Community

A proposed sketch of what the Hallock Avenue-Main Street intersection would look like if the plan were brought to fruition. Image from hub study

During a Three Village Civic Association meeting June 5, Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) provided a look into the future of Port Jefferson Station.

In 2014 the Brookhaven town board approved a study for a potential hub project for Port Jefferson Station, specifically in the area of Route 112 north of Route 347 and south of the Long Island Rail Road train tracks near Hallock Avenue. The goal of the study and community-visioning document was to gauge public interest and provide in-depth plans for what a walkable, downtown Main Street residence and commercial retail space might look like in Port Jeff Station. In the time since the study was conducted, Cartright, who has played an instrumental role in the progress of the plan, which preceded her taking office, since taking over, said a steering committee has been appointed to continue moving the project forward. Cartright said in an email the town has been working with the steering committee to discuss potential projects and proposals with landowners in the area.

“The community has expressed a desire for revitalization in the study area in Port Jefferson Station/Terryville,” she said in an email through spokeswoman Jennifer Martin. “From a town perspective, we agree with the community that this area calls for a flourishing and vibrant ‘walkable’ downtown that has an appropriate mix of commercial and residential. Both the town and the community wish to see a smoother transition from Port Jefferson Village to the station in that corridor.”

Cartright added the next step in the process is to determine the compatibility of landowners’ visions for the future of the area with the plans laid out in the hub study-visioning document.

Lee Koppelman, a longtime Suffolk County planner and a current professor at Stony Brook University, submitted a letter in support of the proposed project.

“The overall goal sought for the corridor is to achieve improvements that will transform this core of the hamlet into a destination center with improved, coordinated architectural design; safe walkable ambience; and the preservation of historical sites,” he said.

A survey was sent out to 6,500 residences in 2013 to assess if the community would be behind a project like this. Some responses included “the idea for a real downtown is great,” “the area is terrible — clean it up!” and “beautification is always welcome.” Others suggested building affordable housing would be preferable, congestion in the area is already excessive and abandoned buildings should not be replaced with brand new ones.

In the survey residents were able to weigh in on aspects of the project they might like to see. Of those who responded to the questionnaire, 82 percent said they wanted to see a historic looking downtown area, 92 percent were in favor of public Wi-Fi and 87 percent would be in favor of a grocery store. A vast majority of those who responded also said they would not patronize stores in the area if they were required to pay for parking — about 89 percent.

Port Jefferson Village secured grant money from New York State and Suffolk County earlier this year to improve the train station, parking surrounding the train station and to fix blighted buildings in the area just north of the station on Main Street.

Reporting contributed by Rita J. Egan.

The owners of a historic mansion in Poquott, above, are doing their best to prevent land developers from purchasing it. Photo from Chris Ryon

The owners of a historic mansion in Poquott are hoping history won’t be lost when they sell the home which their family has maintained for more than 70 years.

Located on Van Brunt Manor Road, the mansion, which was built in 1893 and is part of the Benner-Foos-Ceparano Estate, was added to both the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in August 2016 along with a neighboring farmhouse built in 1895 on Osprey Lane. The first homes in Poquott to be added to the registries, they are surrounded by houses constructed in the mid-to-late 20th century.

Rosemarie Sabatelli, who owns the mansion along with her sisters Felicia and Christina, said it has been difficult to find a buyer. In addition to interested parties offering less than the nearly $4 million asking price, Sabatelli said another factor is the family doesn’t want to sell the mansion to a land developer who may tear down the home, which is structurally sound. Most recently, she said she was wary of a potential buyer who wasn’t concerned with securing a house inspection, which led her to believe he was a developer who had no intent in keeping the home intact.

Chris Ryon, village historian for both Poquott and Port Jefferson, said while the mansion is on the registries for historic places, the recognition only protects it from various types of federal construction such as a new roadway, but not developers.

“It was my grandmother’s dream house so I feel like it’s ours,” Sabatelli said. “My mission is to make sure her legacy and the house go on.”

Ryon said local historians as well as representatives from the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities have come to look at the mansion.

A photo from the early 1900s of the Poquott mansion when it was used as a summer home. Photo from Port Jefferson Village archive

“We want as many eyes on it as we can,” he said. “We want people to know that this house is here and it’s significant.”

When the mansion was built in 1893, Charles Benner, a New York City lawyer, was searching for a summer retreat where he could spend his days fishing and yachting, according to Ryon. It was a time when Long Island was less hectic than the bustling city. Two years later the farmhouse was constructed where the Benner family’s servants lived.

The historian said the house is architecturally significant as Charles Alonzo Rich and Hugh Lamb designed it. The duo were known for their work with President Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill in Cove Neck near Oyster Bay as well as many of the buildings at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

A shingle-style structure with asymmetrical elements such as end gables, the mansion features a bowed footprint that overlooks Port Jefferson Harbor.

“I haven’t found anything with that shape to it,” Ryon said. “So it’s unique.”

A banker by the name of Ferguson Foos bought the property in 1909 and maintained ownership until 1944 when Sabatelli’s grandparents, Joseph and Rose Ceparano, bought it. She said the life of her grandmother, who was a seamstress, was a rags-to-riches tale.

After hearing stories about America, Rose married so as to be able to emigrate from Italy to the United States in 1928, since she would not be able to come here as a single woman. When the marriage failed, she married her second husband, Joseph. Soon after they bought the Benner home, Rose opened the original Schooner Restaurant in Port Jefferson, the eatery known for being a converted sailing vessel, and owned it for a few years.

Sabatelli and her sisters would visit from Flushing, Queens in the summers and play and run around the three floors of the mansion as well as the 18 acres of land. She said coming to her grandmother’s home in the 1970s was like being in a sanctuary. In 1980 after her father’s death, Sabatelli, along with her sisters and mother Mary moved in with her grandmother, who died in 1989.

The mansion remained in the family after Rose’s death, and Mary became known in the area as a philanthropist, humanitarian and businesswoman, who organized many events at the home including fundraisers for John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and the Suffolk County Police Emerald Society Pipe Band.

Sabatelli and Ryon said they think the mansion represents a time when the affluent would vacation on Long Island, and it’s important to save the reminder of a simpler time. They believe that many feel the same way.

“We love looking back at the past,” Ryon said. “Once it’s gone, that’s it. It was the past, and you just erased a piece of it. Part of it is that we can’t get it back, and people love houses like that. It takes them back in time. A time that they remember or time they would like to remember.”

The current proposed site plan for millennial housing in Mount Sinai features 140 rental units, commercial stores and other amenities. Image from Basser Kaufman

A long-vacant property next to King Kullen in Mount Sinai could be a go-to living destination for young professionals and college graduates in the near future.

According to a real estate investors group’s preliminary proposal made during the recent Mount Sinai Civic Association meeting, they want to give millennials a suburban place to stay and a sense of community.

“A lot of our young people leave Long Island because they can’t afford to stay here,” said Michael Russo, an architect working with the Nassau-based group Basser-Kaufman, to residents at the Heritage Center June 5. “Mount Sinai is a desirable place to live [and] we’ve put a lot of thought into making it work for millennials.”

Architect Michael Russo talks to residents about building millennial housing in Mount Sinai. Photo by Kevin Redding

An expansive, 140-rental unit community is envisioned in the early stages of the concept, gearing toward those in their mid to late 20s, to occupy the rear portion on the nearly 35 acres of unused land along Nesconset Highway.

The proposed site would include potential retail developments such as Trader Joe’s, other commercial buildings, an open green space for public use, a community center with fitness and yoga rooms for residents and several amenities to attract a younger demographic, such as bicycle racks, dog-walk areas and electric car-charging stations. Valet trash services would also be available to eliminate large, noisy trucks.

Rental prices for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units would range between $1,900 and $2,200 a month, according to the group’s legal representative — priced lower than many competitive apartments in the area, such as the New Village apartments in Patchogue, to make it manageable for young people to live in the region.

“Having this for younger people in your district is an advantage,” said Steven Losquadro, a lawyer speaking on behalf of Basser-Kaufman. “It’s a bridge to home ownership, which is ideally what you would want. You don’t want them going out of state, you want to have them here where they grew up.”

The executive board of the civic association, including President Ann Becker and Vice President Brad Arrington, had met previously with the developers to discuss the draft proposal and ensure its concept fit the vision of the community.

“Without risking discrimination, how will you restrict it to millennials?” asked Mount Sinai resident and board of education member Edward Law.

Local residents gathered at the Heritage Center at Heritage Park to listen to a proposal for millenial housing in Mount Sinai. Photo by Kevin Redding

While the speakers said they couldn’t legally limit occupancy to just young people, their intention is to specifically market it to that age group through advertising locations and methods.

“What’s the projected time line?” was another question that was asked.

Russo said the construction would take 18 months to two years, but added it could take years to get the project approved.

Mount Sinai resident Peter Pranzo voiced his concern about the already increasing number of students in the district, he said, as a result of young parents in the housing development. He said he’s afraid of the financial pressure it could put on schools to pay additional costs for more new students.

“I’m against it,” he said of the proposal. “There’s no way we can sustain 60, 70 or 100 more children in our area.”

Arrington argued the opposite.

“Class sizes are shrinking quite a bit,” he said. “A lot of our enrollment is actually down in younger grades. These aren’t going to be terribly large apartments, so by the time that child enrolls in school it’s pretty likely the parents are going to move out and buy a house.”

Losquadro agreed, insisting the development would be geared toward young professionals and there wouldn’t be a substantial influx of children.

When a resident suggested the possibility of those behind the proposal abandoning it in favor of solely retail space, Becker spoke up.

Millennial housing proposed in Mount Sinai would replace a current wooded lot. Photo by Kevin Redding

“These gentlemen were very open with us and we were open with them,” Becker told the crowd at the end of the meeting. “We don’t want a lot of things — big box stores or gas stations — and they’re trying, and working with the town. They’re completely transparent. This is the first presentation to the community, no plans have been submitted and nothing has gone through any process of change. This is just step one. We’re very interested in hearing your response.”

For more than a decade, the town has worked alongside many developers with plans to build within the empty lot — everything from commercial buildings to retirement communities to community-oriented gathering spaces and clock towers — all of which fizzled out due to inflated visions or conflicting desires of residents.

In the last few months, Steven Kaufman and Marc Kemp of the investors group took control of the project, determined to give the community what they felt it wanted, and ask for input before anything is approved or built.

“Right now, I think I’m for it,” Mount Sinai resident Monica Stone said after the meeting. “I think we need to be open to ideas like this … We don’t want it to become an industrial business area, and it sounds to me like what the developers are proposing is a good balance.”

Jay Matuk smiles in his office. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Cold Spring Harbor Junior-Senior High School will be changing leadership for the first time in more than a decade, as Principal Jay Matuk is set to retire after the current school year ends.

Matuk grew up in New York City, a background he admits is very different than what his students at Cold Spring Harbor have had. He was a bartender at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, where he said he learned how to listen, a valuable trait for the job he’s about to leave. He and his wife moved to Chicago where he taught social studies, and once he moved back to New York he got a job teaching in West Hempstead and eventually landed in administrative roles.

He arrived at Cold Spring Harbor in 2006, after serving as principal in the Patchogue-Medford school district, and said he was excited to work in a place with the significant reputation the district had for successful education.

“One of the things that I had really grown tired of, year after year working to put programs together and hire people, would end in programs being dismantled and positions being terminated because the financing wasn’t there,” Matuk said in a phone interview. “Here was an opportunity to be able to come to a school district where there was a real strong commitment to education and to programs and the right personnel.”

Matuk said he found very quickly that here the students understand and appreciate they’re growing up in a unique environment and work very hard.

“What’s amazing about the school is that there is something for everyone,” he said. “There’s over 100 athletic teams … there is a significant level of support. If there’s a club the kids want to form, the district again is very supportive. If there’s eight or nine kids and it looks like it’s something that they could work with an adult after school I love it because then they’re with an adult after school doing what they’re interested in.”

He said he’s proud he has been able to grow the music and art departments during his tenure, by encouraging students to be involved in those classes and giving the teachers the resources they need to do it well. The principal said he hopes the school continues to create opportunities for students after he leaves, with things like business courses and college accounting.

Matuk said he’s also proud of the fact that he started open enrollment at the district, so any student can enroll in any course to take on any challenge they might feel up to.

“If a student wants to take an [advanced placement] course and gets a C in the course, I’m okay with that, because that’s part of the experience,” he said. “To me this is the correct way to go about it.”

Matuk praised the district’s offering of more than 20 AP courses for students and smaller class sizes so students are able to work with teachers on a more personal level.

“Cold Spring Harbor is a school district where it’s cool to be smart,” Maturk said. “You’ll have someone who is a star on the lacrosse team but will also be performing in a school play … kids that are strong academically will be participating in the comedy club.”

The principal said he believes the opportunities supplied to the students at the high school will impact the rest of their lives.

Matuk said he’ll miss the traditions of the school, the activities and programs that staff, parents and students work on every year to help celebrate the district.

Superintendent Robert Fenter said Matuk’s leadership will be missed.

“Mr. Matuk has demonstrated a strong desire to support the many programs in our schools, to support the professionals and support staff who work with our students each and every day, and to ensure that our students were able to engage in the learning experiences necessary to be successful, both in high school and beyond,” he said in an email. “His knowledge of our programs, our students and our community were extremely valuable resources and I will be forever grateful to him for his guidance and assistance.”

Finding a parking spot in Port Jefferson is often difficult, but a valet parking service could change things. File photo

By Alex Petroski

Restaurant owners in Port Jefferson Village brought forth an idea to the board that might help to alleviate one of its oldest and most challenging problems. In a June 4 letter to other business owners in the village, John Urbinati, owner of The Fifth Season restaurant, announced his intentions, along with other members of the Pro Port Jefferson Association to propose a communal valet parking system. Several restaurant owners attended a June 5 public board meeting to announce their intentions and allow the community to weigh in.

The proposed system would be a contract between the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District and the Port Jefferson School District. Currently the plan would see the municipal parking lot on Maple Avenue across the street from the fire department used as a staging area for downtown visitors.

Cars would be dropped off at that spot, parked at Earl L. Vandermuelen High School, then picked up from the same spot. The service would cost drivers $7. The pilot program will take place during the summer months until Labor Day on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Sundays from noon to 11 p.m.

“Parking is the number one issue that affects our bottom line as business owners,” Urbinati’s letter said. “There are not enough parking spaces in the village we love and try to succeed in and customers are turned off when they get tickets. Anytime there are village events going on there are no spaces available.”

Tom Schafer, owner of Schafer’s and Tommy’s and president of the Port Jeff BID, did a bulk of the speaking on behalf of the restaurant owners during the meeting.

“Regardless of anyone’s opinion on what the vision for the future of the village is, the one thing everybody seems to be in agreement on is that there’s not enough parking,” he said. “Maybe there’s going to be hovercrafts in the future, I have no idea, but for now, traffic is a foregone conclusion.”

Many village residents in attendance pushed back against the idea because of the possible increase of traffic on their streets, and because of a lack of public notice or input prior to the imminent implementation of the program, though no date is currently set for its inception.

“Did anybody think to ever let the people know that live on those streets, that buy the houses on those streets, so they can get to know they’re going to have traffic coming and going at all hours,” Marge McCuen, longtime village resident, said. “Each and every property owner is funding what goes on in this village with our taxes. A public hearing should have been held before you ever came up with this. You might have had this grand plan, and I’m not questioning your motives, but don’t question ours either.”

Another village resident asked that studies be done on how often parking is totally unavailable and how much traffic actually flows on the streets proposed for usage prior to the pilot program to see what the impact might be. Village Mayor Margot Garant said she did not anticipate the village committing funds to study that data.

“We’re interested in pursuing this because we think it’s necessary,” she said. “We have an obligation to support the new stores. There are new people making investments in this community every single day and they’re helping us make this community a vibrant and healthy community.”

The program would be cost neutral for the village, and should revenue exceed the initial investment by Advanced Parking Services, the valet company in agreement with the BID, 25 percent of profits would go to the company and the remaining 75 percent would be split between the school district and village. The approximately 300 employees of the restaurants would also use the valet system for their shifts.

Trustee Bruce D’Abramo also voiced vigorous support for the idea.

“I, for one, say if the ‘i’s’ are dotted and the ‘t’s’ are crossed we have to give this thing a chance,” he said.

No official vote was taken during the meeting after a lengthy discussion between several residents and business owners.

This version was updated following the June 5 board meeting.

The Heritage Trust, a nonprofit, is looking for help in raising funds to repair Heritage Park's playground. File photo by Erika Karp

Heritage Park has some new arrivals.

Following the unveiling of the plant maze and with a splash pad currently in the works, a free book exchange program has landed at the Mount Sinai square.

The Little Free Library, a free book exchange, is located near the playground, alongside the shack at Heritage Park in Mount Sinai. Photo by Fred Drewes

The park’s newest addition — Little Free Library — can be found next to the shack concession stand, which sits alongside the playground on the west side of the park. A nonprofit organization, Little Free Library inspires a love of reading and builds community relationships by fostering neighborhood book exchanges. According to the U.S. Department of Education, up to 61 percent of low-income families do not have access to books for their children at home, and the organization hopes to increase that access for readers of all ages and backgrounds. The books, which can be borrowed or swapped, are located in a red, house-shaped box on a post in front of a large rock near the shack at the Wedge.

Heritage Trust, the nonprofit that runs the park and the Heritage Center, is also working on enhancing the playground. Repairing and improving the park is a priority for the organization, with the playground being one of the most-used features at the Wedge. With much of the fundraising being weather dependent, the trust has had a difficult time keeping up with events while finding the funds needed to fix sections of the playground. Currently, pieces of the playground have been closed for use, and with the repairs costing more than the trust anticipates — about $7,000 — the nonprofit is looking for the community’s help.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the trust come up with the money to make repairs.

“Our children in the community really love Heritage Park,” the trust wrote on the GoFundMe page. “The playground gets lots of use, but the repairs are costly. We remain dedicated to maintaining and improving our park for everyone who wants a safe place to enjoy the open spaces and participate in community activities.”

To contribute to Heritage Trust’s fundraising efforts, visit www.gofundme.com/heritageplayground.

Dr. Harry Boutis, Denise Marino, and Janet Russell and Melissa Negrin-Wiener from Senior Dreams Come True are all smiles after Marino’s new dentures were ready. Photo from Senior Dreams Come True

Thanks to Stony Brook dentist Dr. Harry Boutis, Denise Marino can smile again.

Boutis donated his services to replace Marino’s dentures. The two were connected through the elder law firm Genser, Dubow, Genser & Cona’s Senior Dreams Come True program, which grants the wishes of low-income seniors. Marino, 75, a former corrections officer, said her 45-year-old dentures, top full and bottom partial, were extremely worn down, and when she heard that her wish to get new dentures was going to be granted, she was thrilled.

“Having a full set of teeth is of the utmost of importance due to function for chewing and eating, facial support and soft tissues. Just as importantly the patient’s mental well-being and self-confidence.”

— Dr. Harry Boutis

“I was very surprised, and I thought, ‘Gee, I’ll try it and see what happens,’” she said in a phone interview.

Boutis, who helped with a previous wish, said he became involved with the program through his patient Melissa Negrin-Wiener, a partner in the Melville law firm and one of the founders of Senior Dreams Come True. Marino said she heard about the organization from her niece, who told her all she had to do was write a letter to the nonprofit.

Marino said before receiving the new dentures she was hesitant to smile, and it looked like she didn’t have any teeth and her top lip was sinking in. Boutis, who has been practicing dentistry for 23 years, said a full set of teeth is required for much more than smiling.

“Having a full set of teeth is of the utmost of importance due to function for chewing and eating, facial support and soft tissues,” the dentist said. “Just as importantly the patient’s mental well-being and self-confidence.”

The dentist said Marino needed to visit the office eight times for appointments that lasted 30 to 45 minutes long. During the time Senior Dreams Come True was helping Marino get her dentures made, the great-grandmother said she was also having car problems so the firm’s legal assistant Janet Russell would pick her up and take her to all her appointments.

Marino, who raised six children and got her first dentures when she was 30, said she is a “chicken” when it comes to going to the dentist but Boutis made her visits pleasant ones.

Dr. Harry Boutis and Denise Marino before the dentist began her denture work. Photo from Senior Dreams Come True

“Dr. Boutis is such a wonderful, wonderful man,” she said.” He makes you feel so comfortable and he talks to you, and he’s just a real person.”

Marino said after receiving her new dentures she can’t stop smiling.

“It’s so wonderful to have teeth,” she said.

Boutis said he was also pleased with the outcome.

“I was ecstatic with the result we achieved for Denise,” the dentist said. “Being such a nice person that she is, her happiness and new smile are the rewards that make practicing this profession what it’s all about,” the dentist said.

Negrin-Wiener said Senior Dreams Come True started after she and her fellow elder law attorneys, who are involved with many different medical causes such as Alzheimer’s research, realized there weren’t any organizations to raise money for seniors’ basic needs.   

The lawyer said in order for a person to qualify for a wish they must be over 65 years old, and a couple cannot make more than $2,000 a month and a single person can make no more than $1,500. The organization just asks the hopeful wish-recipient to write a paragraph about his or her life, and they also look for people who have been involved in their communities. 

“What they’ve done for me is just amazing. They’re my little guardian angels.”

—Denise Marino

She said when it comes to requests, “They aren’t asking for lavish things.”

The attorney said people have wished for simple items such as mattresses and ramps, and dentures have been a popular request. She said the program will even help pay for a trip, which was the case with a Smithtown woman who couldn’t afford to go see her new grandchild.

The program also brought Marino’s car to a mechanic to get it repaired. Negrin-Wiener said there are no limits on the amount of granted wishes one can receive.

“We fundraise throughout the year, and we grant wishes on a rolling basis,” she said. “It just depends what the wishes are, if we get help from the community. What we are able to do financially in that point of time.”

Marino said she has been telling everyone she knows about Senior Dreams Come True and handing out pamphlets.

“I couldn’t have done it without them, because I’m on Social Security,” Marino said. “I just get a little over a $1,000 a month to live on, and what they’ve done for me is just amazing. They’re my little guardian angels.”

The Port Jefferson Free Library, 100 Thompson St., Port Jefferson will present its 4th annual Job Fair on Tuesday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Presented by the Suffolk County Department of Labor’s One-Stop Employment Center, the event will feature representatives from over 35 Long Island companies including A Gentle Touch Senior Care, ACLD, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Attentive Care, Club Demonstration Services, Comfort Keepers, Dollar Tree, East End Disabilities, EPIC LI, Express Employment Pros, FREE, Gutter Helmet, Home Depot, Home Instead Senior Care, Jefferson’s Ferry, Lowe’s, New Vitality, NRL Strategies, NYS Civil Service, Precious Lambs Child Care, Qsac, Suffolk AHRC, Suffolk County Civil Service, Suffolk County National Bank, UCP of Suffolk Urban League Mature Workers Program, US Postal Service, Utopia Homecare and WindowRama.

Attendees are encouraged to bring copies of their resume and to dress to impress. Questions? Call 631-473-0022.

Photo by Joyce Ravid

Former New York Times columnist and best-selling author to come to Huntington

By Melissa Arnold

Growing up, Anna Quindlen’s one and only dream was to write. Her life was flooded with the written word from the very beginning. Quindlen described herself as “a difficult child,” but teachers praised her for her writing skills. That encouragement led her to study English and creative writing at Barnard College in New York City and then on to a career in journalism.

“I always intended to be a novelist,” Quindlen said in a recent interview. “I only went into the newspaper business to pay the rent, but I loved it so much that I just stayed and stayed.”

Anna Quindlen will hold a special book signing at the Cinema Arts Centre on June 8.

Quindlen paved an extensive career as a columnist for the New York Times and Newsweek, even earning a Pulitzer Prize along the way. But then she returned to her first passion — fiction writing — and hasn’t looked back. Her beloved novels, including “One True Thing,” “Blessings” and “Black and Blue,” have amassed a dedicated fan base and time atop the New York Times Best Seller List. Her book, “A Short Guide to a Happy Life,” has sold more than a million copies.

Now, Quindlen is celebrating the paperback release of her latest novel, “Miller’s Valley,” with a stop right here on Long Island.

Long Island LitFest will host Quindlen on Thursday, June 8, at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. The evening will include an intimate reading from “Miller’s Valley,” a meet-and-greet, a signed copy of the book and refreshments.

The LitFest, which launched in 2015 as an annual event bringing lauded authors to the area, has now grown to include occasional Long Island LitFest Presents evenings with a single author.

Claudia Copquin, the festival’s producer and foundress, calls it a labor of love. “My friends and I are avid readers and booklovers, but we’ve had to leave Long Island to go to book festivals and the sort,” she said. “We saw a need for something like this at a local level, and Long Islanders are well-read and very cultured. Authors are usually excited to get involved [with us].”

Copquin and members of the festival’s advisory board work to identify authors that would have an interest in making an appearance here. Many of the selected authors are preparing for or on a promotional tour for a book release, Copquin explained. In past years, they’ve hosted writers including Alan Zweibel, Adam Resnick, Dave Barry and many more.

Quindlen described “Miller’s Valley” as “set in a small farming community threatened by a government plan to dam and flood the valley, and its action stretches from the ’50s to the present. It’s about that period when Americans learned that their government might not have their best interests at heart. It’s also a period when the lives of women changed radically, and those changes are embodied in the book’s protagonist, Mimi Miller.”

Above, the cover jacket of Quindlen’s latest novel.

The book has received much praise. The Washington Post has called it “stunning,” USA Today writes it is “a breathtakingly moving look at family” and The New York Times Book Review calls it “overwhelmingly moving.”

Raj Tawney, director of publicity and promotions at the Cinema Arts Centre, said the venue is thrilled to welcome Quindlen as part of a wide spectrum of events held there.

“While the [center] is more about film, we’re here to service the entire community and deliver them all kinds of opportunities in arts and culture,” Tawney said. “We’re a sanctuary for artistic and creative people, and Anna Quindlen is such a renowned, accomplished creator. She’s an artist in her own right. It’s fitting to have her come out here.”

Long Island LitFest Presents Anna Quindlen will be held at 7:30 p.m. on June 8 at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington. Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are $35 for members and $40 for the public. For more information, call 631-423-7611 or visit www.cinemaartscentre.org. To learn more about Long Island LitFest, visit www.longislandlitfest.com.

Dr. Kourtsounis, center, and his staff cut the ribbon in front of their new Centereach location as Councilman LaValle, center in back, and Leg. Muratore, far right, look on. Photo from office of Leg. Muratore

GRAND OPENING: On May 21, Legislator Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma) and Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) joined Dr. Paraskevas Kourtsounis and the staff at Dental Smiles 4 Kids at their Grand Opening celebration and Ribbon Cutting event for Dental Smiles 4 Kids in Centereach. To commemorate the event, the legislator presented Kourtsounis (“Dr. K.”) and his staff a Certificate of Recognition and a warm welcome to the community.

Dental Smiles 4 Kids is a team of professionals whose goal is to offer quality dental care to children and adolescents in a safe, nonthreatening environment. In addition to the new Centereach location at 7 Mark Tree Road, they have offices in Whitestone, Ronkonkoma and Astoria. “I love welcoming new businesses to the community,” stated Muratore. “I wish Dr. K. and the friendly staff at Dental Smiles 4 Kids much success.