where he joins with Frankie again to continue working on music and finding their identity as a new group (Tommy’s brother quits).
While this is all happening, we see the love story between Frankie and his girlfriend-then-wife Francine (Katelyn Harold) and the relationship that Tommy has with a mobster friend, Gyp DeCarlo (Mike Keller). While in supporting roles (the two play other parts sporadically throughout the show) the fluidity of their change in character is astonishing. To go from a mobster, to an accountant, to a music industry executive in one act is a grand feat.
Eventually, a young Joe Pesci — yes, the actor — played by Loren Stone, introduces Frankie, Tommy and Nick Massi to a young songwriter who was known for his hit single, “Short Shorts,” named Bob Gaudino (Sean McGee). The trio found their missing piece, and although they couldn’t figure out a name, they were great at writing songs together.
But they visit every record company in the city and finally land a deal with the flamboyantly hysterical Bob Crewe (Jonathan Cobrda) who signs them as background singers for other artists. Eventually, they get a sign from above (literally, a sign), that determines their new, and last, name. The Four Seasons and they pitch new music to Crewe who hears hits which then get the four Jersey Boys on the map.
With favorites like, “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Walk Like a Man,” if someone in the audience closed their eyes, they’d truly think they’re listening to the actual Four Seasons on the radio. Bernardi, Cerf, Lavarco and McGee’s harmonies synch together well and they look the part with beautifully, and historically accurate, curated costumes by Dustin Cross.
From then on, the second act shows more of the struggles the four experiences as their fame and fortune get bigger. Through a lot of comedy, and some somber moments, the show will definitely keep you on your toes and singing the whole drive home.
Directed by Paul Stancato, the set was minimal, but the perfect setting for so many different locations. A simple backdrop of warehouse doors and two spiral staircases, the ensemble perfects going from Jersey, to Manhattan, to on the road, to an apartment, to a club all with ease.
So, what are you waiting for? The Engeman’s production is a slice of Broadway placed in Northport and it’ll have you thinking, “Oh, What a Night.”
The John W. Engeman Theater, 250 Main St., Northport presents Jersey Boys through May 26. For tickets or more information, call 631-261-2900 or visit www.engemantheater.com.
By Mallie Jane Kim
The bucolic farm scene on East Setauket’s historic Sherwood-Jayne Farm no longer includes grazing animals, as the elderly pony and four sheep who lived there were recently moved to new homes. According to farm owner Preservation Long Island, they are settling in well, and the organization is looking forward to the future of the farm.
“It’s a new beginning, and it’s a nice place,” said PLI executive director Alexandra Wolfe.
According to Wolfe, the sheep have gone to Berkshire Farm Sanctuary in Massachusetts, and the pony, Snowball, has moved to a private family property on Long Island, with people who are familiar with caring for elderly ponies. Wolfe said PLI moved Snowball first so she wouldn’t be left alone on the farm, after a vet deemed her safe for transport and “very sound” for a pony her age — some 40 years old.
Wolfe said her contact at the farm sanctuary told her this week that the sheep are adapting well and getting ready to join a new flock. “It looks like heaven up there, as far as I’m concerned,” Wolfe said of Berkshire. “If I was an animal, I’d want to go retire there.”
It was a calm end to a contentious chapter on the farm. After hearing of plans to rehome the animals last summer, some area residents protested in an attempt to get PLI to change its plans — people were attached to the animals and enjoyed having that picture of historic farm life on Old Post Road. A petition to that effect garnered more than 3,500 signatures.
Surprised by the community response, PLI paused plans for a time but ultimately arrived on a November morning to move the animals, with short notice to the animals’ longtime caretaker Susanna Gatz. Friends of Gatz and other concerned neighbors formed an impromptu protest. Tensions ran high, but in the end the organization tasked with transportation decided the animals were too spooked to force into a vehicle.
Despite the protests, PLI maintained that animal care was not central to their mission, which is to celebrate and preserve the cultural and architectural heritage of the region. Also, Wolfe explained, the organization’s board didn’t feel it could meet best practices related to maintaining livestock at historic sites, pointing to a document that lays out details to consider, including fencing type, feed storage, security measures and many other factors.
“Preservation Long Island doesn’t have the capacity or resources to implement a viable interpretation of 19th-century livestock farming.” Wolfe explained. “The primary motivator for Preservation Long Island is best practices.”
So PLI opted to give Gatz official notice to move out of her on-site apartment, and they waited until she had moved and the freezing weather passed before rehoming the animals.
Still, some residents are sad to see the farm quiet, without its grazers. The school bus that drives by every afternoon will no longer slow down for the kids to wave at Snowball and the small flock of sheep.
“It’s a bit lifeless now,” said Tony Lopez of East Setauket. “It was always nice when you drove by and saw someone stopped there looking at the animals — it was a gem.”
Lopez says he wishes the community and PLI could’ve worked something out to allow the animals to stay but he maintains the historic house itself is a gift to the community, and said he hopes PLI can bring back some of the festivals Sherwood-Jayne used to host.
Festivals may be a long way off, though, because of county regulations on the property that prohibit use of the pasture as a parking lot and require PLI to obtain county permission before hosting big events that include the farmland.
Those regulations came to light last fall as part of a letter from Suffolk County informing PLI the property was out of compliance with its Farmland Preservation Development Rights program. The county and the Town of Brookhaven jointly purchased development rights to the farm parcel in 2003, requiring Sherwood-Jayne to maintain a working commercial farm.
According to Wolfe, PLI is in the process of seeking out local partners, like the Peconic Land Trust, to help sort out the most fitting way to bring the property back into compliance.
PLI’s board does not want to jump into a relationship with a farmer who would bring in large, commercial equipment, Wolfe said, so they will take their time researching and deciding.
“It has to be in alignment with the historic character of the farm,” she said, adding that whatever they do should match PLI’s interpretive goals and the natural setting. “Our goal is also to find something that contributes to the community in some way.”
By Shannon L. Malone, Esq.
New York State has fortified its “move over” law to extend protection to all road users, aligning with a nationwide trend. Effective immediately, this revision aims to safeguard motorists stranded on highways, echoing similar measures adopted by several states.
Previously, signs have warned motorists on many New York State roadways that they must pull over as far over to the left as possible when an emergency vehicle is on the shoulder of a highway.
Under Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership, this legislative update emphasizes the paramount importance of road safety. State Senator Lea Webb spearheaded the bill, emphasizing its critical role in preventing tragedies involving stranded motorists.
The revised law mandates all vehicles on highway shoulders to be treated with equal caution, whether law enforcement, emergency responders, or stranded motorists. It’s a proactive step to ensure everyone’s safety.
Since 2012, New York has applied move over protections to cover emergency vehicles, hazard vehicles, and vehicles displaying a blue or green light. The rule requires drivers to exercise due care and change lanes when approaching the affected vehicles.
Sen. Lea Webb, D-Binghamton, wrote in a bill memo that while existing law has been effective in protecting law enforcement and emergency vehicles that are stopped on the side of roadways, “there are still tragedies each year involving other motorists that are killed or seriously injured while stopped on the shoulder to attend to an emergency.”
Gov. Hochul’s office said other vehicles stopped on the sides of highways have remained a safety hazard. From 2016 to 2020, 37 individuals lost their lives outside disabled cars in New York.
Hochul said the signing of the law is a significant step forward in reducing traffic-related accidents and ensuring the well-being of all New Yorkers.
“I want to thank Gov. Hochul for signing this legislation, which will extend safety protections to any motor vehicle that is parked, stopped, or standing on the shoulder of a parkway or controlled-access highway, increasing safety and saving the lives of New Yorkers,” Webb said in prepared remarks. “This bill will decrease the numbers of fatalities and serious injuries that occur due to crashes involving a stopped or disabled vehicle on our roadways.”
The new law took effect this month.
Shannon L. Malone, Esq. is an Associate Attorney at Glynn Mercep Purcell and Morrison LLP in Setauket. She graduated from Touro Law, where she wrote and served as an editor of the Touro Law Review. Ms. Malone is a proud Stony Brook University alumna.
By Beverly C. Tyler
As detailed by Kate Strong, “In 1675 [in Tangier] Colonel William Smith…bought a great book, sometimes called ‘The Tangier Book’ and sometimes ‘The First Pigskin Book.’ The first entry was a statement of his marriage. After that he recorded the baptisms [including minister and godparents], and some deaths, of his numerous children. As he wrote on only one side of the page, his wife, Martha, turned the book upside down and wrote her recipes — in some cases telling the name of the person giving her the recipe.”
The recipes and notes Martha made in the first pigskin book were most likely entered during the years on Long Island. “She sometimes added a few bits of news,” Kate Strong wrote, “as when she told that Colonel William’s sickness came from a strain he had incurred in lifting her off the horse…later she recorded that her dear Billy was better.”
Kate Strong listed just a few of the recipes including: “To make pancakes – take the yokes of six eggs, add ye one white and one pint of cream and half a pint of sacke & nutmeg and a little salt and some sugar. Make the batter of a reasonable thickness, work in some flower [sic] and fry them…” Martha also included recipes for medicinal purposes, including one from her daughter. “For a sore throat or Quinsey — take Rue and pound it pretty fine and make a poultice and plaster, must be an inch thick & lay it on ye side of ye throat. It is a sure cure. You may sprinkle it with brandy…”
“This prescription is said to work like a charm for sore throat; Roast some apples very soft, smash them with as much butter as an English walnut, with a spoonful of molasses, mix well together. Take it hot and go to bed – given by daughter Heathcott.”
Martha also wrote down some of the “old wives tales” of the period as well as recipes for household items that were not always easy to come by on rural Long Island. “When you gather apples or pears, to keep them you must gather them when the moon is at the full…. A recipe to make good ink. Take two quarts of strong vinegar, half a pound of galles or hard oak appels, Two spoonfuls of Coperas, putt all these ingredients into a glass bottle with a wide mouth, let it stand in ye sun or some hot closett & you have a very good ink, there must be 2 spoonfuls of Gunpowder!”
As related by Kate Strong “She was not too busy to enjoy riding with her husband,..I imagine they had fine horses. I know their saddles were covered with velvet. They went to the South Shore not only to enjoy the ocean breezes in the summer but on business.”
When William “Tangier” died in 1705, the Smith children included Henry, later second Lord of the Manor, age 26; Mrs. Martha Heathcote, age 23; Jeane, age 17; William Henry, later to inherit the south shore manor house and estate, age 15; Gloryana, later to marry the Rev. George Muirson, age 14; and Charles Jeffery, who would die of smallpox in 1715, age 11. Lady Martha was now faced with raising her young family and running her late husband’s vast holdings and business interests.
Entries in the Pigskin Book had been started by William Smith as an estate account book of farm transactions, the Indian whaling crews and the amount of whale “Ogle” and “Bane…” The entries began in 1697, as detailed by Dr. John Strong, “From 1696 until 1721, the Smiths used the book to keep the accounts of Native Americans working for their whaling company… Lady Martha Smith, for the 1706-07 whaling season made a net profit of 120 barrels of whale oil out of 180 barrels, a sizable profit.”
“Off shore whaling was a fine business in those days and Madam Martha had her own whaleboat,” Kate Strong wrote. “The crew was mostly Indians. She kept her records in a second pigskin book, which was almost lost in the San Francisco fire. A member of the family had taken it west. During the fire, a gentleman saw a trunk which had fallen from a truck and examined the contents. Finding the pigskin book he restored it to its owner. I once held the book in my hands. It was after a small luncheon at Miss Ruth W. Smith’s at Mastic. After the luncheon she handed me the book and said I could go in the other room and make what notes I wanted. Alas, a member of the party followed me in there and, while we had a nice talk on mutual ancestors, I never had a chance to open the book.”
As detailed in “Bellport and Brookhaven,” published in 1968, “The Lady Martha, was a remarkable woman…managing not only the vast estate, but carrying on the whaling business successfully.”
Also noted by Kate Strong, “Fifteen Indians, the whaling crew, are listed by name; their wages, and the charges made against them, for shot, powder, rum, ‘cotes,’ ‘britches,’ etc… She must have had trouble controlling them, for there are quite a few complaints. ‘He [Will Bene] got nothing this season, stayed away ten days at a time, when he went to see his Shua. Was a great loss to me.’ But there were more cheerful entries too. ‘I thanks God, my company killed a yearling whale. Maid 27 barrels ogle.’ Listed was the weight in pounds of whalebone from each whale, as well as the number of barrels of oil.”
“As to what the early settlers thought of Martha in their plans for the meeting house church,” wrote Kate Strong, “they wrote that at the table was to sit no woman of any kind except Madam Martha Smith… She died five years after her husband on September 1, 1709 and was buried beside him on the spot he had chosen overlooking the little bay on the neck, now called Strong’s Neck, but we old timers think of it by its real name, St. George’s Manor, part of the Manor of St. George.”
Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730.
By Katherine Kelton
The annual Three Village Student Art and Technology Fair featuring hundreds of works from local K-12 students was held Saturday, March 16, at Hilton Garden Inn in Stony Brook.
“During 2020 we all went on lockdown,” said Jennifer Trettner, head of the Three Village Central School District art department and coordinator of the event. “I had made arrangements to start having our show here. It’s a bigger space than where we used to have it. And then, of course, we couldn’t have the show for the next two years. Last year was our first year here, and it truly is a wonderful space. We love having a partnership with the campus here.”
Hundreds of people filed into the venue to view the exhibits. Students from the technology and art classes of Three Village school district showcased different pieces and projects.
Raymond Lang, a junior at Ward Melville High School shared, “I think it’s important to show the diversity of the art department and Three Village and all of the different aspects of the programs that we have like graphic design, computer art, film and traditional painting, drawing, as well as photography.”
Lang contributed three of his own works with a theme of the influential women of his life.
Other students displayed samples of their art portfolios, like senior Ashton Hopkins. “Well, my theme is about how people are remembered and what influence they leave on the world when they die,” he said.
For the students in the middle and elementary schools, teachers selected artwork to be showcased at the event.
Seventh grader Gianna Inserra’s dimensional art piece was chosen for the show. However, for her, the art show is special not only to see her art but also to find inspiration. “Seeing other people’s artwork can inspire me what to do next,” Gianna said.
For teachers in the two departments, Saturday was a special day for a lot of different reasons. Maria Maritato, Gelinas Junior High School art teacher, said, “It’s so amazing as an art teacher to see our students bloom from elementary to high school.”
The TVCSD technology department is also an integral part of the event, Gelinas technology teacher Dean Kostis explained. “Whenever we do anything in technology we try to do our research, then our design, then we make the product and then we assess it,” he said.
The acting principal of Ward Melville High School, Paul Gold, also attended. “I think that Three Village goes above and beyond to meet the needs of all learners,” he said. “For those students who are passionate about art technology and design, it’s in our hallways at Three Village that these students can be successful and thrive.”
According to Gold and Trettner, the event was a major success for the school district, also the art and technology departments.
By Mallie Jane Kim
South Setauket may see three mega-warehouses with 77 loading stalls for tractor trailers, if a site plan by Northville Industries goes through. The petroleum storage and distribution company sent a letter to neighbors explaining the plan and inviting comment at a public meeting in the Centereach Holiday Inn Express set for Monday, March 25.
“This is an area that’s underserved for warehouse uses,” Northville’s lawyer Tim Shea said. “Most of the warehouses are by the freeway or on the South Shore.”
But that’s not the only plan on the table.
Shea indicated the company would also present the option of multifamily housing: “We had discussed the alternative of doing multifamily, and we plan to offer that alternative to the neighbors at that meeting.”
Town board approval required
The property, bordered by Upper Sheep Pasture Road and Belle Mead Road, is zoned for industrial use, and that zoning would need to be changed to add an apartment complex or townhome community, for example.
But that suggestion has already faced pushback at the town level.
Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) acknowledged Northville had approached him about rezoning for multifamily homes, something he is against. “I told them it’s not an appropriate site next to the gas tanks, and in the middle of this other neighborhood,” he said.
Shea contends any multifamily housing would meet setback requirements from the tanks, adding that he’s familiar with other areas of the country that have housing similarly situated near tanks like the ones in Setauket.
Kornreich, who deals closely with land use and zoning issues in his role on the town council, said he has seen developers in other situations use a “carrot and stick” method to rally community support: Asking for what they truly want but, in the face of resistance, offering something that might sound worse but is within their rights to build. Kornreich said he’d be curious to see if that is the strategy in this case.
“Sometimes communities are given a false choice,” he said.
The potential “false choice” in this case is a proposed addition of a driveway onto Upper Sheep Pasture Road, where traffic is already tricky and not built for large trucks. At issue is a stipulation in a zoning lawsuit settlement from the 1990s, which contains a stipulation that, according to Shea, permits Northville to add a driveway north onto Sheep Pasture Road. According to Kornreich, the town’s legal department disagrees.
In any case, Northville would still need town board approval. Kornreich said he would oppose a site plan if it includes that driveway, and he sees no reason his councilmember colleagues would break with him on this issue.
“It would be extremely unlikely for them to override a decision in my district, especially over something as small as the position of a driveway,” he said, pointing to the respect among current board members.
Local reaction
George Hoffman, one of the Three Village Civic Association leaders who attended meetings between Kornreich and Northville, expressed grave concerns about adding that driveway on Upper Sheep Pasture. “It really jams up — it’s not a good corner,” Hoffman said. “This could be one of those last-mile warehouses where you have those trucks coming in and out, and the quality of life for people who live on those streets is really going to be impacted.”
Shea said Northville does not have a contract in place for use of the proposed warehouses, so it’s not decided who the final user would be and what the warehouses would be used for.
He added that Northville sent its notification letter even more broadly than required by town code out of a desire to interact with the neighbors, and indicated the company has heard the concerns about a northern driveway. “When we did our traffic analysis,” he said, “it came out that having the entrance on Sheep Pasture Road would actually lessen the impact on traffic to the area, rather than pushing everything to Belle Mead Road.”
But Hoffman, who is also a water quality advocate and has raised concerns about Northville in the past, wishes the gas company would be more willing to work with community representatives, especially in light of its environmental record. In 1988, Northville revealed it had suffered a slow gas leak of about 1.2 million gallons of gasoline into the ground at the Setauket property, which, according to news articles at the time, led to years of remediation, $25 million in damages and repairs and a $7.2 million settlement with homeowners who said their property values had declined in the aftermath of the spill.
“They have a terrible environmental history,” Hoffman said. “Why do they want to be so confrontational to the community and to the town?”
For his part, Kornreich does not see a problem with new warehouses per se, as long as trucks are not funneled onto the residential Sheep Pasture Road. He said warehouses are within Northville’s industrial zoning rights, and they could help diversify the area’s economy while providing good-paying jobs.
“You’ve got to have some industrial space around, and that’s the space for it,” Kornreich said. “You’re not cutting down trees, and it’s on land that’s not being used for anything else.”
Traffic disruption is only one of the concerns for nearby residents, though. Gillian Maser, who lives nearby on Upper Sheep Pasture Road and within sight distance of the large gas tanks, said she is also concerned about the environmental impact and noise pollution in a relatively quiet, family community.
“I’m trying to stay as objective as possible, but there are definitely some red flags on this one,” Maser said. “With 77 tractor trailer bays, there could be a lot of noise in the middle of the night, with trucks loading and unloading.”
Maser said she and her husband are hoping to attend the March 25 meeting.
The majority wins in a democracy
We are about to vote to confirm or change the people who comprise the majority of state and federal elected officials. Unfortunately, most of our information about the people who are running for office we get from the television news media, which is motivated by building an audience that they can sell to advertisers. This is true for virtually all news media outlets.
he owners and senior management of the news media know that “hate and discontent” builds the largest audience so they emphasize “hate and discontent” in their reporting. These people don’t want their audience to be reasonable and rational — they want you to be angry. They want you to march on the Capitol when the vote doesn’t come out your way. Don’t give them what they want.
We live in a democracy so, right or wrong, the majority wins. If you don’t like the rules, get off your butt and engage in the hard work that it takes to change them. That requires ignoring the media and learning how to change the state and federal rules. The most important of these rules are called the constitutions. It requires getting involved, at the grassroots level, in picking who will ultimately run for office. Accept that in this endeavor, as I said before, in a democracy, the majority wins.
Francis G. Gibbons Sr.
Terryville
Quality education is the answer, not grade reorganization
Anthony Dattero in his Opinion piece entitled ”Preserving what works in 3V school district” [The Village Times Herald, March 14] finds that “the notion of transitioning to a common middle school model is, frankly, mind-boggling and irresponsible.” I do not.
Preserving what works in the Three Village school district is no different from what works in any school district and has no relation to grade organization. What works well begins with a capable teacher with every student. Add capable support staff, effective administrators, budget support and an engaged community providing safe learning places — they make quality education possible.
I was with Commack school district from 1973-88 during which time the pupil enrollment fell from 15,000 students to 6,000. Thirteen of 21 schools were closed and the grade organization changed from K-6, 7-9, 10-12 to its current K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 organization. There were hostile public meetings, threatened lawsuits and negative press. There also was a resolute board of education that made wise decisions about present and future space needs.
The change in grade organization did not change the quality of education in Commack. It would not do so in Three Village either.
Forrest McMullen
South Setauket
Supporting local journalism
The New York Local Journalism Sustainability Act would provide tax credits to local community based newspapers for hiring local news reporters. It is important to lobby Gov. Kathy Hochul [D], state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins [D], Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie [D], along with your local state senator and assemblymember to support this critical legislation. Most communities are down to one local daily or weekly newspaper. Newspapers have to deal with increasing costs for newsprint, delivery and distribution as well as reduced advertising revenues and competition from the internet and other news information sources.
Daily newspapers concentrate on international, Washington, Albany, business and sports stories. They have few reporters covering local neighborhood news. Weekly newspapers fill the void for coverage of local community news.
I’m grateful that you have afforded me the opportunity to express my views via Letters to the Editor, along with others who may have different opinions on the issues of the day.
Albany needs to join us in supporting weekly community newspapers. Readers patronize advertisers, who provide the revenues to help keep the papers in business. Let us hope there continues to be room for everyone, including the Times of Huntington-Northport, Times of Smithtown, Times of Middle Country, Port Times Record, Village Times Herald and Village Beacon Record.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
Try to be more responsible
In regard to the letter, “Women are not cattle,” published on March 14. Being a woman, I wholeheartedly agree with this. Yet, regardless where anyone stands on abortion, the last sentence totally lost me by quoting lesson No. 1: “Try not to be born with a uterus.” Heavy subjects regarding pro-life, anti-choice, etc., should not be taken in jest. Due diligence should have been taken into consideration before blatant sarcasm was quoted with lesson No. 1.
It would have been more admirable and respectful to have simply stated, “Try to be more responsible” — and not get into the program “Financial Literacy for Women” sponsored by Assemblyman Ed Flood [R-Port Jefferson] at the Comsewogue Library by using the venue as a prop or to get an agenda and/or point of view across.
Rhoda Angelier
Coram
Potential impact of school enrollment decline
The article, “Residents debate future of Port Jefferson School District at civic meeting,” in Port Times Record March 14 gives the incorrect impression that resident Gail Sternberg delivered a presentation at a Port Jefferson Civic Association meeting “advocating drastic measures such as closing the school district.”
We attended that meeting and Ms. Sternberg never advocated closing or defunding the school district. Nor did anyone else present. There is an audio recording of the entire meeting that confirms this.
In discussing ways to address declining district enrollment, Ms. Sternberg suggested retaining the elementary school and hopefully the middle school, while exploring sending the high school students to a neighboring district on a tuition basis should enrollment fall to such a low level that the high school would be unable to offer a viable academic, athletic and social experience. The current district enrollment in the Port Jefferson elementary grades suggests the real possibility of this, with eventual high school graduating classes of less than 50 students.
It is important that all Port Jefferson School District residents be aware of the potential impact of the enrollment decline in this district as it is also adversely affecting most of Suffolk County school districts — including all of our neighboring ones — as Newsday recently reported and updated Feb. 12. The Board of Education should be proactive in examining ways to address this. Hopefully, this meeting will motivate the school board to begin this necessary dialogue with everyone in the community. be.
Robert Nicols, Darcel Weldon, Holly W. Fils-Aime, Molly Mason, April Quiggle
(all Port Jefferson)
A correction — and the challenges faced by Port Jeff school district
I am writing to correct the record, as an article in this paper misrepresented a report I gave at a recent Port Jefferson Civic Association meeting [“Residents debate future of Port Jefferson School District at civic meeting,” Port Times Record, March 14]. The article claimed I was “advocating for drastic measures such as closing the school district.” That is patently false. I never said a word about closing the district, nor did anyone else at that meeting.
My presentation was primarily focused on the alarmingly low student enrollment projected for the high school in coming years, and the fact that the district has yet to address this with residents — despite repeated calls to do so. I also suggested that while we should keep both the elementary and middle schools here, we might explore the possibility of tuitioning out only our high school students to a neighboring district, in the event that these enrollment projections prove true. I did not advocate for a merger, which could be more costly and complicated.
The reporter asserted that the information I cited was from documents I “allegedly” received from the Freedom of Information Act. I actually had those documents with me but she didn’t request to view them before reporting this story.
From the FOIA data, as of October 2023, present class sizes from pre-K to fourth grade reveal the projected size of each future graduating class: pre-K: 35 students; kindergarten: 49; first grade: 39; second grade: 49; third grade: 50; fourth grade: 55.
Based on these figures, projected total high school enrollment is also concerning: fall 2031: 193 students; fall 2032: 187; fall 2033: 172.
I understand there is a great sentimentality for the high school. However, many alumni that speak so fondly of their experience attended when there were 250 or more students in their graduating class. We are now facing a situation where there likely won’t be that number in the entire school. The vitality of the school will not be the same — and neither will the number of academic, club and athletic offerings. I believe most Port Jefferson teenagers are ready by high school to attend a larger academic environment, especially one close to home and with their Port Jefferson pals coming with them.
Our school district faces many unprecedented challenges and only by the school board and community working together cooperatively will we find solutions that best serve our students and residents.
Gail Sternberg
Port Jefferson
Editor’s note:
We have now seen the FOIA data and can remove the word alleged with relation to Gail Sternberg. The recording of the meeting indicates remarks to another attendee suggesting some aspects of the district can be mitigated without advocating such. We express our apologies for any misunderstanding or discomfort our words may have caused.
School district should be more forthcoming
We were pleasantly surprised to see so many fellow residents with diverse viewpoints at the Port Jeff Civic Association’s March 11 meeting about the school district. Did the conversation get heated at times? Yes. But while there was passionate disagreement on how to achieve what’s best for our students, there was no conflict about the vital importance of the goal itself.
That said, we were disappointed by the paper’s coverage of the event. The article wrongly claimed that Gail Sternberg was advocating for “drastic measures” like closing the school district. Neither Sternberg nor anyone else at the meeting ever said that. It also cast doubt on the validity of the declining student enrollment numbers Sternberg presented. A follow-up call from the reporter could have verified the numbers.
The article omitted to mention Bob Nicols’ presentation regarding the potential impact of declining revenue from LIPA on our school taxes. His research indicates that every $100 paid in school taxes this year could escalate to $126 by the end of the glide path in 2027-28, with a worst-case scenario reaching $195 if LIPA successfully grieves its taxes. Nicols based his numbers on data sourced from four documents, including the glide path agreement and three reports by LIPA. He also prefaced his work with the urgent call for further research from the school board to prepare for various scenarios. Despite this, his numbers were dismissed as “scaremongering” during a school board meeting.
While our role as a civic association is to provide a forum to discuss issues of importance to the community, as a volunteer board we need our members to bring their research, viewpoints and vision to the discussion, as Sternberg and Nicols did.
To address school district challenges effectively, we need accurate, accessible data. Yet, obtaining essential documents like expenditure reports and enrollment figures often require FOIA requests and waiting, thereby hindering public debate.
Therefore, we urge the school district to be more forthcoming with the entire community, not just those with children in the district. If we work together and continue to engage in open and honest debate, we will find solutions that best serve our students and residents.
Our next meeting, which will focus on the future of the LIPA power plant, will be April 11, 6:30 p.m., at the Port Jeff Library. All are welcome.
Ana Hozyainova, President
Kathleen Mc Lane, Outreach Officer
Port Jefferson Civic Association
By Aramis Khosronejad
Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson hosted its sewcond annual St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. During the event, students and faculty volunteered to shave their hair in solidarity with all those who are struggling with or have already gone into remission from a childhood cancer.
In addition to those who “brave the shave” during this event, Port Jefferson high school helped fundraise by selling merchandise or simply accepting donations. All the money raised was donated to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, there are more than 300,000 children diagnosed globally with cancer each year. In the U.S. alone, more children die due to cancer than any other disease. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an international organization dedicated to funding research for different kinds of childhood cancer to help accelerate and improve this type of research.
The principal of the high school, John Ruggero, is passionate about hosting St. Baldrick’s events annually and exposing the high school to these kinds of events.
“I want to get it so it occurs every year, so that lots of students and faculty and families, and people off the streets, come to donate,” he said.
Ruggero has been hosting St. Baldrick events for “over a decade,” he said. The principal is a firm believer that the most important education “takes place outside of the four walls” of a classroom.
“When you have a philanthropic mindset, it really opens your mind out to what’s happening around us,” he said. Ruggero pointed out that these events can show students the most important lesson: If possible, doing things for others “should come first.”
“What happens is that kids who start to see that people rally behind these [events] become a little more confident in sharing their stories and want to get the word out,” Ruggero explained. He elaborated on how he wanted students to learn “the impact their actions have on others’ lives.”
The event was also supported and promoted by a 16-year-old student, Kyle Martin. When he was a child, Martin was fighting cancer and has been in remission for almost been eight years.
Martin approached Ruggero and expressed his own desire for the school to host such an event, and the two worked together to bring the dream alive. Ruggero expressed his admiration for Martin’s mindset and ideas, explaining how because of his remission, Martin has been inspired to help other kids who are battling cancer. It’s safe to say that St. Baldrick’s will become a powerful tradition that Port Jefferson will adopt in future years.
By Samantha Rutt
On March 14, the Town of Brookhaven board met for its monthly meeting. Proceedings began at 3 p.m. as opposed to the usual later start time, as the board has now taken the role of the planning committee [See “Town of Brookhaven board amends town code and serves as the planning board,” March 7].
Supervisor Dan Panico (R) noted, “Welcome to Brookhaven Town Hall for our Town Board meeting, we start earlier now as we have taken on the planning board matters. We are now embarking on the first meeting of the joint town board, planning board series — the new process in the Town of Brookhaven.”
Following Panico’s brief statement, the meeting kicked off with a presentation by Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point), recognizing the Rocky Point Cheerleading team for their National Championship title back in February.
Also at the meeting, the Town Board voted to approve several motions including:
During the meeting, the board voted to move several motions, all information can be found at the Town of Brookhaven’s website, brookhavenny.portal.civicclerk.com.
In other news, on March 15, Panico announced the 2024 Great Brookhaven Cleanup, a program the town has hosted for nearly 15 years. The cleanup will take place on Saturday, May 18. Residents, community organizations and local businesses are among those who have participated in the past and look to contribute in this year’s event.
Panico explained that the town spent more than $162,000 last year on roadside litter cleanup. Those who elect to participate in this year’s program will gather with their respective groups in their areas and clean the roadside.
“Keeping our neighborhoods clean is very important to us. It gives us all a sense of pride to look out and appreciate the beauty of where we live,” Panico said.
To register, visit www.brookhavenny.gov or call 631-451-TOWN (8696).
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