Suffolk County demonstrates new denitrifying septic systems installed in county resident's homes. Photo from Suffolk County executive’s office
Suffolk County will look to address the ongoing issue of nitrogen pollution in surface and groundwater with an ambitious plan that will look to transition away from the reliance on cesspools and septic systems.
The Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan, which would invest $4 billion to combat nitrogen pollution, would last more than 50 years and sets a blueprint for the county to replace hundreds of thousands of old and inadequate septic systems.
A map detailing the phases of the proposed project. Images from Suffolk County. Click for full view.
The plan sets a goal for the county to eliminate 253,000 cesspools and septic systems by replacing them with new nitrogen reducing systems or by connecting them to existing sewers. According to Suffolk health officials, approximately 74 percent of the county remains unsewered, so individual residences and businesses rely on antiquated onsite wastewater disposal systems. Studies show that about 70 percent of the nitrogen input to local bays comes from approximately 360,000 cesspools and septic systems.
“Scientists have warned that continued reliance on primitive wastewater disposal systems is a mounting threat to both our environment and our economy,” said Dr. James Tomarken, Suffolk health commissioner. “Now, for the first time, there is a long-term plan to diminish nitrogen pollution and put Suffolk County on a path to cleaner, healthier water resources.”
The SWP has highlighted more than 190 individual watershed areas in Suffolk County and established goals and recommendations for reducing nitrogen inputs into each area. If those goals are met, health officials said it will begin to reverse the decline in water quality within 10 years and bring it back to a more pristine condition.
To get that process started, officials said the county will use more than $500 million in already allocated grant sources toward the replacement of 10,000 cesspools and septic systems and expand connections to sewer systems over the next four years as part of the first phase of the plan.
“This plan represents the first meaningful strategy to address legacy septic nitrogen pollution since countywide sewering objectives were abandoned some four decades ago,” Walter Dawydiak, director of Environmental Quality for Suffolk County, said. “In those four decades, we learned a great deal about how toxic excess nitrogen is to the ecosystem. However, we consistently failed to solve the single largest environmental health problems of our generation. Finally, we have a response plan that will restore our ecosystems and protect our drinking water.”
In the second phase of the plan, which would begin 2024, the county would look to eliminate more than 177,000 cesspools and septic systems near shorelines and high priority areas. It also recommends a requirement that cesspools and septic systems be replaced with new technology when properties change hands, or when those cesspools and septic systems fail. Officials estimate that the requirement could increase the number of cesspools eliminated from 1,000 to more than 5,000 per year.
The third phase of the SWP will tackle all other priority areas during a 15-year period. The fourth and final phase would address the remaining areas of the county beginning in 2068.
Currently, county grants of up to $20,000 are available for residents who qualify and wish to replace their cesspool. There is also an additional state grant of up to $10,000, which can mean a total of up to $30,000. As of July 1, Suffolk County residents who voluntarily decide to replace their cesspools will need to replace them with a system consisting of a septic tank and leaching pool at a minimum, according to previous reporting by TBR News Media. Contractors will need to register the system with the Department of Health Services.
The SWP will undergo a detailed review by the county’s Council on Environmental Quality and will include an environmental impact statement which is expected sometime in mid-August, according to officials. From there, a 30-day comment period will begin, with two public hearings being scheduled.
Suffolk County police are trying to use digital conferencing technology to better communicate with those who are hard of hearing and speech impaired.
“This announcement is about making our department more accessible and inclusive to the communities we serve,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said at a press conference July 31. “It is a top priority.”
The department will be using the service, Language Line Insight Video Interpreting, which will allow officers to instantly connect with an interpreter who can assist in communicating with hard of hearing or speech impaired individuals in American Sign Language during a traffic stop, home visit or other emergency.
“The days of having to wait for an interpreter to arrive on the scene and communicating through pen and paper — those days are over in Suffolk County,” Bellone said. Stu Cameron, chief of department, said this new addition will help close the loop in communications when officers are on the scene.
Typically, if a deaf or hard of hearing person needs assistance, officers rely on pen and paper or they call a sign language interpreter to the scene or the local precinct. This can be a lengthy process and Cameron said he feels by adding this app to the officers’ tablets, they will be more effective in assisting those individuals.
“Not only will our patrol cars have this capability, but our investigative units and detectives will have this as well,” he said. “ … We can get information very rapidly without having to go back and forth.”
Geraldine Hart, Suffolk police commissioner, said more than a year ago the department began outfitting vehicles with portal tablets to give officers immediate access to language access services.
“There are millions of people who communicate in sign language, making it the fourth-most used language in the U.S.,” the police commissioner said. “While we teach our recruits basic sign language and ways to communicate with deaf or hard of hearing people — we want to do more.”
Similarly, last year the department launched a text 911 program in an effort to help those with hearing and/or speech impairments.
The implementation of the new tablets is part of a three-year capital project, officials said. Currently, the department is in the second year of the project and has 155 tablets installed in patrol cars. Cameron said he expects by the end of next year to have all patrol cars equipped with the devices and have more than 450 tablets in use.
People at a rally in Old Bethpage held up signs signaling for a need for gun legislation. Photo by David Luces
Close to 200 people, including activists, survivors, faith leaders and elected officials filled a room at Haypath Park in Old Bethpage, Aug. 6, to call for common sense gun reform from Washington and to collectively voice ‘enough is enough’.
Moms Demand Action has been at the forefront of LI protests against gun violence. Photo by David Luces
The rally came in the wake of two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio that took 31 lives over last weekend.
“We are upset, heartbroken — and most importantly we are angry,” Tracy Bacher, of Moms Demand Action, an organization founded by a Dix Hills mother after the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. “In less than 24 hours our nation experienced two major mass shootings, this a public health crisis that demands urgent action.”
NYS Senator Jim Gaughran (D-Northport) said it’s time for federal government to act on common-sense gun reform.
“We are calling for Washington to take action, we have passed a red-flag law in the state we believe it’s going to save lives,” the senator said in an interview. “But if they can pass one in Washington it will save a lot more lives. We need to get guns off the street that are in the wrong hands.”
While the federal government has been stagnant in achieving more robust gun reform in recent years, individual states have taken it upon themselves to enact their own measures.
New York, in February, became the latest state to adopt a red-flag law, which is intended to prevent individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm. It also allows teachers as well as family members and others to petition the courts for protective orders.
Sergio Argueta of S.T.R.O.N.G., a youth advocacy group that focuses against gang and gun violence, said all he and others ask is for the bullets to stop. He began his speech imitating the sounds of gunshots in front of the packed crowd.
“’Pop, pop, pop,’ in day care centers; ‘pop, pop, pop,’ in synagogues; ‘pop, pop, pop’ in houses of worship,” said Argueta. “… It is not fair that we have kids that walk into school that look like prisons. It is not fair that people that go out to Walmart to prepare their kids to start the new school year die.”
Family members of gun violence victims shared their stories.
Tracy Bacher of Moms Demand Action spoke at the rally about a need for gun legislation at the federal level. Photo by David Luces
“It is about time that we do something different, we have been here for Sandy [Hook], we have been here for Parkland and nothing changes,” said Rita Kestenbaum, whose daughter Carol was killed by a gunman in 2007 when she was a sophomore at Arizona State University. “Background checks are lovely, red-flag laws are lovely, but if we don’t get semi-automatic weapons banned, then all of this is for nothing.”
Shenee Johnson said gun violence is preventable. Her son, Kedrick, was killed in a shooting at a high graduation party in 2010. She was in Washington D.C. at a conference called Gun Sense University when she heard of the shooting in El Paso.
“For so many years, I’ve tried to hide my pain and shield my pain from others, but I’m dying inside,” Johnson said. “We can no longer go on like this, how many times do we have to go through something like this.”
Other speakers called for people to fight to end gun violence and the hate that fuels it.
“To eradicate hate, we must fight it with love and action,” said David Kilmnick, of the LGBT Network. “…We say by coming here together that this is not a normal way of life. This is not the America we know.”
Genesis Yanes, a student at Nassau Community College and counselor at S.T.R.O.N.G Youth, was one of many members who brought handmade signs to the rally. The non-profit works with individuals ages 11-21. A hand full of elementary and middle school students were at the rally.
“This is something that affects them directly and their communities, we just want to show them that there are people here who are advocating for this change,” she said.
A breakdown of current legislation on the gun debate
Stock Photo
Mass shootings and gun violence have rocked the nation, leaving people to ask the question:What can be done to stop the violence?
U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin. File photo
New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called on Democratic presidential candidates to support strong gun safety laws. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY2), in a show of bipartisanship, called for a vote on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 at a press conference Aug. 6.
Improved background checks, banning high-powered automatic and semi-automatic weapons and ammunition, and better mental health screenings have been among the top ideas suggested, some of the legislation relating to which is still pending.Some are stalled at various levels of Congress.
Here’s a recap of what measures have been recently implemented or proposed.
Bump stocks
In March 2019 President Donald Trump (R) signed into law a ban on bump stocks, devices which turn weapons into automatic guns that fire rapidly through the recoil of the gun itself.
Red flag laws
New York State passed a “red flag” law in February 2019, which takes effect on Aug. 24. A new report, entitled “Mass Violence in America: Causes, Impacts and Solutions,” which was released Aug. 6 by the National Council for Behavioral Health, suggests that red flag laws may be among the best tools so far suggested for reducing gun violence. Red flag laws enable people, concerned about the well-being of individuals who display violent tendencies or show signs that they may be at risk to engage in gun violence, to contact law enforcement to institute gun control measures through a court process. Under New York’s statute, three categories of people can submit a red flag on someone: law enforcement, school officials and family.
Background checks
H.R.8 Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019
H.R.1112 Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019
Both bills have passed the House and are stalled in the Senate, with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refusing to bring H.R.8 in particular to the floor for vote.
H.R.8 establishes background checks for guns transferred between private parties (unlicensed individuals.) Specifically, it prohibits transfer of firearms unless a gun dealer or importer first takes possession of the weapon and does a background check. The prohibition does not apply to gifts that transfer weapons between spouses.
U.S. Rep Tom Suozzi, who co-sponsored the event, takes the podium. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh
H.R.1112 revises the background checks to applicable firearm transfers from federal licensed firearms licensee (or a gun dealer) to unlicensed person.
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) is co-sponsor of both bills. Suozzi represents Queens and the North Shore of Long Island to parts of Kings Park and runs an office in Huntington. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) voted “no” on both bills.
Zeldin defends his “no” vote record on these bills. When asked why, here is his response:
“In the case of Parkland, for example, Nikolas Cruz passed a background check, but clearly should not have had any access to firearms. The current system is flawed. Unfortunately, instead of addressing these shortcomings, H.R.8 and H.R.1112 zeroed in on law-abiding citizens. We need to improve our nation’s background check system by ensuring state reporting and the compilation of all relevant information. We cannot determine if certain people are unfit to own a firearm if we don’t have the necessary available information.”
Passed as part of Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.
H.R.4477 amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department to supply disqualifying records of a person prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Zeldin supported the Fix NICS bill, and had this to say:
“We need to ensure lunatics manifesting violent criminal intentions to murder with firearms have access to none. That’s why I supported the Fix NICS bill, which could have saved 26 lives at the First Baptist Church [of Sutherland Springs] in Texas, and why I called for a congressional hearing and action in the wake of the tragedy in Parkland. I support the Mass Violence Prevention [Reform] Act, which would improve information sharing to prevent and deter violence caused by criminal use of firearms, reduce the flow of firearms onto the black market and provide law enforcement with increased resources to keep our communities safe. I also supported the STOP School Violence Act that helps school personnel and law enforcement identify and prevent violence in schools.”
Concealed carry reciprocity
H.R.38 Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2019
The bill allows individuals to carry concealed weapons to other states that allow concealed weapons. The bill was introduced in January and referred to committee with no recent action.
Suozzi voted “no” on similar legislation proposed in 2017. Zeldin is a co-sponsor of the 2019 legislation.
A representative for Zeldin had this to say on the bill:
“The congressman supports the rights of law- abiding Americans to own firearms to protect themselves, their family and other loved ones. He believes lunatics manifesting violent criminal intentions to murder with firearms have access to none.”
A honey bee drinks nectar and transports pollen through the process. Photo by Polly Weigand
They buzz and flutter and are disappearing from Long Island’s environment.
Monarch caterpillar eats milkweed, its only food source. Photos by Polly Weigand
Pollinators, bees and butterflies are in decline on Long Island and nationwide, a situation that experts say is threatening the food supply. Ladybugs, too, are a threatened population.
To address a range of human health concerns, Executive Director of Long Island Native Plant Initiative Polly Weigand aims to repopulate the Island’s communities with native species plants and shrubs to re-establish important lost habitat for pollinators. The idea is to protect human healthy by preserving food and water supplies.
“Native plants provide food and habitat for wildlife,” Weigand said. “And it reduces the need for pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation, ultimately protecting Long Island’s groundwater supply.”
Avalon Park & Preserve in Stony Brook and St. James is a big supporter of the initiative. The site’s 140 acres were restored to include only native plants and shrubs. As it expands to 210 acres, it’s repopulating the land with a palette of native flora.
Homeowners can also take part in the movement.
Creating native habitats in your own landscape contributes solutions to many serious concerns and therefore, can be rewarding for Long Islanders.
The caterpillar then forms its chrysalis on the underside of the milkweed leaf before it emerges as a butterfly. Photo by Polly Weigand
“Protecting Long Island’s aquifer — the sole source of all our drinking water — is critically important,” said Seth Wallach, community outreach coordinator for Suffolk County Water Authority. “We also strongly encourage all Long Islanders to visit www.OurWaterOurLives.com to learn how they can help, and take the pledge to conserve water.”
The native solution
The first step for any landscape project, Weigand said, is to identify the light, soil and water conditions.
“When you plant native species in the right location, that’s it,” she said.
Milkweed and asters are two very versatile plants to consider, she added. The milkweed’s leaves provide habitat for Monarch butterfly eggs and forage for the caterpillar. Its blossoms can also provide nectar once the caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Butterfly metamorphosis, a miraculous process to witness, can potentially take place in your own yard.
“People plant gardens for butterflies but perhaps they could consider planting gardens or areas for caterpillars,” Dan Gilrein, entomologist at Cornell Cooperative Extension.“This might help support some butterfly populations as well as help birds, many of which include some caterpillars as a large part of their diet, and many caterpillars are quite beautiful and interesting.”
Three of Long Island’s more abundant native milkweed varieties include common milkweed, butterfly milkweed and swamp milkweed. Common milkweed and butterfly weed are good choices for sunny and dry locations. The swamp and butterfly weed habit grows in clumps, whereas the common milkweed is a rhizome that tends to spread across larger areas through an underground root system.
Goldenrod is also a good choice, she said.
“It’s a myth that it causes allergies,” Weigand said. “Goldenrod pollen is not dispersed by wind.”
For shrubs, bayberry is a nice option. Its fragrance lingers on your fingertips after touching it and evokes the scent of a beach vacation. It’s also beneficial to birds.
Butterfly drinks nectar from the milkweed. Photo by Polly Weigand
“Its waxy fruit is crucial high-energy food for migrating birds in the fall,” Weigand said.
Choke berries and service berries are also good landscape options. Aronia not only flowers in the spring and displays bright foliage in the fall, Weigand said, its berries are edible and is similar to the acai, which has become a popular breakfast food.
Long Island Native Plant Initiative operates a website chock full of information with images on native plants (www.linpi.org). The nursery sells both wholesale and retail. Weigand encourages people to request native plants at your local garden center to help create demand.
“I love sitting and watching the many different types of pollinators attracted to native plants,” Weigand said. She recommends observing and learning to appreciate the show. “It’s native plant television.”
Tree graffiti damages trees in Avalon Park. Photo by Donna Deedy
When Avalon Park & Preserve on Harbor Road in St. James and Stony Brook first opened in 2001, it welcomed on average 50 to 550 people each week. Today, during the peak seasons of spring and fall, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people frequent the 140-acre preserve on a weekly basis, and its popularity has become the source of a problem: protecting the integrity of the place.
Ducklings found in Avalon park. Photo by Donna Deedy
People are carving initials into trees, walking off trails and otherwise damaging habitats.
The park is trying to find ways to instill lessons on park etiquette without becoming too obtrusive. The task, though, according to Park Director Katharine Griffiths, has become more complicated with the rising popularity of Instagram and its geo-location features.
Foot traffic has spiked over the last five to seven years, Griffiths said, just as the phone app’s use has increased.
“We don’t do publicity or have a social media presence,” she said. People are sharing photos of themselves at the park and certain social media posts, she noticed, seem to invite trouble.
After people climbed on top an art installation on site, she said, in violation of one of the preserve’s only posted rules, other people saw the image and tried the same antic.
In talking with other park directors, Griffiths has found that they are experiencing similar concerns with social media.
To address the problem, Griffiths is looking at the efforts of a nationwide campaign called Leave No Trace, developed by the Center for Outdoor Ethics, a nonprofit organization that is raising public awareness on how to preserve and enjoy the outdoors.
Nine out of 10 people are uninformed about the impact they have on their environment, the center’s website states. The organization has developed seven principles that people should adopt to minimize their impact. The guidelines were founded for back-country excursions, but the center states that the approaches can be easily adapted to any park setting. Griffiths agrees.
The ideas are mainly common sense:Properly dispose of waste, respect wildlife, be considerate of other visitors. Other principles are more nuanced and need to be more widely practiced.
Leave what you find/avoid damaging trees and plants
A major concern at Avalon centers on bark damage caused by people carving their names or initials into trees. Trees along the boardwalk at the park’s main entrance on Harbor Road in St. James at the Stony Brook Mill Pond are badly scarred. Some tree species are now suffering from disease. Griffiths said it is unlikely that the tree graffiti caused the problem.
“But it certainly stresses trees and doesn’t help,” she said.
The park has hired park rangers 24/7, which has helped curb the issue. The problem, however, continues.
Many of the couples who have carved their initials in hearts, Griffiths notes, are likely no longer together. The tree damage, she said, is permanent.
Stay on trails
Avalon has carefully created meandering trails through five different wildlife habitats populated entirely with native fauna. The trails are an important part of its successful land management strategy. Straying off those trails damages vegetation or disturbs communities of organisms beyond recovery. Wildlife ecosystems are often interdependent, and when you harm one species it can cause a chain reaction.
A Black Egret found in Avalon park. Photo by Donna Deedy
Avalon has had to incorporate fencing to rope off the nesting areas of woodland ducks, for instance, because people were venturing off its boardwalk at the park’s main entrance into the pond’s edge. Griffiths said that the park’s managers prefer to leave nature unobstructed, but the fence became essential to protect the habitat.
Dogs are welcomed at Avalon, but dog owners need to be mindful of picking up waste and keeping the animals on a leash. Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket, another privately owned public parkland, asks dog owners to be diligent.
“People like that we allow pets, but its a constant challenge,” said Robert Reuter, president of Frank Melville Memorial Park.
Respect wildlife
The center states that people should quietly observe wildlife from a distance. Do not disturb animals or plants, they say, “just to get a better look.”
Tree graffiti damages trees in Avalon Park. Photo by Donna Deedy
Lucille Betti-Nash from Four Harbors Audubon Society recommends investing in binoculars or a super-zoom camera, sometimes called a bridge camera, if people want close-up views of wildlife.
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service park in Shirley, is dealing with similar issues. Park Director Ann Marie Chapman said that she is also trying to better educate the public.
“The wildlife on Long Island have very few places left to go,” she said. “We should keep these public parklands pristine.”
Like Griffiths, she hopes people adopt good outdoor habits.
Carry in, carry out
“Remember we are guests,” Chapman said. “Just like when you’re visiting someone else’s home, you need to respect the surroundings when you visit parkland.”
Suffolk County Legislator Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said that he visits and walks through Avalon once a month and has never seen a speck of garbage.
“I love the fact that there’s no garbage cans,” he said. “It forces people to carry out any trash they bring in.”
He’s looking forward to the park’s 70-acre expansion. When completed sometime next year, the park’s trails will extend to the Long Island Sound waterfront.
Teenagers across the North Shore have been seen playing chicken with motorists by cycling into oncoming traffic, popping wheelies in the middle of the road and more. Photo from SCPD
Motorists are discovering a new trend and distraction on local roads. Across the North Shore, teenagers on bicycles have been playing chicken with cars — pedaling into oncoming traffic, swerving their bikes close to vehicles and popping wheelies in the middle of the road. Sometimes they are in pairs and other times in groups of up to a couple dozen.
Children playing chicken with cars has become a hot topic in various Facebook community and parents groups. Members of the Smithtown Moms Facebook group have witnessed 20 children on bikes spreading out across Meadow Road in Kings Park, doing wheelies. In the Three Village area, junior high schoolers were seen cutting off cars at Bennetts Road and Route 25A and laughing about it.
Photo from SCPD
What police officers are doing about it
When it comes to the incidents, Suffolk County Police Department’s 4th Precinct is hoping to get ahead of potential injuries and fatalities in its community as well as the whole of Suffolk County. Officers have compiled a video with clips of teens creating havoc on streets such as Meadow Road in Kings Park, Commack Road near the entrance to Northern State Parkway in Commack and Lake Shore Drive in Lake Ronkonkoma. While the video includes clips from Smithtown, 4th Precinct officers said the cases can be used as examples at any precinct.
The purpose is to use the video to educate parents after officers stop a youth for reckless bicycling. In these circumstances, the law enforcers confiscate bikes and bring the teenagers to the precinct. Parents are then called, according to Deputy Inspector Mark Fisher. He said many ask why the police department is putting so much effort into the trend.
“The realities are it’s a tremendous danger,” Fisher said. “I would say it is as deadly as heroin. In some ways, on a particular day and time, because you are going in front of cars, and you are risking people-on-the-road’s lives. In a lot of ways, it’s a tremendously big deal, because if one 14-year-old gets killed or his life changes dramatically because he’s crippled for life. We want to avoid that.”
Commanding Officer Michael Romagnoli said it’s not a new problem, but the number of incidents has increased over recent months. The police department does not want to dissuade people from riding their bikes, he said, they just want them to do it safely.
“They’re going in front of traffic, trucks, cars. It’s like the thrill of being in that unsafe position that they’re looking for.”
— Captain Karen Kolsch
“We’re not against them riding their bikes,” Romagnoli said. “Bicycling is actually a great sport. I’m not even opposed to the stunts provided that they are not doing it in the middle of a highway or a road. It’s not the location to do that. They are subject to vehicle and traffic regulations.”
Romagnoli said many teenagers might not realize how dangerous it is.
“The control of the bicycle is the steering, the handlebars,” Romagnoli said. “Right now, they are relying on balance, and they are relying on a motorist not to hit them when they are doing that swerve. Because they can’t predict how the motorist is going to react to their actions.”
Captain Karen Kolsch agreed.
“They are not doing the stunts on the side of the road to see how long they can do a wheelie,” Kolsch said. “They’re going in front of traffic, trucks, cars. It’s like the thrill of being in that unsafe position that they’re looking for.”
The officers said the intent of the 4th Precinct’s video, compiled by Officer Kelly Neeb, is to provide an opportunity to educate parents on how dangerous the situations are instead of punishing the riders. In turn, they are hoping the video will create a conversation between parents and teenagers.
Just like many teens take to social media to post their stunts, Neeb takes to the same resources to see what the bicyclists are doing on roads and how parents are reacting to the tricks in Facebook groups. The officer even found one bicyclist post a flyer that was circulating on social media warning children and parents about the dangers. On the Instagram account 631vinny, the user posted about the flyer, “That’s funny. I can honestly care less.”
“To them, it’s a big joke,” Neeb said.
Recently, after the Meadow Road incident where the officers brought the group of bicyclists to the 4th Precinct, parents were upset at the officers when they first arrived to pick up their sons. Fisher said once they explained what the teenagers were doing on the roads, and they showed the parents the video, their anger subsided.
“The last thing we want to do is go to a home and tell their parents that your child was struck by a vehicle.”
— Commanding Officer Michael Romagnoli
What parents can do
The officers said parents need to sit down with their children and ask who they are spending time with and discuss the rules of the road. Bicycles are treated as vehicles, and their handlers must follow the same laws as cars and trucks.
“The last thing we want to do is go to a home and tell their parents that your child was struck by a vehicle,” Romagnoli said, adding an accident between a car and bicycle would be a tragedy to the motorist too.
Romagnoli said as the sun goes down it becomes difficult for drivers to see with little to no adequate lighting on many roads. Due to this, bicyclists need to have lights or reflectors on their bikes, so they can be seen. The commanding officer added that to compound the problem, many riders are not wearing helmets.
Fisher said parents should be aware that most rides start out harmless.
“A lot of this starts as a bike ride, and then it progresses to the stunts,” Fisher said. “They want to outdo each other. They have some games where they get points for certain stunts.”
Neeb also suggested that parents check their children’s social media activity from time to time since some post videos of their stunts or invitations to meet up. She said even conducting general research online can help parents educate themselves as to what is going on with young bicyclists. One YouTube account 631.BikeLife shows some of the stunts.
Kolsch said it’s understandable that parents are glad to see their teens outside doing something physical and may not realize what they are up to.
“A lot of this starts as a bike ride, and then it progresses to the stunts.”
— Deputy Inspector Mark Fisher
“They’re thinking they’re not sitting inside with the Xbox all day and so happy to see them doing something they think is good,” she said.
How motorists can be vigilant
The first step is for motorists to be aware that this is happening on local roadways, and the officers said drivers should treat reckless bicyclists as they would any other hazard in the road. Slow down, stop if you have to and let the hazard pass. They also said to call 911 and to be as descriptive as possible, including descriptions of bikers and bicycles, location, number of riders, if they were swerving, crossing double lines, standing on their bikes or anything else that will help officers.
Romagnoli suggested treating an incident with a reckless bicyclist the same as “following behind someone who may be an intoxicated driver.”
If pedestrians encounter problems with a bicyclist on a sidewalk or while they are crossing a road, they also should call 911.
Motorists should avoid altercations with the bicyclists, and if an accident occurs, especially when a rider has been hit, Kolsch said drivers involved should not leave the scene and make sure to get all witnesses’ contact information.
Anyone with information about such incidents also can call 631-852-COPS.
Spreading the word
In addition to the 4th Precinct officers open to sharing the video with other precincts, Fisher said they also are reaching out to school districts to see if they can show the video in schools to let parents know this is happening.
The officers said while there can be incidents where bicyclists can be brought up on charges or parents can be fined, depending on what transpired and the age of the teenager, they’re hoping to avoid such a situation with the educational video.
“We’re not looking to arrest people,” Kolsch said. “We’re looking to keep people safe.”
Local and state officials have long talked about electrification of the Port Jefferson rail line, but missed deadlines and other issues may push any real project back decades. File photo
As a part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s transformation plan announced July 24, the agency will create a task force to combat the ongoing issue of homelessness in New York City subway system with similar plans underway for the Long Island Rail Road.
The announcement comes on the heels of a recent audit done by the NYS State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D), which revealed that Bowery Residents’ Committee, the nonprofit provider of homeless housing and services for the MTA, had only done limited outreach to the homeless. On multiple occasions, workers appeared to intentionally close their office and isolate themselves, closing off services to clients seeking assistance, the audit found.
The newly announced task force will look at new metrics for measuring homelessness, updating subway rules and regulations to provide more clarity on what is a violation of the rules, enhanced enforcement of rules, improved coordination among agencies, the potential benefit of establishing a dedicated homeless outreach office within the MTA and additional access to resources for those in need.
According to the MTA, the homeless population in the subway system has risen 23 percent in 2019 to date.
“Homelessness is a growing problem on the subway, with a growing impact,” said Veronique Hakim, MTA managing director. “Through this task force we’re going to bring together a broad and empowered group that will help us to develop an expedited plan to keep our customers and workers safe and our trains moving — while providing much-needed resources and assistance to this vulnerable population.”
The task force will have 30 days to design a plan, focusing on housing alternatives and increased resources that MTA officials believe will lead to a significant reduction in homelessness and panhandling by the end of 2019.
Similarly, the Long Island Rail Road has faced criticism from the state comptroller on the issue of homelessness at its stations. In an audit sent to the LIRR earlier this year, DiNapoli found that the company that the agency contracts, Services for the UnderServed, were not doing an adequate job.
In the report, officials said that SUS failed to assist homeless people to the extent possible under its contract responsibilities and clients were not receiving the services they needed.
During one visit, the comptroller’s office observed SUS workers drive up to a train station parking lot and sit in the vehicle for approximately three minutes before leaving. The workers neither walked the platforms nor visited the station’s waiting room, according to the audit.
In a response to the comptroller’s finding, the LIRR responded saying that are already complying with DiNapoli’s recommendations and are implementing steps to improve oversight and performance of SUS.
Stony Brook University has changed its class policy during the coronavirus outbreak. File photo
Stony Brook University has been awarded more than $2 million in grants that will go toward funding mathematics, engineering, physics and other science education.
On July 26, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) announced the university had been awarded five grants.
“Whether it’s educating the next generation, helping us protect our planet or pioneering the future of mathematics, Stony Brook University is on the front lines of research and innovation,” said Zeldin in a press release. “Driving this critical federal funding back to some of the brightest minds of our generation, located right here on Long Island, will go a long way in helping these scientists carry out their vital work.”
Of the five grants, the university’s engineering academy will receive the most funding with more than $1.1 million going to the program.
The academy’s stated goal is to increase students’ motivation to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program will prepare middle school students for advanced science and math courses as well as potential engineering careers down the line.
Stony Brook University has been awarded more than $2 million in grants. Photo from SBU
“The programs we have in place targeting K-12 students, teachers and counselors, as well as undergraduate and graduate students at Stony Brook, are key building blocks in constructing a diversity pathway in STEM,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Targeted to middle school students and teachers, this unique program will engage them in the excitement, challenge and opportunity in engineering as a field of study and potential career.”
The remaining funds will go toward research studies. More than $365,000 will be used to study physics and climate regulation. Also, researchers will look into understanding radiative balance and precipitation changes in tropical weather patterns.
Close to $300,000 will fund a study spearheaded by Anatoly Frenkel, which will look at electro-chemo-mechanical processes at the atomic level. According to Sotiropoulos, Frenkel’s research has the potential to transform a wide range of vitally important technologies, ranging from focusing devices in the cameras of cellular phones to fuel injectors in automobiles.
In addition, more than $300,000 will be used to fund two mathematics studies through the mathematics department.
“There is no greater catalyst for scientific discovery than research universities,” said Michael Bernstein, the recently appointed Interim President of Stony Brook University. “The grants we have received allow us to address society’s most pressing challenges. As Long Island’s sole public research institution, we remain committed to advancing scientific knowledge throughout our region and around the world.”
The five grants were awarded by the National Science Foundation, an agency created by Congress in 1950, which promotes the progress of science; advances national health, prosperity and welfare; and works to secure national defense.
German become Long Island’s official Man of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after raising a record-breaking $470,000 in 10 weeks.
Asaf German said he grew up with nothing and played stickball in the streets of Brooklyn. This year, the 47-year-old Lloyd Neck resident has become Long Island’s official Man of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after raising a record-breaking $470,000 in 10 weeks.
“What he’s been able to accomplish is priceless,” said Meagan Doyle, who serves as campaign director for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in its Melville office.
Each year the society recruits candidates to compete and run a 10-week fundraising campaign. Proceeds go towards finding a cure for blood cancers leukemia, lymphoma myeloma and Hodgkin’s disease. Eight candidates on Long Island competed and collectively raised $863,000 for the organization.
German, who raised more than anyone ever has on Long Island, pulled together a team of 75 people, mostly women, who helped him organize events and solicit donations. In total, more than 5,000 people contributed to German’s team with donations ranging from $5 to $55,000.
“Nobody said no,” German said. “I am a machine and found very special, passionate, amazing, like-minded people to help.”
Two pediatric cancer patients or survivors participate in the society’s Man of the Year campaign as Boy and Girl of the Year honorees. Jesse Pallas, age 12, of Miller Place and Morgan Sim, age 5, of Port Washington served as inspiration for German and his team.
“When I met Asaf in person for the first time, he shook my hand and said I’m going to win this thing. Who would have known that just 10 weeks later he would raise $470,000,” said RuRu Sim, Morgan’s mother. “It was almost unbelievable and he turned my skepticism into pure admiration. Asaf poured his heart and soul into the Man of the Year campaign and he helped us take a huge step closer to finding a cure for cancer. The cancer community is so blessed to have found such a dedicated and wonderful man!”
Prior to the fundraising campaign, German, a real estate attorney, knew nothing about fundraising or blood cancer diseases. He’s become passionate about the cause.
“It’s been the second most rewarding experience of my life after having children,” German said.
Nationally, the society raised $52 million through the Man of the Year campaigns. German ranked eighth nationally in total funds raised.
German thanks Mary Jo White, who had previously pulled together a Woman of the Year campaign for the society. He said she shared fundraising suggestions with him. He’s become close with White and her husband through the society’s fundraising mission. So close, he said he spent Christmas with them.
“People keep telling me ‘Do you realize the magnitude of what you just did,’” said German. “I can’t stop here. I’m a machine.”
He’s recruiting now for next year’s ambassador.
German’s two children, with the help of a committee at Accompsett Elementary and Middle Schools, where they’re students, raised $500 for the cause at Ralph’s Italian Ices on Maple Avenue in Smithtown.
“It’s not all about the money,” German said. “It’s about raising awareness and saving people’s lives.”
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