Students from the Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program will soon be visiting Com-sewogue Public Library for two special HeLP events designed for community members of all ages.
The students, who are currently training in the fields of social work, public health, and nutrition, will be available outside on the Library grounds on both April 14 and May 12, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. to provide information and answer questions on a wide variety of vital topics, including how to find community resources, reliable health information, fill out paperwork for social services and find housing.
During the first hour of each HeLP event, the Long Island Cares Mobile Food Pantry Van will be on-site giving out free food, while supplies last. All are welcome and no ID is required.
The Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program is a partnership between the Public Libraries of Suffolk County, a unique group of healthcare professionals, and graduate student interns working together to provide access to both in-person and virtual healthcare-related resources for public library patrons throughout Suffolk County.
Comsewogue Public Library is located at 170 Terryvillle Road, Port Jefferson Station. In case of in-clement weather, the events will be moved inside. For questions, call the Library at 631-928-1212, option 3.
Courtesy of Jennifer Quirk-Senyk, adult services librarian at Comsewogue Public Library
On April 6, Stony Brook University administered 1,400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to students living on campus. The mass vaccination day fell on the first day that New York granted eligibility for those 16 of age and older.
“I’m so thrilled that the eligibility came much earlier than we ever expected,” said Rick Gatteau, vice president for Student Affairs at SBU and dean of students.
The administration sent out an email to residents last Thursday with a link to sign up. Within two hours it was filled, and there is currently a waitlist of 500 students waiting for the next session.
The event took place in the newly constructed Student Union building, where students arrived at their assigned time and were guided through the process by dozens of volunteers. They will return for their second dose on May 4.
“I felt compelled to get the vaccine”, said Victor Shin, a sophomore chemistry major. “I’m hoping that the campus will open up very soon and we can head back toward in-person learning.”
By the end of the day, 30% of on campus residents received a vaccine. With the semester wrapping up in a few weeks, the administration is hoping to vaccinate all students who are interested so that the second dose falls before the last day of classes May 4.
“The fact that we’ve had such a huge turnout is reflective of our students’ interest in getting the vaccine,” Gatteau said. “We’re a big STEM school focused on research, and students know the value of the science and research that went into it, which is similar to their own career pursuits.”
Residents were selected first due to their risk of transmission by living in close quarters in dorms. The next group to be offered a spot will be commuter students who travel to campus and those who are fully remote but live on Long Island.
“Even if it was never required, I think we’d get to our herd immunity number just based on interest,” Gatteau said.
The decision of whether or not vaccination will be required of students returning to campus in the fall is still up for deliberation by the State University of New York administration. This week they announced that in the fall, 80% of classes will be held in person.
Chef Andrew Seeley with host Cliff Crooks as he samples his dish, as seen on Chef Bootcamp, Season 1. Photo from Food Network
A staple in the Port Jefferson community is heading to the small screen, sharing their story on the Food Network’s newest series, “Chef Boot Camp,” to air on at 10 p.m. on Thursday, April 8.
Under the guidance of chef Cliff Crooks, culinary director of a global restaurant brand, the show takes struggling chefs from family owned businesses and helps their techniques.
In its season premiere, a local bar and eatery is stepping up to the plate — with chef Andrew Seeley of Tara Inn.
“They take a troubled chef, that’s a good chef, but who needs technique to help a place that’s struggling in the area,” he said. “Prepandemic and now, this area is not what it used to be.”
But Seeley said thanks to the new apartments soon to be developed in Upper Port, the inn has “an amazing opportunity here.”
According to the Food Network, Crooks will put a trio of underperforming chefs each episode through a grueling series of challenges to test their real-world culinary skills and fitness for the role.
With their jobs on the line, these chefs will attempt to not only survive but thrive in “Chef Boot Camp” and prove to their owners they have the talent and passion that it takes to succeed.
Owners Tara and Kate Higgins also joined in on the episode, where they offered tips that Seeley needed to work on.
“The chef spends time with you, teaches you techniques and kind of puts you to the test to see what you can do and what you can’t,” he said.
Kate, a Port Jefferson Station resident, said last summer the bar received a phone call from a producer with the Food Network. She didn’t believe the message, but called them back to find out they were interested in featuring her family’s spot in their new show.
“I thought it was a joke,” she said. “I’m not even sure how she found us, but I’m happy they did.”
From July on, Seeley and the Higgins family talked with producers and got ready to film at two locations —in Manhattan and New Jersey — in November. This week’s episode is the first one to kick off the season, where Seeley and the bar’s owners will be featured in the hour-long show.
Boot camp
Chef Andrew Seeley, as seen on Chef Bootcamp, Season 1. Photo from Food Network
The Food Network said in a statement that Crooks assesses the three featured chefs’ skills in the kitchen and addresses their areas for improvement.
After an introduction to each chef that reveals what brought them to boot camp, Crooks gets a firsthand look and taste of one of their signature dishes to begin to understand what the issues may be.
Next, the chefs must demonstrate fundamental cooking techniques of a classic dish, which they must create on time and to Crooks’ satisfaction, showing their skills, knowledge and ability in the kitchen.
Then, the chefs must bring it altogether — working a fast-paced, live dinner service at one of Crooks’ restaurants, and then, finally, whipping up a creative, new dish for their restaurant owners to demonstrate their growth and progress from boot camp.
The chef
Seeley has been working at Tara Inn for a year and a half, but his experience comes from a hands-on approach.
He said when he was a child, he would come to Tara’s with his grandmother and enjoy their famous $1 burgers. He spent his young adulthood visiting the bar scene with friends.
After a move to Florida, he owned several food trucks, but due to some unfortunate family problems, he had to forfeit them, eventually moving back north.
Now living in Wantagh — and commuting to Port Jeff — Seeley would come into the inn for lunch, according to Kate. She was looking for someone to help with a few shifts, and he asked if he could join the team.
“Sometimes hiring customers doesn’t necessarily go well,” she said. “But he started on Sundays, it was a five-hour shift, and three weeks later, he was working six days a week.”
An emotional experience heading back into the kitchen, Seeley said joining Tara’s brought his love for cooking to a whole new level.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “They’ve adopted me as their little brother.”
The legacy
Kate Higgins, Andrew Seeley and Tara Higgins at Tara Inn. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Tara Higgins said her father, Joe, opened Tara Inn in 1977. Now 90 years old, he has passed the responsibility to Kate, but all eight of his children have worked at the bar at some point in their lives.
“It’s part of who we are,” she said.
Tara, a Port Jefferson resident, village judge and attorney at the Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead, said the inn has always been a labor of love.
“Not just having Andrew work here, but having him be on our team, is such a weight off of our shoulders,” she said.
Located at 1519 Main St., and known for their inexpensive but filling bar food —the former $1 burger now costs $2 — Seeley said there’s more to Tara Inn than the food and drinks.
“It’s also the guests that come in here,” he said. “When you come here, you’re coming into a place that has been around for so long it’s a legacy.”
The motto the Higgins family has held for 43 years is what keeps Seeley going.
“My favorite thing they say here is, ‘We don’t have customers, we have guests,’” he said.
Tara added the vibe of the inn has always been like their living room — a place to get together, share a meal and a beverage, and just hangout.
“I think people believe that just because we’ve been here 43 years means that we’re going to be here for another 43,” Kate said. “And that’s not going to be the case if we don’t continue to get local support.”
Joe Higgins is happy that after four decades, people still stop into Tara’s.
“Dad was saying that he feels sorry for the local people that don’t realize this gem is in their own backyard,” Tara said. “And it’s true. You know, I used to say the only place to go that’s cheaper is McDonald’s, and now we’re cheaper than McDonald’s and the food is much better.”
And now thanks to “Chef Boot Camp,” Seeley might have a few new tricks up his sleeve.
Although he can’t give away too much, he said on the episode he works on his seasoning and plating techniques.
But in the end, no matter how cheap the food — and how delicious it is — people come back to Tara Inn for its welcoming attitude.
Father offered more advice when Kate took over.
“Dad said to me, ‘You have an opportunity to be good to people and to help people,’” she said.
Activists attend a rally for police reform in Hauppauge March 15. File photo by Julianne Mosher
By Harry To
Suffolk County Legislator Sam Gonzalez (D-Brentwood) was the lone vote against the reform plan for the Suffolk County Police Department. The reform plan passed 16-1 in the county Legislature earlier this month.
“The passage of this plan today is truly a historic moment in Suffolk County, and I am grateful to all those who came to the table and everyone who took part in the reform process to tackle the toughest of challenges,” said County Executive Steve Bellone (D) in a press release.
In a statement, Gonzalez said that he voted “no” on the reform plan because independent oversight of police conduct was not included, leaving the plan “insufficient.”
“This reform plan is about our future; not only will it affect residents today, but it will also impact generations of residents long after us,” Gonzalez said. “The plan is insufficient and will not be effective unless there is serious discipline for wrongful actions. Clearly, there is a crisis of mistrust and for change to be successful — there must be accountability.”
Progressive groups across the country have advocated for police reform.
Indeed, many Long Island advocates share Gonzalez’s gripes with current reform plans. As a result, they drew up “The People’s Plan,” which includes civilian oversight for police misconduct and the creation of unarmed traffic enforcement.
“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,” said Jackie Burbridge, co-founder of the Long Island Black Alliance.
On the other side of the aisle, state Republicans attacked the reform bill for different reasons. Some cited the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes as a reason for opposing the reforms, such as state Sen. Alexis Weik (R-Sayville).
“One-party control in Albany has led to laws that have immediately released violent criminals, the repeal of 50-a, and an overall disdain for the men and women of law enforcement,” she said in a press release. “In light of the rising violence we see day in and day out on the news, particularly recent acts of violence against the Asian American community, we must shift course to a focus on restoring safety and accountability to the policies coming out of Albany.”
Still, the 1,000-page Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task Force Report received overwhelming bipartisan support from county legislators March 30.
Suffolk County Republicans have endorsed Stephanie Bontempi, a fifth-grade teacher at The Green Vale School in Old Brookville and chairperson of Town of Huntington’s Beautification Advisory Council, in the race against Democrat Mark Cuthbertson for Suffolk County legislator in the 18th district. The election will take place in November.
A first-time candidate, Bontempi said that she has “always been into local politics,” but hasn’t been able to run for office due to her duties as a parent. Now, her kids have grown up and become independent, giving her an opportunity to run for office.
“I’m running on a campaign of quality of life for all of us to have a good quality of life on Long Island,” Bontempi said in a phone interview.
She emphasized the fact that Long Island has become increasingly expensive while wages have remained stagnant, a problem that’s forcing lifelong residents of the county to reconsider where they call home.
This, she said, has forced her son to move to North Carolina for affordable housing. Now she fears her daughters may be forced out next.
“I have two daughters,” she said. “I don’t want them to leave just because they can’t afford to be here.”
Bontempi believes the management of the Suffolk County budget is one of the main culprits of the rise in living expenses.
“Something needs to be done about the mismanagement of finances in Suffolk County,” she said. “That’s really why I’m running. We need to evaluate the process. We need to scrutinize how funds are being allocated. As it stands, we keep borrowing and borrowing.”
However, Bontempi said she couldn’t provide specifics as to what was being overfunded and what could be cut from the budget.
“If you ask me exactly what I’m going to do, I won’t really be able to answer that because I’ve never done this before,” she said. “There’s no transparency. It’s not until I’m there that I can really answer that question.”
In regard to her lack of political experience, compared to Cuthbertson, who is a longtime Huntington Town Board member, Bontempi said that anybody who has done a job for a while will have a history of experience.
“I’ve been teaching for a long time,” she said. “I’ve taught hundreds of children how to do fractions and percentages, and about ancient civilizations because I’ve done it for so long. If you’ve done something for a while, of course you’ll have a lot of achievements.”
In talking about her personal life, Bontempi spoke of her upbringing in Europe and her journey immigrating to the United States.
“I was born in Sweden to a Swedish dad and French-Italian mom, so I spent most of my time between Sweden and France,” she said. “I’m trilingual, and I’ve got a heavy accent that is kind of a mishmash of it all.”
Bontempi originally received her schooling in Europe but ended up coming to the United States before finishing her education.
“I got an opportunity to go to school in America and was very excited. Land of opportunity, right?” she said. “So, I came for my last year at Hartford University in Connecticut and graduated with a bachelor’s in business.”
Bontempi said she was granted American citizenship in 2003.
After a period of being a stay-at-home mother, Bontempi decided to change careers.
“I worked in telecommunications consulting for a little while, then I had kids and stayed home for a few years,” she said. “Then I tried real estate but that wasn’t for me, so I went back to school and got my graduate degree in elementary education.”
County Executive Steve Bellone stands outside the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge where a new vaccine rollout will begin in a couple of weeks. Photo by Kimberly Brown
By Kimberly Brown
A new COVID-19 vaccination site finally opened at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge, where the vaccine’s mass distribution will be given out to hundreds of residents in the upcoming weeks.
The latest expansion will help Long Island recover from the consistent 4% positivity rate that surged to a height of 12% during the second spike of the coronavirus outbreak in February.
“The numbers have declined since, but they are not declining any further at this point,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said March 24. “We have undoubtedly hit a plateau and are stubbornly maintaining this approximate 4% positivity rate.”
Predicting the positivity rate would drop down to 1% by March, Bellone said his predictions did not happen. The hospitals are still hovering around 400 COVID patients and even with vaccine quantities increasing, officials are continuing to see the positivity rate at a steady level.
According to Bellone, the reason for the consistently high percentage in COVID cases is due to warm spring weather creating an overall eagerness to leave quarantine, making opportunities for locals to catch the virus.
“The fact that many people are getting vaccinated and that spring is here, people are rightly feeling optimistic and positive,” Bellone said. “That is leading to more people coming out, which is a positive thing, but we do need to be cognizant of the fact that the virus is not gone and that there are still risks.”
So far, the county has vaccinated more than 400,000 residents with at least their first dose, but expects to see a rapid increase in vaccination supply in the upcoming weeks.
Despite the positive outcome of Suffolk County opening up its latest mass vaccination site, other areas on the Island, such as the Twin Forks, remain some distance away from distribution points. Bellone said he is aware of the problem.
“We’ve gone to great lengths to get to every corner of the county,” he said. “We even took a plane to Fishers Island to make sure we can get residents, who are isolated, the vaccine.”
Peggy Loucks holds up photos of her late father, Allen Ulmer, and his creation, Micro-Face. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A character who ended up in the public domain is now being resurrected, given a new life.
Photo from Peggy Loucks
Peggy Loucks, of Port Jefferson, received a call last month from a co-host with NPR’s “Planet Money” podcast — a show that tries to find creative and entertaining ways to make sense of big, complicated economical processes — asking for her blessing regarding her late father, a comic book artist.
One time, the podcast made a T-shirt, tracing the supply chain from the cotton source to the factory. It purchased and followed the travel of 100 barrels of crude oil from ground to gas, and even launched a satellite.
Kenny Malone, a co-host with the show, said that “Planet Money” wanted to investigate the superhero entertainment economy. He was joined by fellow host Robert Smith.
“Superhero movies had become the highest grossing movies — the merchandising around superheroes was also incredibly large,” Malone said. “So, we wanted to understand this.”
Malone noticed that characters who were making tons of money were not new — they were all characters that were between 40 to even 70 years old — and they are part of the two major superhero conglomerates, Marvel Comics and DC Comics.
“We had this idea,” he said. “What if we tried to buy a superhero off one of those companies? What if we tried to buy one of their older characters that is just not very well known? And then we could try to figure out how to build a mini-superhero empire.”
In need of a hero
The three-part series, which aired on Feb. 12, 19 and 26, dove into the team’s attempt to buy a superhero off Marvel — originally asking to bid for Doorman, whose superpower is to turn into a door. He never had his own movie for obvious reasons.
After several attempts to contact Marvel for interviews and to purchase the unhinged superhero, they declined and eventually stopped responding.
“We think they declined for an interesting economic reason,” Malone said. “Even the silliest unknown character has the potential to become a $10 million, $100 million piece of intellectual property.”
In its first episode of the series, “We Buy a Superhero: Origins,” the duo mentioned “Guardians of the Galaxy” character Groot who was once deemed undesirable, but who is now a pop-culture icon.
The guys behind “Planet Money” had to find a new tactic. They were on a mission. They began looking into copyright law and what happens to a creative entity when it gets moved to the public domain.
“Every piece of copyright eventually falls out of copyright and gets put into the public domain where it is fair game for anybody to do something with,” Malone said.
Photo from Loucks
Part of it is to incentivize creativity, he added, where the creator can get exclusive rights to it, and make a profit. But the other part of it, is as a country when copyright law was established, was that if people hold onto that copyright forever, it could stifle creativity.
“A second phase of creativity can be spawned, and people can do things with those characters, songs, books,” Malone said. “And much to our delight, we learned characters fall into the public domain. Superheroes will eventually fall into the public domain.”
Malone and Smith began delving into the world of public domain superheroes, going through hundreds upon hundreds of characters who once graced the pages of books.
“We stumbled across this character that we could not believe was real,” he said. “We couldn’t believe it was not custom made for us.”
That character was from the golden age of superheroes, created in the 1940s featuring a mask and giant microphone upon his face as his power. His name was Micro-Face, who appeared in Clue Comics from Hillman publishing.
A podcaster of the past
“This is basically like a 1940s podcaster, even though they didn’t know what a podcast was yet,” Malone said. “We loved it.”
Micro-Face was in the public domain — so he was fair game to do anything with — but the guys at “Planet Money” wanted to find out more about this lost superhero. That’s when they found out that the artist who created him, Allen Ulmer, had a daughter who was still alive and living right here in Port Jefferson.
According to Loucks, Ulmer, who passed away in 1984 at age 64, was an artist back in the golden age of comic books. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he studied at the Pennsylvania School of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, but always loved creating his own comic characters.
“So, he moved to New York City and joined the art league there,” Loucks said.
Ulmer began working for several different comic book companies, including Marvel, DC and Hillman. He took a break from drawing when he served in World War II, but then came back from the war and continued his artistry until the 1950s.
But during that time, there was an attack on the superhero industry that no one could help save. Between the McCarthy era, plus the backlash among parents who blamed comic books for their children’s delinquency, comic books became censored and hundreds of artists and publishers lost their jobs.
“My father was on that blacklist,” she said.
Photo from Peggy Loucks
Now 83, and a retired librarian from the Middle Country Public Library, Loucks was just 5 when her father initially created the superhero now getting a facelift.
“Micro-Face was one of his favorite characters [who] never had the chance to take off,” Loucks said.
When Ulmer lost his job, he moved his family to Long Island where he was a founder of the Port Jefferson Arts Festival and a member of the Art League of Long Island of Dix Hills. He began focusing on fine art and educational film, never doing comics again.
For whatever reason, the publisher decided decades ago not to renew the copyright for Micro-Face, leaving the character to fall into the public domain.
Malone and Smith knew they didn’t necessarily have to ask Loucks for her permission to use the character, but they felt it was right to talk to her, find out more about his creator and keep that legacy alive.
“My father would have loved this,” Loucks said. “You know, who would have thought that after all these years? Here comes this character back into the public eye again.”
The future of Micro-Face
Malone said that now that the three-part series is completed — and available for streaming online now — they will continue working toward actually creating a comic book based on Micro-Face.
Working alongside comic book industry leaders, the team plans on writing a book based on the grandson Tom Wood — the alter ego of Micro-Face originally drawn by Ulmer in the ’40s.
“This person is our new character and he works in radio like us,” Malone said. “So, this is going to allow us to write in some plot points about business and economics and have a little bit of learning … but this is fundamentally still a comic book and is inspired by the direct heritage to the character Peggy’s father created.”
Malone said he does not know the exact release date of the comic book, but it is currently being worked on by the new Micro-Face team at “Planet Money.” Joining the podcasters are Alex Segura, co-president of Archie Comics and friend of Malone, Jerry Ordway, Peter Krause, Taylor Esposito and Ellie Wright — “all of who know what they’re doing when it comes to building a comic empire,” Malone said.
He added that to continue with the “Planet Money” way of immersing themselves into the actual process, they will be updating listeners every step of the way.
Peggy Loucks holds up photos of her late father, Allen Ulmer, and his creation, Micro-Face. Photo by Julianne Mosher
“We’re very excited about it,” Malone said. “You start these things, and you don’t know where they’re going to take you, but Peggy is just amazing and her father really was prolific. It makes me very sad to think that he clearly was very good and very creative, and the industry just was rocked in a way that knocked a lot of people out of it.”
“Peggy told us that she was very excited about this,” Malone said. “Her father would have liked this project, so that made us very happy and made it make us feel good going forward with this.”
Some of the metals recycled at Saturday's event. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Photo by Julianne Mosher
Metals donated by residents at the Metal for Tesla event. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Photo by Julianne Mosher
A statue of the great inventor. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The lab. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Photo by Julianne Mosher
Tesla's lab. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A sneak peek inside the Tesla lab. Photo by Julianne Mosher
With the right funds, the vacant and vandalized lab will be turned into a beautiful new center. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Another behind the scenes look at the lab. Photo by Julianne Mosher
One of the vacant buildings to be turned into the visitor center. Photo by Julianne Mosher
In an ongoing process to keep Nikola Tesla’s legacy alive on Long Island’s North Shore, the first-ever “Metal for Tesla” event was recently held, benefiting both the environment and the nonprofit’s cause.
The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, located in Shoreham, is Nikola Tesla’s last remaining laboratory. A sad, but interesting history, the lab has been working toward becoming a science museum, that celebrates science, along with the history and contributions of the famed scientist and inventor.
But the funds aren’t always easy to come by, and it’s taken the support from dozens of sponsors, fundraising, grants and crowdsourcing to get where they are today.
On Saturday, March 20 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., over 250 people attended the site and more than 16,000 people around the world shared the event to recycle in their areas and donate to the Tesla Center online. The center partnered with Gershow Recycling.
Science Center Executive Director Marc Alessi said they have recycled metal on the premise before, and since taking over the site, have recycled up to 62 tons (or 124,000 pounds) of metal. That has equated to be about $6,500.
This year, they raised approximately $9,500 in metal, plus the value of four cars, to support the rebuilding of Tesla’s lab into a museum and global science center for all.
“It’s money that goes toward the mission, which is rehabilitating the lab and opening it to the public,” Alessi said. “But the mission is also spreading Nikola Tesla’s ethos … he was someone that was advocating for sustainability, conservation and the use of renewable energies in the 1890s. And in retrospect, he was right on the money.”
A man before his time
Alessi said that during the height of Tesla’s career, people didn’t know what he was trying to do. Born in what is now Croatia, and of Serbian descent, Nikola Tesla immigrated to the United States in 1884.
“But he was a man of the world,” Alessi said.
He began working at the Edison Corporation, where he was immediately seen as a genius. Upon his research, he began realizing that alternating current systems — compared to Edison’s direct current systems — would be more beneficial and safer option.
“With one power plant, you can power many neighborhoods and factories,” Alessi said. “Under Tesla’s use of AC, and the way he put it together, it could power motors …. Direct current, you would need a power plant every two miles. Can you imagine what our environment would be like if they tried to electrify doing that?”
He believed that energy didn’t have to be a rich man’s luxury. Energy could be available to all and powered naturally. He believed he could power the whole Northeastern seaboard with Niagara Falls.
Tesla and Edison became engrossed in a battle, leaving Tesla to attempt to start his own company with plenty of struggle. Throughout his career, he had his ups and downs.
“Even though he had over 200 patents and invented radio, remote control, the speedometer, and the technology behind neon lighting, fluorescent lighting and early forms of X-ray,” Alessi said, “Tesla didn’t look at other inventors as competition.”
For example, Guglielmo Marconi used 17 of Tesla’s patents to help create his single transmission.
In the early 1900s Tesla acquired the Wardenclyffe property in Shoreham to test his theories of being able to wirelessly transmit electrical messages, funded by J.P. Morgan. The property housed a huge 187-foot tower for the purpose.
In 1903 creditors confiscated his equipment, and in 1917 the tower was demolished. The concrete feet used to hold the structure can still be seen on the property today.
Tesla was eventually cut off, causing him to lose control of the site. The property became a film processing company in the early 30s, where harsh chemicals were dumped into the ground. The contaminated property was sold again and became shuttered in 1987.
A decades-long cleanup ensued, and in 2007 the property was put back up for sale.
The community — locally, nationally and even internationally — came together to fundraise to buy the property, preserve it and make it a real historic site.
“They did a crowdfunding on Indiegogo, and at the time, it set a world record,” Alessi said. “They raised 1.4 million in six weeks, from 108 countries and 50 states — 33,000 donors,”
The site
Over the last few years, things have been moving along for the Tesla Science Center site. Through more fundraising and big-name sponsors (like Elon Musk who contributed some money), plans are continuously on the way.
In September, renovations were completed on the chimney and cupola of Tesla’s historic laboratory, originally constructed by architect Stanford White in 1902. This project was funded by a grant from the Robert Lion Gardiner Foundation — a foundation here on Long Island that focuses on funding to restore historic sites.
Alessi said the project costs about $20 million and so far, $10.2 million has been raised. Permits with the town and DEC are still under review to begin working on the site’s visitor center — a small white house in the front of the property, which had nothing to do with Tesla. He’s hoping for the demo permit and the center to be completed this year.
“We will continue to raise capital,” he said. “We need at least five-to-10 million to finish the lab building and put exhibits there.”
Part of the process includes rebuilding the significant 187-foot tower that was once on the property.
“It was the tallest structure on Long Island, it went up almost 200-feet into the ground,” Alessi added.
Tesla had envisioned 14 towers around the world, with power plants similar to what the Wardenclyffe lab was.
“The beauty of it, is this guy wanted to provide free energy to everybody,” he said. “Imagine everybody having free power with 14 power plants. It’s a beautiful story — and that’s what the part of what the tower was supposed to be.”
Bringing the metal back
It all comes full circle, Alessi said, and it’s quite ironic.
“When Tesla lost control of the property, they demolished his famed tower, sold it for scrap and recycled it,” he said. “So now, we’re asking people to bring metal back to the site, so that we can restore the site, and one day we build the tower, too.”
Alessi said that since taking over the property, the center has always encouraged people to donate recycled metal to the bin on site. This year was the first time a whole event was dedicated to it.
“This is something we plan to do every year,” Alessi said. “It helps raise funding for the lab, but it also helps celebrate who Tesla was. I think it’s a really great event.”
And people can still continue to donate metal to the cause.
“This is a guy that in the 1890s said, ‘Don’t go down the path of coal … we need to be sustainable,” Alessi said. “We need to conserve, so it makes us feel like we’re making him proud by doing this on his site.”
This article was updated to fix historical inaccuracies.
A pandemic couldn’t stop a group of local residents from growing their nonprofit.
Established in 2010, Strong Island Animal Rescue is a 501c3 that focuses on answering local calls regarding injured, abused and neglected animals.
“We started out with cats and dogs, and then we saw a need for wildlife rescue,” said vice president of the rescue Erica Kutzing.
Just last week, president of Strong Island Animal Rescue Frankie Floridia, of Port Jefferson Station, helped save a raccoon in Bohemia that was trapped in a car grill, after the driver hit it and got stuck.
Within minutes, Floridia and other volunteers safely removed the animal, who is expected to make a full recovery.
Frankie with a baby deer. Photo from Erica Kutzing
“We’re available 24, seven days a week for abandoned and abused animals,” he said. “We’re a local rescue that likes to give back to the community and we’re always here for everybody. That’s the way it’s been, and we’d like to keep it that way.”
Whether it’s a trapped raccoon, a deer with a paint can stuck on its head, a mother cat and her kittens found in a shed or an abused puppy left on the side of a road, Strong Island has dedicated their lives to helping animals.
Kutzing, of Sound Beach, has more than two decades of animal rescue and animal medicine experience.
“I think back to when I was 12-year-old little girl who started out more than 22 years ago,” she said. “And I don’t think I ever expected this to actually happen. It was always a dream, but seeing it come to fruition has been like an out of body experience — even though we’re doing it during a pandemic.”
Floridia said that the pandemic has made it hard for fundraising efforts, since before the lock downs they were able to hold events.
“It’s been a tough year for us, not having those events that we have usually every other month,” he said. “Fundraising is all based online now, and thank goodness for that, but we can’t wait to get back to having an event in the place and being able to do stuff like we did before.”
And just this month, they were gifted one generous donation — a new property.
Neighbors of Floridia, Valerie Rosini and Alan Haas, had owned a home in the area that they knew would help the group out.
Right now, the location is under wraps while they clean up the space, but Floridia said he plans on using the three-acre property as a clubhouse and meeting space for their dozens of volunteers.
Erica Kutzing and Frankie Floridia in front of their secret new clubhouse in Port Jefferson, joined by pup Dolly, daughter Shea, Valarie Rosini and Alan Haas. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Surrounded by woods, wildlife roams the backyard, making it the perfect spot for animals to feel safe, while animal lovers plan their next move.
“He wants to do something good,” Rosini said. “These guys don’t even take a salary.”
The couple said they could have sold the massive property to developers but knew that the cottage and woods surrounding it are special. If they cleared the area, birds, deer and other wildlife could have lost their home. When Rosini sold the spot to the volunteers, it became a new partnership and friendship of neighbors helping neighbors.
“Alan’s been coming down, Val’s been helping out the rescue … so it’s not only getting them motivated to be part of the rescue, as well,” Floridia said. “We’re all helping each other and we’re saving animals.”
Kutzing said the property will give them the ability to turn the space into an actual meeting space, instead of utilizing their homes.
“Eventually we’ll be able to turn this into our dream,” she said.
And the extra room will be helpful as the team gears toward their busy season — baby season.
Over the last month, elected officials on both the county and village levels have been trying to tackle reckless bicyclists on the road.
Suffolk County
Last week, Suffolk County voted on a new bill aimed to give bicyclists distance with a new 3-foot passage rule — the first county in New York State to implement the law.
According to the new legislation, “The operator of a vehicle which is overtaking, from behind, a bicycle proceeding on the same side of the road shall pass to the left of such bicycle at a distance of at least 3-feet until safely clear thereof.”
Violators can face fines not to exceed $225 for a first offense, $325 for a second offense and $425 for any subsequent offense. The minimum distance requirement, however, will not apply on roads that have clearly marked bicycle lanes.
Authored by Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), it was originally in response to a bill sponsored by Legislator Rudy Sunderman (R-Mastic) which aimed to ticket and condemn bike riders who popped wheelies, swerved into traffic or biked while intoxicated across Long Island.
Hahn said she filed her bill, and abstained from Sunderman’s, to focus more on education for drivers and bike riders, as well as keeping veteran bicyclists safe.
“I filed a bill that looks to fix the problems that existed,” she said. “I felt there were problems in the one that passed a few weeks ago.”
Sunderman’s bill was originally passed by the Legislature in February but was vetoed by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) earlier this month.
“We believe this legislation is overly broad and that current law provides the necessary tools to address this issue,” Derek Poppe, a representative with Bellone’s office said in a statement. “We remain committed to working with the Legislature address safety concerns around bicycling practices.”
On March 16, the Legislature approved Hahn’s bill, and Sunderman’s veto override failed the same day.
Hahn said that the county was named by Bicycling Magazine as the most dangerous county in the country for bike riders and has since continuously been in the top 10.
“There are approximately 350 accidents a year in Suffolk County,” she added.
The vote brings Suffolk County closer to becoming the first county in the state to adopt a 3-foot-rule requirement.
“I think it’s just really important that people know they have to give bicyclists room when they pass them,” Hahn said. “They might not hear you and the tires of a bike cannot handle roadway obstacles the same way a car can.”
Hahn noted that things such as sand, sticks, leaves, trash, a storm drain or pothole can be life-threatening to bikers.
“A car can handle those, no problem, but a bike tire makes those obstacles potentially deadly,” she said. “Sometimes the cyclist needs to swerve a little bit and this 3-foot buffer gives them space.”
The bill will now go to the county executive for a separate public hearing and his signature within the next 30 days.
“I am thrilled,” she said. “This is a real concrete step to improve safety, and at the same time it makes a statement that we care about our residents on the road.”
The Village of Port Jefferson
Village officials have been tirelessly enforcing their own rules when it comes to reckless bicylists.
Signs like this will be posted throughout the village encouraging visitors to call code when they see disorderly behavior. Photo from Kathianne Snaden
Last year, when outdoor dining began, there were concerns over individuals harassing diners and drivers while they popped wheelies and swerved into traffic on Main Street.
They began enforcing a code created in 2019, with new training, to keep residents and visitors safe.
Mayor Margot Garant said a new bicycle task force has been unveiled, encouraging business owners and residents to call code enforcement when something doesn’t look right.
“Our code specifically looks toward curbing the behavior of the individual riding a bike down the middle of the street or sidewalk in a dangerous and reckless manner,” she said.
With rules penned by trustee Kathianne Snaden, the bicycle task force is comprised of Snaden along with a representative of the Suffolk County Police Department, the chief of code enforcement, Deputy Village Attorney Richard Harris, the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and members of the business community. They simply ask, “If you see something, say something.”
The “see something, say something” campaign encourages business owners to keep their eyes peeled on issues throughout the village, and to call code immediately before the problem accelerates. That way the code officer can talk with the individual and give a warning before someone gets hurt.
“This time of year, we don’t see the issue,” Snaden said. “But the minute warm weather hits, it becomes an issue.”
And the last few weekends have shown how popular Port Jefferson is when the sun is out, and a light jacket is needed.
Signs are posted up throughout the village, like this one seen here. Photo from Kathianne Snaden
“I want everyone to be aware if bicyclists are doing the right thing, obeying the traffic laws, we welcome them with open arms,” the trustee said. “We want to be ready to intervene before it becomes a problem — we’re not going to intervene if there is no problem.”
Along with the campaign, the village has begun using officers on bikes and has instituted a designated officer to patrol on foot throughout Main Street. Snaden said there will always be someone on duty, with no absence in shift changes.
“I’m confident to date we have bridged that gap,” she added. “The communication is now there. We work as team to dissuade any potential issues.”
If dangerous behavior is happening within the village, readers are encouraged to call code at 631-774-0066.
The original article did not mention the chamber and business owners who are part of the task force. They have been added to the online copy.
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