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Town of Brookhaven

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Teen Driver Safety Program. Photo from TOB

Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Daniel Losquadro is announcing several free safety programs at Safety Town at the Holtsville Ecology Site, 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville for Town of Brookhaven residents this spring.

Teen Driver Safety Program. Photo from TOB

First up is the Teen Driver Safety Program on Thursday, May 11, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Teenagers 15 and older and their parents are invited to participate in an interactive experience exhibiting the dangers of texting or drinking and driving. During this intense, real-life program, certified instructors with many years of defensive driving and accident investigation experience will talk with participants about the importance of developing safe habits when traveling the roadways. Teens will then use electric cars to complete obstacle courses designed to simulate driving while texting and impaired.

Child Safety Seat Check. Photo from TOB

The Traffic Safety Department is hosting a Child Safety Seat Check at on Saturday, May 20, from 8 a.m. to noon. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, along with certified technicians from the Brookhaven Highway Department, will be on hand to inspect car seats and make sure children are riding in the right car seats for their age and size as they grow.

Bicycle Rodeo. Photo from TOB

Also on Saturday, May 20, the Brookhaven Highway Department will host a Bicycle Rodeo from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event encourages children to learn how to safely ride their bikes in a mock-roadway, kid-sized setting. Participants of all ages will be evaluated and given feedback on their own bicycle-handling abilities, after proper bicycle safety skills are demonstrated. Participants are required to bring their own helmets and bicycles; both will be inspected for safety.

All programs are funded in part by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with a grant from the New York State Governors Traffic Safety Committee.

All events are by appointment only; call 631-451-5335 to reserve your spot.

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METRO photo

Long Island has an impending garbage crisis, and the Town of Brookhaven is at the center of it. As Brookhaven voters prepare to elect their next town supervisor and town council representatives, they must keep this garbage issue at the top of their minds.

Given the complexity of municipal government and the scope of its influence, a local election can never be reduced to a single issue. Still, the Brookhaven Town landfill will have an outsized role in townwide elections this year, affecting every resident in the town and citizens across Long Island.

Opened in 1974, the Brookhaven landfill is the largest on Long Island and the centerpiece of waste collection for the region. In a 2019 thesis paper, Katlin Stath wrote, “the landfill isn’t isolated from the rest of Long Island since it is an integral part of the functioning of the Island’s waste management system.”

However, the landfill is near capacity, with plans in place to close the facility to construction and demolition debris by next year, and expectations to close the site completely two years later. The impending landfill closure, therefore, represents one of the great environmental, governmental and social dilemmas of our time.

Brookhaven Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) and Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, a Democrat, have won their respective party’s nominations for this year’s contest for town supervisor. Six months from Election Day, it is time for both candidates to begin preparing comprehensive proposals for this facility.

Though the exact figure is difficult to pinpoint, the landfill is estimated to represent two-fifths of the town’s public revenue. How do the candidates for supervisor plan to make up for the loss of income? Will the town increase taxes on residents? Are there other ways to boost revenue without raising taxes amid this inflationary period?

While the plans are imprecise, officials across levels of government seem poised to begin shipping our trash off the Island by rail. Though garbage-by-rail occurs in other places around the country, is it the optimal solution to our problem? We remind leaders that any plan for shipping trash on train lines must be environmentally and ecologically sustainable.

Our mass transit network on Long Island is dilapidated to begin with. Many residents along the North Shore commute to Manhattan via Jamaica in railcars powered by diesel, a 19th-century-era technology. Will our garbage crisis compel the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch once and for all?

How will moving garbage by rail affect other facets of our transportation network, such as our roadways, waterways and airways? It seems plausible that adding greater volume to our rails will incentivize riders to drive, potentially compounding our traffic congestion troubles.

Finally, we suspect the landfill may have harmed generations of residents of North Bellport and Yaphank, who have endured the possible detrimental health and environmental impacts of living in close proximity to this site.

We regret that the Brookhaven Town Board voted unanimously last year to gerrymander Council District 4 — which includes North Bellport and Yaphank — disempowering the most important voices in this landfill closure dialogue, potentially denying them a true champion on the Town Board to expedite the facility’s closure.

We nonetheless encourage both candidates for town supervisor to coordinate closely with the residents of that hamlet and members of the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group, an advocacy organization that has fought for years to close this facility.

While decisions over the landfill closure are ongoing, Brookhaven citizens will have a stake in this effort. The November election for supervisor and Town Council represents a unique opportunity for the public to guide this process.

We encourage residents to start preparing their questions and for candidates to start preparing their answers. With six months until Election Day, let the landfill conversation get rolling. Permanent closure is just around the corner.

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Illustration by Kyle Horne: @kylehorneart • kylehorneart.com

Last week’s special election for the Town of Brookhaven’s 3rd Council District has both major political parties finding silver linings.

Former Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) vacated his seat in February following a January special election for town clerk. To fill the vacancy and complete LaValle’s unexpired term ending in December, Republican Neil Manzella — also of Selden — defeated Democrat Alyson Bass from Centereach on Tuesday, April 25, by a 57-43% margin, according to an unofficial tally by the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Manzella’s win reinforces his party’s stronghold on the town government. Republicans again hold a 6-1 majority on the Town Board and occupy nine of the 10 elected offices townwide. Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (Stony Brook) is the lone Democrat.

“While I wish that there were more people that did vote,” Manzella said, “I am very happy with the decent size turnout for a special election,” which was just over 2,800 ballots cast. “I think both sides did a great job of getting that vote out.”

To Bass, he added, “I think that she should be very proud. They held an incredibly respectable campaign.”

Since the establishment of councilmanic districts in 2002, a Democrat has never held the 3rd District. Despite their historical struggles, there are some positive takeaways for the losing side. 

LaValle won CD3 in 2019 by more than 30 points. Bass cut that margin by more than half.

“Given the fact that my campaign was more of a grassroots campaign, I feel very proud for the level of fundraising that we did and with the outcome,” Bass told TBR News Media. “We were way outspent, we were outmanned. And I think that our numbers were very strong.”

Two-part election

Manzella’s victory celebration will be short-lived as both CD3 candidates are already back on the campaign trail for the general election.

“While I did win now, I will be the acting councilman but only through [December],” Manzella said. “This doesn’t stop. This campaigning continues straight through November.”

Bass also had this understanding, indicating that when she accepted the nomination for the special election, she committed to running in November regardless of its outcome.

“The four-year term was always the goal,” she said, adding that her campaign will continue through November.

Heads of the ticket

The CD3 race provides an early measure of public moods ahead of the townwide elections later this year. As the focus shifts away from the 3rd District, all eyes are on the top of the ticket, where there is an open contest.

Incumbent Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) will not headline the ticket for the first time in over a decade, instead pursuing the county’s top office in the race to succeed Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D), who is term-limited. Romaine’s opponent will be Democratic nominee, Dave Calone.

Brookhaven Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) and Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, a Democrat, have each secured their party’s nod for town supervisor.

In separate interviews, both candidates reflected upon the outcome in Middle Country and its implications for their respective quests to succeed Romaine.

“I think Ms. Bass should be extremely proud of herself,” Garant said, referring to the 14% margin of victory. “That’s a pretty significant gain, especially in a special election where you only had about 3 percent voter turnout overall in that district.”

Despite her favored candidate coming up short, Garant said she and her party are “encouraged by that result, and we’re going to continue to work on the messaging and the issues as they exist and continue to make sure we’re knocking on doors, making people aware of what the existing conditions are.”

Panico sang a slightly different tune than his opponent, though also optimistic for November. The deputy supervisor referred to the outcome as “a very strong message for our team” as the party pivots to the general election.

Manzella’s win, Panico said, reflected the strength of the Republican committee’s efforts and the resonance of its platform with Brookhaven voters. He further regarded the outcome as a vote of confidence for the current Town Board.

“When you’re doing the right thing by the residents — and the residents are very aware — they take notice,” Panico said. “The members of the Town Board on my team, I expect, will be reelected as well” in November.

Six months out of the general election, Panico said he has already begun campaigning townwide, expressing confidence that his campaign is registering with Brookhaven residents and forecasting a favorable outcome.

“I expect to be victorious in November and plan on running a vigorous campaign on the issues that matter to the residents of Brookhaven Town,” he said.

Based on recent electoral history, Garant’s campaign faces certain obstacles this election cycle. Her party has not held the supervisor’s chair since 2012 when Mark Lesko resigned mid-term, to be replaced by Romaine. 

The Port Jeff mayor nonetheless remained hopeful about her prospects, viewing her platform as appealing to the centrist wing of the town — a faction she believes will determine the victor.

“We think that we have a good platform,” she said. “We’re going to do our best to make sure that it resonates with the people not on the extremes, but with the majority of people who live here, which are the more moderate voters.”

Assessing political strategies

Anthony Portesy is chair of the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee. Like Garant and Bass, he regarded the election result in CD3 as promising for the Democratic slate come November. The Brookhaven Town Republican Committee did not respond to requests for comment.

“I’m very, very encouraged” by last week’s outcome, Portesy said. “When you take out the conservative line, their margin of victory was a mere 73 votes. That is incredible for that district, and it shows the quality of the candidate that we put up in Alyson Bass.”

Panico viewed Manzella’s elevation to the Town Board as favorable for Republicans. Citing his party’s sizable majority in town government, he added why he believes Republicans are registering with the electorate.

“There’s no secret recipe,” the Republican supervisor candidate said. “There’s not one thing that I would point to with regard to the electoral edge. With regard to the political composition of the town representatives, it’s simply that the people who are elected do the job they were elected to do.”

He criticized the opposition party’s messaging, stating its recent electoral track record reflects an unpopular platform with voters.

“I think the state of the local Democratic Party is part and parcel of their platform,” he said. “As they embrace a platform that has been rejected by the vast majority of residents — regardless of political affiliation — in the Town of Brookhaven, I think that is going to continue to be a problem for their party, and it shows in their elections.”

Garant rejected this notion entirely, pointing to Bass’ narrowing of the gap in CD3 as a testament to her party’s upward trajectory. The mayor suggested that the current board has not adequately addressed Brookhaven’s multiplying quality-of-life concerns, which may begin cutting into its majority.

“I think there are a lot of people who are very concerned with the declining lifestyle and the declining quality of life and the conditions in their neighborhoods,” she said.

Portesy centered his focus around the town landfill, which constitutes a significant chunk of the town’s overall public revenue and is set to close in the coming years. 

The party leader contended that the current board is ill-prepared for the looming budgetary shortfall precipitating from the facility’s eventual closure.

“The town dropped the ball on replacing the revenue for the landfill,” the Democratic committee chair said. “They love to tell you about the AAA bond rating, but the AAA bond rating doesn’t go into discussing the fact that that’s based on their present finances, not after the landfill closes and we’re losing millions and millions of dollars.”

Still, Portesy committed to recalibrating his party’s messaging over the coming weeks, working on expanding the Democratic get-out-the-vote initiative through additional door-knocking volunteers and other measures to generate voter interest and boost turnout.

“We’re going to be retooling our message over the next couple of months, making sure that we’re hitting the doors that we have to hit and making sure we’re convincing voters that our path is the path forward for Brookhaven Town,” he said.

Though beaten in round one, Bass kept an upbeat attitude for round two. “There are enough Democrats in this district and in this town to make us victorious,” she said. “We need to come across with messaging that resonates, and I think there are some strategic things we need to work on as far as unity and approach.”

She added that the small sample size last week was unreflective of the public will overall, suggesting a larger turnout in November could work in her favor.

Manzella, a former member of the town Republican committee, attributes much of his success to the party operation.

“Getting out there and spreading the word about an election, and then spreading the word of the candidate, is the most crucial part of any campaign,” the councilman-elect said. “Our committee has a lot of volunteers, a lot of people who are passionate about this. It’s that strength, as a unified whole, that is able to get this message out to the voters.”

Portesy viewed Romaine’s run for county executive as a unique opening for town Democrats. Given the scope of the town supervisor’s powers, the party chair maintained that filling that seat with a Democrat would be the committee’s primary objective.

“The vision for the town always comes from the executive,” he said. “Making sure that we get Margot Garant elected in November is going to go a long way,” adding, “Our number one goal is to take back the town supervisor.”

Both parties have just over six months before voters hit the polls on Nov. 7.

Illustration by Kyle Horne

@kylehorneart • kylehorneart.com

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Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, center, swears in Ira Costell, right, and Carolyn Sagliocca as president and vice president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association. Photo by Raymond Janis

The newly reconfigured executive board of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association went straight to work Tuesday night during the body’s general meeting April 25.

Nearly six dozen people turned out as former civic president Ed Garboski and vice president Sal Pitti left their posts, transitioning leadership authority to Ira Costell and Carolyn Sagliocca, respectively. 

Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and representatives of state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) were all in attendance.

Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) officiated over a formal swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected civic officers. He thanked the departing civic leaders and congratulated their successors.

“There’s an energy in this community that we haven’t felt in years,” he said. “It’s a whole new optimism, and in large part, that’s because of the drive out of this civic organization.”

To Garboski and Pitti, the councilmember added, “You two are fantastic civic leaders, and I have every confidence that the new board will continue to focus and do the work that you’ve done.”

The newly reconfigured executive board of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association during a general meeting on Tuesday, April 25. Photo by Raymond Janis

Land use

Costell quickly got moving, announcing the creation of a land use committee headed by Sagliocca, which will monitor development and related land use activities within the hamlet.

Further expanding on this theme, Costell articulated his vision for overseeing the redevelopment of the area, narrowing his focus around the projected $100 million proposed investment into Jefferson Plaza, owned by Staller Associates.

“The Staller project is the keystone, if you will, about the entire development of our little hamlet,” he said.

Between the Jefferson Plaza proposal, several planned retirement communities throughout the hamlet and significant residential development in Upper Port, Costell described PJS/T as looking at challenges associated with population density.

“I think it’s incumbent upon us as an organization to register our desire and intention to seek new planning overall, to bring a traffic study and some of the impacts of all of these things cumulatively,” the civic president said. 

He added, “I’d like to go in front of the [Brookhaven] Town Board and express our concern that our little hamlet needs some attention, that we’ve gotten a whole lot of multifamily activity here that we welcome but want done in a fashion and manner that’s going to ameliorate the impacts on existing residents and invite new people in.”

Kornreich concurred with this assessment in part, stating that overdevelopment represents a danger to the quality of life in the area.

“I agree with you that overdevelopment is one of the gravest threats that we face in the destruction of the suburbs, both in respect to our way of life and from an environmental standpoint,” the councilmember said.

Town natural gas program

Kornreich informed the body on a cost-savings strategy for consumers of natural gas. 

Recently, the town launched its Community Choice Aggregation program, partnering with Manhattan-based Good Energy to deliver a fixed rate on natural gas at 69 cents per therm. [See story, “Community Choice Aggregation: Town of Brookhaven joins energy revolution,” March 9, TBR News Media website.]

The councilmember said ratepayers could potentially save hundreds of dollars per year by strategically opting in and out of the CCA program based on the gas price from National Grid.

“Essentially, you can opt in and out at any time as many times as you want for free,” he said.

To save money, he encouraged residents to closely monitor National Grid’s service rates, published at the beginning of every month. “When that price is lower than 69 cents, you stay on National Grid,” he said. “When it goes over, you switch over.”

Based on a model he had conducted for his bill measuring the CCA against the National Grid price, Kornreich projected he would have saved approximately $250 last year.

“This month, in the month of April, National Grid’s price is 35 cents a therm,” he said, adding, “It’s half the price of the CCA … so I’m opting out.”

Reports

A Suffolk County Police Department officer delivered a report on public safety, noting that the phenomenon of catalytic converter theft within the area remains ongoing. The 6th Precinct also observed a slight increase in petit larcenies from this time last year.

He remarked on the new speed cameras installed on the Long Island Expressway. [See story, “New York implements new work-zone enforcement program.”] . The officer reported that during testing, the cameras generated roughly 6,500 summons within a 45-minute window. 

“Please be careful when you get on the LIE,” he said, adding jokingly, “That’s not a county thing. That’s a state thing, so please don’t call us and complain.”

Comsewogue High School students Kylie and Max updated the civic on various developments within the school district. The Spanish Honor Society at the high school recently held a fundraiser to buy Progresso soup donated to the Pax Christi Hospitality Center in Port Jefferson.

Andrea Malchiodi, assistant director of Comsewogue Public Library, announced that the library is conducting a raffle for all cardholders as part of National Library Week. “We’re doing a huge raffle basket, so anybody who is a library card holder can go and put in a raffle to win this fun basket,” she said.

The library is also collecting pet food for a collection drive through Long Island Cares.

PJSTCA corresponding secretary, Charlie McAteer, reported that the town would be holding a Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 29, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Train Car Park in Port Jefferson Station.

McAteer also said that the Friends of the Greenway would conduct their next cleanup on Saturday, May 13, at 9 a.m. at the Port Jefferson Station trailhead. This cleanup will coincide with this year’s iteration of the Great Brookhaven Cleanup.

PJSTCA will meet again on Tuesday, May 23, at 7 p.m. at Comsewogue Public Library.

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Sound Beach Civic Association President Bea Ruberto, left, and Dorothy Cavalier, Democratic candidate for Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District, celebrate during the hamlet’s 2nd annual Spring Festival. Photo by Raymond Janis

Along New York Avenue in Sound Beach, before rows of storefronts and restaurant spaces — some filled, others not — thousands gathered on Saturday, April 22, for the 2nd annual Sound Beach Spring Festival and Street Fair.

The event featured dozens of local businesses and merchants tabling outside, along with food stands, face painting, music and other festivities.

The annual festival is hosted by the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce, an organization founded in 2018 to draw businesses and economic development into the neighboring hamlets.

Gary Pollakusky, president and executive director of RPSBCC, said there was a two-year gap in the first and second festivals due to COVID-19. With public health concerns abating, the chamber picked up where it had left off before the pandemic.

“We had, I’d say, over 65 vendors, and we had thousands of people come through, all seeing for the first time some of the new businesses in Sound Beach,” he said.

Bea Ruberto is president of the Sound Beach Civic Association, the leading advocacy group representing the hamlet’s roughly 7,000 residents. She has been a leader in raising awareness for this private beach community.

“One of the things that we as a civic have tried to do for years is make people aware that we exist, make our representatives aware that we exist,” she said. 

To do that, Ruberto has been forceful in distinguishing Sound Beach for its unique history and local identity. She authored “Sound Beach: Our Town, Our Story,” which was recently adapted into the documentary film, “The History Upon Our Shores: Sound Beach, NY.” 

Gary Pollakusky, above, president and executive director of the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Raymond Janis

The historical uniqueness of Sound Beach established, Ruberto has her sights on the future. She said the annual spring festival represents a vital organ in drawing attention to the area. 

“I love it because it brings people outside of Sound Beach into Sound Beach,” she said. “We want people to get to know about our community.”

Though several restaurants and merchants are in business, the commercial strip is a ways away from a fully formed, traditional main street. That, Pollakusky said, will require additional advocacy work to keep occupants of the storefronts commercially viable.

“Seeing businesses come and go is heartbreaking sometimes because those are families that are local and that are losing their livelihoods,” he said. “To see a business that did everything that it could to survive and then fail, it’s heartbreaking.”

Pollakusky indicated that countering these trends will take time and effort from local organizations and government. He outlined his aspirations for the hamlet.

“I’d like to see that our storefronts are filled,” he said. “I’d like to see that people want to come to Sound Beach to live and to patronize our businesses.” The chamber president added, “I’d like to see that we have a robust business community that is self-sustaining.”

Putting this vision into action is not so cut and dry. Consistently, Sound Beach has competed for and lost out on limited grant funding against established downtown districts also debilitated by the pandemic. 

The commercial district’s small size is another limiting factor, cutting the hamlet off from certain types of grants.

“Sound Beach does not have a downtown,” Ruberto said. “We have two commercial nodes. Therefore, a lot of the downtown revitalization grant funding we can’t have.” The civic president added, “That has to be fixed.”

The Sound Beach commercial district is currently zoned J-2, a general business zoning classification typical for retail spaces. For Sound Beach to qualify for downtown revitalization funding, the Town of Brookhaven would have to rezone the hamlet to J-6, a Main Street Business classification.

Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) represents Sound Beach on the Town Board. Reached by phone, she commented on the difficulties of Sound Beach making use of those granting opportunities, stressing that Suffolk County should consider easing the criteria for qualification.

“Those funds are hard to come by,” she said. “I think the onus is on the county in being a little more flexible” in dispersing downtown revitalization funds.

 

Map of the Sound Beach commercial district, which is currently zoned J-2, a general business classification. Graphic from the Town of Brookhaven website

Currently, Sound Beach has much of the look and feel of a traditional downtown despite lacking the zoning classification of one. Bonner nonetheless remained open to the proposal to rezone the commercial district to J-6, potentially giving the hamlet a proper downtown and opening it to grants. 

“If any business owner wanted to come in to become J-6, it’s certainly something that we would obviously entertain,” the councilwoman said.

The U.S. Census Bureau indicates that Sound Beach’s population shrunk by more than 2.5% between 2010 and 2020. This population decline is comparable to those of neighboring hamlets in the area, including Rocky Point, Miller Place and Mount Sinai.

Dorothy Cavalier, legislative aide to Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), is running to fill the seat of her boss this November as Anker is term limited. 

The candidate remarked upon the need for a larger governmental initiative to return small businesses to the area and keep residents from leaving the county for the Sun Belt. 

“We’re losing a lot of people to Down South and other places, and we really need to figure out how to get them to stay here,” Cavalier said. “We need to get the small businesses back here because once we get the businesses to come back, the people will follow. They’ll stay.”

In the meantime, Bonner emphasized that the businesses in Sound Beach are still recovering from the aftermath of the pandemic. To support those businesses, she encouraged the community to continue patronizing local mom-and-pops in their hour of need.

“The pandemic really brought a lot of people to their knees financially, and our small businesses are the ones that suffered the most,” she said. “That’s why we have to invest with our dollars, to shop locally and support them.”

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Left to right: Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, Scott Declue, Joe Cristino and Neil DeVine at the town-operated Port Jefferson Boat Ramp. Photo by Raymond Janis

On a rainy evening in April 2017, Smithtown resident Joe Cristino drove north on Barnum Avenue in Port Jefferson when he approached the intersection of West Broadway.

Between poor visibility and unfamiliarity with the sideroads, Cristino continued straight as the light turned green. This decision would prove to be nearly fatal.

Within seconds, Cristino’s vehicle was in the Port Jefferson Harbor, having plunged off the Brookhaven Town boat ramp just west of the marina. Six years later, he and two indivduals who helped save his life met with Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornriech (D-Stony Brook) at the scene to discuss potential progress.

Cristino recalled the moment he drove off the dock. “I see that I’m in the water, so I screamed out, ‘Help, please help,’ and I saw two people at the dock, and they came running into the water,” he remembered. “Next thing I know, I’m in the hospital.”

Cristino lost consciousness for hours, placed in a medically induced coma. Doctors did not know if he would be brain dead. He remained hospitalized for five days following the incident. 

Luckily for him, there were two good Samaritans — Scott Declue and Neil DeVine — who helped to pull him from the water, saving his life.

Declue, who had braved the 38-degree water to pull Cristino from the car, remembered the trauma of looking into the eyes of a seemingly dying man.

“It’s something you never forget,” he said. “All I remember was looking at him and seeing those eyes, like, ‘You’re my only hope.’” 

Declue recalled Cristino’s precarious physical condition: “He was foaming at the mouth, and when they pulled him out, he was in a [near] rigor mortis form, frozen.” 

DeVine had jumped into the water as well. Along with Tony Barton and Wayne Rampone Jr., DeVine helped to pull a life-rescue line and ring carrying Cristino and Declue, lifting them from the frigid water.

DeVine, a Port Jefferson resident, remarked upon the severity of the moment. “To fail at this attempt would have changed our lives dramatically,” he said.

Cristino, Declue and DeVine remain friends, united by shared trauma. 

Town of Brookhaven officials are working to alleviate longtime public safety concerns over the intersection of Barnum Avenue and West Broadway in Port Jefferson. Under the new plan, above, the town aims to redesign its boat ramp exit while adding landscaping and signage. Graphic courtesy Jonathan Kornreich

Layout changes

In December, Nassau resident Stuart Dorfman was pronounced dead at the scene after driving off the same dock. [See story, “Man suffers medical emergency, drives off dock in Port Jefferson,” TBR News Media website.] Six years after the original incident, the boat ramp remains the same.

DeVine, who passes by the intersection frequently, described an unnerving feeling of hearing about another tragedy. “Reading that in the paper definitely stirred up some feelings there,” he said. 

‘This hopefully will never happen again.’

— Jonathan Kornreich

The Town of Brookhaven is taking tangible steps toward remediating the issue. Kornreich, whose 1st Council District includes Port Jefferson, attended the dock reunion with Cristino, Declue and DeVine.

Kornreich noted that the dock issue first came to his attention after reading about the most recent fatality at the site, after which he approached the town parks commissioner, Edward Morris, asking for a redesign. The commissioner complied with the request. 

“There have been a number of these kinds of incidents,” the councilmember said. “We’re getting ready to repave over here, so as part of that I asked the parks commissioner, and we’ve redesigned” the intersection.

Kornreich presented engineering plans for the redesign, which include closing off much of the existing exit to traffic while adding trees and additional signage. The councilmember said the proposed layout changes should go into effect in the coming months.

Resolutions

Upon hearing the story of Cristino’s near-death experience, Kornreich expressed both consolation for the victim and optimism for the site’s future.

“This hopefully will never happen again,” he said to Cristino. “What you went through, no one should have to endure.”

Assessing the engineering plans, Declue remarked, “This is amazing compared to what’s going on here now.”

‘The only regret is that it didn’t happen sooner.’

— Neil DeVine

On why the safety hazard has stood unchanged for so many years, Kornreich suggested that simple solutions require the necessary public attention and political initiative. “It’s not politics, it’s not complicated,” the councilmember said. “It’s just that someone has to say, ‘Hey, there’s a problem here, and let’s fix it.’”

DeVine conveyed his confidence in the new plan. “The only regret is that it didn’t happen sooner,” he said. “But I’m happy that things are going to get done now, and I’m so thankful that Joe is here with us today.”

Declue noted that tragic events do not always come to tidy resolutions. He thanked Kornreich and the town for recognizing the public’s concern and putting a plan in place. 

“You don’t have good outcomes like this all the time,” he said.

As for Cristino, who opted not to sue the town for the injuries he sustained, he remained appreciative of the potential remedy, though reminding the town not to let up until the intersection is made safe for all.

“Let’s try to get the ball rolling so that no one else will have to suffer a horrible event as I had,” he said.

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JoAnne Hewett has been named the new BNL director. Photo from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

For the first time in its over 75-year history, Brookhaven National Laboratory named its first female lab director.

JoAnne Hewett, associate lab director for fundamental physics and chief research officer at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, will take over the top job at BNL this summer.

Hewett will also join Stony Brook University as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Hewett “is not only incredibly qualified and talented, but will also make history as the first woman to serve in this critical role,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who is the first woman elected governor of the Empire State, said in a statement. “The lab has developed innovative ways to deliver on New York’s top priorities, from battling disease to acting on climate change, that are making a difference today and for the future of New York.”

Hewett, who was the first woman member at SLAC in 1994, conducts research as a theoretical physicist, exploring the fundamental nature of space, matter and energy. Her work in physics focuses on efforts beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.

Stony Brook University Distinguished Professor and Director of the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics George Sterman described her hire as a “wonderful turn of events.”

In an email, Sterman wrote that her work “as a theoretical physicist has earned wide admiration, and her leadership has helped shape the national program in fundamental particles.”

Sterman suggested Hewett’s research “continues to influence experiments worldwide, and her perspectives will be greatly valued by her new colleagues at Stony Brook.”

With over 2,800 scientists, engineers, technicians and professionals and an annual budget of about $700 million, the researchers at BNL tap into the site’s state-of-the-art technology, including the National Synchrotron Lightsource II. These researchers, and the many scientists from around the country and the world, work in fields including nuclear and high energy physics, clean energy and climate science, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, photon sciences, isotope production, accelerator science and technology and national security.

Hewett is coming to BNL as it prepares to begin construction on the Electron-Ion Collider, or EIC. Estimated to cost between $1.7 billion and $2.8 billion, the EIC will allow researchers to look inside the nucleus at the protons and neutrons. The research will reveal the arrangement of quarks and gluons that make up the protons and neutrons of nuclei.

Discoveries from the EIC could lead to future technologies.

“I am head-over-heels excited to build the EIC in partnership with Jefferson Lab to unlock the mysteries of the force that binds Nature’s building blocks, to strengthen connections to industry and the community with Discovery Park, and to advance the multi-program missions of the lab,” Hewett said in a statement. “And I’m very much looking forward to working with everyone at Brookhaven, Stony Brook and the DOE to usher the lab into its next successful chapter.”

The lab is also building a new welcome center, the Science and User Support Group, which is the first building planned for Discovery Park.

Maurie McInnis, president of SBU and co-chair of the BSA Board of Directors, which is a partnership between SBU and Battelle, welcomed Hewett, who will start this summer, to BNL.

Hewett’s “capable leadership, experience and future-forward vision complements Brookhaven National Laboratory’s continued focus on scientific innovation and discovery,” McInnis said in a statement. “The University is pleased to bring her expertise to the Physics and Astronomy Department and to the C.N. Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics, both of which have had “long-standing and critical connections to many major physics achievements at BNL.”

The next few months

Hewett takes over the top job at the lab from Doon Gibbs, who had been in that position from 2013. Gibbs is retiring on April 17.

“I am grateful to [Gibbs] for his outstanding leadership of Brookhaven and his long legacy of building and strengthening the lab for advancing scientific discovery,” Hewett said in a statement.

Jack Anderson, BNL’s deputy director for operations, will serve as the interim lab director until Hewett joins the lab.

Tom Daniels, the current ALD for Facilities and Operations will serve as interim deputy director.

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Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden, left, Michael Schwarting, partner of Campani and Schwarting Architects, center, and trustee Rebecca Kassay. Photos by Raymond Janis

Between rising sea levels, more frequent and intense storms and a changing climate, the Village of Port Jefferson is also addressing longstanding flooding concerns.

Public officials, architects and residents gathered at Village Hall on Wednesday, April 5, sharing updated findings of the ongoing village Climate Resilience Plan in a community workshop. With water targeting the village from all angles, data is being used to develop new intervention strategies.

“The Village of Port Jefferson, Drowned Meadow if you will [the village’s original name], has had unending issues with flooding as a result of topography, tides, runoff, rains, storms, a shallow water table and many other issues,” said Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden. “I believe tonight’s workshop will be extremely helpful in moving Port Jefferson toward the ability to implement a responsible and solid resiliency plan.”

Trustee Rebecca Kassay, the village’s sustainability commissioner, updated the public on the status of the Project Advisory Committee. Composed of residents, contractors, Conservation Advisory Council members and Amani Hosein, legislative aide to Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook), the PAC is pursuing the Climate Resilience Plan for the village with a focus on flooding.

The study is made possible by an $82,500 grant from the New York State Department of State to fund the creation of the Port Jeff plan. Michael Schwarting is a partner of the local Campani and Schwarting Architects, one of the firms hired to carry out various tasks associated with the grant. During the meeting, he updated the public on the study’s findings.

Flooding: an Achilles’ heel

Schwarting analyzed Port Jeff’s long history of flooding using historical aerial photographs and maps. He identified various hidden water bodies, such as Crystal Lake near the fire station and other creeks and streams, flowing beneath the existing built environment in Lower Port.

“The maps tell us a good deal about the conditions, and what we know is that it’s all still there,” he said. “That water is underground, and it doesn’t go away.”

Schwarting said three factors work to exacerbate flooding conditions: rising tides, waters below the surface and low-lying topography. “Those three things interact with one another to cause the problems that we’ve been having in the past, are still having and will have in a worse way, according to predictions,” the architect said.

The village is simultaneously afflicted by water from above, with projections for more frequent and intense precipitation events due to climate change. “The prediction is that the storms are going to increase,” Schwarting said, adding that as global sea levels rise, Port Jeff Harbor is projected to begin spilling over into much of the downtown business district.

Potential solutions 

Despite the challenges ahead, Schwarting maintained that there are some natural remedies to help counteract these threats.

Storm drainage systems and rain gardens, for example, are already in place, collecting and channeling some of the stormwater load into the ground. Bioswales, bioretention planters and permeable pavement systems offer other modes of stormwater discharge and filtration, assigning it a reuse function as well.

The architect also proposed transitioning hardscape surfaces along the harbor, such as the Town of Brookhaven parking lot, as green space, which could add scenic value while acting as a floodwater sponge.

The next stages of the study will involve collecting more resident feedback and defining projects worth public consideration. Schwarting said a similar meeting would take place as those phases progress.

“We will start to move toward solving the problem now that we have spent quite a bit of time understanding the problem,” Schwarting said.

Kassay acknowledged the complexities of the flooding question, referring to these initial findings as “a little overwhelming.” Despite this, she maintained that planning and intervention remain the proper path forward.

“The only thing worse than digging into this problem is to ignore it because it’s happening, whether or not we do something,” she said. “We really need to come together to prioritize, make these decisions and support this work so that it is guided toward the result that you wish to see as a community.”

 

 

To view the full presentation and the Q&A portion of the meeting, see video above. To respond to the Port Jefferson Village Climate Resilience Survey, scan the QR code.

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Alyson Bass, left, and Neil Manzella are the Democratic and Republican nominees, respectively, for the Town of Brookhaven’s 3rd Council District. Left from Bass’ LinkedIn page; right courtesy Manzella

The eyes of Brookhaven are upon Middle Country, where a special election later this month will help gauge the pulse of the people.

Former Town of Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) took over as town clerk in February, vacating his seat on the Town Board and triggering a special election Tuesday, April 25, to complete his unexpired term ending in December.

The 3rd Council District spans Centereach, Selden and Lake Grove, with parts of Lake Ronkonkoma, Farmingville, Port Jefferson Station and Holtsville. Republicans currently occupy eight of the town’s 10 elected offices and hold a 5-1 majority on the Town Board. 

Less than three weeks until Election Day, citizens townwide will be watching CD3, with implications for general elections this November.

Attorney Alyson Bass and civil servant Neil Manzella have received the town Democratic and Republican committee nods, respectively. 

Bass, of Centereach, worked in private practice before entering the Suffolk County Attorney’s Office, where she currently deals with procurements, contracts and legislative drafting while coordinating with law enforcement agencies.

She is also involved in various community activities, serving as vice president of the Greater Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce and president-elect of the Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association.

“My whole entire career was built on helping people, resolving problems and communicating,” she said in an interview. “To some extent, I’ve always felt that I was in public service to some degree because of the nature of my work,” adding that pursuing elective office “feels like a natural progression for me.”

Manzella, of Selden, has held various civil service posts throughout his professional career, working in the information technology department at the William Floyd and Longwood school districts before transferring to the Suffolk County Board of Elections. He currently works in the Town of Brookhaven Assessor’s Office, where he has been for five years.

“Ever since I got involved in government, I’ve loved being able to serve the community,” he told TBR News Media. “I was offered this opportunity to run for an office that can really focus my attention on my home community, and I jumped at the opportunity.”

Policies

Bass indicated that the 3rd District is simultaneously grappling with several quality-of-life concerns as the Town Board works to overcome the financial and logistical pitfalls associated with closing the Brookhaven landfill. This facility constitutes roughly half of the town’s public revenue.

“I think pushing to have a plan in place so that we aren’t so affected by the closure of the town dump is huge,” she said.

Given the 3rd District’s dense commercial and residential areas, Manzella highlighted the need for continual and close coordination with the town Highway Department in repaving local roadways.

“Kevin [LaValle] did a fantastic job on helping our roads, and I want to see that continued,” the Republican said.

This month’s special election comes amid calls from Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to increase statewide housing stock by 3% over three years, a plan recently ridiculed by town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R). [See this week’s story, “Brookhaven officials speak out against governor’s proposed housing plan.”]

Despite gubernatorial pressures, both candidates for CD3 preferred local municipal oversight over development projects in Middle Country. Bass, a former Queens resident, was apprehensive about applying a New York City standard to Brookhaven.

“I came back here for a reason, and I am interested in preserving the suburban lifestyle,” she said, noting that expanding affordable housing options for district residents remains “hugely important.”

Manzella centered his development aims around CD3’s commercial sector, which includes the bustling corridors of Middle Country and Portion roads. The candidate suggested the numerous undeveloped lots as a potentially lucrative tax base for the town.

“If somebody’s going to be coming in and building a shop, we don’t want to drag our feet with it,” he said. “We want to help them get through any red tape that they might hit governmentally and get them on the tax roll.”

Encouraging district residents to remain on Long Island by hosting frequent community events and activities are necessary, Manzella added. For Bass, reducing the town’s carbon footprint, promoting renewables and expanding teen programs are all on the agenda.

Prior to the special election April 25, early voting will occur at 700 Yaphank Ave., Yaphank, beginning Saturday, April 15, and running through Sunday, April 23. For more information, click here.

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Photo from Town of Brookhaven

By Nancy Marr

There is substantial agreement among environmental groups that we want a circular economy — that is, we want to reduce waste by all means possible — by reducing, re-using, repairing, and recycling our waste — so that there is none, arriving at “zero waste.”

The DEC has just released a draft solid waste management plan designed to help New York State meet the climate goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, passed in 2019. It proposes reducing waste at its source, returning materials back to productive use, and diverting waste from landfills to avoid the emission of greenhouse gases, reaching a reduction of emission by 85% by 2050. The DEC has also issued rules requiring that any facility with over 25 pounds of food scraps either donate it or take it to a designated site for recycling. (Suffolk County has only one food-recycling site, so that requirement has been waived, leaving the food in the landfill.)

Because waste removal is a town responsibility, there has been no movement toward creating a county role which could be funded by the DEC, along with its role of regulating and overseeing town operations. Much of the municipal waste in Suffolk County is incinerated, with the ash deposited in landfills in the towns of Brookhaven and Babylon. Towns without landfills are sending their waste off the island to other states, using trucks with high rates of carbon fuel emission. Construction and demolition waste from building projects, and yard waste have been recycled more successfully, except for glass, which is currently part of municipal waste. It is being studied as a subject for recycling if markets can be developed for its final stage.   

A conference held recently (by the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Scholarship Committee) at Stony Brook University with speakers on waste to energy efforts, large scale organics management, and funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, ended with a roundtable of four of the town supervisors in Suffolk County and a representative from the NYS Department of Energy Conservation who welcomed the attendance of the town supervisors and commented on the unusually large number of people in attendance, showing a growing concern with the issue of waste reduction.

The town supervisors who participated in the conference — from Brookhaven, Smithtown, Islip, and Babylon — all agreed that they communicate regularly about issues of waste and are taking steps to reduce it but they said they cannot do it alone. How do we create and implement a regional or county approach? Most of the town supervisors reported that the residents of their towns are not aware of the problem and their part in it. To reduce our emissions by 2050 will require an accurate calculation of how the population is growing and the amount and nature of the waste.

Concern about the waste problem is most often expressed by residents objecting to measures taken to deal with the problem. In Smithtown the plan to utilize rail lines to move the waste to other states has met with opposition to the idea of railroad areas, despite the fact that it would reduce the emissions from trucks from the road and reduce road traffic. In Brookhaven, plans by Winters Brothers for removing ash by rail have also been opposed. How would people react to increases in garbage collection rates if more towns implement a Pay-as-You-Throw program, although many areas of the country now use it, substantially reducing the trash they pick up.

The supervisors cited successful efforts by teachers and schools to build understanding of the waste crisis, but how can we do more? 

Community groups are leading efforts to create community composting for our farmlands, open repair cafes, and create anaerobic digesters. Small groups of concerned citizens meet regularly as Carbon Crews, to learn new ways of reducing their footprints. Larger organizations, such as Beyond Plastics, have publicized the dangers of producing and burning plastics and are working on state regulations (Extended Producer Responsibility) to make producers aware of the costs to municipalities of disposing of the waste their products create. 

We can all do more, at home and away. If each of us cannot throw away less, little will be accomplished. Watch the DEC webinar to be held on April 11 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. to describe the Draft New York State Management Plan. For more information go to https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/41831.html

Nancy Marr is vice-president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit https//my.lwv.org/new-york/suffolk-county.

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