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Times of Huntington-Northport

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By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

A few weeks ago, a Chicago White Sox player named Yermin Mercedes did what he was paid to do, hitting a ball far. His manager Tony La Russa was furious because his player broke an unwritten rule, swinging at a 3-0 pitch from an infielder for the Minnesota Twins when his team was already winning by 11 runs.

The next day, La Russa seemed fine with a Minnesota pitcher throwing a pitch behind the knees of Mercedes as punishment for a violation of that unwritten rule.

So, what are other possible random unwritten rules regarding life sportsmanship and what should the potential punishments be for violating those rules?

For starters, if you’ve lost a lot of weight, you don’t need to ask other people who clearly haven’t lost any weight, or perhaps have put on pandemic pounds, how they’re doing on their diet or if they’ve lost weight. They haven’t lost any weight. We know it, they know and you know it. You don’t need to contrast your success with their failure. The punishment for that kind of infraction should be that you have to eat an entire box of donuts or cookies in under a minute.

If you rescued a dog from the vet or the pound or from a box beneath a bridge in the middle of an urban war zone, you don’t need to ask where I got my overpriced and poorly trained dog. We get it: you did something great rescuing a dog, while those of us with designer dogs are struggling to get them to be quiet while we repeat the few answers we get right to the questions on “Jeopardy!” The punishment for such self-righteous dog ownership should be that you have to pick up the designer dog’s poop for a day. If you’ve been over virtuous, you also might have to compliment him on the excellent quality of his droppings and send other people a TikTok of your poop flattery.

If your kid just won the chess championship, you don’t need to wear a different T-shirt each day of the week that captures the moment of her triumph. The punishment for over bragging is that you have to wear a tee shirt that says, “Your kid is just as amazing as mine and certainly has better parents.”

If you’re in first class on a plane and you board first to sit in your larger, more comfortable seat, you don’t have to look away every time someone might make eye contact or, worse, through your fellow passengers. You aren’t obligated to look at everyone, but you can make periodic eye contact or provide a nod of recognition to the plebeians from group six. The punishment for such above-it-all behavior should be that you have to echo everything the flight attendant says as others board the plane, offering a chipper “good morning” or “welcome aboard.”

Finally, if you’ve taken a spectacular vacation, you don’t need to share every detail of your trip, from the type of alcohol you drank to the sweet smell of the ocean breeze to the sight of a baby bird hatching just outside your window. If you overdo the unsolicited details, you’ll have to listen to every mundane detail of the person’s life who was home doing his or her job while you were relaxing. Afterwards, you’ll have to take a test on his story. If you fail, you have to listen to more details, until you can pass.

Maybe Mr. La Russa has a point: unwritten rules could be a way to enforce life sportsmanship outside the lines.

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Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Probably because of COVID-19, there has been more discussion in the media about depression, anxiety and mental health in general. CVS, the nation’s largest retail pharmacy, and the one owned by the Melville Corporation, (the company started by local philanthropist Ward Melville by the way) is creating a new niche for its many stores. It has been hiring licensed clinical social workers for a pilot project in several cities and will offer walk-in sessions or by appointment. 

The social workers are trained in cognitive behavior therapy or CBT. I believe that is generally a form of short term therapy in which the immediate problem is discussed and treated using evidence-based techniques. According to an article in The New York Times, May 10, social workers will offer assessments, referrals and counseling. They will be available during the day and also on evenings and weekends, and also by telemedicine. They will partner with the company’s nurse practitioners and pharmacists for prescriptions when needed.  This will be yet another nonemergency health care service the chain is providing, as they have most recently offered coronavirus vaccines for the public.

Now others beside pharmacies like Rite Aid and Walgreens, who are also planning mental health care, are seeing opportunity in the health field. Albertsons, a grocery chain, offers injectable antipsychotic drugs as well as injectable medication to help treat substance abuse. And a while ago, I got my first shingles vaccine in a drug store.

What a change from the pharmacy of my childhood. I well remember walking down to the drug store five blocks away in New York City with my dad, before I was even of elementary school age, to buy ice cream. That was the only place with a freezer, and the selections were Breyer’s vanilla, or chocolate, or vanilla, chocolate and strawberry together in half gallon containers. They were in a freezer chest, like a foot locker, and when I leaned in to pick the selection, the cold took my breath away. The pharmacy also had a counter where we could sit and get sundaes and milkshakes. But most of the time, we carried the ice cream carton home, hurriedly so it wouldn’t melt, to eat together with the rest of the family.

Another recent focus in the mental health field is on food. And sadly the foods we typically turn to when we are stressed, inevitably sugar-laden and of high fat like ice cream, pastries, pizza and hamburgers, now are on the mental wellness bad list. Nutritional psychiatry is an emerging field which looks at the relationship between diet and mental health. The idea that what we eat can affect our physical health is an accepted one, and now the same concept is extended to our mental wellbeing with the following physiological specifics thanks to research. 

“A healthy diet promotes a healthy gut, which communicates with the brain through what is known as the gut-brain axis. Microbes in the gut produce neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which regulate our mood and emotions, and the gut microbiome has been implicated in mental health outcomes,” states The New York Times in a May 18 article by Anahad O’Connor.

People who eat a lot of nutrient-dense foods, like fruits and vegetables “report less depression and greater levels of happiness and mental well-being,” according to the NYT.

There is a bit of a chicken-egg conundrum here concerning which comes first? Do anxiety and depression drive people to eat unhealthy foods or are those who are happy and optimistic more likely to choose nutritious foods that further brighten their moods? Recent research has borne out that healthy foods do improve moods.

“Seafood, greens, nuts and beans — and a little dark chocolate” is the basic dietary advice of Dr. Drew Ramsey, a psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. His jingle comes with the message that food can be empowering.

*This article was revised on June 1, 2021.

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Green Thumb

Would you like to try eating some delicious, fresh, local, certified organic vegetables, herbs and fruit? How about getting all this, and organically grown flowers too, at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington before or after seeing a movie? (The Cinema will be announcing a reopening date soon)

Green Thumb Community Support Agriculture (CSA) – Huntington is coming to the Cinema Arts Centre’s Sky Room Café starting Thursday, June 3 (and every Thursday till December 10th), between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Green Thumb CSA

And for first-time CSA members, who are members of the Cinema, Green Thumb CSA – Huntington is offering $55 off the initial sign-up cost of joining! (Plus, if you make an appointment just to visit the CSA at the Cinema, you’ll leave with an edible parting gift (a sample from the CSA share for that week). Join by May 30 to be able to begin picking up your organic veggies on June 3rd. There just might be some strawberries!

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it’s a great way for a group of people (Community) to support (Supported) a local farm family (Agriculture), while also getting fresh, local, certified organic produce at a fair price. Green Thumb CSA – Huntington is great for families (kids that come to the CSA are more likely to eat veggies THEY pick out), great for seniors (if you’re interested in eating healthy on a budget this is a mighty good investment), great for singles (if you want to share a CSA share with someone we provide a matchmaking service), and great for everyone who’s interested in eating better (and tastier), saving money, keeping our Long Island agricultural heritage going strong, and helping to clean up our environment.

All the food in the CSA share is from Green Thumb Farm in Water Mill, NY. They are an 11th generation family farm that’s been farming on Long Island since the 1640s. Almost half of what they grow is sold to CSA members so CSA helps keep this family doing what they love, and what they’re very good at doing.

Join now and tour the farm and come Strawberry picking on June 26 (free and for CSA members only)!

For more information, and to make an appointment to visit Green Thumb CSA – Huntington for some free organic produce, call 631-421-4864, or email [email protected].

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Photo by Kyle Parker

The Huntington Militia invites the community to its annual Muster Day at The Arsenal, 425 Park Ave., Huntington on Sunday, May 23 from noon to 5 p.m.

Men at Arms will march, drill with muskets and fire muskets along with trades demonstrations. Watch as the Militia prepares the cannon to be fired and hear the roar of the cannon on the field! The Arsenal will be closed indoors. Free.

Visit their website for more information at www.huntingtonmilitia.com and for important COVID-19 precautions.

 

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Photo from Pexels

While many are hoping to return to normal after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, we’re hoping for a return to civility.

Last week a woman we know was attending an outdoor event. Like many, she made sure she put her mask on in the car so she wouldn’t have to fiddle with it at the gate. While walking along the street, with a couple of people in front of her and a few behind, a man in a pickup truck yelled, “Take off your masks.”

Why was this necessary?

On a national level a video, showing actor Ricky Schroder harassing a Costco employee because he asked the actor to wear a mask, has gone viral. Even though the actor later apologized for his behavior, why did he get in the face of someone who was just doing their job?

Why did he feel it was important for him to force his belief system on someone who was just being cautious during a major health crisis?

Yes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing themselves, except in certain crowded settings and venues, such as when taking public transportation. There is also another caveat, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations apply. This exception also includes local business and workplace guidance.

The new CDC guidelines were adopted by New York State May 19. However, people who are not vaccinated still need to wear masks. Unfortunately, not everyone has the integrity to be honest about not being vaccinated.

As we move forward, there also will be people who, even though they are vaccinated, are still anxious, especially since there is a small chance they can still come down with COVID-19 to some degree. Let them wear their masks without being harassed.

Listen, we understand: No one was prepared to be enlisted to fight in a war against an invisible enemy — a virus that spreads without warning. But we American soldiers this time around weren’t asked to give up our everyday lives to risk those same lives on a battlefield. We were asked to hunker down to decrease the chances of people getting seriously ill, even die, from a new virus. We were asked to live life differently so our hospitals wouldn’t be overcrowded, where patients would have to wait for care, or health care professionals would be put in a position where they would need to decide who to treat.

While many feared our rights would be taken away from us, Americans still have all of their rights intact more than a year later after we were asked to stay home as much as possible and mask up when we left our homes.

It’s a shame that a health crisis had to be made political, making our country even more divisive. It’s time to realize that everyone’s journey has been different during the pandemic, and everyone’s fears during this pandemic varied. Some were fortunate that the virus didn’t touch their lives while others lost loved ones.

Every once in a while it pays to take a step back and consider how others feel, maybe even respectfully ask them where they are coming from in the situation.

We still need to practice patience as we slowly but surely come out of this pandemic, although we may be subject to a new, unsuspected virulent strain. Showing a little respect for others and being a bit kinder never hurts to make things a little more bearable.

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Sunset Yoga Flow at the Vanderbilt Museum

Save the date! Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport hosts a Sunset Yoga Flow event on Friday, May 28 from 7 to 8 p.m. Kick off your weekend with a beautiful view on the Great Lawn overlooking Northport Harbor. All props and mats will be provided upon request. Check in begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 adults, $15 children. To register, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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Photo from Pixabay

Working with the rideshare company Lyft, Suffolk County is offering free rides for senior citizens, veterans and people who are driving impaired to get their vaccinations for COVID-19 at county-run sites.

Starting on June 1, seniors who are over the age of 60, veterans and driving impaired residents can contact Suffolk 311 to schedule a pick-up and drop off to receive their inoculations.

The county would like residents to have an “equal ability to get their vaccines,” regardless of whether they have easy access to transportation, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said at a press conference announcing the program. “It’s not only good for them and their health: it’s good for all of us. It means that we will get closer to the numbers and the level of vaccinations we need to say that we have put this virus behind us.”

Suffolk County will be able to schedule and pay for the rides on behalf of residents, according to a Lyft spokeswoman.

The effort is a part of Lyft’s Universal Vaccine Access program, which started in December of 2020. Lyft has created more than 100 such partnerships and is facilitating access to rides throughout the country.

Lyft drivers will not wait outside while residents receive shots. County staff can arrange for pick up and drop off up to seven days in advance when residents call 311.

When seniors, veterans or driving impaired residents need transportation for their shots, county staff can request a ride using Lyft’s Concierge platform, which allows groups to request rides on behalf of those who may not have access to a smartphone or a bank account.

Bellone indicated that the county put out a competitive process to select a partner who could allow residents who don’t have access to a smartphone or who haven’t downloaded an app to secure a ride.

Lyft is committed to helping communities reach an “immunity that is going to get our economy back on track and our community back to normal,” Jen Hensley, head of government relations at Lyft said at the press conference.

Bellone shared his appreciation for the efforts of Senator Chuck Schumer (D).

“Without [Schumer’s] support, we wouldn’t be in a position to be able to offer a program like this,” Bellone said.

Vaccination efforts have helped reduce the spread of the virus, according to a recent interview with Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

Lyft has also partnered with the White House. 

From May 24 through July 4, anyone going to get their shots can get a ride code through the Lyft app or web site for two free rides during normal pharmacy hours of 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. of up to $15 each.

The county’s partnership with Lyft is the latest effort by Bellone to increase the number of people who have received the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Through a “Lift Your Spirit, Take Your Shot” campaign, residents who are 21 years old and over and who receive their shot at a Suffolk County run site during the month of May will get a ticket that they can redeem at a participating brewery, winery and distillery for a free beer, tasting, glass of wine or cocktail.

Eight businesses are participating in that effort, including Del Vino Vineyards in Northport.

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County Executive Steve Bellone with Dr. Gregson Pigott in front of the vaccine pods in Hauppauge. Photo by Julianne Mosher

Thanks to vaccines for COVID-19, the percentage of positive tests recently dropped below 1% for the first time since the third week of October.

“That’s a big deal,” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner for the Department of Health Services in Suffolk County.

Indeed, Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health and associate professor of medicine at Hofstra School of Medicine, said the infection rate was closer to 10 percent in the middle of the winter.

The current positive tests represent a “really low number,” Popp said.

Infections are coming down even more than they did last year amid the economic shutdown because of the vaccine, Pigott said.

Pigott added that the vaccines have proven effective against the most predominant mutated form of the virus, B117 or the UK variant, which is also the most common mutation throughout the country.

“We haven’t seen evidence of resistance to the vaccine,” he said. “The vaccine is working against it.”

The number of people hospitalized with the virus also has been declining in recent weeks. Throughout the county, under 150 people were in the hospital battling symptoms of the disease that caused the pandemic. That’s down from a high of 863 on Jan. 19.

The age of those hospitalized is generally younger than the people who needed urgent medical care in 2020. They are in their 40s and 50s, and they generally don’t stay in the hospital for long.

Because they are younger and healthier, even if they are hospitalized, they generally are discharged sooner, Pigott said.

“I expect we’ll be under 100 soon,” Pigott said.

Indeed, area hospitals reported lower numbers of Covid patients. As of May 10, Stony Brook Hospital had 42 COVID-19 patients, with 13 in the Intensive Care Unit.

As of the same date, Huntington Hospital had 17 COVID-19 positive patients.

Vaccinations

The population of people who are older than 65 have generally embraced the opportunity to receive vaccinations. Pigott said about 80% of this population in Suffolk County have been vaccinated.

The elderly, who were among those representing the larger groups hospitalized or killed by the virus, were the first group eligible to receive the vaccination. Children as young as 12 are now eligible to receive a vaccine.

The medical community has been wondering how to “cross this barrier” to encourage more people to receive a vaccine that could continue to reduce the risk of the spread of the virus, Popp said.

Popp urged medical professionals to have conversations with each person to figure out why he or she might be reluctant. He attributed some of the fears of the vaccine to misinformation spread on the Internet or over social media.

Popp recognized that some of those who are unwilling to consider the vaccine don’t have a personal or regular connection with a member of a medical community they trust.

He suggested that doctors and nurses should visit people at cultural centers and schools.

Among workers at Huntington Hospital, the rate of vaccinations has slowed and is about 73%.

“We did quite well” to get to that point, but the hospital “can not go much further” without overcoming some resistance, Popp said.

Pigott said that the halt in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13 tamped down on the vaccination rate.

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration stopped the use of that vaccine pending an analysis of rare side effects, the county “never recovered momentum.”

Pigott said he has participated in webinars and has encouraged people to gather information to make informed decisions.

“The best you can do is show the numbers,” Pigott said, as the number of people who are over 65 who have been hospitalized has declined dramatically as a result of the use of the vaccine.

Reopening in stages

Employers throughout the county have been monitoring the health of their workers and keeping track of the vaccination rate.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has been working its way through various phases of reopening, from phase 1, which occurred on June 1 and involved bringing back most of the scientists, to phase 2 in late September, with the return of more administrators, to phase 2A, which started May 3 and involved bringing back even more people.

The lab, which has historically hosted well-attended scientific meetings that bring together some of the best researchers from around the world, has not yet entered phase 3, when it would be open without any restrictions.

On any given day, the lab probably has 60 to 65% of its staff working on site, according to John Tuke, the chief pperating officer.

“We aspire to be 100% vaccinated, but we’re realistic to know that that’s probably not going to happen,” Tuke said. “Before we move into phase 3, we’re going to want to see that percentage be very high.”

The lab is hoping to bring some conferences back in the fall on a limited basis.

In the last week, the lab tested 400 people, with one test coming back positive. The highest the positivity rate ever got was around 1%.

The percentage of people who have received the vaccine at CSHL is in the low 80s.

While the lab has restrictions on travel, it has made exceptions for staff members to travel through requests to the director of research, the president of the lab or to Tuke.

BNL, meanwhile, continues to have about a third of its staff on site, while most of the staff continues to work remotely. Like CSHL, BNL is not requiring staff to be vaccinated.

BNL is not planning any in-person events this summer or fall. The lab has slightly expanded user access to facilities on a case-by-case basis. BNL has had 10 positive tests in the past month.

At Stony Brook University, about 82% of health care workers have been vaccinated, while 77% of students are vaccinated, with 16% looking to get it sooner rather than later, according to a spokeswoman. As with other SUNY and CUNY schools, Stony Brook will require a vaccine for everyone who returns to school in the fall.

Stony Brook is no longer requiring fully vaccinated people to wear a mask outdoors, except in crowded settings or venues.

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

No one asked me to give a graduation speech. I haven’t done anything to merit standing in front of a group of people who have poured their blood, sweat and tears into their education and who are eager for a memorable, but short send-off. If they’re like me, some of them are probably trying not to sweat on or wrinkle their diploma while they wonder who came up with the idea of turning a piece of cardboard into a hat.

Anyway, I can’t help imagining what I might say to graduates who have ended one phase of their lives and are preparing for another.

I’d start by urging people not to get angry. Adults have mastered the fine art of being angry, yelling at each other, expressing outrage at the way other’s drive, think, live and date. We can and should learn to be as patient with others as we would like them to be with us. You know those student driver bumper stickers? Maybe we should treat each other as if we’re students of life. Let’s assume, for just a moment, that the worst of what you think someone else might have said to offend you or to cause you to gnash your teeth and pull at your hair isn’t actually what they intended.

After all, during the course of your education, you likely wrote or said something in class that your teacher might have misinterpreted or that a fellow student might have taken the wrong way. Perhaps an effective metaphor here might be to imagine that you are laying out the road ahead of you. Wouldn’t it be better to create streets with turnoffs and that allowed traffic in two ways, instead of building an express lane to the world of outrage, anger and disappointment?

I would also urge you, the current graduates and the keys to an effective future, to listen to ideas and opinions that don’t mirror your own. It’s easy to live in an echo chamber, where people say what you want to hear or what you already think, but you don’t learn and grow much listening to the same ideas and expressions endlessly.

Think about your audience when you share an insight, an idea or even a joke. Your boss is probably not the best person for bawdy humor or a racy compliment, no matter how cool he or she seems. While some story might be incredibly funny to people who were there with you at the time, were inebriated, or have concluded that you couldn’t possibly offend them no matter what you said, the same preconditions don’t exist for your boss or a potential customer. Humor is like flavors of food. What constitutes funny varies greatly, with some people nearly falling over in hysterics watching someone stumble on a sidewalk and others failing to see the amusement from physical humor.

Now, this one might be the toughest to hear, but, just because your parent said it or did it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. As graduates, you have likely decided to turn your parents’ words into the sounds of teachers from the Charlie Brown animated series. While that may help you create enough distance to leave the nest, you should remember that those flawed humans who have loved and supported you from your first steps until this one are on your side and are trying to help.

Finally, I’d like to suggest that what you do is almost always much more important than what you say. It’s easy to throw words and labels in the air — “I’m an environmentalist” or “I love animals” — but it’s much more important for you to turn those words and ideas into actions. Your best intentions are great, but your best actions are that much more valuable.

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TBR News Media

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Incredible as it seems to us, we are celebrating with a special section this week the 45th anniversary of our newspaper and media group now called TBR. Where did those 45 years go?

When we reconstruct the events of both the news and behind the scenes at the newspapers over those 2340 issues, we have a chronicle of the passing time between the first edition of The Village Times and today. In this week’s issue, you will find, in a highly abridged fashion, our attempt to do just that.  We hope it brings back good memories for you because, if you have lived here during any of that time, it bears witness to what was happening around you as well.

For me the section puts into tangible form the extraordinary work of so many dedicated and talented people who have worked at the paper to gather and present the news in a balanced and cogent fashion. Some of the news has been of happy events: our children’s academic and extracurricular triumphs, our neighbors’ efforts enriching our villages through their civic, political and artistic involvement, the interesting lives we have been able to highlight, our shared history, the businesses and what they had to offer in their ads. Some of what we have printed is of necessity not happy stories. But always all the individual issues defined and held together our hometown. It has been said that what marks the boundaries of a community are its school district and the local newspaper.

Newspapers and other media are more than their reporters and editors. Almost all publications, whether print or digital, have basically the same structure: five departments. Those are editorial, advertising, art and production, business and distribution. Some of the departments are supportive of others, but I can tell you emphatically that all, with their different staffers’ skills, are vitally important and must function in tandem in order to produce the final product.

Many of our staffers have gone on to larger media companies and distinguished themselves on a bigger stage. Sometimes they come back for nostalgic visits and to let us know how they are doing. We are proud of them. Hometown papers and digital platforms are often stepping stones that provide experience and hone skills in the communications industry. But I believe none of those larger arenas is more important than the local papers, where we have to meet and answer to our readers and advertisers in the supermarkets and at the ballfields. And while there are many larger media that carry the national and international news, there are only the local newspapers and websites that tell what’s happening and what’s relevant in our daily lives.

This past year with civic unrest, and with COVID-19, has been particularly difficult for readers and business people alike. It has also been difficult for our staff. With small businesses and their advertising, the main source of our revenues and business model falling by the wayside as residents remained in lockdown, we have had to innovate repeatedly in order to survive. We were forced to reduce the number of employees, and those that remain have taken on more responsibilities even as their hours have been cut. It would have been easier to close down and wait for the pandemic to pass, but we couldn’t do that. We are essential workers, keeping our readers informed of vital information about the disease and the responses of our health systems, our educators and our government. We also needed to let people know where to buy food and supplies when so much of routine commerce had shuttered.

How were people coping, what organizations needed help, where would volunteer efforts be most needed, were all critical facts to know for our combined survival, and we had to come in to work and go out amidst the virus and the protests to gather and then communicate the news. We also were able to reassure with our coverage that ordinary life was continuing, despite the hardships.

On this occasion, when we briefly shine the spotlight on ourselves, I want to salute, among all the essential workers, the brave and committed staff of TBR. THANK YOU.

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