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Times of Middle Country

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Stock photo

As travel-related restrictions from COVID-19 continue to ease, people are considering heading out on the road, to the airport, the pier, or the train station, eager to feed their curiosity and hunger about different regions and cultures.

Dr. Daniel Jamorabo is the assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine.
Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine

While these travelers may be excited about the flavor of the unknown, their stomachs may not be as thrilled with these journeys, demanding attention at inopportune times or threatening to revolt with the biological equivalent of a magma eruption.

Local gastroenterologists — stomach doctors — urged travelers to take precautions as they prepare for journeys to exotic locations, on cruises or even across the country.

“Depending on where people are traveling, they may need shots,” said Dr. David Purow, a gastroenterologist at Huntington Hospital. Some areas might have a higher incidence of cholera or traveler’s diarrhea, which is typically an E. coli infection, he added. People often refer to it as Montezuma’s revenge.

Purow suggested consulting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website initially, although the government organization which has coordinated much of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is considered a conservative organization.

Purow urged travelers to search for whether pathogens are endemic to an area, which could include reading message boards. Those boards, however, can be as reliable as so much of the rest of the material on the web, he said, which means residents should use their own judgment about the reliability of what they read.

Upset stomachs can come from a host of sources, including food that’s been out for an extended period or from various forms of contaminated water.

“Always be wary of foods that are room temperature,” said Dr. Daniel Jamorabo, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine. “That’s often how people get food poisoning. Listeria is common in dairy, such as goat cheese.”

Water

Often the source of upset stomachs that can put a porcelain damper on traveling, water can cause problems for travelers.

Prior to becoming a gastroenterologist, Jamorabo himself visited Kenya, where he unwittingly picked up the parasite Giardia, which is also a threat to people drinking creek or river water on camping trips.

Jamorabo was sick for three weeks, which encouraged him on future trips to stick to bottled water during his travels for peace of mind.

When bottled water isn’t accessible, he suggested drinking boiled water or using purifier tablets. Some tablets can take up to two hours to purify a gallon of water, although others, which afford less protection, take 35 to
40 minutes.

Jamorabo said salads or fruits, which are peeled or prepared with sources of water that are hard to track, can be
a problem.

He suggested asking residents whether they have filtration systems in their homes or if they use bottled water.

Purow added that “if there is concern, use bottled water as much as you can.”

What to bring

Doctors suggested that people tend to bring stomach remedies with them when they travel, sometimes even taking them prophylactically.

Purow said some people bring probiotics, which are “unlikely to hurt you and may decrease the chance of getting anything or shortening the duration once it’s acquired.”

Pepto Bismol and Imodium could also help prevent or treat an upset stomach, particularly for people who are anxious travelers and who get so-called “traveler’s diarrhea,” doctors said.

Purow warned that people could get black stools from some of these medications, which could also be a warning sign of a gastrointestinal bleed or ulcer.

Taking these medications for symptomatic relief, however, is “fine” and will “not suppress” the need to remove something from the body, Purow added.

One of the dangers of diarrhea is that it can cause dehydration, as the body loses necessary fluids.

Jamorabo suggested traveling with or searching for Pedialyte as a way to restore hydration.

As for the dangers of going on cruise ships, doctors recommended being careful about touching tongs or servers at buffets that many other travelers, who might have brought their own pathogens with them, might also have handled.

“On these cruises, it’s like traveling in a small city,” Jamorabo said. Stomach bugs can “spread like wildfire.”

“Always be wary of foods that are room temperature. That’s often how people get food poisoning. Listeria is common in dairy, such as goat cheese.”

— Dr. Daniel Jamorabo

Mental health

Even for those who stay at home, people may be struggling with their stomach’s response to the mental health strain created by COVID-19, the Russian attack on Ukraine, and concerns about issues like violent storm and global warming.

Stomach doctors have increasingly referred patients to psychologists and psychiatrists.

“Stress can exacerbate” irritable bowel syndrome, said Purow. Concerns about the state of the world have “unmasked GI symptoms for those who didn’t have it before.”

Purow has seen a significant increase in alcoholic liver disease, as people stuck at home raided their own liquor cabinet amid health threats, lockdowns and economic uncertainty.

Jamorabo said more stressful times can lead to an increase in stomach-related discomfort or symptoms.

“We have to pay attention to what triggers people” to have panic attacks, nausea or diarrhea, Jamorabo added.

An under-treated mood disorder could compound GI-related symptoms.

Focusing on the things people can control can help soothe the stomach, such as sleeping well, exercising and eating a healthy diet.

“Look within yourself for your own mental health,” Purow suggested. Outlets such as bottles of vodka don’t tend to help, while speaking to friends and family and eating right can aid overall health, giving digestive systems relief and resilience.

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Nature Explorium. Photo from MCPL

Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd., Centereach has announced that the library’s Nature Explorium will reopen April 1. 

Photo from MCPL

“We know that many of you are eager to visit the Nature Explorium and play outside. The Nature Explorium is an outdoor learning space for children and families to experience the benefits of nature. Children are invited to explore, play, and learn in a safe and natural environment. The Nature Explorium contains a variety of learning areas, all geared toward connecting children to a different aspect of nature. Whether they’re making a pie in the mud kitchen, climbing on a tree stump, or expressing artistic talent through song and dance on the Play It stage, children will discover the gift of the outdoors,” said the press release. 

For more information and operating hours, please visit www.natureexplorium.org or call the library’s youth services desk at 631-585-9393 ext. 559.

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

I’ve tried to dodge the question for years.

For some reason, it comes up despite an eagerness on my part to point to the sky and shout, “Look, it’s a flying turtle,” or to ask, “Wait, aren’t Derek Jeter, Halle Berry and Eva Mendes all sitting together over there?”

You see, I have a dairy allergy. When I first noticed over three decades ago that I couldn’t eat or drink milk products, the world wasn’t as prepared, accustomed and, most of all, accommodating toward allergies.

I’d go in a restaurant, even a fancy one, and tell the waiter or waitress that I was allergic to dairy. I’d get this dubious look like she thought she was on candid camera or that I wanted the fancy French chef to make me a Big Mac.

I tried to order quietly while everyone was looking at their menus or diving for the gold coins I’d thrown across the room as a distraction while I whispered about my allergy to a waitress, begging for a chance to order without facing the inevitable food inquiry.

Alas, more often than not, my distraction techniques and whispering rarely worked.

“I’m allergic to dairy,” I’d mumble.

“Say what?” she’d say.

The restaurant would go silent as if EF Hutton were telling people how to invest.

“I can’t eat anything made with milk, cheese, butter or cream,” I’d say.

“So, what do you want to eat? The chef can’t redo the entire kitchen just for you,” she’d reply, while snarling, blowing the bangs off her forehead and rolling her eyes.

Typically, I’d come up with something creative like a plate of lettuce, an unbuttered bagel, a hard-boiled egg or a Chinese meal. Asian restaurants rarely use milk or butter, which makes Chinese, Japanese and Thai food among my favorites.

Once I’d finally placed the order and was ready to engage in a non-food-related conversation, someone would look me in the eye and ask.

“So, what happens to you if you eat dairy?”

And there it is. I’m not sure what to say. Going into graphic detail forces me to relive unpleasant experiences.

Over the years, I’ve looked at my wife for help. She’s tried to point out the scar from the IV she got when she gave birth to our daughter, shared some exciting anecdote from work, or offered a story from her childhood.

The more we try to redirect the question, the more likely it is to persist.

“No, really, what happens? Would you die?” people have asked eagerly. Sometimes, their tone is so matter of fact that I wonder if they’d like popcorn, with plenty of butter, to watch the death by dairy event.

Do I carry an EpiPen? Would my throat close? Would I need immediate medical attention?

While the answer to all three questions is “No,” I prefer not to think about, and relive, the consequences of a few mouthfuls of key lime pie.

Describing the discomfort that starts in my mouth and continues all the way to my, well, other exit point, requires me to share unpleasant details.

I try to shorten the interaction by suggesting, in general terms, that I’m in intense digestive discomfort.

“How long does it last?” someone asks.

“Long enough that I haven’t had ice cream for over three decades.”

While the question is unpleasant, the modern reality is not. Waiters and waitresses often arrive at the table and ask about food allergies.

Then again, out of habit, some of them ask at the end of my order if I’d like cheese in my omelet or on my burger.

I smile, waiting for them to look me in the eye.

“Right, right,” they eventually grin. “No dairy. I knew that.”

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Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Unless you are a conspiracy theorist and view “the slap heard around the world” as a publicity stunt cooked up by Will Smith and Chris Rock, the episode at the Academy Awards Sunday night left you first puzzled, then shocked. After we caught on, there then ensued an outpouring of opinion and punditry about the incident. But there seems little consideration about how Mrs. Smith might have felt about the matter, or how societal values have dramatically shifted.

Mrs. Smith, otherwise known as the actress and producer Jada Pinkett Smith, is a force of her own. An award winner and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021, does she need defending by her husband? Although it was only a quick shot on the camera, she seemed to grimace at Rock’s joke about her baldness. And indeed, alopecia is a serious and anguishing condition that usually occurs when the immune system destroys the hair follicles and causes hair loss that can last for months or years. She had revealed the diagnosis, sharing a video on her Instagram showing herself with a shaved head, in 2018.

Back in the day, my day, women expected the men in their lives to defend them physically. That was the rationale for men walking on the outside of the sidewalk if a man and woman strolled down a street. The man would be there to protect the woman from any danger or even any mud splash that might come from the road. It was part of the definition of manhood that the male was there to protect the female. Is that an expectation today? Do men still take the curb position during any sidewalk stroll? In truth, I haven’t noticed. I haven’t even thought about it. The idea goes with men opening doors or pulling out chairs for women. I suppose it still happens, and it’s thoughtful if it does, but it doesn’t seem like de rigueur today.

This is a significant societal change. I remember an exchange I had in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a graduate student who was a friend at the time. As we were passing an ice cream parlor, he suggested we go in for cones. I readily agreed and stood in front of the door, waiting for him to open it. How surprised I was when he asked, “Why do I have to open the door for you? Is anything wrong with your arm?” He was clearly ahead of his time, believing as he did in equality of the sexes, and I was glad he wasn’t my boyfriend.

It is my sense today that whoever is in front opens a door. Is that correct or am I just an aggressive woman?

Later, when Will Smith won the award for best actor as the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams in the movie “King Richard,” he made the first of his apologies, explaining that he had acted because he had become emotional. Hey, again, back in my day, men were not allowed to show any emotion, unless they were wimps. Macho meant the strong, silent type. Men who cried were certainly not poster models for unfiltered cigarettes or Marines. If a man cried, there was probably something wrong with him.

Today, men are praised when they offer their “soft” side. Men are allowed to have feelings and to show them. Even the President of the United States, any one of them, has been seen wiping away a tear. For men, feelings can even be a license for strange behavior, which is how Smith explained his behavior. Never mind that he could have stood up and walked out or even turned his back on the comedian. His feelings freed him to be violent, and in front of 15 million people no less.

I wonder what his wife said to him when they got home.

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Photo courtesy of Mulvihill-Lynch School

Five talented young ladies from the Mulvihill-Lynch Irish Dance Studio of Lake Ronkonkoma are excited to be heading to Belfast, Ireland on April 8 to compete at the 2022 World Irish Dance Championships. This will be the first international competition the studio will be attending in three years. 

Pictured are Maggie Webber, 18 from Lake Grove, Tori Corcoran, 17 from Holbrook, Millie Valenti, 10 from Sayville, Kyleigh Pilkington, 15 from Port Jefferson Station, and Leanna Sheridan, 16 from Hauppauge. 

We wish them the best of luck!

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From left, ‘The Social Brain’ Treasurer Susan Burns, Brandon Bowen, Legislator Kara Hahn, ‘The Social Brain’ President Ira Dunne and Kathy Elton at the Suffolk County Legislature in Hauppauge on March 8. Photo from Leg. Hahn’s office

March is national Brain Injury Awareness Month, and in recognition Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) honored Selden based not-for-profit “The Social Brain” for its work to support the needs of impacted individuals and families on March 8.

“The Social Brain” works to reduce the social isolation that is often associated with a brain injury diagnosis by holding monthly events that include sports programs, bowling, baseball games, art paint nights, nature walks and picnics for individuals and families. Additionally, the organization increases awareness of brain injuries through its community outreach efforts at local schools and neighborhood events.

 According to the Brain Injury Association of America, more than 3.6 million people of all ages sustain brain injuries in the United States every year with over 5.6 million Americans living with a permanent brain injury-related disability. 

In 2007, Suffolk County declared each second week of March as Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Week. With a goal to further public recognition of brain injuries, Legislator Hahn this month introduced legislation to illuminate the County’s H. Lee Dennison Building in green each March beginning in 2023.

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File photo/TBR News Media

By Warren Strugatch  

Twenty years ago almost to the day, I met Lee Koppelman, widely regarded as Long Island’s planning czar. Koppelman at the time was well into his four-decade run at the Long Island Regional Planning Board. I was two years into my own tenure as Long Island business columnist at The New York Times. I came to cover the planning board’s April 2002 meeting simply because Lee had gotten both Nassau and Suffolk county executives — Tom Suozzi and Robert Gaffney at the time — to share a podium.

Warren Strugatch was a business columnist for The New York Times when he first met Lee Koppelman

Koppelman told me: “If the two county executives are really going to work together, it augurs well not just for good governance but for good planning. It raises the possibility that we will be able to tear down the imaginary Berlin Wall that divides the Island at Route 110.”

The potential breakthrough never happened. I didn’t think Koppelman thought it would. The interview comment however was classic Koppelman: insightful, erudite, flinty, yet optimistic.

Long-time Setauket resident Lee Edward Koppelman died March 21, two months shy of his 95th birthday. Up until recently, he was still going to work, teaching Public Policy classes at Stony Brook University, after a lifetime of public service.

Koppelman made his name in planning by advocating open space preservation, water quality protection, coastal zone management, and other efforts to balance quality of life with sustainable economic growth, affordable housing, and other quality of life goals. He also mentored three generations of planners, who continue his legacy.

Koppelman’s resume featured long stints as Suffolk County planning director, Regional Planning Board executive director, and director of Stony Brook University’s Center for Regional Policy Studies.

In Suffolk, he bolstered low-density development patterns, strategically expanded roadways, preserved open spaces and protected water supplies. His advocacy helped Suffolk maintain its rural nature even as Nassau grew more congested. Recognizing the need for well-planned development, he helped launch the Hauppauge Industrial Park, Ronkonkoma’s industrial center, and the county court complex in Central Islip.

He also helped extend the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway eastward into the Hamptons, continuing the infrastructure expansion initiated by Robert Moses, variously a mentor, ally, and sharp-elbowed opponent. Later in life, Koppelman enjoyed referencing a letter from Moses which opened: “Dear Knucklehead.”  

Koppelman’s non-salaried regional planning board role was mostly advisory. He was however compensated for numerous studies. He also labored over and drafted four master plans for Long Island, producing enough volumes to line several bookshelves. His 1970 plan alone comprised 60 volumes. Even he laughed at the implausibility of reading them all.

Koppelman is the author or co-author of more than 20 books, including Urban Planning and Design Criteria (Van Nostran Reinhold, 1982), a widely used grad school text. Many of his grad students and protegees have gone on to influential careers themselves.

Over the years, I interviewed Koppelman many times. Lee always made time available, briefed me on the issues, and occasionally needled me with a smile. He displayed an impeccable command of facts. Decades after a discussion he could recite the evidence cited by both sides.

Lee Koppelman was born May 19, 1927, in Manhattan. Raised in Astoria by parents who owned small floral wholesale businesses, Lee joined the Navy in 1945. He returned to start a landscape architecture business; earned an undergrad degree in electrical engineering from City College (1950) and a master’s from Pratt (1964); and a Ph.D. in public administration from New York University (1970).

Lee entered urban planning during the late 1950s when, as president of the Hauppauge Civic Association, he devised a plan that sought to balance economic Lee with sustainable land use management principles. Soon thereafter, Suffolk County executive John V. Klein hired him as director of the Suffolk County Planning Department, where he stayed from 1960 through 1988.  He was named executive director of what was then the Nassau-Suffolk County Regional Planning Board in 1965, making him effectively the region’s planning czar — even if precious little regional planning took place.

Also in 1965, Koppelman joined Stony Brook University as adjunct professor in the marine sciences department. He was named director of the university’s Center for Regional Policy Studies in 1988 and taught classes until September of last year.

Last year, I called Lee seeking his signature on a petition opposing the Gyrodyne company’s development plans for Flowerfield in St. James. My old friend voiced strong opposition to the project but couldn’t sign the petition. I told him I understood. His last words to me were: “Warren, you were always on the side of the angels.”

  Lee Edward Koppelman, may you rest in peace.

 Warren Strugatch is a journalist, consultant, and civic advocate in Stony Brook.  

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From left, Supervisor Ed Romaine; DIME CEO Kevin M. O’Connor; Town Commissioner of Recycling and Sustainable Materials Management, Christine Fetten; Councilwoman Jane Bonner; Councilman Dan Panico and DIME Executive VP and Chief Banking Officer James J. Manseau. Photo from TOB

On March 22, Supervisor Ed Romaine accepted a $4,000 check from DIME Chief Executive Officer Kevin M. O’Connor to co-sponsor the Town of Brookhaven’s 2022 community recycling events. Each year the Town holds two recycling events in each Council District that include paper shredding, e-waste disposal and a supervised prescription drug drop-off program.

The scheduled recycling events will help residents properly dispose of sensitive documents which, when improperly discarded, can fall into the hands of identity thieves. Residents can also dispose of e-waste including TV’s, VCR and DVD players, fax machines, printers, calculators, modems, cables, routers, copiers, radios/stereos, laptops, keyboards and cell phones as well as expired prescription drugs in an environmentally safe manner. 

Documents brought in for shredding will be fed into an industrial shredder, enabling each participant to witness the secure destruction of sensitive papers. Paper can be brought in boxes or bags. Documents can remain stapled together, but paper clips and other metal must be removed along with any other contaminants such as rubber bands. 

The 2022 schedule of events are as follows:

CD-3 Councilman Kevin LaValle

Saturday, April 2 – 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd., Centereach

CD-1 Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich

Saturday, April 23 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Comsewogue Public Library, 170 Terryville Road, Port Jefferson Station

CD-2 Councilwoman Jane Bonner

Saturday, April 30 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Rose Caracappa Senior Center, 739 Route 25A, Mt. Sinai

CD-4 Councilman Michael Loguercio

Saturday, May 21 – 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Brookhaven Town Hall, South Parking Lot, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville

CD-3 Councilman Kevin LaValle

Saturday, Sept. 10 – 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Sachem Public Library, 150 Holbrook Road, Holbrook

CD-2 Councilwoman Jane Bonner

Saturday, October 1 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Rose Caracappa Senior Center, 739 Route 25A, Mt. Sinai

CD-1 Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich

Saturday, October 22 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Setauket Fire Department, 394 Nicolls Road, Setauket

The 2022 recycling events are open to all Brookhaven Town residents for their personal, household material. For more information, call 451-TOWN (8696) or visit www.brookhavenny.gov/recyclingevents.

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A domestic goose, above, was found abandoned and hungry near a local nursery school. Photo from Long Island Orchestrating for Nature

Earlier this year, when a Stony Brook nursery school teacher spotted a distressed goose outside of the school, being walking distance from Avalon Nature Preserve, it was thought the bird was injured.

Rescuers John and Juliana hold the abandoned duck. Photo from Long Island Orchestrating for Nature

Long Island Orchestrating for Nature, also known as LION, recently rescued what turned out to be a domesticated goose outside Mill Pond Nursery School in Stony Brook village. Every year on Long Island, the nonprofit rescues approximately 1,000 animals, around 600 of them being waterfowl.

John Di Leonardo, LION president and anthrozoologist, said the goose was found next to a dumpster outside the school and was crying for two days. Teachers tried to get her help, and when LION was notified, the animal rescuers arrived at the school to find the goose, hungry and scared, behind the dumpster. Di Leonardo said his wife, Juliana, was able to grab the waterfowl by hand. While the bird was frightened, he said it realized it needed help.

The anthrozoologist said they had rescued domesticated geese and ducks from Avalon in the past. As for the nursery school incident, he said somebody may have been bringing the goose to the pond and thought people saw them and abandoned the bird at the nursery school.

Di Leonardo said it’s common to find domesticated waterfowl abandoned in the wild. The birds have large bodies and small wings, and therefore they cannot fly to escape predators. The abnormalities are a result of being bred for the farming industry.

“Should these domestic ducks and geese breed with wild birds, their offspring will likely be flightless, exposing the young to the same dangers as their domestic parent,” he said.

Di Leonardo said the birds often starve to death in the wild because they don’t have the instincts to search for food, such as finding holes in icy waters.

The rescuer said they will be friendlier than their wild counterparts, begging people for food and sometimes pecking at a person’s legs.

“They’re not trying to be aggressive,” he said. “They’re just literally starving out there.”

He said often people buy geese and ducks online or in a store without realizing what is involved in caring for them. Di Leonardo said it’s not uncommon for people to buy the birds for Easter photo shoots and then let them loose. LION representatives have urged local stores not to stock them.

“Most people don’t realize what they’re getting into when they get these animals,” he said, adding some geese can live 30 years and ducks 10 to 12.

“People aren’t realizing that when they get them,” he said. “They’re cute and small, and they can outlive you in some cases.”

“Should these domestic ducks and geese breed with wild birds, their offspring will likely be flightless, exposing the young to the same dangers as their domestic parent.”

— John Di Leonardo

Di Leonardo said there was also an increase in people purchasing birds during the pandemic, especially chickens, since many were worried they wouldn’t find eggs in the stores. He said they didn’t realize that chickens don’t lay eggs for the first six months.

“We had a tremendous uptick in the number of animals abandoned since the pandemic started,” he said.

Di Leonardo said for those who own waterfowl, it’s essential to have an avian veterinarian. He added people need to watch for avian flu when it comes to domesticated waterfowl. The birds are more susceptible to it since they have weaker immune systems. He said it’s predominantly a commercial flock problem that can be transmitted to wild birds, and in rare cases, even humans. It can be difficult to tell if a waterfowl has the avian flu, he said, because they are largely asymptomatic. Chickens, however, would be dead in 24 hours, according to Di Leonardo.

He added the best practice is for those who already own birds to keep their flocks contained.

The rescuer said if people see a waterfowl in trouble or that looks out of place, they can call LION at 516-592-3722. A representative will come to check if it is a migrant bird or a creature that has been domesticated and needs help.

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Lee Koppelman, sitting, in April 2018, was presented with a replica of the sign that marks a nature preserve dedicated in his honor by former Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, state Assemblyman Steve Englebright and Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine. Photo from 2018 by Alex Petroski

After the passing of Lee Koppelman, Suffolk County’s first regional planning board director, he is remembered fondly by those who knew him and his considerable work.

File photo/TBR News Media

Koppelman, of South Setauket, died on March 21, at age 94, at Stony Brook University Hospital.

“Lee Koppelman was a true pioneer whose comprehensive vision for sustainable development on Long Island was well ahead of his time and laid the foundation for countless initiatives we are still pursuing to this day,” said County Executive Steve Bellone (D) in a statement. “Lee’s push, against political backlash, to preserve open space, manage coastal erosion and improve water quality has had a lasting impact that spans generations.”

Bellone added, “As a county, we continue to pull his ideas ‘off the drawing board,’ with more than 20,000 acres of open space and farmland being preserved, as well as continued investments into downtown sewering, water quality improvements and public transit corridors.”

Before his illustrious career, Koppelman was born in Harlem on May 19, 1927. He grew up in Astoria and graduated from Bryant High School in Queens. His parents owned greenhouses in addition to a flower shop in Manhattan.

Koppelman was a Navy veteran who joined in 1945. He held a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from City College of New York and a master’s degree from Pratt Institute. He also earned a doctorate in public administration from New York University.

After he was married, Koppelman and his wife, Connie, moved to Hauppauge, where the planner, then president of the Hauppauge Civic Association, would play an instrumental role in the development of the Hauppauge Industrial Park.

In 1960 the Koppelmans moved to Smithtown and in the late 1980s to East Setauket. In 2014, he and his wife moved to Jefferson Ferry’s independent living in South Setauket. According to his son Keith, Koppelman designed and built his homes in Hauppauge, Smithtown and East Setauket. 

Koppelman served as the first Suffolk County regional planning board director for 28 years, from 1960 to 1988, and also served as the executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk Regional Planning Board from 1965 to 2006. He was an early advocate for preserving open space and was responsible for drawing up Suffolk’s first comprehensive master plan in 1970.

In an article by historian Noel Gish posted to the Stony Brook University website, he described Koppelman as “a planning gymnast, contorting and twisting his way through the development of the post-World War II period on Long Island.”

In addition to his accomplishments in his planning career, Koppelman was a professor emeritus at Stony Brook University, where he taught until last semester, according to his son. In 1988, he was appointed director of the Center for Regional Policy Studies at the school. The center handles research projects including governmental productivity, strategic economic planning and environmental planning.

“Lee Koppelman was a true pioneer whose comprehensive vision for sustainable development on Long Island was well ahead of his time and laid the foundation for countless initiatives we are still pursuing to this day.”

— Steve Bellone

According to his profile on the university’s website, his focus was “the environmental policy aspects of regional planning and has been specifically directed toward coastal zone management.”

Among his accomplishments listed on the SBU website, he was project manager for research “including coastal regional planning, comprehensive water management, shoreline erosion practices and related studies.” He was also involved “in the development of synthesis techniques for relating coastal zone science into the regional planning process.”

Leonie Huddy, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, said Koppelman was “a leading member of the Stony Brook Political Science Department for over five decades and trained generations of local and regional leaders and policy analysts. He will be sorely missed.”

Koppelman also served as executive director of the Long Island Regional Planning Board and was chairman emeritus of the Town of Brookhaven Open Space and Farmland Acquisition Advisory Committee.

A 46-acre parcel of woodlands near the Stony Brook campus was named after him during a ceremony in April of 2018. Now known as Lee E. Koppelman Nature Preserve, the property east of Nicolls Road and south of the university has been owned by the Town of Brookhaven for nearly 50 years and was used as passive open space.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), who was a county legislator in the 1980s, said in a phone interview he worked closely with Koppelman during his time in the Legislature working on open space acquisitions in Suffolk County. Romaine was able to get one of the largest acquisitions with the former Havens Estate in Center Moriches. The acquisition included 263 acres of land, now known as Terrell River County Park, that sits from Montauk Highway south to Moriches Bay. He also worked with Koppelman on other acquisitions.

In later years, Koppelman hired Romaine, a former full-time teacher, to teach a graduate course at SBU in 2005. He described Koppelman as gifted and intelligent. He said the two may not have always agreed on matters, “but I always thought his heart was in the right place.”

“I thought he was a visionary, and people say, ‘Well, what does it mean to be a visionary or to have vision,” Romaine said. “Well, vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. He made quite visible to us the possibility of things that we should be working on as a county in terms of farmland acquisition, preservation, where development should take place.”

Romaine said he counts himself among others who “are beginning to see that his vision was for the, most part, the correct vision for the future of Long Island, and we regret those things where past leaders did not have the same vision — it was invisible to them to see what he was saying, what his vision was.”

The town supervisor said many would visit Koppelman’s office at SBU to seek advice.

Lee Koppelman in a recent photo from Jefferson Ferry where he lived.

“He was a guy with a tremendous amount of knowledge,” Romaine said. “He will be missed for a long time, and his contributions will go on long after his passing, so I have nothing but absolute praise for Lee Koppelman and his efforts to make sure that Long Island was somewhat more rational than it is today.”

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said Koppelman was a superb administrator who knew how to surround himself with expert master planners. He said Koppelman and the planners “reflected a sense of mission and a sense of strength,” and he leaves behind a great legacy.

“In the years in which sprawl was a menace, every morning, there was Lee Koppelman and his cadre of top-flight planners who offered another vision for Long Island and made a difference, and enabled us to really bring thought into the experience of what appeared to be a daily exercise in chaos on the roadways and in the hallways where approvals for construction were being granted,” Englebright said. “He was a breath of fresh air.”

Englebright said Koppelman’s legacy will continue.

“The expectation, which is really built on of his legacy, is that we will plan, we will reason and we will make thoughtful decisions regarding our land use and natural resource uses,” Englebright said.

Koppelman is survived by his wife, Connie; four children Lesli, Claudia, Laurel and Keith; and three grandchildren Ezra, Ora and Dara. A funeral was held Thursday, March 24, at Shalom Memorial Chapels in Smithtown.

“We shared our father’s time and attention with the entire community of Long Island,” Keith Koppelman said in an email. “We have always been and will remain incredibly proud of him. Working for a rational future for Long Island did take him away from us at times, but now we have reminders of him everywhere we travel on the Island.”

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