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File photos of a fire in East Setauket from the Setauket Fire Department.

After a tragic fire broke out in Noyac, the tragedy sheds light on fire safety precautions people should consider before unpacking their bags in an unfamiliar room or home and in general.

When the Noyac fire broke out, a family of five from Maryland was on vacation, renting a single-family home. The Aug. 3 fire, in the early morning hours, claimed the lives of sisters Jillian Wiener, 21, and Lindsay Weiner, 19. Their parents Lewis and Alisa and their 23-year-old brother Zachary were able to escape with non-life-threatening injuries.

Town of Huntington chief fire marshal, Terry McNally, said in an email to TBR News Media, that residents should “make sure your home conforms to the state fire code and building code, including functioning smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.”

“Each bedroom must have a smoke detector,” he added. “There must be a means of egress to get outside from each bedroom and hallway on each level, and there must be a carbon monoxide detector on each level within 15 feet of each bedroom.”

Christopher Mehrman, chief fire marshal for the Town of Brookhaven Division of Fire Prevention, agreed and said in a phone interview it’s important to ensure a rental property follows the same codes.

The marshal added it’s important to ensure there are detectors on each floor.

“You want that early warning to be able to get out if there’s a fire,” Mehrman said. 

Staying at a private home that may be included on a website such as Airbnb is different from being at a hotel and motel where they must meet stricter codes that marshals enforce, Mehrman said. He added while some municipalities might regulate Airbnbs and inspections are done, they are not as extensive as ones for corporate properties.

Mehrman said the first thing to do when vacationing anywhere is to check that there are smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and test them to see if they are working.

“If you’re in doubt, bring your own,” he said.

Many times he has conducted investigations where it’s found that the detectors aren’t working properly. He said systems that go to a central station also have a button to be able to test them.

Both fire marshals added that it’s important for people to ensure they know all the ways out of a home or building in the case of a hotel or motel. Their advice is to check for exits and for people to familiarize themselves with egress paths, including stairwells.

Mehrman added to make sure that windows do open. He said when he travels, he finds the emergency exits and counts the number of doors to the exit from his room.

“In a smoke condition in a hallway, you’re going to be down on the floor crawling to get to the exit, and that way you can count the number of doors,” Mehrman said.

When visiting hotels and motels, he also checks emergency exit doors to ensure they aren’t locked, and stairwells lead to a door outside the building.

Regarding vacationing at a private home, Mehrman said, remember not all homes are set up the same.

“Some of these houses are very large,” he said. “You don’t know what the owner has done to the house. They may have sectioned off part of it because they don’t want people in that part of the house.”

He added not to be afraid to escape from a second-floor window as the fall is not as far as it looks, especially if one dangles from the window first.

Most of all, Mehrman said always be aware that there should be a meeting spot for everyone, and people should not run back in to save anyone or pets. Fire victims also should wait until they escape the fire before calling 911.

“Evacuating everybody is the most important thing,” he said.

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Anthony Figliola (left) and Nick LaLota (right) tackled a range of issues during Monday’s Zoom debate. LaLota’s photo from candidate’s websites; Figliola’s from candidate

Two candidates took to the virtual debate stage on Monday, Aug. 8, as the Republican primary contest for New York’s 1st Congressional District ramps up to succeed Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1), who is a state gubernatorial candidate.

Hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork, declared Republican congressional candidates Anthony Figliola, of East Setauket, and Nick LaLota, of Amityville, squared off for the second time. The debate moderator was Estelle Gellman, who asked questions that were submitted in advance by the public. The third candidate in the race, Michelle Bond, declined the invitation to participate, according to Gellman.

The winner of the Republican primary race will likely face Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac), the presumptive Democratic nominee, in the general election this November.

Introductions

Figliola was born and raised in Rocky Point and currently resides in East Setauket. After serving as deputy supervisor of the Town of Brookhaven, he is executive vice president of a government relations and economic development business, according to his website. He said he entered the race due to a sense of frustration with Washington, which he believes has neglected ordinary citizens.

“People are hurting tremendously,” he said. “What’s happening is that Washington is not listening to them. I’m a regular working-class individual. Our family, we’re in the struggle with you. We understand what’s going on and I think we need someone who’s a regular, working-class person that’s going to fight for the people of this district.”

LaLota is the designated candidate for both the Republican and Conservative parties of Suffolk County. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, he was deployed three times overseas and is a former Suffolk County Board of Elections commissioner. He said he is running to address the numerous complex issues facing the nation.

“There are important issues that we need to tackle as a nation,” he said. “Issues with respect to the economy, inflation, public safety, the border, protecting our constitutional freedoms — I’m eager to tackle those issues in Congress. There are good Republican and Conservative solutions to each one of those issues.”

Gun violence

After a proliferation of recent mass shootings around the country, the candidates were asked whether they would support additional restrictions on access to firearms, such as a ban on assault weapons or high capacity magazines. 

As a gun owner, Figliola expressed his support for the Second Amendment and added that the majority of gun owners act safely.

“We have some very insane people that are committing these horrendous and heinous crimes,” he said. “I don’t believe we should be throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

Figliola said the issue of mass shootings is a matter of enforcement rather than additional restrictions. To curb mass violence, he believes that the laws on the books should be enforced and that illegal guns should be targeted and removed.

“The issue here is that we are not enforcing the laws,” he said. “When you go to places like Buffalo and that horrendous mass shooting — a shooting of 10 people — there were all these laws that the Democrats and Kathy Hochul, our governor, put in place and they said that that was supposed to stop mass shootings and it didn’t.” He also advocated for adding armed security in schools and for “a solution with mental health, but not going after law-abiding gun owners.”

LaLota said that the majority of gun crimes are committed with unregistered firearms. Like Figliola, he favored tougher enforcement of existing laws. Given his background, he suggests that he has a unique understanding and appreciation for responsible gun ownership.

“I’m a legal gun owner,” he said. “I grew up in a law enforcement family with a deep respect for the Second Amendment and for safely operating a firearm. I furthered that understanding as an officer in the military, where I learned to safely handle firearms.”

For LaLota, the problem of gun safety is closely tied to the issue of criminal justice reform. “In New York, we’re living in tough times with this bail reform law,” he said. “We have some folks out on the streets who should not be out on the streets.” He added, “It’s not a fact of not having enough laws. It’s a fact of not enforcing the laws that are on the books right now.”

Abortion

The recent Dobbs decision out of the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, has placed a cloud of uncertainty over the future of abortion access nationwide. When asked whether they would support legislation that would legalize abortion nationally, they each declined, opting instead to limit the existing abortion laws in the state.

“The recent Supreme Court decision, which gave the power back to the states and thereby the people, is good,” LaLota said. “This gives the maximum amount of power to we, the people, to hold the politicians accountable and have a policy that comports [with] their values.”

He referred to the existing abortion policies in New York as “radical,” suggesting that the state should modify its abortion laws to eliminate late-term abortions.

“We should celebrate life,” LaLota said, adding, “And the way that we celebrate life is by protecting it. I think that in New York, abortion should be on the ballot this November. We should ask every state assemblymember, every state senator and every candidate for governor: Would you support the repeal of the third trimester abortion provision?”

Figliola also supported the Dobbs decision. He argued that the decision-making power to regulate abortions should be in the hands of the people and their elected representatives rather than the Supreme Court.

“I believe that this current court got it right in giving it back to the states because the court should not be in a position to be legislating,” he said. “As a strict constitutionalist, it is the people who elect their representatives, petition their members of Congress and their state legislatures, and they choose what they want to vote on.”

Figliola favored drastic changes to existing abortion laws. “The reality is there shouldn’t be abortions at all,” he said. “On Long Island, between the ages of 18 and 24, we have a third of pregnancies that end in abortion. This is horrendous.” He added, “History is going to look back on us and they’re going to look very unkindly on us that we’re not choosing life — and not just the life of that child but the life of that mother and the hope and the amazing life that the two of them could live.”

Public health

The threat of COVID-19 remains a priority even two years after the height of the pandemic. Both candidates were asked whether they would favor mask mandates, quarantines or mandatory proof of vaccination for public events. In addition, they were asked to provide the steps that the federal government should take to promote the health of American citizens.

LaLota emphasized the importance of providing accurate information to the public while also empowering citizens to make their own health decisions.

“The federal government should allow people to have access to real, reliable information and people should be able to make decisions on their own,” he said. “I would be tremendously against any sort of federal law or federal mandate involving these sorts of health issues.”

Figliola condemned what he called “unconstitutional mandates,” which, according to him, have put people out of work. Regarding potential solutions, he suggests that the federal government begins to put together an endgame strategy for the postpandemic United States.

“I think that the pandemic, by and large, is over,” he said. “We’re now in the ‘endemic’ stages of things, and I think politicians want to find a way to control the people. They’re using the pandemic or whatever the next variant is to try to make people subservient.” He continued, “It’s people’s own individual rights to decide what they want to do with their body, with their children, with their health care — and we’re moving away from that.”

To watch the entire nearly one-hour debate, visit the SeaTv Southampton YouTube channel.

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Image from Stony Brook University

Amid the sound and fury signifying nothing, to borrow from William Shakespeare, Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism has joined a national solutions journalism program.

Stony Brook, NY; Stony Brook University: School of Journalism’s Dean Laura Lindenfeld

That means the journalism school will teach its students how to do much more than complain or highlight issues or problems.

Instead, the school will teach developing journalists how to use data, tell compelling stories and search for answers to problems that are as broad and challenging as climate change and institutional racism, among others.

The solutions journalism hub is “going to help attract people to the field [and provide] a sense of learning from each other,” said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the Journalism School. “I’m really proud that we’re the hub in the northeast.”

The other journalism hubs include the University of Georgia, Northwestern University and Arizona State University.

“These new hub universities are showing a serious commitment to leading this important work in their regions and nationally,” Francine Huff, Solutions Journalism Network’s director of journalism school partnerships, said in a statement. These four journalism schools have an amazing wealth of talent and resources, and the Solutions Journalism Network is excited to partner with them.”

While SJN provides no monetary gain to the schools, Lindenfeld would like to pursue fundraising around this designation.

Being a part of the solutions journalism network “signals to the community of journalism and foundations about what we care about and what we are about,” Lindenfeld said. “A tighter focus and mission is advantageous and genuine.”

Lindenfeld plans to have ongoing interactions with the other three hubs as a part of a learning community.

To be sure, the concept of using data and sharing compelling stories as a part of a solutions driven journalism effort isn’t new to SBU’s journalism effort.

“We were already doing a chunk of this,” Lindenfeld said. The designation ensures the school is more specifically focused on this, even as Stony Brook will still teach other forms of journalism. “It marks a commitment to making sure we are doing deep, rich storytelling that’s data driven and is looking at a response to problems, rather than just pointing them out.”

Solutions journalism can help drive the focus of stories in an increasingly complex and contentious world, the SBU dean continued.

SBU doesn’t plan to replace balance and professionalism with solutions.

“We are not talking about advocacy journalism or advocacy communications,” Lindenfeld said. “We are talking about the highest standard of ethical journalism that seeks fair, balanced perspectives.”

Lindenfeld urges students to figure out if the data supports or refutes any hypothesis they have about a story.

“You’ve got to always be open to the idea that you could be wrong,” she said. “Trust but verify.”

Solutions journalism includes an understanding of history and context.

Stony Brook has integrated a data analysis and storytelling class into the undergraduate curriculum, where the school helps students dig deeper into how to analyze and tell stories about data.

Solutions journalism will become a cornerstone of the master’s program, Lindenfeld said.

Lindenfeld believes this approach to journalism and communication, regardless of the eventual field graduates enter, should help alumni secure jobs.

“How can it hurt to have a better understanding of data analysis?” Lindenfeld asked.

Down the road, she would like to have an endowed chair in solutions journalism at Stony Brook.

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Coram resident Logan Mazer, above, presented a map of least change, a proposal he said would preserve communities of interest on the Brookhaven Town Council.

From gavel to gavel, it looked like any other public meeting of the Brookhaven Redistricting Committee. 

But this was no meeting at all, at least not officially. Without a stenographer, an advising counsel or quorum, the three members present were left alone in a hot and humid room to hear public comments on redistricting.

George Hoffman (left), Rabia Aziz (middle) and Gail Lynch-Bailey (right) during an unofficial public meeting of the Brookhaven Redistricting Committee. 

On Friday, Aug. 5, five of the eight members of the Brookhaven Redistricting Committee failed to make an appearance at a public meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Setauket Neighborhood House, standing up the three Democratic appointees to the committee and dozens of Brookhaven residents. For a committee that is, by design, supposed to be nonpartisan and independent, this marks yet another setback in a redistricting process which has become an all-out circus.

Meeting cancellation

George Hoffman, a Setauket resident and member of the redistricting committee, explained the last-minute cancellation of Friday’s meeting. He said originally the committee suspected it would have enough members to hold the meeting. 

In the final hours leading up to the meeting, Hoffman said the quorum quickly dissolved as more committee members announced they could not attend. By mid-afternoon, the committee’s counsel, Vincent Messina, informed the remaining members that the meeting was canceled.

“This afternoon at 2 or 3 o’clock, we were told that Vinny Messina canceled the meeting without even discussing it with the chairpeople,” Hoffman said. “They decided to cancel this meeting without any concern for the people that were already coming. They only pulled it from their website at 4:30.”

Hoffman, who has clashed publicly with the committee’s counsel, has criticized the way in which the redistricting process has unfolded. Despite a looming Sept. 15 deadline, Hoffman said the committee members have had little to no input throughout this process.

“The committee has been completely divorced from the mapmaking process,” he said. “Other than just sitting here at the public meetings that we’ve had, we’ve never met with the mapmaker, we’ve never explained what we would like to see in the maps.” Referring to the two maps that have circulated on the committee’s website, he added, “Those maps came out of nowhere. We never accepted them as a committee, even for discussion purposes. They’re just a fiction.”

Between the mysteriously created maps and the cancellation of public meetings, Hoffman has expressed growing frustration with the outside counsel. “We’ve tried to pull together this commission, but they keep insisting that those maps that they created somehow have validity, which we say they don’t.”

Messina could not be reached for comment.

‘The most egregious and unnecessary thing that I see in these proposed maps is dividing Port Jefferson Station.’

—Steve Englebright

Public comments

New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) reflected on the days when there were at-large elections for the Brookhaven Town Council. With at-large elections, the residents did not feel connected to their representatives. 

The change to councilmanic elections did not change the balance of power in Brookhaven, according to Englebright, but it strengthened the connection between representatives and constituents.

“It was not something that favored the Democratic Party — what it favored was the democratic principle,” Englebright said. “It favored direct representation, it made Brookhaven grow up, if you will, within the context of the promise and premise of a direct representation form of government.”

New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), above, condemned draft maps that propose the splitting of Port Jefferson Station and Terryville into separate council districts. 

Englebright addressed the precarious future of Port Jefferson Station/Terryville, which is split  under the two draft proposals on the committee’s website. He supported keeping that community of interest unified under one council district.

“Port Jefferson Station, under the mysterious map, would be divided — the library would be in one part, the high school would be in somebody else’s district,” the assemblyman said. “We worked hard for communities to have … direct representation, so the most egregious and unnecessary thing that I see in these proposed maps is dividing Port Jefferson Station.”

Logan Mazer, a resident of Coram, responded to the two map proposals on the committee’s website. “When I saw the two maps that were put out, I was disgusted and horrified that they would attempt to make such a dramatic change from the current maps that we have now,” he said. 

Mazer proposed a map of his own. “Today, we have a viable option with my map, the map of least change,” he said. “While I will be the first to admit that the map has its flaws and is not perfect, I wholeheartedly believe that it is the best option to create fair and equitable [districts] for all of Brookhaven Town.”

Ira Castell, a member of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, supported Mazer’s proposal, arguing that it best comports with the town code and keeps communities of interest together.

“That meets the letter of the law and the intent of the law,” he said. “It keeps the capacity for this community of interest — ours here in the 1st District — to stay together.” He added, “It’s not the ‘Port Jeff Station/Half of Terryville Civic Association.’ We are all united.”

Castell defined the term “community of interest.” A community of interest, he said, “is for people who have a common policy concern and would benefit from being maintained in a single district. Another way of understanding a community of interest is that it is simply a way for a community to tell its own story.”

Under this definition, PJS/Terryville constitutes a community of interest, according to Castell. For this reason alone, it should be unified within the town council, he indicated.

Port Jefferson Village trustee Rebecca Kassay, above, stood in solidarity with her neighbors in PJS/Terryville. 

Port Jefferson Village trustee Rebecca Kassay also made an appearance at this unofficial meeting. Speaking as a private citizen, she stood in solidarity with her neighbors in Port Jefferson Station/Terryville. 

“I have had tremendous success … working alongside the civic association, the chamber of commerce and these other groups in Port Jefferson Station/Terryville, who have made phenomenal progress,” Kassay said. “As their neighbor, I know that our success in revitalizing the uptown of Port Jefferson village hinges on the success of Port Jefferson Station/Terryville.” She added, “I do not want to see that community split up because there is so much strength there.”

Following adjournment, members of the public agreed to bring their grievances to Brookhaven Town Hall during a meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 5 p.m.

—Photos by Raymond Janis

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Kite. Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

The visitor comes unexpectedly sneaking around corners, invisible in the air even if you’re staring directly at him.

He is particularly welcome in the summer, when it’s so hot that the sweat on your skin only makes you wet and clammy, without providing much relief.

A cold drink might help, you think. As your fingers take respite from the moisture on the cup, your lips, tongue and mouth journey far from the heat, giving your brain the chance to ignore the signals the rest of your body is sending about how hot and miserable you are.

Short as this comfort is, it’s nothing compared to the effect this guest brings.

I tend to make an odd face when I get too hot, curling my short, thick tongue into my slightly larger lower palate and waiting, as patiently as possible, for the fall to bring cooler temperatures, Halloween costumes, pumpkin pie and, down the road, maybe a snowman that’s taller than me and my son who years ago started bending down to hug his father.

Today, however, during that most amazing of now moments, the guest has arrived, offering the kind of cooling and refreshing massage that lasts much longer than an hour. He charges nothing for his services.

He has an open invitation, of course, but he doesn’t always accept the offer, particularly when he’s traveling elsewhere.

He makes the horseflies scatter and alters the surface of the water, causing the kind of rippling pattern that may inspire a young mathematician eager to find a formula to explain what she sees.

He can interrupt even the most heated of discussions, debates and disagreements. It’s hard to be angry or to make an aggressive point when he’s around. And, in case you ignore him, he has a way of making his presence felt, knocking that stylish hat off your head and into the Long Island Sound, causing that expensive silk scarf to ruffle toward your face, or loosening those carefully tucked bangs.

Powerful as the sun and heat are, he can offer a counterbalance.

He can be cruel, knocking a bird’s nests out of the trees. He can also topple a table filled with carefully cooked cuisine, turning the mouth watering meal into a mess. When he feels like attending a baseball game, he can turn a home run into a fly ball and vice versa.

Ah, but go with him when you’re sailing, flying a kite or just sitting on a hot beach, and he brings the kind of cleansing magic to the air that water brings to a parched plate.

He helps send a kite high into the air, tugging on a line that causes the kite to dart, dive, dip and climb.

On a sailboat, he is the copilot, willing your ship, no matter its size, faster. You don’t need a motor when he’s around and you may not even need to drink that iced tea, lemonade, ice cold beer or soft drink you brought along with you.

After a sail, even on some of the hottest days, but particularly around dusk, he provides cool comfort in much the same way a blanket offers warmth during the coolest nights of the winter.

As he climbs through the nearby trees, he seems to ask you to “shhh.” Then, he waltzes past chimes, tapping each sound singularly and together, singing a unique summer melody that changes with each of his appearances.

He is an equal opportunity flag waver, indifferent to the political leanings of the people who hoisted the revered cloth to the top of a pole.

One of my favorite companions during the summer, I celebrate the cherished breeze, not only for the comfort he affords but for the way he alters the landscape and offers a respite from the heat.

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Kenya, Africa. Pixabay photo

By Leah Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

One of the reasons we travel is to broaden our horizons, literally and figuratively. Yes, we want to see new vistas, consider how others live, and cut ourselves a little break from our daily routines. The same could be said when we meet people from elsewhere. They come from different worlds, bring their personal history and cultural differences into view, and generally teach us about more than what exists in our own small circle.

Such is also the benefit of diversity. We don’t have to travel to find new worlds, we only have to be aware of others who come from those different worlds and admit them into ours.

All of which is to say that last Monday, as I went about my daily routine, I met a lovely woman from Kenya, and we had time for a leisurely talk. Now there were only three things I knew about Kenya. It is a country in Eastern Africa. A friend went with her extended family on a safari there some years ago and raved about it on her return. Runners from Kenya, both male and female, usually win the New York City Marathon. That’s it.

At least, that was it until we started to chat. Now that she raised my consciousness about her home, I realized that Kenya has been in the news lately. Elections were scheduled this past Tuesday, and they were hotly contested. This much I learned from the PBS News Hour Monday night. Because of my encounter, I paid more attention to that news segment as well as to a couple of news stories in The  New York Times. She brought her country within my view.

The news stories told me more.

William Ruto, 55, the self-proclaimed leader of Kenya’s “hustler nation” [his designation], was vice president for nine years but was now portraying himself as an outsider, representing the masses of frustrated young people, most of them poor, who just want to get ahead. He paints his rivals as elitist. That would include Raila Odinga, 77, who is running for president for the fifth time but who now has made an alliance with his former bitter rival, the outgoing president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who is backing him. The race is expected to be close.

Why should we care about Kenya?

“Since its first competitive multi-party elections 20 years ago, the East African nation has emerged as a burgeoning technology hub, a key counterterrorism partner, a source of world-class athletes and an anchor of stability in a region roiled by starvation and strife,” according to the newspaper article. Some 80 % of Kenyans voted in the 2017 election, making for a democracy in the midst of nations run by strongmen. 

There are major concerns now. The pandemic and the Ukrainian War have badly affected their economy, which already was struggling under heavy debt to China for financing a railroad and road projects. This was part of its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to expand China’s economic and political influence in Africa. China never has financed the completion of this construction, leaving the railroad to end abruptly in a field 200 miles short of its intended destination in neighboring Uganda. But the debt remains to be paid, and the railroad is further enmeshed in serious corruption charges. Meanwhile China is reconsidering its early investments in African infrastructure since it paid out large amounts of money to countries with shaky economies. But the Chinese government still seeks influence in Africa, as does Russia, which was supplying much of its grain.

The 54 nations and 1.4 billion people on the African continent are important enough to us that Secretary of State Antony Blinken just started a tour of countries there. His trip and the election in Kenya are more meaningful to me now, thanks to the conversation I enjoyed with the woman who may become a new friend.

Now back to travel. She enticed me to visit with a description of their magnificent sand beaches along the Indian Ocean. Travel, imagined or real, is a beautiful thing.

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Sweetbriar Nature Center heads to Stony Brook Village for a Pop-Up Saturday event on Aug. 16. File photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino
A scene from the Aug. 6 Pop-Up Saturday event in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Serena Carpino

By Serena Carpino

During the summer, Stony Brook Village Center is often bustling with friends grabbing iced coffee from Crazy Beans and families enjoying Sweet Mama’s ice cream after a long hike at Avalon Nature Preserve. Last Saturday, they were greeted by a friendly quartet of critters during one of Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s Pop-Up Saturday events. 

The animals were visiting from the rehabilitation program run by Sweetbriar Nature Center. Sweetbriar is a non-profit organization that provides shelter for injured animals and educates the public about the environment.

At the event, families met four different animals: Stitch the red-tailed hawk, Oreo the hedgehog, Holly the box turtle, and Turnip the eastern screen owl. They were able to pet Oreo and Holly as Christionna Carini, a Sweetbriar employee, told their stories. Oreo’s previous owner gave her up after learning that hedgehogs are nocturnal. Holly is one of many box turtles at the center.

“We have a lot of box turtles because they are at risk for habitat loss or injuries,” Carini said, “We also have box turtles that are perfectly healthy but since we don’t know where they came from we can’t release them.”

Though the families were not allowed to pet Stitch and Turnip, Carini shared their stories as well. Stitch was injured by a truck and suffered multiple injuries.

“Oftentimes what happens is people might throw an apple core out the window, a squirrel might run across the road for it and then the hawk goes for the squirrel,” Carini said.

Though Stitch lost an eye and part of her wing after the accident, she was fortunate that her bone breakage was not severe. Turnip has bad vision, which currently prevents him from surviving in the wild. 

During the afternoon, about 60 people attended the Pop-Up event. This is not the first time Sweetbriar employees have brought animals to community events. Gloria Rocchio, president of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, said, “Over the years we’ve had them come to different events either in our cultural center or on the property. They are a very good nature preserve and rehabilitation facility.”

According to Rocchio, the Pop-Ups have been a popular source of entertainment for families throughout the summer.

“With the success that we’re receiving from the general public … we will definitely be doing more of them next year,” she said.

Pop-Up Saturdays, which are sponsored by Edward Jones of Stony Brook, will continue at the Stony Brook Village Center until Aug. 27. Rain dates are the following Sunday.

Aug. 13 features storytelling and sing-alongs for kids with Johnny Cuomo from 2 to 3 p.m. at the inner court and Burke & Brenda from 2 to 4 p.m. in front of the post office. Aug. 20 there will be adoptable dogs from 2 to 4 p.m. and a free martial arts class from 2 to 3 p.m. Marty Macaluso will be on hand Aug. 27 for caricatures.

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Photo from WMHO

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) recently announced an extension to their annual Summer Concert Series on the Village Green. In addition to the Aug. 21 concert featuring  Just Sixties, a tribute band that plays hits from the 1960’s, an additional concert has been added featuring the Sound Symphony on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. This is a free concert sponsored by the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF). Ernie Canadeo, LIMEHOF Chairman, will make exciting announcements about the Hall of Fame and the red carpet grand opening in November.

The Sound Symphony, an orchestra comprising of about 50 pieces, will perform a combination of light classical songs, movie themes and Broadway tunes. Additionally, a vocalist will performs opera songs. The Sound Symphony was created in 1984 by Long Island musicians for Long Island communities.

LIMEHOF’s first physical facility is anticipated to open in November of 2022 at the WMHO’s Educational and Cultural Center (ECC). The ECC was designed for interactive programs and events; such as performances, exhibits and classes. In fact, the Great Room on the first floor has 28-foot ceilings.   There will be a permanent “Hall of Fame” with plaques and exhibits recognizing the over 100 and growing inductees, as well as areas for a library, classrooms for educational programs and master classes, and a theater.  The main exhibit space will contain a rotating exhibit theme, and the layout and first exhibit, “Long Island’s Legendary Club Scene: 1960’s to 1980’s” is currently being designed by world-renowned visual designer Kevin O’Callaghan.

The Summer Concert Series will take place in front of the Stony Brook Post Office in Stony Brook Village, located at 129 Main Street in Stony Brook. In the case of rain, the concerts will be cancelled. This year’s concerts are made possible by the following sponsors: the Tantillo Auto Group, Chevrolet of Smithtown, Realty Connect USA, Team Ardolino and Realty Three LLC.  For more information on the Summer Concert Series, call the WMHO at (631) 751-2244. For more information on LIMEHOF, visit their website here.

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Emily Ostrander when she was first promoted to Teen Services librarian. Photo from Emma Clark library

For many people, a library with all its books and materials transports them on a journey of learning or fantasy. In the case of one 27-year-old Three Village resident, her love of libraries, especially one in particular, led to her career path.

Emily Ostrander, Emma Clark’s Teen Services librarian, above, recently found her first reading prize from the library, above left inset. Right inset, Ostrander as a child.

Emily Ostrander has been visiting Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket regularly since she moved to Stony Brook from Massapequa when she was 7 years old. Today she is the Teen Services librarian who patrons meet when they enter Emma Clark’s Adult Services department. She had wanted to be a librarian since she was 12 when she began volunteering at the library. Ostrander said it was then working with the librarians that she realized it was “a cool career.”

A few years after volunteering, she began working as a library page and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in English from Stony Brook University and master’s in Library Science from Queens College. After graduating, she became a part-time children’s librarian.

She landed her current full-time position  as Teen Services librarian and working at the Adult Reference Desk in 2019, a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down libraries for a few months.

Despite dealing with a complex age group and shutdowns, library officials said teen programming has flourished under Ostrander’s care. In 2021, the number of hours teenagers volunteered had increased over 2019 and 2020. Participation in the Teen Summer Reading Club also continues to increase with readers using a new online platform.

Library director, Ted Gutmann, said Ostrander has developed a rapport with the teenage patrons and their parents. He added she has a good mix of librarian skills and enterprise.

“She’s constantly coming up with new and creative ideas to engage the teens, and really to help instill the value of libraries in general in their lives, which I think is an important thing,” he said.

Ostrander said she tries to think outside of the box, but it can be difficult coming up with ideas for teens as she describes them as “over scheduled and under slept.”

“They have so many other things that they’re doing that you have to have something that is worth it for them to come to the library,” the librarian said.

Recently, the library introduced a Dungeons & Dragons group, which she said has brought in more young people.

For Ostrander, once she and her sister could read, their mother would take them to the library at least once a week, sometimes every other day. Being homeschooled, Ostrander said the library was for educational purposes and socializing. Through the years she participated in the library’s Summer Reading Club and Battle of the Books team.

“I would meet friends there as well as make friends there,” she said. “I went to as many library programs as I could go to.”

“She’s constantly coming up with new and creative ideas to engage the teens, and really to help instill the value of libraries in general in their lives, which I think is an important thing.”

— Ted Gutmann

She remembered being 9 years old and discovering the stickers on the children’s books.

“I read every single one that had the historical-fiction sticker on it from A to Z,” Ostrander said.

In addition to enjoying a physical book, she also has an appreciation for audiobooks because, as a child, there were many books she wanted to read such as “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and the “Harry Potter” series which were above her reading level when she was interested in them. She continues to use audiobooks exclusively on the library’s reading app when she doesn’t have time to sit and read a book.

As for the challenge of a new job, Ostrander said she was ready. After she worked in the children’s department, former Teen Services librarian Nanette Feder, now Adult Programming librarian, trained her and planned out programs for the first few months, which Ostrander said was a big help.

She has known Feder since she was a teen going to the library.

“I think she probably had a formative effect on my decision to go into the library and everybody in children’s,” she said.

Ostrander started to prepare her own programs when the library was shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions. She and other librarians found themselves starting from scratch, and she found she was up to the challenge.

“It was freeing in a way because no one has ever done this,” she said.

She found programs via Zoom weren’t successful with teens, which she said was understandable because they were learning virtually during school hours. She said craft kits where people would pick up materials at the building and then make something at home turned out to be successful with all age groups. The craft program continues due to demand.

Ostrander said the job has lived up to her expectations, and it has been interesting working with teens.

“They’re all coming into their own,” she said. “They’re really starting to build their own personalities and it’s so much fun to watch.”

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Photo by Michael Rosengard
Tickets are on now on sale!

The Three Village Community Trust invites the community to its 7th annual Chicken Hill Country Picnic and Barbecue on the lawn of the Bruce House, 148 Main St., Setauket on the grounds of the Setauket Rubber Factory Houses on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 4 to 7 p.m.

A fun, family event to celebrate the history of the Three Villages, participants will enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, chicken dogs, drinks, art raffle and raffle baskets.

Headlining the entertainment for the afternoon will be Johnny Cuomo, the popular musician, author, and storyteller. Johnny has established himself as a distinctive voice of America’s tunes, Irish songs, folk music, and minstrels. The Trust is thrilled to host Johnny Cuomo in the heart of the Three Villages – at Chicken Hill. There will also be house tours and talks about the history and importance of a ‘community lost in time’ – Chicken Hill.

All proceeds from the event will go to the ongoing restoration of the Factory Worker Houses, and the other historical properties of the Trust, as well as the upkeep of the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, $5 kids 5 to 12, under age 5 free. Bring seating. Rain date is Sunday, Aug. 21.

Online sales at: threevillagecommunitytrust.org or mail a check to TVCT, PO Box 2596, Setauket, NY 11733

Need more info? Call H. Mones at 631-942-4558, or write to [email protected], or [email protected]

 Background:

 The three Factory Worker Houses at 148 Main Street in Setauket were built in the late 1800’s and represent an important part of the American immigrant experience.

Near this site, the Setauket Rubber Factory operated as Long Island’s leading producer of domestic goods.  Hundreds of workers helped manufacture such items as shoes, boots and rain gear.

Immigrants arriving in New York City from Eastern Europe and Russia were offered steady work and inexpensive housing at the factory. These new Americans came to this area in the hopes of a better life, although the work was difficult, conditions poor and the pay low.

Housing was provided by the factory in the form of the modest “factory houses.” Each of these “company houses” has essentially two rooms – one room on the first floor and one on the second floor. Several families would crowd into the houses to afford the monthly rent payments. The surrounding area – a half mile in each direction – came to be known as “Chicken Hill.”

Yet, despite the poor working and living conditions, the immigrants helped build a vibrant community. By 1881, by there were enough Irish-Catholics in Setauket to hold a St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and build the community’s first Catholic Church on Main Street. The Jewish population, recruited from Ellis Island, was large enough to support a  synagogue – the first on Long Island – called Agudas Achim or “Good Fellowship.

Saved from demolition due to the efforts of NYS Assemblyman Steven Englebright, the Three Village Community Trust and dedicated community volunteers, the “Immigrant Worker Factory Houses” were moved to this site for the purpose of preservation and restoration.

Today, these small, rustic houses are a visual reminder of the hopes, dreams and struggles of so many of our nation’s immigrants.

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