Village Beacon Record

Legislator Sarah Anker and opponent Brendan Sweeney during TBR News Media’s in-person debates, Oct. 11. Photos by Julianne Mosher

Running on the Republican ticket for District 6 of the Suffolk County Legislature, Brendan Sweeney, of Shoreham, is currently a citizens advocate in the office of Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), Town of Brookhaven. His opponent, incumbent Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai). 

Before serving in the Legislature, Anker had been energy director for the Town of Brookhaven, where she developed solar programs and promoted clean energy and green homes technologies. She had also served on the Mount Sinai school board, raising three children in the district. 

Anker graduated from Pasco High School in Dade City, Florida, and received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 1986 from St. Leo University in Dade City, Florida. She took graphic design courses at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury. 

She first ran for county legislator a little over 10 years ago. The 2021 election is the last term she can run for and she said she can explain her reelection in three words: “To help people.”

Sweeney, 28, previously worked in the Brookhaven Town Building Department, the town Department of General Services and the town Law Department. In these roles, he worked on town issues including abandoned houses and building issues. He worked on Freedom of Information Law compliance in the town building and planning departments. He also worked for county Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R-Nesconset) when Kennedy was a legislator, and in the county Department of Audit and Control.

Sweeney graduated from St. Anthony’s High School and received a bachelor’s degree in history in 2014 from the University of Florida. He said he is currently enrolled at Touro Law School in Central Islip.

“It has always been in my in my blood to want to help people,” he said. 

COVID-19 recovery

Anker has been working for the county throughout the whole COVID-19 pandemic, using her platform to help connect people with vaccines and continues to educate her constituents on the matter. 

“Hopefully it’ll get better and hopefully we will have a better understanding,” she said. “What happens is that if we don’t know what’s around the corner, there’s nervousness, there’s tension and there’s anxiety — that’s what we’ve all been experiencing the past almost-two years.”

Anker said that throughout the pandemic, she worked constantly with the state. 

“I noticed, though, we need to do more on a county level to address the process to get a vaccine,” she said. 

When vaccines became available, she said that she, as chair of the county Seniors & Human Services committee, helped to get senior citizens their vaccines because she knew they were feeling left out. 

After calling the state, she said she helped set up vaccination pods at local fire departments, along with facilitating communication between doctors with credible information.

“It was frustrating,” she said, “but I have a website that is being put together to help bring critical medical information to medical providers.”

Anker believes that trust needs to be brought back into society. 

“I think the political divide has hampered that — and I’ll say on both sides to a great extent because we have more in common than we have different,” she said. “We need to figure out how we can come back to that foundation because our adversaries are just waiting.”

Sweeney believed that the county did “a good job overall” in how it handled the coronavirus crisis. 

“To be given the hand that they were dealt with, I have to give credit where credit is due,” he said. 

He, however, believes that we need to adjust to a “newer normal.”

Sweeney said it’s important to encourage people to get their vaccinations against the virus, but ultimately believes it should be a choice. 

“My attitude is we have to have the government going to people and telling them the importance of it,” he said. “But the problem right now, ever since Watergate, is there’s been a distrust in government.”

Sweeney believes that information should be going straight to trusted medical providers to work with their patients to alleviate concerns or find a way to cease apprehensions. 

Small business

Sarah Anker. Photo by Julianne Mosher

While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the daily lives of people around the world, local small businesses are still struggling. Anker said that to help business owners, she proposed legislation to create a small business website to make it easier for those struggling. 

The site includes resources for PPP, grant applications and other entities to help people navigate through the constant changes associated with COVID. She hopes that the site can also provide ways to help business owners find employees willing to work.

“There’s so many people struggling,” Anker said. “You can go down part of the whole street here and find ‘help wanted’ signs.”

Sweeney, who helped on the Brookhaven level with the coronavirus task force, had local chambers of commerce meet together to suggest the biggest issues in town. A big problem, however, was the restrictions coming in from the state level. 

“That limited, even the suggestions the businesses came to us with, for we were limited in what we could actually implement, since our regulations that we had power over were taken away from us,” he said.

But Anker said that the two share a similar perspective — the county did a good job under the circumstances and worked along other levels of government to get things done. 

“I can see where there could have been improvements, and as we continue to go through this, I’m hoping that I can help tweak it,” she said. “I’m in a place at this point where I can make suggestions, I can propose legislation, I can create a task force to get all these amazing minds together to try to solve some of these problems. But, you know, we are all in this and we’re all trying to get through it.” 

One project Anker helped with was working alongside the county Department of Labor at the One-Stop Employment Center. 

Before the pandemic, she coordinated a field trip for Rocky Point High School seniors to visit the center. She insists that young people heading out of high school and into college need to be up to date on new technology for the future jobs that will be available. 

Sweeney agreed, but noted that colleges, like county-funded Suffolk County Community College, should be given more money.

“The county is not paying its fair share right now, nor is the state, so the state’s at fault, too,” he said. “The original formula when it was decided, when it was formed, was 33% county, 33% state and basically 33% paid for by the taxpayer going to the college. But right now, it’s more like 50% for the taxpayer.”

He also believes encouraging students that college is not the only choice out there is important. 

“We need to encourage people that any option is out there, you don’t have to just immediately go to the white-collar option,” he said. “Some of these blue-collar jobs, they may not look glamorous and the work you’re doing, but the pay you’re getting because they’re in such demand will entice them.”

Water quality

Anker became involved with local environmental issues nearly 20 years ago, and now with her current role as legislator, she said she is in a place where she can vote on land preservation, clean up toxic sites, enforce illegal dumping and more. 

As of late, Anker is working toward dredging, which was finished in Mount Sinai Harbor earlier this year. 

“This is something I’m going to focus a lot more on in the upcoming weeks,” she said. 

“I’m also working to try to figure out a way to stop chemicals, medication — there’s all kind of stuff coming out in our sewers, and some of those sewer lines go right out into our oceans,” Anker added. “And to me, that’s unacceptable.”

Sweeney said he would focus on adding more sewers to the county. 

“We should put sewers where everybody that desires sewers wants them,” he said. “That’s an ambitious goal, and it’s unlikely to happen in the near future, but that’s what we’re working toward.”

Brendan Sweeney. Photo by Julianne Mosher

By adding more sewers to areas that need it, it could eventually help the aquifer where Long Islanders get their water. Sweeney added that he hopes to see the federal infrastructure bill pass soon, so more funds could go toward improving local water quality. 

Both Anker and Sweeney agree that infrastructure in their district needs to improve. 

“We’ve had a lot of flooding in Rocky Point,” Sweeney said. “Driving along William Floyd [Parkway], there are so many potholes.”

While funding comes from different levels of government depending on the roads and territories, he said that on the county level, two things should be done: preventing stormwater harm and sewering issues. 

Anker said, however, that she truly feels that the town and county work together well when it comes to joining together to better the areas they share. 

“We focus on a lot of issues, and we were very productive and getting things done,” she said. “We focus a lot on quality-of-life projects together.”

Downtowns

Anker was instrumental in the development of the North Shore Rail Trail connecting several different communities with a brand-new park, walking and biking trail. 

“We’re all one big community,” she said. “So, I think it’s important to support the local civic associations that work together, support the local historical societies that are keeping our legacy alive for that.”

She added that a high priority of the Legislature is to provide more open space. 

Sweeney agreed, and said that he believes communities in the district appreciate and like to visit downtowns, but aren’t necessarily looking for one in their backyard. 

“For me, I look at it not that we don’t want downtowns because we do have Rocky Point,” he said. “I think some of our residents would prefer that true suburban area. Our district is where you want to start your family. You want to move into a house, you want to occasionally go out for dinner and drinks with your friends or your spouse, and you go into the downtown area and then you go back home — but you don’t want that constant hustle and bustle, either.”

Affordable housing

Throughout Anker’s career in local government, she has helped to implement legislation that requires developers to provide affordable housing, or workforce housing. While at first unwelcomed by people within her district, she said they are now starting to see a need for the kids to have a place to live. 

“It’s becoming much more acceptable,” she said, adding that Mount Sinai has started to see several 55-and-over communities pop up for empty nesters.

Sweeney, a young person himself who has just purchased a home, said that the county should help with making living on Long Island more affordable. 

“One of the first things that I would do from the county aspect would be to start trying to find areas of the budget that we can start cutting, start reducing so that we can lower our expenditure on the average taxpayer,” he said. “That little bit can be just enough of what you need to be able to make the difference between staying in your apartment that you’re in right now and purchasing a nice, lovely new home in Coram, Middle Island or Mount Sinai.”

Incumbent Brookhaven Town Clerk Donna Lent is running against Democrat Ira Costell. Lent photo from Town of Brookhaven, Costell photo from Costell

TBR News spoke with Town Clerk Donna Lent (R) and Ira Costell (D) over Zoom on Monday. They will be running against each other as the election for town clerk for the Town of Brookhaven approaches quickly. 

Lent, who is serving her second term as town clerk, has managed day-to-day operations such as issuing death certificates and handicap parking permits, while land-use applications are filed within the office. 

There are three divisions — licensing, registrar and administrative units — in her department alone, and on some days, Lent says up to 200 people will come into the office.

After extensive training, Lent was certified as a registered municipal clerk by the New York State Town Clerks Association in 2017, but before entering public service, she worked as a law office manager and was a small business owner.

Her opponent, Costell, has taken leadership roles in environmental causes such as the Suffolk County Watershed Protection Advisory Committee and served as chair of the county’s Pine Barrens Review Commission. 

He has been passionate about the fight against opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse. Costell is a New York State-certified addiction and recovery coach and has been involved in various recovery committees.

The two opponents came to TBR News Media’s offices to debate their opinions on whose ideas would be best suitable for the town clerk’s position.

The concern of making Freedom of Information Law appeals more accessible to the public is something that Costell said he will actively work on if elected. His main argument is that residents of Brookhaven have been left in the dark when it comes to requesting information from the Town Clerk’s Office.

However, Lent said if materials or records are not able to be provided, there is a reason as to why not. 

“They probably haven’t asked for the records correctly, we are not required to create records for them, we only have to provide what is already existing,” she said. “Sometimes people don’t search thoroughly because there was an aspect of something they weren’t unaware of that we were able to shed light on.”

Rebutting Lent’s argument, Costell said he had very serious questions about the FOIL process as there were nearly 14,000 requests last year in the town’s Law Department.

“I would like to work as part of that process for an audit to figure out how we can streamline that process,” he said.

Costell feels the information on the town’s website is not readily available to residents. 

“When initiating a public hearing notice on the town’s website, the information about the hearing is not connected to the notice, so residents don’t always know about the particulars of what’s being proposed in the public hearing,” he said.

Lent said the Town Clerk’s Office does the public hearing notices, which are readily available on the website as soon as they go up. However, the town clerk does not make the determination on what needs to get posted because the notice is from what the Law Department already drafted. 

“It is incumbent upon the clerk in my belief, to coordinate and collaborate, not to just handle a piece of paper and move it on to the next level,” Costell said.

In regards to communicating with the Town of Brookhaven, he said the software the office is using should be able to have direct sign-ups for people who are interested in a particular issue so people from various areas do not have to rely on someone from a different town to tell them there’s a hearing related to something they are interested in.

However, Lent said there is a sign-up system within civic clerks for alerts and areas of topic. She noted that residents can call her office to be added to get notifications as well. 

Costell believes that the Town Clerk’s Office should have more outreach to the public on a quarterly basis by using town facilities such as senior centers and recreational programs, to help residents navigate the online services or to assist communities that don’t have access to broadband. 

“We have been improving that process, that’s why we changed our software system last February,” Lent said. “There has been a period of adjustment for residents that were accustomed to finding documents within the old system, but if you use the search bar at the top it will take you to whatever you are looking for.”

Disagreeing with Lent, Costell said he thinks the website is hard to navigate and should have the option to be translated to Spanish.

Lent feels her opponent will be biting off more than he can chew if elected as town clerk. “Everyone has hopes dreams and aspirations of what a job may be like, but it’s not until you get into the job that you have to face the reality of day-to-day operations and restrictions,” Lent said.

Annual Patriot Run in honor of Thomas Cutinella Oct 24. Bill Landon photo

Under bright sunshine the Shoreham Wading River Wildcat Athletic Club sponsored another edition of the annual Patriot Run in honor of Thomas Cutinella, a 16-year-old from Shoreham/Wading River High School, who died in 2014 after collapsing during a football game following a collision with an opponent.

The 2.54 mile run at Wildwood State Park in Wading River kicked off with a performance by Season 19 winner of “The Voice” Carter Rubin with a stirring rendition of our National Anthem.

The fundraiser and all proceeds go to the Thomas Cutinella Memorial Foundation which funds local scholarships.

— All photos by Bill Landon

Image from The Shoppes

The Shoppes at East Wind, 5768 Route 25A, Wading River will host a Safe Trick or Treat event on Sunday, Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children in costume can find treats OUTSIDE participating shops. Enjoy a Fall Festival and Craft Fair while there. Held rain or shine. Email [email protected] for more information.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon speaks during a media event at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank. File photo by Kevin Redding

Errol Toulon Jr. (D) is running again for his seat as the Suffolk County sheriff with the hope to continue his efforts providing aid services for nonviolent inmates alongside the office’s law enforcement work with gangs and sex trafficking. 

Toulon’s opponent, William Amato, who is running on the Republican ticket, did not respond to multiple requests for a debate with TBR staff. The Suffolk County GOP office confirmed Amato is not actively campaigning.

Toulon, who has cross-party endorsements from both the Suffolk Democratic and Conservative parties, said his job as head of his department is “to take the brunt of everything, good and bad. And during these real challenging times, I have to ask, ‘How do I keep my staff calm, how do I keep them safe, how do I feel like they’re still valued?’” And compared to his previous positions in corrections, his current job gives him a satisfaction he hasn’t had before.

“I have a job now that directly impacts the community that I live and work in,” he said.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is the law enforcement branch dedicated to managing Suffolk’s jail system. Along with handling inmate populations, the office’s sheriff deputies are responsible for patrolling roadways alongside Suffolk County Police Department, investigating crimes committed on county property as well as managing the Pine Barrens protection hotline. The Sheriff’s Office also contains several specialized bureaus and sections for emergency management, DWI enforcement, domestic violence, among others.

Toulon, a former Rikers Island officer and captain, was voted into his first four-year term as sheriff in 2017 and was the first Black man elected to the role in the county’s history. Over those four years, his office has been involved with several high-profile drug and gang investigations, which included fact-finding trips to El Salvador and Los Angeles to investigate the connections of MS-13 to Long Island. He is proud of his office’s accomplishments, including his work with the office’s human trafficking unit and the creation of the START Resource Center, which provides inmates leaving county jails with employment and housing assistance as well as drug treatment and mental health care services.

But the year 2020 would throw a monkey wrench into all best-laid plans. Toulon said last year started out rough with the change to New York’s bail reform laws. Then the COVID-19 pandemic created a host of new challenges, especially safeguarding prison populations as well as corrections officers. 

During COVID’s height, officers kept inmates largely separated, which resulted in a minimal number of reported cases in Suffolk jails. Still, the year did have its share of tragedies, including the loss of Investigator Sgt. Keith Allison, a 25-year veteran of the office who died from issues relating to the virus in December. Recently, the Sheriff’s Office had to cancel its open house and family day due to staff shortages and the spread of the Delta variant. The sheriff’s website reports that, in September, 29 inmates tested positive for COVID, where 26 of those reportedly contracted the virus while in jail. Inmates are required to quarantine in a special housing pod for 14 days before being moved to general housing. Staff must take temperature checks and wear masks when coming into the facilities.

And all these extra protections have exacerbated current staffing shortages. Toulon said the Sheriff’s Office is currently down around 180 corrections officers and 43 sheriff’s deputies.

The recruitment struggle is one felt across many industries, law enforcement not excluded, though Toulon said his office has a uniquely difficult time getting people to apply, to have applicants pass the required tests and then to keep them on after they’ve had a taste of what can be a trying job at times. The challenge in recruiting is partially due to what he said has been a degradation of trust between law enforcement and the community since the start of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The Suffolk sheriff has also seen more senior officers retire because of health concerns during the pandemic, and because of COVID they were not able to host any new police classes last year. 

Though there are currently over 1,700 people who are ready to take the next law enforcement exam in November, the expected acceptance rate is normally around just 15% to 20%, Toulon said. This lack of staff also has the effect of increasing required overtime for current officers, leading to faster burnout. 

“Sometimes, even when you get through the entire process and they have their first days in a jail when they’re working a lot of overtime, having to deal with inmates … it becomes challenging on the individual, especially someone that’s not used to it,” the sheriff said.

It’s another stress on a system that he said requires more financial help to truly give aid to the transient, nonviolent jail populations who need it. Toulon would like to see more psychologists and psychiatrists within the jail providing counseling, though there’s currently no budget for it.

“The mental health institutions throughout New York state were closed in the 1980s or 1990s, and so these individuals are winding up in jail, but [state government] never funded the jails,” he said. “The staffing model for the Sheriff’s Office was really from a 1960s or ’70s version, and it hasn’t been updated to what we need to do to address the particular individuals in our custody.”

Though the sheriff said their new initiatives have not increased the office’s budget, he is still banging the drum for more funding. Suffolk County reportedly received approximately $286 million in aid from the federal American Rescue Plan back in May, though Toulon said they have not received any percentage of those funds. County spokesperson Derek Poppe said in an email that no ARP money is slated to go to the sheriff’s department.

Challenges still exist for Suffolk jails due to the pandemic. Corrections officers are still required to wear masks on their shifts. At the same time, only around 40% of corrections officers are currently vaccinated. There is no legal requirement for Suffolk law enforcement to be vaccinated in order to work, and while Toulon is fully vaccinated, he said he told his staff to consult their primary care physicians to make that determination.

“I understand it’s an individual’s choice at the moment,” he said. 

The number of people incarcerated in Suffolk jails hovers around 780, according to the sheriff, though that population is transient, and can change from day to day. The Sheriff’s Office, through the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, has tried to provide vaccinations for its inmates, leading to around 350 so far. Still, only approximately 30% to 40% of that jail population is currently vaccinated. “All we can do is just try to encourage the inmates to at least receive the vaccine — hopefully help them learn a little bit more if they’re a little skeptical before making that decision,” he said.

As for the future, the sheriff said he wants to work hard to make sure that the majority of the inmate population — all those who are nonviolent and not a danger to the community — receive the social services they need.

“Everybody should be held accountable for their actions, I should be very clear on that, and [incarceration] is necessary for those who would do harm to be removed from society,” Toulon said. “But those men and women that are going through domestic violence, substance abuse — we have many victims of human trafficking that are in our custody, many females that we’re working with — we want to help them, empower them so that they can support themselves and support their families.”

Photo by Stefanie Handshaw

On Friday, Oct. 22, the Sound Beach Fire Department welcomed the community for a Fire Prevention Open House for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the open house, members of the community were given tours of the vehicles and equipment, got to use a real fire hose, and sat for a viewing of “Surviving the Fire,” a fire safety video produced by the SBFD that tells the story of a local family who barely escaped their house fire in 2015. 

The open house concluded with a live burn demo to demonstrate the importance of keeping your door shut when you sleep to keep the smoke and fire out.

The Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting celebration for Studio E Art Classes, located at 77 Broadway in Rocky Point, on Oct. 15. The chamber welcomed the studio’s new owner, Kathleen Grancher, and thanked the previous owners, Michelle and Stelios Stylianou, for being pillars in our community. 

“From science to art, Kathy has spent the past 30 years working in Clinical Research. The gift of pottery lessons with a master potter 25 years ago furthered the love of art and clay. Now after retiring Kathy has embarked on a new adventure as owner of Studio E Art Classes. She is thrilled to have the opportunity of providing a welcoming environment for all to find joy in creativity,” read a press release sent by the chamber.

The celebration was attended by Gary Pollakusky, RPSB Chamber founder and President, Nichaldeep Parhar, RPSB Chamber Membership Director, Charles Todaro, RPSB Chamber Treasurer, Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner, NYS Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, Chad Lennon representing NYS Senator Anthony Palumbo, family and friends.

Studio E has a dedicated team of teachers and visiting artists who offer weekly programs for children, teens and adults and also offer birthday parties and summer camps. For more information, call 631-744-4001 or visit www.studioeartclass.com.

Pixabay photo

Over the summer, dozens of nonprofits and organizations hosted beach and park cleanups across Long Island. 

People came together with their trash bags in hand to pick up debris and trash. Families made days out of it, grabbing dinner afterward with the kids. Couples turned it into a bonding experience. 

While it’s inspirational and helpful for members of the community to work together to clean up the communities in which we live, shouldn’t the town government take the lead with these efforts?

To that end, the road along Route 25A in Setauket has eyesores that detract from the beauty and safety of our community, including several dead trees, overgrown gardens, leaves and debris. Street lights that protect pedestrians and help drivers navigate the area are dimming, making them less useful as we approach days with less sunlight.

Long Islanders receive and appreciate the return on investment from their taxes, particularly when roads are cleared after a storm or when children receive excellent educations from public schools. Given the tax bill, however, shouldn’t the town be able to use some of that money for upkeep?

The community doesn’t police itself and shouldn’t need to clean up accumulating messes or detritus from trees or other vegetative growth. Residents can, and should, dispose of their own trash. Landlords should also take responsibility for the space outside their residences.

As for those public places the village, town or county oversees, those responsible for upkeep on those properties should step up their game. 

We appreciate the work the municipalities do, particularly under difficult circumstances and, at times, with limited resources. We are also grateful to the go-getters whose efforts enhance the beauty of the communities we share.

At the same time, we need our elected officials and people with authority to take action to remove these dead trees, fix dim lights and remove garbage by the side of the road. The effort they put in now will save money and aggravation later, as well as improve the local environment.

Photos from Larry Hohler
Leg. Kara Hahn. Photo from Larry Hohler

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) is a daily runner who has participated in many local races, but her effort on the Port Jefferson/Setauket Greenway on Saturday, Oct. 16 in the Annual Kenya/USA Bi-Continental race was special.  

For the last 17 years, Hope Children’s Fund, a local not-for-profit, has held a 5K fundraiser in support of the Jerusha Mwiraria Hope Children’s Home for AIDS-affected former street children in Meru, Kenya.  

Hahn came in first among the female competitors in this year’s event with a time of 28:52. The overall winner was Setauket resident Donald Dodge, with his time of 24:28.  

The Kenyan times were inconclusive, but in all of the competitions since 2005, the Kenyans have won 16 times.

Heritage Park

Once a month at Heritage Park, you will find smiling faces, bodies in motion, and even a doctor or two walking the paths of this Mt. Sinai park, as part of Walk With a Doc, a free walking program run by local physicians to promote healthy living and wellness.

Walking was recognized by the United States Surgeon General as one of the single most important things we can do for our health. With over 500 chapters worldwide, Walk With a Doc provides communities with a space to get in some steps, learn about health, and meet new friends. There are four Walk With a Doc chapters on Long Island, including the Stony Brook University (SBU) chapter lead by Stony Brook physicians and medical students.

“Our walks are a wonderful way to get together with the community, speak one on one with physicians, and get some exercise,” says Dr. Ursula Landman, clinical associate professor of anesthesiology at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, and physician walk leader for SBU’s Walk With a Doc Chapter. “I am always looking forward to our walks and encourage everyone to join us on this lifelong journey of learning and health.”

The Stony Brook University Cancer Center joined Dr. Landman at Heritage Trust Park in October to educate walkers about skin cancer risks and prevention. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the Unites States with one in five Americans being diagnosed in their lifetime. Rates of new melanoma cases, the deadliest form of skin cancer, are on the rise.

The best way to reduce your risk of skin cancer is to avoid ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and indoor tanning devices. Stony Brook University Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) team provided skin cancer prevention resources to walkers, including how to reduce their exposure to UV radiation, sun safety tip sheets, and sunscreen to apply during their walk.

CPiA is a New York State Department of Health grant supporting cancer prevention in local communities. Stony Brook’s CPiA team is bringing sun safety education and policy to Suffolk and Nassau counties, with the goal of reducing skin cancer on Long Island.

“Cancer prevention is a vital step to building a healthier Long Island,” says Annalea Trask, CPiA Program Coordinator at Stony Brook University Cancer Center. “We are proud to support Stony Brook University’s Walk With a Doc chapter to promote healthy living in our community.”

The SBU chapter of Walk With a Doc meets at Heritage Park, 633 Mount Sinai-Coram Road, Mt. Sinai every third Sunday at 11 a.m. Walkers may join in person or virtually, walking around their own neighborhood or on a treadmill. You can Walk With a Doc at their next walk on November 21, 2021.

CPiA is supported with funds from Health Research, Inc. and New York State.

About Walk With a Doc:

Walk With a Doc is a national organization hosting doctor-led walking groups in communities around the world. With over 500 chapters, Walk With a Doc provides communities with a space to get in some steps, learn about health, and meet new friends. There are four Walk With a Doc chapters on Long Island, including the Stony Brook University chapter lead by Stony Brook physicians and medical students. Walks are free of charge and open to the public. To learn more, visit walkwithadoc.org or contact Dr. Ursula Landman at Ursula.landman@stonybrookmedicine.edu.

About Stony Brook University Cancer Center:

Stony Brook University Cancer Center is Suffolk County’s cancer care leader and a leader in education and research. With more than 20,000 inpatient and 70,000 outpatient visits annually, the Cancer Center includes 12 multidisciplinary teams: Breast Cancer; Colorectal Cancer; Gastrointestinal Cancer; Genitourinary Cancer; Gynecologic Cancer; Head and Neck Cancer, and Thyroid Cancer; Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplant; Lung Cancer; Melanoma and Soft Tissue Sarcomas; Neurologic Oncology; Orthopedic Oncology; and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. The cancer program is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. To learn more, visit cancer.stonybrookmedicine.edu.