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Ron Hoffman with LIM’s Sarah Abruzzi, Regina Miano and Neil Watson. Photo from LIM

The Long Island Museum, located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook, kicked off the holiday season with its premier fundraising event, the annual Holiday Celebration Gala and Silent Auction, on Nov. 9 with over 150 people in attendance. The tradition raises funds necessary to support the museum’s award-winning educational programs and exhibitions. 

Betsy Palmedo and Neil Watson. Photo from LIM

The museum’s History Museum was transformed into a decorative winter wonderland with an enchanting display of hundreds of decorative works by local artists and artisans, including ceramics, paintings and a beautiful selection of home goods and fine art. 

Now in its 26th year, the event honored Ron Hoffman of Bliss Restaurant in East Setauket with the Community Leader Award and North Shore Pro Musica with the Patron of the Arts Award.

Hoffman has been dedicated to the Three Village community since becoming a local business owner in 2003 when he first purchased Village Bistro. “Ron Hoffman has the ability to make everyone feel like family when they walk through the door of his restaurant,” said Neil Watson, executive director of the LIM. “But his generous nature goes beyond his business establishment. Ron has been a loyal supporter of the museum for many years. He truly puts his heart and soul into Bliss’ surrounding community.”

Founded in 1980, North Shore Pro Musica has been bringing live chamber music performances to the Three Village community for the past four decades and has been recognized for innovative programming and diversity of repertoire.

“I’m so grateful to the leadership of North Shore Pro Musica,” commented Watson. “Not only does this group continue to make a contribution to the cultural life of Long Island but North Shore Pro Musica is also making the Long Island Museum a destination for an entirely new audience.” 

Betsy Palmedo, founding member and director of North Shore Pro Musica accepted the award on the group’s behalf.

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Construction continues on the Brockport apartment complex. Photo by Kyle Barr

Village residents living near the construction of The Brookport apartment complex on the old Cappy’s Carpets site have been hearing the hammering of pilings going in, signaling construction starting on the long-awaited project.

Some residents have complained about the noise of the pilings hammered into the ground, comparing the noise to what residents heard when the original Shipyard apartment complex was being constructed. 

Rob Gitto, of The Gitto Group, the developer behind the project, said that, weather permitting, the significant construction noise should cease by around Wednesday, Nov. 27. 

“We are also very sensitive to the noise issue as our office building is on the north side, adjacent to the project and our Barnum House/CVS property is located directly south and adjacent of the project,” Gitto said in an email.

He said the next phase of the project will include helical piles, which are drilled into the ground and make significantly less noise.

Alison LaPointe, the special village attorney for the Planning and Building department, said the developer had received the project’s site plans after sending them to another firm for additional review in October. The planning board received the site plans and had issued the developer a building permit last week. She confirmed the developer’s projection of finishing hammering the pilings by at least the end of the week.

“They are making good progress, no snags thus far,” she said.

 

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Local Union 154 workers held a protest in front of Brookhaven Town Hall Nov.19. Photo by David Luces

Hauppauge-based Local Union 154 workers protested outside of Brookhaven Town Hall Nov. 19, disputing the Town of Brookhaven’s decision to hire another contractor to work on roofing of the government building. 

The protesters who stood at the entrance to Independence Hill did not want to speak on the record, but said they were protesting because town officials hired nonunionized workers for the ongoing roof work being done at Town Hall. Brookhaven has ongoing projects to put solar panels on the Town Hall roof.

Local 154 did not respond to multiple requests for comment by press time. 

The contractor, Ronkonkoma-based Statewide Roofing, has been performing commercial and industrial roofing on the Island since 1983, according to its website. Notable projects include replacing the roof and deck waterproofing at Stony Brook University South Stadium. The company is a member of the National Roofing Contractors Association and North East Roofing Contractors Association. 

Gerry Curtin, president and part owner of the company, believes his workers are more than qualified to do the work and said the problem is with Local 154, who “wants everyone to go through them.” 

Curtin said they have long resisted unionization. 

“We’ve been around 36 years — we pay our workers prevailing wage and we’ve had apprenticeship program for over 25 years, we have done a lot of public work [over the years],” he said. 

The president of the company said they do have labor union agreements and take on other laborers if needed.

A Brookhaven spokesperson said they make sure the union/contractor they hire offers a prevailing wage and has an appropriate apprenticeship program in place. 

The spokesperson said work being done on the roof is part of the town’s solar energy program. The town put out a request for bids for the roof work and got a response from five different companies. They ultimately went with Statewide Roofing, which came in $1 million less than the next lowest bid. 

 

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Northport district officials have found an alternative location for its bus depot. Photo from Close Northport MS Facebook page

At a board of education meeting Nov. 21, Robert Banzer, Superintendent of Schools, recommended to the board that they seek other fueling alternatives of the two 4,000 gallon tanks and look at options to move buses to another location. The district has already begun researching options for alternative tanks locations and placement of buses, according to the superintendent.

In addition,  a plan will presented at the December 12 board of education meeting.

The decision comes less than a week after a TBR News Media article disclosed that the district was in violation of laws governing petroleum bulk storage.

On Nov. 25, the NYS Department of Health re-inspected the fueling tanks and indicated to the district that the previous citations were corrected.

In a letter to the Northport School Community, Banzer said they would:

  • Conduct refresher training on the latest guidelines for tank maintenance and inspections
  • Schedule periodic tests of all tanks throughout the districts with an outside environmental testing firm
  • Ensure consistent and documented follow up with the Department of Health when seeking follow up inspections
  • Formalize internal communications which includes the superintendent and board of education.

Similarly, the board of education approved two other recommendations brought forward by the subcommittee:

  • Authorizing that the district request the Suffolk County Department of Health perform a follow-up inspection to their May 2017 visit and its subsequent inspection report.
  • Authorize follow-up testing of indoor air quality to follow the same protocols as the August 2018 assessment as well as air quality testing in individual rooms.

 

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Map of 1,4 Dioxane across Long Island by highest level detected within each water district. Photo from Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Suffolk County residents are being asked to reach into their wallets to help the water authority deal with the ongoing presence of 1,4-dioxane in local groundwater, which is the sole source of drinking water on Long Island. 

The Suffolk County Water Authority announced Nov. 22 that the board approved a $20 quarterly fee added onto customers bills starting Jan. 1, 2020. The bill will go toward the cost of developing and operating treatment systems for filtering 1,4-dioxane and other perfluorinated compounds PFOS and PFOA in anticipation of New York State mandating such regulations.

“As we’ve said since state officials first began considering the regulation of 1,4-dioxane and perfluorinated compounds, we fully support taking whatever measures are necessary to ensure our customers continue to have a drinking water supply that is among the best in the country,” said SCWA CEO Jeffrey Szabo. “But, as we’ve also said, these regulations come at a high cost. We need the funds that will be raised by the quarterly fee to develop the treatment systems to meet the new standards.”

In an October presentation to Suffolk County legislators, SCWA proposed installing 31 new advanced treatment systems at a number of sites where the levels of 1,4-dioxane are higher than the state proposed limit, which is 1 part per billion.

Water officials and environmental activists have made 1,4-dioxane a topic of concern this year, pointing out that it is a likely carcinogen with links to liver and kidney damage after a lifetime of exposure.

If the state limits 1,4-dioxane to 1 part per billion and PFOS and PFOA at 10 parts per trillion, the water authority will have to put into service 56 new advanced oxidation process treatments, and 20 new granular activated carbon systems. The total cost for all these systems is expected to exceed $177 million over the next five to six years. 

The $80 yearly charge is expected to cover those costs over time. The water authority services approximately 1.2 million Suffolk residents, including most parts of the North Shore. 

 

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SUNY Empire State College cut the ribbon on its new $14 million Long Island campus in Selden on Nov. 13. 

Located at 407 College Road, the 6.6-acre learning center features public nature trails that will connect to Suffolk County’s comprehensive hiking and biking trail network, and provides students with cutting-edge learning facilities for both in-person and distance learning. It will also be equipped with performing arts spaces for programming under the college’s Arts Empower initiative. 

SUNY Empire currently serves more than 1,300 students in Suffolk County through both online and in-person instruction. 

“We’re proud to offer this incredible new learning facility and beautiful campus to our students on Long Island as well as the broader community,” said SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras. “I’m grateful to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the State Legislature, including the effort of Senator Kenneth LaValle, and the leaders in Suffolk County who helped make this happen. We look forward to making this campus a hub for both our students and the community, so stay tuned for upcoming events.” 

 Photo by Heidi Sutton

“This new state-of-the-art campus will connect thousands of Long Island students with world-class learning opportunities for decades to come,” said NY State Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. “When we provide New Yorkers with 21st century learning facilities like the SUNY Empire State College Long Island campus, we are helping them reach their full potential and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow, today.” 

“With cutting edge technology and instructional methods, SUNY Empire under the leadership of President Malatras is committed to providing educational opportunities for working professionals across Long Island,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “Our new Long Island hub will expand those opportunities, foster innovation, and build community partnerships, all of which advance SUNY’s broad mission of connecting students to an affordable, high-quality education that meets their specific needs. Thank you, Governor Cuomo, and everyone involved in making today a reality.”  

Senator Ken LaValle, ranking minority member of the NY State Senate Higher Education Committee, said, “This Grand Opening is a culmination of hard work of many people over a number of years. I’m excited that the Long Island Campus will bring leading-edge technology here for SUNY Empire students. The state-of-the-art Immersive Cloud learning will enable real time interaction between students and faculty between campuses and expand learning opportunities. This facility will meet critical needs for SUNY Empire students across Long Island. I am pleased to be a part of the process.” 

“With the grand opening of the SUNY Empire State College Selden Campus, students of all ages and background across Suffolk will now have the opportunity to study and learn at one of New York’s premier educational institutions right in their backyard,” said County Executive Steve Bellone. “We have already begun to partner with Empire State College and I look forward to continuing our work to ensure Suffolk remains a hub of innovation and higher learning.”    

“Having SUNY Empire State College here in Suffolk County, and more specifically in my legislative district, is a very welcomed addition to our community,” stated Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore. “Changes in lifestyle and technology have made education more accessible to nontraditional students, and I am grateful for the collaborative efforts of all involved with bringing this state-of-the-art facility to Selden.” 

Pictured in top photo, from left, Erin Young, Selden faculty academic coordinator; Ellyn Okvist, SUNY Empire State College student; Marion Conway, chair of the SUNY Empire State College Foundation Board SUNY; Kevin LaValle, Town of Brookhaven council member; Gregory Blower II, director of communications for Sen. Kenneth LaValle; Jim Malatras, president of SUNY Empire State College; Thomas Muratore, county legislator; Rob Basedow, SUNY Empire State College student; Jason Richberg, clerk of the Suffolk County Legislature; Robert Haelen, senior vice chancellor for Capital Facilities and general manager of the State University Construction Fund; Diane Conard, interim director of facilities and capital projects at SUNY Empire State College; Dennise Waters, SUNY Empire State College student; and Meg Benke, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Empire State College.

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From left, Mia Cottone, Caroline Woo and Abbi Sasson hold a few wreaths that they made. Photo from Troop 551

Three local Girl Scouts have turned their Silver Award project into a continuous act of giving.

The girls install birdhouses at Stony Brook Cancer Center. Photo from Lise Sasson

Caroline Woo, Mia Cottone and Abbi Sasson, all from Troop 551, decided for their Silver Award project that they would build birdhouses for the patients at Stony Brook Cancer Center. Because the project was involved, and would take some time, the girls decided while their project was in the works they would lift patients’ spirits with handmade wreaths.

The group learned the craft from Carmen Tornos, a professor with the Renaissance School of Medicine, and the completed decorations were hung in the common patient areas. After a few months, the hospital raffled the wreaths to the cancer center staff to show appreciation.

The three said they enjoyed designing the wreaths so much that they decided to continue making them to raise money for the nonprofit Room4Love based in East Setauket, which provides bedroom makeovers for children with cancer.

The girls, who are all ninth-graders at P.J. Gelinas Junior High School, said the Silver Award project, where each Scout must create something that can have a lasting impact, requires Scouts to put in 50 hours of service. In addition to the birdhouses and wreaths, the girls put together goody bags for the patients and handed out birdseed for them to go outside, feed the birds and get some fresh air. The three said they chose the cancer center to help older patients, who are sometimes overlooked.

“We really learned that just little things can make a lasting impact on people’s lives,” Abbi said.

The other girls agreed.

“Even the small things that you don’t think matter to anyone, they do matter to a lot of people,” Caroline said.

The Girls Scouts said their parents have been a big help in providing materials for the wreaths, which they have been making all year round for every season. When it comes to Room4Love, the girls have been making the decorations for the nonprofit to raffle off, or they create them for family and friends who in turn donate to the organization. Mia was already familiar with Room4Love, which was started by her cousins, Maggie and Bella Diehl, eight years ago.

“It’s a good organization, and it helps a lot of kids,” Mia said.

Girl Scout Leader Sonya Cottone, Mia’s mother, said that she and co-leader Anne Hansen-Crowley are proud of the girls, who are willing to help out as much as they can.

“It makes us really proud, and we feel lucky to have a great group of kids,” she said.

The Girl Scouts work on wreaths.

Lucy Diehl, from Room4Love, said her daughters Maggie and Bella, despite being away at college, are still actively running the nonprofit, and she said all of them are humbled and grateful for all the support those in the Three Village area have given.

She added she’s not surprised that young people like the Girl Scouts are helping out.

“We live in a really good community that is always looking to give and looking to help, and certainly these kids, by making these wreaths, are doing just that,” Diehl said.

Eydie Woo, Caroline’s mother, said she credits the Girl Scouts for laying down good values for her daughter and friends. She said while the girls didn’t work directly with the patients, they did tour the hospital and saw the pediatric side, as well as the adult side, which had an impact on them.

“They’ve realized how fortunate they are, and that they’re able to do things like that and give back because there are kids who are really sick and they want to help them,” she said.

As for a large project such as the Silver Award, the girls had some advice to share.

“Even if it seems like getting started is hard, once you get in, you see just how rewarding and how almost eye-opening it is to realize the impact of what you can have on the world,” Abbi said.

For more information about Room4Love, visit www.room4love.org.

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“Untitled,” Centerport, watercolor and pencil on paper, by Arthur G. Dove is featured in the Huntington’s Own section of the exhibit. Image courtesy of Heckscher Museum
'Autumn I', 1967, oil on canvas by Fairfield Porter
'Huntington'. c. 1905, oil on board by Guy Carleton Wiggins
'Berthe Morisot & Me, c. 1970, collage by Miriam Schapiro
'Tree', brass, by Mary Gallery
'Fall Flowers in a Watering Can', 1949 oil on canvas, by David Burliuk

By Melissa Arnold

In 1867, August Heckscher left his native Germany and, like so many others of that time, embarked on a journey to start a new life of prosperity in the United States. He immediately set to work mining coal for his cousin’s business, all the while studying English. Heckscher’s efforts led him to a lucrative career in iron and zinc mining, and he ultimately became a multimillionaire.

Heckscher was well-known for his philanthropy, and in 1920, he gave back to the town of Huntington with the establishment of Heckscher Park. The beautiful setting of the park became home to the Heckscher Museum of Art, which was founded with a gift of 185 works from Heckscher’s personal collection including art from the Renaissance, the Hudson River School and early modernist American art.

The museum has since weathered the Great Depression, eras of war and peace and changing artistic tastes in the community. That early collection has blossomed to include more than 2,000 pieces that include many styles, media and historical time periods from artists all over the world.

Today, the Heckscher Museum of Art is looking ahead to 2020 and honoring its home with a museum-wide exhibit entitled Locally Sourced: Celebrating Long Island Artists.

At the helm for this exhibit is the Heckscher Museum’s new curator, Karli Wurzelbacher, who joined the staff in August. Wurzelbacher studied art history in college and spent the better part of a decade in and around Manhattan before coming out to Long Island.

“We wanted to take a broad view of all the artists who have visited and worked on Long Island at some point in their lifetime,” she said. “In this exhibit, we’ve represented more than 130 years of art in all styles, from very abstract to very representational. It’s about all the different perspectives that Long Island has inspired. I think everyone here has been looking forward to our 100th anniversary and wanting to commemorate it in a special way. The museum has always been so supportive of artists who have lived and worked here, and it’s part of our mission to preserve and share the history of Long Island through art.”

The process of planning Locally Sourced was already underway when Wurzelbacher arrived on Long Island. She acknowledged that an exhibit that encompasses the whole museum was quite the undertaking, but it allowed her to dive deep into the Heckscher’s permanent collection.

“Curating gives the opportunity to tell stories and create narratives visually using objects, and to help people make connections between artists,” said Wurzelbacher. “Some of the artists in this exhibit were teachers or students to other [artists], and you can see that in their work.”

The exhibit is divided into four sections, each offering a unique view of Long Island. They include Huntington’s Own featuring the works of renowned painters George Grosz, Arthur Dove, Stan Brodsky, Mary Callery and many more who live or lived and worked around Huntington; East End Exchanges which explores the connections and influences of artists of the East End, including Fairfield Porter and Jane Wilson; Women Artists which features the work of female artists who have made a profound impact on their field, such as Miriam Schapiro, Betty Parsons and Esphyr Slobodkina with a nod to the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing women the right to vote; and Landscapes that trace the changes in environment and in art throughout the Island’s history. This gallery includes 19th-century images from Thomas Moran, to modern works by Ty Stroudsburg who interpret Long Island’s land, sea and air.

The exhibit includes work in a variety of media, including painting, photography, sculpture and mixed projects. In all, more than 100 pieces represent the work of 89 artists — just a fraction of the museum’s permanent collection, Wurzelbacher said.

Visitors to the museum will have a chance to weigh in on the places and things that they believe make Long Island special. Stop by and leave a pin on the 15-foot graphic of Long Island in the Huntington exhibit. The graphic will also show where the exhibit’s artists lived.

“Artists have been escaping the city to come out to the country and take part in the natural life here from very early on. To see the rugged terrain and vegetation of the North Shore, it’s easy to understand why artists would be drawn here,” said Michael Schantz, the museum’s president and CEO. “Ultimately this collection belongs to the community, and everyone should be proud that there are so many artists that have called Long Island home. We want to celebrate that.”

The Heckscher Museum, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington will present Locally Sourced: Celebrating Long Island Artists from Nov. 23 through March 15, 2020. The museum is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission discounts are available for children, students, members of the military, first responders and residents of the Town of Huntington. For more information, call 631-351-3250 or visit www.heckscher.org.

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The Great All Nighter is back at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington. On Friday, Nov. 29 the theater will host a Black Friday Flea Market/Bazaar from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. with dozens of vendors selling oddities, rare albums, artwork, handmade jewelry, books, unique clothing and more. Come hunt for unique gifts while supporting local businesses and artists. For more information, visit www.thegreatallnighter.net.

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Stacy Davidson

Calling all Santas and Hanukkah Harrys or those who just want to help make a difference this holiday season! 

For the past 15 years, Stacy from Stacy’s Finds/Pattern Finders in Port Jefferson has been part of a group of everyday people that answer the direct clothing needs and toy requests of 9,000 of Long Island’s less fortunate children living in homeless shelters, temporary foster care, Child Protective Services and domestic violence safe houses every year — and the numbers are still growing. Last year her group answered the needs of 50 of the children.

Stacy will have actual letters from the children with their clothing sizes, requirements and toy requests. You can purchase one item or fulfill the needs of a child’s entire clothing and toy wish list.

You may also drop off any children’s new clothing and new toys or gift cards for donations at the shop at 128 East Main St. in Port Jefferson. For more information, call 631-928-5158.

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