Like many organizations, the Sons of Norway Loyal Lodge #252 in St. James was unable to hold events, including its annual bazaar, last year due to the pandemic.
On Aug. 21, the lodge members hosted its Scandinavian Fun Day that included axe throwing, cooking demonstrations, games, penny pitching and more.
The lodge members are currently planning their Viking Auction on Friday, Sept. 17 and the 2021 Scandinavian Bazaar for Nov. 20. For more information about both events, call 631-862-8017.
A former Suffolk assistant DA is ready to take over the main seat in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Ray Tierney, who will be running on the Republican and Conservative tickets Nov. 2 to challenge current DA Tim Sini (D), stopped by TBR News Media’s office last week to introduce himself and answer some questions about his campaign.
“When I talk about this contest, I say that it is a contest between the prosecutor and the politician, or when you look at my opponent’s record — what he’s done and what he’s claimed to have done, more accurately — it’s a contest between the prosecutor and the pretender,” Tierney said.
Background
Tierney resides in the Town of Brookhaven with his wife, Erica, and their four children.
The prosecutor grew up in Commack and is a graduate of St. Anthony’s High School where he played football and was a member of the school’s track team. He went on to play football for Brown University where he graduated in 1988, and after taking a short time off from his studies, he attended St. John’s University’s School of Law.
He began his law career in the Suffolk County DA’s office under DA James Catterson (R).
“At first, I had a very sort of infantile concept of what it meant to be a lawyer,” Tierney said. “I always wanted to be a prosecutor. I always wanted to be in court. Although there’s so many things you could do, that’s all I really ever wanted to do, and as I got older, more sophisticated, my focus never changed.”
He decided to leave the DA’s office in 1999 when his first two children were born and worked for a private firm. Tierney said the tragic events of 9/11 changed his life. He was at a meeting in Queens when the attacks happened, and he watched the towers fall on TV.
“I was driving back out east and all the emergency vehicles were flooding into the city, and I could see the smoke and I was, like, ‘What am I doing with my life?’” he said. “This job that I have right now is inconsequential. So, I wanted to get back into public service.”
He returned to the DA’s office in 2002 during the time of Tom Spota (D) and worked there for another six years. Tierney said he decided to leave the office when he was told they may fire him for insubordination.
“They tried to get rid of me because I wouldn’t go along with their illegal, unethical ways,” he said. “I worked in an office whose job it was to uproot political corruption. But, instead, it was the office’s leadership that was corrupt, as history has proven.”
He then went on to work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York as an assistant attorney for more than 11 years.
He left the office in 2019 to become an executive assistant district attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s office where he was in charge of the violent criminal enterprises bureau, crime strategies unit and body worn camera unit.
In order to run for Suffolk County DA, Tierney had to leave the Brooklyn office and is currently Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s chief counsel for compliance and enforcement.
His experience
During his time in Brooklyn, among his responsibilities, Tierney oversaw violent street gang investigations and prosecutions. He came to the position with extensive experience prosecuting MS-13 cases, which he said led to the incarceration of dozens of gang members.
One of the most high-profile MS-13 cases involved gang leaders Heriberto Martinez and Carlos Ortega. The two were found guilty for commissioning five murders in 2010, including Vanessa Argueta, 19, of Central Islip, and her son Diego Torres who was only 2 years old. Martinez and Ortega are currently serving life sentences. Tierney also tried Adalberto Guzman who was found guilty of killing the 2-year-old and is also serving a life sentence.
Tierney was the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Ed Mangano, former Nassau County Executive, and Mangano’s wife as well as former Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto for corruption in 2018.
In addition to gang violence and public corruption, he also has been a prosecutor on cases involving Colombian drug cartel, racketeering and white-collar crimes.
Issues with Sini
Tierney takes issue with the press releases sent out by the DA’s office. He said he feels a high percentage of the releases are about arrests and arraignments but not about sentencing.
“What he does, because he’s in show business, he has the glitzy arraignment, and this is the biggest, baddest, greatest case, and then you never hear what happens at the time of the sentence,” the candidate said.
Tierney added he could take any of Sini’s accomplishments and dissect them and show that the current DA is “a fraud” and is “looking for that initial blast of publicity.”
“You don’t get to decide where your next case comes from, the streets tell you where the next case is,” Tierney said. “So, if you have an investigation here but the violence is settled here, you put your resources here, you put your resources there.”
He gave an example that Sini convicted several MS-13 members on charges such as acts of conspiracy instead of murder or gun charges. He said Sini then turned the gang members on each other so they would testify against one another. The result was they each pled to lower charges and got out of jail.
Tierney said he would use overarching tactics such as conspiracy, but then tie the case to the murders committed and pull the case all together to ensure the murderers would serve jail time.
His campaign
Tierney said the job is a balance between law enforcement and fairness, and that will be his goal if elected. He added he has never aligned himself to one party and has prosecuted defendants on both sides of the political aisle. He is running to bring experience, integrity and independence to the office.
He said regarding the county and the Suffolk County Police Department, it’s important to work with them but also maintain independence from each other.
“When it comes to law enforcement, I make the decisions,” he said. “No one else makes the decisions. I support the county, I support the police department. But I don’t work for them when it comes to law enforcement, and I don’t excuse bad behavior.”
Last week the owner of the Smithtown Performing Arts Center building put it up for sale, leaving the future of local entertainment in the town in jeopardy.
“We need to keep this historic building in the town, and not only do we want to buy the building, we want to bring the building back to how it was before.”
— JoAnne Romanelli
Soon after the building at 2 E. Main St. was listed, a GoFundMe page was initiated by the SPAC board of directors to avoid the possibility of it being purchased by private investors. JoAnne Romanelli, secretary of the not-for-profit SPAC, said the board of directors is hoping to raise $400,000 to put a down payment on the building that is listed at $1.6 million.
“We need to keep this historic building in the town, and not only do we want to buy the building, we want to bring the building back to how it was before,” Romanelli said, adding that SPAC is under new management as well as having a new board of directors.
After only being up a few days, the GoFundMe has already garnered $4,500.
“People have been so loving and giving, and we’re so grateful for that,” she said.
The building which houses the center was once a movie theater. It first opened its doors in 1933, and it operated as such until November of 2001. Live performances began in the theater in 2002. The building, which has not been significantly altered aesthetically in nearly 90 years, is owned by Ken Washington, the former managing and artistic director of SPAC.
Washington said in a phone interview that for the last 15 years he has advocated for the building “to be publicly owned — either owned by the not-for-profit or by the town or by the historical society — so that the building could live in perpetuity to be what it is and what we created back in 2002, when my wife and I renovated it and restored it and created the performing arts center.”
“I’m retiring. I’m 66 now, and I am putting the building up for sale to whoever wants to take it forward.”
— Ken Washington
He said unfortunately it’s something the previous and current board as well as other potential owners have been unable to find the means to do.
“I’m moving on,” he said. “I’m retiring. I’m 66 now, and I am putting the building up for sale to whoever wants to take it forward.”
Washington said he’s pleased with what he, his family and the center have accomplished since 2002.
“I’m proud of the legacy that I’ve left there,” he said, adding selling was a decision that he had to make in the best interest of himself and his family.
The property is being handled by New York Commercial Real Estate. According to the listing, the theater seats 360 people and the taxes are more than $21,000. The real estate company’s owner Jack Jawdat said in a phone interview that the building includes the theater and two storefronts, one which the center currently uses and the other a shoe repair shop. Jawdat said while he has received a few calls about the property, there have been no serious offers.
The center hasn’t had a yearly lease in three years and has been operating with a month-to-month lease, Romanelli said. According to the board member, the owner agreed to lower the rent for SPAC during the pandemic. She said then full rent would be expected once things returned to normal. However, Romanelli said Washington recently wanted back payment on rent.
Washington subsequently issued a statement to TBR News Media: “Smithtown Performing Arts Council is currently operating with an expired lease and is in arrears with regard to past due rent. Nonpayment of rent and termination of tenancy notification has been proffered to the tenant. The building at 2 East Main Street is for sale.”
“We support the organization’s efforts to ensure the building remains a theater, and have been in constant contact with the board to help in achieving this mutual goal.”
— Ed Wehrheim
Romanelli said that the SPAC board members hope their fundraising is successful and their top priority is to serve the community and actors.
“This is a new board,” she said. “This is new management. We’re going to take it to a whole new level.”
Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said the town supports the board’s efforts.
“Our main priority is preserving the Smithtown Performing Arts Center and the incredible arts programming the community has enjoyed through the generations,” he said. “We support the organization’s efforts to ensure the building remains a theater, and have been in constant contact with the board to help in achieving this mutual goal.”
Romanelli added that the board is made up of all volunteers who are committed to restoring the building.
“This is our passion project,” she said. “We are committed to the town and investing in Smithtown. We’re committed to our community, and we’re committed to being fiscally sound.”
Romanelli said the board is in the process of writing grants and planning fundraisers to continue SPAC’s role in providing educational programs for children and affordable theater for the community.
“We’re doing everything possible to save this building and to bring it back to its original historic beauty,” she said. “That is our mission.”
Join the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts for a musical production of Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! on the grounds of the Smithtown Historical Society, 239 E. Main St., Smithtown on various dates from Aug. 28 to Sept. 17.
It’s not easy being the Pigeon — you never get to do ANYTHING! But when the bus driver has a crisis that threatens to make her passengers (gasp!) late, maybe that wily bird CAN do something. Featuring an innovative mix of songs, and feathers, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! is sure to get everyone’s wings flapping.
Tickets are $18 per person. To order, call 631-724-3700 or visit www.smithtownpac.org.
Nineteen states have never had a female governor and, up until this week, neither did New York. That’s progress.
When former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned amongst nearly a dozen sexual harassment allegations, and after a thorough, months-long investigation, his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul (D), was given the opportunity to make history. The mother of two from Buffalo has had a long career in politics and advocacy. She even sat in Congress.
New York now joins eight other states — Oregon, Alabama, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dako-ta, Iowa, Michigan and Maine — who have lady leaders as heads of their state.
And practically minutes after she took her oath early Tuesday morning, she said during a short press conference that she wants her constituents to “believe in their government again.”
But that’s going to be hard for many New Yorkers — especially the ones who lost their faith in government throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately for Hochul, she had barely been in office for even a full day when commenters online began to bash her for her mask-mandating policy.
As of Tuesday afternoon, she said all school districts in the state of New York must require masks for their students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated or tested weekly.
People are furious, according to the online comment threads. They’re not necessarily mad about the mandate — although that’s become a debate within itself. They are mad she hasn’t addressed all the other issues that are impacting New Yorkers — homelessness, food insecurity, the nursing home deaths during COVID and high taxes.
When reading through the comments on a story that was published by The New York Times, New York Post and locally, Newsday, readers are finding issues already with our new leader.
Can we just give her a second to settle in? It was barely 24 hours before she even set foot in the governor’s mansion in Albany, and people were already assuming she’s failing us.
People might be upset by the mask mandate, but we’ve been through this before. Remember, the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting its year-and-a-half mark. That means we have been wearing masks, social distancing, hand sanitizing and Zooming for almost two years. We’re used to these policies.
No one wants to wear masks, especially if they’ve been vaccinated. But right now, with the Delta variant — and whatever other mutations are out there coming soon — we need to be safe.
This summer, we had a taste of freedom again. We were allowed to see friends and families, weddings were back on and kids were able to attend their graduations in person — and that’s all because we wore masks for practically a year before that. When the vaccine came out, that helped us all, too.
Let’s just listen to Hochul. Let’s not complain.
The sooner we tackle this problem, the sooner we can get back to whatever normal is the new normal.
Don’t judge her policies just yet — she’s had a lot of experience and whoever jumped into Cuomo’s seat was in for it.
She was handed a pile of dirt and now needs to make it beautiful.
Trust her actions, give her a chance. Embrace the fact that someone new is in office and remember: A mother always knows best.
By Daniel Dunaief
We packed our bags full of dreams, hopes, clothing and cliches and took our son to college. We pondered the journey, which is really what’s it’s all about, and not the destination.
My wife and I were bursting with pride, thinking about the shining light that is our son.
We wondered what advice we could offer before we returned to a house that would feel so empty without him. We thought a good rule of thumb might be to avoid harebrained ideas, although we knew we could do better at preparing him for future dark and stormy nights.
As he took his first steps onto his new campus, we encouraged him to discover the world and himself at the same time.
We shared the butterflies that fluttered among our four stomachs. Like a good soldier in our family’s mission, his sister joined us for this momentous occasion, prepared to offer her version of older sibling advice and to help find whatever item he might need in a college dorm he is sharing with a stranger he’d chosen from a grab bag of potential roommates.
As we followed the move-in directions to a tee, we could feel the electricity in the air. We drove up to an official behind a desk, who was all ears listening to him spell a last name chock full of vowels.
With bated breath and sweaty palms, we waited with every fiber of our beings until she found him on the list. We breathed a sigh of relief when she found his name and handed him a key that would open his dorm room to a new world of possibilities. As a freshman, he knew he was no longer the big man on campus he had been during his pandemic-altered senior year.
Once inside his dorm, we got down to the business of unpacking. We debated where to put his shoes even as he stared out the window, considering where he might plant his feet.
Recognizing that time was of the essence, we spring to life while unpacking his room. Standing apart in a small room full of wonders, we drew strength from our collective mission.
Slowly but surely, we removed the contents of his boxes, creating order from the chaos despite a few moments when we felt like we were all thumbs. We lined all his ducks in a row, creating neat rows of pencils, pens and notebooks on his desk and boxers, shorts, tee shirts and socks in his drawers.
After we prepared his room, we wiped the sweat from our brow, reminding him that this effort was but a drop in the bucket of the work he’d need to do in college.
We assured him he could bet his bottom dollar he wouldn’t feel like a babe in the woods or a fish out of water for long.
We could almost hear the angelic chords as the sun set in the west, where it always sets because that’s the way the cookie crumbles, or, rather, the earth rotates.
Before we left him in his new home away from home, we exchanged embraces and urged him to dance to the beat of his own drum.
We also suggested he find a healthy way to blow off steam, to recognize that a rising tide lifts all boats, to swim when it was time to sink or swim, and to play his cards right.
By Leah S. Dunaief
Another birthday has come and gone. It was a memorable day, first, because it began with an overflowing toilet bowl, and it ended with the imminent arrival of Hurricane Henri. The latter caused my children and grandchildren, who were happily visiting, to depart abruptly for their homes before sunset. In between, we enjoyed a terrific party, with lots of laughter, board games and food, lingering over each meal long enough to plan the next one.
We on Long Island were lucky to have escaped the worst of the storm after the dire predictions. Lots of rain fell, some of it torrentially, but the electricity stayed on and the flooding wasn’t too bad. What could have been a disaster for us made me consider more carefully an article I recently read in the Spring/Summer edition of Columbia University’s magazine.
Titled, “How to Prepare for a ‘Megadisaster,’” by Kevin Krajick and David J. Craig, it is an interview with Columbia’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness Director Jeffrey Schlegelmilch. The center conducts research to help “prevent, prepare for and respond to natural and human-driven disasters on behalf of the United States.” Megadisasters are events that would have “society-altering potential,” like the Black Death in the Middle Ages or the Irish Potato Famine.
In our century, we are seeing more large-scale disasters, both because of human activity and our vulnerability to them. We are polluting our atmosphere, which is thought to cause more extreme weather, and we are building in flood zones and forested areas susceptible to wildfires. We are also “encroaching into wildlife areas and coming into closer contact with animals harboring exotic pathogens” that then, as we travel, spread across the globe.
Schlegelmilch names five categories of mega risk: climate change, biological perils, infrastructure failures, cyberthreats and nuclear conflict. COVID-19 could have been a megadisaster had we not responded, albeit too slowly, to the extent that we have so far. While we lacked the medical supplies needed to handle a pandemic, we did rapidly develop vaccines, which certainly are helping to control the long-term impact. Climate change, with its prolonged droughts, can cause widespread food and water shortages and their catastrophic consequences. The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the nation a C- grade on the most recent Infrastructure Report Card. Our electric grid might be the biggest problem in this category, since it is “aging, overloaded and quite susceptible to breakdown,” or to terrorist attacks. Remember that millions of people lost electricity in Texas last winter due to a couple of severe storms. More than 2,300 of our dams are structurally worrisome, as are 46,000 of our bridges.
The long-term human toll of disasters needs also to be considered and planned for, especially for children. Those whose lives are severely impacted “are much likelier to suffer anxiety and depression, to display behavioral problems and to struggle in school for years.”
So what can we do to ready our nation for disasters?
We need forward-looking strategies from governmental agencies and the many non-profit organizations to deal with these possibilities. We must demand those. Disaster response, like insurance, which we hope never to need, must be in place. Woe to those who try to catch up with a disaster after it happens. Chaos ensues even with planning. It does to a much more horrific extent without some degree of readiness.
According to Schlegelmilch, disaster preparedness really began in the US in the early 2000s, after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. He believes a lot of progress has been made since then. The strength of social bonds among neighbors and within a community makes the biggest difference in how well areas recover after a catastrophe. Also coordinating relief efforts is helped by artificial intelligence, software specifically designed for sifting through a great deal of information, then picking out the critical data for making life and death decisions. Preparedness for biothreats. however, needs attention.
Meanwhile, what can we do to prepare ourselves?
Whatever the disaster, we will either have to stay at home for long periods or leave immediately, says Schlegelmilch. We should hope neither happens yet prepare for both.
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) packed up his moving trucks at the governor’s mansion, the soon-to-be governess headed to Long Island.
With just a few days left until she becomes New York’s first female governor, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) made a quick stop in Hauppauge for a roundtable discussion with local labor leaders where topics included job training, green jobs and new legislative efforts to support essential workers.
Although the discussion was closed to media, Hochul made an appearance to quickly discuss her intentions during the meeting.
“One of my first priorities is continue creating good jobs,” she said. “Getting the offshore wind institute off the ground and give opportunities to just really train people in the underserved communities and the jobs of tomorrow where there will be tens of thousands of jobs in that space.”
Hochul said she and the business leaders in attendance also talked about workforce development and creating opportunities to keep young people fully employed on Long Island.
The visit wasn’t anything new, she said, mentioning that over the last seven years, “coming out and seeing the people is what I do.”
“If you ask anyone, I’ve been told that Nassau and Suffolk counties are planning on taxing me as a local resident because I’m here so often,” she joked.
As chair of the Regional Economic Development Councils, she said that she is going to continue and be accessible throughout her term.
“I’m going to continue showing appreciation to the labor community, the job creators, the business community and elected officials,” she said. “I have a deep appreciation for all the various roles of government, and I want them to know that they have a governor who recognizes and appreciates that.”
Hochul is set to take on her new role early Tuesday, Aug. 24 when she will move into the governor’s mansion.
“I haven’t thought about getting a U-Haul. I was just going to pack an overnight bag and see what happens,” Hochul joked. “I’ll then keep our residence in Buffalo as well. It’s going to be very fluid.”
When briefly asked about her policy surrounding the mask mandate, she said she will not be making an official statement until Tuesday but hinted that “people should be ready.”
Smithtown Township Arts Council has announced that the works of watercolor artist Mary Waka will be on view August 23 to September 22 at Apple Bank of Smithtown, 91 Route 111, Smithtown. The exhibition, part of STAC’s Outreach Gallery Program, can be viewed during regular banking hours Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“For me art is the synthesis of the fleeting moment that an image or subject portrays. With watercolor, I have an avenue to express and interpret this through shape, value and design. My hope is that the viewer enters personally into my painting, to find for themselves the story it conveys,” said Waka. “My beginnings in art started at a watercolor workshop with Eleanor Dragonette in Brooklyn. Then art classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. I continue to attend workshops with artists I admire.”
Mary teaches adult and children’s watercolor at the Smithtown Adult Education Program, Sachem Public library, Town of Brookhaven Recreation Center and Mills Pond Gallery among others.
PSEG Long Island continues to monitor the impending storm. Tropical Storm Henri is intensifying to a Category 1 hurricane as it continues up the coast to Long Island. As of 8 a.m. today, the weather system is forecasted to bring heavy rains and high winds with peak gusts ranging from 30 to 35 mph in western areas and 50 to 65 mph on the east end of Long Island beginning Sunday morning. Given the potential intensity of the storm, some outages may last up to seven to 10 days. The eastern end of Long Island is expected to experience the most severe weather and impact.
PSEG Long Island is performing system checks and ensuring extra supplies are on hand, including poles and transformers preparing for potential outages.
“We continue to monitor the track of Tropical Storm Henri,” said Michael Sullivan, senior director of Transmission & Distribution at PSEG Long Island. “As the storm makes its way up the coast, employees are preparing for the possibility of high winds that can cause flying debris, and bring down trees and power lines. We encourage our customers to do the same at their homes and businesses.”
PSEG Long Island has personnel ready to respond safely and as quickly as possible throughout the storm. Additionally, more than 1,200 line workers, tree trimmers, surveyors and other utility personnel from both local and off-Island resources are being procured to work alongside PSEG Long Island’s highly trained line personnel.
In addition to having additional personnel and equipment at the ready, PSEG Long Island has strengthened the electric grid to better withstand extreme weather and allow for faster power restoration, including elevating a number of substations above flood level in preparation for this kind of severe weather.
PSEG Long Island’s employees have been working continuously for the past seven years to make the electric infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather. From storm hardening upgrades to ongoing enhanced tree maintenance, the company’s proactive work allows the system to better withstand extreme weather.
COVID-19-related storm processes have been adjusted to continue to keep the health and safety of employees and customers at the forefront, even during these unusual times.
As part of their physical distancing protocols, they ask that customers remain in their homes when crews are working nearby. If customers must speak with the crews, they ask that they practice responsible physical distancing and remain at least 6 feet away to ensure the health of everyone involved. For more information about how PSEG Long Island continues to live up to its commitments during the pandemic, please visit www.psegliny.com/covid19.
During this storm, if necessary, PSEG Long Island may use an enhancement to our outage communications process. With this enhancement, customers contacting the Call Center early in the storm will receive a message that personnel are assessing conditions, rather than an estimated time of restoration (ETR). This change will allow crews to assess storm impact before issuing ETRs, thereby increasing the accuracy of the ETR information being provided. For more information about this new process visit https://www.psegliny.com/outages/estimatedrestorationtimes.
Customers should prepare, be cautious and stay alert to their surroundings during and after storms. Review storm preparation tips at https://www.psegliny.com/safetyandreliability/stormsafety.
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