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Local groups rally to support ‘The People’s Plan’

by Julianne Mosher - March 18, 2021

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peoples plan rally 3, julianne mosher — Photo by Julianne Mosher

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Dozens of community activists from across Long Island rallied outside Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s (D) office in Hauppauge this week, asking lawmakers to adopt “The People’s Plan.”

Earlier this month, police reform advocates created their own plan to hold law enforcement accountable and calling on them to be transparent within the community.

“We’re gathering here today nearly a year after the George Floyd uprisings because our communities took to the street and said enough is enough,” said Elmer Flores with Long Island United to Transform Policing and Community Safety. “We are yearning for change. And for far too long our elected officials have not met our demands with the gravitas that it demands.”

Some of the plan includes civilian oversight of police misconduct, creating unarmed traffic enforcement and ending pretextual stops when someone is pulled over.

“Mistrust is pervasive between the police and the communities they are supposed to represent,” he added. “And part of that is that we need to get to the root causes of why crime happens and how we can address it and prevent it from happening. But to do that, it requires leadership. It requires bold and effective action that’s going to change the way policing happens on Long Island.”

This plan is separate from the reform Bellone submitted to lawmakers last week, and these local activists demand the reforms be included in the plan due to the state April 1.

Jackie Burbridge, co-founder of the Long Island Black Alliance, said to the crowd that for years the Suffolk County Police Department has been actively turning a blind eye to crime being committed in this county in order to continue harassing people who are not white. She said the recommendations that the county task force came up with don’t go far enough in preventing or mitigating discriminatory policing.

“The plan that was released by Suffolk County in response to Governor Cuomo’s [D] executive order falls short of the transformative changes to the way we conceive of public safety that this moment in our community members are demanding,” she said. “Black and brown communities across Long Island are overpoliced, resulting in outsized opportunities for interactions between vulnerable community members and police officers. … It’s not that people are being brutalized because cops see threats. They don’t see threats in our community, they see prey. And what we need is police reform that’s actually going to address that.”

The collective groups have spent months crafting the 12, research-backed proposals for structural reform that make up the 310-page “The People’s Plan” to address numerous structural components of transforming and reimagining policing and public safety on Long Island.

Suffolk’s police reform proposal directs the county’s Human Rights Commission to review complaints of police misconduct.

However, the police department would still have the power to investigate and discipline police misconduct. Activists say they are asking for lawmakers to consider other measures, like mental health counselors for certain situations, and create a community council to review and hold police accountable for misconduct.

Members from local groups headed to Hauppauge, too, including Myrna Gordon of the North Country Peace Group, to show their support and signs.

“How can we not be here?” she asked. “It’s what we need to do to keep fighting for peace and justice. We need to see that Steve Bellone is on board with ‘The People’s Plan,’ and every peace and justice group in Suffolk County and the Three Village area needs to be on board.”

Peggy Fort, a member of the United For Justice in Policing Long Island and Building Bridges in Brookhaven groups, said ‘The People’s Plan’ addresses not just the community, but could benefit police officers, acknowledging the stresses police officers face.

“We’re not trying in ‘The People’s Plan’ to micromanage the police department,” she said. “What we’re trying to do is really address the problems and the racial bias that exists.”

Special Feature: TBR News Media’s Salute to Women

by TBR Staff - March 18, 2021

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Join us in celebrating local women’s successes

By Leah S. Dunaief

As you know, March is Women’s History Month, honoring the contributions of women to history, culture and society. Did you know that women in the United States of America could not own property until 1862? You probably know from all the recent centennial publicity that women are able to vote only since 1920. But did you know that a woman could not have a credit card in her name until 1974? Now that is a startling statistic because it is not plucked from the dustbins of history but rather, for us of a certain age, a contemporary one. After all, I started The Village Times, the first newspaper of Times Beacon Record News Media, on April 8,1976. Getting a credit card then, whether for business or personal use, was a big complicated deal and how to run a business without one?

You might say we women in the workplace have indeed come a long way. And even though women still earn only 81cents for every dollar men earn, we can be pleased with our success so far. I’m saying “pleased,” but not yet “satisfied.”

Women’s History Month grew out of Women’s History Week, first celebrated in Sonoma County, California, in 1978 to acknowledge the singular contributions of women that had been largely ignored in most history books. The idea spread to other communities and President Jimmy Carter adapted it by presidential proclamation to a national observance in 1980. Since 1987, it has been celebrated annually by congressional resolution for the entire month of March in the United States, made to overlap International Women’s Day on March 8.

Today there are some 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., according to the National Association of Women Business Owners. Compare that to 402,000 women-owned businesses in 1972. Further, they generate 1.8 trillion dollars a year. There are 114% more women entrepreneurs than 20 years ago, starting roughly 1,821 new businesses every day, and that plays a significant role in the United States economy.

We want to call your attention to these female success stories on a local level. You probably don’t think of who owns the business when you shop in a store or use a service, nor should you. We women have proven ourselves adept at business and professional management, and seek nothing more than the same opportunities to support ourselves, our families, our employees, and to serve the public that men have enjoyed over the centuries.

Still, considering how far we have come today, we can’t be faulted in any demonstration of business success, such as in this section, for having a little extra gleam in our eye.

D. None of the Above: The pandemic in the words of community members over the last year

by Heidi Sutton - March 17, 2021

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By Daniel Dunaief

This month, we completed our first pandemic year. As we prepare for a hopeful future, please find below the words that reflected the realities of our past year.

— “We were behind the eight ball on testing for a while now,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) on a conference call with members of the National Association of Counties and the press, March 18, 2020.

– “These are not helpful hints. These are legal provisions. They will be enforced.” Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) on a conference call with reporters, describing his decision to shut down businesses not considered essential, March 20, 2020.

– “A lot of us are thinking about staff on the hospital side who are really being tested in an unprecedented way.” Cathrine Duffy, director of HealthierU, an employee wellness program at Stony Brook University, March 25, 2020.

— “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Joan Dickinson, community relations director at Stony Brook University, in response to the over 100 emails she received each night from people eager to donate to the university, March 27, 2020

— “For the N95 masks to come in without a charge helps all those local entities laying out a lot of cash at the moment.” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) in response to the announcement that President Donald Trump (R) would ship 200,000 masks to Suffolk County, April 6, 2020.

— “I never imagined being in the position of reporting the numbers on a daily basis of people who have died in our county from anything like this.” Bellone on his daily conference call with reporters, April 12, 2020.

— “We feel that science will solve this problem, and hopefully soon.” John Hill, director of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, who was part of a team coordinating Brookhaven National Laboratory’s COVID-19 research across all the Department of Energy labs, April 19, 2020.

— “We have a hard winter ahead of us.” Bettina Fries, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, regarding projected increases in viral cases, April 23, 2020.

— “I always felt an urgency about cancer, but this has an urgency on steroids.” Mikala Egeblad, associate professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in describing her efforts to apply her scientific expertise to COVID, April 26, 2020.

— “Coming to the hospital is still safer than going to the supermarket.” Todd Griffin, the president of Medical Staff and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, April 30, 2020.

— “We love you, but you can’t come anywhere near us.” Malcolm Bowman, distinguished service professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, recalls his extended family in New Zealand telling him and his wife Waveney as they left an old car with food at the airport so the couple could live in a camper in New Zealand , May 1, 2020.

— “At a certain point, it’s not just about the patient. It’s about the whole support system. You’re pulling not just for them, but for their whole family.” Amanda Groveman, Stony Brook quality management practitioner, describing the My Story effort to personalize patient stays at the hospital, May 7, 2020.

— “I always knew you were smart, but now I know you are brilliant.” Marna said to her daughter Tamara Rosen, who defended her graduate thesis at Stony Brook University through a Zoom call, May 24, 2020.

— The death of Minnesota resident George Floyd at the hands of police officers was “an outrage” and was “unacceptable.” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart in a statement on a media call, May 30, 2020.

— Army veteran Gary Degrijze has “truly made a remarkable recovery.” Jerry Rubano, a doctor in Trauma/ Acute Care/ Surgical Critical Care in the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine, said after he spent seven weeks on a ventilator and twice lost his pulse , June 9, 2020.

— “You couldn’t have found a happier group of people.” Dr. Frank Darras, clinical professor of Urology and Clinical / Medical Director of the Renal Transplantation Program at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, about a transplant at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, June 12, 2020.

— “My whole career has brought me to be who I am in this moment.” Risco Mention-Lewis, deputy police commissioner, in the wake of protests over policing, July 3, 2020.

— “When you have untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders, the county will pay for that one way or the other.” Children’s Association Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Reynolds amid an increase in demand for mental health during the pandemic, July 31, 2020.

— “People sent really moving and emotional notes. We saw a lot of good in people” [during a difficult time.] Colby Rowe, Trauma Center Education & Prehospital outreach coordinator who helped coordinate donations to Stony Brook, Aug. 7, 2020.

— “Long Islanders deserve better.” Thomas Falcone, CEO of LIPA, in response to a letter from Senator James Gaughran (D-Northport) questioning LIPA’s oversight of PSEG after extensive power outages and communication failures following Tropical Storm Isaias, Aug. 28, 2020.

— “I tell my patients, I take their hands, I say, ‘Listen, I was in there, too. I know what you’re feeling. I know you’re scared. I know you’re feeling you can die.” Feliciano Lucuix, a patient care assistant at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, describing her hospitalization with COVID and then her return to her work in the same hospital, Dec. 14, 2020.

— “As hard and as difficult and sad and heart wrenching [as it was], so many other parts, you just saw such humanity. It was amazing.” Patricia Coffey, nurse manager at the Critical Care Unit at Huntington Hospital reflecting on the challenges and responses of the health care field amid the pandemic, Dec. 31, 2020.

— “When we reach our number, we make an announcement inside.” Michael Connell, who runs the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station, said about alerting people about crowds awaiting a chance to visit with family during a funeral service, Feb. 26, 2021.

Between You and Me: Funny stories about being a woman early in business

by Leah Dunaief - March 17, 2021

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

There are some funny stories I could share with you about being a woman in business this Women’s History Month. Like any storyteller, I may be repeating myself with a couple, so please indulge me with your patience. I hope they will give you a chuckle even if you’ve already heard them.

First though, I would call your attention elsewhere in the newspaper and on our website to a section in which local businesswomen are participating in this month’s spotlight. They have sent in headshots of themselves and have answered one of three questions that we posed: how do you balance work-life duties; who inspired you; what words would you offer younger women interested in following in your footsteps? Please look for them and enjoy their responses. We hope you will also shop in their stores and use their services, thus supporting both the local economy and minority-owned enterprise.

We started the first newspaper, The Village Times, on April 8, 1976. After some wildly chaotic and exciting first months, just before Christmas, I was waiting in line at the deli across from the office when I was greeted by the ad director of a local competitor newspaper. We had met several times before, and he was filled with the good cheer of the season.

“Congratulations on your new venture,” he said. “The paper looks very good every week.”

“Thank you,” I replied, thinking it was a generous thing for him to say to another publisher.

“You tell the fellow up there that he’s doing a great job,” he added, pointing upward to my office building on the hill.

“What fellow?” I asked, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ crossing my mind.

“Aw, c’mon,” he said with a laugh. “We all know you have some guy up there running the show.”

“Merry Christmas,” I replied and took the encounter back to the staff of half a dozen wives and mothers, who howled.

Then there was the time I was seated on the dais next to the New York Press Association’s keynote speaker, Mike Wallace. It was the Spring Convention, 1984. On his other side was the association’s president finishing his meal, and I was the president-elect. Wallace, good journalist that he was, chatted with us throughout the dinner, sincerely asking about the names and locations of our newspapers. After it was my turn, and I answered his queries, he looked at me and asked, “And where is your husband?”

I could hear the president choking on his food as he feared my response. “He’s at home watching the children,” I answered with a smile. At this point, the president was able to get out, “No, she is the owner and publisher of her paper.”

Wallace turned back to me, patted my arm, and after a long pause, offered, “Forgive me, my dear. I’m an old dinosaur.”

Here’s another. It was 1978 and I had arrived the night before the NYPA convention was to start. I was already checked into the hotel and was eating dinner in the dining room with a book for company. “May I join you?”

I looked up and saw a pleasant-looking man smiling down at me. “Yes,” I answered, returning the smile and assuming he was another early arrival for the convention. We exchanged names and hometowns, chatted briefly about the weather in Albany, and then he slid his room key across the tablecloth. “Come up about 9:00,” he instructed.

I stared at him puzzled, then realized what he was saying. “Why would you think I would be coming to your room?” I asked astonished.

“Well,” he said, “you are down here in the hotel eating by yourself.” He withdrew the key and quickly left. I looked around, realized I was the only woman eating alone, skipped dessert, paid the check, rode the elevator up to my room, and once inside, double-locked the door.

That was life in the fast lane for a woman in business in the 1970s.

Latest Heckscher Museum of Art acquisitions celebrate women

by Press Release - March 17, 2021

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RachelRuysch — Homage Ode: Rachel Ruysch, 2018, mixed media on paper, by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso

The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington has acquired new artwork from two leading women artists: Stella Waitzkin and Gabriella Gonzalez Dellosso. “These acquisitions strengthen the Museum’s collection and affirm our commitment to giving a voice do diverse audiences,” said to Curator Karli Wurzelbacher.

Stella Waitzkin (1920−2003) began creating art in the 1950s while living in Great Neck. She began as abstract expressionist painter but is best known for her sculptures and installations. Waitzkin cast old, leather-bound volumes in resin as single objects that became elements of larger installations, including freestanding shelves, small bookcases, or entire library walls. These pieces of art made her one of only a few female “environment” builders.

Waitzin’s constructions are composed almost entirely of books, or other cast objects such as clocks, birds, fruit, or human faces. Waitzkin received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in 1995.

The Museum will acquire 16 pieces from the Estate.

Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso is a contemporary figure painter with deep art historical knowledge. The Museum acquired five of the works in her series Homage Odes. The artworks take the form of illuminated manuscripts inspired by historical female artists.

A number of Homage Odes were part Dellosso’s solo exhibition at the Museum in 2019, A Brush with Herstory, where Dellosso paid tribute to great female painters from the Renaissance through the modern era. Dellosso often melds her own image to that of artists from the past, creating self-portraits conveying the inspiring stories of historical women.

“These works allow us to insert these important historical women artists into the narrative that we are already able to tell with the permanent collection,” noted Wurzelbacher.

Located in scenic Heckscher Park at 2 Prime Avenue, the Heckscher Museum of Art provides a dynamic schedule of changing exhibitions on American art, inspiring education experiences for students and an exciting series of public programs both in person and online for all ages.

Now entering it’s second century as a source of art and inspiration, The Heckscher Museum of Art was founded in 1920 by philanthropist August Heckscher, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Museum’s collection comprises more than 2,300 works from the 16th to the 21st century, including European and American painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography.

Currently on view is Connie Fox: The Sammy’s Beach Series through April 11 and Wood Gaylor and American Modernism through May 23. Hours are Thursday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., closed Monday to Wednesday. For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit www.heckscher.org.

Northport Tigers win opener against Connetquot

by TBR Staff - March 16, 2021

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By Steven Zaitz

They waited almost 500 days to play a football game. They are now going to wait longer than expected to play the next one.

The Northport Tigers opened their spring season this past Saturday by blanking the Connetquot
Thunderbirds, 26-0. However, two Tiger players tested positive for the coronavirus following the
game and the entire team will be quarantined until at least March 24, postponing this week’s
matchup against rivals Half Hollow Hills East.

The Tigers are trying to stay positive, enjoy the win and hope for the best during the 10 day in-
person shutdown of the program.

“It was a great win,” said an emotionally mixed Head Coach Pat Campbell. “I told the guys that
we have to celebrate this win and appreciate it because nobody knows what the future holds.”

Yes, the immediate future of the team has a large font-sized question mark above its collective
head, but the present says they have a record of 1-0 after their thumping of the Thunderbirds.
The Tigers are looking at this early season pause philosophically.

“I talked to the kids and the message is not to lose your faith, look out for each other and we’ll
get back out there in short order,” Campbell said. “We’re going to meet virtually, and I have a lot
of trust in this team. We’re going to stay ‘together’ apart.”

On this autumnal day in March, they did more than stay together. They obliterated Connetquot
starting right from the opening whistle. The Tigers played a stifling brand of defense, allowing
the T-Birds 84 total yards and zero trips into the red zone. Northport linebacker Anthony
Canales was a human game plan wrecker as he had 13 tackles and a quarterback sack.

“That was the first real sack of my career,” Canales said. “It felt great.”

The senior and future Alfred University Saxon, who also had a forced fumble and three tackles for
loss, admits he might have had an extra bit of motivation on this day. Newsday’s list of Top 100
High School Football Players on Long Island was published the day before the game and
Connetquot’s Will Immel and Vncent Canatia were both on the list. There were no Tigers on it.

“I guess they forgot us this year,” said the jovial Canales. “I feel like we have a few players on
this team who could have made that list, but it’s only a list. At the end of the day, who really
cares. It’s cool to prove people wrong.”

Coach Campbell joked that he’s going to start calling his players 101, 102, 103 and 104.

On offense, the Tigers used an inside-outside running game and racked up an eye-popping 377
yards rushing. Rafe Carner led the way with 102 on the ground, and Andrew Argyris had three
blunt force touchdowns from in close. Jack Sandrib steamrolled his way to 95 yards on only six
carries, and Rocco Stola had 94 yards on seven carries. Stola, who plays defense and special teams as
well (i.e., he never comes off the field) was able to use his speed to out-flank the T-Bird defense
on sweeps.

“I’ve got to give credit to the blocking upfront,” said the modest Stola. “We have been working
really hard, in drills and in meetings, even from last year when a lot of things didn’t go our way.
But today, our offensive line was great. Our defense was amazing. I think all phases today
showed that Northport is ready to make a difference after all this time away from football.”

In 2019, the Tigers were ravaged by injuries, had a 2-6 season and missed the playoffs for the
first time in a decade.

“Last year [2019] we had a different kind of epidemic and it was injuries,” lamented Campbell.
“We had 22 separate injuries, many of which were season ending. We went through five
quarterbacks and by the time we got to the last game of the year, we were on our sixth.”

This year’s signal caller, senior Conner Gallagher, had a quiet game, completing half of his eight
pass attempts for 40 yards, but Campbell felt he did a fine job leading the offense.

“Conner looked good on the tape I saw,” Campbell said. “He’s going to be called upon to make
some big throws for us this year. But today, we were able to run it effectively.”

Looking at tape and holding virtual meetings are what the team is relegated to for the next week
and a half, but the coach is already planning on how to make best use of that time as they still
plan to play Huntington on March 27.

“It’s going to be hard, but I think it’s important to keep the routine and schedule and devote the
time to football that we planned on,” Campbell said. “As far as staying in shape physically, that’s
up to each kid being accountable for himself. The kids are in charge of the culture on this team,
and we have many great leaders. I have confidence in our leaders to be able to rally them up and
we’ll step up to this challenge as a team.”

Just another 10-day challenge; for Northport football, they can add that to the five hundred that
came before.

Northport high school football team quarantined

by TBR Staff - March 15, 2021

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xSupp_NPT_CQT_F — The Northport football team has been sidelines for 10 days due to COVID-19. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

According to the Northport High School Athletic Department, following Northport’s football game on Saturday, March 13, two players on the team tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the team will be quarantined for at least the next 10 days and next week’s game against Half Hollow Hills East will be postponed.

Northport-East Northport School District officials said in accordance with state and local guidelines, students or staff identified as close or direct contacts must be quarantined.

Details about the game, a 26-0 victory against Connetquot will be published shortly.

Art League’s Go APE! high school student virtual exhibition opens March 15

by Heidi Sutton - March 13, 2021

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The Art League of Long Island’s 14th annual “Go APE” Advanced Placement Student Exhibition features 2-D and 3-D works by 124 AP and IB Art Students from 37 Long Island High Schools. This is an opportunity for what may be the first of many times these promising young art students will show their artwork in a professional gallery setting, albeit virtual for 2021.

The virtual exhibit, on view at the Art League’s website at www.artleagueli.org from March 15 to April 2, allows the viewer to “stroll the gallery” in the virtual rooms. Awards of Excellence and Honorable Mentions to be announced.

Continue

Annual SBU innovation event harvests creative ideas

by TBR Staff - March 13, 2021

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sbu hackathon — Screenshot from HACK@CEWIT

By Harry To

The Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology at Stony Brook University hosted its 5th annual Hack@CEWIT “hackathon” featuring student-made inventions, Feb. 26-28.

Usually this showcase takes place in person, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year’s event was hosted online. In place of the usual format, the over-200 competitors communicated through Zoom or Discord.

Satya Sharma, executive director of CEWIT, emphasized the abnormal circumstances weren’t a problem.

“This year’s 5th annual Hack@CEWIT had over 200 registered undergrad and graduate hackers from across the U.S.,” he said. “And though it was held virtually due to the pandemic, it did not diminish the quality of projects submitted by these bright and motivated students. It’s opportunities like this hackathon that builds confidence in their creativity and grows their entrepreneurial spirit.”

According to Sharma, this year’s theme, Innovating Through the Pandemic, reminds people that though there are sudden and unknown challenges, they can seize the opportunities those challenges create and harvest ideas never before imagined.

Students Mohammad Elbadry, 23 (left) and Aaron Gregory, 23 (right). Photo from event

A standout project was R-AGI: Radiology Artificial General Intelligence, created by Stony Brook University graduate students Mohammed Elbadry, Joshua Leeman and Aaron Gregory.

“According to a survey, radiologists only have about 3-4 seconds to look over an X-ray and determine if there are any anomalies,” said Elbadry, a Ph.D. student with over 20-plus hackathons under his belt. “They don’t have much time, so if they had an AI that could help them that would be very useful.”

The limited time for scanning X-rays may result in a higher frequency of errors or discrepancies, with some studies citing an average 3% to 5% error rate, he said. That’s about 40 million radiologist errors every year, mistakes that could potentially cost hundreds of lives.

With the problem in mind, the team of three went to work to create AI that would offer a solution — a program that automatically scans X-rays and detects anomalies. This is something that could save not only time, but human lives.

By using an existing dataset of labelled X-rays, the team trained its AI to detect the presence of pneumonia as well as its specific manifestation. The AI then labels and informs the user of any further anomalies.

The SBU team ended up with an impressive showing, including Top-Tier Graduate Best in Show and Best Healthcare Innovation.

Another award winning project was DarkWebSherlock, created by Andrew Zeoli, Colin Hamill, Donald Finlayson and Ian Costa from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.

The sale of personal information on the dark web, a hidden part of the internet accessible through the TOR Browser, is a problem that has persisted for years, and DarkWebSherlock aims to create a solution.

The program allows users to scan through online marketplaces on the dark web to see if their data is up for sale anywhere.

This enables victims to be proactive by updating their passwords or changing their credit card numbers to better secure their information.

Costa said the program will be an invaluable asset. “Searching for usernames on the dark web is something our team does on a daily basis,” he said. “Our project will save valuable time for investigators and with some extra work will become a staple tool for dark web investigations.”

DarkWebSherlock won Top-Tier: Undergrad Best in Show.

Another award-winning project, Vaccine-Finder, aims to help speed up COVID-19 vaccine distribution for 65-year-old-plus vaccine seekers.

The interface allows the elderly, also people with disabilities, to plug in their zip codes and view the appointment availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Joshua Muckey started this project only recently, and it won Best Pandemic Innovation.

In all, the event hosted 15 projects, many of which showcased student ingenuity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year is a reminder of why innovation is key to our success and our survival as a region, as a state and as a society,” said Marc Alessi, a judge for the event, CEO of SynchroPET and executive director of Tesla Science Center. “This weekend’s hackathon at Stony Brook University’s CEWIT center is an example of bringing together emerging innovators from very diverse backgrounds for the purpose of celebrating and practicing innovation in its most raw form. This is essential to foster an environment of innovation.”

All of the participants’ projects can be found online here.

Suffolk County opts to remove polling sites from elementary schools

by TBR Staff - March 13, 2021

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polling sites, iryna shkurhan — Last week, Leg. Caracappa spoke at Stagecoach Elementary School in Selden proposing the removal of polling stations at elementary schools. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan

By Iryna Shkurhan

Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (R-Selden) announced the first step in an ambitious effort to remove polling sites from all schools in the county.

At a press conference March 5, Caracappa announced that Stagecoach Elementary School in Selden would be the first school in his district to be eliminated as a voting site starting in April.

“Today marks the day that we strike a better balance between the safety of our school children and logistical needs of our voters,” said Nick LaLota, commissioner of the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Suffolk has more than one million voters, with over 333 polling sites. Two thirds of sites are currently schools. Logistically, schools are highly accessible sites for voting given their sizable parking lots, handicap access and large open spaces for voting machines.

As local alternatives, nonschool buildings will be used as polling sites to accommodate voters. Up for consideration are the Selden Fire Department’s main station and substation, as well as the New Village Recreation Center in Centereach. Utilizing high and middle schools have also been proposed as alternatives to elementary schools.

“Eliminating schools as polling sites has been a high priority in this community since I sat on the Middle Country school board over 10 years ago, which makes today such a special day,” Caracappa said.

The proposed overhaul comes after reports that school leaders and parents are worried about voters interacting with young students on voting days, potentially putting them in harm’s way. That’s in addition to the costly increased security required for schools on voting days, which comes out of the school district budget.

Shaun Rothberg, principal of Stagecoach Elementary School, said, “This was a collaborative effort over many years of hard work and dedication to bring awareness to the safety concerns of using schools as voting sites, and I hope is the beginning of removing school voting out of all three buildings.”

Voters will at minimum receive a postcard in the mail alerting them of a polling place change along with the effective date.

“We want to ensure that when we make this change, we’re not only doing it on the focus of the safety of the kids, but we also want to ensure that votersw are fully aware and how they can participate in our great democracy,” LaLota said.

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