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Environmentalists discuss state of Port Jeff Harbor

by Raymond Janis - April 22, 2022

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Harborfront-Park-PJ01_Glowatz — A view of Port Jefferson Harbor from Harborfront Park. File photo by Elana Glowatz

On Wednesday, April 13, two guest speakers presented to the Port Jefferson Harbor Commission on the state of Port Jeff Harbor and its future.

George Hoffman, co-founder of the Setauket Harbor Task Force, shared the history of the harbor commission over the last two decades.

“Up until 2000, the commission hadn’t been created and every village kind of did its own thing and the [Town of Brookhaven] did its own thing,” he said. “You had overlapping regulations in terms of boat speeds and where you could clam and where you could moor.”

This changed after the 2000 Port Jefferson Harbor Management Plan, which directed the various coastal municipalities in the area on how to best manage the harbor. Today, the villages and the town coordinate their efforts through the harbor commission, which harmonizes laws to monitor boating safety, establish mooring fields and regulate maritime traffic. While the villages have succeeded in these areas, Hoffman suggests the commission now has the experience and know-how to devote greater attention to water quality.

“Now that you have all of the other issues kind of resolved, I think now it’s time to consider how this commission can start to help manage the harbor itself as an environmental entity,” Hoffman said.

MS4 regulations

During the first hour of a storm event, rain often carries harmful contaminants from lawns, roads and sidewalks, discharging oils, bacteria and particulate metals into nearby surface waters. This phenomenon poses a hazard to marine life.

In an effort to reduce contamination of surface waters during storm events, new state regulations will require coastal municipalities to develop a more comprehensive stormwater management program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released guidelines regulating small municipal stormwater sewer systems, known as MS4s.

“I actually think that the Port Jeff Harbor Commission could be a great vehicle to help all the municipalities comply.”

— George Hoffman

Under the existing policy, local governments are given wide latitude over the maintenance of their MS4s. “In the ’50s and ’60s, we never really gave a thought about stormwater — we just figured if it goes into the harbor, then it will dilute and everything will be fine,” Hoffman said. “We found out that that’s just not the way to go. This really has significant impacts.”

With stricter directives and harsher penalties under these new regulations, Hoffman noted the need for personnel: “That’s never a good thing for municipalities because you have to fund those positions and budgets are always tough no matter where you are.” He added that the Port Jefferson Harbor Commission — which includes officials from the town as well as the villages of Port Jefferson, Belle Terre, Poquott and Old Field — already have the infrastructure in place through the commission to coordinate their efforts in complying with these directives.

“I actually think that the Port Jeff Harbor Commission could be a great vehicle to help all the municipalities comply,” Hoffman said. “If every village has to go out and hire its own computer programmer to do the mapping of the stormwater, and has to hire somebody to run the public meetings and has to identify all the groups that are interested — it seems to me that it would be better if we all pulled together through this commission and handle all of our MS4 responsibilities together.”

Acknowledging the limitations of an all-volunteer commission, Hoffman’s plan would have the various villages appropriate funds to hire part-time personnel to oversee MS4 regulatory compliance: “This can actually save your villages money because if everybody pools their resources together, you can probably just get one person in here — and it wouldn’t even have to be a full-time position — to help manage the MS4 regulations.”

Public outreach is also a major component of these new guidelines. Hoffman said that under the current policy, public hearings are not mandated. Now, municipalities must hold public hearings to identify the stakeholders in their areas and report on the quality of their surface waters. Again, Hoffman said the commission can make it easier to satisfy this condition.

With greater emphasis on water quality, he said the commission can also tap into the Long Island Sound Study, a program that offers grants to protect and restore the Sound.

“The Long Island Sound Study has been in existence now for 20 years,” Hoffman said. “It’s a pact between Connecticut and New York and all of the federal monies for the Long Island Sound go through it.” Referring to the Setauket Harbor Task Force, he added, “Our group is part of the Citizens Advisory Committee and we’re very active members of that group — that’s the one that gives out the grants for $10 million.”

Planting oysters and clams

Alan Duckworth, environmental analyst with the Town of Brookhaven, also addressed the commission during the meeting. His presentation highlighted a recent undertaking by the town to improve water quality of its harbors through the planting of large numbers of oysters and clams.

In recent years, the town has attempted to strengthen its understanding of the quality of its harbors and bays, and also the pathogens and contaminants that pollute them. While traditional testing indicates that the quality of Port Jeff Harbor has improved, Duckworth notes some notable deficiencies in these testing schemes.

“There are so many pathogens in Port Jeff Harbor and elsewhere,” he said. “Some of them are from humans, but a lot of them are from water fowl. DEC does checks for pathogens and uses E. coli as a marker.” However, acknowledging the limitations of these tests, he added, “They don’t separate human E. coli from avian E. coli. Obviously some of the pathogens are coming from human waste, but a lot of it could be coming from birds.”

The town grows approximately 1.5 million oysters and another 1.5 million clams every year that it puts out into various harbors and bays. The addition of these shellfish populations aids the local fishing industry as well as recreational shellfishing.

The oyster and clam populations serve as “filter feeders,” flushing harmful contaminants from the waters and spitting out filtered water. These shellfish have a beneficial impact on water quality, according to Duckworth.

The town’s planting activities also attempt to restore the natural populations that once flourished along the Island coastline. “What we see today is only a fragment of what used to occur around Long Island in the bays and harbors,” Duckworth said, adding, “Through disease and through overfishing, in some areas the natural populations are 1% of what they used to be. We put out oysters and clams to hopefully kickstart the next generation.”

“About 100,000 oysters are removing about 50% of the microalgae, which is a fantastic result.”

— Alan Duckworth

With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund, the town has been able to track the effects of these shellfish populations on the quality of its surface waters. Measuring water quality with an instrument called a sonde, researchers performed two experiments — one within an area of 100,000 oysters in Port Jeff Harbor and another approximately 60 feet away from the oysters, which served as the control. Measuring the removal of microalgae by the oysters, the researchers found “about 100,000 oysters are removing about 50% of the microalgae, which is a fantastic result,” Duckworth said.

In a separate test for turbidity, a measure of the number of sediments floating around in the water, he said, “They also remove about 50% of these sediments, which improves water clarity. That’s really important for photosynthetic organisms and things that require sunlight.” Duckworth added, “If you have 10 feet of dirty water, all of the things that live on the bottom and require sunlight can’t photosynthesize. When you clean that water, it’s really important for the animals and plants that live there.”

A final experiment tested whether these plantings have any effect on restoring the natural populations of shellfish in the harbor. The researchers put out bags of empty oysters shells and found that baby oysters began to move into those shells, an indicator that the planted oysters are adapting to their new environment.

“The oysters that we put out are now adults, they’re now producing larvae, and those larvae are actually finding places to settle, in this case the oyster shells,” Hoffman said. “They‘re actually reseeding Port Jeff Harbor.”

Reflecting upon these studies, Hoffman concluded that the work being done is having a positive effect on water quality and points to an optimistic future of the harbor. “This is a good story,” he said. “We’re showing that, yes, the oysters that we put out are cleaning the water, but they’re also helping to reseed and restock the natural populations that we all want to bring back.”

Realty company founded in Huntington celebrates centennial birthday

by Rita J. Egan - April 22, 2022

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Daniel and Jean in front of Huntington Hotel resized — Founder Daniel Gale, above, and his assistant Miss Jean Wallice — the future Mrs. Kent Gale — in front of the Daniel Gale Huntington office, circa 1940. Photo from Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty

Not many companies make it to 100 years in business, but Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty did just that this year.

Below, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty’s President and CEO Patricia Petersen poses in front of the Cold Spring office around 1990. Photo from Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

Daniel Gale founded the company on Feb. 9, 1922, and chose Main Street in Huntington for his real estate and insurance agency. When he picked the spot, the founder was encouraged by the fact that the town was a stop on one of the Long Island Rail Road lines. A century later, the company remains family owned. Through the decades the founder’s son Kent, until his passing in 2014, grandson Stan, and Kent Gale’s protégé current chairperson and president Patricia Petersen have continued to head up the company along with CEO Deirdre O’Connell.

History

In a recent phone interview, Petersen and O’Connell discussed the company’s history. Over the hundred years, Daniel Gale has grown from a business with one office to 30 locations not only on Suffolk County’s North Shore but across the Island. In 2014, the brokerage company opened offices in Queens and this year Brooklyn.

Petersen said she believes one of the company’s assets is that it has been family owned. She learned the benefits of this early on when she started in real estate in 1975 in the Cold Spring Harbor location, which was the company’s second office. Petersen said as a mother, she was hoping to work part-time but quickly found out it was difficult to become a successful real estate agent with limited hours. She said Jean Gale, the wife of the founder’s son Kent, would help get her children off the nursery school bus, give them lunch and then get them to day care.

“Somehow we cobbled it together and made it work,” Petersen said. “It’s kind of how we run the company. Whatever the agents need, Deidre and I figure out a way to provide it.”

Petersen went from agent to office sales manager, company general manager and relocation director through the years. She credits Kent Gale with recognizing she had potential. In the early ’90s, she began buying the company with Kent’s son Stan Gale and became president and CEO.

Kent Gale, son of founder Daniel Gale. Photo from Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

In turn, one of the talents Petersen recognized was O’Connell. The latter said her career in real estate began with another company in 1991. She opened her own office in Manhasset and her second one in Cutchogue. Daniel Gale then bought her offices, and she became part of the company in 2007. O’Connell helped the brokerage expand to the North Fork. She went on to become a regional manager then general manager of the company, and became CEO four years ago.

Both said they appreciate the history of Daniel Gale. As the centennial celebrations began, Petersen said, it was a reminder of everything the company had been through since its founding. The ups and downs of the current pandemic, she added, can be likened to founder Daniel Gale’s early days.

“Daniel Gale went through the Depression and went through the [second] World War,” she said. “In fact, he started the company right after the first World War, and then he had to go through the second World War. We have had our own challenging times over the years, but certainly that’s not new to us. We’ve always been able to not just survive but thrive in really any kind of market.”

O’Connell said she believes the company thriving goes back to its foundation.

“Certainly, in times of crisis we use that as an opportunity to assess the crisis and to utilize that and to come out of it as a growth opportunity, because after every crisis comes opportunity,” she said. “We’ve always been able to seize those moments.”

As for the pandemic, O’Connell said the company realized the importance of pivoting early on during the shutdowns by going virtual. Within a month, she said, Daniel Gale had an open house with 150 homes virtually showcased.

“Yes, everyone could do it eventually, but we seized the moment to once again help our agents help their customers and clients in providing them the service and marketing of the moment,” O’Connell said.

Petersen and O’Connell also recognize the importance of marketing in the real estate field. An early marketing tactic of founder Daniel Gale in the 1920s, Petersen said, was buying a tract of land along with two investors. One lot had a miniature model house buried in the ground. Petersen said whoever bought the plot would win a house built for them. She added that the person turned out to be a builder, so he was given two more lots instead of having a house built for him and the win spearheaded his own business in the area.

Sotheby’s International

Another milestone in Daniel Gale’s history was when the company became affiliated with Sotheby’s in the 1970s. The auction house needed an outlet for its clientele. After Sotheby’s International Realty was created, Daniel Gale became affiliated with it on Long Island and went on to become its No. 1 affiliate in the world.

O’Connell called the move a game-changer which allows Daniel Gale agents to bring their properties around the world but still have representation on Long Island.

“Larger firms that are represented, even here on Long Island, their decisions during hard times aren’t made here locally,” she said. “They’re made maybe in New York City or across the country somewhere. We live and we work, we do everything with our people first in mind.”

She gave the example that during the Great Recession of the 2000s, while big corporations laid off people, “Pat Petersen put personal money into the company to make sure that we didn’t have to cut our people.”

Keeping employees in place is something the company was able to do during the pandemic, too.

“We kept everyone on the payroll because we could make that decision,” O’Connell said.

The present and future

Later this year, Daniel Gale plans to open a new office in Huntington located cata-cornered where the original 1922 building was on Main Street. The company also recently launched the Daniel Gale Foundation to enable the company, which has donated tens of thousands in the past, to make a bigger impact.

O’Connell said Daniel Gale offices have always been involved with their communities “through a wide range of community service initiatives and donations.” With the new foundation, offices will choose a few events each year to work on with the whole company.

“The Daniel Gale Foundation will enable us to make an even greater impact with our giving by consolidating our giving efforts across the Island from Brooklyn to Shelter Island and make them even more impactful,” O’Connell said. “The foundation is about more than giving dollars, it is having the Daniel Gale family roll up their sleeves, put on their sneakers or pick up their shovels to work in our communities as a team.”

The two said it’s important to be proud of the past but it’s also essential to keep an eye on the future. Currently, like other realty companies, Daniel Gale is keeping up with the current seller’s market. O’Connell said while inventory is low, sales are high.

“We get 10 houses on the market, or an office has five houses on the market in a weekend, and they’re all gone by Monday,” O’Connell said, adding she believes the market will normalize in the near future.

Petersen added the importance of pricing correctly in any market.

“Part of our job is to be good counselors,” she said.

As they look toward the future, Petersen and O’Connell said the ways of communicating continue to change with social media platforms, but the key is to maintain high quality just like they do in ads and online.

“You have to be true to yourself, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done in the last 100 years,” Petersen said. “Not that I had much to do with the first 50, but I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished and what is still yet to accomplish.”

Port Jeff Chamber hosts 27th annual Easter Parade

by Raymond Janis - April 22, 2022

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On April 17, Easter Sunday, the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted its 27th annual Easter parade.

Led by the Easter Bunny, dozens of children, parents and community members marched through the village streets. Starting from Theatre Three on Main Street, the parade route cut through East Main, and finally ended at the Port Jefferson Village Center.

The event was concluded by a massive egg hunt in Harborfront Park, where participants scaled fences and sprinted long distances in pursuit of the precious hidden eggs.

PJ Village administrator gives update on East Beach bluff erosion

by TBR Staff - April 22, 2022

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By Carolyn Sackstein

In a continuing effort to report on bluff erosion near the Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills, TBR News Media reached out to the Village of Port Jefferson to discuss the recent visit by assessors from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Village administrator, Joe Palumbo, detailed FEMA’s visit to the village. He said the inspectors were assigned to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ida last September to the recharge basins on Oakwood Road, Port Jefferson.

“FEMA’s recent visit was to inspect and assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ida to the large and small recharge basins on Oakwood Road,” Palumbo said. “For some reason, this group of FEMA inspectors were not assigned to inspect the bluff project.” Adding that he hoped to get more clarity on FEMA’s plans, he said, “I had a call with FEMA to find out why and whether they are coming back to inspect [the bluff]. I hope to have a response to these questions on, or before, my next call with them.”

In an emailed statement, the village administrator provided additional historical context surrounding this issue. He described the difficulties of working with governmental agencies that lacked the sense of urgency necessary to secure the village’s assets in a timely manner.

“The village was unable to take action to stabilize the bluff until it received permits to do so from [the Department of Environmental Conservation] and Army Corps of Engineers,” he said. “It has been a long process. We submitted our permit to DEC in 2018 and received [approval] this past June.”

Palumbo was also asked about the concerns raised by village residents, who want a public hearing and referendum on the matter. According to him, the village has worked closely with a coastal engineer who has provided an informed assessment of the proposed projects at East Beach.

“The village has been working vigorously with an experienced and qualified coastal engineer to develop a plan that will stabilize the bluff and protect the village asset that sits atop the bluff,” Palumbo said. “This plan has been presented and approved by a majority of the Board of Trustees, and is the plan that we believe is the best to preserve the bluff for many decades to come.”

Port Jefferson is not alone in its struggle against coastal erosion. Belle Terre is also taking up measures to counteract erosion of its beaches and mitigate storm damage. When asked if there was any intergovernmental cooperation between the villages of Port Jefferson and Belle Terre, Palumbo acknowledged the limitations of coordinating village responses.

“The Village of Belle Terre is a separate entity,” he said. “Our engineers had reviewed the measures taken and material used in Belle Terre, but believe the plan developed and materials being used to stabilize our bluff is the right plan that will last for decades to come.”

While the Port Jeff Board of Trustees has already approved a $10 million bond for the two-phased bluff project, Palumbo said the village is actively seeking grant funding that may subsidize the initiative significantly.

“The village is looking at several funding opportunities, including through FEMA disaster declarations under Tropical Storm Isaias [last August] and Hurricane Ida; discretionary funds through Congressman Lee Zeldin [R-NY1] and Senator Chuck Schumer’s [D-NY] offices; and the [FEMA] Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.”

Autism Awareness Month championed by small businesses

by TBR Staff - April 21, 2022

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Bean's Bagels_Rainbow Bagel — Businesses across Suffolk County are donating proceeds from the sale of food items to raise money for Autism Awareness. Businesses include Bean Bagels in St. James with its rainbow bagels. Photo from Joe Conlon

By Chris Melllides

Spring is upon us and in times like these the importance of community is paramount. April is National Autism Awareness Month and with it Long Island’s small businesses are partnering to benefit Catholic Health and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson in helping to brighten the lives of children and adults living with autism.

Spearheaded by Joe Conlon businesses across Suffolk County are donating proceeds from the sale of food items to raise money for Autism Awareness. Photo from Joe Conlon

An estimated 5,437,988 or 2.21% of adults and 1 in 44 children in the United States have autism and are somewhere on the spectrum, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The condition can be debilitating, though this is rare and otherwise manageable. Autism occurs in children when they are between 12-to-18 months of age and in adolescents. Despite its commonality, experts say that individuals with autism and their families can sometimes deal with stigma. It’s important to recognize this and move forward with a sense of solidarity within our local communities.

United under one cause, seven Long Island businesses are helping to combat the stigma associated with autism. The observance of Autism Awareness this month shows strength in community, with proceeds from the sale of food items going directly toward benefiting Catholic Health and St. Charles Hospital.

“The movement right now is shifting from autism awareness month to autism acceptance month,” Virtual Therapy for Kids founder Joe Conlon said. “I wanted to be part of that change, I wanted to help shift the movement to acceptance. So, I thought the best way to do it was to get the community involved — and people love these businesses.”

Conlon has been credited with spearheading the month-long fundraiser and those businesses involved are thrilled to help in making this money-raising and morale-boosting movement a reality.

Located in Northport, Robke’s Italian eatery is among the seven participating eateries.

Owner Louis Selvaggio Jr.’s sister, Mia, was approached by Conlon with the idea for the fundraising effort. She said that because she works with “a lot of local brands and businesses,” she was able to help Conlon realize his goal of spreading autism awareness and building a campaign to ultimately raise funds for the pediatric rehabilitation program at St. Charles Hospital.

“So basically, him and I had a couple of conversations, like how we can bring awareness and acceptance to this topic,” Selvaggio said. To do their part, Robke’s has created a unique rainbow mojito to sell to its patrons — 10% from each drink sold will be going toward benefiting the fundraiser.

“A lot of people think of it as autism awareness month but it’s actually autism awareness and acceptance,” she said. “Instead of the color just being blue, it’s blue and rainbow, which a lot of people aren’t aware of until Joe explained this to me.”

Selvaggio has a jewelry business that she said will also be helping the pediatric rehabilitation program.

Bean’s Bagels owner, Michael Budani, who started working in the bagel business since he was an enterprising 15-year-old shop employee, was glad to help Conlon in realizing the fundraising mission — and it all came to fruition with just one Instagram direct message.

“We’re very involved on social media with our crazy bagels and rainbow bagels,” Budani said. “I told [Conlon] I think it would be a great idea because what we’re all about is helping the kids.”

Businesses across Suffolk County are donating proceeds from the sale of food items to raise money for Autism Awareness. Businesses include Robkes in Northport with specially-made mojitos. Photo from Joe Conlon

Bean’s Bagels has only been in operation for four months in St. James, according to the owner, but has already made a significant impact in the community by supporting children’s baseball and softball games.

“When we caught wind of [the fundraiser] we thought it was awesome, it’s a great opportunity to get our name out there and, most importantly, do a good deed for people,” Budani said.

Dr. Ben Birney, a resident physician at St Charles Rehabilitation Center in Port Jefferson, said that he and Conlon were inseparable after becoming best friends in high school. Birney works in the rehabilitation unit doing clinical rotations with patients, among them children with neurological diseases.

Birney’s nephew has autism and so this fundraiser means a lot to him and his family. He acknowledges that there is indeed a stigma associated with autism and that Conlon’s idea to benefit the community and St. Charles Hospital was a good decision.

Speaking of the fundraiser, Birney said, “I think that is huge. It gives people even a couple of seconds out of their day to think about autism awareness.”

The local businesses involved in the community fundraiser, with Robke’s Northport and Bean’s Bagels, are My Olive Oil Cake, ExoticsnacksLI, ENP Nutrition, Clarkson Avenue Crumb Cake Co. and Cosenza NYC.

PJ board of trustees talks SaGhar, pickleball and harbor

by Raymond Janis - April 21, 2022

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Port-Jeff-Village-Hall_Suttonw — File photo by Heidi Sutton/TBR News Media

On Monday, April 18, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Port Jefferson gathered for an afternoon business meeting.

Mayor Margot Garant announced the withdrawal of a scheduled public hearing regarding the revocation of the operating license of the Curry Club at SaGhar. The mayor cited a recent development between the village and the proprietor, mentioning that the two parties have come to terms.

“The Curry Club at SaGhar is coming into compliance,” the mayor said. “They complied with all of our requests not to apply for nightclub status and … pretty much everything we asked for.”

In her report, Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden said the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Class of 1982 has applied to use the Village Center for its upcoming class reunion, requesting a reduced rate. The board moved to accept this request, contending that the measure will promote greater use of the facility and will set a precedent for future classes to book their reunions locally. A graduate of the Class of ’82, Garant recused herself from this vote.

The board also announced that both Texaco Park and the village basketball courts will now accommodate pickleball instruction. Garant considered this a “wildly popular program” throughout the village. Snaden concurred, and also reported that the Texaco program will provide a free clinic for incoming picklers that is designed to introduce village residents to the sport.

Trustee Stan Loucks announced that lines will soon be put down at Texaco Park to support the planned pickleball campus. He added, “Hopefully, down the road, pickleball will be someplace else,” leaving open the possibility that pickleball at Texaco Park will be only a temporary measure.

Trustee Bruce Miller shared his notes from two guest presentations delivered during an April 13 meeting of the Port Jefferson Harbor Commission.

During Trustee Rebecca Kassay’s report, a robust debate ensued on the future of short-term versus long-term rental property codes. The subject was tabled for a later time as more information will be necessary for the board to settle the matter.

Correction: On April 21, The Port Times Record stated, “Trustee Rebecca Kassay reported that the village’s Arbor Day festivities are scheduled for Friday, April 29, when free saplings from the Saratoga Tree Nursery will be made available.” In an email, Kassay clarified this: “We indeed confirmed that Arbor Day is April 29th, but I stated that the saplings are not yet ready from the DEC nursery. I reported that as soon as I have a pick-up date for the saplings, I’d let everyone know … Additionally, the saplings will only be free to the first grade class; we will be selling them for $1 at the Farmer’s Market, date TBA.”

Royals rumble: Buccaneers overcome Port Jeff boys lax

by Bill Landon - April 21, 2022

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The Port Jefferson Royals, fresh off their hard-fought victory over Mattituck three days earlier, hit a roadblock in their matchup against Islip High School on April 14.

The Buccaneers had led by seven goals at halftime. Unable to close the gap, the Royals fell 14-5. Port Jeff senior Stephen Bayer had a hat trick, leading the Royals in scoring. Seniors Kyle Scandale and Michael Scannell both scored one goal as well.

The loss drops the Royals to 4-3 in league and 6-3 overall.

Photos by Bill Landon

Editorial: Much needed makeover on 347

by TBR Staff - April 21, 2022

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Work will begin once again on New York State Route 347, and North Shore residents couldn’t be happier.

Drivers navigating the roadway from Gibbs Pond Road in Nesconset to Hallock Road in Stony Brook have noticed construction cones beginning to appear. The upcoming work is part of a $71 million state Department of Transportation project, which continues the roadway improvements made to Route 347 years ago in the Smithtown area. Future plans include changes on the state road as far east as Port Jefferson Station.

Through the years, it has become more and more apparent that the road built decades ago is over capacity. Called the Smithtown Bypass in its western portion, the roadway initially served as a way to avoid the heavy traffic of downtown Smithtown. Today, drivers use side roads in the town to avoid Route 347.

Rerouting presents various problems. As drivers speed through residential neighborhoods, congestion appears in spots previously unanticipated. Residents who once lived on quiet streets now have trouble just backing out of their driveways or are hesitant to let their children play anywhere near the roadway.

Adding new travel lanes, traffic signals, raised planted medians and crosswalks to 347 will help ease congestion and keep cars on the main thoroughfare instead of traveling through residential areas.

According to NYSDOT, the road work between Gibbs Pond and Hallock roads will be completed by 2024. While that is a two-year span, the benefits will be well worth the wait.

Suffolk County residents are reminded regularly of the importance of building affordable housing and independent living units to keep our young people and retired residents here on the Island.

Accelerated by the pandemic, which prompted rapid urban flight from New York City, we are also facing an increase in population with more people attracted to the North Shore.

As our area experiences population growth, our infrastructure needs to be modernized and expanded. While there is some hesitancy to widen roads, add overpasses and traffic circles — since these changes might attract more development in the area — traffic is here now. With smart planning, our elected officials on town, county and state levels can work together to determine which roadways in our towns and villages could benefit from widening and other improvements. Continuing the roadwork on Route 347 is a step in the right direction. There is also the prospect of federal infrastructure bill monies.

While many don’t want Long Island to become life in the fast lane, it’s time to accept that it’s no longer country roads taking us home. A proper balance needs to be found to make life a little easier for those who live here as they navigate their day on North Shore roadways.

D. None of the Above: The carving knives emerge after the gatherings end

by Daniel Dunaief - April 20, 2022

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By Daniel Dunaief

We all try, more or less, to say the right thing in the moment.

“Wow, so nice to see you again. You look wonderful.”

“How are your children?”

“How’s work? How many days a week are you back in person?”

But after cutting up turkeys, ham and other food, the real carving occurs in the hours and days after gatherings, when we separate into smaller groups and snicker, judge and let loose the parts of our sinister souls for which we seek atonement during religious and other holidays.

Now that family gatherings have restarted in earnest, despite the COVID clouds still hovering over us, we have a chance to turn moments of discomfort into a collage of complaints.

While I’m sure there might be a few people who don’t practice the fine art of conducting post-gathering analysis about friends, family members and loved ones, I have yet to meet them.

We ought to break the process, lighthearted ideally though it may, into various categories.

Clothing: Wardrobe choices are often the subject of discussion. We sometimes marvel at how revealing or tight an outfit was or how casually someone dressed for a larger gathering.

Defensive guests: Sometimes, what people say, or hear, has nothing to do with a question they were asked or even a conversation in which they participated. While I was recently cleaning dishes, another guest walked in and told me everything he had contributed to the confab. His need to share his contribution, or to allay any guilt he might have felt, was revealing.

Conversation interrupters: While many families have long-winded storytellers, some gatherings include a conversation interrupter. They are the people for whom any dialog that doesn’t revolve around them or their opinions is unwelcome and unworthy. They interrupt other people’s stories to interject their views on a topic or, perhaps, on something completely unrelated to the discussion.

Exacerbaters: These are the people for whom conflict is nearly as delicious as the homemade apple pie or fruit cobbler that awaits after dinner. Sensing conflict in a marriage or between siblings, they will figure out how to help build any tension in the moment. When challenged for their role as instigators, they will frequently play the victim card, claiming that making people angry at each other or at them wasn’t their intention and that everyone doesn’t understand how they were really only trying to help and to resolve the conflict.

Welcome to Narnia guests: No party is complete without at least one person who needs to bring everyone into their perspective or their world. These people often see everything through one perspective, whether it’s about saving stray dogs, the challenges of having difficult neighbors, or the difficulty of finding good Thai food in their neighborhood. The discussion could be about the challenges educators faced during the pandemic and, they will say, “Oh yeah? Well, that reminds me of the challenges of finding good Thai food.”

The revisionist historians: Often, some, or even many, of the people in a room spent considerable time with each other. Stories have a way of evolving over time, either because they sound better one way or because the storyteller’s memory has altered some of the facts to suit a better narrative. No, you didn’t invent the yo-yo, no, you didn’t predict the year the Cubs would finally win the World Series, and, no, you didn’t always use the phrase “just do it” before Nike added it to their ad campaign.

Between You and Me: Overheard in a deli — ‘I’ll have what she is having’

by Leah Dunaief - April 20, 2022

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

One of the first things we noticed when we moved from the Bronx to Wichita Falls Texas, where my husband reported for duty on the Air Force base in July 1967, was that the city had no delis. Really, no delis. “Where can we find a deli?” we asked people. “What’s a deli?” was the response.

It was then that we learned that a deli, short for delicatessen, was indigenous to large urban settings generally found on the coasts, that made fresh sandwiches and sold side salads from their display cases and bottled sodas from their glass-front, vertical refrigerators. We explained that they were mighty convenient for a quick take-out lunch. Sometimes a few people ate at the handful of tables, but mostly it was an in-and-out experience and one hoped the line would not be too long. “We have diners,” they offered helpfully. “You could probably take out an order from one of them.”

How to describe the difference between a diner and a deli? I had never thought about delis before. I just knew there was one every couple of blocks in New York. Some of them were quite elegant, with imported products, cured meats and cheeses, and even exotic foods, while others, in the neighborhoods, just sold the usual turkey, bologna or ham and Swiss on a roll or white bread.

Ah, but then there were the kosher delis, the ones with overstuffed pastrami on rye and spicy mustard, with a pickle and a soda, maybe even a potato knish on the side. That’s the classic New York deli sandwich. They were the best, and there were fewer of those but enough to feed the discriminating in all five boroughs. Often kosher delis were part of a restaurant in which diners could sit at tables and be served by wise-cracking waiters. Patrons might slurp up chicken soup before they attacked their fulsome sandwiches.

In fact, there were 1500 kosher delicatessens in New York City in the 1930s, brought here primarily by German-Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century. There were fewer than 15 as of 2015, and I’ll bet there are only a handful today. This is how they started, or so the story goes.

A Lithuanian named Sussman Volk, who arrived in New York in 1880, owned a butcher shop on the lower East Side. He befriended another immigrant, from Romania, and allowed the fellow to store his meat in the shop’s large icebox. To thank him, the friend gave Volk a recipe for pastrami, which then proved so popular with Volk’s customers that he opened a restaurant at 88 Delancey Street and served the meat on rye. The creation was soon repeated in delis and became the city’s iconic sandwich.

Delicatessens originated in Germany during the 18th century, started by a German food company called Dellmayr in 1700 that still exists, and spread to the United States in mid-19th century. They catered to the German immigrants, offering smoked meats, sausages, pickled vegetables, dips, breads and olives. Just in case you are on “Jeopardy!”, the root of the word comes from the Latin, “delicatus,” meaning giving pleasure, delightful, pleasing. After WWII, from about 1948 on, they were simply referred to as “delis.”

Today, even supermarkets have deli sections. There are two delis within walking distance in my village and more up and down the neighboring villages. And they exist in many countries with slight variations on the theme. Australia, Canada, Europe (Milan, Paris, Vienna, London, Munich, Zurich), Ireland, they all have delis. They are different from Subway or Jersey Mike’s, or Wawa, which, too, make sandwiches to order. They are also different from McDonald’s or Wendy’s, who specialize in fast food. Some of them have hot prepared foods as well, and all of them require interaction with a clerk behind the counter as opposed to a more digital ordering process. Those clerks may whip up an egg on a roll with bacon and cheese if you ask. Some delis even have small groceries attached to them.

Delis are generally unpretentious eateries that welcome you. For my lunch tastes, you can’t spell delicious without “deli.”

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