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Above the Rim games highlight Centereach park renovations

by TBR Staff - July 18, 2017

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Above-the-Rim-boys-winners-2017w — Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle with boys winners Chris Witherspoon, Josh Washington and Stephen Cartolano, Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore and 6th Precinct Community Liaison Officer Will Zieman. Photo from Councilman LaValle

By Bill Landon

A three-on-three basketball tournament took center stage at the Centereach pool and park complex July 15.

In the second year of the Above the Rim tournament, sponsored by Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden), boys and girls competed in separate sessions for a championship title.

With new courts, backboards and rims, and a new spray park, walking trail and pickleball courts, the park complex has undergone multiple renovations since LaValle took office four years ago.

Brianna LaValle, on right, leaps for the rim during the Above the Rim tournament at Centereach Pool’s park. Photo by Bill Landon

“I grew up about a mile from here, and I grew up playing basketball, so when I got elected to office we redid this whole facility,” the councilman said. “For me, growing up here, it’s a way to give back to the community. These are new courts and the message we wanted to get out was ‘hey, the courts are back and with the pool, the playground, the tennis and pickleball courts, there’s something for the whole family.”

The park property has a cellular telephone tower on its west side that the town parks department leases to wireless communications carriers. Until LaValle took office that revenue, almost $60,000 a year according to the councilman, went into the town’s general fund. But he changed that.

“One of the first resolutions I passed was to put that money back into this park, because it’s on the park’s property,” LaValle said. “So that’s how we redid the basketball courts, the walking trail and the spray park. It’s a beautiful facility. You don’t get many parks like this in any township let alone Brookhaven.”

The Middle Country Booster Club, the Middle Country Public Library, the Centereach Fire Department, the Suffolk County Police Department’s Community Oriented Police Enforcement unit and the Selden and Centereach civic associations attended the event.

The girls had the benefit of an overcast sky and cooler temperatures in the morning, where Kanesha Strider, Jacqueline Mannix and Brianna LaValle took home the title.

Kanesha Strider dribbles the ball. Photo by Bill Landon

Strider, a Longwood junior and three-year varsity player, passed on another event to take part in the tournament.

“Basketball brings me here — I love basketball,” she said. “I could’ve went to a party today, but basketball is very important [to me]. This is a great opportunity and you don’t get stuff like this in Longwood.”

Mannix, a Sachem North junior who is on the varsity squad at her school, played in the tournament at the urging of someone else.

“It was my friend and teammate who convinced me to play today,” she said. “I played in last year’s tournament, too.”

North Babylon junior LaValle, the councilman’s niece, said she came out for the tournament for two reasons.

“It’s for the love of the game,” she said. “And I did this with my friends last year. We love to get out on the court. It’s cool that they made just a girls thing this year.”

The boys competed in the evening, where Centereach varsity boys basketball players stole the show. Senior Chris Witherspoon and juniors Josh Washington and Stephen Cartolano placed first.

“When you come down here on any day, you have kids running around, kids playing basketball, people swimming, seniors playing pickleball, so it’s a multi-dimensional park to say the least,” LaValle said. “There are so many things you can do in one place and the parents love to bring the kids down here, so it’s really a unique facility.”

Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle with Above the Rim girls champions Jacqueline Mannix, Brianna LaValle and Kanesha Strider. Photo from Councilman LaValle

Artist of the Month: Winn Rea

by Irene Ruddock - July 14, 2017

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Above, front and side view of ‘Topo Shift: MacIntyre Range, 2015.’ Its blue/white coloration is derived from winter hiking.

By Irene Ruddock

Winn Rea addresses environmental themes in her sculptures, installations, videos and works on paper. She has exhibited in galleries and museums, both nationally and internationally, being awarded many prestigious grants and awards. Presently, her work is being shown at the Heckscher Museum of Art in an exhibit aptly titled Earth Muse: Art and the Environment. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rea about her latest venture.

The exhibit at the Heckscher describes its exhibit as ‘presenting the work of artists who view the earth as muse for contemplation of nature’s beauty and diversity.’ Can you tell us what works you are showing there?

At the Heckscher Museum you can see examples of my topographic relief paintings. They are based on my time in the Adirondack Mountains. I love going to the Adirondacks because I can unplug from the wired world and reconnect with nature.

How does your time in nature translate into your artwork?

While hiking I “collect” shadows by photographing them. Back in the studio, I construct topographic reliefs based on U.S. Geological Survey maps of the area. They are built out of 1/8-inch Russian birch plywood that I paint using colors and shadow patterns from the woods. People are fascinated because the reliefs are not solid, they are hollow like sea shells, and the shadow almost fools you into looking over your shoulder for the tree that cast it.

What other ways do you use art to express your interest in the environment?

All of my works are a meditation on where I fit into the greater scheme of things on the planet. When I make videos, they are about the passage of time in the short term, like how the flow of water in a stream changes over the course of a day, or the long term — as in geologic time — which is explored in my works on paper that are made by evaporation.

In your works on paper, you say that you do not paint in the traditional sense, but tend to them as you would a garden. Can you explain what you mean by that?

Well, it helps to know my process for the works on paper: first, I sculpt the paper, crinkling it into folds like mountain ranges. Then I flood the paper with pigment, which slowly evaporates leaving marks much like contour lines. So, in effect, instead of pushing pigments here or there with a brush, I work in synchrony with the natural process of evaporation. In gardening terms, I prepare the “soil” (sculpted paper), “water it” (pour pigments), and “harvest” the result — a three-dimensional painting on paper.

You are an associate professor of art at Long Island University C.W. Post. What do you wish to get across to your students about how art and the environment are related?

I want to give students confidence in their own creativity and help them cultivate their problem-solving skills through the design process. The reality is, their capacity to imagine and realize new, sustainable ways to thrive is the answer to our planet’s future.

In your world exhibitions, is there one country that you enjoyed the most?

I most enjoyed my travels to Korea especially to the tea farms in the mountains. Here the tea bushes are planted along contour lines that accentuate the form of the mountains. I felt most at home there.

Many artists are looking for longevity in their work, yet you describe much of your work as ‘temporal.’ Why?

I want people to enjoy my work and even collect it in order to have it in their lives, if it brings pleasure to them. But I am not interested in making a commodity. I want my legacy to be longer lasting in terms of the way my work helps people to think about the world differently and to become more aware of the impact of their everyday choices on the planet.

Above, front and side view of ‘Topo Shift: Cliff Mountain, 2015.’

‘Falling Water’ appears to be one of your most influential and popular installation sculptures. What effect were you trying to achieve?

In “Falling Water,” I made use of the sculptural and material qualities of our ubiquitous disposable water bottles. Cutting them on a curve releases the energy of a spiral. The clear plastic refracts the light, de-materializing the plastic. In a way, their beauty seduces us into ignoring their treachery — the needless use of petroleum products to package and transport a resource that we have as close as our tap.

What are you working on now?

I am working on a series of small topographic reliefs that include bodies of water. I am curious about bathometry (contours of the earth under water) and am exploring that margin between land and sea.

Do you have another exhibit coming up?

Yes, I have works hanging at Gallery 46 in Lake Placid. As part of the visual arts extension of the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, it is a great location for people to see my work in the context of the land that inspires it.

Can you tell us about your philosophy of life that influences your art?

The philosophy behind my work can be traced back to time spent hiking with my dad as a young girl. I loved the smell of the decaying leaves and movement of air amongst the trees. (I think of it now as the woods breathing.) My dad taught me to read the contours of the land while on the trail; back home he showed me where we had hiked on a 3-D topographic map. My dad also taught me about the natural cycle of things, of how the decay of one body feeds the life of another. This informs all my life’s work!

Winn Rea’s work is on exhibit at the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington through July 30. For more information, visit her website at www.winnrea.com.

Long Island Gardening: Working with clay soil

by Ellen Barcel - June 26, 2017

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scarlet runner beans — The scarlet runner bean plant, which grows well in clay soil, produces red flowers that are ornamental as well as edible.

By Ellen Barcel

Long Island is primarily a large sandbar — something that gardeners have had to deal with by adding topsoil, compost, etc. But, what if you are one of the minority who has some clay soil? There are basically two things you need to do. One is to amend the soil for optimum plant grown. The other is to select plants that do well in heavy clay soil.

Amending clay soil

Many people assume that the best way to improve clay soil is to add sand to it. Wrong! Think about what bricks are made of — yes, clay and sand. The best way to amend clay soil is to add organic matter, like lots of compost, to it. Compost helps aerate clay soil and encourages it to drain. You can also add aged manure or straw.

Along this same line, when you mulch, use organic material since it will break down into compost. A gardening friend of mine also mentioned that clay soil is very heavy and can be very difficult to dig into. Because you need strength, you may need help.

Test the soil pH and see if it is compatible with the plants you wish to grow in that area. If it’s too acidic, then add lime. Remember that once you start changing the pH (either making it more or less acidic), it is something you must do on an annual basis.

Old-fashioned Hydrangea macrophylla will be blue in acidic soil and more purple or pink as the soil becomes more alkaline. People who buy these older pink hydrangeas and don’t add lime to their soil periodically will wind up with blue hydrangeas in a few years as the plants react to the more acidic soil.

Selecting plants

When selecting plants for clay soil, remember that you must also take into account the usual considerations: How much sunlight does the area receive? Does the area flood periodically? Does the area not drain well at all? Does the area receive a lot of salt spray? Are the plants in the area exposed to air pollution as can be found along busy roadways?

Rule of thumb — if, when you are researching plants, the source notes that those particular plants like well-drained soil, they probably will not do well in clay soil. Another observation when selecting plants: If you want plants that don’t do well in clay soil, consider planting them in containers that you fill with a good-quality potting soil.

The following are plants to consider for clay soil:

• Shrubs: weigela, forsythia (blooms in early spring), flowering quince (slow growing, blooms in spring), roses (sun loving), hydrangeas (partial shade, water loving so do well if the location is slow to drain).

• Veggies: shallow rooted such as lettuce, snap beans, broccoli, cabbage and scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus), which are raised primarily for their abundance of red flowers.

• Annuals and herbaceous perennials: asters, black-eyed Susans, daylilies, cannas (tender bulls, plant in spring), coreopsis (deer resistant), purple coneflowers (deer resistant), perennial geraniums (deer resistant), bee balm, a.k.a monarda (attractive to butterflies), irises (plant in fall), hostas (shade loving, come in a wide variety of sizes from tiny for rock gardens to enormous and colors from green to yellow and blue leaves), ferns (ideal for shade gardens).

• Grasses: Miscanthus — ornamental grasses such as fountain grass, silver grass, pampas grass, etc. Ornamental grasses do best in a sunny location.

• Trees: eastern pin oak (oaks do very well on Long Island with its acidic soil), ginkgo (“fossil” tree, known to be pollution resistant, plant male trees unless you want the fruit).

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

Photo of the Week

by TBR Staff - June 26, 2017

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HOO ARE YOU? Noah A. Colamussi of Rocky Point spotted this eastern screech owl just hanging out in a tree in his backyard last week after a rain shower. Despite their name, screech owls do not screech, instead communicating through whinnies and soft trills. Night hunters, their diet consists mostly of large insects and small rodents.

Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected].

Port Jeff Chamber’s Green Fest draws environmentally conscious community members

by Alex Petroski - June 21, 2017

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powers-energy-solutions-petroski-061717-green-festw — Representatives from Powers Energy Solutions explain initiatives to visitors. Photo by Alex Petroski

By Alex Petroski

Last weekend, Port Jefferson was a haven for those concerned about the environment and interested in making changes in their everyday life to help improve the health of the Earth. The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted its ninth annual Green Fest June 17 at the Village Center, where members of the community and representatives from nonprofits and companies with energy efficiency missions gathered to inform and help others learn about living a greener lifestyle.

Nearly 30 vendors were present, sharing messages and initiatives with attendees, including Direct Energy Solar, a company that specializes in installing solar energy systems for homes; PowerUp Communities, a Long Island Progressive Coalition project that offers free energy efficiency assessments for homes and offers financial assistance through state grants for efficiency improvements; Power Energy Solutions, a company that specializes in the installation and service of smart home equipment like efficient thermostats and smart lights, which can be utilized to drastically reduce a home’s footprint; and the Citizen’s Climate Lobby, an international nonprofit advocating for federal legislation for a carbon emission fee.

Crystal Woods, a representative from PowerUp Communities, explained the importance of the company’s work and why participation in events like Green Fest is vital, especially on Long Island.

Ranger Eric Powers of Your Connection to Nature at Port Jeff’s annual Green Fest June 17. Photo by Alex Petroski

“We help homeowners get a free home energy assessment that’s provided to them by the state through [the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority], so they can find out what they’re wasting on their utility bills,” she said. “I do get encouraged when people ask questions about things like this … It’s not just putting a solar panel on the roof of your house, it’s unplugging your cellphone at night or making sure your computer is shut off when you’re not using it — basic, simple things that can make a huge impact.”

Michael Ripa, the co-owner of Powers Energy Solutions, reiterated Woods’ encouragement with the turnout and interest of the community during the event.

He said the company was started by his partner Jason Powers when he was working for the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., because Ripa said Powers saw a void in skilled, trade labor working in the field to install and service equipment meant to improve energy efficiency in homes.

“This is great,” he said of the inquisitive nature of visitors of the event and wide availability of important information. “Our office is in Port Jefferson. I’m hoping to see more and more of this — it’s very cool.”

Jeanne Brunson, the leader of the Long Island Chapter of the international organization Citizens’ Climate Lobby, stressed the importance of eliminating political bias from discussions about the environment.

“We all care about our natural resources — conservative, progressive, doesn’t matter,” she said. “That’s something that we all care about especially here on Long Island, where the impacts of climate change could be so catastrophic. I love to see people coming together regardless of political persuasion on that.”

Brunson added her mission in attending the event was to encourage visitors to ask their representatives in Congress to support legislation to enact a carbon fee, which would charge energy companies that use fossil fuels and would reimburse American taxpayers with the money.

“So it’s a price signal to the market to shift away from fossil fuels,” she said. “It’s a carbon tax, which we refer to as a fee because of the return of the revenue.”

Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce Director of Operations Barbara Ransome said the event was a success because it allowed visitors to speak one on one with vendors on ways to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle.

Charter fishing boat donates 1,000 fish to Port Jeff soup kitchen

by Alex Petroski - June 21, 2017

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For those less fortunate who require meals provided by a Port Jefferson based soup kitchen, fresh-caught fish is a luxury. But thanks to the generosity and hard work of the crew of a charter fishing boat from Port Jeff and Welcome Friends, a soup kitchen that feeds as many as 75 people daily five times per week at local churches, that luxury became a reality.

The plan started with a phone call from Amanda Peterson, third-generation owner and captain of the Osprey Fishing Fleet. She reached out to Margaret Tumilowicz, president of Welcome Friends, and asked if her guests would enjoy fresh fish to be caught and donated by her customers on a June 12 fishing trip. The company offers seats on one of their two charter ships — the Osprey and Osprey V — for day trips into the Long Island Sound to catch fluke, porgies, bluefish, striped bass, sea bass and blackfish, depending on what’s currently in season. Typically a few dozen people are on board for a given trip, and they’re allowed to take home up to 30 fish each. This time, everyone on board was there to catch fish for people in need.

Peterson said in a phone interview she got inspiration from a trip she had taken with the Lady Reelers fishing club, a local group that at least once a year donates all of their catch from an outing to the food bank Long Island Cares. This was the second attempt at a massive catch-and-donate plan, after the first in the fall fell through due to bad weather. Peterson explained why she decided she wanted to hold a similar event to the Lady Reelers’ with her business.

“It’s such a great way to give back to the community,” Peterson said. “We’re a business that’s solely supported by the community. We want to find different ways to say thank you for keeping us in business.”

On June 12, about 35 fishermen and women lined up on the dock at the Port Jefferson Marina to help the worthy cause. Visitors of Welcome Friends weren’t alone in receiving a special meal though, as the participants of the trip were also instructed to bring $25 worth of nonperishable food items to be donated to Maryhaven Center of Hope Catholic Health Services or $25 worth of dog food for the Brookhaven Town Animal Shelter. The only other fee for prospective fish catchers was $10 to offset the costs of bait and fuel for the charter.

Members of Peterson’s crew were on board to donate their time to help catch the fish, as well as filet and debone them. The trip yielded more than 1,000 porgies in about an hour and a half. The arduous task of prepping the fish for cooking took the crew of the Osprey about five hours.

“I understand going without, so it’s good to take that feeling away for somebody,” deckhand for the Osprey Fleet Travis McRae said in an interview. He joked it was easy to convince people to attend the event because everyone likes fishing.

Tumilowicz reiterated it’s a rarity for guests to have the opportunity to enjoy a dinner of fresh-caught fish.

“It makes me feel really good,” Peterson said when she heard Tumilowicz had said that.

The soup kitchen president tried to put into words what the generous gesture meant to her.

“Can you imagine — god bless them,” she said. “We cannot say enough to describe the incredible generosity of Captain Amanda and her outstanding crew as well as their customers. Because the Greater Port Jefferson community supports our soup kitchen and other like-minded local organizations, we are able to provide for our neighbors in need.”

Tumilowicz said the bounty would provide about 500 meals for needy members of the community. Once the fish were caught and fileted, Welcome Friends’ team of volunteers, including cook Arty Shertzer, Mickey Cantwell and Tumilowicz’s husband Bob prepared the meals and bagged and froze fish for future meals.

One more positive outcome came from the June 12 outing. A three-year-old pit bull named Bella who was in need of a home at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter was brought aboard for the trip and was since adopted by Eddie McRae, who was on the charter that night. Peterson said about 1,000 pounds of dog food and 500 pounds of canned goods were also part of the yield.

Town of Brookhaven awarded Tree City USA status for second time

by Heidi Sutton - June 16, 2017

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At the May 11 Town of Brookhaven board meeting, Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and the town board were presented with a flag from the Arbor Day Foundation that designates Brookhaven as a Tree City USA. This is the second consecutive year that the town has received that award as a result of the supervisor’s Greening Brookhaven initiative to plant 10,000 trees by 2020, a goal that has already been accomplished, according to Romaine.

The Tree City USA program was established in 1976 as a nationwide movement that provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees. Tree City USA status is achieved by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.

Port Jeff kids have a blast at Rocketship Park reopening

by Alex Petroski - June 16, 2017

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By Alex Petroski

It was like Christmas in June for kids in Port Jefferson, as an iconic village park is finally ready for a new launch. Rocketship Park, located on Maple Place between Mill Creek Road and Barnum Avenue, had been closed since the fall for a massive renovation project that saw funds pour in from private donations, fundraising events, grants and taxpayer dollars. At least 200 kids lined the fences June 15 eagerly waiting for the official ribbon cutting to try out the new equipment for the first time, which now includes a tree house, pirate ship and of course, a rocket ship.

The refurbishment effort was done thanks in large part to a three and a half year mission by the Port Jefferson “Treasure Your Parks” campaign, an initiative created to help give a facelift to the more than 50-year-old Clifton H. Lee Memorial Park, which has commonly been known as Rocketship Park. Suffolk County Leg. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket); Jennifer Martin, a representative from Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright’s (D-Port Jefferson Station) office; the 2016 New York State championship runner up Port Jefferson High School girls basketball team, and droves of excited local kids joined members of the Port Jeff Village board and Mayor Margot Garant to cut the ribbon and officially open the park for the summer.

Garant also recognized two Port Jeff kids, Cooper and McKenna Negus, who collected change in a jar and periodically went to village hall to contribute to the fundraising efforts for the park. The mayor said she planned to use the money to purchase a tile to commemorate the generous young donors.

“Everyday we were building this park we’d have kids hanging out on the outside of the fence saying ‘when can we come and play,’” Garant said. “It’s all about the kids right?”

Garant added the park will be under video surveillance and asked that all those who visit the park help to ensure it remains clean, and free of graffiti, vandalism and litter.

The total cost of the project was about $900,000, with $500,000 coming from taxpayer dollars, $265,000 from a New York State parks grant and about $120,000 from donations, according to Barbara Sakovich, assistant to the mayor.

This version was updated June 16 to include the total cost and breakdown of funding for the park renovation. It was edited June 19 to correct that it will still be officially called Clifton H. Lee Memorial Park and commonly referred to as Rocketship Park.

Nonprofit groups working with LI residents to test water quality

by Victoria Espinoza - June 16, 2017

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Participants to create water report card for harbors and bays of the Long Island Sound

Save-the-Sound_2017_01w — Tracy Brown shows the most recent report card for the water quality of the open Long Island Sound. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

There’s a team collaboration happening across Long Island to ensure the Long Island Sound’s water is as healthy as possible.

Save the Sound, a nonprofit organization based out of Connecticut, is working with local groups and volunteers to create a water quality report card for the Sound’s bays and harbors, in an effort to increase available data for residents to have access to information on the health of the Sound.

Monitoring of the open Sound, the areas of the water body beyond bays and harbors, in the last decade has revealed the increasing presence of nitrogen pollution — which leads to algae blooms, red tides, loss of tidal marshes and fish die-offs — and the incremental improvements brought about by wastewater treatment plant upgrades. But researchers have acknowledged that results found in the open Sound may not reflect conditions in the bays and harbors, where a large part of the public comes in contact with the Sound.

A volunteer conducts a water test. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.

In May, Save the Sound started conducting the Unified Water Study in 24 sites across the Sound, and participants will be testing the water twice a month through October, looking at dissolved oxygen levels, temperature, dissolved salt levels, water quality and more.

Organizers gathered at Huntington Harbor in Halestie to conduct a test Tuesday, June 13, and explained why the report card is so important for the future of bays and harbors across Long Island.

“The Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative funded a report card for the sound, with the first one coming out in 2015, and through the report card process we realized that most of the data we had collected to talk about water quality and the health of the sound was for the open Sound,” Tracy Brown, director of Save the Sound said at the harbor. “And when we published the report card and showed the scores of water quality but we didn’t go into all the bays and harbors the public said, ‘well how about my harbor, how about my cove?’ The bays, harbors and coves are their own unique ecosystems. So we realized we had a data gap.”

Brown said certain groups have been doing their own studies in smaller areas but nothing uniform to have a comparative level. The report card focuses on the ecological health, not bacteria levels and risk of contamination for humans entering the water, but rather the creatures living in the water 24/7.

“The pollutant of concern is nitrogen,” Brown said. “This study was designed to get into all 116 little bays, harbors and coves that encircle the sound, and our goal is to get into each of them taking the exact same measurements for an assessment to say which of the bays and harbors are not handling the nutrient input well, which ones are really suffering from nutrient pollution and then we can direct conservation resources.”

Brown said one of the leading causes of increased nitrogen is contamination from the septic systems, as urine has high levels of nitrogen. She said efforts like Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s (D) initiatives to improve groundwater and limit nitrogen pollution are a step in the right direction.

“Nitrogen pollution has been identified as the single greatest threat to water quality, but for the first time in decades, we have a historic opportunity to turn the tide in our effort to reclaim our waters,” Bellone said in a statement when announcing countywide nitrogen-reducing initiatives for homeowners.

Brown reiterated some of the dangers of high levels of nitrogen.

“High levels of nitrogen feed growth, creating algal blooms, and when the algal blooms die they suck the oxygen out of the water in that decay process so you create these low oxygen zones,” she said.

Low oxygen levels mean finfish and shellfish can’t live in the area, and high nitrogen levels also lead to the destruction of coastal wetlands, which not only serve as a habitat for animals but also are a defense for homes from destructive storms. Brown also said high nitrogen levels are being linked to high acidification levels, which prevent shellfish from forming their shells and reduce the population’s ability to reproduce.

About a year ago Peter Janow, a Cold Spring Harbor resident, got in touch with Save the Sound, after hearing about their efforts, and extended an offer to help if they needed any hands for the Huntington and Northport bay areas.

A reading done after volunteers test the water quality in the Huntington Harbor. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

“Once they created the Uniform Water Study they got in contact with me and asked if I could help out and I said ‘absolutely brother,’” Janow said of how he first got involved. He eventually ended up joining more volunteers to work on the area together. He said he was motivated to get involved to both make a difference and help become a stronger part of his community.

“Most folks, especially on Long Island we’re surrounded by gorgeous scenes, the harbors, all the water sports,” Janow said. “We [the volunteers] share in the duties, and the role is covering the greater Huntington and Northport complexes including Lloyd Harbor, Huntington Harbor, Centerport Harbor, Northport Harbor and Duck Island Harbor, and each one of those areas has its own qualities. We have a total of 25 specific locations we’re testing water samples from.”

Janow said he and the others divide the areas up into two different days, spending about three hours each day testing water samples.

The combined efforts are for the benefit of all Long Islanders, and residents can help without getting on the water themselves.

“We really hope the public will see the significance,” Brown said. “If you want a better grade, you need to take care of your wastewater, and reduce your lawn fertilizer. The science community has identified nitrogen as enemy number one to the Long Island Sound, and the philanthropic community said, ‘what can we do,’ and then they reached out to regional groups to execute their vision, and then we’ve reached out to local groups for help. That’s what’s so interesting about this study — the collaboration.”

The collaborative effort is far from over. Brown said there is still a need for more volunteers to cover areas east of Huntington, including areas in the towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven, especially near the Nissequogue River and Port Jefferson Harbor.

This effort travels all the way to Connecticut, and one science teacher at a town in Dover took the initiative to volunteer himself and his Advanced Placement students to help contribute.

“One of the things that makes it possible for groups to organize to participate in this study even if they’re not already a group is that we provide the equipment, we provide the training, we provide the standard operating procedures and Save the Sound is available to help them get off the ground and make sure they succeed,” Brown said. “If we’re going to reach all 116 systems around the Sound that we want to reach, we’re going to need more groups. We’re going to need new groups that don’t exist yet to organize around the study and ask if anyone is in their bay or harbor yet.”

Anyone interested in getting involved with Save the Sound should reach out to Peter Linderoth, the Save the Sound water quality manager at [email protected].

Town project strenghtens shoreline in Sound Beach

by Desirée Keegan - June 15, 2017

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Sound-Beach-shoreline-stabalizationw — Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro and Councilwoman Jane Bonner inspect the Sound Beach shoreline stabilization project. Photo from Town of Brookhaven

Sound Beach’s shoreline is now stabilized.

In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy changed the typography of much of the North Shore’s beaches and dunes. In Sound Beach, the bluff at Shore Road and Amagansett Drive became severely eroded. With roads and homes at risk, the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department began a four-year, multiphase $1.3 million project in May 2013 to steady it.

“The hardening of our infrastructure leaves us less vulnerable to damage from future storms,” Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R) said. “In the long run, the results of this project will save taxpayer dollars due to fewer erosion costs in the area.”

To stabilize the bluff, almost 2,000 cubic yards of clean fill was added and an outfall pipe replaced, which broke during Hurricane Sandy. The work was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and $233,651 in federal assistance was received to help with the cost of the project.

The work on the bluff and the repair of the pipe were never meant to complete the project, but, according to Losquadro, was just a first phase.

“In the long run, the results of this project will save taxpayer dollars due to fewer erosion costs in the area.”

— Dan Losquadro

“It was just a temporary ‘Band-Aid’ so the bluff wouldn’t erode any further and jeopardize the structural integrity of the drainage pipe,” he said. “Our ultimate goal was to eliminate the outfall over the bluff completely, abandon the drainage pipe and direct all of the water from this stream into a newly constructed recharge basin to the east of Amagansett Drive.”

He said the project offered the town the rare ability to eliminate an outfall pipe, preventing stormwater runoff from flooding the beach and entering the Long Island Sound, while also taking erosion pressure off the face of the bluff.

Once construction of the recharge basin near the intersection of Amagansett Drive and Shore Drive was completed in 2015, the final phase of the project began, which included the abandonment of the pipe and permanent stabilization of the bluff through the installation of a three- to four-ton armoring stone revetment wall, erosion control matting, wood terracing and native plantings. The project also included the installation of a new staircase from Shore Drive.

“As a town, we need to make sure there is reliable access that will be there season after season for our fire department and police in the event of an emergency,” Losquadro said.

This phase was completed with in-house resources and came in under budget.

Although the temporary stabilization of the bluff received funding from FEMA, the storm hardening and total bluff restoration was paid for through town capital funds. The total cost for Phase II — construction of the recharge basin — was $633,333 and for Phase III — storm hardening and bluff restoration — was $450,000.

“Completion of this project on time and under budget after being stalled by [Hurricane] Sandy is a welcome event to the residents of Sound Beach,” Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) said. “The bluffs along the North Shore are especially vulnerable to erosion, but the more we can do to stabilize our shoreline, the safer it will be.”

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