Huntington freshman guard Max Rentsch battles his way to the rim between two Comsewogue defenders Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington sophomore Chad Rowe shoots for two Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior Charles Craig scores from the paint Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior guard Daniel Danziger shoots from the paint Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior Daniel Danziger drives the lane Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue junior Jaden Martinez hits a jumper for two of his team leading 17 points Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior Lex Colato charges his way to the rim Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington freshman guard Max Rentsch tries to get a shot off between two Comsewogue defenders Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue junior guard Michael McGuire drains a 3-pointer Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue junior guard Michael McGuire muscles his way to the rim between 2 defenders Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore Milan Johnson shoots Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore guard Milan Johnson lays up against Huntington defender Chad Rowe Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior Lex Colato scores on an up and under with Comsewogues Jaden Martinez in hot pursuit Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior forward Ian Ardell lets a 3-pointer fly Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington freshman guard Max Rentsch lays up for 2 of his 11 points Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington freshman guard Max Rentsch lets a 3-pointer fly Feb 7. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior night ended on a high note where the Warriors defeated Huntington 72-44 at home Feb. 7. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
Near the close of the regular season, Comsewogue’s boys basketball team was already secure in the post-season berth being 8-7 in league, but they needed a win at home for a higher seed in the playoff brackets. They got that victory handily against Huntington, notching a 72-44 win on senior night Feb. 7.
Comsewogue junior forward Jaden Martinez led the Warriors in scoring with six field goals, a triple and two from the free throw line for a total of 17 points. In addition, Martinez was just as effective under the boards as he ended the game with 17 rebounds. Junior Mike McGuire followed up with four triples and three from the charity stripe for 15 points while senior guard Devin Rooney netted 11 and junior Nick Stiles banked 10.
Juniors Daniel Danziger and Lex Colato topped the scoring chart for Blue Devils with 15 and 12 respectively while freshman Max Rentsch followed up by netting 11. This game conclude their season at 2-15 in league.
With the win Comsewogue improves to 9-7 in league which makes them the 16th seed
in class AA and will face Longwood, the No. one seed, Feb. 13 at Longwood High School in the opening round of the playoffs. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.
Music lovers who enjoy taking a trip down memory lane will be in for a treat Feb. 9 at Theatre Three. Long Island performer Amber Ferrari returns to the Port Jefferson venue with “Joplin’s Pearl Featuring Amber Ferrari,” a production that celebrates singer Janis Joplin’s musical legacy.
The show is described on the theater’s website as a two-act musical explosion. While the second act is jam-packed with the music of Joplin including “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Piece of My Heart,” the show opens with a mixture of hits from various artists.
Amber Ferrari. Photo by Rich Balter
Reached by phone, Ferrari said she will be singing musical hits from legends throughout the decades, including Pat Benatar, Linda Ronstadt, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Queen, Led Zeppelin and Carole King. The singer said she also plans on performing one of her own songs.
Ferrari’s artistic relationship with Theatre Three began in 2005 when she performed in the venue’s “Woodstock-mania: Woodstock in Concert,” a show that inspired her to create “Joplin’s Pearl.” The singer said through the years she has performed the Joplin musical performance many times at the Port Jeff venue and also debuted her shows dedicated to Pat Benatar and Madonna there. Last summer, she once again participated in “Woodstock-Mania.”
“That’s my home theater, that’s my heart and soul,” said Ferrari.
Douglas Quattrock, Theatre Three’s artistic associate and director of development, said he is looking forward to Ferrari returning to the theater with the show.
“I am thrilled to have Amber back at Theatre Three,” Quattrock said. “Her show is always filled with an incredible amount of energy, and her audiences always get a first-rate performance.”
The February performance follows a busy few months for Ferrari who presented her “Material Girl Featuring Amber Ferrari” at 89 North Music Venue in Patchogue last month and Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub in Smithtown last October as well as her Joplin show at Riverhead’s Suffolk Theater back in November.
On the night of Feb. 9, in addition to paying tribute to Joplin, the singer said she is looking forward to performing a Queen number. Ferrari said she feels the show has something for everyone and hopes audience members will enjoy how she and her band interpret the music of all the artists she is featuring.
“I’m hoping the people who don’t like a specific artist will just enjoy the way we do it because I don’t try to imitate anyone,” Ferrari said.
The singer said at the Feb. 9 performance bass player Michael Chiusano, guitarist Chris Ferrari, keyboardist Chris Cuvier, drummer Gary Gonzalez and percussionist Jim Carroll will join her on stage. She will also perform with a horn section that includes Lenny La Pinta on alto/tenor sax, Jonathan Holford playing baritone sax, Dan Yeager on trumpet and trombonist Tim Cassera.
Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson will present ‘Joplin’s Pearl Featuring Amber Ferrari’ on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39. For more information or to order, visit www.theatrethree.com or call 631-928-9100.
For more information on Amber Ferrari, visit www.amberferrari.com.
Keith Brown, right, and other representatives display site plans for self-storage facility on Baylis Avenue. Photo by Kyle Barr
There are two new developments on the horizon for Port Jefferson Station, tucked away in the backwoods along Sheep Pasture Road. Despite first assumptions, they’re not hotels, restaurants or homes, but self-storage facilities.
Beyond that, both projects could be located a three-minute drive from each other.
At its Jan. 31 meeting, the Town of Brookhaven board voted unanimously to change the zoning on a parcel located along Sheep Pasture Road, across from the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption from B1 Residential to L1 Industrial for the purpose of creating the 87,550-square-foot self-storage facility on the nearly five-acre wooded area.
site plans for the self-storage site at the corner of Sheep Pasture Road and Dark Hollow Road. Photo by Kyle Barr
“We make our best efforts to balance all of the competing interests and factors and make decisions that take into consideration all concerns.” Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) said.
Enrico Scarda, founder of The Crest Group, a real estate firm based in Hauppauge that owns the property, said he expects to start building the structure within the next eight months.
“We had huge community outreach, both to the immediate residents and others, we couldn’t really do anything better than this proposal,” Scarda said.
The development was initially proposed in 2018, but complaints about the structure being close to the road along with its large amount of parking spaces and its industrial-seeming facade made the company and town go back to the drawing board.
Anthony Graves, the town’s chief environmental analyst, presented designs of the new structure that included an updated rustic facade, a limitation of 35 feet in height and 75 feet of natural buffering between Sheep Pasture Road, Dark Hollow Road and the structure. This pushes the facility back to the northern end of the property, near the LIRR train tracks. The site allows for 44 parking spaces and 41 spaces for the storage of vehicles. Graves and Crest Group’s attorneys said they promised to include solar panels on the roof and have the entrance onto the property come directly across from Harborview Avenue.
“The safest thing to do is not have people living on the site,” Graves said.
The town said they have received letters of approval from the Three Village Civic Association as well as the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption.
A number of residents spoke at the meeting, and while some spoke up in favor of the proposal, complementing its setback away from the road and for the convenience it could give some residents and businesses, others spoke their opposition to the development.
Anthony Graves, middle, speaks about projects site plans. Photo by Kyle Barr
“The value of my house is definitely going down because of this thing,” Port Jeff Station resident Richard Rowland said. His property was described as a “stone’s throw” away from the planned storage facility.
Cartright said the town worked hard to account for resident’s complaints.
“Every change that was made to the project was in response to a request or concern raised by constituents,” the councilwoman said.
The Crest Group president said they went ahead with this development instead of homes because of the unique nature of the property. In 2015 the town restricted development at the site as it was once owned by Lawrence Aviation Industries, which dumped harmful chemicals onto the property for years that then leached into the soil and groundwater. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, along with the Town of Brookhaven, have been working on cleanup efforts. In the meantime, the town promised to restrict certain industrial and residential developments.
Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said self-storage facilities, at least compared to overall development, has relatively little impact in terms of cars, traffic or the environment.
“It’s the least impactful on traffic,” the supervisor said.
Port Jeff Station resident Jim Fox contested the idea the old Lawrence Aviation property is unavailable for single-family residences
development in the near future.
“The EPA has said there has been a significant reduction in the plume,” Fox said. “It’s going to be 100 percent drinkable in 10 years.”
Baylis Avenue self-storage
Another self-storage structure has been proposed to the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, one with a much smaller footprint than the one down the road.
This project, which would be located at 16 Baylis Ave., is currently a small set of undeveloped woods and an empty field zoned L1 Industrial sitting next to a pocket of residential homes and apartments.
Designs presented to the civic by Atlanta, Georgia-based developer Talon Inc., show six storage units spaced 30 feet apart, with five being one story and the last being a two-story storage space. Each single-story unit takes up 7,750 square feet and is accessed from the exterior while the two-story has a footprint of 40,500 square feet and will contain an office space as well.
Charlie McAteer, the civic’s corresponding secretary, said the developers had already talked to the civic and Brookhaven town in summer 2018, but that no moves were made before the Jan. 22 meeting.
Plans for the exterior of the self storage facility on Baylis Avenue. Photo by Kyle Barr
Keith Brown, a zoning attorney from Melville-based Brown & Altman LLP, said they chose the site because of its current zoning, its proximity to the railroad tracks, and the wooded buffer between it and the neighboring Heatherwood House at Port Jefferson apartment complex.
“The site is designed with a 76-feet-deep, contiguous, naturally wooded buffer that will serve as a buffer to the south and a 214-feet buffer to the north, and 48 percent of the site will be landscaped.”
Designs shown at the civic meeting indicate 53 parking spots with another four stalls designated for loading. The road leading up to the facility is currently pockmarked with potholes, and the property at the end of Baylis currently features a small-scale lumber operation.
Brett Hatcher, senior vice president of investments at Columbus, Ohio-based real estate company Marcus & Millichap, who is working with Talon on the project, said they were already aware of the other self-storage site down the road, but wouldn’t comment on if that facility has changed their plans.
When asked, Scarda said he was unaware of the proposal for Baylis Avenue.
In a letter to the town, the civic relayed its appreciation for the 76-foot buffer and had no other comments on the property.
Holtsville Hal greets the crowd of several hundred spectators at Saturday’s event. Photo by Kristen D'Andrea
Councilman LaValle, Greg Drossel with Hal and Councilman Foley. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Big Mike of 103.1 MAX FM with Greg Drossel and his granddaughter. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Holtsville Hal enjoys a snack. Photo by Heidi Sutton
volunteers from the Holtsville Fire Department help Councilman LaValle read this year’s prognostication. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Groundhog Day 2019 Photo by Heidi Sutton
Holtsville Hal enjoys a snack. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Big Mike of 103.1 MAX FM with Greg Drossel and Holtsville Hal. Photo by Heidi Sutton
By Heidi Sutton
The Town of Brookhaven held its annual Groundhog Day celebration at the Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve on Saturday, Feb. 2. Many families with young children braved the frigid weather to hear a very important prediction from Suffolk County’s most famous weatherman, Holtsville Hal, and the little guy did not disappoint.
At 7:25 a.m., before a crowd of several hundred spectators, the groundhog awoke from his slumber and did not see his shadow, joining Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil, Malverne Mel, Staten Island Chuck and Dunkirk Dave in predicting that spring weather is right around the corner.
Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden), who was joined by Councilman Neil Foley (R-Blue Point), served as honorary Mayor of the Day and read Hal’s prognostication:
“Upon waking up this morning from my long winter’s nap, I heard Honey Bear yawning after this unusual cold snap, Lucy the Buffalo was up, Victoria the eagle too, wondering what everyone is planning to do. I exited my burrow and took a step out, realizing that my prognostication is what this is all about. Hundreds have gathered waiting to hear, will it be an early spring or more snow this year. I know you’re all anxious to hear what I have to say, I won’t keep you waiting at 7:25 on this cold blustery day. When I came out of my burrow and put my paws on the floor, I did not see the shadow I was looking for. According to folklore, go home and ready your lawn, spring is coming and the winter is more than half gone.”
Superintendent of Highways Daniel Losquadro (R), who was not able to attend the event this year, issued a statement on Monday.“I’m sure we are all looking forward to an early spring and keeping our fingers crossed that our resident weatherman maintains his accuracy,” he said. “Regardless, the Brookhaven Highway Department remains ready to handle whatever Mother Nature decides to send our way.”
After the event, festivalgoers were treated to bagels and hot chocolate and were able to visit the 100 animals that call the Ecology Site home including deer, horses, goats, llamas, hawks and its newest addition, a pine martin. The center, which is open all year round, also includes jogging and exercise trails.
Greg Drossel, who has been Holtsville Hal’s handler for 22 years, said, “I remember when this ecology site was started by Harold Malkmes [Brookhaven’s longtime superintendent], 25, 30 years ago with a pair of buffalo and a pair of bald eagles and now it’s a gem in the Town of Brookhaven and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Located at 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, the Ecology Site will next host the 2019 Home & Garden Show on March 23, 24, 30 and 31 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 631-758-9664.
Students help build wooden canoe. Photo by David Ackerman
Students help build wooden canhoe. Photo by David Ackerman
Students help build wooden canhoe. Photo by David Ackerman
Students help build wooden canhoe. Photo by David Ackerman
Volunteers build the original Bayles Boat Shop building. Photo from Bayles Boat Shop
Picture of plans for dinghy. Photo by David Ackerman
Volunteers build the original Bayles Boat Shop building. Photo from Bayles Boat Shop
Volunteers build the original Bayles Boat Shop building. Photo from Bayles Boat Shop
By David Ackerman
The ancient craft of wooden boat building is alive and well at the Bayles Boat Shop.
On a dreary Saturday morning in January the workspace, located at Port Jefferson’s Harborfront Park, was filled with many projects at various stages of completion while workers, ranging from teenagers to senior citizens, all performed jobs necessary to the task of boatbuilding.
The space is heated by a wood furnace which allows production to continue throughout the winter months. According to Philip Schiavone, shop director and member for more than 10 years, “We use our mistakes as fuel,” speaking to the spirit of resourcefulness which has enabled the shop to grow purely by the effort of community volunteers.
“We use our mistakes as fuel.”
— Philip Schiavone
The boat shop was founded by Long Island Seaport and Eco Center, a nonprofit organization that tries to promote an appreciation, awareness and understanding of maritime history and the marine environment. The volunteer community at the shop contributes to the overall mission of LISEC by preserving Port Jefferson’s maritime history of boat building, and offering memberships and educational resources to the general public.
In 2018 the boat shop started a canoe building project for high school students in coordination with Avalon Park’s Students Taking Action for Tomorrow’s Environment program in Stony Brook.
“This project is an opportunity for the students to learn new skills that they won’t get in high school while also contributing to their community,” said Len Carolan, the event coordinator at the boat shop.
Some of the practical skills the students are learning include the safe use of tools, making precise measurements, following detailed construction plans, and using advanced woodworking techniques such as mold making, joinery and wood-finishing processes. High school student and Port Jeff Yacht Club Sailing School member Oscar Krug said the project they were working on was a Sassafras 12 canoe kit with laser-cut sections built with a stitch-and-glue process. The finished product will be donated to Avalon Park where it will either be made available for public use or auctioned off in order to fund the next construction project.
“This project is an opportunity for the students to learn new skills that they won’t get in high school while also contributing to their community.”
— Len Carolan
Avalon Park’s STATE program operates year-round and provides volunteer opportunities for eighth- through 12th-graders both in Avalon Park and by networking with local nonprofits. The program is led by Kayla Kraker, a marine biologist and science educator who aims to involve students that are “self-motivated leaders and passionate about nature and the outdoors.”
Other student projects with the STATE program have included horseshoe crab tagging, organic farming, shellfish restoration and an archway construction.
Alongside the canoe build there are multiple projects underway in the boat shop. Members Bill Monsen and John Janicek are in the finishing stages of their restoration of a sailing dinghy called a German Pirate which will be the shop’s first submission to the WoodenBoat Show at Mystic in Connecticut. It has taken three years for this project to develop from a hulk of timber and wood to a stunning restoration, built with careful consideration to historical accuracy. The end product will be a faithful reproduction of the original German Pirate sailing dinghy which was first built in 1934 and is usually found only in Europe, making this model a rare discovery in the United States.
The shop is also preparing for its annual Quick and Dirty boat build in August where participants will race in the Port Jeff Harbor with boats that are constructed in four hours on the shore. Shop members are currently in the finishing stages of a raffle boat project which will be offered up at the event to raise funds for the facility.
Bayles Boat Shop at Harborfront Park is open for business every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Tuesdays 7 to 9 p.m.
Students at Earl L. Vandermuelen High School in Port Jefferson discuss the health effects of vaping. Photo from PJSD
By David Luces
With the rising use of e-cigarettes in schools, Suffolk County is looking to find ways to put the liquid genie back in its bottle.
County Executive Steve Bellone (D) signed legislation Dec. 20 to increase the fine for the sale of all tobacco products, including vaping products, to those under 21 years old.
“The popularity of electronic cigarettes has exploded into mainstream culture to the point where school officials in Suffolk County have asked our public health officials for clarity and assistance in dealing with record numbers of students who are vaping on school grounds,” Bellone said in a press release.
“Vaping has become a concern in many high schools throughout Suffolk County,”
— Paul Casciano
Along with the new legislation, in January Suffolk County officials have continued to pilot a new vaping prevention program called Vape Out. The program is currently being run in North Babylon, Hampton Bays, Port Jefferson and Bayport-Blue Point school districts. Each school district involved has the option of picking one or all three of the approaches as a way of customizing the program.
The anti-vaping program, consists of three elements: peer-to-peer education, alternatives to suspension andcommunity education, according to county officials.
Paul Casciano, the superintendent of the Port Jefferson School District, said the Suffolk County Department of Health approached them in piloting the Teens-Teaching-Teens peer education element due in part to the success of a previous peer leadership program that ran in the high school.
Dozens of Earl. L Vandermeulen High School students took part in a full day of training Dec. 6 2018 about the health effects of vaping and nicotine. The students watched a presentation on the health hazards of vaping and were given advice on how to refuse a hit. From there, district officials said they shared the lessons they learned with other students in both the high school and Port Jefferson Middle School.
Despite being in the early stages of the program, Casciano said the response to the training from peer leaders has been positive.
According to a 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five high school students use e-cigarettes. One in 20 middle school students use e-cigarettes as well.
The popularity of e-cigarettes has risen in recent years, a CDC National Youth Tobacco Survey found that e-cigarette use among high school students increased by 78 percent between 2017 and 2018.
“Vaping has become a concern in many high schools throughout Suffolk County,” the superintendent said. “Knowing the potential negative effects of vaping and developing strategies to resist pressure from others to vape is important for parents, staff, and especially students to learn.”
According to a report from BBC News, the global vape product market was valued as over $22.6 billion in 2016.
“This is not just a phase or fad,” John Martin, supervising public health educator, Suffolk County Department of Health Services, said. “When I go to these presentations, I ask middle schoolers if anyone was curious enough to smoke a cigarette — nobody raised their hand. When I asked if anyone would think about trying a mango-flavored e-cigarette, some hands came up.”
“This is not just a phase or fad.”
— John Martin
Martin said they were winning the game in curbing cigarette use in youth but he acknowledged vaping and products like JUUL, one of the more popular brands of e-cigarettes and vape products, have led to new challenges.
“We’ve had a long history with helping people with nicotine addiction,” said Nancy
Hemendinger, the director of Office of Health Education, Suffolk County Department of Health Services. “We need to work together to combat this issue.”
Other parts of the Vape Out programming include the alternative-to-suspension element which encourages school administrators to require students who have been reprimanded for vaping to attend a customized education intervention in lieu of school suspension. The community education element would connect parent forums with parent-teacher organizations, youth bureaus and agencies to employ a variety of educational tools .
“We need to get adults and parents to recognize these items as smoking devices,” Hemendinger said. “Also, we need to understand that these kids affected have a addiction and we need to help them — It is our job to spot these trends.”
This post was amended to correct the date of the Port Jefferson training day.
Rich Shaffer at his office in North Babylon. File Photo by Alex Petroski
In the lexicon of tarot, cards used by soothsayers for divination, there are many cards used to describe a person’s lot in life.
If Rich Schaffer, the Suffolk County Democratic Committee chairman, could be represented by any card, it would be the chariot. Schaffer is at the head of the race, with the Democrats taking majority positions in the New York State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, but he’s holding onto the reins of two horses, the moderate and far-left elements of his party, and he said his task is to keep both heading in the same direction.
“My job’s been described as the therapist in chief,” said Schaffer, who is also Town of Babylon supervisor. “I’m always either talking somebody off the ledge or helping them through an issue.”
“My job’s been described as the therapist in chief.”
— Rich Schaffer
In last year’s elections, the Democratic Party won big both in New York state and nationally, securing the state Senate as well as the Assembly, and gaining a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was a change of pace for the party, which was beleaguered after its loss during the 2016 elections that saw Donald Trump (R) sent to the White House.
In Suffolk County, many GOP members retained their seats despite hard campaigns from the Dems. Longtime Republican representatives such as state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) kept their seats in Albany, while U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) won out at 51.5 percent against his Democratic challenger Perry Gershon. Still, Schaffer said they have made strides in the county, pointing to the election of state Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) who won out over her GOP rival Dean Murray by 2,996 votes.
Schaffer added that he thinks the next time District 1 is up for grabs, it could swing blue.
Suffolk County “has been blue in the past,” the Democratic committee chairman said.
Specifically, he points to the 35-day government shutdown that was put on hold for three weeks Jan. 25. Schaffer laid the blame for the shutdown at the president’s feet and said his Republican supporters in Congress would take the brunt of the blame.
“What they are doing to people’s livelihoods and their survival is unconscionable,” he said. “A political debate has now turned into almost scorched earth, where people’s lives are at stake.”
On the state level Schaffer said there are, all in all, six Democratic members elected to the state Senate who will represent Long Island, including new members Martinez and James Gaughran (D-Northport).
This is important to the party commissioner, as in other years when the Democrats had majorities in both state houses, his experience was many of those focused on New York City rather than Long Island’s more suburban elements.
The differences between those two subsets of Democrats is something Schaffer said he’s particularly aware of. Nationally, much has been said about the rise of much more left-leaning Democrats, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx). She has been open about progressive ideas such as universal health care, establishing tuition-free colleges and trade schools, and creating a marginal tax system as high as 70 percent, which would mostly affect those in the wealthiest tax brackets. A bill for single-payer health care is currently being circulated in the state Assembly.
“You can’t have Cortez running in East Northport.”
— Rich Schaffer
Schaffer said he was not against policies such as universal health care, but he wanted the discussion to be had up in Albany about how the state was planning to pay for that program.
Schaffer also questioned the viability of a Cortez-like candidate in Suffolk County.
“I mean it’s easy for [Cortez] to speak like she does with the district she comes from, when your main election battle is the primary,” Schaffer said. “When you’re running Suffolk County North Shore and your district is not as friendly registration wise, this gets to if you elect Democrats who support basic Democratic ideas.”
Overall, Schaffer was adamant the best way to win Democratic seats in Suffolk County was to form coalitions, work off core democratic principles and promise to work toward local issues.
“You can’t have Cortez running in East Northport,” he said. “Some people will argue with me that ‘Yes, you can,’ but it has not been my experience out here. That’s not to say we can’t have things on the progressive agenda, but they have to be spoken about in a way that’s going to get you 50 percent plus one.”
John Kennedy Jr. (R) and Steve Bellone (D). File Photos
Executive Steve Bellone, Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. offer differing view of what financial future holds
When asked to critically examine Suffolk County’s finances and what lies ahead for residents, our executive branch and accounting officials couldn’t be further divided on their vision of the future.
Suffolk Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R) said out of the $410 million operating note the county sought to sell for 2019 operating funds only half, or $207 million, could be competitively sold in December. Instead, he had to rely on a negotiated agreement with Bank of America to give the funds needed to run the county’s government at an interest rate of 2.35 percent.
“This has been one of the toughest times we’d had in the market since I’ve taken office,” Kennedy said.
“We are in some very strenuous times.”
— John Kennedy Jr.
The county comptroller, since 2015, said it was a combination of factors that negatively impacted Suffolk: seeking funding later than normal, stock market uncertainty and, perhaps most importantly, that Moody’s downgrading the county’s bond rating from A3 to Baa1.
“We are barred from being purchased by many major investment funds,” Kennedy said, citing Fidelity and T. Rowe Price Group won’t invest. “We are in some very strenuous times.”
Eric Naughton, Suffolk’s budget director, said while the county’s bond rating was dropped the comptroller was “overstating” its impact and meaning.
“[Moody’s investors] are looking at the past,” he said. “They are not looking at what is happening in the future.”
Naughton cited how Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone (D) has implemented many structural changes since taking office in 2012 including reducing the county’s workforce by approximately 1,200 employees, closed John J. Foley nursing home in Yaphank that was losing money and creating the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency to bring in additional funds.
Kennedy countered that from March 2012 to September 2018 Moody’s has downgraded the county’s bond rating by five ranks.
“We need to change how county government operates,” the comptroller said.
Suffolk is not likely to see the state takeover of the county’s government like Nassau according to Kennedy, in good part because the county has about half the outstanding debt of neighboring Nassau — a sentiment with which Naughton agreed.
The comptroller suggested that in order to avoid dire straits, Suffolk officials should move to consolidate by merging county offices with similar functions, encourage shared services among municipalities, reduce its workforce, evaluate and sell off surplus property where possible, like the former Suffolk County Police 6th Precinct building in Coram.
“Structural changes were needed and these structural changes were adopted.”
— Jason Elan
Jason Elan, a spokesman for Bellone, said the county executive has done just that. Under Bellone, the county treasurer and comptroller positions were merged, as were four departments made into two:Labor and Consumer Affairs and Economic Development and Planning. Bellone made county employees contribute 15 percent to their health insurance premiums while taking a pay freeze himself, at an estimated savings of more than $300,000. Further, Suffolk’s workforce has been reduced and, according to Naughton, county-operated land and property is being evaluated to see if it can be deemed surplus.
“Structural changes were needed and these structural changes were adopted,” Bellone’s spokesman said, noting Kennedy voted against or opposed many of the measures.
What looms ahead for Suffolk is negotiation of a new contract with the Police Benevolent Association. Kennedy said at a current cost of $573 million per year, the police contract is the largest item in the county’s $3.11 billion 2019 budget followed by roughly $451 million for county employee’s health insurance.
“If we are not focused on actively managing those expenditures in both categories, we might as well shut off the lights and go home,” he said.
In fact, it’s not just the police but all of the county’s employee contracts have expired. Elan said Bellone would not comment on the status of PBA negotiations.
Rather he said the county’s greatest opportunity lies in furthering its economic development, like the proposed Ronkonkoma Hub and other projects that will bring businesses to the area.
These issues are some that are expected to be addressed by Bellone when he gives his annual State of the County per tradition in May.
Renee Goldfarb, the owner of Origin of Era. Photo by Kyle Barr
By Karina Gerry and Kyle Barr
The winds of change have began to blow in Port Jefferson village as the new year brings a host of changes to the area’s small businesses.
A few restaurants in the area are closing. Japanese restaurant Oceans 88, famous for its sushi bar, planned to be closed Jan. 31. Owners did not respond for requests to comment.
“There’s no more sushi in the village, that’s a real shame,” said village Mayor Margot Garant.
Though not all is bad as a number of new shops, both new names and old names, take shape all around the village.
Billie’s 1890 Saloon
Billie’s 1890 Saloon, a Port Jefferson staple, has reopened its doors after a kitchen fire forced it to close two years ago.
The bar and restaurant located on Main Street is back in business under its original ownership. Founded in 1981 by Billie E. Phillips and his late first wife, Billie’s 1890 Saloon soon became a community favorite. In 1987, after six years, Phillips sold his business, but after the fire in June of 2016 he purchased the restaurant and bar back with his son, Billie S. Phillips, and set about renovating the space.
Billie’s 1890 Saloon. Photo by Kyle Barr
While the layout of Billie’s has remained relatively the same, the crowd has changed.
“It’s a more grown-up establishment,” Phillips Jr. said. “The same tables, and bar length and everything like that but it’s just been cleaned up and refurbished and we’re just going for a little more of an adult crowd than what it had turned out to be before the fire.”
Before the 2016 fire, Billie’s was considered a college bar, tailoring to the younger crowd with its infamous wheel, which was spun every hour and wherever the wheel landed was the drink that would be offered at a reduced price. Now, it has an age limit of 23, pushing away the crowd that made it so popular before.
“The new Billie’s seems to have a very different vibe,” Christopher Gulino, a former East Setauket resident said. “The renovations look great, but I think the customers that were regularly going to Billie’s when it was previously opened were looking forward to seeing the same old Billie’s.”
While the younger crowd may not be too happy with the changes to Billie’s, Phillips Jr. said they were necessary for the business to succeed.
“Billie’s had become the local meeting place and people have very fond memories of it,” Billie the younger said. “But I don’t think the business model they had would have survived much longer.”
New shop from East Main & Main
Food lovers can rejoice as one of the owners of East Main & Main is opening a new restaurant in Port Jefferson village.
Lisa Harris and her husband Robert Strehle opened the popular donut shop in June 2017, offering customers new flavors of donuts daily. After the success of the donut shop, Harris is ready to take on a new solo venture, a restaurant that offers brunch, lunch, dinner and shareable appetizers.
“It’s always been my dream to own a restaurant and run a restaurant,” Lisa Harris said. “It just seemed like the natural next step — it seemed like it was something that we were ready to take a chance.”
The new restaurant is slated to open around the end of February on Main Street. Harris said she plans for the space to have a casual comfortable vibe.
East Main and Main in Port Jefferson Village. Photo by David Lucas
“We didn’t have to do any building, any construction, or anything like that,” Harris noted. “We were very lucky because the restaurant there had pretty much everything we needed, it was just something we had to make our own by changing the color scheme and doing a lot of cleaning.”
Harris plans on having some crossover between the staff at the donut shop and the new restaurant, but she is also looking to hire a full-time crew.
“So we will be creating some new jobs,” Harris said. “Probably seven to 10 new jobs will be created in Port Jefferson, which will be great.”
While rumors have been making their rounds that East Main & Main is closing, Harris assures that’s not the case.
“We’re not moving the donut shop,” Harris said. “The donut shop is staying right where it is.”
And if donuts are more your thing, don’t worry, as Harris insists her and her husband are open to the idea of opening up another space somewhere else if the right opportunity comes along.
“It’s finding the right spot is always a challenge,” Harris said. “We’re kind of so spoiled here because of the foot traffic that we get. It’s just always exciting and fun, so we’re looking for a spot that is very similar to Port Jeff and there aren’t a lot of towns like Port Jeff.”
Origin of Era
A new clothing shop that just opened Jan. 26 in Chandler Square is looking to attract women of all shapes and sizes with a fashion-forward, inclusive ideal.
Renee Goldfarb, the owner of Origin of Era, is a Long Island native but has spent much of her life living in Queens and Brooklyn and abroad while working in the fashion industry.
“I worked in film and fashion for 15 years — moved abroad and worked in Prague and Berlin. I worked in two corporations in branding, but I didn’t want to make money for anyone else anymore, I wanted to do it for myself,” she said.
Origin of Era in Port Jefferson Village. Photo by Kyle Barr
The owner opened and operated another store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for several years before she and her husband bought a home in Amityville Harbor. When coming to Long Island Goldfarb wanted to find a town that had the same sense of community she originally felt in that city neighborhood. Her selection was between Babylon village and Port Jeff village, but she chose the latter because she said the elected officials had small businesses in mind, especially with events like the annual Charles Dickens Festival.
While she said her previous store focused on vintage clothing, her new shop emphasizes the modern. In terms of her clothing selection, Goldfarb supplies sizes from extra small to extra-large, and offers free alterations to any items purchased in the store. The brand selection encompasses companies from the U.S., Spain, the U.K., India and China, though she stressed she only selected ethically produced clothing.
Most important in her selection, she said, was the emphasis on getting clothing only designed by women.
“If I owned a woman’s store I would make sure we represented all women and made it inclusive,” Goldfarb siad. “That’s why I wanted to make sure we only carried female designers … If we think logically, we are catering to women, nobody knows women best but a woman.”
Debra Bowling, the new owner of Pasta Pasta, and her husband Jerry. Photo by Kyle Barr
Debra Bowling, the new owner of Pasta Pasta in Port Jefferson village, knows the customers who walk through the old wood doors. She herself started 20 years ago as a waitress and has kept loyal to the restaurant ever since. Now, after two decades, she’s in charge.
However, despite owning the restaurant, she expects she will still continue to wait tables.
“That’s not going to change,” Bowling, a Setauket resident, said. She was almost successful at suppressing a laugh. “We still have two kids in college, so I really put a lot of hours in here. I said if I’m going to work so hard, I might as well work for myself.”
The restaurant serves what the new owner described as American food with an Italian flavor, providing everything from fish to pasta to salads. The eatery is also famous for its flaky and moist garlic bread.
Previous owners Steve Sands and Jules Buitron bought Pasta Pasta back in 1998, already owning another restaurant on the South Shore. Sands said they already knew and liked the Port Jeff restaurant, back when its menu was limited to pizza and pasta, so they decided to purchase it and bring in Bowling, who was at that time planning on moving to the North Shore.
Pasta Pasta in Port Jefferson Village. Photo by Kyle Barr
Once Sands and Buitron decided they wanted to sell, Bowling was the first person they talked to about buying the restaurant.
“She’s a hard worker, she knows the business and she knows the customers,” Sands said. “She’s got a great team. Much of the kitchen crew has been there before we even bought the restaurant.”
Sands said he still plans to visit the restaurant when he can.
“The reason I bought it because it’s always been my favorite restaurant,” he said.
That doesn’t mean it’s not a big transition for Bowling and her family. The new restaurant owner’s husband Jerry is also there on a regular basis where he can be seen manning the phone and helping with whatever needs doing.
So much of Bowling’s life has been spent at the restaurant, and her children have also moved through the restaurant as a part of growing up.
“Five of my six kids have worked here, and two of them still work here,” the restaurant owner said.
While many have moved on, the kids have been supportive of their mother’s new venture, with her son Ryan Burns posting a heartwarming social media message to his mother saying how much she inspired him.
And even with these new expectations laid on her shoulders, Bowling still has two families to assist her, one at home and one at work, including kitchen manager Anthony Vadala, who has helped Bowling and her team throughout the years. Now with her running the show those two families are more intertwined than ever.
“We’re all a family here, the kitchen staff has been here before me,” she said. “Most of the waitresses were here between 10 and 15 years.”
“We’re all a family here, the kitchen staff has been here before me.”
— Debra Bowling
Bowling intends to keep the food and the atmosphere the same as it has been, though she does have a few design changes in mind, including some new paint on the walls, new bathrooms and replacing the windows up front so they can be swung open on atmospheric summer evenings.
The customers who have gone to the restaurant for years probably couldn’t accept too much change, and there are quite a few regulars. Even before she owned the restaurant, Bowling was a well-known face to her multitudes of regular customers, often those who have their own set of menus internalized in the minds of the Pasta Pasta staff. Some of those longtime customers who constantly travel make it a point to stop in her restaurant, even going out of their way to call ahead of time and beg the restaurant for a bowl of pasta, the kind the restaurant staff knows they like in particular. Baby showers have been hosted in the restaurant, and just last year, the restaurant hosted a wedding as well.
“On New Year’s Eve we had a wedding here,” Bowling said. “They met on their first date here on New Year’s Eve two years ago. She met here, she has to get married here … That’s just from them getting to know us over the years.”
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