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Councilwoman Valerie Cartright during a town board meeting. TBR News Media file photo

A local town council member has put forward attempts to offer emergency transportation for the homeless when the county cannot, though not all parties are on the same page if the service is necessary or even wanted.

The Brookhaven Town Board meeting Nov. 19 showcased a rare public heated moment between members of the town council, specifically over a resolution to offer jitney services for the homeless when the county cannot.

Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) has for months been supporting a resolution to allow the town to enter an intermunicipal agreement with Suffolk County for the town to provide jitney services to transport homeless people to a shelter or other facility in an emergency situation. The Democratic councilwoman’s move to table the resolution resulted in a heated discussion over the timing and merits of the bill, and after advice from town attorney Annette Eaderesto, the councilwoman withdrew the resolution.

In a letter to the Town, Suffolk County Deputy Executive Jon Kaiman said that the county had “no ability” to put forward a memorandum of understanding regarding using municipal town buses for transporting the homeless.

“There would be a number of issues such as cost of personnel, operations and administration that we would need to explore before we would consider making any recommendations,” said the letter sent to Matt Miner, the town chief of operations.

Kaiman did not respond to requests to his office for additional comment.

The lone Democrat on the Town Board asked why she had not seen the letter until 18 days after the town had originally received it. 

“I’m looking at an email that was sent to Matt Miner on Nov. 1. Today is Nov. 19,” Cartright said to Supervisor Ed Romaine (R). 

In a previous interview, Cartright described an encounter with one homeless couple several months ago. After the work of convincing them to accept residence in a Suffolk County shelter, the councilwoman waited outside with them for a cab that was ordered by the county. After more than two hours of waiting, the cab had not shown and had been misdirected to Port Jefferson village instead of Port Jeff Station. 

She said the event showed there was a missing piece to available transport for the homeless, who are often very hesitant to accept assistance from the government in the first place. If she wasn’t there, the councilwoman said, she felt the homeless couple would likely never have gotten in the cab to go to a shelter.

“This is basically a backstop measure in case of an emergency,” Cartright said. “Everybody is clear whose responsibility [transportation for the homeless] is.”

“This is basically a backstop measure in case of an emergency,  everybody is clear whose responsibility [transportation for the homeless] is.” 

– Valerie Catright

In the letter, Kaiman wrote that he was aware of the incident in October but described it as an “infrequent occurrence.” 

The county provides tokens for public transportation to the homeless in need of transit to a shelter, and on occasion Suffolk will facilitate pickup with a taxicab.

Cartright has sponsored the resolution since early October, but the bill has been tabled two times, Oct. 3 and 24. Both times Councilman Neil Foley (R-Blue Point) moved to table the resolution and was accepted by the supervisor and all council members, except for Cartright. 

Romaine said he and the board initially thought they had the support of the county through Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), however, the letter, he said, disproved that assumption. The supervisor added he had no means to put forward an MOU without the consent of the county.

“I think we should defeat this until the county expresses an interest — it takes two to tango,” Romaine said. “We don’t have the willingness and cooperation from the county of Suffolk.”

He later added that transportation for homeless individuals was under the county’s jurisdiction, and not of the town’s.

“It’s like asking the county to pave our roads, they don’t do that,” he said. “That’s why we have different levels of government.” 

Hahn released a statement on the ongoing discussion.

“We are in the process of discussing the possibility of a multijurisdictional solution with cooperation between the Town and County to address a specific community concern identified by Councilwoman Cartright,” the legislator said. “It is premature to identify details before we have an agreement between the two municipalities.”

Eaderesto said, upon speaking to county attorney Dennis Brown, that the request should have come from the Department of Social Services rather than just from Hahn, who cannot speak for the entirety of the Legislature.

Councilman Dan Panico (R-Manorville) asked for their intentions not to be misinterpreted.

“This has never been put together properly on the county’s side,” he said. “The deputy county executive said he has no interest … If we can fill that need and truly fill that need, not just saying we do on paper, because it really isn’t the purview of the town government, it’s squarely the county’s purview.”

Cartright said after the meeting she is hoping the town and county attorneys can sort out differences between the two municipalities, adding she feels such a resolution is necessary, and it conforms to previous resolutions that offered town services in emergency situations with New York State Department of Transportation.

The councilwoman and other members of the Quality of Life Task Force will meet with the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, Dec. 17 at the Comsewogue Public Library, where they will discuss homlessness and other area issues. 

 

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Map of 1,4 Dioxane across Long Island by highest level detected within each water district. Photo from Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Suffolk County residents are being asked to reach into their wallets to help the water authority deal with the ongoing presence of 1,4-dioxane in local groundwater, which is the sole source of drinking water on Long Island. 

The Suffolk County Water Authority announced Nov. 22 that the board approved a $20 quarterly fee added onto customers bills starting Jan. 1, 2020. The bill will go toward the cost of developing and operating treatment systems for filtering 1,4-dioxane and other perfluorinated compounds PFOS and PFOA in anticipation of New York State mandating such regulations.

“As we’ve said since state officials first began considering the regulation of 1,4-dioxane and perfluorinated compounds, we fully support taking whatever measures are necessary to ensure our customers continue to have a drinking water supply that is among the best in the country,” said SCWA CEO Jeffrey Szabo. “But, as we’ve also said, these regulations come at a high cost. We need the funds that will be raised by the quarterly fee to develop the treatment systems to meet the new standards.”

In an October presentation to Suffolk County legislators, SCWA proposed installing 31 new advanced treatment systems at a number of sites where the levels of 1,4-dioxane are higher than the state proposed limit, which is 1 part per billion.

Water officials and environmental activists have made 1,4-dioxane a topic of concern this year, pointing out that it is a likely carcinogen with links to liver and kidney damage after a lifetime of exposure.

If the state limits 1,4-dioxane to 1 part per billion and PFOS and PFOA at 10 parts per trillion, the water authority will have to put into service 56 new advanced oxidation process treatments, and 20 new granular activated carbon systems. The total cost for all these systems is expected to exceed $177 million over the next five to six years. 

The $80 yearly charge is expected to cover those costs over time. The water authority services approximately 1.2 million Suffolk residents, including most parts of the North Shore. 

 

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Nonprofit Accepts Grant Funds for Postage Costs

Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) talks with Rocky Point VFW Post 6249 Commander Joe Cognitore while Greg Thompson, right, and Corrections Officer Robert Sorrentino, back, work to pack boxes for Operation Veronica. Photo by Kyle Barr

Suffolk County Corrections Officer Robert Sorrentino watched with awe last week as women older than he worked like machines on an assembly line and prepared care packages for troops as part of a volunteer group called Operation Veronica that works out of St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church in Rocky Point. 

Corrections Officer Robert Sorrentino helps pack boxes at Operation Veronica. Photo by Kyle Barr

Sorrentino serves in the Air National Guard as a technical sergeant out of the Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton and has routinely flown military aircraft in state and federal missions, supported space shuttle launches, flown in rescue missions with hurricanes Irma and Maria and was sent to Djibouti, Africa, during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010. Still, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the group’s energy.

“It’s really efficient,” Sorrentino said. “I’ve been on the receiving end of getting care packages, and it’s awesome — its greatly appreciated.”

Multiple members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, including Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr (D), visited Operation Veronica during its regular Friday meeting a few days after Veterans Day. Members of the department helped put together boxes of care packages, which can include snacks, toiletries or other personalized items that can give a little bit of comfort to men and women stationed overseas.

Nearly every Friday since 2005, close to 20 women spend several hours putting together care packages to send to troops stationed overseas. 

Janet Godfrey, a Wading River resident and founder of the group, explained to their visitors how they pack boxes under a certain weight to avoid excess postage fees. Volunteers also showed the sheriff’s department staff how they create survival bracelets out of 550 paracord, the same rope used for paratroopers during World War II, and polar fleece sweaters for soldiers out in deserts that may become freezing at night. 

Greg Thompson, a deputy sheriff who is currently a reservist machinery technician for the U.S. Coast Guard, was also impressed at the skill and attentiveness of the women at Operation Veronica.

“I think this is amazing, absolutely fantastic,” he said.

Toulon called the group extremely efficient in, “not only just the assembly line, but the coordination of the organization, and really it’s just the effort — to say to these vets we’re thinking about them, we’re caring for them and we’re praying for them.”

Sheriff Errol Toulon assists pack boxes at Operation Veronica. Photo by Kyle Barr

He expects the sheriff’s department to collaborate with Operation Veronica in the near future, by either donating goods or assisting in getting the boxes shipped abroad. 

In 2018 TBR News Media recognized Operation Veronica as one the newspaper’s People of the Year. Since then, Godfrey said the group has picked up steam and is still managing to send out hundreds of items week after week.

“We are busier than ever,” Godfrey said.

Funding is always difficult, especially in the shipping department, though the women of Operation Veronica often donate their time and buy their own goods to go in the boxes, as shipping can be upward of $70 for a heavier box.

“The women in this room come in to work, they do everything out of their own pockets,” she said. “They have passed the hat to pay postage at the end of the day.”

Godfrey had some good news, though. She said the Port Jefferson-based Richard & Mary Morrison Foundation has agreed to pay for the costs of shipping, which the Operation Veronica founder said can be as high as $10,000 to $12,000 a year. 

“They have promised to pay our postage however high it goes,” she added. 

For more information about Operation Veronica, visit www.operationveronica.org/.

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Indu Kaur with blueprints of her new restaurant after purchasing The Harbor Grill. File photo by Kyle Barr

A North Shore family of business owners is looking to help connect and celebrate local shops, despite a devastating fire of one of their premier establishments.

Indu Kaur, the director of operations of The Meadow Club in Port Jefferson Station, said she and her family, which also owns the Curry Club in East Setauket, will be renting the space of Harbor Grill in Port Jefferson village on weekdays during the holiday season. That is where she said they expect to host their annual Small Business Holiday Party Dec. 14, which in previous years has taken place at The Meadow Club.

When originally assessing the damages of the fire at The Meadow Club banquet hall, where the roof had burned in a predawn fire July 2018, the owners thought they could reopen just a few months after the damages. The fire had spread to just over half the roof, but what the family soon came to realize was the damage was much more expansive than that. 

Inside the reconstructed Meadows Club. The owners hope to have the site operational again by spring of next year. Photo by Kyle Barr

Fire hose and sprinkler water had completely destroyed much of the furniture inside. The water had also ruined the wallpaper and paintings hung around the place, which The Meadow Club’s director of operations said was a particularly rough blow.

Kaur said Brookhaven Town has been “very kind in guiding us through” and in expediting the process, but still the length of the process has been taxing on the owners and family. Kaur said they have already sunk $2 million into bringing the location back to where it was, and reconstruction has been slowed by needing to bring the building up to code. She still works at the building while work is ongoing, even during the progressively colder late autumn months. They hope to have the site operational again by spring of next year, but she was understandably hesitant to be sure on those dates, with so much work still needed for completion.

“We thought everything would be a cleanup — new Sheetrock, new carpet, we’re done,” she said. “It’s still going above our budget, so we are way past where we had predicted.” 

Jennifer Dzvonar, the president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, called the owners of The Meadow Club one of the most supportive members of the community and chamber around, often willing to host meetings or other events, and they have aided with donations in the past. After the fire and the building was closed, Dzvonar said Kaur and the hall’s owners wouldn’t hesitate to offer alternative places.

“They’re putting in tremendous effort to bring back this beautiful establishment for the community,” Dzvonar said. “It will increase the prestige of the area.”

“They’re putting in tremendous effort to bring back this beautiful establishment for the community, It will increase the prestige of the area.”

– Jennifer Dzvonar 

Kaur said her most loyal customers have been buzzing about when it will open next. One family, she said, has even put their wedding on hold for the sake of having their ceremony at the banquet hall.

“The reason the town helped — the community helped us — is because we had loyal customers,” she said. “They kept coming back because they wanted to hold their celebrations here. That is why I’m so touched and emotional because I hate to see anybody waiting for their celebrations.”

Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) called The Meadow Club “an institution” in Port Jeff Station, commending the owners for working with the chamber, even with the place still under repairs.

“The Meadow Club has been diligent in its efforts to reopen and has clearly shown a commitment to continued investment in this Port Jefferson Station community,” the councilwoman said. “It has been my pleasure to assist them in navigating the town’s planning process as they work toward reopening.”

The chamber president said the holiday party is a great resource for small businesses that don’t have the time or money to throw their own celebrations.

“It’s just an example of them giving back,” she said.

The Meadow Club is currently accepting reservations for the Small Business Holiday Party Dec. 14 and New Year’s Eve Bash Dec. 31, both at Harbor Grill, 111 W. Broadway in Port Jeff. The event is asking for $65 per person plus tax, where each company will have its own reserved table. Each ticket includes food and valet parking, and the event will have a DJ. People can visit The Meadow Club’s Facebook page for more information.

“All the small businesses can get together and network, that’s what’s good about it,” Kaur said.

 

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Northport district officials have found an alternative location for its bus depot. Photo from Close Northport MS Facebook page

At its Nov. 7 school board meeting, parents of Northport Middle School students asked school board members and school district officials, if the district did in fact have a bus depot stationed next to the school building, where 600 children attend classes. Many parents knew about the refueling station and were appalled, but many residents did not. 

“This is just alarming to me,” said Jamie Marcantonio, who said she had three children go through the school system. “We’re talking about toxicity.  How is it even possible that an affluent community like Northport is saying its okay to have a fuel station where our kids go to school.”

“This is just alarming to me.” 

– Jamie Marcantonio

In response to ongoing air quality and health concerns among parents and former teachers at the Northport Middle School, and questions about the bus depot, the Times of Huntington-Northport has obtained copies of the most recent Petroleum Bulk Storage inspection for the Northport Middle School site. 

The Feb. 20, 2019 report indicates that the district is in violation of laws governing petroleum bulk storage.

During the announced inspection, though no evidence of spillage or release to environment were found, health officials were unable to confirm that the tanks’ leak detection, corrosion prevention and overfill protection systems were operating properly,  largely because the district has failed to maintain required self-inspection records for at least the last three years. 

One 4,000-gallon tank stores gasoline, another 4,000-gallon tank stores diesel fuel and a third fiberglass tank holds up to 15,000 gallons of #2 fuel oil, which is typically used for heating in furnaces and boilers.

The law essentially requires that metal tanks, piping, dispenser sumps and containment systems for petroleum storage utilize a technique to slow or stop corrosion called cathodic protection. The inspector noted in the report that operators were unaware of the requirement for cathodic protection and testing for the two 4,000-gallon metal tank dispenser sumps. 

To comply with Suffolk County Sanitary Code, the record-keeping and testing of cathodic protection must be rectified, health officials stated in a Nov. 13 email. 

The same report notes that one of the probes in the tank’s alarm system for leak detection was defective. Facility staff provided documentation to the inspector showing that they already had a work order in place to have the item repaired. 

The county requires prompt correction to violations and had provided a phone number to call to arrange for reinspection in its report to the district. But the county health department’s Office of Pollution Control states that no reinspection has been requested, despite the fact that the department followed up and sent a warning letter to the district in April. 

District officials did not return phone calls and board members did not respond to requests for interviews through email. 

In a Nov. 7 meeting, the school voted to test the soil on the site sometime this winter  to address concerns of ongoing complaints of odors and reports of diseases among students and former teachers. It’s unclear if the testing will include areas where tanks are located. 

In an email, Superintendent Robert Banzer stated that the district is in the process of forming a 13-member subcommittee. He advises all community members to visit the messaging center on its website for updates. Relocating the bus depot is an issue that the pending board of education subcommittee may decide to do,  according to Banzer.

Suffolk County Health Code states that violations are subject to fines not to exceed $2,000 for a single violation. The health department said that the matter has not gone beyond the warning letter stage. A proposed fine has not been calculated. 

Violations to the New York State Petroleum Bulk Storage regulations are subject to civil, administrative and/or criminal penalties up to $37,500 per violation per day. It’s unclear which entity enforces this law. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation directs all regulatory compliance issues for diesel fuel storage tanks to Suffolk County.  

The February 2019 inspection report also noted that the district could not prove that it had a current statement of insurance coverage to remediate spills if one would occur. The county said that most single station owners need to demonstrate $1.5 to $2 million in coverage. 

The county stated that it only reports the issue and does not enforce it.

In a last minute response to questions raised in this report, the district states that it has insurance coverage of $1 million for each occurrence for spills for the period July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2020. The coverage is also reportedly retroactive to July 1999 for the 15,000-gallon heating oil tank and to Feb. 18, 1994, for two 4,000-gallon diesel and gasoline tanks, the district stated.

Banzer stated that the district is unaware that it is in violation of laws governing petroleum bulk storage. 

The district provided a copy of its permit to operate a toxic or hazardous material storage site issued on July 1, 2019. The permit states that it is subject to compliance with provision of the Articles 12 & 18 of Suffolk County Code and 6 NYCRR Part 613.

 The Suffolk County Health Department said that it will conduct another inspection in December 2019. 

 

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Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan
Scenes from the Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11. Photos by Rita Egan

 

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054 hosted its annual Veterans Day ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11.

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) joined veterans and residents to honor those who have served in the armed forces.

The ceremony kicked off at 11:11 a.m. and featured speeches from post Cmdr. Jay Veronko, Englebright and Hahn. The speeches were followed by a laying of wreaths at the memorial monument on the grounds.

Veronko spoke about how the day was originally called Armistice Day, and only honored those who fought in World War I. It was in 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, that Nov. 11 was renamed Veterans Day to recognize all who served.

“Those men and women were ordinary people until they heard the call of duty and answered it and left their families, their homes and their lives, not for recognition or fame or honor that we bestow on them today, but they left to fight to protect the freedoms of our country and maintain our way of life,” Veronko said.

At the end of the ceremony, post member Michael Russell, one of the trustees of the Rommel Wilson Memorial Fund, announced that the fund donated $30,000 to the post for the ongoing renovations of its building. The donation was given in honor of the Rev. Canon Paul Wancura, a former rector of Caroline Church of Brookhaven who died of injuries sustained during a Shelter Island home invasion in 2018. 

 

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Scenes from the Veterans Day tribute at the Long Island State Veterans Home Nov. 8. Photos by David Luces
Scenes from the Veterans Day tribute at the Long Island State Veterans Home Nov. 8. Photos by David Luces
Scenes from the Veterans Day tribute at the Long Island State Veterans Home Nov. 8. Photos by David Luces
Scenes from the Veterans Day tribute at the Long Island State Veterans Home Nov. 8. Photos by David Luces

Close to 100 veterans were on hand for a Veterans Day tribute at the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University Nov. 8.

Highlights of the tribute included a performance from New Lane Elementary School students who sang a number of patriotic songs for the veterans and performed the Armed Forces Medley dedicated to the five individual armed services.

Fred Sganga, executive director for the LISVH, spoke on the importance of veterans’ sacrifices.

“Today we honor more than 56 million Americans who proudly wore the uniform on behalf of a grateful nation,” he said. “We all know the burdens of young men and women that they bear in America’s fight against terrorism and tyranny.”

Thomas DiNapoli, New York State comptroller and keynote speaker for the ceremony, said the holiday is a reminder of the strength that comes when people join together in a just cause.

“Every day should be a day to thank our veterans,” he said. “So much of what we now take for granted in our nation was guaranteed by each of you. And the sacrifices of countless men and women who helped preserve democracy and freedom in America and around the globe.”

Since opening in October 1991, the LISVH has provided care to more than 10,000 veterans.

 

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Victor Tastrom Jr. and Ryan Long, both Marine vets of different wars, swap stories. Photo by Kyle Barr
The new plaque with 177 names of local veterans and below it the original honor roll of those from World War II. Photos by Kyle Barr
A woman read letters sent by mothers to sons during World War II. Photos by Kyle Barr
Local musicians Pamela Palmer and Jim Baker play a sampling of songs from various wars. Photos by Kyle Barr

The landmass of the Village of Shoreham is only .5 square miles made up of just over 530 residents, barely a dot on the map. Yet despite its small size the history of its past and current residents’ service and sacrifice were on full display Nov. 10. The day before Veterans Day, members of the Shoreham Village Association presented a new plaque representing 177 veterans who lived in or were involved with the small village on the shore.

In 2013, village residents joined together in a committee to do something to remember the names of these vets. During the village’s centennial celebration in 2013, Mimi Oberdorf, village historian, uncovered an older plaque naming World War II veterans. She approached Tom Spier, a local attorney and supporter of veterans, about getting the plaque restored, but that project quickly morphed into an attempt to include veterans of all wars since the nation’s founding. 

“For a project like this you have to be very determined, and Tom is very determined,” she said. 

“For a project like this you have to be very determined, and Tom is very determined.”

– Mimi Oberdorf

The committee included village residents Spier, Oberdorf, Lee Frei and Joe Falco. In truth, the project had also been attempted in 1995 by decorated World War II veteran and village resident Jerry Rich, though unfortunately the veteran became ill and the project had been put on hiatus.

From 2013 until now, Spier sent out letters to village residents asking them to name family and friends from any U.S. war that could go on the plaque. By 2019, the group finally settled on presenting the names on Veterans Day. 

“It’s been well appreciated by veterans and their families,” Spier said. “I learned a lot about guys whose names I heard of, but I knew nothing about.”

Spier had made the project a particular passion of his. Sitting down to look at the list of names, he had a story for what seemed like every other name. 

Ernest “Bud” Siegel, a Suffolk County police inspector and village resident, Spier said, was the lead man out of the aircraft as he led the airborne invasion into southern France with the 509th PIG. He was a recipient of three Purple Hearts who had gone Missing in Action twice during his stint. Hubert “Bill” Davis, a P51 pilot, shot down one of the first German fighter jets in World War II. 

“The list goes on,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of history, you just need to know where to look.  

The names go back to the Civil War, through World War II, where over 90 men connected to or living in Shoreham village served, up through Vietnam and including the Global War on Terror.

Veterans and community members packed the village hall the night before Veterans Day. Men of different eras and different wars mingled during the unveiling. Victor Tastrom Jr., a Vietnam War Marine veteran, swapped stories with Ryan Long, another Marine vet who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2008. It was the first time they had met, and now both their names are on the plaque in Village Hall. 

During the presentation, several women came to the podium to read letters village residents sent to their friends and family members overseas during World War II. The unveiling included small bits of history such as the small local newspaper called the Shoreham Item, which was run by two young men, Ed Barnhart and Wesley Sherman Jr., who later went off to fight in World War II. The paper was continued by the boys’ fathers, Al Barnhart and Wesley Sr., and the paper was sent to Shoreham boys as they were fighting overseas.

The plaque has empty pieces, and committee members said they will continue to accept names into the future.

 

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Community gathers at Northport Middle School for 'sickout' . Photo by Donna Deddy

On the sidewalk in front of the Northport Middle School on Thursday, Nov. 7, protesters held up signs as the morning traffic passed by.

“Answers Required,” their posters and T-shirts read.

As people shared their personal stories with reporters, it became evident that something is awry with many community members clearly lacking a peace of mind. 

As the district attempts to address all of the concerns, it’s still unclear who or what government agencies or which experts will give them all the answers to all the questions that they are looking for. The district, town, county and state all have different areas of expertise and have also contacted outside authorities.

“My son was diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 20,” said Lawrence Belk. “Within 18 months of his diagnosis in 2009, we learned that two other students were also diagnosed with the disease.”

Belk also said that he has coached soccer and “half of the kids use nebulizers.”

The district reports that the school’s air quality tests normal.

Several parents during the sickout said that their child has been diagnosed with carboxyhemoglobin, an ailment caused by carbon monoxide exposure from auto exhaust and cigarette smoke exposure. 

Small amounts of carbon monoxide exposure can dramatically reduce the blood’s ability to transport oxygen, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Common conditions induced by carbon monoxide exposure include headaches, nausea, rapid breathing, weakness, exhaustion and confusion. 

The district uses the site as its bus depot and stores bus fuel in two underground 4,000-gallon diesel tanks, according to former board member Tammie Topel. Inspection information on the tanks are the responsibility of Suffolk County, according the New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation press officer.

The county’s report on the tanks were unavailable before press time. The district did not say if the building is constantly monitored for carbon monoxide.

Several parents with children with carboxyhemoglobin said that their requests to be relocated for health reasons were denied because the districts air tests did not detect unsafe carbon monoxide levels.

 “Brown water came out of the water fountain,” said student Lucas Yule. 

The district said the discoloration was caused by an iron buildup. Yule’s mother Tracy Muno said that the school sent home a letter explaining that it was flushing out its drinking water pipes.

Yule also attended classes in the K wing, where foul odors were most recently reported. 

“It smelled like puke,” he said.

Other people complained that the building smells like mold the minute you walk in the front door. The hallways in the school are known to flood. 

A letter dated Aug. 17, 2018, from New York State to the district superintendent has identified the chemical pesticide chlordane, which was banned 30 years ago, around the buildings perimeter. The state concluded, based on information from 2000, that it did not adversely impact air quality inside the school. Though two dust samples on windowsills in classrooms detected it in “low levels,” subsequent cleanings eliminated the chemical found on the windowsill. 

As previously reported [“Northport Families Plan ‘Sickout’ in Protest,” The Times of Huntington, Nov. 7], parents have identified 18 children diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and aplastic anemia in the last 10 years. Former teachers have surveyed former staff and found 33 with cancer. 

A state public health assessment on the Northport Middle School was requested by Assemblyman Raia.  State health officials could only confirm that a study requested in spring of 2019, is being conducted on recent Northport High School graduates. The health department also stated in an email that community members are welcome to contact the Department at 518-473-7817, or via email at [email protected] to discuss their concerns and provide detailed information.

The district said that it understands how issues surrounding environmental matters are unsettling. Since all testing has indicated that the building is safe, the district said in a letter to parents that its subcommittee will address the more important task of bringing people together. 

The district did not return phone calls and email inquiries about hallways flooding and the relocation of the districts bus depot.

 

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County officials and environmental activists look at designs for new water system at the Vanderbilt Museum.

Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum has installed two innovative systems for processing wastewater that significantly reduce the harmful impact of nitrogen pollution in the Northport Bay. The new technology builds on the county’s efforts to address excess nitrogen from wastewater leaching into local waters, which once the epicenter of the region’s red tide. 

New water system at the Vanderbilt museum.

County Executive Steve Bellone (D) and county Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) announced the installations at an Oct. 30 press event at the museum. 

“The science is clear and the solution has been established,” Bellone said. 

He noted that it is necessary to replace outdated technologies that do not reduce nitrogen pollution with new technologies that do.

“We have a $6.1 billion tourism economy that is underpinned by water,” Bellone added. “With strong support from academia, business leaders and the environmental community, our region is no longer kicking the can down the road, but is taking aggressive action to reverse the water quality crisis to better protect our waterways for future generations.”

More than 115,000 people visit the park each year and the upgrade will benefit local waterways by reducing nitrogen discharge at the site by approximately 164 pounds annually. 

To date, the county has installed advanced wastewater treatment systems at Lake Ronkonkoma and Meschutt Beach, and is currently in the process of installing 13 additional systems at other parks. 

The major contributor to water quality issues, Spencer said, is nitrogen discharges from more than 360,000 antiquated cesspools in Suffolk. 

“I am so pleased to see this technology brought to our county parks, specifically the Vanderbilt Museum, which sits directly beside a water body that we have worked so hard to restore,” Spencer added. He said upgrades to Northport’s sewage treatment plant resulted in a massive reduction in nitrogen discharge, and produced tangible benefits including the absence of red tide and the reopening of a permanently closed Centerport beach.

The investment at Vanderbilt is expected to progress, improve and protect the region’s natural resources, Spencer added. 

Officials also announced at the press event that during the month of October alone, more than 100 residents have applied for grants through the county’s septic improvement program, and that next year the county plans to install 1,200 nitrogen-reducing wastewater treatment systems, doubling the amount currently installed. 

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, applauded the progress and collaborative efforts of everyone involved. 

“This is what change looks like, one installation at a time,” she said. “Good science, good advocacy and good elected officials give us good policy, and fortunately that’s what we have seen on the water quality issue in Suffolk County.”  

The installation of the new systems is part of the county’s Reclaim Our Water initiative, which seeks to reduce nitrogen pollution of surface and groundwaters. 

Homeowners outside of a sewer district are encouraged to apply for grant funding and low interest loans to assist in paying to upgrade to an innovative system. Visit www.reclaimourwater.info to find out more.

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