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Times of Huntington-Northport

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Photo courtesy of Whaling Museum

Join the Whaling Museum, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor to receive your NYS Safe Boating Certificate with a Safe Boating Course on Saturday, July 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Learn the essentials of safe boat operation, regulations, and responsibilities of boat ownership. This course meets the NYS education requirement for the Personal Water Craft Operation Permit, Youth and Adult Boating Certificate.

Available for individuals aged 10 and older, the enrollment fee is $35, which covers access to exhibits. To register, visit www.cshwhalingmuseum.org or click here.

For more information, call 631-367-3418.

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Stolen vehicles recovered from Suffolk County lot. Photo from Suffolk County D.A.'s office

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on July 7 that Tiansi Gong, 26, of Manhattan, Kevin McCarthy, 31, of Selden, and Matthew Hibner, 36, of Huntington Station, were indicted for Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, and several other related charges, for allegedly purchasing high-end vehicles through identity theft.

“Identity theft crimes cause serious financial and emotional trauma to victims, but when defendants escalate to violence against law enforcement, they cross an even more dangerous line,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Our office is committed to holding accountable those who prey on innocent victims and endanger the safety of our officers.”

“The defendants are accused of sweeping crimes that demonstrated a propensity toward violence and a blatant disregard for the public’s safety and well-being,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “HSI New York is proud to work with our law enforcement partners in our shared commitment to dismantling criminal organizations’ intent on harming innocent New Yorkers.”

“This case highlights the lengths criminals will go to defraud the American public. These individuals expected to capitalize from identity theft and joyride in their ill-gotten gains, however when you use the U.S. Mail for illegal activity, you should also expect to be caught and brought to justice.” said USPIS New York Division Acting Inspector in Charge Ed Gallashaw. “We commend the work of the Suffolk County Police Department Auto Crimes Unit and our law enforcement partners for putting the brakes on this high-speed crime.”

According to the investigation, in April 2025 the Suffolk County Police Department Property Auto Crimes Unit launched a probe into a number of stolen high-end vehicles. Detectives initially traced the vehicles to a lot on Zorn Avenue in Yaphank where they observed McCarthy and Hibner driving three stolen vehicles on a number of occasions in late April. McCarthy and Hibner were observed driving a 2022 Dodge Challenger, a 2025 Cadillac CT5, and a 2021 Chevrolet Camaro (a photograph of the three vehicles is attached).

On May 1, 2025, McCarthy was observed driving the stolen Challenger from the Zorn Avenue lot to a 7-Eleven convenience store in Bellport when law enforcement attempted to stop him. After law enforcement identified themselves and tried to arrest McCarthy, he refused to stop his vehicle. His girlfriend Emily Figueroa, 42, of Coram, was a passenger in the vehicle during the exchange. When the detective attempted to lean into McCarthy’s driver side window to arrest him, McCarthy put the Challenger in reverse, rammed the unmarked police vehicle behind him, accelerated the speed, and pushed the police vehicle several feet backwards. McCarthy then placed the Challenger into drive and sped away, dragging the detective and injuring him. During the flight, Figueroa allegedly concealed McCarthy’s loaded firearm. Figueroa also allegedly paid for a ridesharing service after they ditched the Challenger to flee.

McCarthy was apprehended a short time later at Figueroa’s residence. During his arrest, McCarthy allegedly possessed a loaded .9mm semiautomatic pistol, over one-half ounce of cocaine, methamphetamine, and psilocybin, commonly referred to as mushrooms. McCarthy also had in his possession over 40 vehicle titles and keys to 58 different vehicles.

That same day, at a simultaneous surveillance taking place in Huntington Station, Hibner was arrested near his residence as he entered a stolen Chevrolet Camaro.

Also, on May 7, 2025, a court authorized search warrant was obtained to search the Zorn Avenue Lot in Yapank. During the execution of the warrant, law enforcement discovered several more stolen vehicles, including a stolen 2025 Cadillac CT5.

Detectives then traced the stolen vehicles and discovered that the Dodge Challenger that McCarthy fled police with, the Chevrolet Camaro Hibner was about to enter during his arrest, and the Cadillac CT5 at the Zorn Avenue lot, were each allegedly purchased from dealerships with stolen identities. Detectives contacted the identity theft victims and found that over half a million dollars in vehicle loans had been fraudulently opened in their names. The victims were initially unaware that their credit was used to purchase the cars. Law enforcement spoke to the car dealerships where the stolen cars were purchased and, in each instance, dealership employees identified Gong as the alleged individual who used stolen identities to purchase the vehicles.

Investigation into the stolen vehicles’ registration addresses led back to Gong’s Roosevelt Island apartment located at 888 Main Street, New York.

On May 29, 2025, a court authorized search warrant was executed on Gong’s apartment. Law enforcement recovered financial records linking him to the stolen cars. Additionally, law enforcement recovered financial documents pertaining to 33 other identities. These documents included financial records such as investment and retirement accounts. Law enforcement has identified some of the victims and is continuing to work to identify all potential victims.

One of the victims whose identity had been stolen works full time for Uber driving a minivan. Gong allegedly used this victim’s identity to purchase a Cadillac with a retail value of $200,000. In December 2024, Gong was pulled over for traffic violation by the NYPD and presented this victim’s identification. Because Gong used the stolen identification, he caused traffic tickets and the associated Driver Violation Points to be issued in the identity theft victim’s name and jeopardized the license and victim’s work as an Uber driver.

To date, over 35 potential identity theft victims have been identified.

On June 25, 2025, McCarthy was arraigned on the indictment before Justice Philip Goglas for the following charges contained in the indictment:

  •   Scheme To Defraud in the First Degree, a Class E felony;
  •   Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony.
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, a Class D felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, a Class D felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, a Class D felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a Class A felony;
  •   Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D felony;
  •   Reckless Driving, an Unclassified misdemeanor;
  •   Attempted Escape in the First Degree, a Class D felony; and
  •   Criminal Mischief, a Class E felony.

Justice Goglas ordered McCarthy held on $750,000 cash, $2,000,000 bond or $10,000,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. McCarthy is due back in court on August 19, 2025, and faces 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count. He is being represented by Joseph Cozzo, Esq.

On June 30, 2025, Figueroa was arraigned on the indictment before Justice Philip Goglas for Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree, a Class E felony.

Justice Goglas ordered Figueroa released from jail without bail because her charge is considered non-bail eligible under current New York State law, meaning prosecutors cannot ask for, and judges cannot set bail. Figueroa is due back in court on July 28, 2025, and faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison if convicted on the top count. She is being represented by Jeremy Scileppi, Esq.

On June 25, 2025, Gong was arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court Justice Philip Goglas for Scheme to Defraud in The First Degree, a Class E Felony, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony.

Justice Goglas ordered Gong held on $750,000 cash, $1,500,000 bond or $7,000,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Gong is due back in court on July 31, 2025, and faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison if convicted on the top count. He is being represented by Kenneth Kushner, Esq.

On July 7, 2025, Hibner was arraigned on the indictment before, Acting Supreme Court Justice Philip Goglas for:

  •   Scheme To Defraud in the First Degree, A Class E felony;
  •   Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony.
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, a Class D felony;
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, a Class D felony; and
  •   Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, a Class D felony.

Justice Goglas ordered Hibner released on his own recognizance because his charges are considered non-bail eligible under current New York State law, meaning prosecutors cannot ask for, and judges cannot set bail.

Hibner is due back in court on August 25, 2025, and faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison if convicted on the top count. He is being represented by Eric Franz, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Janine Santorelli of the Grand Jury Unit and Jacob Kubetz of the Narcotics Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Michelle Baker of the Suffolk County Police Department Auto Crimes Unit. The investigation also included members of the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, United States Postal Inspectors, and Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

 

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Football star from East Northport Preston Carey chooses the University of Georgia Bulldogs at gala media event in Oheka Castle

By Steven Zaitz

Preston Carey, a high school football star who grew up in East Northport, turned stately Oheka Castle into his own personal ‘Dawg Pound’, announcing his commitment to play for the University of Georgia this past Monday.

In a setting fit for a fairy tale, this press conference/red carpet celebration brought to a close the much publicized selection process, which led to over 50 Division I scholarship offers for Carey. These offers started coming to Carey as early as 2022 when he was just a freshman.

But now with half the crowd holding microphones and video equipment and the other half in black tie and ball gowns holding champagne, all were waiting breathlessly for his decision. The 6’5”, 305 pound defensive lineman sat at the dais inside the wood-paneled library of the historic 127-room estate in Huntington on June 30.  

As 300 of his friends and ex-teammates partied in an adjacent banquet hall, Carey’s family, along with a phalanx of media squeezed into the small room to witness Carey lift up one of four shiny silver cloches that were spread out on the table in front of him. His dad and youth football coach, Benjamin Carey, sat with him at the table, as the decision reveal was imminent.

Under those cloches were four baseball caps representing the University of Florida, Rutgers University, Auburn University and the University of Georgia. 

Along with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, the crowd in the library was treated to a brief video that highlighted his rise from a youth football player in the 495 Long Island Elite program that his father founded, to scenes of his exhaustive underwater workouts and grueling agility drills. 

The stylized video also showed clips of his games at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington and his current school, the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where he has blossomed into a 4-star college recruit. As the video faded to black, Preston thanked everyone for coming and his last words were ‘for the next few years I’ll be going to-’. 

The screen went dark.

The library now swelled with anticipation and the lights around the dais shimmered around Carey and his dad. All four hats were now uncovered and everyone in the room knew the time had come.  

Carey thanked everyone for coming, then stood and said, “I know why you are all here tonight – to find out where I’ll be going to college; it’s the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs!”

He pumped his fist a few times, put on the red and black Georgia hat that lay in front of him, and hugged his father as the room exploded with applause.

Benjamin Carey, who along with Half Hollow Hills West coach Gerald Filardi, runs the 495 Elite Football Academy, was brimming with pride for his son.

“It has been such a long journey and sometimes very difficult and this night was just bittersweet,” said Benjamin Carey, who is renowned for his ‘no participation trophies’ approach to football. “It was a celebration of winning. We overcame the odds and built something special and all these people here tonight are in some way part of it.”

Preston Carey started playing youth football around the age of five.  He started as a quarterback, but as he grew, switched over to lineman. His academic journey started at Fifth Avenue Elementary School in East Northport and went to Long Island Lutheran Middle School before joining the St. Anthony Friars as a freshman in 2022. He was 6’3” and 280 pounds as a ninth-grader and that year, he and his Friars won the Catholic League State championship over St. Francis Prep on Thanksgiving weekend in Buffalo, NY.

Soon after, college offers started to roll in. The first one was from LSU,then Western Illinois, and Penn State, Michigan and many other schools of this ilk over the past three years. In that time, Carey has grown not only in size and strength, but as a person, a student, a teammate and a man.

In an interview with Varsity Media, just moments after the announcement, he was already thinking about what he has to do next.

“This feels really good, but there is still a lot of work to be done and I’m excited to get back in the gym,” he said as waves of media and well-wishers brushed past him. “That’s why I’m where I am today.”

Carey will play for IMG Academy for one more season and matriculate to UGA, which is in the city of Athens and has produced household football names such as Fran Tarkenton, Herschel Walker, Matthew Stafford, Roquan Smith and Richard Seymour. Seymour was a dominant defensive lineman for the Patriots in the early 2000s, winning three Super Bowls. D-Liners Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis both of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Devonte Wyatt, a Green Bay Packer, are also UGA Alum.

“Georgia is ‘Defensive Line University,” Carey said. “They came up to see me as a freshman when I couldn’t make it down there. They have shown me love since they offered me a scholarship when I was in eighth grade and have always believed in my talent, all the way up to now.”

So now, the castle portion of Preston Carey’s fairy tale is complete. However, his dream of being a Bulldog, and playing on one of college football’s biggest stages, and perhaps beyond, has just begun.

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One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society
One of the gardens featured during last year's tour. Photo courtesy of Northport Historical Society

By Tara Mae

The Northport Historical Society and Museum’s annual garden tour fundraiser is a celebration of friendship and flora, an acknowledgement that both require care and attention to flourish. 

This year’s event, titled the Remembrance Garden Tour: In Memory of Arlene Handel, will be held on Sunday, July 13, from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to take a self-guided tour of gardens from six private homes including an English-style parterre with David Austin roses and foxgloves; a formal garden influenced by Charleston design with cast iron furniture and boxwood-lined paths; a tranquil woodland garden with family-heirloom elements like “Grandpa’s Rock;” and an apiary and organic pollinator landscape kept by a professional designer. 

Additionally, there are serene gardens ensconcing historic homes; naturalistic beds; native plantings, ponds; and, even a chicken coop guarded by “Bella the Guard Goose.” One of the locations will provide refreshments and more than 20 raffle baskets featuring a variety of lifestyle items and recreational experiences on which to bid.  

“What makes this experience special is not only the diversity of garden styles — from historic backdrops to whimsical pollinator havens — but also the stories behind them. Visitors can expect personal touches, deep-rooted family histories, and meaningful tributes woven into the landscapes,” said Northport Historical Society Director of Marketing and Membership Cary Bianculli.

Flowers have different meanings: remembrance, love, friendship. Motifs of cultivated gardens offer insight and understanding as well as charm and quietude. These gardens are tales written in a richly unique language, means of self-expression and communication between the gardener, nature, and visitors.

President of the Board of Trustees and Garden Tour Chair Carolyn P. Hyatt-Basche, who selected the current participants, recognizes that dialect. 

“We have both big and small gardens on the tour. The homeowners are so enthusiastic, and it is so nice to share that with people,” she said. 

Hyatt-Basche used her association with various other gardening organizations — the Long Island chapter of the Rock Garden Society; the Long Island Horticultural Society; the American Hosta Society; the Asharoken Garden Club; the Planting Fields Arboretum; and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden — to recruit residents to showcase their floriferous retreats. 

“The Garden Tour is not only a fundraiser for the Northport Historical Society and Museum but also an invitation to step into the stories, history, and beauty of the Northport community,” Bianculli said. “It’s a meaningful way to honor the past, support the present, and plant inspiration for the future.” 

Honoring that heritage involves commemorating the contributions of individual people. This year’s tour is a tribute to Arlene Handel, a longtime Northport Historical Society member and garden tour supporter, who passed away in February. Handel, the former Village of Northport deputy mayor, served on the Society’s board of trustees, and on many other local boards. 

“Arlene Handel was a deeply cherished member of the Northport community, known for her lifelong commitment to public service, preservation, and beautification efforts,” Bianculli said. “She was an avid gardener whose passion for horticulture was well known. Her own garden was featured on the tour one year, reflecting her personal connection to the event.” 

Permeating the tour is Handel’s legacy of enriching her environment, embodied by its sensorial locations. Designed to delight, the artful gardens are curated to satiate the senses and invigorate the imagination. A resplendent revelry of sumptuous scents, vibrant colors, and individual intricacies, they are a testament to the bond made from nurturing nature.

“The event is a celebration of beauty, yes, but also resilience, creativity, and shared inspiration. It encourages each of us to nurture our own ‘little corner of the world’ into something we can be proud of,” Bianculli said. “That spirit of connection and transformation is what we most look forward to each year — and why this event continues to resonate with so many.”

Tickets to the Remembrance Garden Tour are $45 per person, $40 members in advance. Day-of tickets are $50. 

Ticketholders can drop by the Northport Historical Society and Museum, 215 Main Street, Northport on Saturday, July 12 between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. or Sunday, July 13 between 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to pick up a Guide to the Gardens which will serve as your ticket. For more information, call 631-757-9859 or visit www.northporthistorical.org.

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Town of Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth speaks about boat safety at a press conference on July 2. Photo from Town of Huntington Facebook

Large Boat Crowds Expected for Asharoken Fireworks

Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, town maritime staff, and County law enforcement held a press conference on July 2 covering the essential rules to follow on the water this Independence Day weekend and highlighting the importance of abiding by each and every rule.

The Town will be implementing temporary 5 mile-per-hour speed zones to ensure safety in town waterways on July 4 from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Please refer to this link to view the zone map and their speeds.

Map courtesy of Town of Huntington

The Town of Huntington also warns boaters that there will be over 1,000 boats on Town waterways this holiday.  The Town and local law enforcement want everyone to be aware of the dangers that a wake from speedboating creates, as they can potentially destabilize a smaller or overcrowded boat – “caution is of the utmost importance as this exact scenario played out several years ago to Victoria Gaines” said Supervisor Smyth.

As a result of Victoria Gaines passing, who would’ve turned 21 this summer, Huntington initiated a Boating Safety Week each May, at the beginning of the boating season.

Town of Huntington reminds its residents, it is now state law that if you are going to be at the helm of a boat, classes are mandatory, as is a boating license.

The Town’s Harbormaster’s office will be out on the waters supporting the Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau enforcing the following rules:

  • Speeding
  • intoxication
  • boat overcrowding

The Town would also like to remind boaters that Huntington’s Harbor Masters will be out patrolling the waters from 7:00 am until 1:00 am every day and on call 24-7, to ensure the safety of Town waterways.  Huntington also announced that boat capacity plates are on every boat.  These plates direct operators on how much weight is allowed on each boat.  The weight indicated on the plates include passengers and equipment/gear.

The Town of Huntington urge that every person on each boat is fitted with a life jacket.  The life jackets should be the appropriate size for each person – adult’s for adults and children’s for children. Adult sized life jackets do not protect children.

Supervisor Smyth and the Department of Maritime Services also announced there are now throwable life rings on all docks and ramps in Town in the case of an emergency.

The Town of Huntington emphasizes that it is extremely important that all citizens know that boating while intoxicated is just as illegal, dangerous, and as serious of a crime as driving while intoxicated. According to the NIH and the US Coast Guard, “alcohol consumption contributes to 18% of boating deaths in which the primary cause is known, making alcohol the leading known contributor of fatal boating accidents.”

Sergeant Peter Zotos of the Suffolk County Police Department stated “Alcohol and water are a dangerous combination. The sun, heat, and motion of the boat already impair your judgment and coordination to operate safely – adding alcohol or drugs already magnifies that effect.”

Supervisor Smyth sent a message to kayakers “I urge all kayakers to use common sense when you are on the water.  Stay out of the channels, stay close to shore, particularly this weekend, when there is a tremendous amount of boating activity.  Be smart about it.  Be safe.

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Village of Asharoken Fireworks Show
The Village of Asharoken’s annual fireworks show will take place at Crab Meadow Beach, Waterview St. W., Fort Salonga, on Friday, July 4 at 9:15 p.m.  Viewing is available from Crab Meadow Beach, James Street or Ocean Avenue in Northport. Boaters can watch the fireworks from Northport Bay or the Long Island Sound.

 

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Fireworks in Port Jefferson for Independence Day in a previous year. Photo by David Ackerman

The two-party system is embedded into every political conversation. When a politician, local or federal, is the subject of a news article, their name is followed by a “D” or “R”. To many, the difference means much more than it should.

The emotions tied to those two letters may be negative or positive, ranging from dislike to amenable trust, and stem from sincere concern for our community and country.

The distrust one may feel for the opposite party can border on dislike and, encouraged by the acrimony of their counterpart, can lead to fiery animosity. Fueled by the anonymous, fearful rhetoric of digital echo chambers and by the open hostility of today’s leaders for whom compromise has become synonymous with weakness, parties can become identities. An attack on an identity becomes personal. The understanding that each party desires a better America, that the whole reason for the parties is to ensure that the government works for the benefit of the people, is lost in the combative, competitive trading of attacks, verbal and political.

The Fourth of July is a holiday for Americans–not just for Republicans or Democrats. We can all celebrate the entirety of America and its history, not just with and for those who agree with us or who are members of the same party. 

It honors the history we all share as citizens; the birth of this nation and the structure of our democracy allows us all to have a say in its future. This Independence Day, we should reflect, not only on our nation’s history, but on how that history informed the issues that characterize present day politics. Our constitutional rights, what it means to be an American, what it means to live in a democracy: these are all questions that previous generations of passionate people have grappled with over the last 249 years. How do we interpret them today? How do we balance defending our country with the unity of cultures inherent to our country’s founding, sealed in the words, “we the people”?

On Thursday night, red, white and blue fireworks will explode in the sky, our nation’s flag will be splayed across hats, bathing suits and shirts. Firecracker popsicles will be in our freezers as we fire up our barbecues. Most Americans will be celebrating, and no one, not Democrat or Republican, can begrudge the other the right to do so. On this day, let’s remember that this country belongs to all of us and together it’s much stronger when we work together. Let’s not become so accustomed to divisiveness that we ignore the voices and hopes of our fellow Americans. Let’s remember why we celebrate and, hopefully, allow that history to infuse our beliefs with some empathy, as the day marking U.S. Independence reminds us how much we can accomplish when we work together. 

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Photo by Raymond Janis

Rallies should be covered

The assertions in Mr.  Ceo’s letter to the editor in last week’s edition (Times Beacon Record, 6/26) was wrong for several reasons. First, the No Kings rally which I attended along with hundreds of others was in our area and deserved newspaper coverage. If the rally were espousing another political point of view with which I may disagree, it would also deserve coverage. A newspaper cannot be expected to report only news with which readers may agree. As for the claim that the participants in the rally were “misguided,” what could be more American than rallying for democracy over a monarchy. Our founders staked their lives on it. 

Second, he is wrong about masks and other efforts to control COVID. At that time COVID was a mortal danger.— Many people died. An unmasked person with COVID was a serious threat to me. That makes it not a matter of personal choice but a matter of public health. A person’s choice not to wear a mask was a threat to all around him or her. Because it was a matter of public health, it was not, and should not have been, a matter of personal choice. Your liberty ends when your actions threaten me. That is why we have laws against drunk driving and smoking in public places. The same is true of the need to have children vaccinated before they enter school. Unvaccinated children may infect others with serious diseases. 

Adam D. Fisher 

Port Jefferson Station

TBR needs to cover rallies

I take exception to the premise of the letter writer in last week’s Times Beacon Record who complained about your coverage of the No Kings rallies (“Local community paper should cover community events,” June 26). When thousands of Long Islanders show up on a cold and rainy Saturday to protest the actions of the current White House administration, that’s newsworthy. The protests were national in scope, with seven in Suffolk County, including Port Jefferson Station. How much more local can you get? All Long Island media outlets, both print and broadcast, covered the rallies. The TBR would have been remiss in not doing so.

The letter writer labels the No Kings rallies as “ineffectual protest that accomplished nothing.” That’s his opinion. Those who braved the inclement weather on June 14 to voice their disagreement with the current President and his administration would no doubt disagree.

The letter writer compiled a laundry list of the deprivations we all experienced during the COVID shutdown: closed schools, businesses, houses of worship and so on, citing this as evidence of “real dictatorship.” First of all, much of this occurred during the final year of the first Trump administration. Let’s recall that our nation was facing an unpredictable and fear-inspiring pandemic. Measures were taken that now may appear  unnecessary in hindsight, but represented a good faith government response to COVID at that time. Some actions were right, others wrong. Perhaps many of us, including the letter writer, survived the pandemic because of the correct government actions.

 Martin Skrocki

 Wading River

Local papers need to cover local rallies

To the Editor:

I beg to differ with Rick Ceo, who writes in a June 26 letter that TBR newspapers shouldn’t have covered the “No Kings” protest in Port Jefferson Station.  It is precisely the function of local newspapers to hold the government accountable by reporting on controversial topics and events within our local communities.  Unfortunately, over the past few decades hundreds of local papers have either been shuttered or reduced to little more than boosterish rote reports on parades, street fairs, ribbon cuttings, or excerpts from press releases put out by local officials.  The resulting blackout of incisive reporting is not healthy for a constitutional democracy. 

I wonder if, during a Democratic administration, coverage of a local protest by right-leaning demonstrators against its behavior or policies by TBR newspapers would so “irritate” and “rankle” Mr. CEO.  He states that TBR should not have reported on the local “No Kings” demonstration because it was a “totally ineffectual protest that accomplished nothing.”   Maybe he should re-read the First Amendment, with its clause guaranteeing “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Mr. Ceo inaccurately claims that the parade celebrating the US Army’s founding was planned during the Biden administration.  Actually it was Trump who proposed it, in his first administration.  I’m old enough to remember the 200thanniversary of the Army’s founding (1975).  There was no large-scale military parade in our nation’s capital.  There has never been a large-scale military parade of this type, costing some $45 million and unconnected to the end of a war, held in Washington, D.C.  Such parades, with their reviewing stand and massive display of tanks, missiles and other military hardware are typically held in Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang, or Tehran, not in Washington, D.C.  That is why one protester stated, “we don’t do dictator parades.”

As for Mr Ceo’s gripes about supposedly “dictatorial” measures put in place to combat COVID-19, perhaps he thinks he might have done a better job protecting the American public from a pandemic that ended up killing over a million Americans.  Good government means balancing individual rights against the well-being of the community at large.  All of the measures he mentions: masks, social distancing, vaccination, preventing large-scale gatherings particularly indoors, proved essential to slowing the spread of that highly contagious disease in a population with no immunity.  The biggest problem was the politicization of those measures.  For all his exaggerated boastfulness, Trump never brags about the best thing he ever did, namely Operation Warp Speed, which fast -tracked the development of a vaccine, saving countless lives.  Why? Because it doesn’t fit in with his political agenda, which is based on falsehoods, conspiracy theories and magical thinking about health and individual rights.

David Friedman 

St. James

No Kings protest is an important local story

In a recent letter (“Local community paper should cover community events,” June 25), Rick CEO criticized this newspaper for covering “left-leaning causes” like the No Kings protest, arguing that it should instead focus on what he considers more deserving topics, such as the Port Jefferson mayoral race.

In fact, the Port Times Record provided excellent coverage of the recent mayoral election, which is how I know that just 1,724 people voted. By contrast, the No Kings protest drew roughly twice that number of participants in Port Jefferson alone. Across Long Island, more than 35,000 people took part in a dozen related demonstrations, joining 4 to 6 million Americans at over 2,000 locations nationwide. Going by numbers alone, the protests were arguably more newsworthy than the election, not less so. Fortunately, this paper had the capacity and judgment to cover both stories well.

Mr. Ceo is, of course, entitled to his opinions. He is free to argue (however unconvincingly) that public health measures like mask mandates and quarantines amounted to tyranny, while anonymous federal agents abducting people for indefinite detention in foreign gulags without due process does not. What he is not entitled to do is urge a community newspaper to suppress coverage of a major local contribution to a national civic movement. That suggestion reflects an illegitimate, anti-democratic impulse—-precisely the kind that makes peaceful, patriotic protests, like those held on June 14, so important.

John Hover

East Setauket

To the Editor

The North Country Peace Group has been an integral part of our Three Village and Suffolk County community for 23 years. We are a grassroots group of local community members who came together in 2002 to protest the Iraq War and continue to stand for peace and justice. We do advocacy work promoting policies supporting peace. Throughout the years we have worked on the following issues: Say No to War, lessen the threat of nuclear proliferation worldwide, fight for the rights of our immigrant families and neighbors, bring the war dollars home to our communities, defend our democracy from authoritarian threats to our Constitution, support Black Lives Matter and join with local environmental groups seeking justice. 

We work together promoting nonviolent activism advocating for peaceful resolutions for a just society. At a pivotal time, with uncertain challenges, together we can serve the common good, working to preserve our democracy with equality and justice for all. We strive for a more just and equitable world and community by promoting peaceful solutions to conflicts.

 Join us every Saturday on Route 25A and Bennetts Road in Setauket from 11:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the south side of 25A near the CVS store. Everyone is welcome. 

Bruce K. Barry

NCPG Member 

East Setauke

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL  

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

 

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A scene from last year’s vendor tent at the Sea Glass Festival. Photo from Whaling Museum

The Whaling Museum and Education Center in Cold Spring Harbor has announced the return of its Sea Glass Festival, which features an array of new activities and enriched experiences for the 2025 season. Set to take place on Sunday, July 20, 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., this popular family-friendly event will celebrate the history, artistry, and allure of sea glass, now with an expanded presence on historic Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor. 

The event is the only one of its kind in the region and is the museum’s largest community event which welcomes 1,000 attendees. It is supported in part with funds awarded through a grant from Suffolk County Economic Development and Planning.

The day will feature all new presentations from Mary McCarthy, former Education Chair and Vice President of the North American Sea Glass Association and George WM Fisher, author of multiple books on Long Island’s bottles and medicines companies. 

Winners of last year’s Sea Glass Fiction Contest. Photo from Whaling Museum

The Museum’s second annual Sea Glass Fiction Contest winners will be announced and winners will be presented with their awards by Nomi Dayan, Executive Director at The Whaling Museum and reporter Daniel Dunaief of TBR News Media. All three presentations will take place at Preservation Long Island, a 5-minute walk from the  museum.

The Sea Glass Festival will also offer an exciting array of over 20 sea glass vendors, sea glass crafts provided by OneRiver Woodbury and a fascinating look at glass blowing by Ro’s Glass Works. 

The Cold Spring Harbor Firehouse Museum will offer free entry to Sea Glass participants and Sweetie Pies on Main created a special Sea Glass drink for purchase. There will also be a town wide Sea Glass Scavenger Hunt along Cold Spring Harbor’s business district. Tumbled by the Sea will have their very own “Buoy the Bus” in front of the museum. The bus remains stationary while participants enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience through self-guided tours and interactive activities.

Other great activities include live music by Rory Kelly, author talk by Roxie Zwicker, food trucks and more. Also, visitors are encouraged to bring their antique bottles to be appraised by Long Island Antique Bottle Association (LIABA).

General admission is $20 for adults and children ages 3 and up. For more information, call 631-369-3418 or visit cshwhalingmuseum.org/seaglass.

This article originally appeared in TBR News Media’s Summer Times supplement on June 19, 2025.

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Two-year olds, or, as in the case of our children, three-year olds do it readily.

You ask them for something, like a hand to cross the street, their patience while you finish your breakfast, or a moment of quiet so you can conclude a phone call and the loudest and most insistent word in their vocabulary erupts through their mouths: “Nooooooo!”

It’s one of the defining elements of the Terrible Twos, when the power, the independence, and the assertion of no becomes leverage, a game, and, perhaps, a way to seize a moment or more of control when their parents are making just about every decision for them.

Somewhere along the line, we become socialized and the idea of saying “no” to everything, or even to many things, becomes problematic and potentially ostracizing.

Peer pressure makes the declaration that you have to study instead of going to the beach with all your friends less understandable and acceptable.

Saying “no” can lead to all kinds of questions.

“You seriously think what you’re studying is so important?”

“You think what you’ll learn is going to help you get into a better school?”

“Wouldn’t it be more fun to hang out with us and throw a frisbee on the beach?”

So, the “no” response gets shelved, especially in social circles.

It’s ironic and unfair to parents, of course, that the times we want our children to say “yes,” they are comfortable telling us “no,” but when we want them to say “no,” they suddenly become much more pliable.

Anyway, back to the concept of no. So, many years ago, my wife and I were scanning the movie listings, back in the days when our dates involved going to a film, eating popcorn and then discussing the character, the plot, the theater and the entire outing for hours afterwards.

We decided on one of the many Batman films, and after some back and forth, found a theater with a viewing time that worked for us. I remember sitting through the movie, shaking my head at the plot, shrugging at the action, and wondering when the film would end.

After some discussion, we realized that neither of us wanted to see the movie and we were both going because we thought the other one was interested.

Nowadays, when we’re making decisions, we can cut straight to the chase.

“Wait,” one of us will say, “is this Batman?”

It’s a quick and easy opportunity to share our genuine interest in an optional activity.

We have become so refined at our willingness to share what we think at the risk of disappointing the other person that we give a percentage of Batman. A 50 percent is a shrugging indifference, while a 90 percent is a strong preference to find an alternative.

I’ve heard people these days use the words “or no” at the end of questions when they’re trying to make a decision.

“Do you want to go to a diner after we’re done with this work?” one of them will ask.

When the decision takes too long, someone will say, “so, are we going to the diner or no?”

The “or no” part seems superfluous. The question has two answers: yes or no. Yes, I know, like our Batman discussion, someone could say, kind of or maybe, or 63.49 percent yes, but, generally speaking, yes and no are the likely replies.

Maybe the “or no” phrase is a way of making it socially acceptable to say a word we overused and now, perhaps, underuse: no. By adding “or no,” the questioner encourages a companion to share a genuine opinion about getting a grilled cheese with fries at the diner.

The “or no” option increases the sincerity in the search for an honest answer.

Rarely, of course, does someone say, “do I look good in this, or no?” or “does my new haircut suit me, or no?” Perhaps the context for the use of the or no phrase reflects how confident the speaker is in receiving a negative response.

Hearing the phrase “or no” means the listener hears the word before saying it, making it easier to restart the planning process.

That two-letter word can help people avoid activities that neither of them really want to do in the first place.

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief,
Publisher

Given all the chaos, both globally and domestically, in today’s world, it is surprising that the stock market is back to just about where it was before the decline started with the pandemic. So what does that tell us about investing, and especially about investing in stocks?

According to Charles D. Ellis, a Wall Street guru, who has written a new book called, “Rethinking Investing: A Very Short Guide to Very Long-Term Investing,” it’s not what is happening in the world at any given moment that matters, according to him. The magic element for financial success is time. When most people think of long-term, they may think five years, maybe ten years. Ellis is talking 60 years.

So who has a 60-year horizon?

There are two ways to answer that question. If you are in your 20s when you start investing, and if you believe in the incredible returns you get from money compounding as you reinvest the dividends over the decades, you can realize significant wealth by your 80s. 

In other words, let’s say you buy a stock or an index fund at $100 that pays a five percent dividend when you are 25. A year later, you have $105, if you let the principal compound, meaning, you automatically reinvest the dividend into more stock. You now have more dividends from more stocks to reinvest after the second year, and so it goes. The dividends keep increasing as the number of stocks increase and perhaps also appreciate—most of the time. If the stocks should drop in price for a while, the dividends get to buy more stocks at the cheaper price.When you are in your 80s, you will be a happy camper if your stocks remain untouched for 60 years.

This is good advice for those in their 20s, or thereabouts, today.

If you are older, the other way to think about a 60-year time horizon is if you consider that you are investing for your grandchildren, who have a long-term future. Of course, they would have to leave the stocks untouched to allow them to compound, so you need to explain this essentially passive strategy to them. They would hope to make enough money from their day jobs to pay their bills so they can let their inherited investment  compound undisturbed.

Low-cost stock index funds that are diversified are a recommendation from Ellis. They reduce the risk of picking the wrong individual stocks, and they do as well as the overall market. And the overall market, over the long-term, is a winner. From January 1926 through March, 2025, the annualized return for the S&P 500 (a combination of selected stocks) was 10.43 percent, according to analysts. That includes the several severe market declines, over those years, that are overcome with long-term investing. While that’s almost 100 years, if we look over the past 60 years, the number is almost the same: 10.46 through June 20.

That means, an investment would have doubled in less than 7 years, on average and that repeated doubling continues. Further eye-popping statistics: The cumulative return for the S&P 500 for those 60 years was…wait for it… 38,881.17 percent. Yes, really! So, if you had invested $1000 60 years ago, it would be $390,000 today. Woulda! Coulda! Shoulda!

That said, losses over a one year period happen 30 percent of the time for all stock portfolios. And according to analysts, for an investor to have withstood all the losses since 1926, they would have had to hold the S&P 500 for 13 years.

For all of the above statistics and information, I am grateful to The New York Times’s writer, Jeff Sommer, who likes the way Ellis thinks, as reported in his column, Strategies. This appears in Sunday Business each week. Thank you, Jeff. I like the way you think.

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