“Coronavirus–How to protect yourself,” “Three Village community takes on pandemic,” “Local businesses/organizations react to Coronavirus concerns,” “Stony Brook students weigh in on changes to their college life due to Coronavirus.”
Five years ago, these were the headlines that filled TBR Newspapers as the pandemic took hold of the country, leading then-Governor Andrew Cuomo to issue an executive order to close non-essential businesses.
March 2020 was a month of intense anxiety. We monitored the news constantly, bought masks and hand sanitizer, stored up on household necessities, and didn’t get close to other people. We missed birthdays and downloaded Zoom. The CDC website was perpetually open on our devices. We did everything we could to ensure that we were safe from an invisible assailant.
Half a decade later, most of us can still remember where we were when we learned that our schools, businesses and workplaces would be closing. Changes in our personality and lifestyles can be traced back to that announcement and the months that followed, when we learned to live amidst a pandemic.
The virus has cost us; it led to 7.1 million deaths worldwide. Over 2,700 people have died in the U.S. from Covidfrom Jan. 26 to Feb. 23.Over 777 million people worldwide have contracted the disease in total, according to the CDC.
Covidhas not only affected our health–many of us have contracted it or know someone who has–but our relationship with the world around us. The pandemic necessitated an isolationism from which many of us haven’t fully recovered from. In public areas, every cough or sneeze has the potential to lead to something larger and more dangerous. We now get Covid shots in addition to the annual flu shot. Many of us still have a reserve of masks, just in case.
The pandemic was paralyzing–it halted in-person local commerce and in-person education. Many businesses weren’t able to survive the disruption and students lost quality education in the transition to remote learning. When workplaces switched to remote work, many didn’t switch back. Five years later, we sill feel the effects of these lost months.
Reading back those articles written during the pandemic, we are reminded of the abnormality of that period of time. It was a period of fear and trepidation, but in some of those articles from five years ago, our community displayed perseverance and strength in the face of uncertainty–businesses determined to adapt, community members standing by one another. We remember what we lost and how we got through it, with support, five years later.
Andrew Singer with students in a newly created makers space in the Engineering Building at SBU.
Photo by Debra Scala Giokas/Stony Brook University
By Daniel Dunaief
Andrew Singer. Photo courtesy of SBU
Andrew Singer, the Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) at Stony Brook University, has bigger numbers in mind. For starters, he’d like to see CEAS increase in size, from 5,000 total students, including 3,500 undergraduates, to as many as 10,000 students.
“We are small as an institution compared to other institutions of our reputation in research,” said Singer, referring both to the overall population of the university and to the college he leads.
He believes growth at the CEAS could occur because there is “that much demand for a Stony Brook College of Engineering and Applied Sciences education right now.”
Singer, who joined Stony Brook in July of 2023, believes that state schools like Stony Brook provide an education that create life changing opportunities for people and their families. The lack of available housing on campus at this point is a rate limiting step in increasing the number of students who can attend.
Getting the word out
Singer, who came to Stony Brook after 25 years in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Illinois, believes public universities have historically seen themselves as being local and serving the mission of the state, without needing to advertise.
“As public funding diminished, many public institutions realized they needed to tell the world that they were serving this tremendous mission and adding tremendous value to society,” Singer said.
Indeed, the late Chemistry Professor Paul Lauterbur helped invent the MRI machine, which has become such an important diagnostic tool in medicine. Lauterbur, who was a tenured professor at Stony Brook from 1963 to 1985, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with British Physicist Sir Peter Mansfield in 2003.
Singer also wants prospective students to know that John L. Hennessy, the former president of Stanford University and current chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet, earned his Master’s and PhD degrees from Stony Brook.
“Telling our story not only can help to bring some of the world’s greatest educators and researchers to campus, but can also ensure that the resources needed to continue to build on our successes are available,” said Singer.
Finding funds
Additionally, the CEAS Dean believes professors in the college can diversify their sources of funding.
“One of the things I noticed at Stony Brook is that most of the research is funded through grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy,” he said. “That concentration of funding makes you vulnerable to changes in the funding cycle.”
Additionally, competition for funding from those agencies is extremely high.Singer has been urging faculty at CEAS to seek funding from industrial sponsors.
“At the end of the day, what’s important is the scholarship you create,” he said.
Singer appreciates how his colleagues at Stony Brook are pursuing funds for larger interdepartmental funds.
Vice President for Research Kevin Gardner has “strong experience in building these larger portfolios of funding for faculty research,” Singer said. Gardner and Singer talk “often about ways we can continue to develop opportunities for faculty to go after new funding and present ideas to industry.”
Gardner described Singer as a “rock star” who has “great ideas” and is “super brilliant with tons of positive energy. He can move things and already has been moving things in a positive direction for CEAS.”
Gardner believes engineering could and should be twice the size it is and suggested that Singer is “the guy who will get us there.”
Opportunities for growth
Singer appreciates the depth and breadth of faculty interests at the CEAS. “Our faculty are brilliant researchers, working at the forefront of many areas of importance to society, from information and energy systems, to human health and disease prevention, to clean water and security,” he said. “With nine departments in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, it is difficult to find an area of science and engineering where our faculty are not having impact.”
Singer sees opportunities for growth in areas including artificial intelligence.
The university launched the AI Innovation Institute (AI3) in September of last year, which will expand the Institute for AI-driven Discovery and Innovation, which was established in 2018 from a department-level institute within the CEAS to the university-wide AI3, reporting to Provost Carl Lejuez. Steve Skiena, distinguished professor in the department of Computer Science, is serving as the interim director of AI3 while the university has been searching for an inaugural director.
The provost appreciates the efforts Singer has been making on behalf of the CEAS and the university. Singer is “good at thinking about the big things we need to focus on,” Lejuez said in an interview. Singer has “brought a leadership style that is consistent with the culture we’ve been trying to create over the past few years. We are partners with faculty, staff and students. We are including them not just at the end of decisions.”
Singer is also continuing to pursue his own scientific studies. His research interests include signal processing and communication systems. He has worked on underwater acoustics, where he studied underwater communication for the subsea industry. He has also worked in wireless communications for cellular and radio applications and in fiber optic communication systems.
Singer has two graduate students at Stony Brook and several students who are completing their work at Illinois. His students are working in areas related to audio signal processing, such as improving the performance of hearing aids and devices like noise-cancelling headphones, as well as in underwater acoustics.
Singer has had two companies emerge from research in his lab. He would like to continue to engage in innovation and entrepreneurship and help grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Stony Brook.
Quantum work
CEAS has invested in areas related to quantum communication.
In August 2024, Stony Brook was chosen to lead a project in the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program. Funded by the National Science Foundation and led by Principal Investigator Eden Figueroa, Stony Brook Presidential Innovation Endowed Professor, the team is designing and implementing a 10-node quantum network connecting labs at Stony Brook, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia University and Yale University.
Stony Brook held a workshop on Quantum Information Science and Communication systems in Manhattan that Figueroa led, in which some of the foremost experts in the field presented their work and discussed collaboration opportunities with Stony Brook, Singer explained.
Stony Brook has its “local and global strengths.” Singer wants to focus on building on those areas and to have SBU becoming well known to students and faculty as a destination of choice.
From left, Bob Willemstyn, restaurateur and owner of the Country House; Madiran's owner and sommelier, Jacqueline Malenda; Tom Manuel, founder of The Jazz Loft; and Elaine and Enzo Micali, owners of Elaine’s restaurant. Photo courtesy of The Jazz Loft
The signs of spring on the North Shore bring more than warm breezes and the return of the ospreys. Jazz music will once again be filling the air as The Jazz Loft’s Swing Into Swing Festival 2025 returns from March 18 to 22, not only boosting everyone’s spirits but also at local businesses. There will be an assortment of opportunities to hear live Jazz music throughout the community at five local restaurants in the Stony Brook/East Setauket area.
From left are Tom Manuel, founder of The Jazz Loft; Bob Willemstyn, restaurateur and owner of the Country House; Madiran’s owner and sommelier, Jacqueline Malenda; and Enzo and Elaine Micali, owners of Elaine’s restaurant. Photo from The Jazz Loft
Local restaurants featuring live jazz include: Bliss, located at 766 Route 25A in East Setauket; Elaine’s, located at 316 Main Street in East Setauket; The Country House, located at 1175 North Country Road in Stony Brook; Madiran, located at 209 Route 25A in East Setauket; and Schnitzels, located at 77 Main Street in Stony Brook.
“We are excited to be part of the Jazz Loft’s Swing into Spring event,” said Elaine Micali,owner of Elaine’s in East Setauket. “It’s a great way to spread a little Jazz throughout the Three Village community!”
“I believe that the annual Swing into Spring is something to which the community looks forward to,” said Madiran owner and Sommelier Jacqueline Malenda. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to expose our friends and neighbors to such tremendously talented local musicians. It’s how I began a monthly gig with The Jazz Loft a few years ago, and I’m so happy that I have!”
“The Jazz Loft is a gem in our community,” said Jane Taylor, Executive Director of The Three Village Chamber of Commerce. “The quality of the performances are outstanding and we are fortunate to have The Jazz Loft in our backyard with its quality musicians, while also sharing with the community the history of Jazz, and how it has influenced our culture. I would encourage all to take advantage of the upcoming Swing into Spring Festival.”
The five-day music festival will also feature concert performances at The Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., Stony Brook including a Community Jazz Night with Carl Safina, Rod Borrie and John Ronconi on March 18; Bakithi Kumalo Ensemble on March 20;the Mitch Marcus Quintet on March 21 and Frank Vignola and his Birdland Quintet on March 22.
Funding for the Festival comes in part from the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development & Planning and Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright.
“Music has the power to draw people out and bring people together,” said The Jazz Loft founder Tom Manuel. “I am always excited each year to bring music with the Swing into Spring festival throughout the Three Village community. I am so proud to partner with our community businesses. It’s a great feeling to see our restaurants bustling with people, and filled with the sound of live Jazz.”
Schedule of Events:
Tuesday March 18:
The Jazz Loft (7-9:30PM)
Community Jazz Night: Rod Borrie & Free Range, Carl Safina & Moment’s Notice, John Ronconi & Cafe Society
$30, $25, $20, $15, Kids 5 and under FREE
Bliss (6-8PM):
Steve Salerno, guitar, John Marshall, tenor saxophone
Elaine’s (6-8PM):
Tom Manuel, cornet, Phil Rinaldi, piano
Madiran (6-8PM):
Dean Johnson, bass, Al Marino, guitar
Wednesday March 19:
Madiran (6-8PM):
Phil Rinaldi, piano, Mark Wade, bass
Bliss (6-8PM):
Steve Salerno, guitar, Tom Manuel, cornet
Elaine’s (6-8PM):
Kevin Clark, guitar, Chris Donohue, tenor saxophone
The Country House (6-8PM):
The Jazz Loft Trio
Dean Johnson, bass, Rich Iacona, piano, Darrell Smith, drums
The Jazz Loft (4-5:30PM):
Improvisation & Jam Session Techniques Workshop
Dean Johnson, bass, Rich Iacona, piano Tom Manuel, cornet, Darrell Smith, drums
$10 All
The Jazz Loft: (7-9:30PM)
Jam Session / The Keenan Zach Trio
$10, $5 at 8PM
Thursday March 20:
Country House (6-8PM):
Mala Waldron, piano
The Jazz Loft (7-9:30PM)
Bakithi Kumalo Ensemble
Bakithi Kumalo, bass, Miho Nobuzane, piano/vocal, Kate Curran, vocal, Dylan Kries, saxophone, Ray Marchica, drums
Friday March 21:
Country House (6-8PM):
Rich Iacona, piano, Tom Manuel, cornet
The Jazz Loft (7-9:30PM)
Mitch Marcus Quintet
Mitch Marcus, tenor saxophone, Evan Francis, alto saxophone/flute, Jeff Miles, guitar, Peter Brendler, bass, Jerad Lippi, drums
$30, $25, $20, $15, Kids 5 and under FREE
Saturday March 22:
The Jazz Loft (7-9:30PM)
Frank Vignola Birdland Quartet
Frank Vignola, guitar, Ted Rosenthal, piano, Alex Raderman, drums, Gary Mazzaroppi, bass
$30, $25, $20, $15, Kids 5 and under FREE
Schnitzels (5-7PM)
Vinny Raniolo, guitar, Tom Manuel, cornet
All tickets can be purchased by visiting: https://www.thejazzloft.org/tickets
Rep. Thomas Suozzi took phone calls from his constituents on March 6. Photo courtesy of Suozzi's Facebook page
By Sabrina Artusa
Representative Nick LaLota (R-NY1) on March 5 and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) held a virtual town hall March 6 address their constituent’s concerns, where federal cuts were chief among them.
U.S. Congressman Tom Suozzi
Suozzi’s town hall was attended by over 10,000 people. Suozzi, who was one of 10 Democrats to censure Texas Representative Al Green (D-9th) after Green interrupted President Donald Trump’s(R) Joint Address to Congress, fielded questions on his motivation behind the vote.
“That is not appropriate,” he said, noting. “If it was a Republican doing that to a Democrat it wouldn’t be appropriate and I can’t be a hypocrite.”
Instead of “getting caught up in the protests and the sign-holding and interrupting the president’s speech,” Suozzi emphasized building relationships on “both sides of the aisle” as a method for Democrats to gain a foothold in Congress and “get things done” and “win the argument.”
Residents asked how Suozzi will stand against the federal cuts, including $880 million in proposed cuts to Medicaid. Education, litigation and mobilization were the three primary routes to change, said Suozzi.
Suozzi added that, “58,000 are in the affordable care act that comes from Medicaid; 305,000 people on Long Island are low-income individuals on Medicaid; 133,000 disabled Long Islanders are on Medicaid; and62% of people in my district in nursing homes are on Medicaid … when you want to see someone’s values look at their budget.”
“We need to talk about the importance of Medicaid and how important it is in your life,” Suozzi told a disabled speaker who relies on Medicaid and Social Security and was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to afford to live on Long Island without the aid.
Suozzi admitted that he gets frustrated with the opposite party, but disagrees with dramatic displays of protest such as Green’s, whom he said he has successfully worked with in the past. At the address, Suozzi said he “was angry at the president” but doesn’t want to indulge forces that “want to divide us.”
One speaker called this approach “naïve,” saying Suozzi has “fallen prey to the paradox of tolerance.” Overall, the meeting lasted an hour. Speakers who were unable to ask questions were encouraged to leave a voicemail.
To contact Suozzi go to suozzi.houe.gov. Washington, DC, office at (202- 225-3335.
U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota
LaLota held a town hall on March 5. The tele-town hall comes after a President’s Day rally held at his office by Indivisible, a grassroots national movement. The rally was organized to demand an in-person town hall meeting. Lalota has previously only held tele-town halls.
He fielded accusations that tele-town halls are scripted with questions not being representative of his constituents’ concerns,responding that these claims were untrue.
Integrating polls throughout the call, LaLota garnered feedback on hot topics such as tariffs and Medicaid cuts. In regard to the tariffs, LaLota said he would monitor them and felt confident that the president would use precision and care when using tariffs as leverage.
LaLota said “we need to reduce spending: and he wants “people in government to root out things that don’t make sense.”
To contact LaLota go to house.lalota.gov; district phone number is (631) 289-1097.
For many local health care workers, the pandemic transitioned from triggering uneasiness about reports of a respiratory illness coming out of China to a significant threat to area residents.
Dr. Susan Donelan, Photo from Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
Health care workers were in an all-out scramble to save lives even as information about the disease, its course and treatment, changed.
Five years after the start of a world-altering pandemic, infectious disease experts and emergency medicine specialists shared a range of thoughts about their initial reactions and concerns about this illness as well as insights about lessons learned and readiness to manage through future significant health threats.
Dr. Susan Donelan, Medical Director of Healthcare Epidemiology at Stony Brook Medicine, remembers raising questions about this virus towards late December of 2019. People urged her to go home and have a nice Christmas.
When Hospital CEO Carol Gomes called her on a Sunday and told Donelan she had an hour to get back to her, she recognized the approaching storm.
“I remember saying, ‘It’s a Sunday and she needs me in an hour,’” Donelan recalled. “We’re in it.”
Indeed, over the following months and, as it turned out, years, doctors dealt with numerous unknowns amid a fluid situation that threatened the population and, in particular those who were immunocompromised, had diabetes or respiratory or cardiac issues.
“People forget how bad things were,” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. “So many people were dying” that hospitals needed to figure out where to put the deceased.
Residents also lined up to get the scarce tests for the presence of the virus and often waited days or longer for a result.
Fluid situation
Health care professionals were reacting to a fluid situation in which best practices in terms of treatment and prevention changed even as the virus was mutating.
“It seems like a blur, going back and thinking about those moments,” said Dr. Jennifer Goebel, emergency room doctor at Huntington Hospital. “It was very surreal, taking care of a disease process you knew nothing about and attempting to be the expert when we were still learning.”
Federal, state and county health officials were unsure of the best guidance for a range of safety measures, including the use of masks.
Additionally, health care experts struggled with the level of contagion based on different environments.
“I don’t think anyone really knew about the continuum that could occur depending on the ambient circumstances,” said Donelan. “I think we probably could have done a better job of letting the public know that our communications would evolve as our knowledge evolved.”
Sharing safety messages
During the worst of the pandemic, health care professionals struggled to share messages that would help people make informed decisions about protecting themselves, their families and their communities.
Dr. Sharon Nachman. Photo frm SBU
“Trust in public health was completely undermined,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital “That hurt all of us.”
Nachman also listened to health care professionals on national TV who were discussing the health crisis. These pundits were sharing information that included far too many inaccessible words and concepts.
“Smart professionals were talking” but people weren’t understanding them, she said.
Additionally, the echo chamber of social media distorted messages, often questioning the developing science and best practices, suggesting conspiracy theories as well as treatments that were either unproven or ineffective.
Having local professionals from area hospitals made a difference on Long Island, Nachman said.
Whenever Nachman went to ShopRite, people who knew she was a part of their community saw her and asked questions.
“When it’s someone local from Northwell, Stony Brook, NYU Winthrop or others, [local communication] really works better,” she said.
Goebel added that she continues to share her medical knowledge not only with patients, but also with family members who have come to the hospital to provide support.
Hospitals, for their part, learned their lesson about stocking personal protective equipment.
“People have learned their lessons” at hospitals, said Pigott. “We need a more adequate stock of PPE.”
Health care provider PTSD
During the worst of the pandemic, one in five doctors who responded to an American Medical Association poll in 2022 said it was likely they would leave their practice within two years.
Dr. Jennifer Goebel. File photo from Northwell Health
“It was so staggering to hear some of these numbers,” said Goebel. Doctors go through over a decade of training. Seeing so many people leave was difficult.
Health care workers struggled, and continue to struggle, with memories and experiences in the midst of a crisis that killed millions around the world.
“I remember going to room nine, intubating a patient and being called to bed 12 and intubating another patient, within a matter of minutes,” said Goebel.
As the director of wellness in the Emergency Medicine Service Line, Goebel has created new initiatives to help reduce burnout and provide support.
She developed a peer to peer pilot program that started in September in which new physicians, physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners were matched with a more experienced professional from day one.
The effort is designed to help new staff navigate the health system and address any questions or concerns.
“We’re looking to put these processes in place” throughout Northwell, Goebel said.
Remote medicine
While remote medical choices, such as telehealth, predated the pandemic, these options have become increasingly common, particularly for residents who might struggle to get to a medical visit.
“Because people were forced to use it, with practice, they got better at it,” said Pigott.
Many organizations invested more in telehealth, which also reduces the burden on Emergency Departments.
Teleheatlh has its “risks and benefits,” said Goebel, as it can keep patients who might be vulnerable out of an environment where they might otherwise be exposed to other pathogens.
Goebel appreciates the importance of a visit with a doctor, who can differentiate between an ear ache and a potential indication of shingles.
Fortunately, for many people, Covid has become a much more manageable infection.
Pigott contracted Covid in September. He took Paxlovid, which helped knock out the symptoms within three days.
Pigott is also grateful for vaccines, which provided a dramatic reduction in mortality during the worst of the pandemic, particularly for people who are over 65.
The vaccine was “saving lives,” said Pigott. “There was real evidence that these are doing their jobs and are working out.”
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Legislator Steve Englebright’s office
Elaine Maas of Four Harbors Audubon Society puts the finishing touches on the nest structure. Photo from Leg. Steve Englebright's office
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Councilmember Kornreich's office
Volunteers including Elaine Maas and Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Legislator Steven Englebright’s office
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Councilmember Kornreich's office
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Legislator Steve Englebright’s office
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Legislator Steve Englebright’s office
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Legislator Steve Englebright’s office
Volunteers helped to raise the osprey pole last Sunday.
Photo from Legislator Steve Englebright’s office
Sometimes it takes a village.
Suffolk County Legislator Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) and Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) joined members of the Four Harbors Audubon Society (4HAS) and Three Village Dads Foundation for an osprey pole raising at the West Meadow Creek inlet in Stony Brook on March 9.
According to a joint press release from Englebright’s and Kornreich’s office, an osprey pole was recently removed from Suffolk County’s Old Field Farm. Despite successful nests in earlier years, 4HAS members observed in recent years that sporadic activity in the area surrounding the pole was scaring away adult ospreys for long periods, leaving the birds’ eggs or newborn chicks susceptible to predators.
Elaine Maas, 4HAS co-chair of co-Chair Education and Outreach, and John Turner, 4HAS co-chair of Conservation Committee, who both sit on the society’s board, brought the issue to the attention of Englebright. The county legislator reached out to the Suffolk County Parks Department to discuss relocating the pole to a nearby location. Maas and Turner also contacted Kornreich’s office to request using town property abutting the county park for a new pole in an area that is less accessible than the old nest.
On Saturday, March 1, concrete, water and a mixer were delivered to the Brookhaven property. JM Troffa Hardscape, Mason and Building Supply provided the concrete, while K. Dymond Industries lent the use of their equipment. Members of the Three Village Dads Foundation and 4HAS, along with Englebright and Kornreich, were on hand to dig a hole and set a pole sleeve in concrete for the new osprey pole.
Before the preparation for the new pole, the Suffolk County Parks Department removed the old one at Old Field Farm to prevent ospreys from nesting at this nonviable spot.
Volunteers delivered the new 20-foot pole donated by Haig and Jack Seferian of Flagpoles, Inc., and the nest structure built by Elite Home Improvement to the site on Sunday, March 9. Three Village Dads Foundation and 4HAS members and Flagpole, Inc. also donated or paid for additional materials to cement and build the nest structure. The volunteers were again on hand, preparing the nest box for the birds and raising the pole.
Maas and Turner were among the volunteers on March 1 and 9. Maas said the pole was raised just in time as the ospreys, who migrate south to Florida or South American in the winter, usually return to Long Island around St. Patrick’s Day. She added she was “grateful for the widespread community support.”
Kornreich thanked the members of Three Village Dads Foundation and its chairman, David Tracy, as well as 4HAS.
“We were up against a time crunch because the ospreys start nesting in a few weeks, and the Dads really delivered,” Kornreich said. “Thank you to Elaine Maas and John Turner from Four Harbors for bringing this situation to our attention, and we are glad we were able to help connect the dots and find a solution.”
Englebright echoed the sentiments.
“It was good to see the community come together in the interest of protecting these remarkable birds,” the legislator said.
Luca Restaurant in Stony Brook Village. The Hamptons Wedding Photography
The Stony Brook Village Center is excited to announce the much-anticipated reopening of Luca Restaurant, 93 Main Street, Stony Brook on Thursday, March 13 at 5 p.m. for dinner service. After temporarily closing in late January due to a fire, Luca is ready to welcome guests back for dinner and lunch with an exceptional dining experience and new spring menu items curated by Chef Luke.
To celebrate its reopening, Luca will offer dinner service on the following schedule:
● Thursday: 5:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
● Friday & Saturday: 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
● Sunday: 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Regular hours will resume on Wednesday, March 19, including lunch service Wednesday – Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
For full hours, menus and reservations, visit lucaitalian.com or call (631) 675-0435.
Suffolk County reported its first case of measles in a child since 2017 this week, as an unvaccinated person under five years old contracted the infectious disease.
Suffolk County health officials are working with the New York State Department of Health and Northwell Health and are taking steps to prevent the spread of the disease.
The case of measles in Suffolk County is the third in the state and comes as Texas has had over 200 confirmed reports of measles since January, with 29 hospitalizations, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“Measles can be very serious,” State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement. “It’s much more than just a rash as complications can include pneumonia and inflammation of the brain, and often results in hospitalization.”
Officials indicated that residents could have been exposed to the person with measles at the pediatric emergency department at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens from March 3rd to March 4th.
Patients who visited an inpatient child on the Medicine 3 unit from March 3rd to March 6th also could have had exposure.
The Cohen Children’s Medical Center, which is run by Northwell Health, is reaching out to patients who were at the center during the time of exposure. The Center has also identified patients who are high risk and may require timely treatment.
“As we follow this case and closely monitor potential exposures, we strongly encourage all residents to protect their health and the health of our youngest and most vulnerable residents by ensuring they are on time and up to date their measles vaccines and all recommended and lifesaving immunizations.” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Services, said in a statement.
The incubation period for measles, which is spread by coughing or sneezing into the air, is 21 days, with symptoms that can include high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. The best way to prevent measles, according to health officials, is to get the MMR vaccine. One dose is 93 percent effective at preventing measles, while two doses are about 97 percent effective.
Doctors recommend that residents receive their first dose at 12 to 15 months of age and the second at four to six years of age.
Measles during pregnancy increases the risk of early labor, miscarriage, and low birth weight infants.
Separately, area officials found two dead raccoons tested that positive for rabies in Amityville and North Amityville on March 4th and January 28th, respectively.
These are the first confirmed cases of rabid raccoons in the county since 2009
These animals had no known contact with humans or animals.
“We have over 1.5 million residents [in Suffolk County] and it’s not good to have raccoons running around with rabies,” said Pigott. These animals can get in a fight and can transmit the rabies virus to other animals or to humans.
Left untreated, rabies, which has early symptoms including irritability, headache, fever and itchiness at the site of exposure, can be lethal.
People can contract rabies if they are exposed to saliva or nervous tissue of a rabid animal through a bite.
Pigott urged pet owners to ensure their animals are vaccinated for rabies. He also suggested that people take safety measures when they are out among animals. He asks those living in Huntington, Islip, Smithtown or Babylon to contact the Department of Health Services if they encounter a dead raccoon.
Dr. Jennifer Quinn has been chosen as a recipient of the Town of Brookhaven's 2025 Women's Recognition Awards.
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Daniel J. Panico has announced the recipients of the 2025 Women’s Recognition Awards who will be honored at the 39th Annual Women’s Recognition Night to be held on Thursday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Brookhaven Town Hall, One Independence Hill in Farmingville.
Lily Stolzberg has been chosen as a recipient of the Town of Brookhaven’s 2025 Women’s Recognition Awards.
The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the Town’s Office of Women’s Services, Department of General Services. Nominated by members of the community, the winners either live or work in the Town of Brookhaven and have demonstrated excellence in their endeavors in a variety of areas. Nominations were considered by members of Brookhaven’s Women’s Advisory Board and selected based on resumes and letters of recommendation.
The 2025 Women’s Recognition Award recipients are:
Business Mary Beth Lichtneger / Center Moriches
Communications Lily Stolzberg / Miller Place
Community Services Professional Jennifer Hernandez / Mount Sinai
Community Service Volunteer Debra L. Engelhardt/ Wading River
Education Leah Topek-Walker / Patchogue
Government Leslie A. Mitchel / Port Jefferson
Health Care Provider Christina Burke, PT, DPT, NCS / Great River/ Stony Brook Medicine
Law Enforcement Megan O’Donnell / Calverton/ District Attorney’s Office
Legal Profession Stephanie A. Buffa, Esq. / East Setauket
Medicine Dr. Rachel Davis/ Roslyn / Stony Brook Medicine
Science Dr. Gabriella Carini / Port Jefferson
Stephanie A Buffa, Esq. has been chosen as a recipient of the Town of Brookhaven’s 2025 Women’s Recognition Awards.
2025 Town Board Special Commendation Awards
Supervisor Daniel J. Panico – Annette Eaderesto, Esq. / Brookhaven
Councilman Jonathan Kornreich – Dr. Jennifer Quinn / East Setauket
Councilwoman Jane Bonner – Bea Ruberto / Sound Beach
Councilman Neil A. Manzella – Linda Miller / Selden
Councilman Michael A. Loguercio – Isabella Rossellini / Brookhaven
Councilman Neil Foley – Mary Bailey / Blue Point
Councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig – Maura Spery / Mastic
The Town of Brookhaven’s Office of Women’s Services, a Division of the Department of General Services, provides a variety of services for women and their families. For more information about the 39th Annual Women’s Recognition Awards Night ceremony, please call 631-451-6146 or visit BrookhavenNY.gov.
A meeting was recently held at the Sterling Woods condominium in Port Jefferson Station to discuss the impending proposal for an 8.75-MW lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). According to the New Leaf Energy Senior Director of Business Development, this 8.75-MW BESS “can power 8,500 single-family homes for 4 hours.”
This raises a very interesting question: what is the meaning of the phrase “power a home?” Does this imply that all (100%) of the power used in the home will be provided?
New Leaf Energy presents a plan for a 8.75-megawatt project on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Sabrina Artusa
Or will the BESS provide only a small percentage, e.g., 20%, of the total power required by each home? If the BESS provides 8.75 MW of power to 8,500 homes for 4 hours, the average power delivered to each home is 1,029 W. For a typical home in Port Jefferson Station, surely a more realistic measure of the required power consumption would be about 5,000 W, rather than 1,029 W. Thus, for this case, the BESS will be providing approximately 20.9% of the required power, and not 100%.
Clearly, the remaining 79.1%, which is 3,971 W, will need to be provided from some other (unspecified) source, if 8,500 homes are to be fully powered with 5,000 W each. Realistically, a single 8.75-MW BESS might be able to provide 5,000 W of power for 4 hours to each of 1,750 (rather than 8,500) homes. Alternatively, a total of 5 BESS units could be configured to fully power 8,500 homes.
Another subject of discussion at the meeting was the hot topic of thermal runaway in the lithium-ion battery cells. This was said to be “caused when the cells are interfered with or abused and are unable to regulate normally,” While this is correct, it should also be mentioned that “abuse” does not necessarily have to be mechanically induced, but can also originate as a malfunction in the electronic control circuitry, including the charging and cell balancing circuits, and the software that controls them. This can lead to unintentional overcharging of one or more cells, which can lead directly to thermal runaway.
George Altemose
Setauket
Read more about the topic here or visit https://tbrnewsmedia.com/port-jefferson-station-residents-question-battery-storage-proposal-at-sterling-woods-meeting/
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