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Times of Smithtown

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James Burton goes for loose ball for the Bulls. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Bobby Eck handles double team from Hauppauge. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Smithtown East vs. Hauppauge Eagles. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Smithtown East vs. Hauppauge Eagles. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Gjon Lleshaj controls the ball in the paint. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Smithtown East vs. Hauppauge Eagles. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Smithtown East vs. Hauppauge Eagles. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steve Zaitz

Led by senior guard Benjamin Haug’s 24 points, the Smithtown East boys basketball team beat their rivals to the south, the Hauppauge Eagles, 65-49 on Feb. 24 in the first round of the Suffolk County, Class AA playoffs.

The Bulls, the fourth seed, improve to 16-5 and got  the opportunity to face an even fiercer rival – the number one seed Smithtown West Bulls.

In their win over the Eagles, Smithtown East rode a 19-3 second period to establish a commanding lead after a close first quarter. They took a 37-18 lead into halftime as Haug boasted 11 points and senior big man James Burton had 9 at the break.

Hauppauge junior guard Cole Wood hit three three-pointers in the second half and the fifth-seeded Eagles cut the lead to 11 late in the third quarter, but they never got any closer.  Wood finished with 17 points.

Breaking news

Smithtown West handily defeated Smithtown East in the semi-finals on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 74-47 and will face Half Hollow Hills East for the Class AA championship on March 2.

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METRO photo

Buying a house should not be a pipe dream, but it has become more and more unrealistic for Long Island residents.

Even if extra houses and apartments are built, one issue has become painfully clear — home properties are too expensive for many Long Island residents. According to OneKey MLS, the median sales price of a home in Suffolk County in January 2024 was $600,000, an annual increase of 9.1%.

This leaves many different residents with the difficult question of whether or not to leave their beloved hometowns to move to a more affordable place, or even try to buy a home here in the first place.

If young couples cannot afford to start a family here, then there is a potential that school districts are impacted, whether losing funds due to lack of enrollment or having to shutter their doors completely.

Naturally, this problem doesn’t just end at school districts. Our small businesses need the local population to not just shop, but to work. Yet the state minimum wage of $16 per hour does not even come close to being high enough for people to realistically afford a mortgage or rent payments. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, two working adults would need to make $19.85 an hour each in order to have a living wage — and that’s before having one child, which would then bring it up to $29.60 with both working. The required annual income before taxes, with both adults working, is $82,580, rising to $123,139 with one child. 

This is why programs, such as Suffolk County’s Down Payment Assistance Program, are necessary to secure the future of our towns. The program could provide eligible first-time homebuyers with up to $30,000 for a down payment for a single-family residence that they must live in for at least 10 years. 

While this may just be for the down payment, it can potentially still help couples from falling into the trap of becoming “house poor,” a situation in which a large amount of a person’s income has to go to paying bills covering their home, not leaving them enough money for other obligations and needs.

Furthermore, it is important to remember that young couples are not the only ones who are impacted by Long Island’s unaffordability. Adults aged 60 and over account for roughly 20 percent of Suffolk County’s population according to a 2022 report from the Suffolk County Office for the Aging. Many find themselves having to retire elsewhere, forcing them to leave behind decades of relationships and memories in exchange for more affordable prices.

Overall, the Down Payment Assistance Program is a great step toward keeping Long Island affordable, but a systemic change seems increasingly necessary to stop everyone, across all age demographics, from being forced to choose between affordable housing and a neighborhood they love.

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Photo courtesy Ed Flood's Facebook page

By Aramis Khosronejad

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “in 2022 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions totaled 6,341.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, and 5,487.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents after accounting for sequestration from the land sector.” In the wake of these statistics, New York State has been searching for a way to help decrease these concerning figures.

As an aid to the process, New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul (D), presented a new mandate this past September. The state mandate will require zero-emission new school bus purchases by 2027 and for school districts to operate zero-emission school buses only by 2035.

Although on the surface the use of electric vehicles seems like an efficient and smart way of reducing our greenhouse gas contribution to the global community, there are some drawbacks and consequences that state Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) as well as other state politicians have pointed out. 

Local state senators, Assembly members, fire safety and school officials gathered Feb. 25 at Levittown bus depot to a “Push the Brakes” rally on the state’s electric school bus mandate.

Flood categorized the conflicts that could arise with this new mandate in two simple categories: economic issues and the alarming lack of reliability. 

According to Flood, we need only look at the numbers to be able to reach the conclusion that the economic setbacks of a mandate such as this would be potentially devastating to the academic capabilities of many school districts within New York state. To successfully and fully implement these zero-emission buses it would take “roughly $20 billion” to do so, he said.

Flood and other elected officials have also been vocal regarding the proposed state-aid school budget cuts listed in the governor’s budget proposal earlier this year. School districts will have to cut programs, camps and other academic activities and opportunities for districts whose budgets would be affected by these cuts. 

Additionally, Flood has a concern for an increase in taxes if the bus mandate were to be carried through — he said that taxes in New York are already extreme without the addition of this new bus expenditure. Also, there has to be consideration for the cost of the establishment of charging stations for the buses, compounded by the stations’ running costs. 

Another heavy consequence of the implementation of these new fleets of buses, and what Flood argues is significantly more important, is the question of their reliability. The most important question for Flood is “What steps are we taking to ensure the safety of our children and these bus drivers?” 

It has already been observed in cities where e-buses are already in place such as San Francisco and Chicago that their batteries have problems with severe temperature fluctuations. Flood points out how the EV batteries can die quickly and may not prove efficient. In addition, EV batteries are prone to catch fire and are notoriously difficult to put out. If this were to happen while one of the buses was in use, Flood claimed that we’d be “looking at the loss of lives.” 

Flood provided a potential solution to these doubts over bus batteries by bringing up the idea that “having a backup system in place could address this issue” even if this backup uses carbon. “We need a more powerful EV source than the one we have,” he said.

The main belief that Flood carried was “not saying we shouldn’t be aiming for these goals but we’re trying so hard to be the global leaders in EV that we’re looking over the health and safety concerns that it’s going to cause to all these communities.” 

According to Flood, if there were a delay to this mandate, there would be sufficient time for all these concerns to be addressed and handled properly. Then, zero-emission buses would be safe to push into New York school districts, and we could do our part in making sure our planet suffers a little less. 

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Even if you haven’t read the books, the way I did with my son when he was considerably younger, you probably have heard of the series “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” right?

It occurred to me to ponder the possibility of a diary of an old(er) man. To that end, here’s my first installment and, no, I’m not going to start with “Dear Diary.”

I woke up this morning and I thought, hmm, my foot doesn’t hurt. What a delightful change! And then I stepped on the floor and I was wrong. My foot, which has been bothering me for a few weeks is still painful, despite the pleasant young doctor less than half my age examining it. The friendly technicians, who sent a jargon filled assessment to my electronic account, recognized that there was swelling and suggested a couple of possible options without a definitive diagnosis or conclusion.

Then, an assistant for my doctor called to schedule a time to review my results. She suggested he’d be available some time next week. Next week??? I gasped and tried not to become irrational or overwrought.

“But my foot hurts now. Is there anyone, like, maybe a nurse, who might be able to call me and tell me what to do for the pain or who can provide a first interpretation sooner than a week?”

I used the word “like” to sound younger, even as I was playing the older-man-in-pain card. Unfortunately, it didn’t teleport me to the front of the line.

“Oh, I’ll see what I can do,” she offered, transmitting a Mona Lisa-style tone through the phone line. Is that a smirk behind your voice? Is that the equivalent of a customer disservice line that says “we’re experiencing higher than normal call volumes and we’ll get to you when we can.”

The day passed without any calls from her, from a nurse, or from a doctor. Then, I thought about the people I used to be responsible for on an ongoing basis. How were they doing? Why hadn’t they called? Oh, right, they’re living their lives which is what my wife and I always wanted for them.

I hoped no news was good news, but no news is sometimes no news, until it makes a sudden transition to something that requires support and help or that merits cheerleading.

After reading through emails, I made some work calls. When reaching out to someone I didn’t know and leaving a message, I spelled my name, using the same “N” for Nancy, “E” for Edgar and “F” for Frank that I heard my father say so many times.

How much time in my life have I spent spelling my vowel-heavy name to someone? Realistically, the chance of the letters making it onto the paper in the right order or, more likely, into an electronic message is remote. More often than not, when someone says my name back to me, I say, “yes, that’s right,” even if they “dun arf” or “do vanoff.”

After I checked a few things off the personal and professional list, I scurried over to the gym, where people much younger than I lifted the weight of small Volkswagens, while others did the kind of abdominal exercises that I’d never attempted or considered. As I watched, trying not to let my jaw drop too far, my stomach hurt, signaling to my brain that I shouldn’t even think about trying those exercises … ever!

Later that night, my wife and I took a friend to a local sporting event, where it was cool enough to require a sweatshirt.

Following behind two people using canes as they walked, our friend asked if I thought a cane might help and, if so, whether he should take one from the men in front of us. I smiled and told him that wouldn’t be necessary.

As we approached our seats, a young woman said the two words associated with the name on the front of my sweatshirt, which advertised our son’s school. Three steps past her, I registered what she said and remembered what I was wearing. I considered turning around, but the moment had passed.

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Hon. A. Gail Prudenti

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief,
Publisher

Continuing the kickoff for Women’s History Month in March, we have welcomed the Honorable A. Gail Prudenti, formerly the Chief Administrator of the Courts in New York State, to our podcast this week. And we are marking the passing of Black History Month, held annually every February, with a tribute to “the father of Black history,” the late Carter G. Woodson.

Prudenti distinguished herself early by graduating with honors from Marymount College in Tarrytown, then going on to law school at the University of Aberdeen School of Law.

Her career in Suffolk  County began when she clerked for Surrogate Judge Ernest Signorelli, then worked for the Suffolk district attorney for two years. After a ten-year stint in private practice, Prudenti became special counsel for the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, then ran for public office. Elected in 1991 to the New York Supreme Court while still in her 30s, she served there for four years.

Prudenti then became the Suffolk surrogate judge, the first female elected to this position. Concurrently she was acting New York Supreme Court justice. Then, in 1999, she was appointed as the Tenth Judicial District, Suffolk County administrative judge, the first New York surrogate to serve as a district administrative judge.

After serving on the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, she was named presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, again the first woman in the position. She then became the designate judge on the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, and went on as the Chief Administrator of the Courts. She was in that position for four years.

Even for those of us who aren’t familiar with the various names and levels of the courts in our state, her rise through the system was clearly meteoric. Prudenti then went on to the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra in 2015, where she ultimately served as their 10th dean, and will step down as she joins Nancy Burner, our previous podcast guest, to form the Burner and Prudenti Law Group.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson

Carter G. Woodson, 1875-1950, American author, historian and journalist, the son of former slaves, was the second Black man to earn a PhD at Harvard University, following W.E.B. Du Bois. He was the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora. He strove to place people of African descent at the center of American history and the human experience. He noted that African-American contributions “were overlooked, ignored and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them. Race prejudice is merely the logical result of tradition, the inevitable outcome of thorough instruction to the effect that the Negro has never contributed anything to the progress of mankind.”

Also a founder of the “Journal of Negro History,” in February 1926, he launched the celebration of “Negro History Week,” the precursor of Black History Month. His goal was to emphasize the “Negro in History, not the History of the Negro”. Since 1976, every President has designated February as Black History Month. Woodson’s remarkable life is worth knowing.

We hope you will tune in to our podcast this week, starting Friday afternoon, hearing a summary of the week’s news and commentary from Gail Prudenti, by going to our website, tbrnewsmedia.com, and clicking on the home page button, “Listen Now,” or catching us on Spotify. 

Happy March!

P.S. Bio information above supplied by the internet.

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Olger Conce Guambana
Suffolk County Police on Feb. 25 arrested a contractor who allegedly took money from four clients without completing construction projects over the past three years.

A 75-year-old woman reported to police on August 29, 2023 she had hired Olger Conce Guambana to do work at her home and it was not completed as agreed. Conce Guambana then used a bad check to issue a partial refund and stopped all further communication with the woman.

Following an investigation by Sixth Squad detectives and Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers, Conce Guambana was also found to have fraudulently taken money from at least three other victims since August, 2020. In total, he has stolen more than $30,000 from the four victims.

Conce Guambana, 48, of Central Islip, was charged with Scheme to Defraud 1st Degree, a felony, four counts of Grand Larceny 3rd Degree, a felony, and Issuing a Bad Check, a misdemeanor.

Conce Guambana, who also goes by the name Eddie or Ed, has used several company names in the past few years, including Dlugos Construction, R.O.J. Remodeling & Construction Corp., O.C. Remodeling & Construction Corp, USA Painting & Contracting, and Edwards Finishing Carpentry LLC. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Conce Guambana is asked to contact the Sixth Squad at 631-854-8652.

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Photo from Town of Smithtown

The Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau is seeking gently loved or new attire and accessories to be donated for a one-stop shopping experience for young people to look their best. On Saturday, March 16th residents can donate gently loved or brand new formal/semi-formal dresses, jewelry, accessories, bags, and shoes to the Horizons Center, 161 East Main Street, Smithtown from 9 a.m. to noon. All sizes are welcome. The inaugural One-Stop Prom Shoppe at Horizons Center will be available for young people, by appointment beginning on April 1st.

“I applaud Director Janine Marc-Anthony and the Youth Bureau team for orchestrating this fantastic initiative. Creating a private shopping experience for young people who might otherwise miss out on special occasions such as a school dance restores confidence and removes obstacles for local families. Additionally, hosting the collection event provides a teaching opportunity for our youth to give back, appreciate all that they have and happens to be a great help to our environment. Most people don’t realize that textile waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the country. The One-Stop Prom Shoppe collection event gives the community a fantastic opportunity to upcycle one’s closets while giving a young person the chance to stand out on a special night,” said Supervisor Edward R. Wehrheim.

The exorbitant costs associated with attending a formal/semi-formal event can often deter young people from participating in milestone memories such as prom. The Smithtown Youth Bureau’s One-Stop Prom Shoppe removes financial barriers and creates a very personable experience ensuring everyone who wishes to attend a school dance can do so red carpet ready.

“We are thrilled about the Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau’s inaugural One-Stop Dress Shoppe! This remarkable initiative will provide students with the opportunity to attend the Junior or Senior Prom in a stunning dress & accessories that they may not have been able to afford on their own and make their evenings really special,” said  Janine Marc-Anthony, Executive Director.

For questions or more information contact the Youth Bureau at (631) 360-7595 or email: [email protected].

DID YOU KNOW?

Upcycling your textiles is good for the ecosystem:

  • The fashion industry contributes to 10% of global carbon emissions making it the second-largest industrial polluter.
  • According to the State DEC, New Yorkers throw away approximately 1.4 billion pounds of textiles (clothing, footwear, belts, hats, handbags, drapes, towels, sheets and other linens) that could be reused or recycled.

Attending a prom is a very costly event:

  • The average cost to participate in a school prom can run anywhere between $600-$1000
  • Expenses include: attire, accessories, admission, hair, make-up, nails, shoes, and transportation.

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From left, Hauppauge High School seniors Vivian Derby, Melissa O’Connor and Jennifer Battaglia present their civic capstone project on the possibility of having off-campus lunch. Photo courtesy of Hauppauge School District

Hauppauge High School’s senior participation in government classes presented civic capstone projects, developing presentations around changes they would like to see in Hauppauge schools as part of their work toward earning the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness.

Students in Mr. Matura’s and Ms. Burkhard’s classes were tasked with selecting an issue that they were passionate about, aiming to bring positive change and improvement to their high school community. The process involved research, collaborative efforts within their groups and the creation of impactful presentations. The students invited members of the high school staff, administration and central office team to listen to their proposals for change and engage in dialogue. 

“From identifying critical issues to proposing thoughtful solutions, our students have demonstrated a level of civic responsibility that is truly commendable,” Matura said. 

“The presentations were informative and reflective of the students’ deep commitment to civic engagement,” said Director of Social Studies and World Languages Kelly Barry. “This assignment focuses more on the process than the outcome. It teaches our students to consider multiple viewpoints and gain an understanding of various perspectives on an issue. These skills will help our students succeed in any path they choose after graduation. We are proud of all of them. I am grateful for their teachers’ dedication to preparing them, guiding them through the process and teaching them how to advocate for positive change in the school community and beyond. We are incredibly grateful for the support and participation of our superintendent, Donald Murphy, and members of our central office team, as well as all of the administrators and teachers who took the time to listen to the student presentations.”

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The Flowerfield Fairgrounds in St. James. File photo by Heidi Sutton

By Sabrina Artusa

The eventual fate of Flowerfield Fairgrounds continues to be uncertain, but New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is moving to acquire the property. In November, the DEC ordered an appraisal of the 63-acre Flowerfield site.

Since Gyrodyne, a property management company, started moving forward with a subdivision proposal to turn the fairgrounds into an updated layout suitable for development, St. James residents protested its advancement, stressing concerns over traffic, overdevelopment and the effects on Stony Brook Harbor. 

The DEC is expected to complete the evaluation of the property this year, according to Judith Ogden, board member of the Saint James-Head of the Harbor Neighborhood Preservation Coalition. She said, “Everything is moving along the way we would hope.”

Gyrodyne applied to create industrial lots and a new sewage treatment lot in 2022. 

Ogden and Joseph Bollhofer, also a board member of the coalition, wrote on the fairgrouds website, “We believe that we are well on our way to preserving the character of our community by preventing these massive development projects that would forever change our way of life. This includes some extremely negative consequences, among them intolerable traffic increases, groundwater and harbor contamination and the destruction of the North Country Road historic and scenic corridor.”

Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said that he had no objection to the DEC acquiring the property from Gyrodyne, thus allowing the DEC to move forward. The DEC may use some of the state’s Environmental Protection Fund to pay for the acquisition. 

The coalition created a recommended plan for the property, which includes allotted area for commercial development and around 45 acres for open space.

“The first step is to save the undeveloped land, but we also have dreams and hopes for the developed land,” Ogden said. The coalition represents people who want to defend the fairgrounds from overdevelopment, although part of the property is already developed.

In April 2022, the coalition, the Village of the Head of the Harbor and 23 homeowners filed a lawsuit against Gyrodyne, the Town of Smithtown and the Smithtown Planning Board. The lawsuit has stalled the progression of Gyrodyne’s applications. 

Ogden said that many of the petitioners were removed by the judge, but that the lawsuit is advancing: 

“The ball is in [Gyrodyne’s] lap now … there is going to be some movement going forward.” 

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By Samantha Rutt

Suffolk County Water Authority hosted the next installment of its WaterTalk series on Feb. 20 at Amityville Public Library. The event allowed customers to learn more about their drinking water and engage in open dialogue with their water provider. 

“Our drinking water continues to be a topic of discussion in the media, and we believe it is important for residents to have an open dialogue with their water provider to learn more,” SCWA Chairman Charles Lefkowitz said.

The WaterTalk series features a panel of experts who discuss various topics, including the quality of drinking water, the implementation of new infrastructure to enhance water service and quality, and the importance of conservation. 

SCWA’s water quality and lab services director, Tom Schneider, and customer growth coordinator, John Marafino, represented the authority at the event. 

“Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public benefit corporation operating under the public authority law,” Marafino stated to open the meeting. “We serve about 1.2 million customers, and we began operations in 1951. We operate as a nonprofit, and we’re one of the country’s largest groundwater suppliers.”

Following the opening remarks and brief background of the authority, Schneider made a PowerPoint presentation to discuss the current infrastructure plans around the county, touching on water main management and emerging projects, and pump station projects.

Water quality

During Schneider’s presentation, attendees could ask questions, some of the most frequently asked centered around drinking water quality and what the authority adds and detects within our drinking water. Concerns for fluoride inclusion and potency arose from several attendees. Schneider eased the worry by explaining what the water authority does to regulate water quality.

“We add very small amounts of chlorine to our water. The chlorine kills any germs or bacteria that might be present in the water mains and as the water is delivered to you. The water as it comes from the ground is free of harmful bacteria,” Schneider said. “We also add a chemical called [hydrated] lime. The water we pump from our aquifers is slightly acidic, which can damage the pipes in your home over a long time. [Hydrated] lime makes the water less acidic, protecting the pipes in your home from corrosion.”

Schneider continued explaining the danger of the bacteria that are commonly found in untreated water:

“It’s keeping water safe. You don’t want to grow bacteria — bacteria is the stuff that will get you sick. There are no bacteria in the groundwater, and we want to ensure that the distribution system is safe. That’s why the chlorine is added, by law.” 

The director recommended using filtration systems like ones built into refrigerators for those who are more sensitive to the added chemicals.

Schneider continued his presentation by touching on the groundwater laboratory — what it is, what it does and how it tests Suffolk County’s groundwater.

“We are consistently considered the largest groundwater laboratory in the country because we have 600 wells. We have 600 wells on 240 pieces of property,” Schneider explained. 

“We test samples at the wellhead. We’re testing what’s in the source water and what’s in the groundwater before we do anything to it,” Schneider said. “Last year, we did 91,000 samples for about 190,000 different tests. We tested for 414 different parameters, more than what’s regulated. We have such a great laboratory, we have a lot of technical equipment, we have a lot of good scientists, we’re doing more than what’s required.”

He mentioned that if there is an environmental concern near any of SCWA’s wells or if traces of a regulated constituent have been found at a well site, SCWA will test at a greater frequency.

Schneider explained that when wells are in need of remediation, SCWA will use treatment systems, such as granular activated carbon, to remove contaminants from the water supply so the water SCWA serves always meets state and federal regulations. 

In addition to the monitoring that SCWA does on a regular basis, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services also routinely performs tests of the public water supply at the wellhead and at various parts of the distribution system. The purpose of all this monitoring is to ensure that the highest quality water is served to consumers.

Another topic of concern addressed by the director was how safe is bottled water, a question the water authority has been addressing on a more regular basis. 

“Bottled water actually has less regulation than drinking water,” Schneider explained. “It’s not regulated by the EPA, it’s regulated by the FDA but they have different rules. They’re not required to test for a lot of the emerging contaminants like we do in New York state.”

“Now there’s the concern about bottles — so when they manufacture the bottle, the manufacturing process imposes plastic microbeads in the water when opening and closing the tap and also releases plastic in the water,” he added. 

Schneider urged everyone to be mindful of consuming plastics, reminding attendees that it is more cost-effective to get your own container and not deal with the waste from plastic.

“Plastic is not really recyclable like they say — it ends up in our landfills and oceans,” Schneider said.

The SCWA encouraged all interested residents to participate in their events in person or virtually, emphasizing the importance of understanding and safeguarding the community’s drinking water, as it is one of Suffolk County’s most precious natural resources.

Residents interested in attending a WaterTalk can register by emailing [email protected]. The WaterTalk is also accessible virtually through a link available on SCWA’s website for those unable to attend in person. For more information about the event, visit SCWA’s website, www.scwa.com.

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