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St. Baldrick’s has Commack abuzz for childhood cancer research

by Alex Petroski - March 8, 2016

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Commack School District teachers, administrators, students and community members gathered at the high school on Friday to shave their heads in the name of childhood cancer research.

About 175 people “braved the shave” to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. This is the seventh year that the district has hosted the event, which is organized by Commack High School teachers Lee Tunick and Bill Scaduto. Tunick said that the district eclipsed $500,000 raised since they began the annual event seven years ago, with more than $66,000 and counting coming in 2016. More than 700 people have had their heads shaved at Commack since they began.

“The community feel is terrific,” Tunick said. “The community just gets behind this like you wouldn’t believe.”

Huntington Town Councilwoman Tracey Edwards (D) was in attendance to take part in the festivities as well.

“In comparison to what children are going through with cancer, it’s nothing,” Edwards said about the bravery required to have her head shaved in front of a gymnasium full of people. “It’s breathtaking. It’s easy to write a check. We do that all the time. Not enough people do that probably, but when you’re doing something like this, you’re going for it. You believe in it. You’re passionate about it,” she added.

Commack High School senior Chris Walsh had his head shaved in St. Baldrick’s name for the tenth year Friday. He has personally raised over $20,000.

Scaduto came to the event with a thick mane of brown hair but left with far less.

“We have a lot of quality teachers here who really volunteer their time to make this happen,” Scaduto said. “Administration, kids, everyone gets involved and it’s just amazing.”

Sports memorabilia items were donated to be bid on by Triple Crown Sports Memorabilia in Hauppauge, as another fundraising source.

For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s cause, or to donate, visit www.stbaldricks.org.

Invention Convention full of fresh ideas from young minds

by Alex Petroski - March 8, 2016

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For young Northport students, creativity was in the air recently at the Invention Convention.

Gifted and Talented Parents Association, a parent group in the district, hosted the 16^th annual Invention Convention at the William J. Brosnan administration building on Feb. 25, where students displayed their innovative projects.

The convention was open to kindergarten through sixth grade students in the district. About 25 projects were on display for community members, school administrators and school board members in attendance.

“The Invention Convention is focused on inspiring, encouraging and celebrating the creativity and ingenuity of our children,” a press release from the GTPA said. “Their natural curiosity and imagination are a perfect combination to create something new.”

One of the projects on display was “The Rotating House,” created by Fifth Avenue Elementary School second grader Andrew Mead, which turns a house at its foundation to allow sunlight into whichever room a homeowner desires at a given time.

“I think it would be very useful for everyone,” Mead said about his invention. “Some people may just want to take a nap or something but they can’t because the sun is shining right on them, and they might not want to wait so long for the sun to move around by itself.”

Logan Hecht, a first grader from Dickinson Elementary School, invented “Fork-A-Seal” for containers with snacks that come without plastic ware.

“I got this idea because one day I was going to have fruit salad for breakfast, but we were out of forks so I thought that this plastic piece right here could be a fork, so you’d always have a fork ready,” Hecht said. “You waste a piece of plastic that could be used for something good.”

Some other inventions included second grader Mitchell Cartwright’s “Second Life,” which turns used lunch trays into planters; first grader Jeffery Raynor’s “The Automatic Duster 5000,” which automatically cleans shelves; third grader Philip Bechtold’s “Adjustable Dish Drying Rack;” and first grade twins Liam and Jack Healy’s “Storm Glow RCI,” which are colorful lanterns for when the power goes out.

Harborfields board wants to pierce tax levy cap

by Victoria Espinoza - March 7, 2016

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Harborfields-Ianni-w — Harborfields Superintendent Francesco Ianni. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Harborfields Board of Education members were unanimous that it is the right time to pierce the 0.37 percent tax levy cap.

At the March 5 board meeting, trustees agreed that the approximate $82.7 million budget, with a tax levy of 2.66 percent, is the best option for the district, because of the programs it would provide, including full day kindergarten, an additional librarian, and a third-grade strong program.

Referred to as Option 3 in the district’s presentation, this budget would require a 60 percent super majority vote and would not include New York State tax rebates for any residents.

“We are not being greedy,” Trustee Suzie Lustig said at the meeting. “We are being reasonable and our government has given us an unreasonable and unfair task of trying to fund this budget. We’re not putting in excessive electives. We are doing what is necessary for all of our children in grades k through 12 and that would be supporting Option 3.”

Option 3 is approximately $1.4 million more than the allowable tax levy budget for 2016-17, and costs include $120,000 for an additional special education teacher and two teacher’s assistants, $70,000 for a BOCES cultural art program and $600,000 for full day kindergarten.

Earlier this month, the district presented three options for next year’s budget.

Option 1, about $81.3 million, stays within the 0.37 percent tax levy of cap and would require cuts, as it comes in below what a rollover budget would cost the district.

Option 2 reflects a tax levy of 0.84 percent, and costs about $289,000 more than Option 1. It provides co-curricular activities at Oldfield Middle School and Harborfields High School, two additional teachers for grades k through six, and more.

Board members also agreed that the small tax rebate for the next year is another reason piercing the cap is favorable.

“Given the smaller amount of rebates that will be available next year, it would be less costly to pierce it this year than in the years that follow,” Trustee Nicholas P. Giuliano said at the meeting.

According to the budget presentation, the state tax rebate for 2016-17 is a uniform sum of $130, regardless of each homeowner’s gross income — with the exception of homeowners in the district who make more than $275,000, who do not receive a rebate.

Option 1 is the only budget where some residents would receive a tax rebate. But board members pointed out that the 2016-17 rebate is hundreds of dollars lower than years past.

“To me this year is the perfect storm,” Lustig said. “We have the lowest tax cap levy we’ve ever had; it’s practically zero. There will be only $130 for the rebate for those who qualify, and perhaps a big portion of our community may not get any type of rebate next year.”

Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Human Resources Francesco Ianni gave the presentation, and said that the district is still waiting to see if they will receive full restoration of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which would help offset the costs for a budget with all the programs the community desires.

Harborfields goes ice cold late in championship-game loss

by TBR Staff - March 7, 2016

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Harborfields_basketball_030616_Galottiw — The Harborfields boys’ basketball team gathers in a circle before its matchup against Elmont in the Class A Long Island Championship game on March 6 where the Tornadoes fell short, 39-32. Photo by Joe Galotti

By Joe Galotti

It has been without a doubt a memorable winter for the Harborfields boys’ basketball team. But on Sunday afternoon, the Tornadoes suffered a rather disappointing finish to their season, that they will hope to soon forget.

Harborfields fell to Elmont, 41-32, in the Long Island Class A Championship matchup at Long Island University, denying the team a chance to compete for a New York State title. The Tornadoes were ice cold from the field down the stretch, failing to register a point during the final 11 minutes of the contest.

“We couldn’t score, it’s as simple as that,” Harborfields head coach John Tampori said. “We tried everything, but the ball wouldn’t go down. Layups, jump shots, it just didn’t happen for us. It was a tough, hard-fought game, and we came up short.”

Senior Rob Pecorelli led the Tornadoes with 10 points in the game. Senior Malcolm Wynter added seven points, while junior Kyle Stolba registered two 3-pointers.

Harborfields’ lineup was without junior big man Alex Merhige, who sat out due to an arm injury. The club seemed to feel the impact of his absence on both sides of the court in the title matchup.

“Any time you’re missing your tallest guy it hurts,” Tampori said. “He means so much to us back there. He can score inside for us, and we missed him terribly.”

The Tornadoes and Spartans have both been dangerous offensive teams this season. But, in their meeting on Sunday, points seemed to be hard to come by for both squads.

Harborfields senior Alex Bloom holds the ball on offense. Photo by Joe Galotti

From the start, the game proved to be a physical battle, with players unafraid to bang bodies down low in the paint. Elmont jumped out to an early eight-point lead, but Harborfields managed to battle back and trail only 22-21 at the halftime break.

Early on in the third quarter, Wynter scored back-to-back baskets, putting his team up by four. Elmont senior Jalen Burgess then responded with three consecutive buckets of his own, helping Elmont end the quarter on a 10-4 run, and take a two-point advantage into the final stanza.

Over the game’s final eight minutes, a packed bleacher full of Tornadoes fans kept on waiting for their team to get hot from the outside, and the team started draining shots like they had all season long. But Harborfields could not get anything to fall in the fourth, as the Spartans’ suffocating defense forced them into difficult shot after difficult shot.

Helping Elmont pitch a shutout in the game’s final quarter was the zone defense it deployed. On Jan. 16, the Spartans allowed 61 points to Harborfields in a loss. But that was before the team made the switch to its new defensive strategy.

Harborfields senior Robert Pecorelli, who scored a team-high 10 points, attempts to dribble past the Elmont defender in front of him while senior Danny Morgan sets a pick. Photo by Joe Galotti

“When we played them earlier in the year, we didn’t play any zone,” Elmont head coach George Holub said. “Midway through the year, we started playing zone, and it suits these guys.”

The Spartans, who earned their program’s first Long Island Championship, go on to play Byram Hills in the New York State semifinals on Saturday.

Despite the deflating ending to their season, Harborfields still finishes the year with an impressive 19-3 record and a Suffolk County small school title under its belt. The Tornadoes also had the rare experience of winning 19 consecutive games. After the loss to Elmont, Tampori was quick to praise his senior-heavy group.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve never been more proud of any team I’ve been around,” he said. “They always gave me all they got.”

Second plane in two weeks crash-lands on Long Island

by Elana Glowatz - March 7, 2016

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plane-crash-hauppauge-w — A plane that crash-landed in Hauppauge was still at the scene a few days later. Photo by Greg Pereira

By Phil Corso & Elana Glowatz

For the second time in the last couple of weeks, a plane with engine problems made an emergency landing on the North Shore.

The Suffolk County Police Department said a passenger plane flying into Republic Airport in Farmingdale on Saturday afternoon experienced engine failure while flying at 2,000 feet. The pilot, who was with his daughter and returning from visiting colleges, deployed the plane’s parachute at 1,500 feet before crash-landing at an industrial park in Hauppauge.

According to police, after the plane landed just feet from a building on Marcus Boulevard, the pilot pulled his passenger out of the plane. Police said both father and daughter refused medical attention.

The crash-landing happened exactly two weeks after another in Suffolk County, which occurred when a small plane carrying four people experienced engine trouble and went down in Setauket Harbor near Poquott. That incident did not end as safely.

The Piper PA-28, which had taken off from Fitchburg, Mass., and was heading for Republic Airport in Farmingdale, went down on the night of Feb. 20. All four people exited the plane into the water, police said, but only three were rescued. Authorities are still searching for the fourth passenger, 23-year-old Queens man Gerson Salmon-Negron.

The county police said its marine bureau has been out on the water daily, weather permitting, during daylight hours in search of the man both via the surface on boats and using side scan sonar to scan the floor of the water.

At the time the plane was having engine trouble, a student pilot identified as 25-year-old Bronx resident Austricio Ramirez was flying it and turned over the controls to his instructor, 36-year-old Queens resident Nelson Gomez.

Wady Perez, a 25-year-old from Queens, was identified as the other man rescued from the water that night.

Suffolk police were receiving help from the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Coast Guard, local fire departments and the town harbormaster in the rescue, missing person search and investigation in that February incident.

In a report released this week, the NTSP said that aircraft reported low amounts of fuel and had been operated for about five hours since its tank was last filled. The report said the plane’s engine “sputtered” as it approached the Port Jefferson area, spurring the flight instructor to turn on the electric fuel pump and instructing his student pilot to switch the fuel selector to the plane’s left fuel tank as it flew at around 2,000 feet. The sputtering stopped, but started up again about three minutes later, the NTSB said, and then lost power.

That was when the pilot instructor took control of the plane and tried heading to the shoreline, where he believed the plane could safely land, the NTSB report said. But the pilot was unable to see the shoreline due to the darkness and could only guess where the shoreline began by the lights inside of nearby houses, the report said.

He held the plane off of the water for as long as he could before touching down and instructing everyone to grab a life vest and exit the plane, the NTSB said. Neither the student pilot nor the passengers, however, were wearing life vests when they exited the plane, the report said. Emergency personnel were on the scene within minutes and rescued three of the four men.

The airplane floated in the water for about five minutes before sinking nose-first to the bottom of the harbor, the NTSB said.

Divers with the Suffolk County Police Department plunge into Setauket Harbor after a plane crash-landed on Feb. 20. Photo from Margo Arceri

Police investigate Huntington Station shooting

by Elana Glowatz - March 7, 2016

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A man was shot in the early hours of Saturday morning behind a restaurant on New York Avenue.

The Suffolk County Police Department said 39-year-old Francisco Palma was sitting in a car in a parking lot behind Melissa Restaurant, which is located near West Pulaski Road, at about 1 a.m. when an unknown person fired two shots at his vehicle.

Police said Palma, a Farmingdale resident, was hit in his left arm and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Huntington Hospital.

Detectives from the SCPD’s 2nd Squad are investigating the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call the squad at 631-854-8252, or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-220-TIPS.

Centerport firefighter has served for five decades

by TBR Staff - March 4, 2016

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James-Feely_02w — Jim Feeley has been living in Centerport for most of his life. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

A Centerport resident has planted deep roots in the community where he grew up.

Jim Feeley has been an active volunteer in the Centerport Fire Department for the past 50 years, joining in June 1965.

During his tenure he served as chief of the department twice and a volunteer EMT on the Centerport Rescue Squad. He was a member of the board of fire commissioners and the president of the Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs Council. Last year he was named Firefighter/EMT of the Year in the 18th Legislative District.

His parents built their house on Fleets Cove Road in Centerport, and Feeley met his wife Joan while walking along Fleets Cove Beach.

“I loved living across from the golf course,” Feeley said in a phone interview. “I used to hunt and explore the grounds with my brothers.”

Feeley is a 1964 Harborfields graduate, and his wife is a graduate of Walt Whitman. When it came time to decide where to raise a family, they both agreed they wanted to continue living in Centerport.

Feeley said he remembers the exact night when he decided to join the Centerport Fire Department, back in the spring of ’65 while shooting pool with his brother at an old bar in Centerport, at just 19 years of age.

“I learned a lot about my neighborhood,” he said. “There will always be someone to help you out; someone you can trust.”

Over the years, Feeley said he had been proud of the department for its active drill team, which has participated in many tournaments, and the camaraderie and closeness of the department as a whole.

According to Feeley, the fire department used to organize multifamily camping trips in the 1970s and ‘80s, and members of the Northport Fire Department even got involved.

“These are the same guys I’ve been meeting for coffee for the past 50 years,” he said. “Everyone has each other’s back. I don’t know where else you would find that.”

Feeley reflected on some of the big fires he’s worked on in his half century with the department.

“In 1966 at Gidyes Inn in Centerport, we worked on a fire for 25 hours,” he said. Gidyes Inn used to stand on Main Street where the U.S. Post Office now stands.

Feeley remembered a fire in 1972 where he and many of his family members left the table at Thanksgiving dinner to go put out a fire on Little Neck Road. The fire had gotten so big that embers were landing on boats floating near the house, which was located on the water.

Feeley’s brother, two daughters and two nephews also volunteer at the Centerport Fire Department. His wife is a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the department.

In his off time, Feeley said he enjoys gardening at the Huntington Town’s garden plot in Greenlawn on Dunlop Road and participating in the Knights of Columbus in Greenlawn.

Feeley was recently recognized for his years of service by Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) at a February Suffolk County Legislature meeting.

“James Feeley is an outstanding example of a true public servant,” Spencer said in a statement. “It is a privilege to be able to recognize and thank him for his inspiring service to our community.”

Northport looks to stay within tax levy cap

by Victoria Espinoza - March 4, 2016

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Superintendent-Robert-Banzer-2015w — Northport-East Northport Superintendent Robert Banzer. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Northport-East Northport school officials are crafting a budget for 2016-17 that would maintain all programs from the current year.

Superintendent Robert Banzer gave an update on the $160 million budget at the board meeting Thursday night, explaining the reason for the $1.8 million increase over the current year’s spending plan.

The rising costs are due mostly to staff changes and inflation, not new additions or programs, Banzer said, calling the budget “essentially” a rollover. But the district is expecting eight teachers to retire at the end of this year, and he expects that will save Northport money moving forward because new hires replacing the staffers will receive lower salaries.

The state-mandated cap on how much Northport can increase its tax levy is only 0.55 percent this budget season, according to Banzer, so non-tax revenues such as reserves and state aid will fund a majority of the budget increase.

Northport’s projection of how much state aid it will get next year, $13.9 million, would not cover that deficit. In fact, the district is expecting a 0.39 percent decrease in overall state aid, because the current year’s total had included funding to implement a full-day kindergarten program — funding that will not be repeated in 2016-17.

And it’s unclear how much the state will restore to the Gap Elimination Adjustment, a deduction it began taking out of all school districts’ aid a few years ago to help close its own budget deficit.

“There has been a lot of discussion that there will be full restoration of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which for us would be an additional $840,000,” Banzer said at the meeting. “We’re anticipating that by the end of the month, we will have a budget where we know what [the GEA restoration amount] will be.”

Banzer added that the district would hammer out the finer details of its revenue streams “as the picture becomes clearer and we have more information from the state.”

Trustee Regina Pisacani asked the superintendent if any suggestions the Athletic Facilities Citizens Advisory Committee — a group she spearheaded — gave in December are being considered for inclusion in the 2016-17 budget. Proposals for capital projects ranged from turf fields to updated lockers.

“I can’t help but think about the Athletic Facilities Citizens Advisory Committee, and the recommendations that they just made,” she said at the meeting. “Were those things looked at and recommended for this budget?”

Banzer said the projects would all be discussed, and that savings realized from the upcoming retirees’ salaries could possibly be used toward projects like those.

The district will have further budget meetings on the next few Thursdays in March, including March 10, 17 and 31, the last of which will provide an opportunity for public input.

Northport band is coming of age, and rocking

by Alex Petroski - March 4, 2016

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Kodiakw — The members of Kodiak who just performed at the Paramount in Huntington last weekend. Photo from Rich Orofino

At the Paramount last weekend, what came before the headliner was almost more impressive.

Northport-based band Kodiak performed on the Huntington stage for the first time that night, opening for Billy Joel cover band Big Shot on Saturday, Feb. 27, and the teens rocked the house.

Before the show last weekend, Kodiak had played mostly open mic nights at their high school and some local bars around Northport, according to songwriter and lead singer Rich Orofino, 17.

In an interview at Orofino’s family home Monday, he and lead guitarist Matt Louis, 16, reflected on their big night while also looking toward their bright future.

“People are singing our lyrics in the crowd,” Orofino said. “That’s, like, the best feeling.”

Orofino and Louis, students at Northport High School, stressed how appreciative they were for the opportunity presented by the Paramount and Big Shot to be able to play the show, which will be remembered as a milestone for Kodiak.

Drummer Jonah Cohn, 17, and bass player Jack Burns, 18, round out the group.

The band has been together for about a year. They compared the sound of their eponymous debut album, released in 2015, to the indie rock band Real Estate. They mentioned Bob Dylan, The Who and Led Zeppelin as some of the bands they listen to.

Their second album, “Romantic Rebel and the Phony Reaper,” which they expect to be done in the next month or so, will have a harder, more electric-driven sound.

Because of that shift, Louis and Orofino had a hard time pinpointing Kodiak’s genre. But they’re okay with that.

“You should never try to duplicate yourself,” Louis said of their evolving style.

Wisdom and maturity came through in shocking abundance while speaking to the guys. That maturity softened Linda Orofino to the idea of her son pursuing such a tumultuous and uncertain career as a musician, a few decades after her husband took his shot at stardom and fell short.

“I did not want my son to be a musician,” his mother said. But his dedication and talent have proved her wrong, she said. Her husband is proud too, she added, when he hears Kodiak perform.

Orofino estimated that he has written about 230 songs, and while he couldn’t name a favorite at first, he settled on “Embers,” off their first album, after some deliberation.

Orofino and Louis both said that music is their one and only priority right now. They don’t have other hobbies — this is all they’ve ever wanted to be.

“I’ve been writing songs since ninth grade,” Orofino said. “In tenth grade one of my best friends put my name down on an open mic list at the school and I just stepped on stage and played two of my songs and I got a standing ovation. That was, like, the greatest feeling on Earth and I just never wanted to not be on a stage from that point on.”

Lead singer Rich Orofino sings as Matt Louis plays during their performance at the Huntington venue. Photo from Rich Orofino

Anyone who has spent time in Northport could understand how artists from there find inspiration.

“There’s so much Northport in our music,” Louis said.

Orofino fully endorsed that sentiment. “There’s literally an osprey’s nest we sing about,” he said, motioning toward the back door of the home, which looks out on the Long Island Sound.

Kodiak will be playing a two-hour show at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in downtown Northport Village sometime in March or April, as a fundraiser for a Northport food pantry. The date has not yet been determined.

Visit them online at www.kodiakband.bandcamp.com to hear their music or find out about future Kodiak shows.

Northport race heats up as Sabia turns from schools to village

by Alex Petroski - March 3, 2016

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Joe Sabia will be waiting for results on a stressful election eve for the third time in his 39 years as a resident of Northport Village on Mar. 15.

Sabia, a former member of the Northport-East Northport school board and a mayoral candidate in the 2014 Northport election, is running for trustee on the village board this time around.

“I’ve been here since 1977,” the 60-year-old Sabia said in a phone interview. “I’m not a newcomer.”

Sabia will face incumbents Jerry Maline and Damon McMullen in the 2016 election. He said that his experiences running for school board and mayor have prepared him.

“I realized people have to get out and vote,” Sabia said, adding that he knocked on about 1,400 doors when he was running for mayor in 2014 against incumbent George Doll. But that wasn’t enough to unseat the incumbent mayor.

Sabia said that he was not happy about the village’s proposed budget that was released in January, which included more than a 3 percent increase to the tax levy. Lowering taxes was one of several issues that Sabia said is important to his campaign and eventual term, if he is elected.

“You’re pushing people to the limit,” Sabia said about taxpayers in the village.

He also mentioned fixing sidewalks and roads in the village, changing the way that snow removal is handled, improving village parks, addressing environmental concerns associated with storm water runoff and upgrading street lights to be more efficient as some of the issues that are important to him and in need of the village’s attention.

“I have fresh ideas,” Sabia said. He said he is also interested in “revamping” village hall, though he said he would prefer to fund a project like that through donations, not tax dollars.

Asharoken Village found success with resident donations financing parts of the cost for the new village hall, which opened in January 2015.

Sabia has a history of wanting to keep costs low.

He went after his former school board colleagues at a board of education meeting on July 1, 2015, after they approved the appointment of Lou Curra as the district’s interim assistant superintendent for human resources, a position that paid Curra $935 per day during his six months in the position. He said he believed Curra was being overpaid.

Sabia owns Sabia’s Car Care, an automotive repair shop located on Fort Salonga Road in Northport. Nonetheless, he said he’s confident that he would have more than enough time to effectively serve the village as a trustee.

Sabia’s daughters, ages 25 and 29, were products of the Northport-East Northport school district, and his late wife Valerie served as the village court clerk until she passed away about four years ago, he said.

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