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A powerful ‘Antigone Now’ opens at SCCC in Selden

by Julianne Mosher - October 13, 2023

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By Julianne Mosher

Theater students at Suffolk County Community College in Selden are bringing a new perspective to an Ancient Greek tragedy with Antigone Now. The powerful show will be presented in Theatre 119 through Oct. 15.

Set on an empty, somber stage with just a staircase and bullet hole panels decorating the walls, Antigone Now is a modern look at one of Sophocles’ earliest surviving plays, Antigone. The hour-long, one act play follows Antigone (Angie Barrientos), a once royal whose brothers and parents are killed amidst war.

Her sister, Ismene (Ke’Ashma Simpkins), tries to block out the noise of the gun shots and bombings while Antigone desires to find her brother, Polyneices (Jeremy Bazata) who is fighting against the war and deemed a traitor. But when she does, she learns she needs to bury him as he bleeds dead in the street. In order to give him a proper burial and protect his honor, she must break the law under the new leadership of her uncle, Creon (Gabriel Patrascu).

Based “anytime and anywhere that war is raging,” we follow the troupe of five through the heartbreak and anger they are feeling. With the assistance of the narrator and ensemble member, Meredith Reed, we are taken to Ismene’s home where she tries to console the young and ambitious Antigone, the palace where Creon reigns and a dungeon where one sits awaiting their fate after doing what’s best for their family, but in turn, also becomes a traitor.

Performances by Barrientos, Simpkins, Bazata, Patrascu and Reed are beyond phenomenal. For students just beginning to make their mark in the world of theatre and entertainment, they certainly act as though they have been on Broadway for years all with the help and leadership of director Steven Lantz-Gefroh.

Originally written by Melissa Cooper, the local performances are raw and full of emotion. Despite a play filled with destruction and devastation, there’s a meaning beneath it all like the rubble in the show’s setting.

We get to know each character. Reed’s narrator is strong with storytelling that helps the audience understand where we are. Patrascu’s Creon is the perfect epidemy of a politician with the voice and look to match. We feel Simpkins’ Ismene, who has a broken heart, and cries real tears, with so much love that she just wants to fix and protect everyone who is left in her life. Bazata’s Polyneices says not one word, but his body language and stature on stage make him a focal point in the production. And of course, Barrientos’ Antigone, the titular character, whose rebellious personality, and defiance show us that there is nothing over family and that often-subdued women will do whatever it takes to protect their honor.

Antigone Now is the perfect specimen of tragedy. The modern spin on it is relatable to most in the crowd and it is a beautifully crafted, thought-provoking presentation of a long-told tale that still holds true today.

You won’t want to miss this one.

The Theatres at Suffolk County Community College present Antigone Now in Theatre 119, Islip Arts Building Suffolk County Community College, 533 College Road, Selden on Oct. 12, 13, 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. *Mature Content. General admission is $15, veterans and students 16 years of age or younger $10. SCCC students with current ID are offered one free ticket. To order, please call the box office at 631-451-4163.

Centereach Cougars claw the Newfield Wolverines in local football rivalry

by Bill Landon - October 12, 2023

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Newfield struck first at home on the second play from scrimmage on a flea-flicker play that went 74-yards on a pass play to Kenny Petit Frere to break the ice against crosstown rival Centereach Saturday, Oct 7.

It would be Newfield’s only points in the game as the Cougars went to work when LaRawn Robinson punched in from short yardage for the touchdown and finished it running in for the two-point conversion for the lead.

Centereach quarterback T.J. Doyle on a keeper found the end zone and, with a two-point run after, took a 16-7 lead into the locker room. Robinson, a wide receiver, threw to Jason Zaita on a 13-yard touchdown pass-play to open the second half to make it a three-score lead. Centereach senior running back Anthony Prince broke to the outside on a 12-yard run for his touchdown score and finished it by running in the two-pointer after, in the Cougar’s 32-7 victory in the Division II matchup.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Editorial: Introducing News Flash

by TBR Staff - October 12, 2023

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Screen Shot 2019-04-10 at 5.35.52 PM — Photo by David Ackerman

This week, TBR News Media has embarked upon a pilot project we’re calling News Flash.

It’s a first-of-its-kind journalistic endeavor to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into our newsroom operation. Using ChatGPT, a popular chatbot developed by OpenAI that launched in November 2022, we believe News Flash can aid us in our mission to inform our North Shore readership.

The concept here is simple. We are feeding some of our original content into ChatGPT, directing the chatbot to extract the most interesting or insightful news nuggets within a given article.

While AI generates the bullet points, we assure our readers that our staff retains complete editorial control over the end product. We are committed to subjecting AI-produced content to the same rigorous standards we use for content by human writers.

There are several motivations behind this effort. We are acutely aware and deeply concerned our digital technologies have diminished our attention spans and impaired our faculties for processing large chunks of information. Reading proficiency scores in the U.S. are declining, and in an electoral system demanding a well-informed citizenry, this rings of deep trouble for our republic.

Presenting noteworthy or insightful points up front may make one more inclined to read the entire article. But even if a reader opts not to read the article, News Flash will have delivered some of the necessary material, informing even the nonreader.

There is also a broader philosophical objective behind this project. Artificial intelligence may be the defining technological innovation of our lifetimes. Our staff is in uncharted waters, with no precedents to guide us on properly synchronizing AI and local journalism.

With the awesome power of AI comes an equally awesome responsibility to harness its power appropriately. We believe trained journalists must guide AI, using this tool to enhance and augment the reader experience. Without strict human oversight, we risk irreversible disruption to a vital American institution, with the potential ramifications still unknown.

Scanning the local media landscape, we see alarming trends all around us. Each year, more local news outlets shutter. Others consolidate under large conglomerates. And most disturbingly, more and more Americans live in news deserts, or places without a local newspaper. These are trying times that should trouble journalists and citizens alike.

Without the local press, we naturally gravitate to larger, national media outlets whose contents are increasingly polarized and politically charged. Reading only about higher levels of government, whose centers of power are far away from Long Island and interests often unaligned with our own, we become disillusioned and disconnected from the democratic process.

For the first time ever, local journalists have a powerful tool to help advance their mission to inform democracy. If used properly, AI can help counteract these downward trajectories in our industry, restoring local journalism to its central place in American life.

At TBR News Media, we pledge to use AI technology responsibly. Like generations of pioneers before us, let us plunge forth into the Great Unknown. May this adventure prove fulfilling for both local journalism and democracy — and our readers.

Staying on track: Port Jeff Branch electrification gains ground in MTA’s 20-Year plan

by Raymond Janis - October 12, 2023

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IMG-4502-scaled-e1675969944163 — File photo by Joseph Cali

News Flash

Generated by ChatGPT, edited by our staff

• MTA includes Port Jefferson Branch improvements in 20-year capital needs assessment.

• Inclusion doesn’t guarantee pursuit, decisions hinge on future funding and other factors.

• Local officials push for project, emphasizing economic benefits and improved transit.

The decades-old proposal to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road passed a significant hurdle last week, though uncertainty remains long-term.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns and operates LIRR, included capacity improvements for the Port Jeff Branch within its 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment blueprint published last week.

The document outlines MTA’s long-term vision for the region’s transit, describing some of the needed improvements for the local line, including electrification, double tracking, stations, a storage yard and associated infrastructure.

The report states some of the project’s objectives, such as increased travel speed and frequency while providing a one-seat ride to Penn Station and Grand Central Madison. It further acknowledges the need to reduce strain upon the Ronkonkoma Branch by North Shore riders driving inland.

In a Sept. 29 letter addressed to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), over two dozen state, county and local public officials called for Port Jeff Branch modernization within the 20-year plan. Dave Steckel, an MTA media liaison, said the agency had complied with the core request of the letter.

“Regarding the letter on Port Jefferson Branch electrification, the MTA has satisfied the request laid out in that letter by including Port Jefferson Branch electrification in the 20-year needs assessment,” Steckel said.

But, he added, “Inclusion in this analysis does not mean that the MTA will be pursuing a project. Decisions about which of these projects, if any, will be included in subsequent MTA capital programs, will be made in the context of those future programs, including the amount of funding available to rebuild and improve the existing MTA system, which will need to be prioritized before any expansion projects can be considered.”

The report finds potential operational constraints for the electrification project, highlighting the need for additional capital improvements, space for a new terminal rail yard and planning studies. The plan suggests the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station as a potential site for the rail yard.

The 20-year plan also added some possible drawbacks for prioritizing the Port Jeff Branch. Electrification of the line rated average in cost-effectiveness “mainly due to the high cost and relatively low ridership.”

Continuing the fight

In separate statements to TBR News Media, public officials representing North Shore communities continued to call for the MTA to prioritize the project.

New York State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) emphasized the centrality of the Lawrence Aviation property in regional planning for the North Shore and beyond.

“Electrification of the Port Jefferson line and the establishment of the Lawrence Aviation site as a regional rail hub is a critically important component of our efforts to enhance mass transit service to North Shore residents,” he said. “Improving access and reliability to our mass transit system will increase ridership, alleviate traffic congestion and be an economic boost to the local economy.”

Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow expanded on the existing pressures upon Port Jeff Branch commuters to Manhattan, particularly in the context of the burden of transit by rail.

“For years, residents of Port Jeff and the surrounding communities have demonstrated by their actions how they feel about the Port Jefferson Branch — we drive to Ronkonkoma when seeking direct travel, a shorter commute, more frequent service options and less transfers,” she said. “Electrification and modernization of the Port Jefferson Branch will increase connectivity between stations. It will reduce travel time and transfers, and provide more frequent scheduling options, including express options.”

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) emphasized the vast support for this effort among officials and community stakeholders, noting “everybody involved wants this.” He said generating the necessary public awareness and appealing to Hochul remain critical.

“We need to make sure that we convince the governor that this is important for Long Islanders,” he said, advocating for a grassroots, mobilized effort to bolster public support. “Strength with numbers wins,” he added.

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) suggested electrification would help counteract some of the downward trends throughout the region, namely the loss of youth.

“Thousands of Brookhaven residents use the LIRR to commute to work every day, and thousands more ride the train for other reasons,” the town supervisor said. “Electrification would provide faster, more efficient service and attract people to live in the communities with close access to the railroad,” adding, “The economic upside would be felt throughout the town as more people choose to live here, and our young people decide to stay because of the improved LIRR service and easier access in and out of New York City.”

Though placement onto the 20-year plan could be considered a win, much work remains ahead. Larry Penner, a transit advocate and former director of Federal Transit Administration Region 2, called upon the various governmental bodies across the North Shore to begin laying down seed funds to signal their interest.

“Why don’t all these elected officials put up some money to at least keep the project alive?” he said. “Why are they waiting for the MTA to move the project forward?” He added, “Talk is cheap, but actions speak louder.”

D. None of the Above: The messy world makes even less sense when we’re sleep deprived

by Daniel Dunaief - October 12, 2023

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By Daniel Dunaief

The world is a mess.

For some, that world doesn’t even need to extend beyond the walls of their own home, as they deal with one personal or family crisis after another.

For others, that includes horrible headlines and the reality of a world in which people jump at the opportunity to attack them physically, verbally or both. The world is filled with so much dry kindling that any kind of spark seems sufficient to lead to a brush fire.

And, stupidly, many of us look at our phones or watch the news right before we go to bed, giving our unconscious minds the opportunity to marinate in the misery and to imagine ourselves caught in circumstances beyond our control that conjure our worst nightmares on steroids.

Once our minds start to ponder these horrific realities, some of which play out in the protests and counter protests that characterize an American landscape filled with divisions and tectonic differences, we find ourselves staring, wide eyed, into a dark abyss.

Despite the need to give our minds and souls a rest to rebuild our resilience and prepare us for the next day, we struggle to sleep for any length of time.

Like a bad habit we can’t kick, sleep deprivation defines our existence, making us more vulnerable, angrier, and reactive to the kinds of stimuli, conspiracy theories, and information that unnerves us.

Shutting that down and ignoring the reality of a world coming apart doesn’t seem like an option, even if we ourselves aren’t doing anything other than losing sleep, arguing with friends, family or coworkers, and promising to vote for the person whose anger, frustration, and alarm bells sound similar enough to our own.

These restless nights exacerbate our feelings of unease and anxiety. Even for people who didn’t have a hard day filled with deadlines, challenging assignments, impossible bosses, or frustrating losses, the end of the day can feel less like a chance to reflect on triumphs than a moment to surrender to a cruel circadian rhythm that leaves us with even less emotional and energy reserves each day.

We need the kind of sleep that doesn’t depend on over the counter remedies. We need to feel safe, secure, and relaxed enough to rest.

For many of us in the United States, that relaxation can arise out of a belief in a better tomorrow. We can control ourselves, the world we create for our children, and the way we interact with each other.

We might sleep better if we feel like we improved someone else’s day, if we volunteer to help others, or if we take a moment to appreciate what we can control.

Getting up and circling the house at 2 or 4 am won’t help us the next day, nor will logging onto our computers and sending or responding to emails. We’re not doing our best work at those hours and we aren’t our most insightful.

The benefit of stories in which the characters live “happily ever after” is that it gives our minds resolution and helps us believe that things will work out for us as well.

Our parents and grandparents rarely tell us to give up, give in, and surrender to problems outside of our control. We shouldn’t tell ourselves that either, no matter how late at night we might start to believe it.

A good night’s sleep won’t help us solve the world’s problems, but it may help us start to solve some of our own. People have told me many times not to make decisions when I’m angry or frustrated. The same holds true for being tired. Finding solutions to our nighttime problems may contribute to discovering some relief from the pressures and worries of the day.

Between You and Me: Like our children, cars seem to need attention, support and, lately, more money

by Leah Dunaief - October 12, 2023

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

It’s difficult to live in the suburbs without a car. In fact, it’s almost impossible to raise a family here without four wheels. Many people own more than one to accommodate the various members of the household. And the costs of maintaining a car are escalating, threatening to take away from disposable income and the suburban quality of life.

Here are some statistics from a recent article in The New York Times that quotes the AAA.

The average annual cost in the first five years of ownership is now $12,182. Last year it was $10,728. This jump is a result of higher purchase prices, maintenance costs and greater finance charges. Just to put this in its proper perspective: “That’s 16 percent of the median household income before taxes.” And about 92 percent of households own at least one; 22 percent have at least three.

Here are some more facts. All those personal cars number some 223 million and together add up to trillions of dollars a year in spending. (I can’t even check this because my calculator doesn’t go up that high.) How much, by comparison, was spent on public transportation in 2019 for capital and operating expenses? The answer, while still up in the mind-blowing category, is only 79 billion. Just drop the zeros and you get the point.

Car expenses can be on a par with housing, child care and food for some families. The average payment for a used car is $533, according to TransUnion, while the average for a new one is $741 a month. Multiply that by the number of cars parked in one driveway for a household.

Some examples of car expenses: monthly payments, which have gone up in the last year, either to buy or lease, gas, registration, insurance, regular maintenance, perhaps tolls, parking, car washes and maybe even an un-budgeted accident. While insurance covers most of that, still there is deductible, perhaps loaner costs, not to mention the toll of stress and aggravation, which we are not even measuring with a price tag.

Now to the other side of the equation. Some people love their cars. They love driving them, washing them, caring for them, even naming them. They love shopping for them. They love proudly comparing theirs to other comparable vehicles in animated discussions with likeminded owners. Their car is a pleasure they don’t mind spending on because they get more from it than just passage from one point to another. For some, a car is like having another child.

Since I grew up in New York City, where public transportation is, for the most part, excellent, my parents never had a car. I remember when my dad made a careful list of the expenses connected with owning a car and decided we could take taxis all over town for much less. Of course, we never took taxis either. And neither of my parents had a driver’s license. My mother, who loved a bargain, was particularly delighted that one could take the subway for miles, from one borough to the next, even to Coney Island and Rockaway Beach from midtown Manhattan for only one 15-cent token. Having to travel in a car for her would have been a deprivation.

The other issue about cars, of course, is pollution. As we are thinking green, we are aware that automotive emissions are responsible for some 50 to 90 percent of air pollution in urban areas. Wherever they are, motor vehicles are a major contributor to air pollution.Those emissions affect global warming, smog and various health problems. They include particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. All of those are toxic to living organisms and can cause damage to the brain, lungs, heart, bloodstream and respiratory systems—among other body parts.

All of that notwithstanding, it is said we have a love affair with our cars.

Brookhaven Highway Department offers teen driver safety program

by Press Release - October 11, 2023

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In participation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Teen Driver Safety Week, the Brookhaven Highway Department will be offering a Teen Driver Safety Program at Safety Town in Holtsville on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Teenagers 15 and older and their parents are invited to participate in an interactive experience exhibiting the dangers of texting or drinking and driving. During this intense, real-life program, certified instructors with many years of defensive driving and accident investigation experience will talk with participants about the importance of developing safe habits when traveling the roadways. Teens will then use electric cars to complete obstacle courses designed to simulate driving while texting and impaired. Pre-registration is required.

“Programs such as this are crucial in showing young, new drivers the tremendous threats drunken or distracted driving can create,” said Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro. “We want to make sure students understand that when they’re behind the wheel of a car, it is entirely within their control to prevent a tragic accident caused by driving while distracted or impaired.”

Located at the Holtsville Ecology Site, 249 Buckley Road in Holtsville, Safety Town is a miniature village with an indoor and outdoor educational facility. Throughout the year, Safety Town hosts bicycle safety rodeos, car seat inspections, teen distracted driving programs, and defensive driving classes.

Call 631-451-5335 for more information or to register.

SBU’s Paz no longer serving as executive VP for health science, Wertheim appointed on interim basis

by Daniel Dunaief - October 10, 2023

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0-11-e1683342109561 — Dr. Harold Paz. File photo by Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

Two years after he joined Stony Brook University as executive vice president for health sciences, Dr. Harold “Hal” Paz is no longer one of the most senior members of New York State’s southern flagship university staff.

An internal SBU announcement that went out Friday, Oct. 6, from the office of President Maurie McInnis indicated that Paz, whose page on the Renaissance School of Medicine website no longer links to information about him, will be replaced on an interim basis by Dr. William Wertheim.

Wertheim joined Stony Brook in 1996 and had been serving as the vice dean for graduate academic affairs at the Renaissance School of Medicine, where he had previously been interim dean.

Wertheim is also an Endowed Chair in Graduate Medical Education at the School of Medicine and is president of the Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group.

While Stony Brook didn’t offer a reason for Paz’s departure, officials indicated it is “not our practice to discuss personnel matters.”

Paz had come to SBU from The Ohio State University, where he was executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs and chief executive officer of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

Paz, who was Chief Executive Officer of Stony Brook University Medicine, reported to McInnis and was a member of her senior leadership team.

When Stony Brook announced that executive vice president and provost Carl Lejuez joined the university in May 2022, the university signaled that Lejuez would work collaboratively with Paz.

Paz had also been working with academic, hospital and clinical leadership and with community partners in his role.

The announcement of Paz’s departure from SBU, which came two years and two days after his official start date, did not include a list of any of Paz’s achievements, initiatives or contributions to the university.

Before joining The Ohio State University, Paz was the executive vice president and chief medical officer for CVS Health/Aetna, serving as a leader in the company’s domestic and global businesses. He also served as dean of the College of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University and CEO of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System.

Paz had succeeded Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, who retired as senior vice president of health sciences, in June 2021.

Paz serves on the National Academy of Medicine Leadership Consortium, the board of directors of Research America and the Curai Health advisory board.

In April, Paz was appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Accelerating Treatments and Improving Quality of Life committee.

Wertheim’s tenure

Wertheim started his Stony Brook career by leading the Medical Consult Services. He later served as associate program director and director of the primary care track of the Internal Medicine residency, then Internal Medicine residency program director, and then executive vice chair of the Department of Medicine and associate dean for clinical outreach.

Wertheim has also served as the president of the medical staff at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Wertheim graduated from Harvard University and New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Michigan Hospitals, where he served as chief resident.

Wertheim worked as a clinical faculty member at the University of Michigan’s Veterans Administration Hospital. In New York, he worked at The Brooklyn Hospital Center.

The letter from the president’s office announcing the changes urged the community to “join us in congratulating Dr. Wertheim on his appointment and welcoming him to his new role.”

Dr. Hedayati hired as SBU vice dean for research, rejoins Dr. Igarashi

by Daniel Dunaief - October 9, 2023

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sbhedayatiigarashi — Dr. Susan Hedayati, right, and Dr. Peter Igarashi attend the ASCI/AAP meeting in Chicago Spring 2023. Photo courtesy Hedayati

She is bringing two important parts of an effective team back together.

Dr. Susan Hedayati — pronounced heh-DYE-it-tee — recently joined the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University as vice dean for research. Hedayati was most recently a professor of medicine and associate vice chair for research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Hedayati plans to help improve Stony Brook Medical School’s national and international reputation by coupling frontline research with translational and patient-oriented care and studies.

The combination of a research and clinical care focus will provide for the “betterment of the health of Long Island population of patients,” Hedayati said.

In addition to enhancing clinical care, such an approach would “facilitate funding of investigator-initiated [National Institute of Health] grants and aid in the recruitment and retention of excellent M.D.-investigators,” she explained in an email.

She said she is eager to build an institutional clinical trials infrastructure that would involve a dedicated research support team.

Adding Hedayati to the medical school faculty at Stony Brook University, where she will also serve as the Lina Obeid chair in biomedical sciences, also brings two prominent kidney specialists who have different approaches to their work back together again.

Dr. Peter Igarashi, dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine and a nationally recognized nephrologist, had recruited and collaborated with Hedayati when she joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center after winning first place in a clinical research award at the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation Young Investigator Forum.

When Igarashi first met Hedayati as a judge of the fellowship competition, he suggested that her expertise stood out clearly.

“She has enormous content expertise in the field of nephrology and internal medicine more broadly,” he said.

He was also impressed with her “passion” for research and her “devotion to patients and research,” which has also made her a “perfect fit” for her current position at Stony Brook University.

Combining research and clinical care will enable SBU to provide one-stop shopping at facilities like the specialty practices in Commack and the one recently opened in Lake Grove in the former Sears building at the Smith Haven Mall, he said.

Patients can receive clinical care at the same time that they can enroll in clinical trials for potential treatments of some conditions.

Hedayati “set that up at the University of Texas at Southwestern, and I’m hoping she’ll be able to grow that capability here,” Igarashi said.

Igarashi also described Hedayati, who was offered the job after a committee conducted the search, as “personable and likable.”

Complementary strengths

Igarashi described the different research approaches he and Hedayati take as “complementary” strengths.

Igarashi’s research is basic, wet lab science, while Hedayati has focused on translational and clinical research.

Their backgrounds will “be very helpful for elevating the entire research enterprise, not only in basic science but also in clinical and translational research,” Igarashi noted.

For her part, Hedayati suggested that her short-term goal is to build the physical infrastructure for clinical research and clinical trials.

Such efforts will require a clinical research staff infrastructure composed of research coordinators, research managers, regulatory personnel and biostatisticians.

“I’m hoping that, within a year, we’re going to be making some big strides in those directions,” Hedayati said.

She also hopes to build upon the existing medical scientist training program for M.D./Ph.D. students to establish a physician training program for residents to retain M.D. investigators in academic and biomedical research careers. That, she suggested, is a pool that is dwindling nationally.

Ongoing research

Hedayati, who is transferring most of her grants to Stony Brook, plans to continue conducting her own research.

She has been studying the link between chronic kidney disease, which affects about one in seven people, and other conditions, such as premature cardiovascular disease, susceptibility to depression and the role of inflammation.

“This is an area that’s prevalent, but understudied,” said Igarashi.

She is searching for nontraditional biomarkers associated with kidney function decline, especially in patients with heart failure.

Patients with heart failure are at increased risk of acute and chronic kidney failure.

Igarashi is confident that Stony Brook’s new vice dean for research will serve patients on Long Island and beyond.

“She would not have taken this job unless we assured her that she would be able to continue to see patients in the clinic as well as in the hospital,” said Igarashi. “That is a core value for her.”

Echoing those sentiments, Hedayati suggested she has a “patient-centered approach in everything I do.”

Editorial: Racing to disaster — Suffolk County’s fight against sideshows and a path forward

by TBR Staff - October 8, 2023

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Sideshows, also known as street takeovers, are an increasingly pervasive crime phenomenon within Suffolk County and a critical public safety risk.

A sideshow is an informal and illegal public demonstration involving automotive stunts, often at vacant lots or public intersections. These gatherings usually are among young men, who illicitly schedule and promote these activities through social media.

During a recent community meeting at Hauppauge’s main firehouse, Suffolk County Police Department 4th Precinct Inspector David Regina shared alarming footage of recent nighttime gatherings and dangerous auto races at Hauppauge Industrial Park.

While sideshows may be afflicting Hauppauge and its surrounding communities for now, Regina noted that this trend is gaining traction regionally and nationally.

Here on Long Island, our roadways are dangerous enough as is. Just a week ago, Regina told the Smithtown Town Board that motor vehicle crashes of practically every variety were up within the 4th Precinct. We don’t need to add another safety hazard to our roadways, especially one as preventable as street racing.

Like many fads, our laws and criminal penalties have not yet caught up with this crime phenomenon. Officers alerted to these sideshows are often hamstrung, requiring two signed affidavits from separate business owners before initiating enforcement measures.

Suffolk County Legislators Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) and Steven Flotteron (R-Brightwaters) are currently exploring changes to county law that would close this loophole.

We advise each incumbent and prospective county legislator within our coverage area to take this matter seriously. There are plenty of vacant lots throughout the North Shore, and this issue could soon be heading to our own backyards.

To those who may report a sideshow event, remember to stay out of the line of harm. These are raucous, dangerous gatherings. They should be handled by experienced law enforcement professionals, not private citizens.

We do sympathize with the young and adventurous auto racers who may wish for an outlet for their natural inclinations and energies. So often, our society shames and punishes this demographic without considering root causes or potential solutions.

If these young men seek the thrill of auto racing, then we should make alternative means available to them. The East End, for example, has long offered sanctioned auto racing at the Riverhead Raceway, located on Old Country Road near Tanger Outlets in Riverhead. This quarter-mile oval track is the only one of its kind on Long Island, providing sanctioned auto racing to local residents.

A similar venue in western Suffolk could provide the necessary outlet for the beleaguered racers among us while promoting public safety. We ask our county officials to explore such an alternative, perhaps siting the raceway at an existing county property.

Still, public awareness of this issue is crucial. If you see or hear of an illegal sideshow event, please notify SCPD immediately. And remember always to be vigilant when getting behind the wheel.

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