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Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum announces new Holiday Walking Tours for December

by Press Release - December 2, 2022

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The Whaling Museum & Education Center, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor has announced it will host new “Holiday Walking Tours” this December.

These educator-led tours through historic Cold Spring Harbor village will explore Victorian seasonal traditions in the 19^th century. Participants will learn about how local homes and businesses celebrated holidays in December.

Photo from Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum

Hot chocolate will be served inside the museum’s workshop at the start of the tour while participants arrive. The tour starts on the pavement outside of the museum.

“The Whaling Museum’s themed walking tours have become quite a hit. Our Harbor Haunts tours, offered in October, sell out every year. With the introduction of new tours each season, we aim to engage our community and our visitors in history through fun and familiar frameworks. Our education team is excited about the new stories we get to share with this new holiday tour. We look forward to offering a space to gather and spend time outside this December,” said Nomi Dayan, Executive Director of The Whaling Museum.

Tours are approximately 45-60 minutes and end at the harbor. All ages are welcome to attend.

Spaces are limited and registration takes place online at cshwhalingmuseum.org/walking-tours. The “Holiday Walking Tours” are $15 per participant / $10 for members. Dates: Dec. 10 & 11, 17 & 18 | 3 & 5pm and Dec. 30 at 4:30 pm. For more information, call 631-367-3418 or visit www.cshwhalingmuseum.org.

Editorial: Talking trash — Rethinking local control over solid waste disposal

by TBR Staff - December 2, 2022

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Here on Long Island, local governments have been historically responsible for treating and disposing of solid waste. This dynamic is no longer workable.

Managing waste is among the most crucial functions of government. Without these services, untreated garbage would threaten the health and safety of our residents and endanger our local environment.

However, treating solid waste entails ever-increasing costs to dispose of the trash and keep up with the fast-paced regulatory climate. Those costs will only compound in the years to come.

In Port Jefferson, the village government is engaged in a messy permit dispute with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation over a small landfill it uses for branch and leaf pickup services. New DEC regulations targeting landfills have impacted Port Jeff’s kettle hole, entangling this small village in a much broader regulatory conflict.

The controversy may be affecting Port Jeff right now, but it will soon involve nearly every community on Long Island. Plans are underway to close the Brookhaven Town Landfill by 2024, which serves the entire region, precipitating a garbage crisis here on Long Island.

From these examples we are learning that solid waste treatment is not merely a local policy concern. It is integrated within a much larger context, affecting neighboring communities, regions and states.

Solid waste landfills, where much of our garbage is stored, are also significant emitters of greenhouse gases. These facilities may soon be prime targets for oversight and regulation under plans to curb the effects of climate change.

At TBR News Media, we are committed to the premise that local government is closest and, therefore, most accountable to the people. Local control gives residents a stake in what goes on within their community’s boundaries. But garbage is blind to these political distinctions and its hazardous effects often cross over these lines, impacting our neighbors. The problem is too grand for any one municipality to handle on its own.

Effective waste management is an increasingly regional, national and even global phenomenon. The situation calls for a coordinated and efficient response from these higher tiers of government.

Sustaining local control over waste management will soon come with a crippling price tag for municipalities and taxpayers alike. State and federal regulators will place heavy restrictions on the operators of solid waste landfills — local governments — passing the burden of cost and regulatory compliance onto these smaller governments.

Over time, municipalities will have to devote more resources and staff to their garbage, eating away at their budgets and diverting vital funds from other local programs and constituent services. All of this runs counter to the original idea of local autonomy.

Now is the right time for local governments to evaluate their involvement in waste management. Municipalities should seriously consider transitioning these duties to higher levels of government — such as counties or the state — with oversight from regional planning councils composed of delegates from our communities.

A consolidated waste management apparatus could be more efficient and less restrictive for small governments, freeing up money and attention for local matters within their control.

At the individual level, we must also take steps to limit our impact on landfills. On Long Island, we don’t even have reliable measures of recycling rates, let alone a plan to bring those levels up. Furthermore, many ordinary household items have the potential for reuse. Residents should take advantage of special recycling events that assign these items a reuse value.

While policymakers work out the nuances of an integrated waste management hierarchy, we can do our part to limit our contribution to solid waste landfills. These complex problems may find meaningful solutions if governments and citizens act responsibly.

Daughter inspires North Shore singer to live her dreams

by Rita J. Egan - December 2, 2022

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For one North Shore singer, an injury and her 13-year-old daughter have led her on a path she has dreamed about for years.

Singer-songwriter Robbie Harte, above, won two awards at the 2022 International Singer-Songwriters Association awards ceremony. Photo from Robbie Harte

Growing up in Montreal, Canada, Robbie Harte wanted to become a singer-songwriter. However, her goal was put on hold when an accident 14 years ago caused a back and spine injury that left her in chronic pain and unable to sing.

“It affected every part of me,” Harte said.

She added the best way to describe the issue to people is to imagine throbbing tooth pain from the waist to the toes all day, where sitting, standing or lying down doesn’t relieve the pain. It was so overwhelming that it was difficult for her to take in the breaths she needed to hold notes.

The Canadian was already living in Suffolk County when the accident occurred. She had met her husband during a trip to Hawaii. She worked for an airline and planned to go to Paris to write. Last minute Harte said she felt she shouldn’t go to France and opted to go to Hawaii, a place she was familiar with from visiting a couple of times. One morning while sitting in a coffee shop, she saw him run by, and then he was inside the shop a little while later. He stopped by her table to talk to her while she was writing about a couple meeting

In her song “Out of the Blue,” she recounts the meeting saying she “traded Paris in for paradise.”

They began a long-distance relationship, with the two traveling between Canada and Smithtown, where he lived at the time. Shortly after she moved to Suffolk County, they married. Soon after she became pregnant with her daughter, she was injured.

“It was such a happy time for us, then I was sidelined,” Harte said. “It wasn’t just that I was sidelined — I was sidelined and silenced.”

She added that she navigated sad times in the past by expressing herself through music. Harte said at first, she accepted this was the way it was, but she started realizing she wasn’t herself.

After her daughter was diagnosed with autism when she was 7, Harte wanted to show her child that a medical diagnosis shouldn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams.

“She’s the driving force that I’m on this journey,” the singer said. “She is the reason I’m pursuing my dream. She’s the reason that I’m doing all of this.”

Harte said she was inspired to pursue her goals despite chronic pain to show her daughter, right, that obstacles shouldn’t get in the way of dreams. Photo from Robbie Harte

Harte remembered the day she and her husband told their daughter about the autism diagnosis. She said they explained that sometimes things may be more challenging for her than others, but she shouldn’t let it get in the way of living her dreams. Harte said that conversation catapulted her to start pursuing her own goals.

“Here I was sitting on the couch, curled up in a ball, not living my dream because I couldn’t do it anymore, and things were really hard for me,” she said. “I said, ‘You know, I can’t tell her that and not put action behind my words. I have to show her by example, by being the best possible role model I can.’ That was the moment that I really decided this is my dream.”

Harte decided to put everything into singing despite how difficult or uncomfortable it was at first. The singer, who taught herself to play guitar, released her first EP in 2020 and has been enjoying musical success with her country/pop songs ever since. She has won and been nominated for several awards. Recently, she won the Gold Songwriter of the Year award and Bronze Single of the Year award for “Outside My Window” from the International Singer-Songwriters Association.

A few weeks ago, Harte released the single “Reason to Rise.” She described the song as an “anthemic power ballad.” The single has received airplay all over the globe and has landed on Canadian, country and indie music charts.

The journey has taught Harte a lot about herself and her strengths, she said. Initially, she was afraid she would never be able to get on a stage because she uses a cane regularly. However, she decided she would hold on to whatever else she needed, whether it was a curtain or microphone stand.

“You can’t let any of these things stop you because they’re just details,” Harte said.

The wife and mother also had advice when it comes to balancing various responsibilities and demands that parents face when juggling their own and their children’s obligations. She said the key is not to let everything overwhelm a parent, and she feels it’s important to make time for oneself. Harte said it’s vital to have a release such as singing, a hobby or playing a sport.

“If you don’t have that, you can’t give to other people,” she said. “You need to be in a positive mindset, and you need to have a few minutes — even if it’s 15 minutes — to do something that you love, so that you’re grounded, so that you can give your best to the people around you.”

Harte said she hopes to use her platform “to uplift, inspire and empower people” and to encourage them to let nothing stop them from doing what they love.

“I want to remind people to go out there and pursue their dreams and do what they love, despite their age, their ability or their limitations.”

For more information, visit robbieharte.com.

Vanderbilt Museum presents third annual Bright Lights event

by Press Release - December 1, 2022

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The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport presents its third annual holiday event, Bright Lights: Celebrate the Season, Saturdays and Sundays, December 3-18, and on Thursday, December 22.

Thousands of warm-white lights will create holiday magic inside and outside the Mansion and illuminate trees, wreaths, garlands, guest rooms, walkways, and the Vanderbilt Library.

The event will include Candlelight Tours of the decorated Vanderbilt Mansion, visits with Santa and friends in his workshop, a children’s scavenger hunt, and a 15-minute Holiday Laser show in the Reichert Planetarium. In addition, the Stoll Wing and Habitat wild-animal dioramas and the Hall of Fishes marine museum will be open for visitors. Also open: the Vanderbilt Café and Gift Shop, located in the Planetarium lobby.

Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan, Executive Director of the Vanderbilt Museum, said, “We are thrilled to invite everyone to kick off the holiday season and celebrate with us. The decorated and lighted Mansion and Estate become a winter wonderland. Bright Lights offers evenings of family fun for all.”

Tickets are: Adults $25 | Members $20; children 12 and under $15 | Members $10; children 2 and under FREE. To order, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

Small Business Saturday offers vital support for local downtowns

by TBR Staff - December 1, 2022

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DSC_0913-scaled — Rising energy prices, rents and wages are all applying greater pressure on small business owners. Pictured above, storefronts in downtown Port Jefferson. File photo by Julianne Mosher

By Rita J. Egan & Raymond Janis

Residents of communities throughout the area came out on Saturday, Nov. 26, to support local downtowns during Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday was a campaign first developed by American Express in 2010. Martin Cantor, director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, detailed the history and purpose of this effort.

“Because everybody was focusing on Black Friday, American Express wanted to focus on small businesses,” he said.

Mary Joy Pipe, owner of The East End Shirt Company and president of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, described this year’s iteration of Small Business Saturday as a success. She forecasts a favorable holiday season for the small business community this year based on the turnout.

“Am I optimistic about how I did on Small Business Saturday and over that weekend, and that things should go well?” she said. “Yes.”

The success of these business initiatives, according to Pipe, is primarily contingent upon the weather. She characterized the clear skies on Friday and Saturday as fortunate for the business community.

Tandy Jeckel, owner of TandyWear in Commack, said Small Business Saturday was similar to last year saleswise but that Black Friday was better.

Black Friday “was major,” she said. “We beat last year. Small Business Saturday was pretty much the same as last year.”

Confronting difficult times

While some storefront owners saw favorable returns over the weekend, others discussed the several factors working against their businesses. Among these are nationwide economic instability and inflation, soaring prices and hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeckel said her business did well during the pandemic by making masks to match outfits and so drawing in customers. She added she had noticed customers opting for dressier outfits where people were looking for more comfortable loungewear for a while.

Joe Schwab, co-owner of Schwab’s 2nd Wind in East Setauket, said he didn’t experience an increase in traffic on Small Business Saturday. He said that the special shopping days did not necessarily boost sales, even though Black Friday was better this year than it has been in years past.

“I would love to have a big excitement about shopping days again, but for the time being it seems to be a bit lost or fizzled out,” he said.

Cantor maintains that the broader economic trends are squeezing small businesses and local downtowns. Ballooning costs associated with energy prices, rents and wages are making it harder for small businesses to stay profitable. At the same time, consumers have less discretionary income and, therefore, less to spend in these downtown settings.

“Right now, small businesses are caught between trying to recoup the high rents, energy costs and things like that,” he said. “And then they’re running into the competition and the fact that consumers don’t have the money to spend.”

Competing with big businesses

Inflation and other economic pressures are driving consumers to try to stretch their dollars, Cantor said. This is adding even greater strain on small businesses compared to big businesses.

“The reality is that these big businesses can buy goods and services at much cheaper prices, and consumers are certainly looking for bargains,” he said.

Despite this popular narrative, Patty Kaczmarczyk, owner of Cheese & Spice Market in Wading River, insists that her prices are competitive and often outperform her larger competitors.

“People sometimes feel, ‘I’m going to go to the supermarket where I can get things cheaper there,’ but now that’s not so true,” she said. “I’m a small business, so I’m trying not to kill people in pricing to stay very competitive. That’s my goal.”

Contrasting the business models of large and small businesses, Kaczmarczyk said smaller stores are better adapted to meet the needs of consumers. Whereas large retailers emphasize bulk purchases, she said small vendors allow for smaller, often cheaper orders.

“I carry so many loose spices, which are way cheaper than buying them in a grocery store,” she said. “I sell it loose, and you can buy smaller amounts.” Maximizing these advantages, she suggests, can keep small businesses afloat while competing against their larger counterparts.

Susannah Meinersman, owner of Huntington-based Bon Bons Chocolatier, said the store has been busy in general, which she attributes to making a great product. Meinersman said she appreciates Small Business Saturday: “I think the day brings awareness to the small Main Street business, so that’s a good thing.”

Giving back to the community

David Wolmetz is co-owner of Urban Air Adventure Park in Lake Grove. He described the small business sector as an extension of the greater community. Through various interactions of small businesses with community members, he said these businesses foster a greater sense of local cohesion.

“It’s not only about money for us,” he said. “It’s about connecting to the community.”

For example, Wolmetz sits on the board of the Stony Brook Cancer Center Community Advisory Council. Maintaining connections between small businesses and other local institutions is crucial, Wolmetz said, for community prosperity.

“We look for them: Girl Scouts, Boys Scouts, anything that’s related to our demographic of a youth, family oriented connection,” he said. “I’m very familiar with that connection, and that’s my reason for having the business.”

This connection will be imperative as businesses transition into the post-pandemic era. For Suzanne McEnroe, owner of This n’ That Gifts in St. James, the turnout on Saturday was encouraging.

She said she appreciates resident support as the business owner opened the gift store in February 2020, just a few weeks before the COVID-19 shutdowns. She is grateful to be open.

In general, she noticed a difference in business this year with more people out shopping. “They love to have a town shop to be able to just come and get a quick gift,” she said.

A critical juncture

While Small Business Saturday primarily targets the retail and service sectors, Long Island’s regional economy consists of small businesses across many other industries.

John Hill is the founder and CEO of the Long Island Advancement of Small Business, an organization committed to the growth and development of small businesses that do not interface with customers, such as financial planners, bankers and IT service providers, among others.

Hill contends that these small businesses are struggling, too. “They’re not growing, they’re not failing, they’re just eking out a living right now,” he said.

Given the high living costs on Long Island, Hill sees more small business owners closing up shop and heading to more affordable regions in the country, a startling trend for Long Island’s regional economy.

“We’ve had four people leave our organization to move off of Long Island,” he said. “Two moved to Florida, one to North Carolina and one to Tennessee.”

To stay afloat, Cantor suggests business owners will soon have to find creative ways to attract consumers to downtown areas while eliminating operating expenses.

“Businesses are at a critical juncture,” he said, noting that Small Business Saturday is “super.” He added, “We want all these small businesses to survive, and it’s great that Long Islanders are coming out to the downtowns to shop on Small Business Saturday. But they have to continue to do it.”

Between You and Me: Tormented by letters and numbers

by Press Release - November 30, 2022

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Here are three of my most feared words: what’s your password? I understand that passwords were designed to keep out the unwelcome in any digital circumstance. Early passwords worked for ATM machines. After all, we didn’t want anyone else to be able to get our money, right? OK, so that was four numbers that we could remember, certainly easier than committing our social security number to memory, for example.

Not any longer do we enjoy such brevity. Now we are asked to use eight or 10 numbers and letters, the combinations of which must contain capitals, lower case, numbers and some other vital symbol, like an asterisk or a dollar sign or an exclamation point. And we are admonished not to use the same password twice for fear of opening the gates to financial ruination. I would bet the fact is, though, that the only person kept at bay by the request for the password is the password holder who has forgotten the sacred assemblage of letters, numbers and pound signs.

Further, needing the password makes no sense since the frequently asked question, “Forgot your password? Press here to make another,” often allows anyone to bypass the gate anyway. All the intruder has to do is come up with a new password, and they are in.

Some passwords are useful. Certainly, we don’t want just anyone to access our banking records if we bank online. And if we pay for a service, like a subscription to a newspaper, we don’t want an undesignated person to share it. But some of the pass requirements are just plain stupid. Who else but me cares how many steps I walk per day? Or how much sleep I averaged over the past week?? Or how much I weigh? Almost as soon as I apply for an app, I have to select a password to use it, even though the app is free.

Passwords are just one irritant of the digital age, however. As long as I am voicing my frustrations, let’s consider telephones and what has become of what was a perfectly helpful way to enter in conversation with another human. Just try to call an airline or an insurance company and see how long you are put on hold. Sometimes they will tell you that the operator will be with you in 28 minutes and ask if you would like them to hold your place in line and call you back. That’s civilized. Or the automated voice will try to shove you off to their website. But you cannot ask questions of a home page beyond the couple of programmed Q&As posted there.

When you finally get a person on the other end, after pressing any number of buttons, they will ask you to hold for the correct extension, which will ring and ring and finally disconnect you. Then you have to start all over.

I recognize that there is an attempt to have a paperless world. I understand that companies are feeling pressured financially and are trying to cut down on personnel. But does the world have to get there by driving us to distraction first? Some technology is actually helpful. Instead of a password, some apps ask for fingerprint ID. Once you register with your thumb or whichever finger you choose, you need only to present that finger in the future, and you are immediately admitted. Why isn’t that more commonly used to authenticate the user? Or ask a personal question as the price of admission only the user would be able to answer, like the name of your junior high school or your first pet’s name. Sometimes I am asked two or three questions like that, but only after I have already offered my password. And usually it’s my mother’s maiden name, which by itself used to work but no longer. Not complicated enough, I guess.

One friend figured she had solved the password problem by putting all her passwords into one file on her cellphone. Only trouble? She has forgotten the file’s password.

D. None of the Above: Dropping unwanted baggage makes it easier to move ahead

by Daniel Dunaief - November 30, 2022

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ManMotorbikeFieldHC1609_source — METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

As we reach the beginning of December, we are only a month away from the inevitable promises to shed unwanted pounds.

Today, however, only a few days after our journeys to visit friends and families for Thanksgiving, I’d like to urge you to consider shedding unwanted baggage.

Metaphorically, we all lug unwanted baggage with us — remembering the spot where a girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with us; the moment we decided to substitute the wrong player in a game we were coaching; and the time our teacher gave someone else partial credit for the same answer on which we received no credit.

Some of that baggage is constructive, giving us the tools and the memory to learn from our mistakes and to have a perspective on the things that happen to us.

We might, for example, learn to cope with losses on the athletic field more gracefully when recalling how we felt the time we shouted at a coach, an umpire or an opposing player. Days, weeks, or years later, we might realize that we have the tools and the distance to understand the moment better and to develop a grace we might not have possessed when we were younger.

Extending the baggage metaphor, it seems that the more we carry with us everywhere, the harder it is to move forward. Baggage, like those unwanted pounds that make it harder to hike up a hill or to climb stairs, keeps us in place, preventing us from improving and moving forward.

Shedding pounds, which isn’t so easy itself, has a prescribed collection of patterns, often involving an attention to the foods we might mindlessly eat and a dedication to exercise.

But how do we get rid of the emotional baggage that gets in our way? What do we do to move forward when the burdens around us weigh us down?

For starters, we might learn to forgive people for whatever they did that annoys or puts us down. Forgiveness isn’t easy, of course. We sometimes hold onto those slights as if they are a part of our identity, becoming a doctor to show our biology teacher who didn’t believe in us that we are capable and competent or developing into a trained athlete after a neighbor insulted us.

Holding onto those insults gives other people unnecessary power over us. We can and should set and achieve our goals because of what we want and not because we continue to overcome limits other people tried to set for us.

We also might feel weighed down by our own self-doubt. As I’ve told my children, their peers and many of their teammates, we shouldn’t help our competitors beat us. Believing the best about ourselves is difficult.

We also don’t, and won’t, always win. It’s easier to carry the memories of the times we failed a test or when we didn’t reach the top of the mountain on a hike. Carrying those setbacks around with us for anything other than motivation to try again or to go further than we did before makes it harder to succeed.

Now is the time to set down that baggage, to walk, jog or even run forward, unencumbered by everything that might make us doubt ourselves and our abilities and that might make it harder to achieve our goals. While all that baggage might feel familiar in our hands, it also digs into our palms, twists our fingers and slows our feet.

Even before we resolve to eat better, to exercise, to lose weight and to look our best, let’s check or even cast aside our emotional and psychological luggage. Maybe dropping that baggage in the last month of the year will make achieving and keeping our New Year’s resolutions that much easier.

Opening night is a whale of a start for Northport boys basketball

by Steven Zaitz - November 30, 2022

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In an impressive opening night performance, the Northport Tiger boys basketball team crushed the Pierson High School Whalers, 77-44, in a non-league matchup.

Senior guard Emmett Radziul hit seven three-pointers in eight attempts and finished with a game-high 25 points, despite not playing very much at all in the second half against the visitors from Sag Harbor. The Tigers had a 44-19 lead at the break.

Northport junior point guard JoJo Cipollino, making his first varsity start, had 12 points and five assists. Listed at 5 feet 11 inches, he wowed the crowd with entertaining dribble penetration and dishes to open teammates. Despite making his debut as a Tiger starter, Cipollino insists he wasn’t nervous.

“Coach (Andrew D’Eloia) had a great game plan so collectively we all felt we were well prepared,” Cipollino said. “Once the game started, I just concentrated on what I had to do.”

Power forward Andrew Miller had nine points and was rested in the second half. The 6-foot-5-inch Owen Boylan and swingman Timothy Fitzpatrick both had seven.

The Tigers played without stars Brandan Carr and Jonathan Alfiero, both of whom were major contributors to last year’s Tiger team that made it to the Suffolk County Final game against Half Hollow Hills East. The Tigers lost that game to the Thunderbirds, but if this opening night win is any indication, they have restocked the cupboard for another run at that title.

Northport opens its conference schedule at home against West Islip on Friday, Dec. 9.

MAKING THE SEASON BRIGHT: Holiday Tree Lightings on the North Shore

by Heidi Sutton - November 30, 2022

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Heritage-Tree-Lighting-Tree-Lit-3-120218_Kyle-Barr — Heritage Park in Mount Sinai will host a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 4 this year. File photo by Kyle Barr/TBR News Media

By Heidi Sutton

The Shoppes at East Wind in Wading River will hold a Holiday Tree Lighting on Dec. 3.

While a few villages and towns lit their holiday trees last week, the majority of tree lightings on the North Shore will take place this weekend and next weekend with caroling, treats and a special visit from Santa Claus.

Cold Spring Harbor

The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, 1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor will host a tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. Santa Claus will light the hatchery’s Christmas Tree at 5:30 p.m. Free admission after 5 p.m. Suggested donation of $10 per family. 516- 692-6768.

Coram

The Coram Civic Association will present its 13th annual Holiday Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting at the Old Coram Firehouse, 303 Middle Country Rd, Coram on Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. with refreshments, crafts, entertainment, and songs by the Coram Elementary School singers, raffles, a visit from Santa and tours of the historic Davis Town Meeting House. 631-736-3168

Flanders – just added

The 34th annual Holiday Lighting of the Big Duck, 1012 Route 24, Flanders will be held on Dec. 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. (rescheduled from Nov. 30) The event features a visit from Quackerjack, the Long Island Ducks baseball team mascot, duck carols led by students from the Riverhead Middle School Show Choir, refreshments and the ever-anticipated arrival of Santa Claus by fire truck. 631-852-3377

Greenlawn

The Greenlawn Civic Association hosts a “Meet at the Tree” Christmas Tree Lighting on Dec. 3 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Harborfields Public Library, 31 Broadway, Greenlawn. Enjoy hot cocoa, cookies, dance performances, a Christmas carol sing-along plus a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus on the Greenlawn Fire Dept. truck. Bring your letters to Santa for the North Pole mailbox. www.greenlawncivic.org.

Holtsville

The Town of Brookhaven’ will hold its annual Christmas Tree Lighting event at the Holtsville Ecology Site, 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. with costumed characters, musical entertainment, and a special appearance by Santa Claus, who will arrive via helicopter, and then assist with the countdown to light the tree. 631-451-9276.

Kings Park

The Kings Park Chamber of Commerce hosts a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Veterans Plaza, King Park on Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. Enjoy holiday music selections followed by invocation and welcome remarks from the chamber with hot chocolate and cookies. Held rain or shine. 631-269-7678

Lake Ronkonkoma

Join the Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce at Raynor Park, 174 Ronkonkoma Ave., Lake Ronkonkoma on Dec. 4 for their annual Christmas Tree Lighting from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Enjoy live entertainment by the Cherokee Street and Nokomis Elementary School Choirs and a visit from Santa. 631-963-2796

Miller Place – just added

— The Miller Place Fire Department and Aliano Real Estate will host the 14th annual Polar Express and Tree Lighting in the Aliano Shopping Center, 691 Route 25A, Miller Place on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. with complimentary coffee, hot chocolate, donuts, soup and pizza; entertainment by Miller Place School and Dance Pointe Performing Arts Center students; and a special visit from Santa! Call 744-5000.

—The Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society will hold its annual Tree Lighting and Holiday Festival at the Daniel Hawkins House, 111 North Country Road, Miller Place on Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. 631-476-5742.

Mount Sinai

Join the North Shore Youth Council and the Mount Sinai Fire Department for a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Heritage Park, 633 Mount Sinai-Coram Road, Mount Sinai on Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. Listen to carols, enjoy hot chocolate and visit with Santa. 631-509-0882

Nesconset

The Nesconset Chamber of Commerce will hold a Holiday Lighting at the Nesconset Gazebo on Smithtown Blvd., Nesconset on Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. with music, refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus. 631-724-2543

Port Jefferson – just added

The Port Jefferson Business Improvement District will host the 1st annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the intersection of Broadway and East Broadway on Dec 1 at 6 p.m. (rescheduled from Nov. 30) Watch Santa light the Christmas Tree and enjoy candy canes and hot chocolate courtesy of Port Jefferson Starbucks. 631-473-1414

Port Jefferson Station – rescheduled

Join the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce for a Community Tree Lighting at the Chamber Car, corner of Nesconset Highway and Route 112, Port Jefferson Station on Dec. 8 (rescheduled from Dec. 3) from 6 to 8 p.m. with performances by School of Rock and BackStage Dance Studio. Hot chocolate will be served. 631-821-1313

Rocky Point

The 38th annual Rocky Point Christmas Tree Lighting will be held on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Prince Road, Rocky Point with live holiday music, hot chocolate and candy canes and a special visit from Santa. 631-729-0699

St. James

The St. James Chamber of Commerce invites the community to a Christmas Tree Lighting celebration at Deepwells Farm County Park, 2 Taylor Lane, St. James on Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. with holiday music, kids crafts, pictures with Santa, cookies and hot chocolate. 631-584-8510

Shoreham

Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, 5 Randall Road, Shoreham invites the community to a Holiday Lighting on Dec. 3 from 3 to 6 p.m. Enjoy music, festive exhibits and activities for all ages with a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Register for your free tickets at www.teslasciencecenter.org.

Smithtown

— Rescheduled from Nov. 30. Smithtown Town Hall, 99 West Main St., Smithtown will hold a Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. with live music, balloon sculpting, cookies and hot chocolate. 631-360-7512

— Smithtown Library, 1 North Country Road, Smithtown will light their holiday tree on Dec. 2 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with refreshments and photos with Santa. 631-360-2480.

Stony Brook

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization hosts a Holiday Tree Lighting at the Stony Brook Village Center Green, 111 Main St., Stony Brook on Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the WMHO’s 42nd annual Holiday Festival. 631-751-2244.

Wading River

Join The Shoppes at East Wind, 5768 Route 25A, Wading River for its 6th annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Dec. 3 from 4 to 8 p.m. Stop by to put a letter in Santa’s mailbox, enjoy live DJ Entertainment with LI Sound DJ and dancing, ride Rudolph on the carousel Stop by to put a letter in Santa’s mailbox, enjoy music and dancing, and more. Santa arrives on a Fire Truck to light the tree and take free photo with families. Santa will also be at the Shoppes on Dec. 10 and 17 from noon to 5 p.m. 631-929-3500

Independent bookstore set to open before new year

by Rita J. Egan - November 26, 2022

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ebethphoto-25-scaled — Mallory Braun, right, is set to open a new bookstore in Huntington Village. She was mentored by former Book Revue owner Richard Klein, left. Photo above by E. Beth Thomas;

A new independent bookstore is set to open on New York Avenue in Huntington Village after one entrepreneur’s yearlong journey to find a location.

In the last few months, Mallory Braun has held pop-up events at businesses such as Nest in Northport. Photo from The Next Chapter’s Facebook Page

Many business owners struggled to keep their doors open during the COVID pandemic even after restrictions were lifted. One of the stores that shut its doors for good during 2021 was the Book Revue in Huntington village.

However, former Book Revue store manager Mallory Braun, of Huntington, realized the importance of a community bookstore and launched a Kickstarter campaign on Nov. 1, 2021, to raise $250,000. Her hope was to open a new store in the village in the spirit of Book Revue. After 45 days on the crowdfunding platform, more than 2,200 people donated over $255,000.

Opening a new bookstore didn’t happen overnight though.

Braun has spent several months acquiring books and records that were donated and sold to her and stored them at a warehouse. While she waited for the right location, the business owner and employees ran pop-up stores over the last few months in locations such as the Huntington Fall Festival, Nest on Main in Northport, Glen Cove’s Southdown Coffee and more. The pop-ups were fun and successful, she said, and after the new store is open, she would like to do more.

“It allows us to build relationships with local businesses,” Braun said.

Regarding finding the right location, the entrepreneur said she had to find a space that was big enough for the quantity of books she wanted to carry and hold events that she hopes to organize in the future.

She said there were serious talks about a few locations until they found the storefront at 204 New York Ave.

“This one was the one that has worked out, and it was the right choice,” she said, adding that it’s a five-minute walk from the old Book Revue building, in a northerly direction.

A grand opening date has not been chosen yet, but she said the store will open in time for the holiday shopping season. Braun added there is still a lot of work to be done. The Next Chapter employees are still shelving books and vinyl records at the future store, and Richard Klein, former Book Revue co-owner, has also been helping her prepare for the big day.

Braun, who specializes in used and rare items, is currently ordering new books. She said it would enable her to have authors visit for book signings, something she said customers enjoy.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to take to build up the same type of author as Book Revue had, but it’s important, and we’ve already been working on it,” Braun said.

She added that people have been volunteering to help get the store ready. Anyone interested in helping can reach the store by emailing: [email protected].

For more information about The Next Chapter, visit the website www.thenextchapterli.com.

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