The Parish of Saints Philip and James, 1 Carow Place, St. James will host a New York Blood Center blood drive for the Paige Elizabeth Keely Foundation on Wednesday, May 10 from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Paige was a first-grader at St. James Elementary who lost her life suddenly at the age of 6 in 2018 due to an undetected arteriovenous malformation AVM.
To make an appointment, please visit www.nybc.org/donate or call 800-933-BLOOD. Appointments are preferred but walk-ins are welcome.
Congrats, TBR News Media
Dear Leah,
You must be very proud of your continued recognition from the New York Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest from your team’s work by receiving 11 awards this year. This is also a testament to your success as the founder and publisher of a weekly newspaper.
I believe hometown papers are an essential means to keep residents updated on what is happening in their community as they report on local government, schools, sports, entertainment, news and other items of interest.
I join with all of your readers in congratulating you and your staff and look forward to your continued success.
Rob Trotta
Suffolk County Legislator (R-Fort Salonga)
13th Legislative District
Sunrise Wind projections questionable
The Sunrise Wind project, as we were told in a March 23 TBR News Media article, “will use windmills to provide power to about 600,000 homes.” But what does this mean, exactly? It appears that 600,000 may have been selected as an arbitrary number, which may represent the number of homes that will derive 100% of their power requirements when all of the windmills are generating power at their maximum capacity, although this is not specifically stated in the article. But this raises the obvious question: For what percentage of the time will this be the case? We can only guess.
A much more helpful and meaningful terminology, in my opinion, would be to present these concepts in terms of energy, rather than power. Power is the rate at which energy is produced, or expended. To state that a windmill farm can produce a certain amount of power under ideal conditions, but neglect to mention the percentage of time this may be in effect, is to provide a very limited ability to understand the issue. A much more useful characterization would be to specify the total amount of energy generated in a fixed time, such as a year, compared to the total amount of energy required. For example, we might say something like, “The Sunrise Wind project will provide 45,000 MWh per year, which is 22% of the total energy required by Suffolk County.” (These are, of course, made-up numbers.) In this way, the complex variability of the wind strength becomes included in the energy notation, making the whole issue considerably easier to understand and evaluate.
Surely this issue is well understood by Sunrise Wind, and why they would choose to muddy the waters, as they have, is a matter for speculation. As Honest Abe Lincoln would have told us, a windmill farm can provide some of the power some of the time, or possibly all of the power some of the time, but it can provide none of the power most of the time.
George Altemose
Setauket
More Maryhaven discussions needed
We may be missing the forest for the trees in the process by which the Village of Port Jefferson is approaching this initiative to make an amendment to a long-standing village code for the Professional Office (PO)-zoned Maryhaven property. Residents had their first opportunity to hear and provide feedback as to what was being proposed at the standing-room-only public hearing during Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, May 1.
Comments and concerns ranged from: Do what it takes to preserve the Maryhaven building; and, we need to know exactly what the plan is prior to a zoning change; to, have the Architectural Review Committee and Conservation Advisory Council been involved? Because we’ve known about the sale and vacancy for a very long time as a village; and, questions and concerns over the potential density as permitted via the draft code amendment (192+ units/~19 units per acre), coupled with the lack of a full environmental review (SEQRA) and sewage treatment related to the project. Other questions? Why didn’t we work with the owner of the property to secure an historic landmark designation and has water runoff into the neighborhoods below been considered?
The bottom line is that these questions are just the tip of the iceberg. Engagement with the developer by a select group of village officials had been ongoing, but the announcement of the pending sale (March 6, Deputy Mayor Snaden) followed by the public hearing request (April 3, Mayor Garant) ostensibly came from out of the blue for the rest of us and now we are playing catch up and the residents are as well.
There should have been more discussion about this building in the public sphere — years if not months ago; i.e., the ARC, CAC, Port Jefferson Historical Society, all could have been engaged.
Is it too late? We will see. But because the developer is working within a “timeline” as described by the mayor, this has suddenly become an urgent, time-sensitive matter. The public hearing remains open for three weeks.
I’d like to hear the public’s response to this and encourage feedback. What I heard May 1 was important, if not concerning. Please contact me at [email protected] if you have additional feedback.
Lauren Sheprow, Trustee
Village of Port Jefferson
Maryhaven: a potential spot zoning case
I was surprised to learn at the May 1 standing-room-only public hearing that the mayor, deputy mayor and village attorney have been in discussions with the developer for the proposed Maryhaven project for well over a year. Yet the first time the residents were made aware of this proposal was at a March 6 Port Jefferson Village Board of Trustees meeting.
While I applaud the Board of Trustees for their interest in preserving the historic Maryhaven building, their solution — changing the village code to achieve this goal — seems like the classic definition of spot zoning. This is the practice of singling out a specific property for a special zoning designation that differs from surrounding properties — an approach that is controversial and subject to challenge. During the hearing, the village attorney and mayor repeatedly said the purpose of the zone change was to preserve this historic building.
Significant concerns were raised about the scope and scale of the Maryhaven redevelopment that would be facilitated by the “relaxing” of existing limits in our code. Many good alternatives to the proposed code change were offered both by residents and trustees Lauren Sheprow and Rebecca Kassay. But there was near universal opposition to changing the village code to accommodate this project because of its potential for adverse impacts to this property and for other parts of the village.
If the village is serious about historic preservation, we need to explore code changes that would apply to more than just a single property. Also, funding opportunities for historic preservation should be vigorously researched and a report issued so that the village can make fully informed land use decisions.
Virginia Capon
Port Jefferson
Editor’s note: The writer formerly served as Port Jefferson Village trustee and chair of the Comprehensive Plan Committee.
Character assassination in PJ mayoral race
I came home from the May 1 Village of Port Jefferson public hearing elated. Village Hall was packed with residents who were there to weigh in on a code change that would affect the development of the Maryhaven building, encompassing people from all political stripes. Yet, here we were engaging in civil discourse and united in the goal of trying to find the best solutions for our community.
So I was stunned when I received a letter, the very next day, which can only be described as a character assassination on one of our mayoral candidates. The unsigned letter, which had no return address, purported to be from a “concerned villager,” and proceeded to attack trustee Lauren Sheprow in a vile manner.
I have the pleasure of knowing both candidates and refuse to believe either of them would ever condone such ugly politicking.
Last year, when we had an unusually competitive trustee campaign, the candidates remained civil. I trust Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden to maintain an even higher level of courtesy and respect, and am confident she will publicly condemn this offensive attack on her colleague.
Going forward, I hope all candidates will urge over-ardent supporters to refrain from personal assaults and focus on issues villagers care about.
Kathleen McLane
Port Jefferson
Snaden: a seasoned leader
It has recently come to my attention that we have an open mayor’s seat in the Village of Port Jefferson’s election taking place this June. Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden is running for the open seat, as well as newly elected trustee Lauren Sheprow.
We need to be mindful that the mayor’s office is no longer a place where a neophyte can just step in. The village is a small city, with two major hospitals, a train station, deep water harbor, school district, two business districts, large federal FEMA grants and major redevelopment projects underway uptown. It takes a seasoned, experienced person to be able to run this village and the $11.37 million budget in place.
Having been a trustee for less than one year, Sheprow does not bring experience to the table. She is rather in the middle of a very large learning curve, seeing to the day-to-day “ins and outs” of village policies, New York State law and municipal government — never mind the obligations of the mayor’s office. She has in fact, confessed herself on many occasions in public meetings that she hasn’t done a budget before and hasn’t run a public hearing.
On the other hand, you have Deputy Mayor Snaden, who has been working for years under the tutelage of Mayor Margot Garant. Snaden is a seasoned, experienced proven leader, with her own perspective and innovative ideas who is ready to take control.
In this election cycle, Sheprow would keep her seat if she loses her bid for mayor and would remain a trustee. If, on the other hand, Sheprow is elected we will have in office a neophyte mayor, and we will lose Snaden as she gives up her trustee position to run for mayor.
So, I ask you: Why would we vote for a rookie and lose the lead pitcher, when we can have them both on our team? Don’t forget, the last time a Garant [Jeanne] left office to an inexperienced mayor, our taxes went up. Let’s not let history repeat itself.
Lauren Auerbach
Port Jefferson
Vote ‘no’ on the May 16 school bond vote
My name is Teri Powers. I’m 63 years old, widowed, a resident and homeowner for 37 years.
Currently, we are on the LIPA tax burden (glide path), in which we have experienced increases in our tax bill, but the lion’s share of this burden is a result of that settlement, which will increase our current taxes by over 35% by the year 2027.
The Port Jefferson School District Board of Education is proposing a $15.9 million capital bond vote on Tuesday, May 16, at the high school between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. A similar bond vote was defeated in December 2022. Please renew your enthusiasm and defeat this bond again.
Teri Powers
Port Jefferson
We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.
Email letters to: [email protected]
or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733
Smithtown Township Arts Council has announced that the works of East Northport artist Steve Walker will be on view at Apple Bank of Smithtown, 91 Route 111, Smithtown now through June 30. The exhibition, part of the Arts Council’s Outreach Gallery Program, may be viewed during regular banking hours Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 am – 1 p.m.
Steve Walker is a self-taught charcoal artist and civic-minded individual. After retiring from the corporate world, where he worked as a Corporate Accountant and an Enterprise Technology Account Executive, Walker joined a nonprofit, Rebuilding Together Long Island, as a volunteer where he is currently helping the organization run as Vice President. The charity utilizes volunteers to provide free safety repairs to homeowners who are financially and physically unable to maintain their homes.
Walker was inspired by his mother who dabbled in art and did some incredible drawings while being legally blind. However, it was not until after retirement that he started drawing as a hobby. He loves using charcoal which allows him to produce detailed images that are visually bold with an element of drama. He introduced pastels into many of his pieces for color and additional contrast and vibrance. Walker’s art mainly focuses on landmarks and architectural structures on Long Island and in New York City but includes scenes from Europe as well.
Walker’s hobby has blossomed into a fulfilling passion during retirement. His art has had many solo art exhibits in galleries and libraries across Long Island.
“STAC is grateful to Apple Bank for its continued support of culture in our communities. We are so happy to feature the talents of Long Island artists in this space!” said the press release.
At the May 2 Smithtown Town Board meeting, local residents came to speak, raising issues and concerns to the board members.
Comprehensive plan concerns
Local resident William Holst spoke, addressing his statement to a resolution passed on May 2 that read: “Town Board to accept as complete for purposes of SEQRA review the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the firm of H2M Architects & Engineers for the Town of Smithtown 2020 Comprehensive Plan, and to authorize the town clerk to advertise same with a public comment period to close at 5p.m. on Friday, June 23.”
“I do have questions as to whether or not people who aren’t comfortable making written comments are going to have an opportunity to speak regarding the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement,” Holst said. “I hope you give the chance for the public to make comments not necessarily in written form.”
He added, “We’re in a very different place the last time there was a comprehensive review of planning the future of Smithtown.” Because of this, he intends to make written comments after he gets a chance to look through the environmental impact statement.
He concluded by saying, “I hope that when you review the comprehensive plan that foremost in your mind is what is good for the majority of residential homeowners in the Town of Smithtown.”
Summer Nights worries
The next speaker was Meg Shutka, representing Eddie’s Power Equipment, located at 553 Lake Ave., St. James. She expressed concerns with the Summer Nights event which is held once every month on Wednesday evenings in June, July and August. The event closes down Lake Avenue.
Shutka said their business commonly stays open until 7 p.m. on these nights, and that the shutting down of Lake Avenue negatively affects operation of their business. “Closing the road hinders people being able to pick up or drop off their equipment after their own work hours,” she said.
According to her, in the prior year the Town Board attempted to help in moving the event to a new location, but resistance came from the Community Association of Greater St. James — the Summer Nights organizers. A compromise was to move the start time back to 6 p.m. This year it is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
“All we are asking of the town is to require that the road closure occurs no earlier than 6 p.m. and that the event set up not occurs before 5 p.m.,” Shutka said. “I think that is more than reasonable.”
Bull Run Farm confirmation
As the town meeting concluded, the subject was broached regarding the special exception removal for assisted living facilities in residential zoning areas. A resident wanted to know if it was official that there was no way that an assisted living facility could go up on the Bull Run Farm property located on Mills Pond Road.
Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) confirmed that “the local law has been adopted — that use will not be permitted on residential development properties.”
Holst queried whether the developer had withdrawn the application but the town attorney, Matthew Jakubowski, confirmed the application is “no longer a permitted use.”
The next Town Board meeting will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, at Smithtown Town Hall.
Long Island has an impending garbage crisis, and the Town of Brookhaven is at the center of it. As Brookhaven voters prepare to elect their next town supervisor and town council representatives, they must keep this garbage issue at the top of their minds.
Given the complexity of municipal government and the scope of its influence, a local election can never be reduced to a single issue. Still, the Brookhaven Town landfill will have an outsized role in townwide elections this year, affecting every resident in the town and citizens across Long Island.
Opened in 1974, the Brookhaven landfill is the largest on Long Island and the centerpiece of waste collection for the region. In a 2019 thesis paper, Katlin Stath wrote, “the landfill isn’t isolated from the rest of Long Island since it is an integral part of the functioning of the Island’s waste management system.”
However, the landfill is near capacity, with plans in place to close the facility to construction and demolition debris by next year, and expectations to close the site completely two years later. The impending landfill closure, therefore, represents one of the great environmental, governmental and social dilemmas of our time.
Brookhaven Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) and Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, a Democrat, have won their respective party’s nominations for this year’s contest for town supervisor. Six months from Election Day, it is time for both candidates to begin preparing comprehensive proposals for this facility.
Though the exact figure is difficult to pinpoint, the landfill is estimated to represent two-fifths of the town’s public revenue. How do the candidates for supervisor plan to make up for the loss of income? Will the town increase taxes on residents? Are there other ways to boost revenue without raising taxes amid this inflationary period?
While the plans are imprecise, officials across levels of government seem poised to begin shipping our trash off the Island by rail. Though garbage-by-rail occurs in other places around the country, is it the optimal solution to our problem? We remind leaders that any plan for shipping trash on train lines must be environmentally and ecologically sustainable.
Our mass transit network on Long Island is dilapidated to begin with. Many residents along the North Shore commute to Manhattan via Jamaica in railcars powered by diesel, a 19th-century-era technology. Will our garbage crisis compel the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch once and for all?
How will moving garbage by rail affect other facets of our transportation network, such as our roadways, waterways and airways? It seems plausible that adding greater volume to our rails will incentivize riders to drive, potentially compounding our traffic congestion troubles.
Finally, we suspect the landfill may have harmed generations of residents of North Bellport and Yaphank, who have endured the possible detrimental health and environmental impacts of living in close proximity to this site.
We regret that the Brookhaven Town Board voted unanimously last year to gerrymander Council District 4 — which includes North Bellport and Yaphank — disempowering the most important voices in this landfill closure dialogue, potentially denying them a true champion on the Town Board to expedite the facility’s closure.
We nonetheless encourage both candidates for town supervisor to coordinate closely with the residents of that hamlet and members of the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group, an advocacy organization that has fought for years to close this facility.
While decisions over the landfill closure are ongoing, Brookhaven citizens will have a stake in this effort. The November election for supervisor and Town Council represents a unique opportunity for the public to guide this process.
We encourage residents to start preparing their questions and for candidates to start preparing their answers. With six months until Election Day, let the landfill conversation get rolling. Permanent closure is just around the corner.
By Daniel Dunaief
The clock didn’t care about COVID-19.
Time marched forward at the same pace that it always has, and yet, the pandemic, which altered so much about our experiences, seemed to alter the fourth dimension.
Initially stuck in homes, we developed new routines, worked at kitchen tables or desks and spent considerably more time with family members and our pets throughout the day than anticipated.
For students, the pandemic altered opportunities and created challenges unseen for a century.
And yet, each year, as in this one for our daughter, the annual rite of passage of a graduation following an amalgam of typical and unique experiences awaits.
As these students march to “Pomp and Circumstance,” listen, or half-listen, to graduation speakers and glance at their supportive families who are thrilled to mark the milestone, celebrate their achievement and come together, what will be going through the minds of these new graduates?
Some may reflect on the typical academic stresses and achievements that helped them earn their diploma. They will consider the hours spent on lab experiments, the late-night workouts at the gym before a big game, and the endless rehearsals for shows and performances. They may bask in the attention of friends they made from around the country or around the corner.
They also might consider the parts they missed or the sudden change from their expected pathways.
Students, who were studying abroad, suddenly needed to return home as quickly as possible. They had to make sure they had their passports and visas, booked flights, and cleared out of rooms that might have just started to feel like home.
Others, like our daughter, raced back to their dorms from spring break, packed everything up and drove home.
As the weeks and months of uncertainty caused by a pandemic that gripped the country for more than two years progressed, some students recognized that they would not have some opportunities, like studying abroad. They might have filled out forms, learned important words in a different language, and chosen classes carefully that they couldn’t take.
Student-athletes, actors and artists, many of whom worked hard for months or longer together, were on their own as fields and stands stood empty.
These students may recognize, more than others, that plans may need to change in response to uncertainty caused by health concerns, storms or other issues.
Amid these disruptions and changes in routine, students and their families needed to pivot. They connected with friends online, entertained themselves at home, often on electronic devices, and tried to learn online.
Undoubtedly, they missed learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom. I heard from numerous students about lowered expectations and abridged syllabi, with American History classes designed to go to 2016 that stopped in 1945, at the end of World War II.
It will be up to students to fill those holes and to recognize the opportunities to become lifelong learners.
Indeed, as people search for a label for these graduates, perhaps the list will include the pivot generation, the empty stadium generation, and the virtual learning generation.
Historically, commencement speakers have exhorted graduates to embrace the opportunity to learn, to question the world around them and to seek out whatever they need.
After the pandemic adversely affected some of the students, perhaps some of them will learn and develop a stronger and more determined resilience, enabling them to keep their goals in sight even amid future uncertainties.
In the meantime, they and we can embrace the normalcy of a routine that allows them to watch the familiar clock as it slowly moves through the minutes of a commencement address.
By Leah S. Dunaief
A limited series, “A Small Light,” now streaming on Hulu and on Disney+, tells of Miep Gies and her husband, Jan, the Dutch couple who risked their lives hiding the family of Otto Frank from the murderous Nazis during WWII. We know of them from his younger daughter, Anne Frank’s diary that she kept while in their “annex” above the Frank’s business in Amsterdam. This film marks what would have been Miep’s 114 birthday and relates the familiar story from a different perspective, that of Otto Frank’s courageous secretary and would-be savior.
While I have read “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and seen the play, I was riveted by an email I received from a friend, Steve North, who is both a broadcast journalist with CBS and a member by marriage of my extended family. He contacted me to urge that I watch the film, which I will as soon as I can figure out how to get onto Hulu. Meanwhile, I would like to reproduce an abridged version of what he wrote.
In the first half of 1929, two baby girls were born to Jewish families living in and near Frankfurt, Germany. One, sweet and dark-haired, had an older sister; the other, a smiling redhead, was an only child. As they turned 4 years old, the safe worlds their parents had created for them began to crumble. Hitler had come to power, and life for every German Jew was rife with danger. The dark-haired girl’s father decided to flee the country with his wife and children to Amsterdam. Some time later, the red-haired child’s parents made the same decision, eventually making their way to New York.
The dark-haired girl was Anne Frank, whose extraordinary diary, written in the years before her death at age 15 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, has made her the single most recognizable victim of the Holocaust.
The red-haired girl is my mother, Brunhilde Bachenheimer, and when I climbed the narrow stairs to Anne Frank’s hiding place 35 years ago, I was overcome with the realization that my own family had so narrowly escaped a similar fate.
On a return trip to Amsterdam in 1998, I felt an intense need to connect with Anne’s life and story on a deeper level. I wrote a note to Miep Gies, who had become an employee and friend of Anne’s father, Otto, in 1933. Back then, Miep took an immediate liking to the vivacious and intelligent Anne, thinking, “This is the kind of child I’d like to have someday.”
In 1942, the brutal oppression of Dutch Jews by the Nazi occupiers of Holland escalated, with an increase in deportations. After Anne’s sister was ordered sent to Germany, Otto Frank approached his loyal bookkeeper and asked if she and her husband, Jan, would be willing to risk their lives by hiding the Franks and four other Jews. Miep’s immediate reply: “Of course.”
The rest of the overall story is well-known. Miep found and hid the diary until she could give it to Anne’s grieving father, the only survivor of the eight hidden Jews. Steve connected with Miep some 50 years after the war and, delighted to have met her, wrote his interview shortly before she died.
While I have yet to see the drama, which has received excellent reviews, it surely poses the question to the viewers: What would you have done?
Gurwin Healthcare System has announced the appointment of John P. Mastacciuola as Executive Director of Fountaingate Gardens, Gurwin’s new 129-apartment luxury Independent Living Community located on its 36-acre Commack campus. Mr. Mastacciuola will manage all day-to-day operations for the unique senior living Life Plan Community, which is designed for active adults age 62 and older.
Prior to joining Fountaingate Gardens, Mr. Mastacciuola served as Regional Director of Operations at Unidine, part of the Compass Group, where he oversaw dining and hospitality services for Gurwin’s nursing and rehabilitation center, assisted living and independent living communities. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Mr. Mastacciuola brings to his new role more than 25 years’ experience in the hospitality sector.
“John’s extensive background in hospitality and dedication to providing exceptional member-centered services perfectly aligns with Fountaingate Gardens’ mission to provide a rich, vibrant lifestyle for active older adults. We look forward to seeing our community flourish with John at the helm,” said Stuart B. Almer, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Gurwin Healthcare System,
“I am very pleased to be part of such an innovative community, providing Long Islanders with an opportunity for active retirement living,” said Mr. Mastacciuola. “I look forward to leading our team in providing distinctive service that will enrich our Fountaingate Gardens community members’ lives and create memorable moments.”
Fountaingate Gardens is the final piece of Gurwin’s senior living offering. Within the community are two residential buildings — The Parkview and The Terraces — that consist of one- and two-bedroom elegant apartment homes. Both four-story buildings are connected to the community’s 20,000+ square-foot Clubhouse which features an array of wellness-focused amenities, a heated saltwater pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, salon, library, a variety of dining venue options and more.
Suffolk County Police arrested an East Northport woman on May 2 for allegedly driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol after she was driving the wrong way on Route 347 in Smithtown.
Highway Patrol Bureau Police Officer Eric Noens was off-duty in a marked police vehicle when he observed Marisa Soares driving westbound in the eastbound lanes of Route 347, near Mount Pleasant Road, on May 2 at approximately 7 p.m.
Officer Noens, who is part of the Selective Alcohol Fatality Enforcement (SAFE-T) Section, was traveling home from the Fourth Precinct after receiving a unit recognition award for impaired driving enforcement from Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Albany.
Soares, 66, was charged with alleged Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and Alcohol.
On May 1, Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) kicked off her annual countywide “A Park a Day in May” campaign designed to encourage Suffolk residents to visit, enjoy and help promote and protect Suffolk County’s hundreds of parks. This year, she invited her fellow legislators to participate by choosing a favorite park in each of their districts to highlight together.
In addition, in a separate but related initiative, Hahn is also partnering with the Association for Mental Health and Wellness (AMHW) to bring attention to May being Mental Health Awareness month and the tangible role parks can play in helping to minimize the impact of stress on our daily lives.
For several years, Hahn has highlighted a park a day each day for 31 days during May using social media to spread the word. She challenges county residents to visit each of the parks highlighted sometime during the spring or summer; take and post a “selfie” that identifies which park they are visiting, and include the hashtag #aparkaday with their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. “We have a remarkable park system in Suffolk County and across Long Island that provides our residents with nearly limitless recreational opportunities to get out in nature at very little cost,” said Hahn. “Not only does the ‘A Park a Day in May’ Challenge give people a roadmap for exploring our majestic natural landscape, but it also gives them the opportunity to celebrate that journey of exploration with their family and friends.”
Each day in May, Hahn will highlight another park, more than half chosen by her fellow legislators. From Inlet Pond Park on the North Fork to Laurel Valley Park on the South Fork, Sagtikos Manor on the South Shore and West Hills on the North Shore, the legislators are joining with Hahn in highlighting favorite parks across the county. In 2016, Hahn began her challenge focusing on parks within District Five, the legislative district she serves. “Residents of my district really took up the challenge, and each year since we have expanded our reach and I am excited and hopeful that across Long Island, families are going to get into the spirit of the idea of ‘A Park a Day in May,’” said Hahn.
Through the “A Park a Day in May” campaign, Hahn has enlisted scores of Suffolk residents in raising awareness about Suffolk’s parks. “Whether along a waterfront or deep in a forest, our parks and beaches are the natural resources that define our quality of life and make Suffolk and all of Long Island unique, and we must do everything we can to keep them clean, safe and accessible to local residents,” said Hahn.
Hahn chaired Suffolk’s Parks & Recreation Committee for five years beginning in 2017 and has focused on protecting the County’s more than 50,000 acres of parkland from illegal dumping and misuse, while also finding innovative ways to increase public access and enjoyment of these parks. That year, Hahn led an effort to expose illegal dumping in some county parks and provide stiffer penalties for such abuse. Hahn has also created a volunteer Parks Stewardship program for County parks and has also created a fifth-district Parks Passport for kids and is working with the County Parks Department on a countywide version as well.
Legislator Hahn is accepting recommendations for parks to highlight during the 2023 “A Park a Day in May,” and is asking residents to take a photo of themselves in their favorite park and e-mail it to [email protected] along with the reason why that park is their favorite.
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