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Port Jeff village trustee candidates during the "Meet the Candidates" forum hosted by the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce on June 8. (Left to right) Lauren Sheprow, Bruce Miller, Ana Hozyainova, Rebecca Kassay and Gerard Gang. Photo by Raymond Janis

Incumbent trustees Bruce Miller and Rebecca Kassay, who are both up for reelection, will be challenged by Gerard Gang, Ana Hozyainova and Lauren Sheprow in the village election on Tuesday, June 21. 

During a “Meet the Candidates” event held Wednesday, June 8, the five declared candidates presented their visions before an audience of dozens of residents in the Wayfarer Room of the Village Center.

Candidates each delivered two-minute opening remarks, answered questions on various subjects regarding the major issues currently facing the village, and finally made concluding remarks.

The event was sponsored by the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce. Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber, asked the questions. Seating arrangements and response orders were both determined at random by pulling the candidates’ names out of a bag.

Questions were selected by a panel of moderators that comprised of Suzanne Velazquez, former chamber president; Stu Vincent, director of public relations at Mather Hospital; and Thomas Donlon, director of Port Jefferson Free Library.

Chamber president Mary Joy Pipe was the official timer for the event, signaling to the candidates their remaining allotted time with colored cards. After opening remarks, the candidates debated a range of topics such as term limits, bluff stabilization, Upper Port revitalization, potential redistricting schemes for the school district, among several other subjects. 

The entire candidate forum clocked in at nearly two-and-a-half hours. For more information, click here.

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Pixabay photo

With the cost of food spiraling out of control, public officials are scrambling for answers. 

A May report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates food prices have climbed 10.8% since April 2021, the highest 12-month increase in over four decades. The surge in food prices nationwide is being driven by a number of factors occurring both domestically and abroad.

Both Ukraine and Russia are major international exporters of grain, including corn, wheat and soy, among other staples. The price of these products has surged exponentially due to the war, affecting markets globally. 

“Food prices in the United States are going up because the oil to deliver the food, the cost of fertilizer, and the cost of planting and harvesting are all going up,” Martin Cantor, director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, said in a phone interview. “All of that has to do with inflation, it has to do with oil and gas, and it has to do with the war in Ukraine.”

New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) addressed growing concerns over food prices. He said that the state Legislature has recently passed legislation that eliminates the fuel tax. This, coupled with actions at the county level, may help offset increases in food prices. 

“The main thing that we’ve been able to do in this recently passed state budget is to remove — at least temporarily for the rest of this year — the 16-cent state tax on fuel,” he said. “When you live around here, for most people, you need a car to get your food, so these escalating costs are related.” He added, “We’ve also authorized in the state budget the commissioner of agriculture to sharpen his pencils to see what he can do to bring more food to market.”

The Suffolk County Legislature has also suspended its tax on fuel, effective June 1. State and county measures combined, Englebright said residents are now seeing a 26-cent reduction per gallon of gasoline. 

‘It’s very important that we focus now on funneling the money that we have in the state budget into these communities, not only to help the business owners, but to help the residents survive through this process and through this inflation.’ — Jodi Giglio

Despite the elimination of these fuel taxes, prices nationwide continue to swell. State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) said local residents are being hit particularly hard due to the already high cost of living on Long Island. 

“We pay the highest taxes and the highest utility rates here on Long Island,” she said. “It’s very important that we focus now on funneling the money that we have in the state budget into these communities, not only to help the business owners, but to help the residents survive through this process and through this inflation.”

The recently enacted state budget will offer residents some relief in the form of direct cash payments through the New York School Tax Relief Program (STAR). Giglio said she and her colleagues in Albany appropriated an additional $2.2 billion in the state budget and expedited the delivery of these checks to help residents deal with inflation and rising costs. 

“The $2.2 billion is for homeowner tax rebate checks,” she said, adding. “It’s a one-time check for STAR-eligible homeowners, and it’s for individuals and for families. New Yorkers are going to start getting these checks right away and they should be hitting within the next couple of weeks.”

This is tough. We’re in a really tough place with food prices, and families at the poverty level are suffering the most. — Kara Hahn

Elevated food costs will detrimentally impact food pantries as well. Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) expressed concerns that rising food costs will only compound the existing problem of food insecurity, making it even harder to feed those in need.

“Food insecurity has been a growing problem on Long Island,” she said. “We support a number of food pantries across Suffolk County. I’ve been part of supporting Long Island Cares and Island Harvest, trying to make sure that there is not food waste.” She added, “This is tough. We’re in a really tough place with food prices, and families at the poverty level are suffering the most.”

‘People will inevitably try to make their anguish heard and understood, and one way to do that is at the ballot box.’ — Steve Englebright

Midterm elections loom large as Long Islanders consider ways to get food on the table. At the current rate, food expenses will be at the top of the priority list for a sizable voting bloc. Englebright acknowledges that if food prices are not alleviated soon, there may be significant electoral consequences at all levels of government this November. 

“People will inevitably try to make their anguish heard and understood, and one way to do that is at the ballot box,” he said. “That is a possibility but I hope that the sense of urgency does not require that people use that as the only way to have a sense of empowerment, and optimism in the hope that we’re able to use the instruments of government, limited as they may be, to help offset some of these costs and give people a chance to put food on the table.”

Cantor reiterated these sentiments. He suggests voters are much more likely to vote for the opposition during times of great tribulation. “The reality is that when people are angry, hungry and can’t work, they usually vote the incumbents out,” he said. “When everything you touch costs more than you make, that gets you very angry and very upset. The poor and the middle class are going to get hurt the most.”

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State Sen. James Gaughran (D-Northport) decided to end his four-year run as senator when he saw the boundaries of the fifth district.

“This was a decision I made pretty quickly once we got the final lines from the special master,” Gaughran said.

While Gaughran, who is also a practicing attorney, decided not to run, he is eager to embrace his duties for the remainder of the year. That includes figuring out ways to spend $350 million in an economic development grant program he helped put in place in the budget.

The grant program is earmarked for local governments and organizations for long-range improvements, including downtown revitalization and other development projects.

“One of the things I’m heavily focused on is working with the governor’s office and colleagues on how to spend that money” which will be authorized between now and the end of the year, he said.

Gaughan also said he plans to work with his staff for the remainder of the year to “help our constituents in as many ways as we can” with issues including unemployment.

He doesn’t have specific plans yet for his activities after he leaves office in January. As a citizen, he will get involved in community issues and speak out.

He said he has already spoken with Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son Scott Beigel, a teacher, was killed in the Parkland school shooting. He said he’d like to help Schulman in her efforts to “continue our fight to pass laws that are going to help us with gun safety.”

Schulman had publicly endorsed Gaughran’s candidacy for senate in 2020.

Partisanship concerns

The senator believes the biggest issue in politics at every level is polarization.

Gaughran suggested that bipartisanship is institutionalized in Albany.

“Republicans show up, feel that their sole responsibility is to be critics,” Gaughran said. He said that while criticism plays an important role in American society, he would have preferred to see more bipartisan efforts to work on legislation.

Republicans routinely voted against a capital budget that included money for improving roads and drainage and providing new sewer systems.

While they voted no, urging that the state couldn’t afford the debt, he said they still appeared at ribbon cuttings.

“I wish they could play more of a role to compromise and get things done,” he added.

Gaughran believes partisanship has prevented some people from speaking out about their own views.

“Just look at [Republican] Congressman [Chris] Jacobs,” Gaughran said.

Jacobs, who represents a heavily Republican district in Buffalo and who received the support of former President Donald Trump (R) and the National Rifle Association when he ran for office said he would back a federal assault weapons ban and place a limit on high-capacity magazines.

He made his comments after the attack in a Buffalo supermarket that killed mostly Black employees and shoppers.

Within a week of Jacobs’s remarks, “Republicans took away his nomination,” Gaughran added.

Reflecting on his role

Gaughran is pleased with several initiatives he supported or led, including election reform that made it easier for people to vote.

When he came into office, New York was ranked 44th in the nation in terms of voter turnout.

The climate change bill established a blueprint to get New York to use more renewable resources by 2030.

“When we passed the Reproductive Health Act in 2019, we were chastised by many Republicans” who thought such efforts were unnecessary in light of the protection offered by the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision.

After a draft of a Supreme Court decision that appears poised to overturn that decision, Gaughran said that law is “one of the most significant things we did.”

He is also proud of an environmental bill he wrote to protect drinking water and was gratified by the additional school funding he supported.

Lessons learned

One of the most significant lessons he learned occurred in the area of the budget process.

When he first arrived, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) would submit a proposed budget. He and others would spend numerous hours analyzing it. He and his staff would come up with proposals and amendments.

“All of a sudden, this is a final budget” and he had to vote up or down, he said.

After the first year, he learned the process better and when he needed to push to get something added to the budget.

He described Cuomo as being “much more difficult” and that the former governor would “veto things and not even give you the time of day.”

He has a better working relationship with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).

“She’s doing a great job,” he said. “She inherited a very difficult period of time, not just coming in after Cuomo … but also having to deal with the height of COVID-19.”

As for mental health concerns, Gaughran recalls his first week in Albany. He met with a corrections officer representative who worked in the state prison system. The officer said that half of the incarcerated were there for mental health reasons.

The officer told him that the corrections staff weren’t trained as mental health professionals, even though their jobs forced them to be.

A big part of the problem is that “a lot of people are walking around who need help and can’t find it,” Gaughran said. “They are getting caught up in the criminal justice system.”

Society needs to react accordingly, he said.

As for his best days as a senator, Gaughran suggested it was when he was passing laws for the first time.

“That was pretty cool,” he said.

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Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. speaks at the 2019 Sandy Hook Promise Gala. Photo from Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office

By Donna Deedy

People are calling for reform after the recent onslaught of mass shootings that included an elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 young children and two teachers were gunned down in their classroom with an automatic assault rifle.

“We’re seeing an absolute epidemic and the loss and slaughter of innocence and it has to stop,” said New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-Setauket). Corporate greed, he said, has mixed into a movement that has become very confused. “People are identifying with weapons.”

Englebright pointed out Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) response to the latest school tragedy. According to a June 6 press release, she “signed a landmark legislative package to immediately strengthen the state’s gun laws, close critical loopholes exposed by shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde and protect New Yorkers from the scourge of gun violence.”

What exactly can a person do to reverse the gun violence epidemic that is plaguing the nation?  

The nonprofit group Sandy Hook Promise has outlined a comprehensive response to that very question. Founded by some of the parents whose first graders were murdered in their Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, the group has taken a holistic approach to the situation and they say they are leading out of love. Their programs combine community awareness and mental health research with effective prevention strategies, while separately advocating for sensible, bipartisan gun safety policies. 

“Take your heartache, your fear, your anger and sadness, and channel them into action,” said Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden, co-founders and CEOs of Sandy Hook Promise, who each lost a son in the Newtown tragedy. “We must take action today and every day until this epidemic of violence ends.”

So far, more than 14 million people and 23,000 schools nationwide have participated in Sandy Hook Promise programs, according to their website, which has led to 115,000 anonymous tips and reportedly resulted in 321 confirmed lives saved with crisis interventions.

Here in Suffolk County, Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) launched Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs initiative in 2018, his first year in office. 

“After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, I made school safety a priority for the Sheriff’s Office,” Toulon said.

Over the last few years, county officers have trained more than 30,000 students, teachers and staff with Sandy Hook’s methods. Miller Place, East Islip, Central Islip, Lindenhurst and Bridgehampton are a few school districts that have participated in the program.

Toulon said he’s proud to have partnered with the Sandy Hook foundation and encourages more people to participate in its lifesaving movement. 

“Now, more than ever, programs like Sandy Hook Promise are needed as school threats are on the rise,” he said.

TBR News Media reached out to few school districts in our circulation area for comments on their programs. Through their public relations firm, Smithtown Central School District preferred not participate in the story but it posts position papers on mental health and social and emotional learning on the district’s website. Three Village said it is not affiliated with Sandy Hook Promise. We did not receive a response to follow-up questions about their programs before press deadlines. 

Sandy Hook Promise encourages anyone interested in pursuing community support for its programs to become a “promise leader” by registering on its website. 

Here’s a brief overview of Sandy Hook Promise programs:

There are four distinct programs developed by educators with expertise in curriculum development. All of it is accessible in person or online via Sandy Hook Promise’s Learning Center at no cost. Their award-winning programs include lesson plans, activities, games and discussion guides. Anyone who registers on the group’s website, www.sandyhookpromise.org, can access the charity’s free digital library that includes training sessions. The Start with Hello and Say Something programs both fall under the umbrella of the organization’s Know the Signs program. 

Start with Hello 

Start with Hello teaches children and youth how to minimize social isolation and empathize with others to create a more socially inclusive and connected culture. That lesson is explained in three steps: 1. See someone alone; 2. Reach out and help; 3. Start with Hello. 

Say Something

Experts say that people who are at risk of hurting themselves or others often show warning signs before they carry out an act of violence. Sandy Hook Promises trains middle school and high school students to spot these signs and do something about it. This program also follows a three-step approach: 1. Recognize the signs of someone at risk, especially on social media; 2. Act immediately and take it seriously; 3. Learn how to intervene by telling a trusted adult or by using the program’s anonymous reporting system. 

Say Something Anonymous Reporting System

The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System can be used when students see classmates who are at risk of harming themselves or others. It requires additional training for school district personnel and local law enforcement. It is reportedly the only anonymous reporting system in the U.S. that offers training along with a mobile app, a website and a hotline — exclusively for schools. 

The charity also runs its National Crisis Center that operates 24/7, 365 days a year. Experienced crisis counselors trained in suicide prevention, crisis management and mental health support respond to the tips. 

So far more than 120 school districts participate in this program, along with the states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina. A webform is available for schools and agencies interested in registering for access to this system. 

SAVE Promise Club

Students interested in starting a club or leading a committee within an existing club receive, at no cost, tools from Sandy Hook Promise, so they can plan activities that promote kindness and inclusiveness to instill the value of looking out for one another in their community. The club, called Students Against Violence Everywhere, is supported by a contract with U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe & Supportive Schools and can be accessed from the government’s website:  safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/resources. The initiative reinforces the key messages of the Start with Hello and Say Something programs.  

Gun safety policies

The mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children. It advocates what it calls sensible, bipartisan gun safety policies to support that goal. They’ve created a sister organization, called an action fund, that works to pass legislation that advances school safety, mental health and gun violence prevention issues. 

“We believe in protecting the second amendment,” said Aimee Thunberg, Sandy Hook Promise’s media contact. “But we support policies that promote safe gun ownership to keep our children and communities safe.”

The group supports the bipartisan background check legislation that recently passed in the House of Representatives, but still needs Senate attention. The organization also supports extreme risk protection orders, or red-flag laws, that allows family and law enforcement to seek the court’s help to temporarily separate people in crisis from firearms. New York State’s red-flag law was implemented in August 2019 with roughly 160 weapons seized in Suffolk County, more than any other county in the state.  The organization also advocates bans on assault-style weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines to prevent more mass shootings.

Anyone who wants to, can get involved to help the Sandy Hook mission. In addition to programs for parents, students, teachers and other youth organizations, Sandy Hook Promise welcomes volunteers to help showcase their programs at community events to build better awareness. 

Otherwise, in response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Sandy Hook Promise has compiled a list of very specific things people can do to help end gun violence. It’s available at www.sandyhookpromise.org/blog/gun-violence/what-you-can-do-right-now-to-help-end-gun-violence. 

“Our key message is that gun violence is preventable, and we have actions that every individual can take in their family, community, schools and with politicians,” said Nicole Hockley in a recent blog post.  “Don’t back away. Be part of the solution.”

TBR News Media asks readers who have participated in Sandy Hook Promise programs to email us at [email protected] and let us know about your experience.

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Susan Berland

Democrat and former Suffolk County Legislator and Town of Huntington Councilwoman Susan Berland announced earlier this week that she would be running for the New York Senate’s 2nd district

“I received an outpouring of requests from members of the community to enter the race, and I have answered the call,” she said in a statement. “Having served the people of the Town of Huntington and Suffolk County for the last 20 years, I can’t sit on the sidelines while our rights are threatened on every front. I hope to serve the residents of the 2nd Senatorial District by being their zealous advocate in Albany, ensuring that they have the resources they need to live their best lives, the work opportunities they need to support their families and the environment they need to raise safe and healthy families.”

State Sen. James Gaughran (D-Northport) announced on May 27 that he would not be seeking reelection following a recent redistricting process, according to a press release.

Berland said she will work for reasonable and meaningful gun safety measures, quality health care for everyone and “that no woman is denied the right to make her own health care decisions and that no member of the LGBTQIA+ community is marginalized.”

“We must protect the right to vote and ensure that every voter has unfettered access to the polls,” she added. “We must combat hate crimes. We need to protect our environment, fight climate change, help our small businesses thrive and bring resources to our local community. I pledge to work tirelessly and effectively to accomplish these goals.”

Berland received support from Gaughran.

“Susan Berland will make sure that Huntington and Smithtown continue to receive record school funding from New York State,” Gaughran said in a statement. “She will protect our families by fighting for reasonable gun safety measures and she will be a champion to protect the reproductive rights of all women. We must elect her to the New York State Senate.”

Berland will be running against state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) in November.

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Public officials gathered before a room of vets at the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University for a Memorial Day service Friday, May 27.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) gave the keynote address for the event. He continued the theme raised during his State of the County address a week earlier, invoking the example of the Greatest Generation as a model for Americans today.

“I can’t help but think that it’s just at the moment when we see our World War II veterans unfortunately slowly, but inevitably, fade into history, that 80 years later we now see war raging in Europe,” he said. “It’s so important that we never forget what they did.”

For Bellone, American veterans should be honored not only for their service abroad but for the work they perform for communities after they return from the battlefield. 

“It’s what veterans always do — they come home after fighting for our country and they build and they strengthen our community,” the county executive said, adding, “To all our veterans who have served, you all have picked up the baton of service. From the Revolutionary War right up to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American veterans have served and have sacrificed.”

Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) was also in attendance. Saying that he was inspired by Bellone’s address, the councilmember commented on the need for policymakers to temper their power to wage war and monitor their decisions that threaten peace. 

Without memory of the great global conflicts of the 20th century, leaders today may be less cautious in their use of force.

“Maybe people now who are making decisions, who didn’t live through it, maybe they don’t have the same reluctance to engage in war and the same urgency to avoid it,” Kornreich said. “Especially right now, with all of the conflicts that are going on, that’s a very good lesson. I can’t think of a better way to honor the memory of those who have died in war than to try to fight for peace.”

— Photos courtesy of Long Island State Veterans Home

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Image of proposed development, right, from the Planning Board’s webpage.

On the agenda for the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board June 6 meeting is an eight-lot preliminary subdivision with cul-de-sac and drainage basin located at the southeast corner of Pond Path and Upper Sheep Pasture Road in East Setauket.

A decision on the application submitted by Anthony Martino, president of Winmar Homes based in Ronkonkoma, was tabled at the planning board’s May 16 meeting.

The approximately 6 1/2 acre property, zoned as residential, is one that the Three Village Civic Association has been keeping an eye on. At a meeting earlier this year, members were given an update on the parcel. According to the civic’s land use chair, Herb Mones, the wish is that a “more responsible site development can be submitted.”

Known locally as the Selleck property, Mones said it is the last local farm south of Route 25A. On the property is a 1920s farmhouse that the civic wants protected and not demolished. Members also hope that the newly built homes will be clustered, leaving more than 2 acres to be preserved.

Last year it was determined that the property was sufficient for nine lots according to L.K. McLean Associates of Brookhaven.

The Brookhaven Highway Department, in a letter to the planning division last year, made several recommendations, including curbing and sidewalks on Pond Path and Upper Sheep Pasture Road and removing/replacing the existing curb on Pond Path at the intersection.

Last November, representatives from the Three Village Civic Association met with developers.

According to the civic, the parcel, which is near Nassakeag Elementary School and the town-owned Merritt-Hawkins House, was once part of the Merritt-Hawkins farmland.

The Town of Brookhaven Planning Board meeting can be viewed on the town’s website, www.brookhavenny.gov, or attended in person. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. on June 6.

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Sen. Gaughran in his office in August. Photo from Gaughrans office

Today, state Sen. James Gaughran (D-Northport) announced that he will not seek re-election following the decennial redistricting process, according to a press release.

Gaughran released a statement about his decision.

“When I first ran for the State Senate in 2016, I ran to break the logjam in Albany, to pass critical legislation that languished for decades under the Republican majority,” he said in the statement. “Since taking office in 2018, we’ve done just that. In the last four sessions, we’ve: codified a woman’s right to seek an abortion; secured justice long overdue for survivors of child abuse; passed groundbreaking gun safety measures including a Red Flag Law, a Safe Storage Law and a ban on Ghost Guns; set nation-leading environmental standards and water protections; strengthened union protections, guaranteed a prevailing wage for public projects, and approved the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act; took on bias in the workplace, the housing market and public safety; and we’ve begun the process to finally get rid of PSEG’s mismanagement and bring Public Power back to Long Island.  I’ve also personally chaptered over 70 bills into law and my office has helped thousands of constituents with every issue imaginable amidst an unprecedented pandemic.

“I’m proud of everything the Democratic Conference has accomplished under Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’  [D-Yonkers] leadership in just two terms, and I am confident that they will hold that majority moving forward.  But the electoral realities of my home district as drawn by the Special Master cannot be ignored. After speaking with my family, friends, and colleagues, I look forward to serving my district, my constituents, and my state for the rest of my term.

“The unspeakable loss our state and our nation have shared in just the last two weeks demand action from our representatives in Washington. I also intend to spend the next five months working to elect [Suffolk County Legislator] Bridget Fleming [D-Noyac] and Jackie Gordon to Congress and helping any candidate — anywhere — that can bring the United States Senate to its senses.

“We’ve seen what inaction from Washington gets us.  We’ve seen where the Supreme Court plans to take us.  We all need to fight like hell for a better future.  Our children deserve nothing less.”

 

 

 

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