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Times of Smithtown

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George Hoffman, right, moved to the Three Village area after meeting his wife, Maria Hoffman. File photo from Maria Hoffman

George Hoffman is a familiar face from Setauket Harbor to Brookhaven Town Hall. Intending to make a difference in the Three Village area each day, he revitalized the civic association, co-founded the Setauket Harbor Task Force, helped head up the Route 25A Citizen Advisory Committee and more.

For someone who has such a presence in the community, people are surprised to hear that he hasn’t lived here for decades. Hoffman moved to East Setauket after he met his wife, Maria Hoffman, former chief of staff for state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket).

In a 2019 TBR News Media interview, the Hoffmans said they married in 2009 in Frank Melville Memorial Park. A couple of years before they tied the knot, the two met through Englebright’s office. George Hoffman, who had a career in the political field for 35 years, was living on the South Shore working with former county Legislator Wayne Prospect (D-Dix Hills) when he first met Englebright. One day when he saw Maria at the office, she asked him to take a walk in the park and soon after they started dating.

Charles Lefkowitz, president of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, met Hoffman more than 20 years ago when both of them held government jobs. The chamber president said Hoffman’s passion for the Three Village community combined with his experience in politics, drive to protect the environment and also understanding the importance of economic viability are fitting for the area.

“He has the ability to work with town, county, state and federal officials,” Lefkowitz said. “George understands how government works to the benefit of the not-for-profits he’s involved in. His biggest attribute is his ability to work in a bipartisan manner for the benefit of the community.” 

Laurie Vetere, one of the co-founders of the harbor task force, has known Hoffman since they both started in the civic association and calls him a driving force.

She said he steps up where needed and is always dependable, adding he attends town board meetings and coordinates meetings with the county and Department of Environmental Conservation to speak about the health of local harbors on behalf of the task force.

Hoffman lowering a Sonde sensor to collect water depth, temperature and salinity readings before taking water samples for alkalinity. File photo from Maria Hoffman

“He’s always pretty much prepared with everything he does,” she said. “He puts the time and effort in, because he really wants to do good work, and he just values being proficient at what he does.”

Vetere added that Hoffman has learned environmental science and marine science information that he applies to the organization’s water testing activities that the task force does for Save the Sound and a sugar kelp project with the Moore foundation

“We have a great group of volunteers on our board, but George has really taken up the whole heavy load, and he’s learned so much science,” she said.

Lefkowitz counts Hoffman being one of the founding members of the Setauket Harbor Task Force and implementing a water quality testing program among his greatest achievements.

“Becoming a steward of Setauket Harbor, I think that’s one of his greatest accomplishments as well as the revitalization of the civic association,” Lefkowitz said.

Hoffman became president of the civics earlier this year, taking over for Jonathan Kornreich who was elected as Brookhaven councilman (D-Stony Brook) and stepped down as civic president. Both Lefkowitz and Herb Mones, a former civic president, credit Hoffman along with Kornreich with revitalizing the civic association as members began to age out about a decade ago. Lefkowitz said Hoffman always works with the business community, which is important because years ago the chamber and civic organizations were at odds with each other.

“George was one of the individuals that extended the olive branch and built that bridge,” Lefkowitz said.

Mones said soon after Hoffman moved to Setauket “he immediately wanted to be involved in the issues that were going on inside the community.” Mones described his fellow civic member as “an active advocate for the community over and over again.”

With Hoffman’s former role in government, Mones said he knows all the elected officials and how to the system works.

“He can give insight as to how to best navigate the desirable outcome for the community with some of the different issues that occur,” Mones said.

Kornreich agreed and said Hoffman’s unique skill set makes him effective on the civic and a “fierce advocate for the environment.”

“He’s been successful in getting literally hundreds of thousands of dollars directed toward environmental conservation, environmental remediation and protection,” Kornreich said.

The councilman added in addition to being a passionate activist, Hoffman is “also a clear-eyed realist.”

Mones also credits Hoffman for heading up the Route 25A revitalization committee with Jane Taylor, executive director of the chamber, and added it was a difficult project.

“It’s such a complex issue trying to bring everybody together and plan the future with so many different interests and so many different voices,” Mones said. “It’s certainly not an enviable task. But, you know, he accepted that responsibility and has made it so that at least there’s an idea as to what we see is the best buildout along 25A as opposed to just kind of randomly allowing spot development wherever it occurs.”

The civic member also credits Hoffman not only for taking on Brookhaven issues, but also helping to join forces with Smithtown residents over the potential development of the Gyrodyne property in St. James. Mones said Hoffman was the first one to bring to the Town of Brookhaven’s attention how the buildout of the property, with a proposed sewage treatment plant, would affect the local area.

Mones said Hoffman has been the ideal choice to step in as president of the civic association.

“He enjoys the responsibility and the opportunity to give leadership on the different issues,” he said. “I have to commend him that he’s very affable in handling the different concerns and complaints and issues that come before him.”

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Maurizio Del Poeta, right, with his wife, Chiara Luberto, in front of the pizza oven that he built himself at his Mount Sinai home. Photo by TBR News Media

He’s a scientist, dedicated father and husband, businessman, mentor, collaborator, accomplished cook and gracious host. It seems fitting that Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta, a distinguished professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and someone several people described as a Renaissance man, would work at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

A fungal researcher who is working to find treatments and vaccines for fungal infections that kill over 1.3 million people annually, Del Poeta turned his talents to the study of COVID-19 this year.

Teaming up with researchers at The University of Arizona and Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, Del Poeta and his collaborators worked with an enzyme also found in rattlesnake venom that may provide a target for diagnostics and therapeutic intervention for COVID-19.

TBR News Media is pleased to recognize the research efforts of Del Poeta, who represents one of several scientists throughout Long Island and around the world working to find ways to improve human health and reduce the life-altering effects of the pandemic.

In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the research team found that an enzyme called secreted phospholipase A2 group IIA, or sPLA2-IIA, is in higher concentrations in well over half the people with the most severe forms of the disease.

“This is certainly an exciting discovery in terms of a marker [that might] provide a mechanistic understanding of severe cases of COVID,” said David Thanassi, Zhang family endowed professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Renaissance School of Medicine. “It’s hard to know exactly how this is going to play out” in terms of a therapy or a cure, he said, but it offers hope in terms of a way to diagnose or treat COVID.

Dr. Yusuf Hannun, director of the SBU Cancer Center who contributed to this research effort, described the work as a “major discovery” that could provide a “novel key player in the development of the COVID-19 illness.”

Hannun, who has known Del Poeta for 25 years, suggested that his colleague’s success stems from his commitment to his work.

Del Poeta’s “energy and passion are very observable in his academic life,” Hannun said. “His research team is energized by his enthusiasm and good instinct for important problems.”

Indeed, the members of his lab appreciate his commitment to making scientific discoveries and to providing considerable personal and professional support for them.

Antonella Rella worked in Del Poeta’s labs from 2010 through 2017. When she arrived in the United States, Rella joined Del Poeta’s lab at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Maurizio Del Poeta. File photo from SBU

While Rella appreciated all the scientific support she received over the years, including after she moved with him to Stony Brook in 2012, she was especially grateful for the first impression he made when she arrived at the airport.

On her trip from Italy, her flight was delayed and she had to stay overnight in Atlanta. When she landed in South Carolina, Del Poeta not only met her at the airport, but he also greeted her with his wife Chiara Luberto and their first child.

“I thought nobody would be at the airport,” said Rella, who is now a senior scientist with Estée Lauder. “When you meet your boss, you are not feeling very comfortable. Instead, I was very happy and relieved and felt welcomed.”

Rella said Del Poeta and Luberto, who is research associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Stony Brook, have treated other members of his lab the same way, especially when they come from abroad.

Rella said she and her lab mates were thrilled when Del Poeta and Luberto hosted them at their house in Mount Sinai.

“We were super happy whenever we were invited” to their home, Rella said. “We knew the food would be super amazing” because he cooked pizza at a brick oven he designed and built himself. He also made considerable effort to prepare food like tagliatelle.

“There is heart in everything he does,” Rella said.

That includes his dedication and focus on research. In addition to making scientific discoveries, Del Poeta, who earned his medical degree from the University of Ancona, Italy, is eager to apply those findings to the medical field.

The co-founder of MicroRid Technologies, Del Poeta and MicroRid are working to develop small-molecule anti-fungal drugs. Last year, the company received a five-year, $4 million award administered by the Department of Defense.

As for his COVID research, Del Poeta explained that the use of an existing drug for snake venom would involve a different preparation to treat people battling against the coronavirus.

In addition to the work he does in the lab, Del Poeta contributes to SBU and to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Up until the pandemic, Del Poeta and Luberto hosted prospective graduate students in his department at their house. The gatherings highlighted the camaraderie in the department, Thanassi said.

He appreciates Del Poeta’s commitment to mentoring and training, which helps attract and retain students.

“He brings a really nice recognition to the department” through the results of his research and his funding, Thanassi added.

Hannun is confident in his colleague’s success. He said his first impression of Del Poeta was that he was a capable and committed scientist who was aspiring to go after big questions.

“That was accurate but understated,” Hannun said.

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Photo by Gerard Romano

SILVER BELLS

Gerard Romano of Port Jefferson Station was out with his camera on Dec. 17 ‘looking for something appropriate for the season’ when he spied these pretty bells adorning the door of the Belle Terre Village Hall and took the perfect shot. Happy Holidays!

Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]

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Photo from Unsplash

With Christmas this weekend, families are looking to get together for some quality time.

Last Christmas, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, people quarantined with just those in their households. It was lonely for some, but they stayed safe, away from contact with other people.

Then 2021 came around and with the vaccines we saw some hope — we began slowly peeling off our masks and traveling again. Families became reunited.

But unfortunately, that was premature and now Suffolk County is at a 14% positivity rate as of Tuesday, Dec. 21.

To put it in perspective, municipalities across New York state were shut down at 5% in the spring of 2020. We have doubled the seven-day average compared to where we were at that time and have not shut down.

And there are reasons for that. Luckily more than a year-and-a-half later we have the vaccines, we have boosters and we know that masks work — we just need to continue using them and continue using common sense.

It’s sad to think that this is the second Christmas where some families might not be able to see their loved ones out of fear. It’s sad that we as a country were doing well and now have fallen back into old habits of not taking care of ourselves and of others.

If we continue not to listen to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our health care providers and the science,

Politicians insist we won’t go into lockdown, but what will happen if the infection rate goes to 20%? What will we do if the hospitals are overfilled again?

With the comfort we felt during this past summer, newly vaccinated with restrictions lifted, some might have forgotten what early 2020 looked like. Visits to grandparents were through a window. Restaurants were not allowed to have inside dining. Disinfectants and masks were impossible to find, while bodies were kept in outside trailers because the morgue was filled to capacity.

We don’t want to head back in that direction, especially with all of the resources now available to us. We have the vaccine, we have the booster, we have masks and we know how to combat this virus. We just need to collectively do it and not treat it lightly.

So, for this holiday season, and throughout the rest of the winter, please take care of yourself, take care of others and be cautious.

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Pexels photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

He was a part of my wife’s family’s inner circle for years. He appeared at summer gatherings and at significant family events and celebrations.

With his white hair, his signature smile and a Polish accent that seemed as fresh in each conversation as it likely was the first time he arrived in the United States, Carl wandered in and out of conversations and rooms, often smiling and always listening.

He seemed as comfortable in his own skin as anyone I’d ever met, paying close attention to his wife, interacting with his children and grandchildren and soaking up life the way everyone around him soaked up the warm rays of the sun.

Carl watched one day almost 20 years ago when my daughter got too close to the pool’s edge, falling in before she could swim. I immediately jumped off the diving board and brought her back up, where, as I dried her off, she protested that it took too long for me to get her.

When my daughter felt comfortable and confident enough to walk away from me, Carl waited for me to make eye contact.

“That’s what you do when you’re a father,” he smiled.

I nodded and sighed while my blood pressure and pulse returned to normal.

Several times over the years, Carl and I sat next to each other, sharing buffet-style meals of chicken kebobs, pasta, and filets.

Carl didn’t have the numbers tattooed on his arm, but I knew some of the story of his life. I didn’t want to bother him or upset him with a discussion of what was a painful and difficult period.

Once, when we were alone inside a screened-in area, I raised the topic.

“Hey, Carl, I understand you survived the holocaust,” I said.

When he looked me in the eyes, he narrowed his lids slightly, processing what I said and, likely, trying to figure out whether he wanted to talk.

“It’s okay,” I said, immediately backing off. As a journalist, I have a tendency to ask questions. I recognize, however, the boundaries that exist during social interactions and with family and friends. I wanted to speak with him to hear about what had been an unspoken part of his life.

“Yes, I survived,” I said.

“How? Where?”

“In the woods,” he said. “I lived in the woods when the Nazis came.”

He described how he was so hungry that he ate leaves, bugs and bark. That, however, was far preferable to being caught by the Nazis, who had murdered the rest of his family. Carl had been a teenager when he escaped to the woods, avoiding Nazi guards who were always searching for people they deemed enemies and who they readily killed.

Surrounded by a collection of other people who might, at any given time, vanish forever, Carl survived for several years, emerging at the end of the war to try to restart a life shattered by violence and cruelty.

After a brief description of his experience, he told me how important he felt it was that people study the specifics of World War II and understand what really happened to him, his family and people in so many other countries. It angered him that people tried to ignore a history that took so much from him.

All those years later, Carl seemed so easy going and relaxed, so prepared to laugh and smile and to enjoy another bite of lunch or dinner.

Carl recently died. I’m sorry for the loss to his family. I’m glad to have known him and to have shared a few meals, a few smiles and a few stories. All those days, months and years of life, like initials carved into a tree, showed that he was, indeed, here and, having seen his family react and interact with him, that his life had meaning.

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

As the year draws to a close, I think of the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” That would seem an apt description of the times we are living through today. Why do I say that? Let me count the ways.

For one, we have been tricked by the coronavirus. As spring faded into summer this year, we thought the pandemic was ebbing. We gathered in groups again, even without masks, visited relatives, returned to restaurants, went on vacations. Surprise! By the end of October, the virus started making itself felt again, by November, it was led by the new variant, Omicron, and now it commands the front page of newspapers and the top of the network and cable newscasts.

Yes, we have made impressive progress with vaccines and precautions, but society is still in the grip of the disease, still with some 30 percent of the population unvaccinated, still with those refusing to don masks, and now lined up not for inoculating but for testing. Testing and boosters are the new battle cry. Just as our grandparents, who were living through it, didn’t know when WWII would end, so we who are at war with the virus don’t know when the pandemic will fade into just another annoying wintertime contagion.

For another unprecedented way in recent memory that times are interesting, we have a country so divided and vehemently at odds that neighbors, friends and family members are afraid to talk politics with each other. It is such a contrast with the 9/11 era, when we all held doors open for each other, flew the American flag together and identified as one nation. “Democracy is at risk” is the new battle cry. And the threat of political violence and random shootings simmers just beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, worthy issues involving any sort of social safety net and how to provide money for them, like pre-school education and acceptable child care enabling parents to work, lie undebated in a symbolically divided Congress. It’s no wonder that the national birthrate for this past year is the lowest since 1979. That’s not just due to the pandemic but has been a trend for the last six years.

Climate change is another subject that has driven itself to top of mind this past year. Fires, the likes of which never before seen, also floods, tornadoes and melting ice caps have changed the face of the nation and have killed many residents.

And then there is racism, the shadow that has always loomed over the United States since its inception and has burst forth to claim attention across the country, spawning marches and protests. Is it better for bigotry to come out of the woodwork and be viewed in all its aspects in the clear light of day? Perhaps that is a necessary step for it to be ultimately eradicated. Until then, the atmosphere is bitter with recriminations.

There are some bright spots. Although the possibility of spiraling inflation has lately been a concern, unemployment is decidedly low and the economy has been growing. So has the stock market, while not the economy, is nonetheless a telltale of how their financial standing is perceived by residents. Stimulative monetary policy on the part of the Federal Reserve and equally generous fiscal action by the administrations of both presidents and Congress have kept civil unrest at bay. Savings rates are at a high. And the kinks in the supply chain, although most apparent now with the gift-giving demands of the holidays, will eventually be straightened out.

Furthermore, Dec. 21 is one of my favorite days because it brings with it the longest night of the year. After that, each day has a bit more light. So I hope for whatever darkness we are presently living through to lift, and I am optimistic that it will.

Until the new year, wishing you all healthy holidays filled with devotion and love.

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Brian Barton, owner of TEB North Country Car Care, and his employees and family organized a food drive that resulted in 250 Thanksgiving dinners this year. Photo from The Ward Melville Heritage Organization

A Stony Brook garage owner knows something about the gift of giving.

Brain Barton in front of his garage in Stony Brook village. Photo from The Ward Melville Heritage Organization

Brian Barton, owner of TEB North Country Car Care in Stony Brook Village Center, and more than a dozen employees and family members spearheaded a food drive that made 250 Thanksgiving dinners possible. The garage collected donations from community members that included canned vegetables, turkeys and more. Fifteen people joined in to help assemble 60 boxes, and then on Nov. 25, delivered them to homes of cancer patients and veterans from Plainview to Greenport.

Barton, who lives in Kings Park, said in addition to employees and family members chipping in to help, his customers have been extremely generous during the Thanksgiving drives. This year one regular donated 50 turkeys. Barton’s daughter Elaine, he said, is the one who makes all the phone calls and organizes where the meals need to go.

He has been heading up the food drives for a dozen years.

“It seems as if each year it’s getting bigger and bigger,” Barton said.

The proprietor, who is the former owner of Penney’s Car Care Center in St. James and Penney’s Waterside Car Care Center in Northport, is modest when talking about organizing the food drive as he says “it takes a village” to get it done.

“I would just like to thank everybody,” Barton said. “I can’t do this myself.”

He said this was the first year volunteers delivered meals to veterans after state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) became involved and connected them with the Northport VA Medical Center.

In a statement, Mattera thanked Barton and all of those who volunteered to help with the drive: “By donating Thanksgiving dinner to our veterans and those who are fighting cancer, his efforts helped show these men and women that their fellow Long Islanders support them.”

Gloria Rocchio, president of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization which oversees Stony Brook Village Center, described Barton as a modest and generous person who quietly helps others and donates to causes.

“He’s just amazing,” Rocchio said. “He’s constantly giving, and he’s always there for residents.”

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Stock photo

The Greek letter versions of the variants are beating up on Suffolk County, just as families prepare to gather during the holidays and New Year.

Suffolk County reported a 13.6% positive testing rate on Dec. 20, which is the highest rate in over a year, according to County Executive Steve Bellone (D).

“The omicron variant is, without question, powering a surge in cases here,” Bellone said on a conference call with reporters. “We are seeing that play out in long lines for testing as the holiday season continues and as Christmas and New Year’s approach.”

Indeed, Bellone announced that he is using his emergency powers to create three new testing sites on Long Island. The county will open a site at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach on Dec. 27, in West Sayville on Dec. 27, and in the Sound Beach area on Jan. 4.

Bellone said he chose these sites near locations where the positivity rate is higher.

Bellone encourages residents to visit the county’s website, at suffolkcountyny.gov/covid19 to get details about signing up for tests at these new locations.

As for holiday preparations, Bellone and Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, suggested residents could continue with their holiday gathering plans as long as they take adequate precautions.

“It’s important to be vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna,” Pigott said. “It’s more important to get that third shot, that booster shot, that’ll give you the maximum protection.”

Infectious disease experts urged residents to remain vigilant about the virus during the current surge and as people prepare to visit families.

“I would suggest making sure that everyone test for COVID and receive a negative test result” before family gatherings, Sean Clouston, associate professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine, explained in an email. “This is especially true for those in which there are individuals who are either unvaccinated, or those where attendees either are vaccinated but aged 60 and older.” Hospitals in the area have seen a dramatic increase in emergency room visits from residents who contracted COVID.

“The number of COVID hospitalizations has tripled in the last three weeks,” Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health, wrote in an email.

Popp explained that patients who have been vaccinated have a milder form of COVID, while unvaccinated patients have suffered more severe symptoms. About two thirds of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated at Huntington Hospital, while several patients are in the intensive care unit.

With the increase in omicron cases, Popp explained that “we are all concerned that we may be overwhelmed if too many sick patients will show up all at once in the emergency room.”

To be sure, even with the increase in hospitalizations from the fall, the number of people batting the disease in the hospital remains well below peak levels. As of a year ago, 526 people battled COVID in the hospital. This week, that number stood at 326.

“The numbers are increasing, but they are still less than they were,” Bellone said.

Dr. Sunil Dhuper, chief medical officer at Port Jefferson’s St. Charles Hospital, suggested a three-pronged approach to defending against the next phase in the spread of COVID.

Getting vaccines and boosters is the first and most important step. Treating vulnerable residents with monoclonal antibodies is the second, and testing and wearing masks is the third step.

GlaxoSmithKline’s monoclonal treatment, called sotrovimab, works the best against omicron, Dhuper said.

At this point, the supply of that treatment, however, is limited. Dhuper hopes to get the supply issue resolved this Monday.

Until that is resolved, however, only people who are unvaccinated and who are vaccinated and immunocompromised or over 65 are eligible for this treatment, which is what the National Institutes of Health and Department of Health have recommended, Dhuper said.

The shortage of monoclonal antibodies is “an issue that needs to be addressed at the state and federal levels,” Bellone said. “I’m encouraged by what we’ve seen happening there. It’s an issue that we’ve heard from hospitals. With this surge, we’re seeing all of the capacity tested once again.”

Indeed, hospitals remain prepared to increase their staffing levels, particularly in January when people return from traveling and visiting family members.

“Everybody is aware that we may call upon any employee at any time, even if they are on vacation if we begin to see that the system is getting overwhelmed,” Dhuper said.

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Suffolk County police car. File photo

Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred at a Commack bank the afternoon of Dec. 12.

A man entered Chase bank, located at 39 Vanderbilt Parkway, at 12:59 p.m. and allegedly handed a teller a note demanding cash. The teller complied with the suspect’s demands and gave him cash from the drawer. The robber fled in an unknown direction.

The robber is described as an adult male, approximately 6 feet tall with a medium build. He was wearing a dark-colored jacket and hat and a blue face mask.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the robbery to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

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