Brookhaven's fire marshal shows what could happen if a tree isn't properly taken care of. Photo by Kyle Barr
The Village of Port Jefferson signed an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Brookhaven to ensure that if the village is in need of fire marshal services, the town’s marshal can step in instead.
Mayor Margot Garant mentioned there was an issue the weekend of Dec. 5 with needing immediate inspections from the fire marshal, in this case an inspection for the new Port Jeff Lobster House location.
“We had a shortage of staff this past weekend, which was bad timing with important inspections needed from the fire marshal,” Garant said.
Village Attorney Brian Egan said the language would allow the town fire marshals to step in when their own is shorthanded or short scheduled, effectively cross designating them as village fire marshal under village code.
Egan added that the town did not ask for a reciprocal agreement with village fire marshals designated for work within the wider Brookhaven town.
“That would never realistically occur they’re so small we’re so big — they have no jurisdiction inside village without board approval,” he said.
Steven Klipstein, who taught at Suffolk County Community College for 49 years, is also the academic lead for the Center for Social Justice and Human Understanding. Photo from SCCC
Stony Brook resident Steven Klipstein may be retired from his college post, but it seems hard to stop him from teaching.
Klipstein spent one year shy of five decades at Suffolk County Community College, where he taught in the English department, though he is much more widely known for his course on the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Steven Klipstein continues as the Center for Social Justice and Human Understanding at SCCC despite being retired. Photo from SCCC
He talks with a soft urgency about his passions, whether it’s teaching, his time as adviser to the college newspaper, or his work with the college’s Holocaust center, which is now called the Center for Social Justice and Human Understanding. For those students who knew him, that demeanor bled into his lectures, especially in the Holocaust class. He has taught that course for well over 30 years, and even now after he is a professor emeritus at SCCC, he still tries to teach young people about the massacre of over 6 million Jews.
And as people of the Jewish faith reach the end of Hanukkah this year and looking back to last year where New York was the site of multiple anti-Semitic attacks at the end of the Jewish holiday, such understanding becomes ever more important.
“At least New York mandates a day in high school, a mention of the Holocaust, so at least most New York kids know that it happened,” he said. “But most of the country doesn’t, so they have no idea what it is.”
It’s because the point Klipstein makes is while too many people see the Holocaust as a distant event, a pothole in the historical timeline, the reality is that it was not some kind of aberration, but the culmination of years of anti-Semitism both in Europe and in America. The U.S., while touting its role in defeating the Third Reich, was also the home to much of the time’s leading anti-Semites, such as Henry Ford, who in 1938 received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner.
But even closer to home, Long Island was one of the few places to have a real Nazi element in its backyard. In 1935, Camp Siegfried, a Nazi youth camp, opened in Yaphank. Though back then it may have seemed more like a camp to celebrate German heritage, even with the young men in brown shirts marching down roads named Hitler Street with arms outstretched in the classic Nazi salute. Klipstein talked about that camp, among other topics, in a recent six-hour American Heroes Channel documentary, “Hitler’s Empire.”
Although it is common knowledge today, Klipstein said it took decades for a common understanding of those events to take root, both in Germany and in the U.S. But now, he said, he’s seeing some of that understanding slip away.
Though occasionally he received critical glances from students about some point in his lectures, he has never encountered a Holocaust denier in his academic history. Still they are out there. The professor emeritus cited a tale told by Ruth Minsky Senderowicz, a Holocaust survivor from Commack, who has said a denier called to get her to say her story — of her mother being taken from her at the Lodz Ghetto in Poland and the daughter being sent to Auschwitz — was a lie.
“It takes a lot of courage to fight them, because they’re not really scholars, they’re provocateurs,” Klipstein said.
Though the issue is now in getting more students to volunteer to learn about those horrific events. He continues to teach the Holocaust class, but said his lecture is down to small numbers. He stressed how important it is for people to not only learn about those days in the death camps but come to see the world differently through that understanding.
“I think for a lot of students, it’s eye opening,” he said. “And if you’re in tune to it, you learn and you will think about it in different philosophical terms than what you’ve been thinking before about the nature of the world and humanity — the Holocaust can can’t help but make you face those realities.”
Legacy at SCCC
The venerable educator got started at 25 years old, back when academia was coming into its own in Suffolk. Stony Brook University was growing at a rapid rate, and places like SCCC were attracting new blood into its ranks. Klipstein had a good interview and “got lucky,” and was hired on the spot.
That hire would come to bite a few campus administrators in the proverbial butts later down the line. Years later, when he was assistant head of the English department, effectively also the head of the college’s journalism department, he said the campus newspaper, The Compass, was “moribund,” effectively on the brink of death. He came in after there was a reported brawl inside the paper’s office.
“I told the other administrators that something’s got to be done, and they said, ‘Well, OK, do it,’” Klipstein said.
Cutting out the rougher parts of the staff, and just with two or three young people, he revitalized the paper. With the help of new editorial staff, they were putting out a good-sized, 20-page campus newspaper that won awards from the likes of Newsday. The paper also did not shy from getting involved in campus controversy. They went after administrators for nepotism in hiring family members for dead-end jobs or highlighting discrepancies with the college budget.
“It was really kind of enervating and exciting being the troublemakers on campus,” he said. “And we embarrassed them more than once, you know, which I confess that I loved.”
While administration couldn’t fire Klipstein as a tenured professor, he said it would regularly threaten his position as adviser to the paper. He would hold that position at the paper for 13 years.
Of his near 50-years at Suffolk, there are several things that Klipstein said he takes pride in. The paper, for one, was an act of helping to build something from effectively nothing. Though now that he’s stepped back from a full-time role in academia, the professor can’t help but see what he called a decline of people’s appreciation for arts or culture, which breaks down into a decline in appreciation for history or even today’s current events.
“A lot of our problems come from the fact that we have completely denuded the liberal arts,” he said. “I said, so many times, it’s going to start creeping into our politics — we are going to elect someone who is just basically from image, no substance, just image. And that person is going to get us into a lot of trouble. I swear I said it so many times, it was coming out of my ears, and sure enough, there he is.”
Though Suffolk has not cut any of its liberal arts programs, he said there has been a steady decline in the number of students taking those kinds of classes. Less degrees are requiring liberal arts classes as well. He points to places like Stony Brook University which in 2018 suspended admission into its theater arts, comparative literature and cinema arts programs.. The backlash led to the then-College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sacha Kopp stepping down.
“A university can’t do that, that’s not thinking in the long run … that basically what students really need to learn, more than anything, is how to critically think,” Klipstein said. “I think without the ability to think, without the ability to understand the classic structure of your society, both politically and culturally, you lose what you have.”
Editor’s note: The author of this article was a student of Klipstein when the educator still taught full time at SCCC.
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
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The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher
It was an intense few months of renovation, but PJ Lobster House has a new home Down Port.
Formerly located on the corner of Main Street and North Country Road in Upper Port, owner James Luciano had to move when The Gitto Group purchased the property for a planned apartment complex.
The new space, located at 134 Main St., in the former Ocean 88 restaurant location, needed to be completely redone, Luciano said. But the outcome is a good one.
“It feels more like a restaurant now,” he said.
Luciano has owned PJ Lobster House for 20 years, after taking over the space from its original owner.
And he wanted to homage to him in the new location, according to local artist Linda Alfin. She, alongside fellow Port Jeff artist Jennifer Hannaford, were asked to paint a large mural inside the seating area.
Luciano “asked me to paint a specific type of fishing boat the old owner used,” Alfin said.
The detail on the scene is impeccable. Hannaford, known for her water imagery, detailed the waves where the boat floats.
“We painted the numbers on the boat to symbolize when the restaurant first opened,” Hannaford said.
Both artists were thrilled to help decorate the new space.
“We’re not just local artists, we’re neighbors,” Hannaford said. “We’re so grateful to be a part of it. It’s nice when people in the village see and care about local art.”
Alfin agreed. “We both live in this town, so to help out in any way we can is great,” she said.
But the painting is just part of the renovation. Luciano said they had to gut the space, but in doing so added a bar — something they didn’t have at the former spot — and moved the beloved fish market to the front of the restaurant, detached from the dining areas.
Overall, the restaurant can hold more than 50 more customers than the old location did, going from 90 people to about 140.
“The kitchen is doubled in size,” Luciano added. “Because of the pandemic, we were getting hit with a lot of takeout orders, so it will better equip us for that.”
The new PJ Lobster House is open every day from 12 until 9 p.m.
A look at Port Jefferson Harbor from the Village Center during Winter Storm Grayson as blizzard-force winds and more than a foot of snow pound the coast in January, 2018. File photo
As the nor’easter bears down on the mid-Atlantic states, the forecast for Long Island continues to include considerable snow, although the forecast varies by area.
The estimated snowfall ranges from 6 inches to 13 inches.
“We know the storm will be hitting us harder on the west end of Suffolk County, rather than the east end, where we’ll see lower amounts,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said during a weather update at the Commack Department of Public Works.
The storm will also hit harder in the north, rather than the south shore.
“This is going to be a heavy, wet snow, which is, of course, something that creates its own set of challenges,” Bellone said.
Bellone urged residents to return to their homes as early as possible tonight. The storm is expected to increase in intensity this evening through the overnight hours. During that time, snow could accumulate at the rate of one to two inches per hour.
“You should be off the roads by the latest, at 9 p.m. tonight.
While the east end will get lower snow totals, the area will have higher winds, with gusts of up to 57 miles per hour.
The county is opening its emergency operations center today and expects to have it open through tomorrow at 4 p.m..
The Department of Public Works has 200 vehicles ready, with about 19 tons of salt at their disposal to help clear the snow and ice from the roads.
Bellone urged residents to try to work from home on Thursday, if they can.
“Tomorrow is a day, if you can, to stay home,” Bellone urged.
Suffolk County Police Department Chief Stuart Cameron said this type of heavy snow can clog the chute of a snow blower.
“You should never, ever stick your hand” in the chute, Cameron cautioned, even if the device is turned off, because a blade can rotate and severely injure someone’s hand.
Cameron also advised against bringing a barbecue or generator inside the house because they release carbon monoxide, which can be dangerous to homeowners.
At this point, Bellone said there were no changes to the bus schedule. He urged residents to check for any modifications, particularly tomorrow after the snowstorm passes.
To report and receive status updates on an outage Text OUT to PSEGLI (773454) or to report an outage online visit www.psegliny.com
To register, have your account number available and text REG to PSEGLI (773454)
Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything contacting the wire. To report a downed wire, call PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number: 1-800-490-0075
The Suffolk Plaza shopping center that once housed a Waldbaum’s in South Setauket sits half empty, a far cry from where it was just a decade ago. Photo by Kyle Barr
The Town of Brookhaven has proposed a new zoning that officials said could revitalize vacant or underutilized shopping centers or other structures throughout the town.
At their Dec. 3 meeting, the town voted unanimously to adopt a new floating zoning code called Commercial Redevelopment District, which would allow developers to apply for permission to redevelop aging property into a combination of retail and apartment space.
The old section of the Mt. Sinai Shopping Center that housed the King Kullen has sat empty for months, and is just one of several empty former big box stores on the North Shore. Photo by Kyle Barr
“What we’re looking to do is to stimulate the revitalization of abandoned vacant and underutilized commercial shopping centers, bowling alleys and health clubs,” said town Planning Commissioner Beth Reilly.
She added that this new zoning will “encourage flexibility in sight and architectural design, encourage redevelopment that blends residential, commercial, cultural and institutional uses, and encourage redevelopment that’s walkable, affordable, accessible and distinctive in the town.”
Site requirements would be a 5-acre minimum for such commercial centers and sites that have been previously used but then demolished. It permits uses for all zonings except such things as heavy industrial and auto uses. There would be no setbacks for nonresidential uses, but a 25-foot minimum setback for residential use and 50-foot maximum height.
The special zoning is meant to be kept free of big-box stores and is restricted to anything less than 40,000 square feet of space for commercial properties. Also, the zoning incentivizes certain kinds of development through allowing for increases in density, such as being near the Long Island Rail Road or if a business owneruses green technology.
Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) restated that Long Island does not need new development “as much as we need to develop what we have that has fallen into disrepair.”
The proposal did receive a letter of support from the Port Jefferson Station hub study committee. President of the PJS/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer Dzvonar, said she was in support, and that she thinks it will create downtown-type areas in places that might not have that sort of downtown already.
“It will encourage commercial property owners to update and revitalize their establishments, which will entice additional local businesses … instead of leaving their locations vacant to become blighted,” she said.
Mitch Pally, a Stony Brook resident and CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, said the new zoning should benefit developers.
“Long Islanders no longer have large tracts of land,” he said. “We must now redevelop — reuse what we already used, whether it’s been a good way or a bad way. The ability to know from the code what you can do, and what you’re going to be able to get, allows for better financing opportunities.”
The Town Board left the issue open for comment until Dec. 17. The Three Village Civic Association sent the town a letter Dec. 12 signed by the civic’s land use chair, Herb Mones, with some critiques of the proposed law, saying the language of what was considered vacant or underutilized was unclear, and that the CRD will incentivize some property owners to neglect their structures to get access to the new “generous terms afforded by the new zoning.”
“We must now redevelop — reuse what we already used, whether it’s been a good way or a bad way.”
— Mitch Pally
The letter also criticized the height allowance under the code, calling it “too high for most hamlets” in the town. The letter also shared the civic’s anxieties of increased density.
“Considering that there were only two speakers at the public hearing on Dec 3, both representing commercial interests, and no community leaders or members of the civic community participating on such an important proposal, we believe that this new zoning legislation to create a new zoning code for commercial property in the Town of Brookhaven would benefit from more input of Brookhaven’s civic community,” Mones wrote in his letter.
The change also repeals the town’s previous Blight to Light code. That code was passed in 2010 under previous Supervisor Mark Lesko (D), which in a similar vein to the current code was designed to remediate blighted properties by incentivizing development through a scoring system. Based on how a developer scored, they could receive incentives such as building permit refunds and an expedited review process.
Officials said that system had issues, and that the code had only been used twice, once in a Coram redevelopment project, and again with Jefferson Meadows, a project designed for Port Jefferson Station that was never built. That planned 96-apartment building met opposition from residents almost a decade ago. The Port Times Record reported at the time that residents disapproved of Blight to Light’s self-scoring system and that such projects did not conform to the Port Jefferson Station hamlet study.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station). “Port Jeff Station has a number of abandoned vacant and underutilized properties, and the Blight to Light code was not necessarily addressing that, so we’re hoping that this code can now create a different mechanism to address these types of properties.”
Unlike Blight to Light, there is not a special permit, but applicants would have to come to the Town Board to seek approval. There is also a time limit on these approvals, and they are taken away if the developer does not make good on trying to build.
“This puts the power in the Town Board level,” Reilly said.
The town is holding its next meeting Dec. 17 where a follow-up public hearing is scheduled.
Carter Rubin won the season 19 finale of The Voice Dec. 15. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC
One talented Shoreham teen is going to join the list of other famous Long Island artists.
Carter Rubin won the season 19 finale of The Voice Dec. 15. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC
Carter Rubin won over the hearts of Americans after they voted him as season 19 champion of NBC’s singing competition, “The Voice” the night of Tuesday, Dec. 15.
The 15-year-old Shoreham-Wading River High School sophomore is the youngest male winner on the show, who participated on Team Gwen, headed by No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani.
“Gwen’s taught me so much, but the best piece of advice she’s given is for me to be myself when I perform and just in general,” Carter said the morning after his victory. “She’s helped me believe in myself more and she’s boosted my confidence.”
Carter began his “Voice” journey over the summer at just 14, when he auditioned for the show. He previously told TBR he had to keep it a secret until the show’s airing early October. And since then it’s been a whirlwind for the teen, spending months away from Long Island, his family and friends while performing and competing on the show.
“For the blinds, battles and knockouts, I stayed in LA with my mom for almost three months,” he said. “It was hard being away from the rest of my family, but I knew I was there for a reason. Luckily, I got to go home and see my family and friends before coming back to LA for the live shows.”
But after weeks of singing and traveling, the two-part season finale aired eventually on Nov. 16 and 17. Carter, along with his competitors, performed one last time and waited for America’s votes.
During the finale, Carter premiered his own new song, “Up from Here,” and then sang alongside Stefani on her — and fiancé/fellow judge Blake Shelton’s — hit Christmas song, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.”
This was Stefani’s first win as a judge while Shelton’s team with singer Jim Ranger, came in second place.
And while singing his original song was incredibly special, he said, his favorite performance came from the semifinals last week, when Stefani asked him to sing “Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppet Movie.”
Carter was ecstatic and dedicated it to his autistic older brother, Jack.
Carter Rubin performed on Team Gwen with Gwen Stefani on the season 19 of The Voice. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC
“He could not be more happy for me,” Carter said. “He’s been so proud and understanding throughout this whole experience, and I’m so happy to call him my brother.”
Carter’s mother, Alonna Rubin, founded the Shoreham-based nonprofit Families In Arms, which helps to support families with autism.
“I am so grateful that Carter was given the opportunity to show the world his God-given talent on such an iconic stage,” she said. “But more importantly, the world now sees how beautiful he is on the inside as well. Proud is not a big enough word to describe how I feel. We will be forever grateful for all of the love and support out there. This is just the beginning for him.”
Carter added that as his coach said, it’s time to start writing and recording more music.
“Gwen says that it’s time for me to start writing songs, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” he said, enthusiastically. “I also want to get in the studio, record some music and I want to perform for live audiences again — once COVID is over.”
Confetti poured around Carter when Carson Daly announced his name. He buried his face in his hands, while Stefani repeatedly yelled, “You won!” Carter was in disbelief. On camera, Stefani was heard asking if she could hug her winner but, due to COVID-19 guidelines, they had to celebrate while social distancing.
Miller Avenue School second graders and teacher Courtney Von Bargen congratulate Shoreham-Wading River’s Carter Rubin. Photo from SWRCSD
“I’m still in shock,” he said. “It hasn’t hit me yet, but I just want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who’s voted for me and supported me throughout my entire journey on this show. I couldn’t possibly be more grateful.”
And his community couldn’t be prouder. Earlier this week, the new star met virtually with second-graders in Courtney Von Bargen’s class at Miller Avenue School. In Google Classroom, they listened to Carter talk and asked him questions.
Claudia Smith, principal of the school, said, “Carter is bringing so much joy to the Shoreham-Wading River school community.”
The second-graders created posters and banners to continue cheering on Carter before the finale.
“I come from a small town where everyone knows everyone, and the support that I’ve gotten from my community means everything to me,” he said. “I couldn’t possibly thank them enough.”
Kisa King, resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the hospital, received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, administered by pharmacist Ian Pak. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of healthcare epidemiology at SBU Hospital was there for the first vaccines administered. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Paramedic Travis Kaller was one of the first people to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Local elected officials are unhappy with the way vaccines, like this one from Stony Brook University Hospital, have been rolled out by the state. File photo By Julianne Mosher
Hospital staff line up to be some of the first in the hospital to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Stony Brook University Hospital received its first batch of the coronavirus vaccine, helping dozens of frontline workers at the highest risk of exposure.
Kisa King, resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the hospital, received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, administered by pharmacist Ian Pak.
King said that she was “honored” to be the first one injected.
“I am so excited and thankful to be a part of the solution,” she added. “Not only does this mean that I can continue delivering care to my patients, but it also means I am providing protection to my family, friends and community.”
On Dec. 15, more than 250 personnel at the hospital working in emergency rooms, critical care units and other high-risk hospital units received the vaccine.
“We’ve been through so much altogether as a community, as a nation, as a world and this is really the first steps towards normalcy,” Pak said. “I think it’s really important for everyone to have hope and be able to look towards the future so that everything we’ve done paid off — not to mention the countless lives that will hopefully be saved by this.”
This major milestone comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization for a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older. The emergency use authorization allows the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed in the U.S. The vaccine has been found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 after two doses.
Pak said he wasn’t expecting that he’d be the first Stony Brook Hospital pharmacist to help out. “It’s just one tiny part of a humongous machine that everyone has contributed to throughout these months,” he said.
This tree, courtesy of BNB Bank, pays tribute to essential workers.
This tree, courtesy of BNB Bank, pays tribute to essential workers.
Tree courtesy of Danford's Inn
Tree courtesy of Servpro of Port Jefferson
Tree courtesy of Goldfish Swim School
Tree courtesy of T-Mobile
Tree courtesy of State Farm
Tree courtesy of Tourette’s Association of America, LI Chapter
The Port Jefferson Village Center, 101-A East Broadway, Port Jefferson kicks off the holiday season with its annual Festival of Trees featuring 20 professionally decorated 6 ft. trees on display on the second floor now through Dec. 30. Enjoy a magnificent display of themed holiday trees.
Overlooking the ice-skating rink, the festival starts with an evergreen thanking essential workers, and features photos of the men and women who put their lives at risk. Other trees decorated by residents, their co-workers and families celebrate the season and shine a light to the local community.
Viewing hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Social distancing protocols will be followed and masks are required. Free. For more information, call 802-2160.
A snowstorm that took place Nov. 15, 2018 blindsided drivers on their way from work. Suffolk workers are trying to avoid that same situation. File photo by Kyle Barr
With a snowstorm the Weather Channel has already named Gail bearing down on Long Island, packing 50 mph winds and predicted snowfalls of around a foot, Suffolk County officials urged residents to avoid the Wednesday evening and Thursday morning commutes, if possible.
Suffolk County Police Department Chief Stuart Cameron said people driving in the snow during either commute could create dangerous conditions.
“People haven’t driven in snow for some time,” Cameron said Tuesday at a press conference at the Department of Public Works Yard Salt Barn in Commack. “If you can work remotely tomorrow, I would advise that.”
Similarly, Chief Cameron said the Thursday morning commute could be “much more impacted” and suggested “if you can stay home, that would be great.”
Additionally, he said temperatures close to freezing might create the kind of conditions that favors heavy, wet snow.
“If you have health conditions, it might be wise to pay someone to clear your driveway,” Chief Cameron suggested.
County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said last year was a “light” year for snow, which means that the supply of salt for clearing snow-covered roadways is “plentiful right now.”
As of early on Tuesday, Bellone said the forecast called for snow to start around 2 p.m. and should worsen through the evening.
The combination of high winds, sleet and snow increases the possibility of power outages.
In a press release, PSEG indicated that the conditions could cause tree limbs to break and pull down wires.
PSEG is bringing in mutual aid crews to work with the company’s personnel on the island.
“Our workforce is performing system checks and logistics checks to ensure the availability of critical materials, fuel and other supplies,” John O’Connell, vice president of Transmission & Distribution at PSEG LI said in a statement.
During the storm, Long Island may create an enhancement to the outage communications process. With this enhancement, customers can contact the Call Center early in the storm to receive an “Assessing Conditions” message, rather than an estimated time of restoration.
This will give crews time to assess storm impact before setting power restoration expectations.
This procedural change comes after PSEG LI encountered numerous communication problems amid Tropical Storm Isaias earlier this year, during which customers couldn’t contact the utility and PSEG provided misleading estimated times to restore power.
PSEG said residents can report outages by texting OUT to PSEGLI. People can also report outages through the app, website at www.psegliny.com/outages or with their voice using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant app on their smartphones.
Residents who would like to report an outage or downed wire can call the electric service number, at 800-490-0075.
Bellone said county officials would monitor the power restoration process.
“Through the emergency operation center, we will be working closely with PSEG, making sure they are doing everything they can to keep power on and to restore power if it does go out,” Bellone said.
The forecast conditions may mean that plowing could take longer, as drivers operate during white out conditions, Bellone said.
“It’s slow going in these kinds of conditions,” Bellone said.
Bellone said the crews are prepared and will work in overnight hours to make sure roadways are cleared.
Recognizing all the challenges 2020 has brought, Bellone said it is “not surprising as we get towards the end of this very strange year that we’ll have another first: our first pandemic snowstorm.”
Healthcare workers Feliciano Lucuix, Gene Rogers and Carolyn Germaine share their stories of testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this year, saying that their stories should serve as a warning during this second viral wave. Photos from St. Catherine and Mather
Health care professionals often sympathize with their patients, offering support as they deal with painful and difficult symptoms. With COVID-19, some health care professionals in the local area also became patients themselves. Feliciano Lucuix, Gene Rogers, two patient care assistants at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, and Carolyn Germaine, Director of Nursing for the Transitional Care Unit at Mather Hospital, shared their experiences with TBR News Media.
Feliciano Lucuix
Feliciano Lucuix, whose last name is pronounced like “lou quicks,” battled through COVID-19 in the first few weeks after the pandemic hit Long Island. A patient care assistant at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, she was in a restroom in March with a COVID-19 patient who vomited on her. Days later, she said she had a high fever and struggled to breathe.
Feliciano Lucuix, a patient care assistant at St. Catherine hospital, was a COVID patient herself earlier this year. Photo from St. Catherine
When her symptoms started, she had a 99.7-degree fever and pain throughout her body. She lost her sense of smell and her fever climbed to 102.8. She took a COVID test, which would take three days to provide results.
Before her diagnosis, she reached a point where she couldn’t tolerate losing her appetite and having her throat “feel like sandpaper,” she said.
Lucuix, who never smoked and practices yoga twice a week and swims, drove herself to the hospital, where she remained for six days, from March 24 through March 30. During that time, her daughter and son couldn’t visit.
Her son called every day and spoke to the nurses. Lucuix said he didn’t believe her when she said she was okay. The son also spoke with the doctor, who said his mother’s condition was improving.
While she endured challenging symptoms and discomfort, she appreciated the help and attention she received.
“Everybody take care of me wonderful,” said Lucuix, who was born in Argentina to an Italian mother and a French father and speaks Spanish, Italian, English and some French.
Even after she left St. Catherine, she couldn’t return to work for 37 days, as she traversed the slow road to recovery.
During Lucuix’s rehabilitation, her son, whose wife had his first child and Lucuix’s fourth grandchild, urged her to consider retiring.
Lucuix couldn’t wait to return to the COVID floor at St. Catherine. She has used her experience to offer patients on her floor empathy and support.
“I tell my patients, I take their hands, I say, ‘Listen, I was in there, too. I know what you’re feeling,’” she said. “I know you’re scared. I know you’re feeling you can die. If I can do it” then the patient can, too.
COVID-19 continued to affect her in other ways, even after her fever broke and she started to recover. Lucuix had headaches and started to lose her hair. She also had trouble sleeping, as viral nightmares interrupted her rest. Her doctor recommended that she speak with a therapist.
“I feel more comfortable every day,” she said.
Lucuix does what she can to protect herself, including taking vitamins, using personal protective equipment and washing her hands regularly.
Lucuix shares her experiences with her coworkers and her patients. She has also donated her antibody-filled plasma twice.
“I donated blood so other people can survive,” Lucuix said. “I’m proud to do that.”
Lucuix’s daughter, who works as a Patient Care Assistant, is following in her footsteps. Her daughter has applied to nursing programs to study to become a registered nurse. Lucuix with her granddaughter about considering the same field.
They would “like her to follow” in their footsteps, Lucuix said.
Lucuix said she is prepared to help patients during the second wave, which started to hit the Long Island community amid the colder weather and as families and friends gather in smaller groups.
“I’m ready to fight again,” Lucuix said. “I want to be strong for my patients, strong for my family.”
Gene Rogers
A patient care assistant at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Gene Rogers started to feel ill March 23. He had a 101-degree temperature and was told to take a few days off, drink plenty of fluids, and take Motrin. He locked himself in his room, in case he had COVID, preventing his wife Bethan Walker-Rogers, their 16-year old son Phoenix and 10-year old son Charlie and even his dogs from having any contact with him.
St. Catherine Patient Care Assistant Gene Rogers suffered in th ER during his own bout with COVID. Photo from St. Catherine
Two days later, he was so uncomfortable that he decided he needed to go to the hospital. Walker-Rogers asked if she wanted her to drive him, but he said she should stay home and take care of their younger children. The Rogers also have an older child, Maya, who is 21.
As he drove, Rogers said he felt the car swerving when he passed a police officer.
“I was shocked he didn’t pull me over,” Rogers said.
When he arrived at St. Catherine, his temperature had spiked to 103.8.
Mary Jane Finnegan, Chief Nursing Officer at St. Catherine, offered Rogers reassurance.
“I don’t remember the whole thing about the ER that night,” Rogers said. “I remember [Finnegan] coming over to me and saying, ‘We’re going to take good care of you.’”
Like Lucuix, Rogers had no appetite. He was also having trouble breathing. The nurses kept telling him to lay on his stomach.
He had an odd sensation in his feet and was achy. He was in the hospital for eight days.
Rogers felt that the entire staff lived up to Finnegan’s promise. When he had a fever of 104.1, the nurses put ice packs under his arms.
“I’m putting them at risk while they are taking care of me,” he thought to himself on the bed. “Everyone I see, I try to say, ‘Thank you.’”
Walker-Rogers works in the dietary department at St. Catherine. Even while he was in the hospital, she couldn’t visit. She did walk by and look in the window, but she wasn’t allowed in.
Rogers entered the hospital on March 26 and was discharged April 3.
Although he was eager to return to work, a low-grade fever and, eventually, double pneumonia, kept him out for seven weeks.
Yet again, he isolated from the family and his dogs, who were scratching at the door regularly to see him.
During the worst of his condition, Rogers lost 35 pounds, which, he said, he has since regained.
Rogers added he never considered leaving his profession or St. Catherine.
“The people here are like my second family,” said Rogers, who has been at St. Catherine for 35 years. “I see them more than I see my own family.”
Rogers’s mother, Janice Foote, who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, suggested that it might be time to retire or to do something else.
He said he had to return.
“I love my job,” Rogers said. “I enjoy what I do. I couldn’t wait to come back.”
When he started to work, Rogers said he was short of breath from running around.
Recalling the uncertainty and difficulty he and his family faced when he was sick, Rogers said his wife asked him what she’d do if anything happened to him. During the worst of his experience, Rogers said his oldest daughter Maya got so upset that she had to leave and take a walk.
As for how the experience affected him professionally, Rogers said, “you definitely look at it from a different perspective, being in someone else’s shoes.”
Rogers described himself as the type of person who is always asking if a patient needs something else.
“It look at it even more now, after being to that point” with his own illness, Rogers said.
Rogers’s daughter Maya, a junior at St. John’s University in Queens, is following in her parents’ footsteps. A biology major, she aspires to be a physician and is leaning towards emergency medicine.
Carolyn Germaine
Of all the tangible and intangible gifts Carolyn and her husband Malcolm Germaine have exchanged during the over four decades they’ve known each other, this had to be the worst.
Carolyn Germaine, the Director of Nursing for the Transitional Care Unit for Mather, had to make it through high fevers and extreme nausea during her fight with COVID-19. Photo by Stu Vincent/Mather
Director of Nursing for the Transitional Care Unit, Carolyn Germaine contracted COVID-19 in March and, soon thereafter, passed it along to Malcolm.
Her husband was choking at night and, despite being a nurse, Carolyn Germaine felt helpless, particularly in the earlier phases of the disease when health care workers weren’t using steroids that have become a part of more effective treatment.
“I feel terrible he got sick,” Germaine said. “It’s not something you ever want to bring home with you.”
Germaine’s battle with COVID-19 started March 23, when she developed a fever and aches all over her body that felt like every one of her joints had arthritis. By the 26th, she had a positive diagnosis. When she started to feel better, she thought she might return to work.
The next morning, she woke up with a 103-degree fever and, like so many other COVID patients, struggled to catch her breath.
“Nurses are bad patients,” Germaine said. “We think we can manage everything ourselves.”
Nonetheless, by Tuesday, the 31st, she recognized that the oxygen in her blood, which she tested on her own at home, was dropping to the low 90s. She went to the ER, where she convinced her colleagues to let her return home.
Another hospital official called and said, as Germaine recalled, “What are you doing? You need to come back.”
She was admitted on Tuesday evening, where she struggled through the most extreme discomfort she’s ever had. Her nausea, fatigue, and brain fogginess made her so uncomfortable that she asked her doctor to knock her out.
“It’s terrifying because you are isolated, and you want to stay isolated,” Germaine said. She didn’t want any of her friends or staff members to come into the room, where she could expose them to the virus that was challenging her system.
Germaine described the care she received as “exceptional.” The staff at Mather regularly checked in on her, even if it was just from the door. Struggling with thirst, she received numerous drinks at the door.
She knew the staff managed through extreme stress. Even in her brain fog, she could hear all the code blues and rapid response alerts all day.
“I’ve been in the hospital for 33 years and that doesn’t happen,” she said. “If there’s a code blue or rapid response, those are rare occurrences.”
While she was trying to recover in the hospital, Germaine said she was incredibly short of breath, even when she made the short walk from the bed to the chair. She forced herself to go back and forth, which she knew was better than remaining in bed all day.
Germaine vomited so frequently that she lost 15 pounds in the five days she was hospitalized.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to feel better,” said Germaine, who also lost a sense of smell that has only partially returned nine months later.
When she finally left the hospital, it took her five weeks to return to work. Germaine credits her daughter Laura, who lives with Carolyn and Malcom and is a social worker at Northwell, with taking care of her parents. Somehow, despite being around them through the worst of it, Laura, who is hoping for a “normal” wedding next summer, didn’t get sick.
During that period, the Germaine’s first grandchild, Greyson, was born April 12. She and her husband couldn’t visit him in person right away.
An avid walker who runs up and down the stairs at the hospital, Germaine needed a few more months to feel more normal.
She said she has also felt some sense of survivor’s guilt, because she wasn’t able to help out at the hospital when the need was the greatest.
Germaine said the staff has already been dealing with the effects of the second wave.
Within a 90-minute period recently, the hospital had four rapid responses, which means a dramatic change for patients, either because of oxygen levels dropping, a change in mental status, a drop in blood pressure or anything that might require immediate attention.
The rapid response call brings a whole medical team to the bedside.
The hospital would normally have a few of these in a week but having four in 90 minutes is extraordinarily stressful.
“People who don’t work in the field do not understand the amount of stress that the staff is feeling,” Germaine said. “It’s the entire staff. It’s every department that works here. It’s a very unpredictable time.”
Unlike the first wave, when other states sent medical teams to help in Suffolk County, those states are in the midst of their own crises, which means that no help will be coming, she said.
Germaine urged people to wear masks, remain socially distanced and limit any gatherings, even during the holidays.
Despite the anxiety, tension and memory of her own hospitalization, Germaine said she never considered leaving the hospital or her profession.
“Nothing is more satisfying than taking care of patients and helping families,” Germaine said. “You’re made to do it. I can’t imagine not doing it.”
Having the virus affects Germaine’s approach to her job.
“Every personal experience makes you a better nurse,” Germaine said. “You can go to patients and their families from a place of knowledge.”
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