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Port Times Record

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Before Terryville residents dropped off their mail in Port Jefferson Station, they had the Terryville Post Office. Pictured above, that latter post office during the early 20th century. Photo from the Port Jefferson Village historical archive

Terryville residents now get their mail service from the Port Jefferson Station post office, but they used to go to their own little outpost at the home of the postmaster.

Before Terryville residents dropped off their mail in Port Jefferson Station, they had the Terryville Post Office. Pictured above, that latter post office during the early 20th century. Photo from the Port Jefferson Village historical archive
Before Terryville residents dropped off their mail in Port Jefferson Station, they had the Terryville Post Office. Pictured above, that latter post office during the early 20th century. Photo from the Port Jefferson Village historical archive

The Port Jefferson Village historical archive puts the operation dates of the Terryville Post Office as 1888 to 1918 and from 1924 to 1958. That first stretch of years coincided with a time when the eponymous Terry family was flourishing in the area.

The four Terry brothers moved in from Farmingville to farm around Old Town Road, Jayne Boulevard and the street that would later become Terryville Road, and built homes in what was once a wooded area, according to George Moraitis.

Members of the Terry family are buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery, and the late Moraitis, formerly the cemetery’s historian, included biographical information on them in his written history “Forevermore on Cedar Hill.” Moraitis noted that the third-born brother, Thomas R. Terry, helped start a local school district in 1874 and served as its first board president before offering his home on Terryville Road — by Viceroy Place, near what is now Comsewogue’s Terryville Road Elementary School — to serve as a post office. His cousin’s son, Preston Terry, was the first postmaster.

The Terryville Union Hall had been erected just a year before, in 1887.

Though the post office had that brief stint between 1918 and 1924 when it was not in operation, it stayed in the family when it reopened. According to Moraitis, Ruth Terry, the daughter-in-law of Thomas R. Terry through son Harry, was its final postmaster. She was once a teacher in the school system her father-in-law had started decades earlier and had grown up in one of the original homes on Terryville Road’s southern end.

Before Terryville residents dropped off their mail in Port Jefferson Station, they had the Terryville Post Office. Pictured above, that latter post office during the early 20th century. Photo from the Port Jefferson Village historical archive
Before Terryville residents dropped off their mail in Port Jefferson Station, they had the Terryville Post Office. Pictured above, that latter post office during the early 20th century. Photo from the Port Jefferson Village historical archive

Harry and Ruth Terry, who also served as Comsewogue School District treasurers, hosted the post office from the early 1950s until 1957, when it merged with the one in Port Jefferson Station.

According to a history of the area included in Brookhaven Town’s 2008 Comsewogue hamlet study, the couple’s residence was on the southeast corner of Terryville Road and Whitman Avenue, which would put it across the street from the post office’s original home, at Thomas R. Terry’s house.

The study history quotes neighbor Audrey Agnew, who describes someone named Mr. Jersey who lived up the street and would “transport Terryville’s mail from [the] Port Jefferson train station to Ms. Terry.”

“When the post office was eliminated, we were promised that we could keep ‘Terryville’ as our address,” Agnew said.

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Get out
A 47-year-old man from Laughlin, Nevada, was arrested on Feb. 21 for entering a home on Otsego Place in Commack just before midnight, police said. He was charged with criminal trespassing.

Unlicensed driver
On Feb. 20 at about 9:30 p.m., a 32-year-old man from Medford was driving a 2015 GMC on Middle Country Road in Nesconset without a license, police said. He was charged with second degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.

Dude, where’s my car?
Between Jan. 2 and Feb. 20, a 28-year-old woman from Sound Beach drove a 2015 GMC despite being 50 days beyond the return date set by the car’s owner, police said. She also ignored notices by certified mail to return the car, according to police. She was arrested on Feb. 20 in Nesconset and charged with operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Drugs in the park
A 22-year-old man from Bohemia had heroin and marijuana on him in the parking lot of Lakeland County Park in Islandia at about 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, according to police. He was charged with two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Traffic stop yields pot
Just before 8 p.m. on Feb. 17, a 29-year old woman from Smithtown was stopped for a traffic violation in Smithtown, and was found to have marijuana on her, police said. She was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Egghead, cannon arm
An unknown person threw eggs at a 2016 Subaru and a 2005 Acura, both parked in the driveway of a home on New Highway in Commack, at around midnight on Feb. 21, police said. The eggs caused scratches, dents and some discoloration to the two cars, according to police.

Shades swiped
Police said an unknown person stole 17 pairs of sunglasses from Macy’s at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove at about 5 p.m. on Feb. 20.

Off-road escape
A snow blower and two all-terrain vehicles were stolen from a shed outside a home on Wood Road in Centereach around midnight on Jan. 25, police said.

Broken window
An unknown person damaged the rear window of a home on Havemeyer Lane in Commack at about 3 p.m. on Feb. 18, according to police.

Wallet walks off in the night
A wallet with cash was stolen from an unlocked 1999 Toyota that was parked in front of a home on New Highway in Commack at about 3 a.m. on Feb. 18, police said.

Subway smash and grab
At about 11 p.m. on Feb. 19, an unknown person smashed the window of Subway restaurant on Hawkins Avenue in Lake Grove and stole a cash register containing money, according to police.

Not the key to success
Police said an unknown person keyed the passenger side and hood of a 2008 Pontiac Solstice in the parking lot of New York Sports Club in Huntington on Feb. 19 at 7 a.m.

Missing looking glass
An unknown person stole a telescope from a garage on Darrow Lane in Elwood on Feb. 20 at 1:40 p.m.

High times
On Feb. 19, a 29-year-old woman from Central Islip was arrested for having marijuana and prescription pills in her possession, according to police. She was arrested on Larkfield Road in Elwood and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of marijuana.

Not quite Accura-te
A 29-year-old man from Huntington was arrested on Feb. 20 after police said he crashed into a 1998 Acura while driving south on Route 110 in Melville in a 2004 Honda Accord. He was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Don’t take the call
A 44-year-old man from Kings Park was arrested on Feb. 19 at 7:15 a.m. on Larkfield Road in East Northport after police said he called a woman and harassed her on Dec. 22. He was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment.

Getting saked at Saks
Police said a 28-year-old man from Springfield Gardens was using fake identification to open a new credit card on Feb. 19 at Saks Fifth Avenue in Huntington. According to police, he had a fake driver’s license and credit card, which he used to apply for a Saks Fifth Avenue credit card and then buy $3,500 worth of merchandise. He was charged with second-degree possession of a forged instrument.

Catching up
Police busted a 20-year-old man from Holtsville for grand larceny, more than three months after he allegedly stole cash and credit cards from a 2000 Toyota Corolla parked near Middle Country Road in Selden on Nov. 2. Police arrested him on Feb. 20 around 7:45 p.m. at the 6th Precinct.

Formulaic thief
Between 8 and 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 15, someone stole baby formula from a store on Route 25A in Sound Beach.

You’re suspended!
A Port Jefferson Station man was arrested on Feb. 17 for unlicensed operation of a car. Police said he was driving a 2011 Ford Fusion when he was pulled over on the corner of Canal Road and Shenandoah Boulevard. Officials discovered he was driving with a suspended license and arrested him at the scene. It was not clear why the man was pulled over.

Teens in trouble
On Feb. 15, a 19-year-old Rocky Point man was arrested for driving while ability impaired in a 2002 Mercedes, after he was going west on Route 25A in Miller Place and was involved in a car crash. Police discovered the teen was intoxicated and arrested.
A 19-year-old man from West Babylon was arrested on Feb. 18 for driving while ability impaired on Route 25A in Miller Place, after an officer pulled over the teen for speeding in a 2012 Volkswagen. Police arrested him at the scene around 1:31 a.m.

Old enough to know better
On Feb. 17, police arrested a 60-year-old man from Mount Sinai for driving while ability impaired in a 2002 Hyundai on North Country Road, after he was in a car crash.

Another one?
Police arrested a Miller Place resident on Feb. 18 at 3:15 a.m. for driving while ability impaired. Authorities said the 41-year-old man was pulled over for speeding west on Route 25A in a 2005 BMW.

Why do so many drivers do this?
A 27-year-old man was arrested for allegedly driving while ability impaired on Feb. 18. Police pulled over the Mastic resident after he failed to maintain his lane while driving a 1998 Audi on Stony Brook Road in Centereach. He was arrested at the corner of Stony Brook Road and Westcliff Lane.

Prescription for handcuffs
Police arrested a 27-year-old woman from Rocky Point on Feb. 18 for criminal possession of cocaine and prescription pills without a prescription. It was not clear why officials first approached the woman, but she was arrested on Twilight Road.

Picking apart pickups
On Feb. 17, someone stole four chrome wheels from two different Dodge Ram 1500 pickups. The incidents occurred on Nesconset Highway in Port Jefferson Station.

Going postal
According to police, on Feb. 19 around 2:10 a.m., someone used an incendiary device to damage a mailbox on Jefferson Landing Circle in Port Jefferson.

Fountain of money
Someone stole a wallet with credit cards and identification from an unlocked Honda Pilot. The incident happened between 10 p.m. on Feb. 15 and 10:21 a.m. the following day, near Fountain Road in Rocky Point.

Smash and cash
An unknown person broke the front glass door of a store on Mark Tree Road in Centereach and stole the cash register. Police said the incident occurred on Feb. 17 around 10:30 p.m.

Stony broken
On Feb. 18 around 10 p.m., an unknown person broke a window on a 2015 Porsche parked at AMC Loews theater in Stony Brook. The person stole a camera, Chanel bag, backpack and a car key to a different car.

Dodge this
According to police, an unidentified individual threw an object that dented and scratched a moving 2014 Dodge Ram on Feb. 17, on Henry Avenue in Selden.

Hungry bandit
On Feb. 20 around 7: 50 p.m., someone stole a bag of food from Wild by Nature on Route 25A in East Setauket.

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Adrienne Esposito speaks against a plan to dump dredge spoils in the Sound as county Legislators Sarah Anker, Kara Hahn and Al Krupski look on. Photo by Giselle Barkley

It’s been about six months and North Shore leaders are still fighting against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to continue dumping dredge spoils into the Long Island Sound.

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) stood alongside fellow county Legislators Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) and Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) on Tuesday at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge to voice their opposition to the plan and ask Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York Secretary of State Cesar Perales to reject the proposal. George Hoffman of the Setauket Harbor Task Force and Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, were also among the leaders who voiced their opposition to the plan.

The Army Corps has dumped dredge spoils into waterways leading to the Sound for decades. Its final proposal, known as the Long Island Sound Dredged Material Management Plan, was completed on Jan. 11 and suggested dumping 30 to 50 million cubic yards of dredge material cleared out from Connecticut waterways over the course of another 30 years.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has supported the Army Corps’ proposal. Stephen Perkins, a member of the EPA’s dredging team, said the spoils are tested before being dumped to ensure they meet certain safety standards.

But critics say the state can reject the plan under the federal Clean Water Act.

Dredge dumping has caused toxic chemicals to be dispersed throughout the Sound over the years, affecting the ecosystem and many water-dwelling species, including fish and lobsters.

“If this was private industry doing this, I don’t think they’d go very far,” Krupski said. “They’d probably end up in jail.”

Over the past 11 years, the local government has spent $7 million to address environmental issues in the Sound, a fragile body of water, according to Anker. Some of that went toward creating a Long Island Sound study.

According to Esposito, New York State rejected a similar plan that the Army Corps proposed in 2005, and ordered that group and the EPA to slowly reduce the amount of dredge spoils being dumped into the Sound. She called for the plan to go back to the drawing board.

“We’ve committed so much resources, money, time and energy to protecting this water body,” Hahn said. “And then to just dump potential harmful and toxic waste spoils into our waters is a darn shame.”

Anker agreed, saying that the Sound creates upward of $36 billion of economic value on the Island.

Instead of dumping dredge spoils into the Long Island Sound, Esposito suggested using it to restore wetlands, rebuild beaches and cap landfills, among other methods of disposal.

“The Sound is dying and what they’re trying to do now is bury it in dredge spoil,” Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said at the press conference.

The local leaders also criticized the EPA for supporting the Army Corps.

“On one hand, they are advancing a nitrogen-reduction plan,” Esposito said. “And on the other, they’re turning a blind eye to the disposal of the large quantities of dredge materials which cause significant nitrogen loading into the Sound.”

A public hearing on the dredging plan will be held on Tuesday, March 1, at the Port Jefferson Free Library, at the corner of Thompson and East Main streets. That event runs from 5 to 7 p.m., with registration for public speakers starting at 4:30 p.m.

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Left to right, state Assemblyman Steve Englebright, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Sen. John Flanagan discuss the plan. Photo from Cuomo’s office

Keeping the state’s drinking water clean and safe is a subject anyone can get behind, and New York lawmakers across both major parties did just that.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced a series of aggressive water quality initiatives last week in the company of elected officials representing the North Shore in an attempt to better protect public health and the environment. His proposals received great praise from both Democrats and Republicans as a common-sense way to keep New York’s water clean.

“Every New Yorker has a fundamental right to clean and safe drinking water,” Cuomo said. “Water is a priceless resource that requires the highest levels of protection, and I am proud to continue this administration’s legacy of standing up for the environment. We are taking aggressive and proactive steps to ensure clean and healthy communities throughout the state — both for current residents and for generations to come.”

Joining Cuomo at a Stony Brook University discussion on the state’s newest water initiatives were Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D), state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and more. At that discussion, Cuomo pitched his statewide water quality rapid response team, which he said would work to identify and develop plans to address critical drinking water contamination concerns as well as groundwater and surface water contamination problems.

“It’s imperative that we all work together at the local, state and federal levels to protect the public health,” Bellone said. “The actions that Governor Cuomo has announced today are demonstrating unequivocally that New York is taking proactive measures to not just meet that standard, but to really raise the bar on the protection of water quality.”

Cuomo said the rapid response team would be working to develop a comprehensive action plan to immediately address water quality issues raised by municipalities and concerned citizens, taking on matters ranging from currently regulated contaminants like lead, to emerging contaminants, like perfluorooctanoic acid. It was a plan that his fellow lawmakers said was easy to get behind.

“We are blessed in New York State and on Long Island to have the availability of high-quality drinking water, but we also have a responsibility to protect it,” Flanagan said. “At the end of the day, nothing is more important to New Yorkers and their families than the air they breathe and the water they drink.”

The team will also review and incorporate the best available science and may include new review standards for currently unregulated contaminants, enhanced testing and oversight of drinking water systems, including private wells, and state-of-the-art drinking water treatment options.

“Creating an agenda to safeguard the quality of Long Island’s water source is great news — not only for the health of New Yorkers — but for the environment as well,” Englebright said. “Governor Cuomo’s work to ensure that every New Yorker has access to safe, clean drinking water is a testament to his commitment to statewide public health. The implementation of a water quality rapid response team is a proactive way to protect the environment from harmful water contamination and keep New Yorkers’ drinking water clean and safe.”

The discussion over drinking water came in the weeks following a horrific drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where officials have been scrambling to combat unsafe and potentially life-threatening water contaminations.

The governor also proposed regulations to be imposed on mulch-processing facilities to safeguard natural resources. Cuomo said the Department of Environmental Conservation would propose for public comment draft regulations for mulch facilities to increase oversight and provide enhanced safeguards. The proposed regulations would require facilities to establish water runoff management plans to protect groundwater and place restrictions on pile size and storage to reduce the risk of fires, odor and dust.

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File photo

A Mount Sinai woman was killed on Friday night when the car she was riding in struck another vehicle just down the road from the post office and the Mount Sinai Elementary School.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, 39-year-old Ekaterina Blednykh was riding in a 2000 Toyota Camry on Route 25A at about 11 p.m. when the car’s driver, 25-year-old Tejas Acharekar from Port Jefferson, attempted to make a left onto Chestnut Street to start heading south. The Camry collided with a 2005 Hyundai Sonata that had been going east on Route 25A.

Bednykh was pronounced dead at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, police said, while both Acharekar and the Sonata’s driver, 23-year-old Mastic Beach resident Kacy McLaughlin, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Detectives from the SCPD’s 6th Squad are investigating the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 631-854-8652.

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Divers with the Suffolk County Police Department pursue the aircraft as the missing person search continues. Photo from Margo Arceri

By Phil Corso

 

Story last updated 2.22.16, 12:30 p.m.

Police are combing through the region where Port Jefferson Harbor and Setauket Harbor meet near Poquott after a small plane crashed there late Saturday night, authorities said.

The small plane, which cops said was a Piper PA-28 carrying four people, went down shortly after 11 p.m. near the vicinity of 108 Van Brunt Manor Rd., Poquott Mayor Dee Parrish said. An extensive response from emergency personnel followed, during which three people were recovered from the water — but one remained missing, and that search was ongoing through the beginning of this week, officials said.

Police said on Sunday that a student pilot, 25-year-old Bronx resident Austricio Ramirez was flying the plane when the problems arose and turned the controls over to his instructor, 36-year-old Queens resident Nelson Gomez, who landed the plane in the harbor.

All the passengers in the four-seater plane were able to exit into the water, after which Ramirez, Nelson and passenger Wady Perez, a 25-year-old from Queens, were rescued by police.

But Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini said the search and rescue operation remained in effect for one missing person, who was identified as 23-year-old Queens resident Gerson Salmon-Negron, with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard.

“We’re going to do everything we can to find that individual,” he said.

The three people pulled from the water were being treated at Stony Brook University Hospital, officials said. They have since been released.

Peter Stubberfield of Poquott said he and his wife heard the plane flying immediately above his house off the harbor Saturday night immediately followed by the sound of emergency vehicles.

“Within minutes of hearing the plane, there were about 15 to 20 emergency vehicles right in front of our private drive,” he said. “There were two helicopters flying around continually, so we assumed something was going on in the water.”

Margo Arceri, who lives on the Strongs Neck side of the water where the plane crashed, said she and her neighbors jumped into action as soon as they noticed emergency vehicles making their way into the small North Shore community. Upon stepping outside Saturday night, Arceri said she watched emergency personnel pull survivors out of the water, wrap them in blankets and remove them to the nearby hospital.

As the incident unfolded, Arceri said everyone living along the shoreline did something to help, whether that meant picking up a telephone, making way for emergency responders, or even offering up their personal kayaks for rescuers to use to lift the survivors out to safety.

“Where this occurred, there are only a few homes, but instantly, the neighbors pulled together,” she said. “They say, ‘it takes a village,’ and these neighbors showed a real sense of community. We all pulled together immediately. I just wish it had a happier ending.”

One eyewitness who did not want to be named said she called the police Saturday night after watching the plane fly over her Poquott home and into the water. Seconds after hitting the water, the resident said she heard the survivors in the water yelling to each other.

“It sounded like they were talking to each other — not calling out for assistance. I yelled to them to ask if they needed help, but they didn’t hear me at all,” she said. “Within seconds, I saw a large helicopter overhead.”

Police arrived soon after, the woman said, and she and her husband then offered up their three personal kayaks to rescuers, who used the boats to retrieve the survivors.

“I just wish I had put the phone down and run down to the beach,” the witness said. “I just watched. I saw the lights on the plane go out. I’m having a really horrible time with this whole thing.”

A spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday that the plane was en route to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, after taking off from Fitchburg, Mass., but the pilot was reporting engine issues before attempting a forced landing.

Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were at the scene of the crash from Saturday night into the beginning of this week to help with the search efforts, authorities said. Also helping the Suffolk County Police Department and the Coast Guard were local fire departments and the town harbormaster.

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Back row, from left, coach Steven Nielsen, Anav Sandhala and Aiden Markowitz; front row, from left, Arav Sandhala, Sean Davis, Udithi Kothapalli, Ryan Anderson, Amani Hafeez and Alyssa Morturano; sitting, from left, Trisha Sandhala and Seth Osman. Photo from Jyothi Kothapalli

By Steven Nielsen

The crowd erupted in a roar as a large group of supporters could not contain their excitement at the announcement that John F. Kennedy Middle School’s Robotic Raccoons would advance to the finals. It was an exciting afternoon as team members also received the judges award for their overall combined high scores at this year’s FIRST LEGO Robotics Competition held on Superbowl Sunday at Central Islip High School. It is the second year in a row this team of 10 has qualified for the finals, which will be held Feb. 28 at Longwood High School.

This year’s tournament theme was called Trash Trek. While the students attended several field trips to the Town of Brookhaven, Maggio Sanitation, Covanta Energy Facility and the Caithness energy generation plant, they learned the ins and outs of trash to prepare for their competition presentation. In addition the team created an online survey that analyzed the recycling habits of the Comsewogue school community, which is being used to improve the recycling habits of the students at the Middle School.  Oh yeah, they had to build and program a robot too!

That’s right, in addition to field trips, research and presentation preparation, these students have been meeting in and out of school for the past several months working on the construction and programming of a LEGO robot to perform tasks relating to trash. The missions, as the programs are called, are completed on a 4-foot by 8-foot playing field, which was part of the competition. Missions such as TFM, salvage, clean-up and demolition required the team to program the robot to rescue LEGO sea animals, move a LEGO garbage truck and retrieve methane loops to name a few. The team had a blast and will be working toward improving its performance at the finals. Go JFK! More information about the competition can be found at https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll.

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Unfair fight
On Feb. 9 police arrested a woman from Port Jefferson for assault after they said the 40-year-old attempted to enter her victim’s bedroom at the Fairfield Falls apartment complex on President’s Drive. The victim tried to prevent the suspect from entering the room and was holding a steak knife to protect herself. During the struggle to open the bedroom door, the suspect allegedly took the knife and cut the victim. Police arrested the woman at the scene at 9:37 a.m.

Not so bright
A 40-year-old woman from Miller Place was arrested for driving while ability impaired in a 2012 Hyundai Tuscon on Feb. 8 after crashing into a light pole near the corner of Route 25A and Miller Place Road. Police arrested her at the scene.

Underage and over the limit
Police arrested a 16-year-old boy for driving while ability impaired on Feb. 8. The Selden teen was driving a gray 2005 Acura west on Jericho Turnpike when he failed to maintain his lane. Police arrested him at the corner of Dawn Drive in Centereach around 2 p.m.

On the road again
On Feb. 14, a 21-year-old man from Coram was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident, after police said he crashed his 2004 Mercedes-Benz into a parked 2015 Jeep Wrangler on Barone Drive on Feb. 5 and fled the scene.

Cruisin’ over the rules
Police arrested a man from Smithtown on Feb. 10 for driving with a suspended license and false impersonation. According to police, the 29-year-old had been driving a Nissan Altima on Norwood Avenue in Port Jefferson Station and when pulled over had allegedly given police a different person’s name.

Caught at knifepoint
On Feb. 10, a Rocky Point resident was arrested for assault. Police said the 43-year-old man cut someone with a knife at a residence on Teepee Road. The victim was taken to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson.

Suspect was uber upset
An unknown person punched and broke a window of the Islandwide taxi on Main Street in Port Jefferson. Police said the incident happened on Feb. 11 around 9:56 p.m.

I spy an iPhone
Between 3 and 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 13, someone stole an iPhone from another person at Junior’s Spycoast bar on Main Street in Port Jefferson.

Roll out
According to police, on Feb. 13 between 1 and 9:30 a.m., an unidentified person stole an all-terrain vehicle from a residence on Tyler Avenue in Miller Place.

Big larceny
On Feb. 9, someone stole a wallet from a locked office in Big Lots at the Centereach Mall.

Going on Holiday
Someone stole a 1996 Acura from a residence on Holiday Park Drive in Centereach on Feb. 12 around 1 a.m.

Morning mischief
Between midnight and 9:40 a.m. on Feb. 14, an unknown person stole money and a key from an unlocked Jeep parked on Cedarhurst Avenue in Selden.

Pocketed
On Feb. 12 around 2:30 a.m., an unidentified person stole a pocketbook from a residence on Krispin Lane in Setauket-East Setauket. The pocketbook contained a wallet, credit cards and a phone. Police didn’t say how the suspect entered the home.

Copping some pipes
Police said an unidentified person entered a residence on Annandale Road in Stony Brook through an unlocked garage door and stole copper piping on Feb. 11.

Hibachi heist
A 50-year-old woman from Kings Park was arrested on Feb. 14 for stealing money from someone’s wallet at K60 Japanese Steakhouse in Lake Grove on Jan. 15, police said. She was charged with grand larceny.

Matinee street fight
On Feb. 13, at about 1 p.m., a 21-year-old man from Port Jefferson was arrested for punching another man in the face following an argument at a location near the Islandia Shopping Center, police said. The victim was treated for injuries at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, according to police. The man was charged with third-degree assault.

Fight night
At a home on Elder Drive in Smithtown just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 13, an 18-year-old woman from Commack was arrested for pulling a woman out of a car and shoving her into the side of the car following an argument, police said. The victim was taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and treated for minor injuries. The suspect was charged with third-degree assault.

Rush hour road rage
At the intersection of the Northern State Parkway and Commack Road, a 62-year-old man from Commack drove his 1998 Nissan Pathfinder into a 2014 Volkswagen GTI just after 5 p.m. on Feb. 12, police said. He was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment.

Miller’s marijuana house
A 22-year-old man from Dix Hills was arrested for smoking marijuana in the parking lot of Miller’s Ale House on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack at about 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, police said. He was in the driver’s seat of a 2014 Honda. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Bagged with stolen goods
Sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 11, a 27-year-old man from Babylon stole jewelry, DVDs and an Amazon Kindle from a home on Arjay Lane in Commack, police said. He was arrested while trying to sell the jewelry at Best Auto Express Inc. in Selden, according to police. He was charged with possession of a hypodermic needle, criminal possession of stolen property and third-degree burglary.

Blackjack bust
On Middle Country Road in Smithtown on Feb. 11, a 26-year-old man from East Northport seated in a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee was found to have a blackjack, which is a small, easy to conceal club-type weapon, police said. He was charged with fourth-degree possession of a weapon.

Interlocked
A 29-year-old man from Patchogue was pulled over by police near exit 59 heading west on the Long Island Expressway at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 11. He was found to be driving his 2006 Ford Explorer without an interlock device, police said. He was charged with use of a vehicle without interlock.

Sonata spree
At a home on Calvert Avenue in Ronkonkoma at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 13, an unknown person caused damage to tires on a 2011 Hyundai Sonata and a 2005 Hyundai Sonata, police said.

Storm door smashed
At about 2 p.m. on Feb. 13, an unknown person damaged the storm door of a home on Lake Shore Road in Lake Ronkonkoma, according to police.

That stinks
A 27-year-old man from Commack was arrested on Feb. 14 after police said he stole cologne from Saks Fifth Avenue on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington at 10:15 a.m. He was charged with petit larceny.

Why did the chickens cross the road
On Feb. 14, a 25-year-old woman from Wheatley Heights was arrested for stealing 34 packs of chicken breasts from Stop&Shop on Wall Street in Huntington on Jan. 3 at about 1:15 p.m., according to police. She was charged with petit larceny.

Lots of drugs
Police said a 22-year-old man from Huntington Station had marijuana and Xanax in his possession on East Pulaski Road in Huntington Station on Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. He was arrested and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Crash into me
Police said a 24-year-old woman from Greenlawn failed to maintain her lane while driving a 2007 Chevy on Feb. 13 at 3:45 a.m., and crashed into a 2015 Honda parked on Oakwood Road in Huntington. She was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Weed on waterside
On Feb. 12 a 21-year-old man from Selden was arrested after police said he had marijuana on him during a traffic stop on Waterside Avenue in East Northport at noon. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Oh Lord! (& Taylors)
A 28-year-old man from Port Washington was arrested on Feb. 12 at 7:45 p.m. after police said he tried to return eight shirts to Lord & Taylor in Huntington that he had stolen. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Fleeing footwear
Police said an unknown person stole three pairs of shoes from Famous Footwear on New York Avenue in Huntington Station just after noon on Feb. 13.

Tree takes the hit
On Feb. 14, a 37-year-old woman from Glen Cove was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. According to police, she drove a 2003 Honda into a tree on 25A and North Lawrence Hill Road in Cold Spring Harbor at 12:30 a.m.

Interview gone wrong
A 22-year-old woman from Hauppauge was arrested on Feb. 14 on Kendrick Lane in Huntington at 11 p.m. after police said she became belligerent while a police officer was interviewing her and pushed the officer. She was charged with second-degree harassment with physical contact.

No gloves no love
A 27-year-old man from Bay Shore was arrested on Feb. 12 at 5:40 p.m. after police said he stole three pairs of gloves and multiple scarves from Bloomingdales on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington. He was charged with petit larceny.

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Jillian Colucci makes her way to the basket untouched after forcing a tunrover. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The No. 1-seeded Port Jefferson girls’ basketball team stayed toe-to-toe with its No. 2 Pierson/Bridgehampton challenger through two quarters on Tuesday, but as time wound down, the hole the Royals found themselves in grew too deep to pull out of. The team fell 69-50 in the Suffolk County Class C finals at Riverhead High School.

“We had a fantastic season,” Port Jefferson head coach Ed Duddy said. “We started out slow, and they all came together to go on a 10-game streak. We won the league, which I didn’t expect at all, and it all came down to this game … and [Pierson/Bridgehampton] won the war.”

The girls also came together in the first 16 minutes of the game.

Port Jefferson junior forward Courtney Lewis scored the first points of a matchup that was just seven seconds old, but a minute later, Pierson countered to even the score. Lewis did it again, and after the Whalers tacked on another field goal, she added a free-throw point. She followed it up with her third field goal to put the Royals out front, 7-4. The junior banked two more points off a layup in the quarter but her team let up on defense, and the Royals were down 16-11 heading into the second quarter.

This time, it was Pierson that scored first, with a 3-pointer, followed by the two teams trading field goals before junior guard Jillian Colucci’s free-throw point made it 21-14.

After another Whalers field goal, Colucci’s own field goal and three free-throw points and junior guard Annabelle Soucy’s 3-pointer helped draw the Royals within one, 23-22. But that was as close as Port Jefferson would come the rest of the way.

“We didn’t tighten up the defense like I thought we were gonna, but also our shots didn’t fall,” Duddy said. “We got into foul trouble a little bit, but that’s the way it goes.”

Despite back-to-back treys by Soucy and Colucci, and a Lewis trifecta with 1:06 left in the third, the Royals deficit remained as a result of the lack of pressure under the boards.

Up 52-44, Pierson went on a 10-point streak before Port Jefferson junior forward Gillian Kenah scored the Royals’ first points of the quarter off an offense rebound from a missed Soucy attempt, with 2:56 left to play.

Duddy said he thought his girls got frustrated after the Whalers knocked down some threes and long field goals. He added that the Royals switched between man-to-man and zone defense and passed the ball to try to minimize the damage, but to no avail.

Lewis finished with a team-high 21 points, Colucci added 11 and Soucy finished with eight.

Despite the season being cut short, Duddy said his Royals can walk away from this season with their heads held high, as it has consistently been able to improve with each season.

“We’ve done a lot of things,” he said. “We just have to take it to that next level come the playoffs. We’re all coming back next year, and [Pierson’s team will] all be back, too. But I’m proud of my girls. I told them in the locker room that I couldn’t ask any more of them.”

With every player returning to the roster next season, the Royals will be looking to make another postseason run, and Duddy is hoping to send them off on a high note.

“I’ve been with them since they were freshmen, and I want to see them out as seniors,” he said.

When asked if he thinks his team can continue to reach new heights, Duddy said, “Hell yeah. I told them, ‘If you’re in, I’m in.’”

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By Elana Glowatz

Suffolk County is entering obscure territory this year as some sex offenders drop off the state registry and others have lost restrictions on where they can live.

Laura Ahearn has advocated for local governments to have the power to regulate where registered sex offenders live. File photo
Laura Ahearn has advocated for local governments to have the power to regulate where registered sex offenders live. File photo

It was exactly one year ago that the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that local laws restricting where sex offenders could live were invalid, following a lawsuit from a registered offender from Nassau County who challenged his own government’s rule that prohibited him from living within 1,000 feet from a school. Judge Eugene Pigott Jr. wrote in his decision that “a local government’s police power is not absolute” and is pre-empted by state law.

State regulations already prohibit certain sex offenders who are on parole or probation from living within 1,000 feet of a school or other child care facility, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, but the local laws went further. In Suffolk County, Chapter 745 made it illegal for all registered sex offenders — not just those on parole or probation — to live within a quarter mile of schools, day care centers, playgrounds or their victims. But following Pigott’s decision, that law, while still technically on the books, is no longer enforceable.

To make matters more complicated, Jan. 1 marked the beginning of the end for some of the lowest level sex offenders on the state registry.

Offenders are grouped into one of three levels based on their perceived risk of committing another sex crime. On the lowest rung, Level 1 offenders who have not received special designations for being violent, being repeat offenders or having a “mental abnormality or personality disorder” that makes the person “likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses,” according to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, are only included on the registry for 20 years from their conviction. The New York State correction law enacting that system has just turned 20 years old, meaning the earliest offenders added to the registry are beginning to drop off.

The Sex Offender Registration Act obligates Level 2 and Level 3 offenders, as well as those with the additional designations, to remain on the registry for life, although there is a provision under which certain Level 2 offenders can appeal to be removed after a period of 30 years.

At a recent civic association meeting in Port Jefferson Station, Laura Ahearn from the advocacy group Parents for Megan’s Law — which raises awareness about sex crime issues and monitors offenders — gave examples of offenders set to come off the registry this year, including a man who raped a 4-year-old girl, and another who raped and sodomized a woman.

But it doesn’t stop there.

“It is thousands over time that are going to drop off,” Ahearn said.

A database search of Level 1 offenders along the North Shore of Suffolk County turned up many offenders who had been convicted of statutory rape or possession of child pornography, and who had served little to no time in jail. However, there were more serious offenses as well.

“You know when an adult man or an adult woman rapes a 4-year-old, that is just shocking. That [should be] a lifetime registration.”
— Laura Ahearn

Some of the undesignated Level 1 offenders who were convicted shortly after the Sex Offender Registration Act was created include a Smithtown man, now 43, convicted of first-degree sexual abuse against a 19-year-old; a 61-year-old Rocky Point man who sexually abused a 12-year-old girl more than once; a Huntington man, now 40, who sexually abused an 11-year-old; and a Rocky Point man convicted of incest with a 17-year-old.

Ahearn’s group has argued that sex offenders are more likely to reoffend as time goes on. According to Parents for Megan’s Law, recidivism rates are estimated to be 14 percent after five years and 27 percent after 20 years.

One midnight in January, Suffolk County police arrested a 48-year-old man, later discovered to be a registered Level 1 sex offender, in Fort Salonga after the suspect was allegedly caught undressed inside a vehicle with a 14-year-old boy. Police reported at the time that the two arranged the meeting over a cellphone application and there had been sexual contact.

The man had been convicted of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old girl in 2003 and was sentenced to six years of probation. His new charges included criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child.

“So it makes no sense logically” to let Level 1 offenders drop off the registry after 20 years, Ahearn said in Port Jefferson Station. She has advocated for the terms to be extended or to have offenders appeal to be removed from the registry, like Level 2 offenders can after 30 years, so it can be decided on a case-by-case basis.

It’s a “you-know-it-when-you-see-it kind of thing, because you know when an adult man or an adult woman rapes a 4-year-old, that is just shocking,” she said. “That [should be] a lifetime registration.”

Even if the offenders remain on the registry, the court ruling that struck down restrictions on where most offenders can live has made matters trickier.

Ahearn said the fact that multiple layers of local government had enacted restrictions contributed to the situation.

“What happened is it got out of control,” she said.

County and town laws previously restricted sex offenders from living near schools and playgrounds. File photo
County and town laws previously restricted sex offenders from living near schools and playgrounds. File photo

Below the Suffolk County level, for example, the Town of Brookhaven had its own restrictions that prohibited offenders from living within a quarter mile of schools, playgrounds or parks.

There are bills floating around the state government that would tighten restrictions on where certain sex offenders could live, but the only one that has gained traction is a bill state Sen. Michael Venditto (R-Massapequa) sponsored, along with state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), that would return to local governments the power to regulate where offenders can reside.

“Local laws designed to protect children against registered sex offenders are enacted in response to unique conditions and concerns of specific communities and should act in complement with existing state law,” the bill’s summary read.

Although the bill passed the Senate last year, it died in the Assembly. But Venditto reintroduced his proposal this year.

For more information about sex offender laws or to search for sex offenders in a specific neighborhood, visit the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services at www.criminaljustice.ny.gov or the Parents for Megan’s Law group at www.parentsformeganslaw.org.

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