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County Executive Race Focuses on Finances, Public Safety and Water Quality

by David Luces - October 31, 2019

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KennedyBelloneFischer — Steve Bellone (D), John Kennedy Jr. (R) and Greg Fischer (L) are facing off for Suffolk County exec. Photos by David Luces

It is a three-man race for the Suffolk County executive seat this year. Incumbent Steve Bellone (D) is vying to secure a final term after coming into office in 2012. Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R) and Libertarian candidate Greg Fischer, from Calverton, are looking to unseat Bellone in this year’s election.

Some topics discussed were the county finances, the opioid and MS-13 situations and Suffolk’s water quality.

Suffolk County finances

The status of the county’s finances continues to be a pressing issue since Thomas DiNapoli (D), the New York State comptroller, released a report saying Suffolk was under the most “significant fiscal stress” of any county — with Nassau — in the state in 2018 for the second year in a row. Suffolk had an operating deficit of about $26.5 million and a general fund balance deficit of $285 million.

“When I came into office in 2012 the county was on the brink of bankruptcy, we had a $500 million accumulated deficit.”

— Steve Bellone

Bellone touted since he took office seven years ago, he has made the county government more streamlined, fully eliminated the existing operating deficit and has helped achieve an operating surplus for two consecutive years.

“When I came into office in 2012 the county was on the brink of bankruptcy, we had a $500 million accumulated deficit,” he said. “The county government was completely dysfunctional. Everyone was saying we were heading in the same direction as Nassau County, we were going to have a control board. I told them that was not going to happen, and we made the tough decisions.”

Since Bellone took office, the county government has cut close to 1,300 municipal jobs looking to reduce expenditures.

Kennedy, who has been the county comptroller for the past five years, said his office has been auditing aggressively, has saved the county upward of $56 million and helped refinance its pipeline debt. He said the county is currently $883 million in operating debt and has a $91 million general fund balance deficit.

The longtime Suffolk politician argued that the county would probably have to cut back at least $50-60 million from the current operating budget.

“There’s things in life, you have your wants and your needs — that’s where we are at [right now],” he said. “We have departments that are not running properly, we have to consolidate.”

Kennedy said he would look to implement percentage decreases across the board for contract agencies and in some cases suspend services, similarly to what the county Legislature did in 2008 in the midst of a recession.

“I am running based on the 15 years of public service — I think I can put us back to balance,” he said.

Fischer put it simply that the county is no different than a big bankrupt company.

“We are rated lower than Nassau County, which has financial control boards,” he said. “We can’t rely on the state for anything right now.”

If elected, Fischer would freeze further increases in spending immediately as well as freeze future hiring and begin cross-training county employees.

“This is something that has to be done now,” he said.

Opioids/MS-13

On opioids, Kennedy said the county has had an addiction issue long before oxycodone was ever cooked up, mentioning morphine, methadone and crystal meth that have been a concern since the late ’80s.

He said treatment for addicts is one of his main concerns.

“We have fewer treatment beds in Suffolk County than five to 10 years ago,” Kennedy said. “Availability of treatment beds is the most pressing need right now.”

“I am running based on the 15 years of public service — I think I can put us back to balance.”

— John Kennedy Jr.

Many Republicans have criticized the Bellone administration for the closure and sale of the Foley Center in Yaphank, which they contend would have helped in the fight against the opioid crisis.

The county comptroller said that the governor has to be more proactive in helping the county. In addition, he said law enforcement needs to be more effective.

Fischer said he lost his brother to heroin and is acutely aware of what is going on in the fight.

“This is horribly addictive stuff — I believe in ‘scared straight’ programs, bringing in junkies into schools and scaring the crap out of kids,” he said. “I do want more treatment and prevention not just more cops.”

The county executive maintained a comprehensive approach is the only way to solve the opioids crisis.

He agreed with Kennedy and Fischer that local law enforcement plays a big part, but that prevention is just as important.

Bellone touted partnerships with community-based groups and schools and opening DASH, a substance abuse and mental health center in Hauppauge, that is seeing patients 24/7.

“The inability to provide adequate treatment has been a failure of our country,” he said. “Once you become addicted it is very hard to extricate yourself from it. We have made progress — the state has helped us.”

He also mentioned that the county has decided to sue the people responsible for the opioid epidemic.

“Though we can’t restore the lives lost, the Sackler family [which controls Purdue Pharma] should be made to pay,” he said.

On MS-13, Bellone said the Suffolk County Police Department has led the fight against the gang and has helped in getting the lowest crime rate in the history of the county.

Kennedy and Fischer contend that it is the federal government’s involvement that has swayed the tide in the fight. Though all three candidates agree that while strides have been made, there needs to be continued law enforcement efforts from both the local and federal levels.

Suffolk’s water quality

Bellone called water quality “the most significant issue of our time in Suffolk County.”

“Climate change will have certain impacts, but if we don’t address water quality, we are sacrificing the future of the county — we cannot sustain what this place is without protecting water,” he said.

Bellone said water quality is not only vital for the county’s economy but also to local tourism which brings in billions of dollars each year.

“It is one of the reasons why people live here and for the quality of life,” he said.

The county executive defended his septic improvement program which he launched in 2017, saying it has allowed homeowners to replace outdated septic systems and cesspools. He also mentioned that it has helped reduce contaminants in the groundwater.

“We have departments that are not running properly, we have to consolidate.”

— John Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy said his main concern is to continue to identify any suspected contaminants in our groundwater. He supports the Suffolk County Water Authority’s efforts to identify and remove 1,4-dioxane.

“We need to raise funding to install 31 wells [throughout the county],” he said.

Another of his concerns is stormwater runoff prevention, which he said, to him, the jury is still out on the advanced septic system, adding that four to six systems are not working properly.

Fischer said he would propose a “100 projects in 100 weeks” plan if elected, adding there are some things the county could implement right now.

“I would put a sizable fee or ban on high nitrogen fertilizer — this is dangerous stuff,” he said.

The Libertarian candidate criticized Bellone’s advanced septic system program, calling it a complete failure and needs to be put into moratorium until it is fixed.

Fischer also proposed changes to water codes, mentioning gray water — or the water that comes out of baths, sinks and other appliances — and setting certain mandates for new construction.

Winners of TBR News Media’s Halloween Contest announced

by Heidi Sutton - October 31, 2019

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Halloween contest celebrates the spirit of the season

Thanks to all the children who entered Times Beacon Record News Media’s annual Halloween contest and for helping to make it so successful! This year we had 35 entries making it very difficult to choose a winner. Congratulations to Madison T. of Wading River and sisters Gabriella and Gianna I. of Stony Brook for being this year’s winners and receiving a family four-pack of tickets to Port Jefferson Cinemas in Port Jefferson Station. Special thanks to PJ Cinemas for sponsoring our contest!

See all of this year’s entries on this and the following pages and be sure to be on the lookout for our upcoming Thanksgiving Coloring Contest. Happy Halloween!

Tick Borne Diseases Should Not Be Taken Lightly

by TBR Staff - October 27, 2019

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Viloria-Fisher-1stCD-Democrat-primary-060118-Barr20180531_0480w — Vivian-Viloria-Fisher. File photo by Kyle Barr

By Vivian Viloria-Fisher

I thought I had taken all the right steps to protect myself against tick borne diseases; avoided going onto tall grassy areas without gloves, long white pants and white socks, and I sprayed legs — and shoes — and arms with repellents. All that notwithstanding, I did find more than one tick on me this summer. Again, I followed the prescribed steps and collected the vermin, saved it and saw my doctor, who prescribed a prophylactic dose of doxycycline. After the requisite weeks, I had blood work done which showed no sign of disease.

So, when I was flying home from a visit with our two sons in California and was not able to eat my salad at my layover stop, I was surprised but not concerned. I’d had a very busy week enjoying time with my kids and grandson. I felt very achy but chalked that up to the long drive from Marc’s home in Sebastopol to Dan and Megan’s home in Thousand Oaks. That’s more than 400 miles.

I was very tired the next morning but pushed myself to get up and get ready for the funeral that caused me to shorten my trip. During the Mass, I swung from hot to shivering cold and began to feel lightheaded. I turned to my husband, Stu, and told him that I felt as if my head was exploding in a white flash before my eyes. He helped me to my feet, and we made our way out of the church, quickly hugging my cousins as we passed. We bought a thermometer at a drugstore across the street from the church. It read 103 degrees.

This was Friday, the beginning of a week of fevers rising and falling, no ability to eat, muscle aches, headaches, earache and fatigue. My search for answers included three visits to doctors’ offices and finally, on Thursday, Mather Hospital Emergency Department in Port Jefferson where Dr. Hirsch did not dismiss it as just a virus. I told him I thought I had meningitis. He shook his head and said, “I suspect Lyme.”

My father had meningitis when I was 5 years old. He had continued to work although he was sick with mumps, and the infection spread. I remember the grown ups’ conversations about the tube driven into his head to relieve pressure. That left me with a very vivid but equally inaccurate image of what he endured. I wished something could relieve what I knew was going on in my head.

Stu and I had just watched “Jeopardy!” on Friday evening, and my right eye hurt so much that I decided to go to bed, since I couldn’t read or watch TV. I looked in the mirror as I brought the toothbrush to my mouth and saw that only half my mouth was opening. Off we went to Mather ED.

Within a day it was determined from the spinal fluid that the Lyme disease did cause the meningitis — and the palsy that froze the right side of my face.

I refer to tick borne diseases as the Black Plague of our county. These diseases are not to be taken lightly either by the public who don’t believe it will happen to them or by health providers who don’t consider the possibility of Lyme as often as they should. One can be bitten and walk away free of any infection or one can be bitten, feel safe because blood work shows no infection and find oneself close to death. I was very lucky to have had excellent medical care, both in the hospital and at home. I was discharged with a midline for a 28-day course of intravenous antibiotics and a service that provided a nurse who came to our home once a week and instructed my devoted husband on how to administer the medication when she wasn’t there.

Nobody drilled a hole in my head. Instead, my family, my friends and my community surrounded me with love, care and prayers. I am so grateful.

Vivian Viloria-Fisher and her husband live in East Setauket. She is a former county legislator in the 5th District, and is now chair of the Jefferson’s Ferry board of directors.

Chris Pendergast Reflects on ALS Diagnosis Decades Later

by TBR Staff - October 26, 2019

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Chris=Pendergast 5 — Chris Pendergast celebrates his 70th birthday at 89 North Music Venue in Patchogue with family and friends. Photo by Elliot Perry

By Chris Pendergast

On a cold rainy Columbus Day, my life forever changed. Nothing would be the same. The life I knew ended. My wife, children and I embarked on a new road, one less traveled by. That has made all the difference.

During the Columbus Day weekend of 1993, I was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Most people now know it is an incurable and uniformly fatal disease. Average life expectancy still hovers near the two or three-year mark. Lucky ones can live longer. A rare few survive longer than 10 years.

Remarkably, l am entering my 27th year with my unwanted road companion. I am here today due in large part to my loving wife, Christine, and our wonderful kids, Melissa and Buddy. They keep me well cared for and motivated. They have, literally, gone the extra mile for me. My grandson Patrick is the most effective medicine I take. My son-in-law Rich and step-grandson Ryan round out my terrific family.

I am blessed with caring, competent and compassionate caregivers, Tiana, Amanda, Marquita and Lena. They are in the trenches every day and night battling right beside and fighting the good fight with me. I am fortunate to have an outstanding mental health therapist, Dr. Melnekoff. He has kept me balanced, focused and headed in the right direction. My life is extended through the phenomenal care provided by my incredible respiratory therapist, Monty Rivera from Millennium. I receive expert medical treatment at the ALSA Clinic, which bears my name at Stony Brook University Hospital. Marvelous friends surround me and help with so many things to make our life easier. My ALS Ride for Life charity has countless volunteers led by staffers Maureen and Marilyn. Because of all their collective work, we have raised more than $8.5 million.

Along the road with ALS, I witnessed amazing things and met incredible people. I was able to participate in wonderful experiences which otherwise would not have happened.

Do I wish I never got ALS? Honestly, I am not sure. I am certain that at some point in almost everyone’s life, a fatal disease will arise. The timing and circumstances vary but the ending does not. I have no corner on the market — everyone will get a turn. My turn came earlier than expected and became more public.

It has been a great life so far. I wonder what new adventures and joys lie around the bend. Besides the joys to come, there are also the challenges and corresponding sorrows. However, I have faith and optimism that everyone one in my life will collectively help me triumph.

To paraphrase Gehrig’s farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, as he did, I also say, “Look at these grand people. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his life just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”

Chris Pendergast, 70, is a former Northport teacher, who lives in Miller Place. He is the founder of ALS Ride for Life, the Stony Brook University-based nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about ALS, funding research and providing patient services.

Marion Carll Farm: Struggle Continues

by Donna Deedy - October 25, 2019

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After 50 years of trials and tribulations, the Commack School District is forging ahead with a plan to use the Marion Carll Farm on Commack Road for educational purposes, but some activists are not happy with the decision.

Since July, the district has been renting its barns to Long Island University. The site is expected to become the region’s first veterinarian school of medicine by September 2020.

“We expect animals to be on the site by February,” said Superintendent Donald James.

But, Cynthia Clark, a concerned citizen, who formed the Marion Carll Preserve Inc. said she has asked the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau to intervene. Her goal, she said, is to acquire, restore and sustainably run the site in perpetuity according to benefactor Marion Carll’s wishes.

“For 50 years, the district has squandered this gift,” Clark said. “It’s a crime! A cultural and ethical crime.”

Clark said that she has commitments with Harbor Harvest to buy organic produce grown on the 9-acre site and can secure grants to restore all buildings. But the district unanimously chose the LIU proposal over her application earlier this year.

LIU’s proposal, according to an LIU spokesperson, met both the wishes of Marion Carll’s Last Will and Testament along with the Commack School District’s standards for financial viability. The district stated the plan will include providing valuable educational programs to the children of the district. James said that the district expects to implement a shadowing program that will provide an opportunity for students to look at career options that they might not otherwise consider. Animals on the premises will include cows, goats and chickens. The district also expects to offer lessons on beekeeping to the students.

The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has not been adequately maintained. Carll’s will, granting the property to the district, stipulates maintaining the buildings as historical museums for educational purposes. Clark sounded the alarm this past summer, she said, when the property was being cleared without appropriate permits and as work commenced to replace the barn’s roof. The state Department of Education has since issued a stop work order.

The home on the Marion Carll Farm in its current condition.

In an interview on the Marion Carll Farm, James said that he expects to have all needed permits before the year’s end. LIU’s rent of $15,000, he said, will fund the stabilization of the house and barn and be used to properly catalog and preserve the contents of the building. After that, the district said it will remove the antiques within the farmhouse while restoration occurs.

The house is not part of the lease with LIU, but the district is counting on the rental income to finance repairs. LIU, James said, has already spent $700,000 repairing the historical red barn and replacing its roof and clearing dead trees and overgrowth. The university will also cover expenses related to installing historically correct fencing, complete repairs to the barn and other buildings and lend labor to restore the historic home. Over the next 10 years, LIU is committed to spend $175,000, James said, and the district is committed to spend $350,000, which is the savings associated with LIU maintaining the entire property.

Clark, who is a preservation specialist for leather clothing and furniture, estimates that the restoration project will cost $2.5 million plus another $1.5 million to restore the furnishings in the house. The preserve, she said, applied for nonprofit 501(c)(3) status last year, but the application is still pending. She said that she’s already spent thousands of her own money on the project, but expects to be able to secure the funds she needs through grants and said in a telephone interview that she is aligned with a successful grant writer with a “100 percent track record.” She could not provide the name.

Clark’s plan was one of several options that the district considered earlier this year. The district ultimately chose the Long Island University lease, largely because of its long-term economic viability.

Long Island University’s College of Veterinary Medicine spokesperson Mary Studdert stated in an email that it has received a Letter of Reasonable Assurance from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education (AVMA-COE) enabling LIU to immediately begin accepting applications for the fall 2020 semester. At full enrollment, the veterinary school will serve 400 students, with 100 in each graduating class and will be the first College of Veterinary Medicine in the New York Metropolitan area.

The conflict with Clark arises just years after the district was sued by the Carll heirs to revert ownership back to the Carll heirs because of the district’s failure to fulfill the will’s obligations. The district ultimately won the 2012 case in summary judgment on statute of limitation grounds, stating that the heirs were 12 years too late. Restrictions on the district’s obligations were lifted to clear title, according to board member Jarret Behar. James said that the district could now legally sell the site, if it wanted to, but said the board is committed to its preservation and use as a historical museum with educational purposes.

The house, according to the district, is structurally sound, but part of the building is still taking on rain. The main structure is covered with a rubber membrane to control leaks, but James said in an email that more leaks formed in different places and need to be fixed. The stop work order, he said, is now yet another hurdle that interferes with the district’s efforts to properly maintain the site.

One of many structures on the 9-acre Marion Carll Farm.

Clark said that she can reveal no details about her conversations with the attorney general’s office but said that she is hopeful.

The Carll family was one of Huntington’s earliest settlers and Marion Carll was Commack’s first teacher. She died in 1968 and willed the site to the district. The site was occupied by a Carll family member until 1993, as stipulated in the will. The district leased part of the site to BOCES from 1990 to 2000 and sought to sell the farm to developers for $750,000 in 2010, but the public referendum failed.

Over the years, different school boards have had different ideas on how to use the property. James, who grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, said that the board is committed to doing what’s best for the district.

Halloween Happenings on the North Shore

by Heidi Sutton - October 24, 2019

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Northport-Halloween-Hayride_06 — The Northport Chamber of Commerce hosts a day of fun at Northport Village Park on Nov. 3 (rescheduled from Oct. 27) featuring hayrides, music, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, costume contest and refreshments. File photo by Victoria Espinoza

Dear Readers,

Happy Halloween! We’ve rounded up some of the best Halloween events on the North Shore for families with young children. From a Halloween Festival at the picturesque Stony Brook Village Center, to a spooktacular costume parade down Lake Avenue in St. James, to trick-or-treating inside the Smith Haven Mall and a variety of trunk-or-treats, there are plenty of choices this season.

Haunted Garden

Sachem Public Library, 150 Holbrook Road, Holbrook presents The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from Oct. 25 to 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The legend lives on as the Headless Horseman rises each night in the library’s Haunted Garden! Come for a scare and a snack and hold onto your head! Weather permitting. Free. Call 588-5024.

Family Fun Day

The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook hosts a Family Fun Day on Oct. 27 from noon to 4 p.m. Come in costume and enjoy pumpkin painting, trick or treating, crafts and a special family performance by the magic of Amore. Free. Call 751-0066.

Halloween Festival

Heritage Trust invites the community to its annual Halloween Festival at the Heritage Center, 633 Mount Sinai-Coram Road, Mount Sinai on Oct. 26. The event will run in two sessions, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 3 p.m. Have fun with pumpkin picking and decorating, unlimited game playing, fun raffles, prizes and much more. Registration is $10 and required for all participants (no walk-ins, parents and guardians are not required to register). Each registrant will receive a snack and beverage along with a goodie bag and pumpkin to decorate and take home. Don’t forget to wear your costumes! Call 509-0882 or visit www.msheritagetrust.org.

Haunted Hatchery

Calling all ghosts and goblins! Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, 1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor invites the community to join them for a not so scary Haunted Hatchery on Oct. 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. Receive a treat as you trick or treat. Wear a costume and have fun! Admission is $6 adults, $5 seniors and children ages 3 to 12. Call 516-692-6768.

Boo Bash Family Fun Day

Smith Haven Mall, Moriches Road, Lake Grove will host a Boo Bash Family Fun Day in Center Court on Oct. 26 from noon to 3 p.m. Come in costume and enjoy an afternoon filled with crafts, activities, goodies, giveaways, spooktacular fun and surprises with Vampirina. Call 724-8066.

Halloween Festival at SCCC

Join Suffolk County Community College, 533 College Road, Selden for its 33rs annual Halloween Festival on Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Babylon Student Center. Enjoy entertainment, carnival booths, crafts and lots more. Free. Call 451-4376.

Halloween at Wardenclyffe

New! Join the Tesla Center at Wardenclyffe, Shoreham for a supercharged Halloween celebration on Oct. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. Featuring the wonders of Nikola Tesla, the master of technology and wizard of electricity. Enjoy a Monster Mash robotics competition, a Halloween Tech Parade, storytelling, activities, entertainment, food, vendors and more. Tickets are $15 adults, $13 seniors/students, $5 ages 5 to 12, free for ages 4 and under. To purchase, visit https://teslasciencecenter.org.

Haunted Wail-ing Booseum

The Whaling Museum, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor hosts its biggest event, Haunted Wail-ing Booseum, on Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with spooky (and not so scary) games, creepy crafts and lots of fun activities. See live critters in Dr. Gellerman’s Spooky Zoo and make your way through the mysterious museum maze! Admission is $15 child, $6 adults. Call 367-3418.

Halloween Hayride

he Northport Chamber of Commerce hosts a day of fun at Northport Village Park, 1 Bayview Ave., Northport on Nov. 3 (rescheduled from Oct. 27) from noon to 4 p.m. featuring hayrides, music, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, costume contest and refreshments. Call 754-3905 or visit www.northportny.com.

Port Jeff Village Harvest Fest

Port Jefferson Village presents its 10th annual Harvest Fest throughout the village on Oct. 27 from noon to 5 p.m. Attractions will include a Chowder Crawl, costumed dog parade, Scarecrow Alley, marshmallow roasting, haunted walking tour, farmers market, festive harvest crafts, live music and woodcarving.Call 473-4724 or visit www.portjeff.com.

Spooktacular Parade

The Community Association of Greater St. James will present a Spooktacular Parade on Oct. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. Little ghosts and goblins should gather at Lake and Woodlawn avenues in St. James by noon for a contest, prizes and fun!

Trick or Treat at the Heckscher

The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington offers free museum admission for children in costume and their families from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Make an art activity at the Create Your Own Activity Station, pose with spooktacular props at the Selfie Station, make a magical digital action painting and explore the museum’s exhibits. Call 351-3250.

Safe Trick-or-Treating

Join the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove for a spooktacular, safe trick-or-treating environment for all of your little ghouls and goblins on Halloween Day, Oct. 31 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at participating retailers. **Participating stores will have an orange pumpkin displayed in their window. Call 724-8066.

Halloween Festival

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization hosts its annual Halloween Festival at the Stony Brook Village Center, 111 Main St., Stony Brook on Oct. 31 from 2 to 5 p.m. Trick or treat in the shops and restaurants, take part in a costume parade, and enjoy games galore. Free. Call 751-2244.

Halloween Costume Parade

The Town of Huntington will present its annual children’s Halloween Costume Parade starting at Gerard Street in Huntington Village on Oct. 31 from 4 to 5 p.m. Children of all ages (and their parents or guardians) are welcome to dress in costume and walk in the parade. Parade route will move east down Gerard Street and south down Wall Street, ending where Wall Street meets Main Street. Village merchants will pass out candy to trick or treater’s. For info, call 351-3112.

Trunk-or-Treat events

Kids Clubhouse of Suffolk at Cornerstone Bible Church, 324 Jayne Blvd., Port Jefferson Station invites you to wear your costume and join them as they go from trunk to trunk for a fun, safe, family event on Oct. 31 from 3 to 5 p.m. Enjoy music, games and peanut-free treats. Call 675-1615.

Lake Ronkonkoma United Methodist Church, 792 Hawkins Ave., Lake Grove welcomes all families to celebrate Halloween at its 3rd annual Trunk-or-Treat on Oct. 26 from noon to 2 p.m. Children will trick or treat for candy and other goodies in the church’s parking lot where cars will be decorated with festive themes. Complimentary refreshments will be served. Call 588-5856.

Join the Commack United Methodist Church, 486 Townline Road, Commack for a Trunk-N-Treat event on Oct. 26 from 3 to 5 p.m. Rain date is Oct. 27. Questions? Call 499-7310.

Three Village Church, 322 Route 25A in East Setauket, hosts a Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. with trick or treating at decorated car trunks, a bounce house, crafts, games and more! Call 941-3670.

*All number in 631 area code unless noted.

Suffolk Conducts First Public Budget Meeting for 2019-20

by David Luces - October 24, 2019

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Suffolk-County-Legislature-Hauppauge2-032014-Shapiro — Suffolk County legislators approved a $3.2 billion budget for 2020 Nov. 6. TBR News Media file photo

County residents got a glimpse of the county’s budget process as the operating budget working group held its first public meeting Oct. 17 when the 2019-20 recommended operating budget was discussed.

The county operating budget funds employee payroll costs, county departments and a variety of other expenditures. The status of the budget has been in the spotlight since the New York State comptroller, Tom DiNapoli (D), said Suffolk was under “significant fiscal stress” — with Nassau — for the second year in a row. In 2018, Suffolk had an operating deficit of about $26.5 million and a general fund balance deficit of $285 million.

The topic has been an important issue in the county executive race. The current incumbent, Steve Bellone (D), has stated that during his tenure he has worked to bring the county spending and finances back in check. John Kennedy Jr., the county comptroller and Republican challenger for executive, has stated that the county is in a “fiscal crisis.”

Here is what legislators discussed at the meeting. The proposed operating budget for 2019-20 will be $3.2 billion, an increase from last year’s $3.1 billion budget.

The recommended budget would look to increase property taxes by $14.66 million (2.14 percent), according to the report. The increase is comprised of a rise in police district property taxes of $16.56 million (2.8 percent).

The police district will face an $11.3 million deficit by the end of 2019. It is the fourth year in a row that the district will have a deficit. Overtime for the police department in 2019 is estimated at $30.9 million.

In addition, the county’s general fund, despite seeing an increase of $318 million in revenue from 2015 to 2019, is projected to experience its fifth consecutive deficit in 2019. Combined with the police district, the county may face an operating deficit of some $20 million.

Sales tax revenue is projected to increase an additional $48.5 million from 2019-20 or about 4.5 percent.

Another area of concern is the county payroll. It has increased by $315 million in the last seven years, despite the workforce being reduced by 1,250 positions. From the start of 2019 through Sept. 8, the number of active county employees on the payroll declined by approximately 150, according to the report. The recommended expenditures for employee health care in 2020 is projected to increase by approximately by $22.2 million.

The Budget Review Office also raised concerns in the report that property taxes in the Southwest Sewer District, which covers parts of Babylon and Islip, would decrease by $2.14 million. This could lead to less funds available for sewer projects and potentially increase borrowing.

In terms of other revenue, the county is projected to see an increase in funds from video lottery terminals at Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel in Islandia. The revenue brought in will increase to $25 million in 2020 compared to $2.9 million in 2018 and $3.3 million in 2019.

For homeowners, the proposed county property tax will yield an estimated average tax bill of $1,207, an increase of $25. Average taxes per homeowners will increase by $32 in five western towns, including Brookhaven, Smithtown and Huntington, and decrease by $2 in the county’s five eastern towns.

Mustangs Girls Soccer Blanked by Tornadoes 5-0

by Bill Landon - October 24, 2019

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Peyton Buckholtz a senior challenges Mt. Sinai 8th grader Taylor Pedra in a Div. II matchup Oct. 22. Photo by Bill Landon — Peyton Buckholtz a senior challenges Mount Sinai 8th grader Taylor Pedra in a Div. II matchup Oct. 22. Photo by Bill Landon

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It was all Harborfields in a Division II road game against Mount Sinai where the Tornadoes blew through the Mustangs, 5-0, Oct. 22.

The juniors led the way for Harborfields when Katie Davis scored twice along with Kathryn Morgan and Taylor Sammis who both stretched the net. Ruby Sember, the freshman, also put one through to round out the scoring for the Tornadoes with one game remaining before postseason play.

Harborfields senior keeper Zoe Krief had three saves in net and teammate Kristina Hansen a freshman stopped two. Hailey Covington had eight saves for the Mustangs and teammate Alaina Riley stopped four.

Mount Sinai concludes their regular season with a senior night home game against West Babylon Oct. 24 in a must-win game for any hopes of postseason play. Game time is 6 p.m.

Harborfields also concludes their regular season needing a win on the road against Bayport-Blue Point Oct. 24, with a 4:30 p.m. start.

Aftermath of Last Week’s Nor’easter Shows Rough Start for Storm Season

by TBR Staff - October 23, 2019

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Last week, Long Island was slammed and hit by an unexpected fall nor’easter which brought in heavy rains and gusting winds that exceeded 50 mph.

The powerful winds from the storm caused downed power wires and felled large trees and branches. According to the National Weather Service, parts of Long Island dealt with moderate coastal flooding and about 2-3 inches of rain.

More than 73,000 PSEG Long Island customers lost power during the storm. Within 48 hours, PSEG restored service to nearly 100 percent of customers affected by the storm on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 16-17, according to PSEG media relations. The rest were restored by that Friday.

By the end of the nor’easter, crews had removed a total of 1,206 trees and large branches downed by the storm.

In Port Jefferson Harbor a sailing sloop named Grand Prix slipped her moorings and drifted aground in front of Harborfront Park, according to local photographer Gerard Romano who took a photo featured on the cover of this week’s paper. Another sailing vessel called the Summer Place washed ashore in Mount Sinai Harbor.

The Town of Brookhaven Highway Department responded to nearly 250 calls during the 24-hour storm.

“We worked directly with PSEG as they dispatched their crews to areas where trees had fallen on wires so we could safely remove the debris after the power lines were de-energized,” town Highway Superintendent Daniel Losquadro (R) said in a statement. “Crews worked throughout the night to clear the roadways swiftly and efficiently.”

CSHL’s Peter Koo tackles deep learning

by Daniel Dunaief - October 23, 2019

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cshlkooheadshot — Peter Koo. Photo by ©Gina Motisi, 2019/ CSHL

By Daniel Dunaief

We built a process that works, but we don’t know why. That’s what one of the newest additions to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory hopes to find out.

Researchers have applied artificial intelligence in many areas in biology and health care. These systems are making useful predictions for the tasks they are trained to perform. Artificial intelligence, however, is mostly a hands-off process. After these systems receive training for a particular task, they learn patterns on their own that help them make predictions.

How these machines learn, however, has become as much of a black box as the human brains that created these learning programs in the first place. Deep learning is a way to build hierarchical representations of data, explained Peter Koo, an assistant professor at the Simons Center for Quantitative Biology at CSHL, who studies the way each layer transforms data and the next layer builds upon this in a hierarchical manner.

Koo, who earned his doctorate at Yale University and performed his postdoctoral research at Harvard University, would like to understand exactly what the machines we created are learning and how they are coming up with their conclusions.

“We don’t understand why [these artificial intelligence programs] are making their predictions,” Koo said. “My postdoctoral research and future research will continue this line of work.”

Koo is not only interested in applying deep learning to biological problems to do better, but he’s also hoping to extract out what knowledge these machines learn from the data sets to understand why they are performing better than some of the traditional methods.

“How do we guide black box models to learn biologically meaningful” information? he asked. “If you have a data set and you have a predictive model that predicts the data well, you assume it must have learned something biologically meaningful,” he suggested. “It turns out, that’s not always the case.”

Deep learning can pick up other trends or links in the data that might not be biologically meaningful. In a simplistic example, an artificial intelligence weather system that tracked rain patterns during the spring might conclude, after seven rainy Tuesdays, that it rains on Tuesdays, even if the day of the week and the rain don’t have a causative link.

“If the model is trained with limited data that is not representative, it can easily learn patterns that are correlative in the training data,” Koo said. He tries to combat this in practice by holding out some data, which is called validating data. Scientists use it to evaluate how well the model generalizes to new data.

Koo plans to collaborate with numerous biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, as well as other quantitative biologists, like assistant professors Justin Kenney and David McCandlish.

In an email, Kenney explained that the Simons Center is “very interested in moving into this area, which is starting to have a major impact on biology just as it has in the technology industry.”

The quantitative team is interested in high-throughput data sets that link sequence to function, which includes assays for protein binding, gene expression, protein function and a host of others. Koo plans to take a “top down” approach to interpret what the models have learned. The benefit of this perspective is that it doesn’t set any biases in the models.

Deep learning, Koo suggested, is a rebranding of artificial neural networks. Researchers create a network of simple computational units and collectively they become a powerful tool to approximate functions.

A physicist by training, Koo taught himself his expertise in deep learning, Kenney wrote in an email. “He thinks far more deeply about problems than I suspect most researchers in this area do,” he wrote. Kenney is moving in this area himself as well, because he sees a close connection between the problem of how artificial intelligence algorithms learn to do things and how biological systems mechanistically work.

While plenty of researchers are engaged in the field of artificial intelligence, interpretable deep learning, which is where Koo has decided to make his mark, is a considerably smaller field.

“People don’t trust it yet,” Koo said. “They are black box models and people don’t understand the inner workings of them.” These systems learn some way to relate input function to output predictions, but scientists don’t know what function they have learned.

Koo chose to come to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in part because he was impressed with the questions and discussions during the interview process.

Koo, daughter Evie (left) and daughter Yeonu (right) during Halloween last year. Photo by Soohyun Cho

He started his research career in experimental physics. As an undergraduate, he worked in a condensed matter lab of John Clarke at the University of California at Berkeley. He transitioned to genomics, in part because he saw a huge revolution in next-generation sequencing. He hopes to leverage what he has learned to make an impact toward precision medicine.

Biological researchers were sequencing all kinds of cancers and were trying to make an impact toward precision medicine. “To me, that’s a big draw,” Koo said, “to make contributions here.”

A resident of Jericho, Koo lives with his wife, Soohyun Cho, and their 6-year-old daughter Evie and their 4-year old-daughter Yeonu.

Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, he joined the Army Reserves after high school, attended community college and then transferred to UC Berkeley to get his bachelor’s degree in physics.

As for his decision to join Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Koo said he is excited with the opportunity to combine his approach to his work with the depth of research in other areas.

“Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is one of those amazing places for biological research,” Koo said. “What brought me here is the quantitative biology program. It’s a pretty new program” that has “incredibly deep thinkers.”

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