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Mike Voigt joins Brookhaven’s Brew to Moo program to continue recyclying brewing waste for good causes

Rocky Point Artisan Brewers owners Mike Voigt and Donavan Hall partnered with Town of Brookhaven to send spent grains to be recycled at local farms. Photo from Mike Voigt

Rescue animals at Double D Bar Ranch can thank Rocky Point Artisan Brewers for their full bellies.

The brewery has entered into a partnership with Town of Brookhaven, called Brew to Moo, in which spent grains are sent to feed abused or unwanted farm animals at the Manorville ranch.

“I think the program is wonderful,” said 51-year-old Mike Voigt, the owner of Rocky Point Artisan Brewers, which he founded in 2008 with Donavan Hall. “I’d like to get involved and actually go see the animals. It’s terrible to throw out the grains, so to see it get put to good use is fulfilling.”

Spent grains from Rocky Point Artisan Brewers waiting for a Town of Brookhaven pickup. Photo by Mike Voigt

A byproduct of brewing is literally tons of spent grains left behind from hops, barley, oats or whatever is used to make the beer, which in many cases gets tossed in the trash. While the grains have reduced caloric content, they can provide protein and fiber that can supplement corn for livestock feed.

Voigt, who said he’s typically handed over his grains to friends whenever needed, heard about the program through Port Jeff Brewing Company, and reached out to the town to get involved. Rocky Point Artisan Brewers is now the third local brewery or distillery to link with the town in its efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, along with the Port Jeff brewery and BrickHouse Brewery in Patchogue, which was the first to get involved. Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said he expects Patchogue’s Blue Point Brewing Company to get involved as the fourth partner once the organization has moved into its new
headquarters on Main Street at what was formerly Briarcliffe College.

“Breweries spend a lot of money getting rid of the leftover grains, because it is now garbage, but we’re in the interest of looking for ways that we can reduce our waste, recycle it, and reuse that which we recycle,” Romaine said. “We’re picking up the spent grains that breweries would typically have to pay a carter to take away, and then we’re taking that spent grain to farms to feed the animals. It’s a way to continue to promote reusing and recycling. We shouldn’t be a throw away society.”

Since the program launched in August 2017, approximately 50 tons of spent grains have been fed to the rescue animals at Double D Bar Ranch on Wading River Road.

“Breweries spend a lot of money getting rid of the leftover grains, because it is now garbage, but we’re in the interest of looking for ways that we can reduce our waste, recycle it, and reuse that which we recycle.”

— Ed Romaine

Rich Devoe, the operator of the ranch, which is a nonprofit organization, said the roughly 400 animals living at the ranch never go hungry, but having a steady source of food from the two breweries will allow him to substantially shrink the food bill. Typically, he spends $175,000 a year on feed. Now, Devoe will be able to save $100,000 of that, and spend its donations and money from his own pocket elsewhere, like on barn repairs and fencing. He called the arrangement “great” and “very important.”

“We’ve even had breweries from outside of the town calling us asking to get involved that we’ve had to turn away,” Romaine said. “Seeing what owners like Mike Voigt are doing is tremendous. This is a model that responsible business will want to enter into with the town.”

Voigt has made good use of the brewery’s spent grains since before Brew to Moo came about. The owner provided more than 1.8 tons to Hamlet Organic Garden in Brookhaven to be composted.

The 21-year Rocky Point resident has been a seller at the Rocky Point Farmer’s Market since its inception in 2012, which is where he met Sean Pilger, a manager at the garden since 2006. Voigt sells most of his beer at the farmer’s market because he said he wants to maintain a local feel.

“The beer doesn’t leave Long Island,” he said. “I like to sell it locally.”

Romaine said he sees the new partnership as enhancing nature rather than disrupting it. Voigt said he is hoping other businesses can continue to get behind that mantra.

“Who wants to throw it out?” he said of the spent grains. “I’m rather small, but seeing this go anywhere instead of in the garbage is a good thing. It takes no more effort to put it in a can and have the town pick it up than it takes to throw it out. I wish the program was larger — it would make sense — and I hope more breweries on the Island get involved.”

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Suffolk residents are suing the county, overseen by Executive Steve Bellone, for what they deem to be illegal fees. File photo

By Kevin Redding

An upstate New York legal group that helps residents stand up against improper actions by their government recently set its sights on Suffolk County, whose hike in illegal fees in the past two years is the focus of a class-action lawsuit.

On Oct. 24, the Government Justice Center, an Albany-based nonprofit that offers pro bono representation to New York residents seeking to “fight city hall,” filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court on behalf of five Suffolk County residents against the county, saying its abundance of assessment fees are “unauthorized taxes.”

The plaintiffs — homeowners living in Melville, Kings Park, Commack, Calverton and Shirley — face increasingly expensive fees for filing real estate documents, namely tax map verifications, which raked in $66 million this year, that far surpass the county’s operating budget of $1.2 million to perform the transactions through its Real Property Tax Service Agency, the suit alleges.

Between 2015 and 2017, mortgage recording fees and tax map verification fees imposed by the county jumped from $60 to $200 per land parcel, with an additional $300 slapped on for every mortgage recording instrument used. The revenue from the fees contributes to the county’s general fund.

According to the complaint, the county passed legislation to enforce these “backdoor taxes” on a certain subset of residents — in this case, homeowners — to bear the county’s burden as it was “unwilling to rein in its spending or face the political consequences of raising taxes to pay for general fund expenses.”

But, under state law, local fees are not allowed to exceed the cost of service or be used
to offset the revenue of government functions.

The homeowners are now calling on the county to stop imposing the illegal fees or at least reduce them to more closely match the $1.2 million service cost, and to refund them a portion of the real estate document fees. The county is currently being subpoenaed.

“It’s important that residents get the opportunity to have their voices heard,” said Cameron MacDonald, the executive director of the GJC. “The county is not supposed to be raising revenue through unauthorized taxes in the form of excessive fees. They need to either pass a tax that affects everyone or cut its spending.”

Ahead of the Suffolk County Legislature’s budget vote for 2018, which passed Nov. 8, MacDonald said he and his group called on legislators, to no avail, to eliminate a total $102 million in fees that generate revenue above the cost of the departments that collect them.

Mike Armstrong, the director of field operations for Reclaim New York Initiative, a nonpartisan group with representation on the GJC’s board which launched the Fight the Fees campaign to end illegal fees across the state, has been active in gaining public support of the lawsuit.

Armstrong compared the gradual increase of fees on taxpayers to “the difference between getting small cuts on your arm to having it chopped off entirely.

“The county talks about wanting to keep people here while they’re pushing them out the door with fees and taxes,” Armstrong said, adding that while tax increases are never popular, it’s at least honest compared to these fees. “I feel bad for young couples who want to buy a house that are now paying that mortgage fee. I feel bad for senior citizens who are closing out their mortgages and then are faced with an  exorbitant fee. It’s an issue that’s impacting people in a really dramatic way.”

During a vote last December to adopt the 2017 county budget,  Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) defended the fee increases, saying residents will not leave Suffolk County because of a few additional hundreds of dollars.

“I don’t think anyone is going to move to Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona or anywhere else because of $300,” Gregory said regarding the verification fee. “I think it’s going to cost more to relocate than the
increase in this fee.”

Among few voices of opposition on the Legislature is Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), who, during the meeting to adopt the 2017 county budget, called it “death by a thousand knives.” He warned of an inevitable deficit in the county’s budget.

“The mismanagement of Suffolk County is heading us down the path of bankruptcy,” Trotta said. “They’re going to lose the lawsuits and they’re going to have to refund the fees and stop spending money. There’s going to be a huge hole in the budget no matter what.”

Jason Elan, a spokesman for County Executive Steve Bellone (D), addressed the lawsuit in an emailed statement.

“This is a politically motivated lawsuit filed by Albany insiders who lack any understanding on how government costs are apportioned, yet have no problem saddling taxpayers with the cost of fighting this completely frivolous complaint,” Elan’s statement read.

The state supreme court has since ruled similar fees in Nassau unconstitutional.

“This is a major victory for taxpayers, homeowners, businesses and any New Yorker who has been forced to pay an illegal fee,” Reclaim New York said in an email. “Every government around the state should get the message loud and clear. Nassau and Suffolk legislators have knowingly been stealing from residents with illegal fees ­— it’s theft. It is time to end illegal fees across New York.”

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Mechanized mark landing craft similar to the model sought by Town of Brookhaven for highway department use. Photo from U.S. Navy website

By Kevin Redding

Town of Brookhaven Highway Department is hoping for a 68,000-pound gift this holiday season.

On Dec. 14, the town’s division of purchasing will publicly open and evaluate competitive bids from shipbuilding contractors to determine which one will replace the highway department’s outdated military-style landing craft with a more modern and enhanced version of it. The Landing Craft Mechanized Mark 6 is an ex-military steel vessel used often by the department to transport heavy equipment — such as backhoes, dump trucks and Bobcat bulldozers — and personnel to communities on Fire Island for emergency and maintenance services. The bid was issued Nov. 23.

Brookhaven’s specifications for the new vessel include up-to-date engines, electronics and new steering and propulsion systems. The outer dimensions are to be 56 feet long and 68,000 pounds, based on the current LCM-6, which has been operated by the town for several decades. The current model requires frequent repairs, and will be donated to the Brookhaven parks department, according to the highway superintendent, Dan Losquadro (R).

“For us, this is a very useful tool and from a disaster preparedness standpoint, in the event of another major storm, having a landing craft we can rely on to operate day in and day out, to move materials, is very valuable,” said Losquadro, adding that the vessel has the capability to operate in nonideal conditions and is designed to function just as well if a pier or infrastructure is damaged. “On the South Shore, in the event of a major storm, there’s a real possibility you might have flooding or roadway and coastal damage that would prevent you from getting to the shoreline. And certainly on Fire Island, you have no choice. You have to go by boat. It leaves us with very few options other than to have a piece of equipment like this. So it fills a very specific purpose for us.”

Losquadro said the landing craft has been utilized “basically every day” by the department since he was elected in 2013 to facilitate repairs on the boardwalks, concrete, sidewalks and crossovers in Fire Island towns like Ocean Beach, Cherry Grove and Davis Park. But it’s also critical in more dire situations, like evacuation assistance and repairs in the wake of nor’easters, snowstorms and fires.

“I essentially have to plan for my worst nightmare,” Losquadro said. “I’m putting in plans to have equipment ready for the scenarios I never want to have to deal with.”

Kristen D’Andrea, public relations officer within the department, said the vessel is stationed in the water so it’s ready for use 365 days a year.

“It’s ready to go at any time,” D’Andrea said. “And it’s something local fire departments can use. If there’s an emergency and the town receives a request from fire rescue and emergency services, the craft can definitely be used to shuttle fire equipment over to the island.”

Steven Brautigam, the Village of Ocean Beach clerk, said since Hurricane Sandy weather is closely monitored and extra safety precautions are taken. He considers the vessel a smart piece of machinery to have just in case.

“Anything to bring heavy equipment over here at a moment’s notice is very needed,” Brautigam said. “I think it’s a great thing for Brookhaven to have. It can help bring over supplies before or after a storm.”

The project will be funded by a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant totaling more than $5 million, which was awarded to Brookhaven in October for emergency operation upgrades. Other pieces of equipment the town plans to purchase with the grant money are a horizontal wood grinder, a knuckle boom truck and a self-loading concrete mixer.

Losquadro said there are a number of shipbuilding companies across Long Island and he’s anxious to see who bids and who ultimately gets the contract. He and the department will work closely with the contractors to ensure they build the craft exactly as the specifications outline.

“We want to get the best price we can for the best product,” he said. “It’s all driving toward enhancing our fleet of equipment to be more reliable than what we’ve had.”

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Suffolk County sheriff-elect, Errol Toulon Jr. and his wife Tina. Photo from Toulon

By Kevin Redding

On the Saturday before Easter in 2003, Suffolk County sheriff-elect, Errol Toulon Jr. (D) sat in the den of his Lake Grove home and said to God, “If you give me a chance, I’m going to do something great.”

Toulon, who had dropped from 240 pounds to about 140 and could barely walk, was recovering from a Whipple procedure to remove a cancerous tumor on his pancreas. It had been his second battle with cancer in less than 10 years — in 1996, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma — an ordeal that was followed by MRSA, a type of staph infection, and pneumonia. Doctors and family members expected the worst.

A year later, in the spring of 2004, the Rikers Island corrections officer-turned-captain enrolled at Suffolk County Community College. He went on to receive his master’s degree in business administration from Dowling College and an advanced certificate in Homeland Security management from Long Island University.

Toulon, left, as a bat boy at Yankee Stadium, pictured with Yankees legend Reggie Jackson. Photo from Toulon

In the midst of his appointment as deputy commissioner of operations for the New York City Correction Department in 2014, Toulon pursued and completed his doctorate in educational administration and took leadership courses at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

On Dec. 4, after a last-minute campaign to be Suffolk County sheriff against opponent Larry Zacarese (R), Toulon, 55, became the first African-American elected official in a nonjudicial countywide position in Long Island’s history.

“I still don’t think I’m finished to be honest with you,” Toulon said, laughing. “I am very fortunate and I don’t take any day for granted.”

He said he didn’t even know the landmark aspect of his victory until the counting of absentee ballots was close to being completed. The race was too close to call after Election Day Nov. 7, leaving the tightly contested election hanging for nearly a month.

“I think that can help to show that any individual, no matter what ethnicity or gender, can achieve anything they want,” Toulon said. “But I don’t think, necessarily, the color of my skin will matter at all. I think my work experience and work ethic will show that those who voted for me made the right choice, and I think those that didn’t vote for me will feel I can do the job and have the best interests of the people.”

Those closest to him said despite the odds stacked against him, Toulon’s win makes perfect sense.

“He’s a rare breed of person — you couldn’t ask for a better man for the position,” said Ralph Grasso, a retired New York Police Department officer and friend of Toulon’s for 26 years. “Anything he puts his mind to, he achieves.”

Grasso was far from the only colleague to heap praise on the sheriff-elect.

“Errol’s always shown through his actions how great a leader he is,” said Keith Taylor, who worked with him in the department of corrections for two years. “When it came to officers who were victims of inmate violence, he always made sure to visit them in the hospital, and always without any fanfare. He’s dealt with a lot of adversities and always handles them with dignity, grace and strength.”

Meg Malangone, a registered Republican in Lake Grove who works in the business office at TBR News Media, said Toulon is the first Democrat she’s voted for in 40 years.

“Not only is he one of the most incredible individuals I know, I honestly felt he was the best man for the job,” said Malangone, whose son was friends with Toulon’s sons growing up. “Errol is a wonderful human being. He is a strong, kind, smart and gentle man. He is not afraid to make tough decisions and is thoughtful in his approach to problems and solutions. He is going to be a fantastic sheriff for Suffolk County.”

When he officially starts his new job in January, Toulon said he’s determined to manage the sheriff’s office effectively and utilize skills from his career in corrections to tackle what he considers “the big three”: gangs, the opioid crisis and working with the community to develop a strong re-entry program for those incarcerated to help with housing and jobs when they leave the jail. He said outgoing Sheriff Vincent DeMarco (C) has given him a tour of the facilities, he’s met with staff and he looks forward to working collaboratively with district attorney-elect, Tim Sini (D).

“There is nobody with the type of integrity he has,” said Keith Davies, Toulon’s campaign manager, who was admittedly nervous to start a full-fledged race two months before the election with a candidate he didn’t know. “But then I got to know Errol and I knew I was working for someone that is the right person to be in the position. He kept us motivated and working hard. He’s a good man.”

“There is nobody with the type of integrity [Toulon] has.”

— Keith Davies

Despite his lifelong career in law enforcement, Toulon said the reason he thinks he was elected, and had such large support from community members on both sides of the aisle, can be traced to his second life as a coach of various sports in the last 20 years.

An avid hockey fan who even created a program around the sport within the corrections facility, Toulon coaches ice hockey at the Long Island Gulls Amateur Hockey Association in Jericho and served as a roller hockey coach at The Sports Arena in St. James. He has also coached baseball for the Sachem Youth Advisory Group; soccer for Middle Country Children’s Soccer League; and basketball for Middle Country.

“I’ve tried to make sure it wasn’t about winning or losing with the kids,” Toulon said. “I thought that even the kid who probably wasn’t the best person on the team should’ve gotten an opportunity to play. We won or lost together. A lot of parents asked me to be their child’s coach each season and I felt very honored by that.”

But Toulon’s overall achievements can be traced further back to the 1960s and ’70s in the South Bronx, where he grew up with his younger brother, Anthony, and parents, Errol Sr. and Alma, and attended Cardinal Hayes High School.

“He was always a go-getter,” recalled Errol Toulon Sr., 78, a retired deputy warden of the New York City Department of Correction. “He always volunteered within the community, played baseball and just always gave it his all. We couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Toulon’s mother, 74, who worked in education, remembered her sons being extremely protective of her, not even letting her walk to the local tennis court by herself.

“They were like my guardian angels,” Alma Toulon said. “I’m so proud of Errol Jr. He always does anything anyone asks him to do. He is a wonderful kid … I still call him a kid, he’s 55.”

Toulon pointed to his parents, who both went back to school later in life to get their bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as his two biggest heroes, though he also credited another: Willie Randolph, the former New York Yankees second baseman and New York Mets manager. Toulon came to know Randolph well working as a bat boy for the Yankees in 1979 and 1980.

“I was a diehard Yankees fan, didn’t live too far from the stadium at the time and went for an interview in January 1979,” said Toulon, who fondly remembered being around players like Randolph, Catfish Hunter and Thurman Munson. “They all treated me like I was a valuable part of the team. And that really carried over to my own managerial style that every member of the organization — no matter where you are in the chain — is important to making the team as successful as possible.”

Toulon’s son, Justin, 28, who works in the film and television field in Georgia, called his father the hardest working and most driven person he knows and said Toulon instilled in him the importance of respect.

“I don’t think I’ve ever brought somebody to meet my father that hasn’t said afterward, ‘That’s a great guy,’” Justin Toulon said. “My dad always leaves that impression. You just respect him and he has this charming ability about him. People gravitate toward him.”

Speaking from experience on that front is Toulon’s second wife, Tina, who he met in 2014, and married a year and a half ago. His first wife, Susan, passed away 29 years into their marriage.

“I’m his No. 1 fan,” Tina Toulon said. “He just has this wonderful aura about him: that great smile and those great eyes, full of life. He has an incredible loyalty about him and I love how he connects with people. He wants to always leave things better than how he found them … so I know he can do this job well.”

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Freddy Rivera and Matthew Hu face off at Mission Fencing. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

After devastation struck Puerto Rico in the form of Hurricane Maria in September, members of Puerto Rico’s national fencing team reached out to anyone willing to lend a hand.

Hearing of Team Puerto Rico’s plight, Rocky Point’s Mission Fencing Center owners Jeff and Jennie Salmon quickly opened their doors so the team could train for an upcoming international competition, and many of the fencers were more than thankful.

“As my family and a lot of my friends said it was like a blessing for this family to reach out to us and give us the opportunity [to train],” said 17-year-old épéeist Freddie Rivera, who calls Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico home. “Ever since I got the news that we had this opportunity, I wanted to meet them. They gave us their house too, and to take us to this place [Mission Fencing] — that takes a lot of effort.”

Members of Mission Fencing Center helped host members of Team Puerto Rico, on podium at back row, who had no place to train in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Photo by Bill Landon

Salmon, a Comsewogue High School graduate and varsity boys fencing coach for Ward Melville, said housing and feeding the fencers, as well as providing transportation to his 30,000-square-foot subterranean training facility on Route 25A, which he said is the largest in the country,
wasn’t as difficult as it might sound.

Mission Fencing Center owns a bus that already transports athletes from across Long Island to and from the center, and the Salmons have plenty of space in their old mission church home in Mount Sinai, from where the center got its name. He said this, along with local contributions, made accommodations for the four-week stay accommodations simple. Karina Del Mar Pagan, a 19-year-old from Carolina, Puerto Rico, said each member of her eight-person group paid for his or her plane ticket, and the Salmons took care of the rest.

“Fifteen years ago Jennie and I bought our home and ran a fencing clinic out of the extra space,” Salmon said. “We didn’t have the finances to support [Team Puerto Rico], but we live in an old church, which we still run camps out of in the summer, so we have a bunch of beds and have plenty of room. We have some pretty nice housing for them.”

The fencing community demonstrated its generosity by holding food drives and 50/50 raffles since the guests landed Dec. 11, as well as by donating hats, gloves and other cold-weather items to help the Caribbean team adjust to the temperature. The group also received home items like paper towels and laundry detergent.

“It was like a blessing for this family to reach out to us and give us the opportunity [to train].”

—Freddie Rivera

“Today we went to the laundromat and the minute one of the girls stepped outside she said, ‘Oh my God, here we go again,’” Jeff Salmon said, laughing. “The team doesn’t like the cold, but they all have coats and gloves because everyone really stepped [up]. Everyone is so excited that they’re here and the whole Long Island fencing community has been great.”

His wife heard of Team Puerto Rico’s predicament through Iris Zimmermann, who co-owns the Rochester Fencing Club, and said she immediately knew she wanted to get involved in any way she could.

“I guess I just took the bull by the horns,” Jennie Salmon said. “And now USA Fencing federation is even involved in helping them.”

Carlos Quiles, a 24-year-old Carolina, Puerto Rico, resident chaperoning his group of eight fencers, said he was connected with the Salmons after pleading to his fencing federation president that they needed a place to train after seeing his club’s flooded headquarters.

“When we saw that our club was completely destroyed, the head of our fencing federation went to a meeting to make a plan as to what we were going to do,” Quiles said, adding that the organization reached out to anyone in the United States and beyond. “That’s when Mission Fencing found us and [Jeff Salmon] told us he wanted us to come here. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

Team Puerto Rico took to the strips of Mission Fencing Center Dec. 15, where its members showed off their international flare while competing against local Long Island fencers like Ward Melville épéeist Ben Rogak.

Rivera said he was excited to challenge himself and partake in a unique experience, one that provided a first for the young athlete.

The group’s chaperone, Carlos Quiles, trains against fencing center member and Ward Melville junior Cat Cao to secure his position on the Puerto Rico national team. Photo by Bill Landon

“I’m so thankful for this opportunity,” he said while fencing inside the center as snow began to fall. “This is my third trip to the United States — [having previously visited] Mexico and Costa Rica — and this time, I’m a proud member of the junior national team. This is also the first time I’ve ever seen snow.”

Rogak said he also enjoyed competing against fencers he’s never seen before, and said that he admired their dedication. Jennie Salmon agreed.

“They’ve been awesome guests,” she said. “We’ve had press based on our success as high school coaches, and at some level we’re very proud of that, but that isn’t even close to our biggest success. What we’re doing here is so meaningful.”

Before returning home, the Mission Fencing Center bus will take the team to Virginia, where it will be joined by its other members from around the country to compete.

Rivera reiterated how happy he was to learn from Long Island’s established athletes, adding it’s been helpful as programs at home begin to take flight.

“In Puerto Rico we are starting to have leagues in high school — we are taking baby steps,” he said. “This is a super club, [Mission Fencing]. It’s complete with a gym, trainers, and I’m thankful for this opportunity. Jeff and Jennie like to help people, and there are not a lot of good people that open their homes like that in the world. I have to say that they have big hearts and they’re full of love.”

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The intersection of Barnum Avenue and West Broadway in Port Jeff Village now features left and right green arrows. Photo by Alex Petroski

Changes have finally been made to a Port Jefferson Village intersection closely situated near the Town of Brookhaven boat launch ramp within the Port Jefferson Marina.

The New York State Department of Transportation installed new traffic signals at the intersection of Barnum Avenue and West Broadway Dec. 12 in the hopes of further alerting northbound drivers on Barnum not to proceed through the intersection, as just yards away on the other side lies the boat ramp directly into Port Jefferson Harbor. The new signal features green left and right arrows, replacing the standard green signals that used to hang above the crossing.

The change was made after a letter was sent to the department by Village Mayor Margot Garant earlier this year calling for safety improvements in the aftermath of an April 6 incident in which a man in his early 60s drove into the harbor via the same boat launch. DOT Regional Director Joseph Brown responded to Garant in a letter dated Sept. 15, saying the department had conducted an investigation which included an accident analysis, turning movement counts, pedestrian counts and field observations of the area. The letter also said the DOT would heed Garant’s request and change the traffic light.

On Oct. 30, 69-year-old Lake Grove resident William Whalen was pronounced dead at the hospital after he was pulled from a submerged vehicle in Port Jefferson Harbor. His vehicle entered the water via the troublesome intersection.

“I think it’s one of many steps we’re going to continue to take,” Garant said of the new traffic signals during a Dec. 18 board meeting. “For those who are paying attention the green arrows help, but I think clearly for those people who are having either a medical problem or maybe an ulterior motive, they might just continue to drive through. I don’t really know.”

Garant said the village’s only recourse at the intersection is to add more signage, which she said the village would pursue, as West Broadway is a New York State road, and Brookhaven owns the boat ramp and marina. A spokesperson from the town declined to comment and instead directed inquiries to the office of Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station)  regarding additional plans to prevent drivers from entering the harbor. Cartright’s office declined a request for comment.

Michael Schwarting and Frances Campani, of Campani and Schwarting Architects in Port Jefferson, in a joint letter to the editor and in a presentation to the village said they thought the new signals might not be enough. The architects suggested the exit from the ramp could be narrowed so that it does not perfectly align with the intersection.

“Narrowing the exit from the ramp so that it does not align with the Barnum lane running north would make it almost impossible to turn in,” the letter said. “It is pedestrian friendly, would not be very expensive and would add to the visual quality of the intersection.”

Village Deputy Mayor and Trustee Larry LaPointe said during the meeting he liked the architects’ idea.

“I thought that was a very good design,” he said. “I’d like to see the town consider that.”

In December 2005 60-year-old Setauket resident Richard Levin drove into the water on the same ramp and onlookers had to pull his unconscious body from the fully submerged car. Levin died days later as a result of the incident. The wife and executrix of the estate of Richard Levin named the town and village as co-defendants in a lawsuit in 2007. A New York State Supreme Court judge ultimately dismissed the case in 2011, finding the municipalities were not at fault.

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Mean test scores for Port Jefferson School District students in 2016 and 2017 on AP exams in 10 major subjects. Graphic by TBR News Media

The results are in, and Port Jefferson School District teachers, administrators and students have plenty to be proud of.

Jessica Schmettan, the district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, presented data regarding Port Jeff students scores on Advanced Placement tests taken in May 2017 during a Dec. 12 board of education meeting. AP is a program that offers college-level curriculum and exams to high school students, and college credits are available based on performance in the courses. The College Board, a nonprofit formed to expand access to higher education in North America, created the AP program. The exams are scored from 1 to 5, with scores 3 or higher considered proficient and a minimum standard to be able to earn college credit.

Participation in AP courses and performance on exams overall are trending up in Port Jeff. In 2017, Port Jeff students took 354 AP exams, compared to 280 in 2015. Schmettan said the district was proud to see the increase in the number of students taking the exams and expects that number to increase as more AP offerings are made available to students.

PJSD superintendent, board discuss future after bond fails

By Alex Petroski

Port Jefferson School District superintendent, Paul Casciano, and board of education president, Kathleen Brennan, each made public comments Dec. 12 regarding the future of capital improvement projects that would have been addressed by a $30 million bond, a proposal that was voted down by a wide margin by district residents Dec. 5.

Casciano: “Our capital bond proposal was defeated [Dec. 5]. Our board of education and administration are in the process of reviewing what implications there are in the results to determine which steps would be in the best interest of our students. Although we’re disappointed by the outcome, we are grateful that so many residents took the time to vote. Our discussions moving forward will be focused on how best to address the problems that we are facing, namely the health, safety and security of our students and staff; compliance with state and federal regulations; our aging infrastructure; and our overcrowded and overtaxed athletic fields. Hopefully at some point in the future we’ll actually get to plan how to transform our instructional settings into a 21st-century learning environment.”

Brennan: “This is our first board meeting since the vote, so clearly we had no time to discuss the outcome among the board members. I can assure you that we hear you, we heard the vote from the public, and we plan to study that and clearly and carefully and slowly move forward. We certainly will include the public in those plans. So I thank you for your comments and your interest in our district.”

“It is gratifying to see the number of our students [taking AP courses] continuing to grow and the offerings in AP,” board of education member Mark Doyle said during the meeting.

The mean score for Port Jeff students increased when comparing 2016 results to 2017 results on exams in 13 subject areas, including chemistry, environmental science, world history and calculus. In each of those particular subjects, more than 90 percent of students taking the test scored a 3 or better. In addition, the mean Port Jeff 2017 scores in 14 subject areas exceeded the New York State means. In environmental science and chemistry, the Port Jeff means were more than a full percentage point better than New York State means. Schmettan said she was impressed to see the 2017 chemistry scores as the district mean was 4.00, compared to 2.90 across the state and 3.13 in 2016 in Port Jeff.

Average scores in English language and composition, English literature and composition, world history, and U.S. history all went up from 2016 to 2017. However, AP calculus scores skyrocketed in 2017, jumping from 2.57 on average last year to 4.15, which represented the largest increase in any subject.

“We saw a very strong comeback in AP calculus, and we’re proud of that,” Schmettan said.

In another area of mathematics, statistics, 2017 test takers struggled compared to last year. The average 2016 score was 3.92, compared to 3.05 this past May.

“We’re hoping that is a similar event as to what happened in AP calculus last year, that perhaps it is an event not a pattern in the data,” she said.

Port Jeff came in below other New York State test takers on average in five subjects: macroeconomics, biology, Spanish language and culture, music theory and computer science. Biology scores have come down from a mean of 3.19 in 2014 to a 2.92 in 2017.

In total 29 students in Port Jeff were named AP Scholars with Distinction, which is granted to test takers who receive scores of at least 3.50 on all exams taken and scores of 3 or better on five or more exams. Six students were named National AP Scholars for earning a 4 or better on all tests taken and at least a 4 on eight or more exams.

“This is something that we should very much be proud of in Port Jefferson,” Schmettan said.

Visit www.portjeffschools.org to see the full results and click on “Curriculum & Instruction” under the “Departments” tab.

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Stock photo

Suffolk County shoppers, get your nickels ready.

In an effort to encourage residents to shop with reusable bags instead of plastic and paper “carryout” bags that harm the environment, the Suffolk County Legislature is rolling out a 5 cent fee on all disposable bags at a variety of retail establishments, from supermarkets to department stores beginning Jan. 1.

The new law, which was officially passed by the Legislature in September 2016, applies only to the single-use plastic or paper bags provided by cashiers at the end of a sale and used to carry goods from the store. There won’t be a fee, however, on bags found in produce sections for fruits and vegetables, frozen foods or on bags by pharmacies to carry prescription drugs, according to the law.

Cashiers are required to add the total fees to a customer’s receipt based on how many bags are used. Residents can avoid the fee by either buying a reusable bag — ones made of cloth or canvas, which are available in many retail stores — or shopping with a bag from home.

“Hopefully people will say ‘I’m not paying 5 cents’ and go with the other options,” said Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport), who wrote the legislation to reduce the influx of plastic bag waste that gets trapped in trees, blocks storm drains and causes significant damage to water supplies and wildlife. “We’re hoping to change behaviors. While we won’t change everyone’s, this will change a lot of people’s and that can make a big difference. I think once people start to not use the plastic bags, they’re not going to really miss them.”

Spencer’s bill began in March 2016 as a ban on all single-use plastic bags, piggybacking off an initiative adopted by the Town of Southampton, but it didn’t receive enough support. This revised bill was co-sponsored and pushed by five legislators, including Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue), Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Bridget Fleming (D-Sag Harbor), and 140 out of 150 residents who weighed in on the initiative during a public hearing testimony.

As of Jan. 1, shoppers will be paying for paper and plastic bags at most retail stores, encouraging others to use reusable bags. Stock photo

The legislators also worked alongside a Suffolk County plastic bag working group, which consists of local scientists, educators, environmentalists, business people and government employees.

“We have to curtail the use of plastic bags,” Krupski said. “They’re everywhere. I would encourage people not to pay the fee. It’s all just a matter of changing your habits and keeping a shopping bag in your vehicle to have it at the ready. It’ll take time for people to get used to that, but like anything else, people will get used to it.”

A 5 cent fee on plastic and paper bags was adopted in Washington, D.C., in 2010 and the accumulated nickels have contributed a total $10 million to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund, as of 2015.

As mandated by New York State, however, the fees collected in this bill will be retained by the stores. Not being able to apply the collection to an environmental cause convinced a Democratic legislator not to support the law.

“That 5 cent charge should go back into the environment,” said Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), who voted “No.” “Instead, the fees are going back into the pockets of the stores. The legislation needed work.”

Anker also said she received outcry from constituents over the concept of fees.

“A lot of the community, especially the senior population, did not want to pay extra for the plastic bags,” she said. “But I will say, plastic is a really harsh environmental pollutant.”

Spencer said he plans to revisit the legislation after a year to evaluate the financial impact it’s having and ask the state to allow funds to be used for environmental purposes.

“It would be great to do that, but only the state has that ability,” Spencer said. “The state may make that decision.”

Jay Peltz, general counsel and vice president of government relations at Food Industry Alliance, which represents 800 state supermarket chains, convenience stores and wholesalers, including Stop & Shop and King Kullen, which will be charging the fees, said it’s a current law where everybody wins.

“It will help the environment and it will help the stores,” he said. “It’s a thoughtful, productive law and is the only way to both reduce plastic bag distribution while incentivizing people to increase their use of reusable bags.”

He added that the fees may be used to help pay for higher minimum wages expected to be put in place in the coming year, but store owners are still weighing the options.

Survey: Shoppers still prefer plastic
By Desirée Keegan

A local survey conducted shows that just 5 percent of shoppers bring reusable bags.

The finding, coming ahead of a 2018 Suffolk County law banning the free use of plastic and paper bags at a vast majority of retail stores, was concluded after students from Northport, Brentwood, Huntington, Smithtown, East Islip and North Babylon, with member of St. Joseph’s College, surveyed 11,395 shoppers in November and December, in front of grocery stores, convenience stores and a pharmacies.

New Suffolk County environmental law prohibits plastic and paper bags in favor of eco-friendly reusable ones. Stock photo

The polling, organized by a county-created task force to help educate the public about the bill, found 71 percent of individuals use plastic bags, while the balance use paper, a combination, or no bag.

The survey will be repeated next year to analyze the effect of the law on consumer behavior, according to
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. She said she hopes between 60 and 70 percent of residents are bringing reusable bags by next year.

“Reducing litter, marine pollution and saving our oceans are worth changing our habits,” Esposito said.

While plastic bags drew the ire of environmentalists and lawmakers, the law also requires stores to charge for paper bags, as well as thicker “reusable” plastic bags, to prevent stores from circumventing the law, Spencer said.

County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport), the bill’s primary sponsor, said county residents should contact his office at 631-854-4500 for a reusable bag, especially if you cannot afford one.

“If you need a reusable bag, come see me,” Spencer said, adding he bought 1,000 reusable bags to give away.

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John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. File photo from Mather Hospital

A historic change at a nearly 90-year-old Port Jefferson institution has been finalized.

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital will officially finalize an affiliation agreement with Northwell Health Dec. 21, according to a Mather board member, who asked not to be referred to by name. Leadership from Mather Hospital signed a letter of intent to join Northwell, New York’s largest health care provider, in August, though the sides had not yet finalized the terms of the agreement at that time. It is the first time in the hospital’s history it will be affiliating with a larger health system, and a signing ceremony is set to take place Thursday, Dec. 21, at 3 p.m. in a conference room at the hospital. The board member said he expects Northwell Health president and chief executive officer Michael Dowling as well as Mather board of directors chairman Ken Jacoppi to attend the signing.

Mather Hospital is set to join Northwell Healht. Photo from Huntington Hospital

“We’re very pleased Northwell has committed to making an investment in our community and bringing their extraordinary capabilities to our community,” the board member said. “They’ve committed to preserve our culture of patient safety.”

The board member said part of the agreement is that Mather’s board and CEO will remain in place through an initial period of five years, allowing the hospital to remain “largely self-governing” during that time with collaboration and cooperation from Northwell. The Mather board member did not specify the total length or any other specifics of the agreement. A spokesperson from Mather confirmed the ceremonial signing will take place Dec. 21 and that the agreement has been reached, but declined to confirm any details relating to the contract.

The board member summed up what the change might mean for hospital patients going forward.

“In the near term the experience should not change at all,” he said. “We happen to believe that’s a good experience, generally speaking. In the long term Northwell has greater capabilities than we do and we’ll gain those. They’re committed to supporting our residency program as well.”

In August, state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) voiced opposition to the agreement, saying he would have preferred Mather affiliate with Stony Brook University Hospital.

“I don’t think it’s a good decision,” LaValle said at the time. “For 50 years-plus there’s been a culture in place if people needed tertiary care they would go from Mather to Stony Brook. Stony Brook will still be in place, will still offer services and people if they choose can go to Stony Brook.”

Mather Hospital vice president of public affairs Nancy Uzo said in August Stony Brook was considered an option for affiliation and offered an explanation by email.

“Our goal through this process is to ensure that our communities continue to have access to advanced, high-quality care and superior satisfaction close to home, and to serve the best interests of our medical staff and employees,” she said.

Dowling commented similarly about Mather Hospital’s reputation around the letter of intent signing in August, and as to why Northwell would be a good fit for Mather.

“Mather Hospital is known for patient-centric care both in the community and throughout the industry,” he said. “That deeply embedded sense of purpose is the type of quality we want to represent Northwell Health, along with an excellent staff of medical professionals and physicians. Together, Mather and Northwell will play a crucial partnership role expanding world-class care and innovative patient services to Suffolk County residents.”

A public relations representative from Northwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This story was updated Dec. 19 to include a Mather spokesperson’s confirmation of the signing ceremony.

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About 100 small dogs were rescued by Save-A-Pet in Port Jeff Station from an upstate home over the weekend and now up for adoption. Photo by Alex Petroski

More than 100 four-legged, furry friends are looking for a new home.

Save-A-Pet Animal Rescue and Adoption Center in Port Jefferson Station assisted in a rescue at a home in upstate New York Dec. 16 and 17, and as a result, the facility all at once has taken in more than 100 dogs, which are now up for adoption. The center was founded by Dori Scofield in 1994, who said this was by far the largest one-time influx of dogs it has ever had to deal with. She said about once a year Save-A-Pet is asked to assist in large-scale rescues, but this occurrence is “totally out of the ordinary.”

“Luckily we didn’t have that many [animals currently] but I had already set up three transports, so now I can’t say no to the ones I already committed to, so I have 16 more dogs coming, and they’re big,” Scofield said.

About 100 small dogs were rescued by Save-A-Pet in Port Jeff Station from an upstate home over the weekend and now up for adoption. Photo by Alex Petroski

The dogs from the upstate home are small, mixed breeds and overall they are in good health, according to Save-A-Pet Vice President Lynne Schoepfer.

“Stop in, meet them,” she said. “One is sweeter than the next. They all need homes. We’d love to have them all in homes by Christmas. They’re just really, really nice dogs.”

Schoepfer said the home was in “deplorable” condition when they arrived over the weekend. The rescue required two trips back and forth to get all the animals to the Port Jeff Station center. The owner of the home reached out to another group to help her, according to Schoepfer, which contacted Save-A-Pet asking if it could get involved.

“Unfortunately what happens is people think they’re doing good, and they don’t spay and neuter, and they just keep on taking in and then all of the sudden you have over 100 dogs in your house,” she said. “The woman was overwhelmed to say the least.”

In the short term, the facility is in need of money to feed the dogs and administer medical care, garbage bags, paper towels and rubber bath mats to help house the dogs until their adoption. A fundraiser will be held Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. at Portside Bar & Grill to help Save-A-Pet deal with its new tenants. Those interested in adopting can visit saveapetny.org to fill out an application, and can see photos of all of the available dogs on the Save-A-Pet Facebook page. Donations can also be sent through the website.

“We’re all about saving the animals and getting the animals in a safe environment, getting them re-homed into some place that’s going to love them and take care of them and do the right thing by them,” Schoepfer said.

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