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Gov. Kathy Hochul announces $479 million in grants for water infrastructure projects. Photo courtesy the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

As on any other weekday, traffic buzzed along Vanderbilt Motor Parkway in Hauppauge on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 12. Yet unknown to those in their vehicles, it was no ordinary weekday.

At the Suffolk County Water Authority’s Education Center and Laboratory, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) joined public officials, environmentalists and SCWA staff to launch $479 million in grants statewide to invest in clean water.

The program earmarks $30 million for the state’s clean water septic system replacements, directing $20 million of that sum into Suffolk County. Another $17 million will support protecting drinking water from emerging contaminants, Hochul added.

The governor projected the initiative would spur 24,000 new jobs statewide and save ratepayers $1.3 billion annually.

“This is a great day for the people of this county and the people of this state,” she said. “It’s an investment in our environment. It’s an investment in justice. And it’s an investment in our future for all of our children.”

From left, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone; Gov. Kathy Hochul; Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment; and Suffolk County Water Authority board chair Charlie Lefkowitz. Photo courtesy the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Outgoing Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) reported that 360,000 homes and businesses within the county operate on aging septic systems and cesspools, contaminating the sole-source aquifer on Long Island. He said this stimulus, coupled with a $10 million investment by the county Legislature, would enable the county government to fund septic replacements in 2024 and 2025.

“This is an exciting moment because we can see the path to solving the crisis,” Bellone said, adding the funds would bolster the clean water septic industry in Suffolk while advancing the administration’s two primary objectives of establishing a countywide wastewater management district and the Clean Water Restoration Fund — blocked by the county Legislature earlier this year.

SCWA board chair Charlie Lefkowitz said the funds would assist the public utility in its mission of eliminating emerging contaminants from the drinking supply.

“This announcement today is historic,” he said. “It’s historic that the sewer projects, the septics that contaminate and get into our bays and streams and harbors — we can finally address it.”

He added, “We look at some of these large infrastructure projects that we’re working on — sewer projects, the electrification of the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Jeff Branch — these are projects that when you look back 100, 150 years and none of us are here, they’ll say, ‘That group of people really did it the right way.’”

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Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2sbdtzM4DGXutANVleYdS7?si=ai8VPxiXQ3G7e9E2YgLevQ

Join us as Governor Kathy Hochul brings big bucks for clean water initiatives, tackling outdated septic systems in Suffolk County. Port Jefferson celebrates 60 years as an incorporated village, and we explore the grand opening of a regional veterans museum in Rocky Point. Turn the page with us for a quick dive into the week’s top stories on The Pressroom Afterhour: Keeping it Local with TBR.

Visit tbrnewsmedia.com to read these stories and more. Follow us on:

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Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Photo courtesy of Preserve KPPC

Properties in Brentwood, Huntington, Kings Park, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Riverhead, and Smithtown are included in Preservation Long Island’s biennial list of Endangered Historic Places.

Preservation Long Island’s 2023 Endangered Historic Places List features seven nominated sites that span Long Island from a lighthouse on the Sound off Kings Point, to an early power plant in Riverhead. From historic homesteads to an expansive former mental health campus, the latest list highlights the historical richness of the region.

The Preservation Long Island (PLI) Endangered Historic Places Program (EHPP) is designed to identify, highlight, and address the imminent threats faced by significant historical sites and structures across Long Island. Properties are nominated to the list by concerned citizens and groups on Long Island. The program aims to raise public awareness about the endangered status of these historical places. PLI engages in advocacy efforts to garner support from the local community and beyond, emphasizing the importance of preserving these sites for future generations.

“The program offers Long Islanders an opportunity to advocate for preservation in their communities while learning how to use tools like landmark designation, tax incentives, and public outreach,” said Alexandra Wolfe, Preservation Long Island’s Executive Director. “Our program partners receive priority technical assistance from our professional staff and their listings are featured on our website and social media.”

“Operating on two levels, the program seeks to educate and mobilize new preservation advocates while identifying endangered historic places,” said Tara Cubie, Preservation Long Island’s Director of Preservation and Advocacy. “The relationships fostered by becoming an EHPP listing site are long term. The goal is for communities to develop sustainable comprehensive strategies for the protection and preservation of their historic resources.”

A panel of Preservation Long Island staff and trustees, as well as experts in architecture, historic preservation, and other related fields selected the properties based on three key criteria: overall historic significance, severity of the threat and impact the EHPP listing will have on efforts to protect the nominated site.

In-person events are planned for the Spring of 2024 that include site tours, and panel discussions open to the public. Visit the EHPP page on our website to learn more about each of the selected sites and browse the schedule of upcoming events.

Preservation Long Island invites all Long Islanders to join us in celebrating and supporting the important sites on Long Island’s List of Endangered Historic Places for 2023:

Eliphalet Whitman House (c. 1736), Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown (part of Caleb Smith State Park). Listed on the National Register as a contributing structure to the Wyandanch Club Historic District, the house does not appear to be maintained and is showing significant signs of neglect and deterioration.

Perkins Electric Generating Plant (Riverhead Electric Co), West Main Street, Riverhead. Constructed in 1897, it was one of the earliest electric plants on Long Island. The building is vacant and deteriorating.

Steppingstone Lighthouse, Long Island Sound, off Kings Point and South of City Island (owned by Town of North Hempstead). Completed in 1877, it is one of the last offshore lighthouses in the Upper Mid-Atlantic to be built of brick and stone.  The site is threatened by deterioration and neglect.

King’s Park Psychiatric Center, Nissequogue River State Park, Kings Park. A former mental health facility established in 1884, with the oldest extant buildings dating from 1890, the complex is significant for its architecture and as a cultural historic landscape. The Master Plan for the park finalized in August 2023, proposes demolition of Kings Park Boulevard.

Coindre Hall Boathouse, Town of Huntington. Located directly behind Coindre Hall (c.1912), the boat house is a miniature replica of the mansion. No longer safe for use, the structure has been fenced in for safety purposes, and is in bad condition. Although there has been stabilization work completed, there is debate regarding whether the building should be restored or the waterfront should be turned into a nature reserve.

Shutt House, Town of Islip. The house is one of the original homes in Modern Times (1851-1864), Long Island’s utopian community (which evolved into today’s Brentwood). The structure is threatened by proposed demolition and development by the current owner.

Mill Pond House, Town of Oyster Bay. Built before 1720, the Mill Pond House is one of the oldest surviving dwellings in Oyster Bay. The building has been vacant since 2008 and continues to deteriorate.

Preservation Long Island’s Endangered Historic Places Program is made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

About Preservation Long Island

Preservation Long Island is a not-for-profit organization that works with Long Islanders to raise awareness, appreciation, and support for the protection of our shared past through advocacy, education, and the stewardship of historic sites and collections.

Preservation Long Island’s preservation advocacy services support the work of our local partners in communities across the region. We offer consultation and strategic guidance for Long Islanders seeking help with local preservation projects, including historic resource surveys, local landmark designation, National Register listing, and restoration or adaptive reuse of historic buildings.

Preservation Long Island also maintains and interprets historic sites and collections that embody various aspects of Long Island’s history including:

Joseph Lloyd Manor, Lloyd Harbor

Custom House, Sag Harbor

Sherwood-Jayne Farm, Setauket

Old Methodist Church and Exhibition Gallery

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Shohei Ohtani. Photo by Mogami Kariya/Wikimedia Commons

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

You know when you were younger and your parents, grandparents, teachers and adults in general urged you to “make every second count.”

“A second,” you’d scoff incredulously. “How much could I do in a second? It took me longer than a second just to say those words, and those, and those, and they don’t seem to count for much.”

While that may be true most of the time for most of us, it’s certainly not the case for sport’s best paid athlete, the baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani, who signed a $700 million contract to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers over the next decade.

To borrow from the Tom Cruise movie “Jerry Maguire,” the Dodgers showed him the money!

Wait, don’t go if you’re not a sports fan. This isn’t about baseball. It’s about money!

Just for fun, let’s take a closer look at the approximately $33.5 million Sports Insider Andrew Petcash estimates Ohtani will earn per year after taxes and fees.

Assuming he’s paid for every second of each year, that means, he earns $1.06 each second. That’s what he’ll earn each second he sleeps, eats, sits in traffic, brushes his teeth or waits for an announcer to say his name so he can run on the field.

Assuming he has a healthy 60 beats per minute heart rate, that means each time his heart goes “lub-dub,” he earns about a dollar.

According to a website called covers.com, the average time to sing “The National Anthem” is 115.4 seconds, which means Ohtani makes $122.32 each time he listens to the national anthem of a country where he’s earning much more than a living.

Extending the math a bit, Ohtani clears $3,824.74 per hour.

As for each day, he’ll make $91,780.82. At that rate, it will take the star pitcher and home run hitter (yes, he can do both) 11 days to make a million dollars.

Each month, his after tax take home pay will be $2.79 million. Assuming Ohtani, who is single, follows the General Rule for engagement rings, namely, that he should spend at least two months of salary on the ring, some lucky future partner may be in line for a ring that costs $5.58 million. That assumes the value of the ring comes from what he’s taking home and not his overall salary. If he chose a ring based on his gross pay, he’d spend a whopping $11.7 million, which is the equivalent of 16 average priced homes in Setauket.

So, speaking of cash, what does $33.5 million look like? If you stacked dollar bills, which are 0.0043 inches wide, one on top of the other without any extra space between the bills, the pile of money would reach 12,004 feet. That would stretch 2.3 miles into the sky. 

Now, if he were to try to hold that money — and no one uses cash anymore, so why would he – he would need more than a few teammates. There are $454 dollar bills in a pound, which means that $33.5 million weighs 73,788 pounds. 

Realistically, dollar bills aren’t the most likely currency for someone who earns over $1 for every second. Maybe you’d prefer to stack $1,000 bills? That would still present a pile of money that’s about 12 feet tall. Imagine how much money you’d make if you were standing downwind of that pile during a sudden gust? That sounds like the winner’s circle for a future game show. 

Of course, you say, the first player since Babe Ruth to demonstrate proficiency as a pitcher and a home run hitter is not getting paid for every second, but, rather, for the magic he works on the field.

If we want to break it down just to the time he’s paid during games, the average time for a baseball game in 2023 was two hours and 42 minutes. The season has 162 games. Let’s throw in 19 additional games, assuming his Dodgers win each series in the maximum number of games and become World Series champions. That means, he’s a part of 29,322 minutes of baseball or 1.8 million seconds. Assuming his paycheck covers games and not all the practice time and spring training, he clears $38.88 per second. So, depending on how you look at it, he earns somewhere between $1.06 for every second of each year and $38.88 for each second he plays. 

Yeah, and you thought your lawyer was charging you a pretty penny!

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METRO photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Tuesday we went to the funeral of another longtime friend. The chapel was overflowing with well wishers and mourners, and he deserved nothing less. He was a good man in every sense of the word: a good husband, a good father, a good grandfather, an inquisitive and caring person and a fun companion. He was a highly ethical man, never speaking against anyone who was not a government official, and it seems he enjoyed his life. 

He will be deeply missed.

Funny how life has a stark clarity during a funeral that then fades away when we are dealing with the chores of daily living. As the eulogies were read by his family, some stories making us laugh, others making us tear, we could see the tapestry of his life unfold. As we listened, we could not help but think of the unfinished paths of our own lives. How precious is each day with our loved ones, for they give the deepest meaning to our existence. What a miracle life is, and not to be wasted on some petty grievance or unnecessary anger. In fact, not to be wasted at all but to be lived to the fullest, with purpose and kindness: to be enjoyed even as we try to make our small world better regularly by doing the laundry.

Some day, each of us in that crowded room will die. What will be said of us, what amusing stories will be told, what terrible flaws did we have? How did we spend our so short lives on earth?

A poem was read at the funeral that spoke to this message, and as it was being read, almost every mourner’s head nodded in agreement. I share it with you here. It was called, “Dash,” by Linda Ellis.

I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears but said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash. What matters is how we lived and loved and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.

To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile…

Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?

As I sat listening to the eulogies, I recalled that I first learned of death shortly after I learned to read. I loved reading fairy tales, about princes and princesses and dragons and castles, and one of the stories ended with the death of a hero. I remember rushing into the kitchen in great distress and asking my mother and father, who, poor souls, were just eating what they expected to be a peaceful dinner, if there was such a thing as death? Further to the point, would they die? And why? They tried to calm me down, telling me soothing words, but clearly it was such an anguishing moment that I recall it to this day.

I’m supposed to be grown up now, and I accept the loss of loved ones with a broken heart. While death is a mystery, life remains a miracle.

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Photo by David Ackerman

Local news is making news lately.

Last week, tech giant Google reached an agreement with the Canadian government that will allow the search engine to continue publishing links to local news outlets under select conditions. As part of the bargain, Google will pay out roughly U.S. $73.5 million annually to Canadian news companies.

We regard this development as a significant victory for local journalism, setting a powerful precedent we can follow here in the United States.

The local press is a vital institution for sustaining democracy. We know that in news deserts — or places not served by a local newspaper — communities generally have less civic engagement and more governmental mismanagement.

Without local news, we become alienated from the democratic process. Distant bureaucracies in Washington and Albany — over which we have little influence as private citizens — dominate our mental space and shape our worldviews.

Without local news, we can consume only the most polarizing, partisan content from mainstream media outlets that prosper and profit from a national culture of division.

At TBR, we are committed to a ground-up style of democracy. A stable federalist system requires a solid foundation. Like the food chain, community journalism is the primary producer, giving life to all other levels of democracy. Without the local press, our entire democratic ecosystem could collapse.

Local journalists reporting on civic matters and informed citizens engaging in the political process are the pillars of a thriving democracy. But how our industry is changing.

Today, local outlets fight just to survive — much less thrive and expand. Local newspapers have simply struggled to adapt in this digital age. Meanwhile, tech conglomerates are cannibalizing the local media landscape, circulating and monetizing our content without equitable compensation while siphoning away precious advertising dollars from small businesses — the lifeblood of the local press.

We find this dynamic deeply problematic. Fortunately, we have recourse.

Right now, the state Legislature is considering the Local Journalism Sustainability Act. This measure would create tax credits for local journalists and monetarily reward local news subscribers.

We regard this legislation as a positive first step toward attracting and retaining talent in our industry while counteracting the declines faced by many of our shuttering peers. We ask each of our state legislators to support this measure and invite readers to lobby them on our behalf.

But the work doesn’t end in Albany. Local news outlets in the U.S. deserve compensation from Big Tech, similar to our Canadian counterparts. If Canada can defend its local press, our federal government can, too.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) with broad bipartisan support, would allow local outlets to jointly negotiate fair compensation for access to our content by Google, Facebook and other large corporations.

We urge our U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) to pick up the measure, guiding the slim House majority toward enactment.

As local press members, we are staring down an extinction-level event. The monopolistic, plagiaristic, predatory tactics of Big Tech must end. We ask for a level playing field.

To our readers and public officials alike, we urge you to do what you can to stand up for local news.

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File photo
Picture Stony Brook University Hospital. It’s over a million square feet of facilities provide a wide range of medical services. The people who run the operations in this complex have created policies and procedures that make the entire hospital much greener than the distinctive two-tone building that’s visible from a distance along Nicolls Road.

For the hospital’s plethora of policies that protect the planet, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently recognized Stony Brook, among others, for a commitment to decarbonize its operations and improve its resilience amid climate change.

Barbara Boyle is the director of Healthcare Safety at Stony Brook University Hospital. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine/ Jeanne Neville

During the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, called COP28 in Dubai, HHS recognized Stony Brook as one of more than 130 organizations that joined the White House-HHS Health Sector climate pledge, which committed to reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and have net zero emissions by 2050.

The recognition is “validating” and “wonderful” and provides the kind of excitement that “pushes you along a little further,” said Barbara Boyle, Director of Healthcare Safety at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Carol Gomes, chief executive officer and chief operating officer at Stony Brook University Hospital, added that green practices were not only good for the university, but were also supportive of the bottom line.

“When you reduce bio hazardous waste from the waste stream, it reduces expenses related to carting away” the more dangerous refuse, Gomes said. Such actions are part of the school’s fiscal responsibility.

Numerous measures

Stony Brook University Hospital has taken a wide range of steps to reduce its carbon footprint, to minimize toxins, and to reuse and recycle materials to encourage sustainability.

One of the first initiatives was to install motion and LED lighting. While the cost of a bulb might be higher initially, the lights last much longer.

“You have to think longer term, not shorter term in terms of savings,” said Gomes. “I was so proud of that project” which included retrofitting every light in the hospital, parking garage and on the roadway on the campus.

Carol Gomes is the chief executive officer and chief operating officer at Stony Brook University Hospital. File photo

Hospital efforts include using cleaning materials that are better for the environment. In 2022, 76% of the housekeeping chemicals were green, well up from 18% in 2021.

Additionally, electricity use at the hospital declined by 13 percent from 2020 to 2022.

In the operating room, anesthesiologists use considerably less desflurane, which is damaging to the atmosphere, with an extended lifetime in the atmosphere that has 20 times the environmental impact of other gases. The use of desflurane declined by 80 percent from 2017 to 2022.

The hospital also recycled 1,635 tons of paper. Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water. That means, among other benefits, the hospital saved about 28,000 trees and 11.5 million gallons of water. That is 10,000 more trees than are in all of Central Park.

Coordinating emergency care

Stony Brook has also worked on a climate resilience plan to ensure that it can remain operational in case of a major climate event, such as a hurricane, an extended heat wave, or a nor’easter, among others.

“We need to make sure the hospital can continue to remain operational,” said Boyle, which includes anticipating the needs of communities that are at a disproportionate risk of climate harm.

The hospital also has extensive plans in case Stony Brook needs to provide shelter for staff who can’t return home and return to work.

Hospital staff recently joined a discussion with community members, the Suffolk County Department of Health, emergency services such as the Red Cross, and volunteer organizations to discuss how to ensure efficient and effective communication pathways and resource allocation.

Boyle explained that she learned the specifics of Red Cross shelters and cooling centers in Municipal Buildings.

Changes in personal habits

Such professional efforts are consistent with the lessons Gomes learned from her grandmother, who herself grew up during the Great Depression. Gomes recalled how her grandmother encouraged her to turn off lights when she left a room and to shut off the faucet in the kitchen sink in between cleaning dishes.

Boyle explained that her mother-in-law Beryl Ellwood Smith, who grew up in England during World War II and had lived with Boyle’s family for the last two years, didn’t believe in throwing things out. She believed everything had a second or third use, repairing and mending items to keep them longer.

“In my family, we’ve really taken this to heart, recycling and eliminating waste,” Boyle said.

The hospital encourages staff to take similar approaches to saving and recycling in their own lives.

Staff recently received a note about ways to think about sustainable holiday decorations.

People who work in the hospital can offer their friends and family experiences rather than adding to the collection of material goods often packaged in styrofoam or plastic for holiday gifts.

The hospital is encouraging its staff to “make the connection between the workplace and the home and the importance of protecting the Earth in general,” Gomes said.

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Photo by Raymond Janis

Thanking community for solidarity around farm animals

Dear Community,

I want to thank you, the community, for coming together to keep the animals at the historic Sherwood-Jayne Farm on Old Post Road in East Setauket.

A special thank you to those who stopped by on Nov, 8, while Preservation Long Island [the farm owner] was trying to take away the animals. There was no notice that they were coming that day. Your presence was deeply appreciated.

Even though the farm animals — the four sheep and Snowball the pony — will be removed at some time soon, your commitment to try to keep them at the farm brought our community together in a beautiful way. It was a deep disappointment that the director of Preservation Long Island hardened her heart to not let the animals live out their lives at the Sherwood-Jayne Farm.

No one knows when the director is planning to remove the animals. You may want to take some “Grandma Moses”-style photos before the animals are taken away.

Again, my sincere thanks.

Bonnie Dunbar

Setauket

Three Village school board’s regressive decision on Regents exams

At the Nov. 29 meeting of the Three Village Central School District Board of Education, a decision was made to regress to the pre-COVID era in terms of how Regents exams will figure into our students’ grade point averages.

Instead of permanently instating the “do no harm” policy that has been in place since the pandemic, a slim majority voted to do away with it altogether. The “grading committee” apparently felt it was far more important to simply lower the percentage that the exams will count in a final course GPA from 12% to 10% rather than take into consideration the considerable damage these flawed exams can do to one’s final course grade.

The simple truth is that most students who will be taking Regents exams this year are either first timers or those who have not been tainted by the tests because of the policy that has been in place. I applaud the one board member, Karen Roughley, who delivered an extremely comprehensive argument for why the “do no harm” policy was the most advantageous opportunity for our students to be successful.

Students who excel all year and achieve mastery in their quarter grades should not have the average destroyed by one test. There are innumerable factors that can alter how students perform on their Regents, including test anxiety and/or other mental health issues, illness, outside distractions and so forth. Yet the board ignored the opportunity to ensure that our students do not suffer if they are unable to regurgitate information during a three-hour state exam.

New York State neither requires nor recommends that Regents exams be counted in a student’s final course grade. Several districts, including Jericho — that Three Village chooses to compare themselves to — do not count Regents exams in their final GPA.

Why then, with this information, does this district insist on continuing down this archaic rabbit hole? Is it not enough that the Chemistry Regents includes a downward curve or that the ELA and United States history exams have formats now that even the strongest students struggle with?

The grading committee’s claim that our students wouldn’t put forth the same effort if they knew the scores wouldn’t count was completely disproven by the data presentation at the meeting. The mere suggestion is insulting to our kids and those responsible for preparing them for the exams.

The board’s decision was one of cowardice and a disregard for our children’s success. To say I am disappointed, as a great many parents are, would be a huge understatement.

Stefanie Werner

East Setauket

Miller Place fire commissioner bid

Dear Residents of the Miller Place Fire District,

My name is Kyle Markott and I’m writing to ask for your support as I run for Miller Place Fire District commissioner. I believe my skills, knowledge and experience of fire district operations make me an ideal candidate for the position of fire commissioner.

I joined the Miller Place Fire Department as a .junior member in 1994 at the age of 14. After serving four years in the juniors, I was honored to be sworn in as an active member. As years went by, I rose through the ranks serving as chief driver, lieutenant and then captain of the Engine Company. In 2007 I was elected as 3rd assistant chief. I went on to serve eight years in the chief’s office attaining the rank of chief of department in 2013-14.

I believe what sets me apart is my experience with fire district operations. For the past four years I have served as a fire district manager. I handle all aspects of the fire district on a day-to-day basis including the management of a 20-person staff, creation of the annual budget, truck and building maintenance, overseeing a 24/7 dispatch and EMS operation, and daily interaction with all our vendors.

Having knowledge of what is happening in other fire districts and the county is also an important trait of an effective commissioner. For the past nine years I have served on the Suffolk County Fire Rescue & Emergency Services Commission, and I currently serve as chairman. This commission makes recommendations to the county executive and Legislature regarding fire and EMS services in the county.

I hope my over-26 years of experience in the fire and EMS service makes me the best candidate for the commissioner position.

The commissioner election is on Tuesday, Dec. 12, from 4-9 p.m. at the Miller Place Fire Department headquarters located at 12 Miller Place Road.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Kyle Markott

Miller Place

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A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A scene from the 11th annual Smithtown Craft Fair. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Smithtown East High School hosted the 11th annual Smithtown Craft & Gift Fair from Dec. 2-3.

Over 100 vendors assembled in the school gymnasium, displaying handcrafted work and related gift items. Those in attendance were greeted with a plethora of options from jewelry, decorative wreaths, candy, organic soaps and more.

— Photos by Steven Zaitz

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Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/2/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro
Kings Park Tree Lighting/Menorah Lighting 12/3/23. Photo by Michael Scro

By Michael Scro

Families huddled beneath umbrellas on a rainy Sunday evening to usher in the holiday season.

Kings Park Chamber of Commerce held its Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Ceremony Dec. 3 at the hamlet’s Veterans Plaza. Tony Tanzi and Diane Motherway, chamber president and executive director, respectively, emceed the event, thanking everyone for their attendance despite inclement weather.

“We wanted to combine the tree lighting and menorah lighting into one ceremony to show that our community is united,” Tanzi said. “We are so proud of everyone that lives in this community,” adding, “We wish everyone Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.”

Blessings were also given by Cantor Phil Horowitz, from the Kings Park Jewish Center, and the Rev. Vitus Mbamalu, from St. Joseph’s Church in Kings Park, while the William T. Rogers Middle School band performed three songs.

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