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Urban planner discusses new SBU-led Governors Island climate center

by Daniel Dunaief - April 27, 2023

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SOMOConnorheadshot — Photo by Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

When the City of New York and the Trust for Governors Island chose Stony Brook University to lead a collection of institutions to build a new climate solutions center on Governors Island, the moment marked both an ending and a beginning.

For Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which provided a concept-level design for the institution, the announcement brings SOM and the work it will do with the Manhattan-based landscape architecture firm MNLA to a new stage.

“The work we have done is essentially through a concept level of design,” said Keith O’Connor, principal at SOM. “Now that Stony Brook has been selected, we’ll be doing much more detailed work in schematic design and design development.”

While the plans call for the biggest mass timber building in New York City, the developers of the project, which will start in 2025 and is expected to open in 2028, have not gotten into the details about all the materials they will use and where they will purchase them.

As with so many other decisions related to a center dedicated to understanding and combating the effects of climate change, the choices for the materials will reflect the center’s goals.

“It’s not only about how we come up with the best system and most appropriate design,” O’Connor said. “It has to be a holistic picture. It’s all about the full life of the materials — everything from where they originate, how they are processed and how they are transported and shipped.”

The decisions will consider the future and the way the center, which Stony Brook has named the New York Climate Exchange, might reuse or adapt the materials.

In addition, SOM and Stony Brook are committed to executing changes in the construction of the 400,000-square-foot facility, which will include 230,000 square feet of new buildings and 170,000 square feet of refurbished space.

SOM will share information related to the process.

“We need to help other people understand how they, too, can make intelligent choices,” O’Connor said.

SOM plans to implement tried and true technologies and push the envelope in doing things that haven’t been done.

“What we do with the Exchange can help move the market,” said O’Connor.

SOM has been working with mass timber in several projects, including for the Billie Jean King Library in Long Beach, California. SOM will also use mass timber as a part of the High Line-Moynihan Train Hall Connector, a pedestrian path between Moynihan Train Hall, Manhattan West and the High Line.

O’Connor explained that mass timber doesn’t need an additional finish on top of it, which allows builders and designers to use less material.

The design of the buildings will be 18 feet in elevation, which is 10 feet higher than the existing structures. Stony Brook and SOM wanted the buildings to have resilience amid future storm surges.

The goal of the Exchange is to use effective design techniques to enhance resilience.

Part of the proposal involves altering the stone sea wall, a hard-engineered armored edge of the island, and replacing it with a living shoreline that is ecologically and landscape based.

The island will have a variety of plantings to create a terrestrial and diverse habitat, O’Connor added.

Working with MNLA, SOM is coming up with plantings that are appropriate for conditions ranging from elevations of five and eight feet with exposure to salt spray up to 18 feet.

O’Connor explained that the teams involved in the project are eager to start working. The next steps will include design engineering, procurement and construction, which will “take some time.”

O’Connor was pleased to be involved in a project that is “profoundly meaningful to our city and society.” He suggested such work might occur once or twice in a generation or a career.

Comsewogue business students work with Leg. Kara Hahn to feed animals

by TBR Staff - April 27, 2023

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Above, Comsewogue High School Business Honor Society students and school administrators with Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, center wearing blue and yellow, during a pet food donation event. Photo courtesy Deniz Yildirim

By Deniz Yildirim

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) recently teamed up with the Comsewogue High School Business Honor Society to help pets on Long Island.

On Tuesday, April 25, Hahn met with students and club advisors Anthony Ketterer and Anthony Rovello to pick up over 100 pet-related food items.

‘Unfortunately, many have to face tough choices between paying the bills, feeding themselves and feeding their pets.’

— Kara Hahn

Students, such as senior Riley Hughes, earned community service hours by making dog toys. Hughes also braided multiple strands of fabric to create a colorful chew toy. The team collected wet and dry food, treats, leashes and more.

The business department presented its collection to Hahn on a table in their classroom, then listened as she addressed the organization about the importance of giving back to the community.

“There are so many families who need help,” the county legislator said. “Unfortunately, many have to face tough choices between paying the bills, feeding themselves and feeding their pets.”

The proceeds from this effort will go to Baxter’s Pet Pantry and the Port Jeff Station-based animal shelter Save-A-Pet.

Comsewogue Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Quinn and High School Principal Mike Mosca also attended the event. “It is important to help those who cannot advocate for themselves,” Quinn said. “I’m so proud of our students.”

Deniz Yildirim is a librarian at Comsewogue High School.

Sound Beach Spring Festival: a reminder of the past and a beacon of what’s to come

by Raymond Janis - April 26, 2023

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Cavalier_ruberto — Sound Beach Civic Association President Bea Ruberto, left, and Dorothy Cavalier, Democratic candidate for Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District, celebrate during the hamlet’s 2nd annual Spring Festival. Photo by Raymond Janis

Along New York Avenue in Sound Beach, before rows of storefronts and restaurant spaces — some filled, others not — thousands gathered on Saturday, April 22, for the 2nd annual Sound Beach Spring Festival and Street Fair.

The event featured dozens of local businesses and merchants tabling outside, along with food stands, face painting, music and other festivities.

The annual festival is hosted by the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce, an organization founded in 2018 to draw businesses and economic development into the neighboring hamlets.

Gary Pollakusky, president and executive director of RPSBCC, said there was a two-year gap in the first and second festivals due to COVID-19. With public health concerns abating, the chamber picked up where it had left off before the pandemic.

“We had, I’d say, over 65 vendors, and we had thousands of people come through, all seeing for the first time some of the new businesses in Sound Beach,” he said.

Bea Ruberto is president of the Sound Beach Civic Association, the leading advocacy group representing the hamlet’s roughly 7,000 residents. She has been a leader in raising awareness for this private beach community.

“One of the things that we as a civic have tried to do for years is make people aware that we exist, make our representatives aware that we exist,” she said.

To do that, Ruberto has been forceful in distinguishing Sound Beach for its unique history and local identity. She authored “Sound Beach: Our Town, Our Story,” which was recently adapted into the documentary film, “The History Upon Our Shores: Sound Beach, NY.”

Gary Pollakusky, above, president and executive director of the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Raymond Janis

The historical uniqueness of Sound Beach established, Ruberto has her sights on the future. She said the annual spring festival represents a vital organ in drawing attention to the area.

“I love it because it brings people outside of Sound Beach into Sound Beach,” she said. “We want people to get to know about our community.”

Though several restaurants and merchants are in business, the commercial strip is a ways away from a fully formed, traditional main street. That, Pollakusky said, will require additional advocacy work to keep occupants of the storefronts commercially viable.

“Seeing businesses come and go is heartbreaking sometimes because those are families that are local and that are losing their livelihoods,” he said. “To see a business that did everything that it could to survive and then fail, it’s heartbreaking.”

Pollakusky indicated that countering these trends will take time and effort from local organizations and government. He outlined his aspirations for the hamlet.

“I’d like to see that our storefronts are filled,” he said. “I’d like to see that people want to come to Sound Beach to live and to patronize our businesses.” The chamber president added, “I’d like to see that we have a robust business community that is self-sustaining.”

Putting this vision into action is not so cut and dry. Consistently, Sound Beach has competed for and lost out on limited grant funding against established downtown districts also debilitated by the pandemic.

The commercial district’s small size is another limiting factor, cutting the hamlet off from certain types of grants.

“Sound Beach does not have a downtown,” Ruberto said. “We have two commercial nodes. Therefore, a lot of the downtown revitalization grant funding we can’t have.” The civic president added, “That has to be fixed.”

The Sound Beach commercial district is currently zoned J-2, a general business zoning classification typical for retail spaces. For Sound Beach to qualify for downtown revitalization funding, the Town of Brookhaven would have to rezone the hamlet to J-6, a Main Street Business classification.

Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) represents Sound Beach on the Town Board. Reached by phone, she commented on the difficulties of Sound Beach making use of those granting opportunities, stressing that Suffolk County should consider easing the criteria for qualification.

“Those funds are hard to come by,” she said. “I think the onus is on the county in being a little more flexible” in dispersing downtown revitalization funds.

Map of the Sound Beach commercial district, which is currently zoned J-2, a general business classification. Graphic from the Town of Brookhaven website

Currently, Sound Beach has much of the look and feel of a traditional downtown despite lacking the zoning classification of one. Bonner nonetheless remained open to the proposal to rezone the commercial district to J-6, potentially giving the hamlet a proper downtown and opening it to grants.

“If any business owner wanted to come in to become J-6, it’s certainly something that we would obviously entertain,” the councilwoman said.

The U.S. Census Bureau indicates that Sound Beach’s population shrunk by more than 2.5% between 2010 and 2020. This population decline is comparable to those of neighboring hamlets in the area, including Rocky Point, Miller Place and Mount Sinai.

Dorothy Cavalier, legislative aide to Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), is running to fill the seat of her boss this November as Anker is term limited.

The candidate remarked upon the need for a larger governmental initiative to return small businesses to the area and keep residents from leaving the county for the Sun Belt.

“We’re losing a lot of people to Down South and other places, and we really need to figure out how to get them to stay here,” Cavalier said. “We need to get the small businesses back here because once we get the businesses to come back, the people will follow. They’ll stay.”

In the meantime, Bonner emphasized that the businesses in Sound Beach are still recovering from the aftermath of the pandemic. To support those businesses, she encouraged the community to continue patronizing local mom-and-pops in their hour of need.

“The pandemic really brought a lot of people to their knees financially, and our small businesses are the ones that suffered the most,” she said. “That’s why we have to invest with our dollars, to shop locally and support them.”

SBU will develop $700M climate center on Governors Island

by Daniel Dunaief - April 26, 2023

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sbgovernorsislandmcinnisadams — Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis, left, shakes hands with New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

With a vision to turn parts of Governors Island into a world-class center that blends into the surrounding greenery, Stony Brook University won the highly competitive process to create a climate solutions center.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and the Trust for Governors Island earlier this week named Stony Brook the lead in teaming up with other universities, nonprofits and businesses to create a $700 million facility that will start construction in 2025 and open in 2028.

Backed by a $100 million donation from the Simons Foundation, a $50 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies and $150 million from the City of New York, Stony Brook will create a unique 400,000 square-foot facility.

The center will house research laboratories and host community discussions, train 6,000 people to work in green energy jobs per year, provide educational opportunities and search for climate solutions, including those that affect low-income communities of color.

“Climate change is here and the danger is real,” Adams said at a press conference on Governors Island unveiling the winner of the competition. “I am proud to announce that we have selected a team led by Stony Brook University to deliver the New York Climate Exchange.”

Adams suggested the Stony Brook team, which includes local partners like Pace University, New York University and the City University of New York, will protect the city’s air and water.

The Trust for Governors Island also anticipates the site, which will include a “semester abroad” on-site, fellowships and internship programs, will host scientific symposiums that can bring together leaders in a range of fields.

In an email, Simons Foundation President David Spergel hopes the center will “nucleate new business that generates jobs in the region, invest in new technologies and advance solutions.”

The foundation is helping to recruit other benefactors to meet the financial needs for the site both by the example of its commitment and through personal interactions, Spergel said.

Stony Brook, meanwhile, which has a deep pool of researchers at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences investigating climate-related issues, doesn’t plan to wait until the buildings are refurbished and constructed to start the conceptual and educational work.

During phase zero, the university will “work with our partners immediately” on developing programs for kindergarten through grade 12 outreach, on scaling up green workforce development and on developing collaborative research projects across institutions, SBU President Maurie McInnis said in a town hall discussion with the campus community.

Left to right: Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Simons Foundation president David Spergel, SBU President Maurie McInnis, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Harbor School student Leanna Martin Peterson and Trust for Governors Island President Clare Newman. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Practice what it preaches

In addition to providing space that will generate and test out ideas for solutions to climate change, the New York Climate Exchange buildings will minimize the carbon footprint.

There will be 230,000 square feet of new space and 170,000 square feet of refurbished existing structures. The plans, which were created by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, involve creating the biggest mass-timber building in New York City. As an alternative to concrete and steel, mass timber has a lower carbon footprint and is lighter.

Mass timber uses “less material and in a more efficient way,” said Keith O’Connor, principal at SOM, who runs the city design practice in New York and Washington, D.C., in an interview.

SOM designed the tops of the buildings with 142,000 square feet of solar cells, which will generate more than enough power for the site, enabling the center to provide all of its electricity needs and to send some energy to the city.

“We wanted to work really hard to avoid having a field of solar panels sitting off to the side” or sticking solar panels on each roof, O’Connor said. Instead, the solar panels, which will be at slightly different angles from each other, track the topography of the structures without creating a glaring field of reflected light.

Guests who arrive at Governors Island will notice a solar canopy that is “front and center,” O’Connor said. “It’s about a message for everyone who is visiting — it says that energy generation is critical.”

SOM wanted to find a way to create a warm and welcoming aesthetic that provides energy, O’Connor added.

All of the nondrinking water will come from rainwater and treated wastewater.

The site anticipates diverting 95% of waste from landfills, making it one of the first in the country to achieve true zero-waste certification.

“The concept of the physical structure is astonishing,” David Manning, director of Stakeholder Relations at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which will serve as an adviser on the center, said in an interview. “You want to attract the best and the brightest. You do that with programming. It doesn’t hurt that [the design and the facilities] are also cool.”

An aerial rendering of the island after construction, which will also include 4.5 acres of new open space, looks more like a park than a typical research station.

Governors Island, which hosts about a million visitors each year who arrive on ferries that run every half hour, plans to double the ferry service, with trips traveling every 15 minutes during the day starting next year. Also in 2024, the city will start using a hybrid electric ferry to reduce emissions.

Considerable collaborative support

McInnis expressed her gratitude to the team at Stony Brook and to her partners for putting together the winning proposal.

McInnis suggested that the university’s commitment to studying, understanding and mitigating climate change, coupled with national and international collaborations, would unite numerous strengths in one place.

“We knew we had the right team to lead this effort,” said McInnis at the announcement on Governors Island. “We also knew we needed a diverse set of partners” in areas including environmental justice, in the business sector and in philanthropic communities.

Other partners include Georgia Tech, University of Washington, Duke University, Rochester Institute of Technology and University of Oxford, England.

BNL’s Manning appreciated the opportunity to attend the kickoff of the project on Governors Island.

Near the tip of Manhattan amid a “stunning blue sky,” the gathering was the “perfect setting” to announce and create solutions that were “this future focused,” Manning said.

Middle Country Mad Dogs drain Riverhead Blue Waves

by Bill Landon - April 24, 2023

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Not having won since their opening game of the season against Mattituck back in March, the Mad Dogs of Middle Country desperately needed a win to snap a seven-game losing streak. Opportunity knocked when the Riverhead Blue Waves came calling on Saturday, April 22.

Protecting a one-goal lead at the halftime break, senior attack Charles Cavalieri split the pipes in the opening minute of the second half to put his team out front 4-2. But the Blue Waves countered with a pair of goals halfway through the third quarter to make it a new game at four-all.

Cavalieri’s stick spoke again to put the Mad Dogs back out front when his younger brother, Jack, buried his shot to push ahead 6-4. But the Blue Waves answered with a goal near the finish to trail by just one. Middle Country held on, though, edging the Blue Waves 8-6 in the Div. I contest.

Charles Cavalieri topped the scoring chart for the Mad Dogs with two goals and two assists. Aidan Eck had one goal and two assists. Jack Cavalieri and Andrew DiMondo scored two goals each, and Joseph Grottola scored. Goalie Logan Hoenig had 11 saves in net.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Declining commercial real estate values and its impact

by Daniel Febrizio - April 23, 2023

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KingsParkDowntown_04w — Downtown Kings Park. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

There have been rumblings recently regarding the state of the commercial real estate market. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, people were forced to leave the workplace and instead work virtually, if possible.

Though going back to the office full-time is now an option for many businesses, some are satisfied with employees working from home. Experts now worry that remote work could be driving down the demand for commercial real estate.

“If these commercial landlords can’t make money, they’re going to file for … property tax relief,” said Martin Cantor, director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, in a phone interview. “And if they get it granted because they’re not making money, that property tax is going to be shifted to residential.”

Deputy Comptroller for New York City Rahul Jain also shed light on the topic, noting that the industrial market is doing very well right now but office markets remain questionable.

“Real estate generally pays a higher rate on the value of the property than residential does,” he said in a phone interview. “If you have a real decline in the value of that property … that means somebody else has to pick up the remainder. And so that burden could end up potentially falling on residential taxpayers.”

Phil Shwom, president of the Long Island-based industrial and commercial realtor Schacker Realty, added further context.

“We’ve seen a couple of deals where they’ve taken an office building and converted it to industrial,” he said in a phone interview. “There’s also been talk about taking down some office buildings and building residential, which I think is happening in the city, but less so on Long Island, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it does happen at some point.”

When asked if commercial property owners might consider repurposing some locations as residential developments, as Shwom said, Jain agreed that that could be a possibility.

“When you look at the economics of it, it might make sense not only on the demand side,” Jain said, referencing that there are now fewer people going to offices to work. “But on the supply side, there’s clearly some push to increase the number of housing units because housing in the metro area has always been more expensive than the rest of the country.”

Jain emphasized that the burden of commercial taxes potentially falling on residential taxpayers and the possibility for commercial spaces converting into residential development are very complex issues.

It may still be a few years until the full effects of the pandemic on commercial office spaces become evident and what domino effects may result from that.

Starbucks East Setauket and nonprofit target childhood hunger

by Raymond Janis - April 23, 2023

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Lux_michalos — Barbie Lux, store manager at East Setauket Starbucks, left, and Irene Michalos, founder and executive director of Agape Meals for Kids. Photo by Raymond Janis

A local Starbucks location and a nonprofit organization are joining forces to alleviate childhood food insecurity on Long Island.

Last month, The Starbucks Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Starbucks Coffee Company, awarded $10,000 to the Mount Sinai-based nonprofit Agape Meals for Kids through its Neighborhood Grants program. The grant was mediated by the Starbucks East Setauket location on Route 25A. Through the partnership, leaders of both organizations are working toward an overall goal of eradicating hunger on Long Island and across America.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service indicates that 10.2 percent of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2021. Long Island Cares estimates as many as 230,000 Long Islanders are food insecure, 68,000 of whom are children.

“We find that there are [nearly] 70,000 children on Long Island alone that live with chronic hunger and food insecurity,” said Irene Michalos, founder and executive director of Agape Meals for Kids. “That number is horrible, and we need to do something about it.”

Agape is 100% volunteer-run, providing weekend meals for students who rely upon free lunch programs. After being founded in the fall of 2021, the nonprofit organization quickly began branching out into school districts across Long Island, its program supporting students from Comsewogue, Shoreham-Wading River and Brentwood schools, along with The Thomas Emanuel Early Childhood Center in Corona, Queens.

Witnessing the problem from up close, Michalos has observed food insecure children often exhibit an inability to focus in class, show a tendency to act out and can have health outcomes.

“When you’re hungry, you feel aggravated, frustrated,” she said. “Their behaviors are interpreted as naughty, but they’re not — they’re hungry.”

Barbie Lux, store manager at East Setauket Starbucks, explained how the partnership with Agape first came together. Lux became aware of the program through a mutual contact at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Port Jefferson. After meeting Michalos and learning about Agape’s community impact, she described herself as fully on board.

“I found out about the amazing work that she does with the kids,” the store manager said. “You tell me you’re feeding children, and I’m there to help you.”

Within the New York Metro Starbucks region, which comprises stores across Long Island and New York City, Lux began raising awareness about Agape. First at her store and then others throughout the region, word soon got out.

Lux and Michalos coordinated a food packing event in December, during which Starbucks staff and Agape volunteers filled backpacks with donated foodstuffs, which were later distributed to children in the program. Since then, the two organizations have forged even closer ties.

The Starbucks Foundation’s Neighborhood Grants program enables Starbucks staff to vote for a nonprofit organization reflective of their organizational and philanthropic priorities. Lux detailed her behind-the-scenes efforts to generate votes for Agape.

“To get 250 to 260 partners to vote for one organization, I hounded them,” she said. “I started to cry when I saw that Agape got $10,000.”

Agape currently feeds approximately 200 children. Michalos said the grant money allows the organization to grow considerably.

“We can comfortably see ourselves, through this incredible grant, being able to add 25 more children from September to December and another 25 between January and June,” she said.

With this momentum, Michalos and her organization are just getting off the ground. She outlined an ambitious goal for both the region and the nation.

“I think that childhood food insecurity and alleviating poverty in this country is something that we can do,” the nonprofit founder said. “There are many programs that we can expand and support to meet the needs of our families and children here.”

Lux added that public awareness of food insecurity represents an essential first step toward a resolution, noting that responsible stewardship of food waste would also play a role.

“There’s so much waste in the world, so much waste of food,” she said. “Just donate it in a timely manner so that it’s fresh and everything … because a child could be hungry.”

Along with East Setauket Starbucks, Agape collection baskets remain open at various Starbucks coffee shops, including at Stony Brook, St. James, Miller Place and Centereach.

Lux said she hopes to continue strengthening the partnership between Starbucks and Agape, with plans for another food-packing event and related activities already in the works.

The store manager said she does not plan on ending this partnership: “I’ve had so many people I’ve worked with, but the day I met [Michalos], I was like, ‘She’s doing good, we need to help her.’ So it’s not going to end.”

PJS/T chamber president to challenge Englebright, Figliola for Suffolk’s 5th District

by Raymond Janis - April 22, 2023

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The race to replace Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) is now a three-way contest as Jen Dzvonar, president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, has declared her candidacy.

Hahn’s 5th Legislative District spans Three Village, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station, Terryville and parts of Coram and Mount Sinai. The incumbent cannot seek reelection due to 12-year term limits for county offices.

Former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and 2022 GOP primary candidate for New York’s 1st Congressional District, Anthony Figliola of East Setauket, have received their respective party committee’s nominations. [See story, “Legislative races ramp up across levels of government,” The Port Times Record, March 9, also TBR News Media website.]

Dzvonar’s campaign is unaffiliated with a political party. She owns the Port Jefferson Station-based Bass Electric and has served as chamber president for over a decade. She is also a Port Jefferson Rotary Club member.

In an exclusive interview, Dzvonar told TBR News Media she entered the race to build upon ongoing efforts within the 5th District.

“I wanted to make sure that our community is moving in a forward direction, still making progress, still revitalizing,” she said.

The chamber president suggested local initiatives often stagnate due to bureaucracy. She expressed interest in “streamlining” government services, limiting paperwork and removing other impediments within the county government.

“Especially being in the chamber, I see the struggle of local and small businesses — even small developers — that have a hard time getting things to happen,” she said. “It just seems to take so long, and I want to streamline that whole process.”

Among other policy concerns, Dzvonar said she would focus on addressing homelessness, maintaining that the county offers valuable services that are not used to their full potential. Accessing social services, she noted, should be simple.

“There are so many great programs already established for homeless people, people with addiction, with mental health,” the candidate said. “We just need to make those services more readily available.”

She added, “There just seems to be a disconnect somewhere. They don’t make it easy for people that have these issues to be able to obtain help.”

Dzvonar also proposed expanding sewer access into Port Jefferson Station, a measure she contended could bolster further community development. “We can’t get rid of the blight until that is done,” she said.

Dzvonar added that increasing the number of mental health personnel within the county and promoting the Safer Streets initiative are also items on her agenda.

To get on the ballot, Dzvonar has a tall task ahead, needing to obtain 1,500 signatures between April 18 and May 23. Election Day is November 7.

Brookhaven boat ramp reconfiguration to settle longtime safety concerns

by Raymond Janis - April 22, 2023

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cover — Left to right: Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, Scott Declue, Joe Cristino and Neil DeVine at the town-operated Port Jefferson Boat Ramp. Photo by Raymond Janis

On a rainy evening in April 2017, Smithtown resident Joe Cristino drove north on Barnum Avenue in Port Jefferson when he approached the intersection of West Broadway.

Between poor visibility and unfamiliarity with the sideroads, Cristino continued straight as the light turned green. This decision would prove to be nearly fatal.

Within seconds, Cristino’s vehicle was in the Port Jefferson Harbor, having plunged off the Brookhaven Town boat ramp just west of the marina. Six years later, he and two indivduals who helped save his life met with Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornriech (D-Stony Brook) at the scene to discuss potential progress.

Cristino recalled the moment he drove off the dock. “I see that I’m in the water, so I screamed out, ‘Help, please help,’ and I saw two people at the dock, and they came running into the water,” he remembered. “Next thing I know, I’m in the hospital.”

Cristino lost consciousness for hours, placed in a medically induced coma. Doctors did not know if he would be brain dead. He remained hospitalized for five days following the incident.

Luckily for him, there were two good Samaritans — Scott Declue and Neil DeVine — who helped to pull him from the water, saving his life.

Declue, who had braved the 38-degree water to pull Cristino from the car, remembered the trauma of looking into the eyes of a seemingly dying man.

“It’s something you never forget,” he said. “All I remember was looking at him and seeing those eyes, like, ‘You’re my only hope.’”

Declue recalled Cristino’s precarious physical condition: “He was foaming at the mouth, and when they pulled him out, he was in a [near] rigor mortis form, frozen.”

DeVine had jumped into the water as well. Along with Tony Barton and Wayne Rampone Jr., DeVine helped to pull a life-rescue line and ring carrying Cristino and Declue, lifting them from the frigid water.

DeVine, a Port Jefferson resident, remarked upon the severity of the moment. “To fail at this attempt would have changed our lives dramatically,” he said.

Cristino, Declue and DeVine remain friends, united by shared trauma.

Town of Brookhaven officials are working to alleviate longtime public safety concerns over the intersection of Barnum Avenue and West Broadway in Port Jefferson. Under the new plan, above, the town aims to redesign its boat ramp exit while adding landscaping and signage. Graphic courtesy Jonathan Kornreich

Layout changes

In December, Nassau resident Stuart Dorfman was pronounced dead at the scene after driving off the same dock. [See story, “Man suffers medical emergency, drives off dock in Port Jefferson,” TBR News Media website.] Six years after the original incident, the boat ramp remains the same.

DeVine, who passes by the intersection frequently, described an unnerving feeling of hearing about another tragedy. “Reading that in the paper definitely stirred up some feelings there,” he said.

‘This hopefully will never happen again.’

— Jonathan Kornreich

The Town of Brookhaven is taking tangible steps toward remediating the issue. Kornreich, whose 1st Council District includes Port Jefferson, attended the dock reunion with Cristino, Declue and DeVine.

Kornreich noted that the dock issue first came to his attention after reading about the most recent fatality at the site, after which he approached the town parks commissioner, Edward Morris, asking for a redesign. The commissioner complied with the request.

“There have been a number of these kinds of incidents,” the councilmember said. “We’re getting ready to repave over here, so as part of that I asked the parks commissioner, and we’ve redesigned” the intersection.

Kornreich presented engineering plans for the redesign, which include closing off much of the existing exit to traffic while adding trees and additional signage. The councilmember said the proposed layout changes should go into effect in the coming months.

Resolutions

Upon hearing the story of Cristino’s near-death experience, Kornreich expressed both consolation for the victim and optimism for the site’s future.

“This hopefully will never happen again,” he said to Cristino. “What you went through, no one should have to endure.”

Assessing the engineering plans, Declue remarked, “This is amazing compared to what’s going on here now.”

‘The only regret is that it didn’t happen sooner.’

— Neil DeVine

On why the safety hazard has stood unchanged for so many years, Kornreich suggested that simple solutions require the necessary public attention and political initiative. “It’s not politics, it’s not complicated,” the councilmember said. “It’s just that someone has to say, ‘Hey, there’s a problem here, and let’s fix it.’”

DeVine conveyed his confidence in the new plan. “The only regret is that it didn’t happen sooner,” he said. “But I’m happy that things are going to get done now, and I’m so thankful that Joe is here with us today.”

Declue noted that tragic events do not always come to tidy resolutions. He thanked Kornreich and the town for recognizing the public’s concern and putting a plan in place.

“You don’t have good outcomes like this all the time,” he said.

As for Cristino, who opted not to sue the town for the injuries he sustained, he remained appreciative of the potential remedy, though reminding the town not to let up until the intersection is made safe for all.

“Let’s try to get the ball rolling so that no one else will have to suffer a horrible event as I had,” he said.

Port Jeff boys lax wins handily

by Bill Landon - April 22, 2023

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Royals notch first win over Bellport

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Eager to pick up their first win of this early season, the Port Jefferson Royals did just that, winning 11-5 in a Div. II road game against Bellport on Thursday afternoon, April 20.

The team’s young talent made its mark. Sophomore Ryan Filippi led the way for the Royals with four goals and three assists. Teammate Rowan Casey, a freshman, scored three goals and had two assists. Sophomore Patrick Johnston had three assists and scored.

Senior Matthew Buonomo scored twice with an assist, and Jonah Pflaster also found the net. Port Jeff’s freshman goalie Owen Whiffen had 12 saves in net.

The Royals will look to make it two in a row with another road game on Monday, April 24, when they face Sayville (3-4) at 5:00 p.m.

— Photos by Bill Landon

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