Home Times of Smithtown

Alfred Griffin, self-emancipated Civil War veteran, to be honored at Hauppauge church

by TBR Staff - May 21, 2023

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Hauppauge United Methodist Church, 1806 Photo Credit Corey Geske — Hauppauge United Methodist Church Photo by Corey Geske;

By Corey Geske

Trustees of the Hauppauge Rural Cemetery connected to the Hauppauge United Methodist Church have sponsored marble markers for previously unmarked graves of Civil War veterans. The first inscribed is for Alfred Griffin, a Landsman, U.S. Navy, former enslaved and self-emancipated Black man whose first name and record were previously unknown. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs engraved and delivered the government headstone to be placed at his gravesite. Cemetery Trustees and the Society of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a non-profit fraternal organization, plan a graveside rededication ceremony on Saturday, June 17 at 10 a.m. at the cemetery adjacent to the Church. That weekend precedes the federal holiday of Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the U.S. in 1865.

Built in 1806, the Hauppauge church and its cemetery in the township of Smithtown were listed in 2020 on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Hauppauge Rural Cemetery includes veterans from as far back as the Revolutionary War through today. The cemetery’s Civil War markers tell of young Wessels Payne (1844-1864) killed at Fort Harrison, VA by a Rebel sharpshooter and Daniel O. Hubbs (1835-1862), who died on the USS Horace Beals near Fort Jackson, LA, blockading Confederate ports in Gulf waters where Alfred Griffin escaped enslavement and joined the U.S. Navy.

Fought to be free to fight

Since his death 125 years ago, generation to generation at the church remembered that Mr. Griffin [first name unknown] made his escape from enslavement and fought in the Civil War. Cemetery Trustees have long sought to identify Mr. Griffin’s full name. Their oral history provided enough clues for me to reconstruct his life story in my 2021 report “Enslaved, Escaped, Emancipated, Enlisted,” referenced by Veterans Affairs and on file with the State of New York Office of Historic Preservation.

Searching for Mr. Griffin’s identity

My search for Mr. Griffin’s first name and life dates across seventy years of census data extended to possible family in the Hauppauge area. In 1900, one possible relation, age 10, named ‘George Griffin,’ was boarding at a Hauppauge home next door to a brick mason west of the church. The 1900 and 1910 censuses, recording parental birthplaces, documented George’s father as born in Florida and Alabama, respectively, suggesting he may have been an enslaved brick mason working at U.S. forts built from millions of bricks near Pensacola, FL. It began to look like George’s father could be Mr. Griffin. In 1920, George was living in Bay Shore and veterans’ records brought to light his full name, ‘George Alfred Griffin’ (1890-1974), offering two potential first names for his father.

Relying on church history relating Mr. Griffin was a veteran, I located an ‘Alfred Griffin’ born in Pensacola, FL in the ship’s crew of the USS Circassian’s 1863 muster rolls posted by the National Parks Service. His veterans pension [November 23, 1895] was subsequently located, with his mark signed at Smithtown to his statement, “My correct name is Alfred Griffin . . . I do not write. . .” When census data, military records, and newspaper primary sources were put together, they provided answers once lost to enslavement.

The previously “unknown” Alfred Griffin was born circa 1828 and died December 11, 1897. Mr. Griffin’s just-identified Brooklyn Daily Eagle obituary [December 13, 1897], described him as a mechanic and brick mason, “highly respected . . . in the community,” but did not mention his Navy service. Now, Mr. Griffin’s ‘ship’ has been set right by the Hauppauge church’s collective memory, proved to correspond directly to his life.

Freed ‘off Mobile’

USS Huntsville, 1859. Watercolor (1945) by Erik Heyl for his book Early American Steamers.
Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command.

On July 6, 1861, twelve weeks after the Civil War began, two Black persons, ’Alfred’ and ‘George,’ were granted their independence off Mobile, AL. When brought aboard the 860-ton U.S. Steamer Huntsville, part of the Union’s Gulf Blockade Squadron patrolling the Confederacy’s coastline from Key West, FL to Mexico, Commander Cicero Price (1805-1888) effectively emancipated them.

Entered into the muster roll as “Supernumeraries” added to a crew already at its prescribed number of 64, Alfred and George were protected as part of the ship’s complement. Implementing the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence proclaiming “all men are created equal,” and eighteen months before President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freeing the enslaved, future Commodore Price wasted no time putting pen to paper. He had already fought for emancipation, having seen the horrors of enslavement before the Civil War, when serving on the U.S. Africa Squadron blockading enslavers’ ships on the Atlantic enslavement trade’s dreaded Middle Passage that transported kidnapped African people to enslaved labor.

Eyewitness to ‘Freedom’s Fortress’

‘Alfred’ added the surname ‘Griffin’ to his person when officially enlisting aboard the Huntsville on November 25, 1861. He soon saw action fighting the Confederacy. Off Mobile Bay, Christmas Eve, 1861, Huntsville engaged in an hour-long battle turning back the Florida, a steamer of superior force challenging the Union blockade, followed in January 1862, with Huntsville assisting in capturing a rebel schooner, again off Mobile.

Then, on December 9, 1863, in one of the most internationally famous Union Navy victories of the Civil War, Alfred’s next ship, the USS Circassian, captured the British blockade runner Minna near Wilmington, NC, severing an international lifeline supplying the South’s ironclad fleet. The Circassian towed its prize to the Virginia coast, where Alfred Griffin saw the Union’s Fort Monroe, the so-called ‘Freedom’s Fortress,’ granting sanctuary to thousands of escaping enslaved people, many joining the Union Army.

Brick mason builds in Smithtown

Mr. Griffin was honorably discharged in New York, the Huntsville’s port of launch, when that ship was decommissioned in 1862. He reenlisted in the Navy and served as a Landsman into 1864. After the war, he returned to New York and became a resident of Brooklyn, working as a ‘boss’ brick mason, described in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as doing the work of two men, setting 4,000 bricks in a day.

Mr. Griffin and his family moved to Smithtown in the early 1880s apparently influenced by Rev. Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882). At age fifteen, after having escaped enslavement, Garnet was given sanctuary in 1830, at the Smithtown home of Epenetus Smith II (1769-1832) before it was moved.

In a Brooklyn sermon of 1879, Garnet said of Epenetus’s son Samuel Arden Smith (1804-1884) then in attendance, “if I have ever been useful to you or to the world, it was greatly owing to him; and I desire those of my friends who feel so disposed to come up to this stand and be introduced to him.” Garnet, a renowned abolitionist, would be the first Black speaker to deliver a sermon before the U.S. House of Representatives, marking Congressional passage of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing enslavement; the new law of the land proclaimed December 18, 1865.

In the early 1880s, Mr. Griffin appears to have built his home of brick in Smithtown Branch south of Main Street on Hauppauge Road (Route 111), neighboring Samuel Arden Smith. The Smith family inherited the fortune of merchant A.T. Stewart (1803-1876), including his Garden City Company brick business, which supplied bricks used in Smithtown, likely by Mr. Griffin.

Later moved east on Main Street to the Smithtown Historical Society grounds, the ‘Epenetus Smith Tavern’ where Garnet received sanctuary in 1830, was originally located north of Main, proximate to today’s Town Hall near where the Smithtown Branch Methodist Episcopal Church was then located, and where Mr. Griffin’s funeral was held.

Smithtown’s freed enslaved men and women would regularly meet about a block south and in 1910, their descendants would build Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church on New York Avenue. Alfred Griffin was a prosperous mechanic, skilled brick mason known for his business ethic, and member of the fraternal organization of Free and Accepted Masons that worked to build the African American community after the war.

Alfred Griffin’s known descendants

Alfred Griffin married Mary Dixon (c. 1850-aft. 1897-before 1900), whose father born in the West Indies was possibly enslaved. Their children included Mary (c. 1873-unknown); Corie (c. 1876-c. 1899), and George Alfred. Corie Griffin Jackson had three children born in Hauppauge: Alonzo, Paul, and Cora.

Little is known of ‘George,’ rescued with ‘Alfred’ in July 1861, both assigned the singular job of “steward” aboard the Huntsville, suggesting, perhaps, that Alfred brought a young son on his journey to freedom. We do know Alfred Griffin’s son born in 1890 in Smithtown Branch, was named ‘George Alfred Griffin.’

A U.S. Army veteran Of World War I, George, a carpenter, married Minnie Mitchel (c. 1889-aft. 1938), a widow with two daughters, Daisy and Marguerite. The Griffins’ daughter, Jean, was born c. 1927. In 1918, Minnie was a founder of Bethany Baptist Church, built near the Griffins’ home, likely with George’s expertise, and dedicated in 1921, becoming First Baptist Church on Second Avenue in Bay Shore.

About the author: Independent historian Corey Geske of Smithtown has identified lost titles of Hudson River School paintings mistitled on museum and library walls, as well as internationally known, yet forgotten owners and architects of Smithtown’s historic structures. Since 2016, to generate incoming grant money for downtown Smithtown, she has proposed recognition of historic places, notably through a new National Register Historic District focused on the c. 1752 Arthur House, identifying it as the home of Mary Woodhull Arthur, daughter of Washington’s chief spy, Culper, Sr. She prepared the report resulting in determination of the Smithtown Bull as Eligible for the National Register (2018) and wrote the successful National Register nominations (2019) for the Byzantine Catholic Church of the Resurrection and its Rectory, and with SHPO, for the Hauppauge United Methodist Church and Rural Cemetery (2020).

Editorial: New EPA regulations are a sobering dose of reality

by TBR Staff - May 20, 2023

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cover_with_bird — The Port Jefferson Power Station. Photo by Raymond Janis

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new regulations concerning power plants could have dramatic consequences for communities across the North Shore.

The EPA is proposing emissions caps and further guidelines for fossil-fuel-burning power plants.

The proposed guidelines aim to “set limits for new gas-fired combustion turbines, existing coal, oil and gas-fired steam generating units, and certain existing gas-fired combustion turbines,” according to an EPA statement.

While we certainly acknowledge the need for government to intervene in the spread of planet-warming carbon, we expect these regulations to have severe consequences for our local communities.

Generations ago, residents of Port Jefferson and Northport planned their communities around these power plant facilities. Power plants have represented a lucrative tax base for these communities, subsidizing several important community ends.

In exchange for the industrial activities taking place at these plants, residents saw opportunities — opportunities for better schools, better services and a better way of life. Now these opportunities may remain only aspirational.

Local governments and school districts are already struggling as it is. Between inflation and rising costs, further declines in public revenue will only compound the financial troubles of our public institutions. Yet, despite the challenges ahead, plans must start moving now.

At the local level, municipalities and school districts that rely upon LIPA subsidies should begin imagining a future in which those subsidies no longer exist. If plants start shuttering, public officials will be tasked with plugging enormous holes in their budgets. What are their plans to do that?

We are seeing warming temperatures and the changing climate affecting a wide array of local issues. From coastal erosion to prolonged droughts to intensifying flooding and countless other concerns, this global environmental phenomenon is already reshaping our local policies — and soon our bottom line.

Using fossil-fuel-powered plants to subsidize our way of life has become increasingly untenable. Municipal and school district officials may soon face some extremely uncomfortable discretionary choices.

For this reason, it is time for our leaders to adopt a policy of radical acceptance and realism. Relocating waterfront properties inland, conserving our scarce water supply and protecting open spaces are some ways to meet this moment. But the necessary conversations about taxes and budgets need to happen as well.

With a new frame of mind, we can rise to the challenges ahead. We can adapt our communities to the changing environment.

With a clear focus and sober long-term thinking, let us cease denying the transformations happening before our eyes. Instead let us plan to deal with them.

Powering down? New climate regulations may impact local power plants

by TBR Staff - May 20, 2023

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NorthportPowerPlant2w — New proposed EPA regulations may affect the Northport Power Station, pictured above. File photo

By Aidan Johnson

The Biden administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new proposed regulations on May 11 that would require most power plants fired by fossil fuels to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent between 2035 and 2040. Plants that do not meet these requirements may have to close down entirely, according to the new plan.

Starting in 2030, the EPA guidelines would generally require more CO2 emissions controls for power plants that operate more frequently, phasing increasingly stringent CO2 requirements over time, an EPA statement said.

If passed, the new requirements would likely impact the Port Jefferson and Northport power stations, both fired by natural gas.

The EPA projects the carbon reductions under the new guidelines would help avoid over 600 million metric tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere from 2028 to 2042, “along with tens of thousands of tons of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and fine particulate matter,” the statement reads.

This new proposal comes over four years after the Long Island Power Authority, which buys all of the Port Jefferson Power Station’s power, settled its tax lawsuit with the Town of Brookhaven and the Village of Port Jefferson.

“The terms of settlement shelter us from having to pay back taxes (taxes collected during the 6-year-long court battle) while also providing a glide path moving forward over the next 8 years, during which the 50% reduction of tax revenue can be absorbed,” Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant said in a 2019 statement.

The new EPA standards represent a step toward alleviating the climate crisis, according to the Biden administration. Their impact, however, will likely be felt locally given that a sizable portion of PJV’s budget is subsidized by the plant. This applies to other local institutions, such as the Port Jefferson Fire Department and school district.

Bruce Miller, former Port Jefferson Village trustee, said in an interview that it is technologically feasible to remove carbon dioxide and other polluting gasses from the smoke stacks. He also maintains that the possibility of using hydrogen, a clean fuel source, remains an option.

“The thing that I’m talking to National Grid [the owner of the plant] about is hydrogen,” Miller said. “Will they be thinking in terms of possibly a combined cycle plant in Port Jefferson? That would be our hope.”

These talks are still preliminary as the proposed regulations are still subject to a public comment period. “Whether National Grid and LIPA would want to make the investment to put some hydrogen-powered combined cycle plants — redo the Port Jefferson plant — is a huge question mark,” Miller indicated. “I don’t have an answer for that or even a projection.”

The former trustee added that the impact to local budgets could be “substantial,” noting, “It’s going to be a major adjustment if that plant goes offline.”

While the long-term plans for the plant remain unknown, Garant maintained that the village’s finances would not be hit all at once if the plant were to shutter.

“The community wouldn’t be on a cliff,” she said in a phone interview. “The norm is like another 10-year glide path to give you a chance to settle into another loss of revenue.”

While the potential loss of public revenue remains a critical policy concern for local officials, the impact that climate change has had on the village cannot be ignored either. The past few years have brought both droughts and flooding, likely the consequence of intensifying storms and rising tides due to climate change.

“Projections for sea-level rise over the coming decades are nothing short of staggering,” said trustee Rebecca Kassay, Port Jeff’s sustainability commissioner, in a statement. “If the global community does not work together — from individuals to villages to states to nations and every agency in between — and climate change is not slowed from its current projections, [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] confidently forecasts that Port Jefferson Harbor will engulf Port Jefferson Village’s downtown Main Street within a century’s time.”

The EPA will host virtual trainings on June 6 and 7 to provide information about the proposed regulations.

Letters to the Editor — May 19

by - May 19, 2023

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Slow down multifamily development in Port Jeff Station/Terryville

Certain multifamily housing project proposals are progressing too fast in the hamlets of Port Jefferson Station and Terryville.

In Port Jefferson Station, starting at the intersection of Terryville Road and Main Street (aka Route 112), traveling north there are proposals to build four multifamily housing communities.

Proposal 1 will be built at the shopping center where the post office is located. Proposal 2 will be built at the old Malkmes Florists on Oakland Avenue. Proposal 3 will be built on Cherub Lane. And Proposal 4 will be built adjacent to the railroad tracks on both the east and west side of Main Street.

As a result of these proposed multifamily housing projects, our communities have requested an environmental impact statement and a comprehensive traffic study. Both requests have either been ignored or denied by the Town of Brookhaven.

This is not an anti-development letter. It is a shoutout to our Brookhaven elected officials to slow down the process of reviewing these proposed multifamily housing projects.

It is time to perform the necessary studies to help us better understand how these proposed projects will affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the current and future traffic patterns in our communities.

We have a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and feel safe in our communities without worrying about increasing traffic on our neighborhood streets. It is time to complete the necessary studies so that we can better understand how these multifamily housing projects will affect our quality of life.

Multifamily housing is not a cure all, and there are times when such projects cause detrimental quality-of-life issues that cannot be reversed.

Please slow down and complete the necessary studies.

Louis Antoniello

Terryville

Consider eminent domain for Maryhaven

In the United States, governmental bodies, at all levels from federal to a village, have an obligation to promote, and often provide, resources for the general welfare of their population.

In Port Jefferson vacant land is becoming a precious resource for uses that could provide and promote our general welfare. To that purpose, governments have the authority to gain ownership of land through the process of eminent domain.

Our village government held a public hearing on May 1 regarding a code change that would specifically allow a developer of the Maryhaven property to purchase the entire property, and construct as many as 192 condominium units. Special permission to do so is contingent on the builder’s willingness to maintain the outer walls of the existing historically important building known as the Maryhaven Center of Hope.

A building that was used for generations to help many in need — young children with severe disabilities, and later to house and aid those who required group living quarters, training for minimal paying jobs and other needs for their adult lives.

Without dishonoring the building that served those with the greatest needs for survival, it is difficult to understand how the proposed code change aimed specifically at “saving” the Maryhaven building is achieved by gutting the structure for the creation of expensive condominiums, a clubhouse and a swimming pool within, all to serve a private luxury gated community.

How does the proposed code change honor those that spent their professional lives providing for those with the greatest needs for their survival?

The future of this land is of particular importance at a time when the effects of climate change, ushering in periods of rain beyond current capacity to mitigate the potential of severe flooding, threatens our fire department and, possibly in years to come, the accessibility of our current Village Hall.

Now is the time to plan for a new Center of Hope with uses that promote and provide for the general welfare of those who follow us. The use of eminent domain to secure that property would honor the building and its grounds in service to the public, the fire department and village government operations.

Michael Mart

Port Jefferson

Local crime exposes bail reform dangers

In an effort to champion the successes of cashless bail, letter writer David Friedman cited a study done by the Data Collaborative for Justice [“Eliminating bail reduces recidivism,” TBR News Media, April 27]. Along the way he took the opportunity to make inaccurate personal assumptions about me, while criticizing respected Albany District Attorney David Soares [D]. In a clumsy effort to paint me as insincere, Friedman applies the term “crocodile tears.”

I’ve spent over three decades working with special needs and at-risk children ranging in age from preschool to high school. Responsibilities included teaching, meeting with parents and working with multidisciplinary teams that included probation officers, child protection specialists, social workers and psychologists. We had uplifting successes and heartbreaking disappointments. Tears, whether for joy or sorrow, were genuine.

Soares, shamefully silenced by his own party for condemning cashless bail, had a different take on much of the Collaborative Justice “data.” But an area where he could agree was the study’s very own “Summary and Conclusions.” Here were highlighted the dangers of “increased recidivism for people with substantial recent criminal histories.”

That terrifying scenario became reality in Suffolk County.

On April 24, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney [R] announced the recent seizure of guns and narcotics: “Law enforcement was able to recover … approximately 268 grams of fentanyl, which could kill 134,000 people.’’

Tierney blamed bail reform laws: “Out of the 21 individuals arrested, we only got to seek bail on 11.” Consider that fact, knowing 350 of our neighbors died of fentanyl overdoses last year.

On May 11, Michael Lafauci, a six-year veteran assigned to the 6th Precinct’s Anti-Crime Unit, barely survived a gunshot wound. The alleged shooter was Janell Funderburke. Last August, he and three others were arrested after fleeing police, then crashing a 2018 BMW. Suffolk cops pulled them from that burning vehicle and, in the process, found a handgun and drugs.

Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association President Noel DiGerolamo linked Lafauci’s horrific wounding to what he considers New York’s failed bail reform law, saying this suspected gang member “should never been out on the street.” He continued, “An individual who one day is rescued by Suffolk County police officers … only … for him to attempt to kill one. This is what our leaders in Albany have created.”

Counting on those 10 enjoying a cashless bail release, as described by Tierney, after their drug bust to “reform”? Ask DiGerolamo, the two DAs and, most importantly, Officer LaFauci.

Jim Soviero

East Setauket

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SWR Wildcats claw to victory, end Kings Park’s season

by Bill Landon - May 19, 2023

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WJL_8604 — Shoreham-Wading River midfielder Liam Gregorek gets checked. Photo by Bill Landon

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Liam Kershis led the way for Shoreham Wading River in the opening round of the Suffolk County Class C playoffs as the Wildcats eliminated Kings Park.

Kings Park had struggled against the Wildcats’ defensive pressure, unable to gain traction in the 17-7 loss at Cutinella Memorial Field Thursday night, May 18.

Kershis tallied an assist with five goals for the Wildcats, while teammate Alec Gregorek netted three assists and three goals. Gregorek’s brother, Liam, notched three goals of his own and tacked on an assist in the SWR victory. Goalie Jaden Galfano had eight saves in net, and Jon Gordon stopped two.

Kings Park senior attack Thomas Hnis recorded three goals and a pair of assists for the Kingsmen. Nick Papa, John Flynn and Tommy Cassar rounded out the scoring for Kings Park.

The win propels the third-seeded Wildcats to the semifinal round of the county playoffs. The team will travel to Bayport-Blue Point — the second seed — on Tuesday, May 23. The game will start at 4 p.m.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Teachers Federal Credit Union opens new location in Smithtown

by Press Release - May 19, 2023

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Teachers Federal Credit Union held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new Smithtown location at 47 Route 111 in Smithtown on May 3. Credit union executives and its members, representatives from the Greater Smithtown Chamber of Commerce and the St. James Chamber of Commerce, as well as government officials attended the grand opening.

Founded more than 70 years ago, it has over 440,000 members across the country. At the opening, they presented a donation of $5,000 to Beacon House, which provides homes and services for veterans.

“I wish the members of Teachers the best of luck in their new location and appreciate all that they do for the community. They are a real asset for the town,” said Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta.

Pictured at the ribbon cutting from left are: Smithtown Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim; Smithtown Councilman Tom Lohmann; Teachers Chairman Timothy M. Southerton; Teachers President & CEO Brad C. Calhoun; Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta; and Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puelo.

Smithtown school budgets pass, incumbents reelected

by Leah Chiappino - May 18, 2023

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smithtown-schools-administration-building2-shapirow — File photo by Rachel Shapiro

The Smithtown Central School District budget passed 4,236 to 2,406. The budget, at $280,642,272, constitutes a 4.8% increase from the current budget. The tax levy has increased 2.83% from last year.

Two incumbents, board President Matthew Gribbin and John Savoretti, held on to their seats. Gribbin defeated his opponent Elena Guttieri, a middle school teacher, who ran on a ticket with Savoretti, 3,472 to 3,177.

“Thank you to the Smithtown community for the approval of next year’s budget,” Gribbin wrote on his campaign Facebook page. “I am honored to be elected to a third term on the Smithtown Board of Education. It has been a privilege, and I am looking forward to serving our community for the next three years!!!”

Former trustee Charles Rollins, who was defeated by Savoretti in 2021, praised Gribbin in a comment responding to the post.

“A well-earned honor,” he wrote. “Your leadership and strength have served the students of Smithtown well! Your election is a message that the Smithtown voters have validated your efforts of the past 6 years!”

During the campaign, Gribbin, a physical education teacher, said he was proud of the accomplishments during his tenure as president, such as increased mental health support and partnerships with the Suffolk County Police Department and Town of Smithtown. Guttieri pushed to teach “traditional” literature and “patriotism” in schools.

Savoretti, a realtor, defeated his opponent, Nicholas De Bello, a vice president of the AME Union, 3,343 to 3,323. De Bello had run on a ticket with Gribbin. Savoretti has pledged to continue to involve the community on the board and counted security as one of his chief accomplishments. De Bello had pushed for smaller class sizes during the debates.

Kevin Craine, a teacher, defeated Vladimir Pean, an information technology specialist, 3,361 to 3,282, for Jerry Martusciello’s seat. Martusciello did not seek reelection. Pean ran with Gribbin and De Bello, and Craine ran with Guttieri and Savoretti.

The Savoretti, Craine and Guttieri campaign also issued a social media statement, thanking the community for their support and involvement in the race.

“We knew it would not be easy,” the statement read. “Up against a well-organized machine, we relied on family and friends donating their time to spread the word. Although the race was long and our opposition stiff, we sent a message: parents’ and students’ rights will be respected, academic achievement will be prioritized, and accountability and transparency will be restored in Smithtown.”

Each trustee will serve a three-year term.

Kings Park Central School District

The majority of voters in the Kings Park Central School District approved the 2023‒24 budget of $104,039,636, a 1.76% increase over last year, with 829 voting yes and 336 no.

The tax levy will increase from last year’s $77,430,655 to $80,103,141, which is a $2,672,486 increase. This results in a 3.45% tax levy increase.

Incumbent Joe Bianco ran unopposed for school board and received 976 votes. In July he will begin his fourth term.

Commack Central School District

The Commack Central School District budget for 2023‒24 passed, 1,247 to 351. This year’s total budget is $222.110,181, up $7,464,854 from last year’s $214,645,327, which is a 3.48% increase.

The tax levy will increase from $149,681,444 last year to $152,660,104. This would be a rise of $2,978,660, resulting in a 1.99% tax levy increase.

Incumbents William Hender and Susan Hermer ran unopposed for their seats on the school board. Hender received 1,283 votes and Hermer 1,303.

Setauket Artists celebrate spring with exhibit at Deepwells Mansion

by Heidi Sutton - May 18, 2023

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By Heidi Sutton

May is one of the prettiest times of the year on Long Island with the trees in bloom and the pleasant weather. The month also signals the return of a beautiful event, the Setauket Artists’ annual spring exhibit at Deepwells Mansion in St. James.

The juried show, which opens on May 21, will feature approximately 100 paintings in various types of mediums including oil, watercolor and pastel along with etchings and painted photographs by Setauket Artist members in addition to two guest artists: Charles Wildbank, a well known and respected artist from Jamesport, and Russell Pulick, founder of Pulick Pottery.

This year’s distinguished judge is Joshua Ruff, Co-Executive Director at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook. Ruff will have the difficult job of choosing winners from a pool of incredible local talent.

“Because we live in such a beautiful area, many of the paintings are Long Island landscapes and seascapes of the Sound. Other paintings reflect artists’ travels and daily inspirations, which range from tea cups to trailers,” said Paula Pelletier, a member of the Setauket Artists for over 10 years and whose painting “Flax Pond Inlet” will be in the show.

“Recently, my husband and I discovered the walk at Flax Pond Marine Lab. The views took my breath away; I had to paint them,” she explained.

The exhibit will also feature a gift boutique with matted unframed smaller works, cards, and books written by the artists. The group will raffle off four paintings including “Watching the Stillness of a Setting Sun” by Shain Bard, “Daffodils by Joanne Liff, “Along the Coast” by Renee Caine, and “Road in Mt. Sinai” by Angela Stratton on June 18, the exhibit’s last day. Visitors can enter the raffle throughout the exhibit’s run and do not need to be present to win.

According to Pelletier, the show will fill the Deepwells Mansion’s first floor and extend to the upstairs. The back rooms on the second floor will house three of the Setauket Artists’ personal “studios” with additional artwork available for sale.

The mansion, which is part of the Suffolk County Parks Department, was built in 1845 in the 16th century Greek-Revival architecture for Joel Smith, a descendant of Smithtown’s founder Richard ‘Bull’ Smith. It is now managed by the Deepwells Farm Historical Society.

“It’s wonderful to return to Deepwells,” said Pelletier. “The rooms are expansive with natural light flooding in from the floor to ceiling windows. For visitors, it’s an opportunity to view the period wallpaper and distinctive crown moulding.”

This year’s Honored Artist is Irene Ruddock, the Setauket Artists’ president and mentor for the past 18 years. “A woman of elegance, grace and great kindness, she has worked tirelessly ensuring that our exhibitions are successful, professional and beautiful. Her artistic talents inspire us all. We send her our love and a sincere thank you,” said Pelletier.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Ron Becker, Joyce Bressler, Renee Caine, Al Candia, Gail Chase, Anthony Davis, Julie Doczi, William Dodge, Paul Edelson, Margaret Governale, William Graf, Melissa Imossi, Larry Johnston, Flo Kemp, Karen Kemp, Joanne Liff, John Mansueto, Jane McGraw Teubner, Eleanor Meier, Fred Mendelsohn, Muriel Musarra, Paula Pelletier, Russell Pulick, Catherine Rezin, Joan Rockwell, Robert Roehrig, Irene Ruddock, Oscar Santiago, Carole Link Scinta, Barbara Jeanne Siegel, Angela Stratton, Susan Trawick, Maria Lourdes Velez, Marlene Weinstein, Charles Wildbank, and Patricia Yantz.

The Setauket Artists’ Spring Exhibit will be held at Deepwells Mansion, 2 Taylor Lane, St. James from May 21 through June 18. The community is invited to an opening reception on May 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is always free. For more information, visit www.setauketartists.com.

Junior Fishing Tournament returns to Caleb Smith State Park Preserve

by Press Release - May 18, 2023

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Fishing-AM-winners-2014w-700x357 — Children can win a trophy and all get a goody bag at this year's angler event. File photo from Carole Paquette

The Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve will hold its 19th annual “Catch and Release” Junior Angler Fishing Tournament at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve, 581 W. Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown on Saturday, June 10. The tournament will be divided into two groups: ages 5 through 8 from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m.; and ages 9 to 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. Trophies will be awarded in three categories at each session.Supporting sponsors for the event are The Fisherman and The Campsite Sports Shop.

Those interested in participating in the tournament must register by Saturday, June 4. Anglers under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult. The entry fee is $15, $10 for members and includes bait, hooks and bobbers, junior angler tee shirts, refreshments, and goody bags for all participants. A limited number of fishing rods are available if required. An $8 NYS Parks parking fee will be in effect.

For more information or to register, call 631-265-1054 Wednesday through Sunday.

D. None of the Above: Like a moth to the flame, revelers revere Janet Jackson

by Daniel Dunaief - May 18, 2023

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By Daniel Dunaief

Most of us engage in group movements that don’t make our day. We get in a car, sit in traffic as we wait for other cars to pass or for lights to turn green, all the while surrounded by other people doing the same thing.

Group movements start at a young age, which we witness when we stop for school buses that pick up students. A line of buses then brings those students into the parking lot.

Our entertainment and discretionary decisions follow some of the same patterns as we travel by car, bus, or train to sporting events or, in our case, recently, concerts.

And yet, the experience and the excitement we share in our interactions are markedly different.

My wife and I attended a recent performance by Janet Jackson as a part of her Together Again tour.

Unlike 15 years ago when we last saw Janet Jackson at Madison Square Garden, we asked our son to take us to and from the concert. That’s one advantage of the passage of time.

We left the car about four-tenths of a mile from the arena. Walking more rapidly than the cars inching along next to us, we followed the line of people trekking along the shoulder to the entrance.

A woman leaned out of her window and asked us if we knew if the place would sell refreshments. We said we hoped so, but weren’t sure. She gave us an appreciative and friendly wave, despite the fact that we were completely unhelpful.

People wore a wide range of outfits, with some clad in T-shirts showing a younger version of Janet from earlier concerts and others adorned in dresses and high-heeled shoes.

While waiting to get inside the arena, we spoke with a couple behind us, who were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary and her graduation from nursing school.

Once Ludacris took the stage, the crowd, which included every age group from young children to gray-haired seniors, shouted, swayed and responded to his songs.

Cooled by a light and intermittent breeze, the crowd roared its appreciation with the left side screaming at full throat to outdo the right.

A father, mother and daughter two rows ahead of us had clearly come to see Janet, sitting and eating popcorn despite Ludacris’ exhortations for everyone to stand and shout.

Before Janet took the stage, the arena displayed a photo montage from 50 years of Janet, showing the many faces of her public life.

I wasn’t tall enough to see over a man two rows in front of me. I looked around him to see the stage and the numerous screens with images of Janet and her dancers.

As I listened and watched a show in which Janet changed her wardrobe several times, I appreciated the energy such a concert must take to put on at the age of 56. She isn’t sprinting around the stage, but she still breaks into some of her iconic moves, with sweat gleaming on her forehead.

She urged the audience to turn on their phone flashlights, which created a wave of swaying bright lights along the lawn and in the seats.

While I reveled in familiar songs, I wished the heavy and loud bass and drums didn’t overwhelm Janet’s voice. I also second-hand smoked a high dose of marijuana, as the smokestack attached to the person two seats away from me must have felt as lit up as the stage by the finale.

The experience, which I shared with thousands of thrilled audience members, brought me back to the times and places where I heard these same songs decades ago. As we followed the crowd back to our cars (or, in our case, to meet our son), I could feel the glow the concert created for an appreciative audience. For a few hours, the strangers we might otherwise see as obstacles on the way to something else came together during a joyful concert.

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