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Moderator Chanteé Lans questions businessman Dave Calone, left photo, and Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine, right photo, on senior issues during a candidate forum Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Stony Brook University. Photos by Raymond Janis

Candidates for Suffolk County executive went before the public Tuesday evening, Oct. 10, tackling various matters related to the county’s aging population and other topics.

Held at Stony Brook University’s Charles B. Wang Center and hosted by AARP-NY, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and businessman Dave Calone (D) fielded questions mainly on how they would assist seniors if elected next month to the county’s highest post.

Chanteé Lans, Long Island correspondent for WABC-TV, moderated the candidate forum, asking questions posed by AARP members.

Calone is a former federal prosecutor with private-sector experience assisting start-ups on Long Island and nationwide. “I believe that we need new ideas, new vision and, quite frankly, new leaders to bring us into the next decade,” he said.

Before assuming the role of town supervisor, Romaine served as Suffolk County clerk and county legislator. He staked his platform for county executive upon his experience in public life.

“I’m coming to change county government for the better,” he said. “I’m coming to build a budget that’s honest, transparent and that deals with situations.”

Housing

Suffolk County residents are increasingly being priced out, from young adults to seniors entering retirement, with many opting to leave the region in favor of a cheaper cost of living elsewhere.

Romaine emphasized the need to construct new housing units to ameliorate these challenges. He pledged to use the county executive’s office to encourage federal subsidization for senior housing.

“Long Island has been shortchanged in so many ways,” he said. “I intend to be a very strong voice to advocate for Section 202/8 housing so we can have senior housing for those who can least afford it.”

Calone described housing scarcity in Suffolk as the number one issue among many residents, exacerbated further by a lack of affordability. He noted that the problem has compound effects on the small business sector, which often needs more workers who cannot afford to live in the county.

“I would appoint a county chief housing officer to work with our towns and villages to identify where we already have the infrastructure we need to be able to build housing immediately,” Calone said.

Cybersecurity

Calone said the county government must ensure it has the proper cybersecurity protections, such as cyber insurance. He supported having a cybersecurity officer oversee the county’s information technology systems.

“When it comes to individuals, we need to make sure that we take those learnings and use them to help individuals understand when they’re at risk,” he said.

Romaine said introducing cybersecurity insurance, placing the county’s data center in the cloud and conducting periodic penetration tests would be necessary to enhance cybersecurity within the county government.

“I’d have a better system than we have in the county now,” he noted.

Aging in place

To assist seniors with difficulties aging in place, Romaine proposed sweeping repeals to “regressive taxes” on home necessities.

“We tax your LIPA bill, we tax your heating fuel, we tax your natural gas, we tax your propane,” he said. “We are one of the few counties in the state that does that. I am making a commitment to repeal those taxes.”

Calone said that roadway safety would be a critical matter to support seniors. To allow for aging in place, he advocated for incentives for developers to promote senior accessibility at homes. “There are simple things we can do at the outset — when things are being built — to make sure that we have aging in place,” he said.

County voters will decide on these two candidates in under a month. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

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Ward Melville senior Robert Hauss shoots for the Patriots. Photo by Bill Landon
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Ward Melville senior Robert Hauss shoots for the Patriots. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville striker Robert Hauss scores one of his 4 goals for the Patriots. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville striker Elliot Burgueno heads the ball for the Patriots. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville defender Josh DeMeo clears the ball for the Patriots. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville mid-fielder J.T. Lips heads the ball for the Patriots. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville defender Jacob Rosenzweig looks to clear the ball up-field in a home game against Riverhead. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

It was mainly Robert Hauss in Ward Melville’s convincing 6-1 victory over visiting Riverhead Blue Waves Monday morning, where the senior striker peppered the scoreboard with four of those goals. Hauss got started 15 minutes in when he rifled a shot to the corner of the net for the early lead. 

The Patriots broke the game wide open in the second half when Hauss tapped a rebound in for the score. Less than a minute later, he found the back of the net again, courtesy of Aiden Burgueno’s assist and scored again unassisted at the 32-minute mark to put his team up 4-0. 

Riverhead was able to avoid the shutout a minute later when Anthony Yanes’ shot found its mark. Burgueno then hit the back of the net as did teammate Cole Palillo in rounding out the scoring for the Patriots in the League II matchup Oct. 9. Ward Melville senior goalkeeper David McElroy had a quiet day with four saves.

The win lifts the Patriots to 5-0-1 in league (9-2-2 overall) with two regular season games remaining before postseason play begins Oct. 23.

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Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine, left, and town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich attend a vigil at the Village Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning in East Setauket Monday evening. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Motti Grossbaum

Over 150 people gathered Monday night, Oct. 9, at the Village Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning in East Setauket for a gathering of prayer and solidarity for the Israeli people. Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) were among the many in attendance.

Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum shared words of inspiration and encouragement with all assembled. “Many are asking me what they can do to help,” said the rabbi. “My response is loud and clear. Aside from donating with your financial support for Israel, I encourage everyone to increase in deeds of goodness and kindness. We must add light to the world, and that is how we fight the darkness and the evil. It just takes one flame of light to chase away an entire room of darkness. Every good deed we do brings tremendous light to the world. And good always wins.”

The Village Chabad also organized a collection of urgent humanitarian equipment led by Three Village resident Ari Nezaria that was sent Tuesday night on a chartered cargo flight to Israel.

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Photo by David Ackerman

This week, TBR News Media has embarked upon a pilot project we’re calling News Flash.

It’s a first-of-its-kind journalistic endeavor to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into our newsroom operation. Using ChatGPT, a popular chatbot developed by OpenAI that launched in November 2022, we believe News Flash can aid us in our mission to inform our North Shore readership.

The concept here is simple. We are feeding some of our original content into ChatGPT, directing the chatbot to extract the most interesting or insightful news nuggets within a given article.

While AI generates the bullet points, we assure our readers that our staff retains complete editorial control over the end product. We are committed to subjecting AI-produced content to the same rigorous standards we use for content by human writers. 

There are several motivations behind this effort. We are acutely aware and deeply concerned our digital technologies have diminished our attention spans and impaired our faculties for processing large chunks of information. Reading proficiency scores in the U.S. are declining, and in an electoral system demanding a well-informed citizenry, this rings of deep trouble for our republic.

Presenting noteworthy or insightful points up front may make one more inclined to read the entire article. But even if a reader opts not to read the article, News Flash will have delivered some of the necessary material, informing even the nonreader.

There is also a broader philosophical objective behind this project. Artificial intelligence may be the defining technological innovation of our lifetimes. Our staff is in uncharted waters, with no precedents to guide us on properly synchronizing AI and local journalism.

With the awesome power of AI comes an equally awesome responsibility to harness its power appropriately. We believe trained journalists must guide AI, using this tool to enhance and augment the reader experience. Without strict human oversight, we risk irreversible disruption to a vital American institution, with the potential ramifications still unknown.

Scanning the local media landscape, we see alarming trends all around us. Each year, more local news outlets shutter. Others consolidate under large conglomerates. And most disturbingly, more and more Americans live in news deserts, or places without a local newspaper. These are trying times that should trouble journalists and citizens alike.

Without the local press, we naturally gravitate to larger, national media outlets whose contents are increasingly polarized and politically charged. Reading only about higher levels of government, whose centers of power are far away from Long Island and interests often unaligned with our own, we become disillusioned and disconnected from the democratic process.

For the first time ever, local journalists have a powerful tool to help advance their mission to inform democracy. If used properly, AI can help counteract these downward trajectories in our industry, restoring local journalism to its central place in American life.

At TBR News Media, we pledge to use AI technology responsibly. Like generations of pioneers before us, let us plunge forth into the Great Unknown. May this adventure prove fulfilling for both local journalism and democracy — and our readers.

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File photo by Joseph Cali

News Flash

Generated by ChatGPT, edited by our staff 

•  MTA includes Port Jefferson Branch improvements in 20-year capital needs assessment.

•  Inclusion doesn’t guarantee pursuit, decisions hinge on future funding and other factors.

•   Local officials push for project, emphasizing economic benefits and improved transit.

The decades-old proposal to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road passed a significant hurdle last week, though uncertainty remains long-term.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns and operates LIRR, included capacity improvements for the Port Jeff Branch within its 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment blueprint published last week. 

The document outlines MTA’s long-term vision for the region’s transit, describing some of the needed improvements for the local line, including electrification, double tracking, stations, a storage yard and associated infrastructure.

The report states some of the project’s objectives, such as increased travel speed and frequency while providing a one-seat ride to Penn Station and Grand Central Madison. It further acknowledges the need to reduce strain upon the Ronkonkoma Branch by North Shore riders driving inland.

In a Sept. 29 letter addressed to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), over two dozen state, county and local public officials called for Port Jeff Branch modernization within the 20-year plan. Dave Steckel, an MTA media liaison, said the agency had complied with the core request of the letter.

“Regarding the letter on Port Jefferson Branch electrification, the MTA has satisfied the request laid out in that letter by including Port Jefferson Branch electrification in the 20-year needs assessment,” Steckel said.

But, he added, “Inclusion in this analysis does not mean that the MTA will be pursuing a project. Decisions about which of these projects, if any, will be included in subsequent MTA capital programs, will be made in the context of those future programs, including the amount of funding available to rebuild and improve the existing MTA system, which will need to be prioritized before any expansion projects can be considered.”

The report finds potential operational constraints for the electrification project, highlighting the need for additional capital improvements, space for a new terminal rail yard and planning studies. The plan suggests the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station as a potential site for the rail yard.

The 20-year plan also added some possible drawbacks for prioritizing the Port Jeff Branch. Electrification of the line rated average in cost-effectiveness “mainly due to the high cost and relatively low ridership.”

Continuing the fight

In separate statements to TBR News Media, public officials representing North Shore communities continued to call for the MTA to prioritize the project.

New York State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) emphasized the centrality of the Lawrence Aviation property in regional planning for the North Shore and beyond.

“Electrification of the Port Jefferson line and the establishment of the Lawrence Aviation site as a regional rail hub is a critically important component of our efforts to enhance mass transit service to North Shore residents,” he said. “Improving access and reliability to our mass transit system will increase ridership, alleviate traffic congestion and be an economic boost to the local economy.”

Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow expanded on the existing pressures upon Port Jeff Branch commuters to Manhattan, particularly in the context of the burden of transit by rail.

“For years, residents of Port Jeff and the surrounding communities have demonstrated by their actions how they feel about the Port Jefferson Branch — we drive to Ronkonkoma when seeking direct travel, a shorter commute, more frequent service options and less transfers,” she said. “Electrification and modernization of the Port Jefferson Branch will increase connectivity between stations. It will reduce travel time and transfers, and provide more frequent scheduling options, including express options.”

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) emphasized the vast support for this effort among officials and community stakeholders, noting “everybody involved wants this.” He said generating the necessary public awareness and appealing to Hochul remain critical.

“We need to make sure that we convince the governor that this is important for Long Islanders,” he said, advocating for a grassroots, mobilized effort to bolster public support. “Strength with numbers wins,” he added.

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) suggested electrification would help counteract some of the downward trends throughout the region, namely the loss of youth.

“Thousands of Brookhaven residents use the LIRR to commute to work every day, and thousands more ride the train for other reasons,” the town supervisor said. “Electrification would provide faster, more efficient service and attract people to live in the communities with close access to the railroad,” adding, “The economic upside would be felt throughout the town as more people choose to live here, and our young people decide to stay because of the improved LIRR service and easier access in and out of New York City.”

Though placement onto the 20-year plan could be considered a win, much work remains ahead. Larry Penner, a transit advocate and former director of Federal Transit Administration Region 2, called upon the various governmental bodies across the North Shore to begin laying down seed funds to signal their interest.

“Why don’t all these elected officials put up some money to at least keep the project alive?” he said. “Why are they waiting for the MTA to move the project forward?” He added, “Talk is cheap, but actions speak louder.”

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

The world is a mess.

For some, that world doesn’t even need to extend beyond the walls of their own home, as they deal with one personal or family crisis after another.

For others, that includes horrible headlines and the reality of a world in which people jump at the opportunity to attack them physically, verbally or both. The world is filled with so much dry kindling that any kind of spark seems sufficient to lead to a brush fire.

And, stupidly, many of us look at our phones or watch the news right before we go to bed, giving our unconscious minds the opportunity to marinate in the misery and to imagine ourselves caught in circumstances beyond our control that conjure our worst nightmares on steroids.

Once our minds start to ponder these horrific realities, some of which play out in the protests and counter protests that characterize an American landscape filled with divisions and tectonic differences, we find ourselves staring, wide eyed, into a dark abyss.

Despite the need to give our minds and souls a rest to rebuild our resilience and prepare us for the next day, we struggle to sleep for any length of time.

Like a bad habit we can’t kick, sleep deprivation defines our existence, making us more vulnerable, angrier, and reactive to the kinds of stimuli, conspiracy theories, and information that unnerves us.

Shutting that down and ignoring the reality of a world coming apart doesn’t seem like an option, even if we ourselves aren’t doing anything other than losing sleep, arguing with friends, family or coworkers, and promising to vote for the person whose anger, frustration, and alarm bells sound similar enough to our own.

These restless nights exacerbate our feelings of unease and anxiety. Even for people who didn’t have a hard day filled with deadlines, challenging assignments, impossible bosses, or frustrating losses, the end of the day can feel less like a chance to reflect on triumphs than a moment to surrender to a cruel circadian rhythm that leaves us with even less emotional and energy reserves each day.

We need the kind of sleep that doesn’t depend on over the counter remedies. We need to feel safe, secure, and relaxed enough to rest.

For many of us in the United States, that relaxation can arise out of a belief in a better tomorrow. We can control ourselves, the world we create for our children, and the way we interact with each other.

We might sleep better if we feel like we improved someone else’s day, if we volunteer to help others, or if we take a moment to appreciate what we can control.

Getting up and circling the house at 2 or 4 am won’t help us the next day, nor will logging onto our computers and sending or responding to emails. We’re not doing our best work at those hours and we aren’t our most insightful.

The benefit of stories in which the characters live “happily ever after” is that it gives our minds resolution and helps us believe that things will work out for us as well.

Our parents and grandparents rarely tell us to give up, give in, and surrender to problems outside of our control. We shouldn’t tell ourselves that either, no matter how late at night we might start to believe it.

A good night’s sleep won’t help us solve the world’s problems, but it may help us start to solve some of our own. People have told me many times not to make decisions when I’m angry or frustrated. The same holds true for being tired. Finding solutions to our nighttime problems may contribute to discovering some relief from the pressures and worries of the day.

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METRO photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

It’s difficult to live in the suburbs without a car. In fact, it’s almost impossible to raise a family here without four wheels. Many people own more than one to accommodate the various members of the household. And the costs of maintaining a car are escalating, threatening to take away from disposable income and the suburban quality of life.

Here are some statistics from a recent article in The New York Times that quotes the AAA. 

The average annual cost in the first five years of ownership is now $12,182. Last year it was $10,728. This jump is a result of higher purchase prices, maintenance costs and greater finance charges. Just to put this in its proper perspective: “That’s 16 percent of the median household income before taxes.” And about 92 percent of households own at least one; 22 percent have at least three.

Here are some more facts. All those personal cars number some 223 million and together add up to trillions of dollars a year in spending. (I can’t even check this because my calculator doesn’t go up that high.) How much, by comparison, was spent on public transportation in 2019 for capital and operating expenses? The answer, while still up in the mind-blowing category, is only 79 billion. Just drop the zeros and you get the point.

Car expenses can be on a par with housing, child care and food for some families. The average payment for a used car is $533, according to TransUnion, while the average for a new one is $741 a month. Multiply that by the number of cars parked in one driveway for a household.  

Some examples of car expenses: monthly payments, which have gone up in the last year, either to buy or lease, gas, registration, insurance, regular maintenance, perhaps tolls, parking, car washes and maybe even an un-budgeted accident. While insurance covers most of that, still there is deductible, perhaps loaner costs, not to mention the toll of stress and aggravation, which we are not even measuring with a price tag.

Now to the other side of the equation. Some people love their cars. They love driving them, washing them, caring for them, even naming them. They love shopping for them.  They love proudly comparing theirs to other comparable vehicles in animated discussions with likeminded owners. Their car is a pleasure they don’t mind spending on because they get more from it than just passage from one point to another. For some, a car is like having another child.

Since I grew up in New York City, where public transportation is, for the most part, excellent, my parents never had a car. I remember when my dad made a careful list of the expenses connected with owning a car and decided we could take taxis all over town for much less. Of course, we never took taxis either. And neither of my parents had a driver’s license. My mother, who loved a bargain, was particularly delighted that one could take the subway for miles, from one borough to the next, even to Coney Island and Rockaway Beach from midtown Manhattan for only one 15-cent token. Having to travel in a car for her would have been a deprivation.

The other issue about cars, of course, is pollution. As we are thinking green, we are aware that automotive emissions are responsible for some 50 to 90 percent of air pollution in urban areas. Wherever they are, motor vehicles are a major contributor to air pollution.Those emissions affect global warming, smog and various health problems. They include particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. All of those are toxic to living organisms and can cause damage to the brain, lungs, heart, bloodstream and respiratory systems—among other body parts.

All of that notwithstanding, it is said we have a love affair with our cars.

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SBU President Maurie McInnis delivered her State of the University address on Oct. 11. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University
SBU President Maurie McInnis delivered her State of the University address on Oct. 11. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University
Making a Difference: What’s Next for Stony Brook?

“A lot can happen in just a year at Stony Brook University…welcome to what’s next,” identified President Maurie McInnis, who delivered her second State of the University address to students, faculty, staff, elected representatives and local community members on Oct. 11. In addition to discussing the university’s numerous achievements since last year’s State of the University, President McInnis shared her and her team’s vision on how the flagship university is looking to continue its mission to “take on the big challenges, make a difference and change the world.”

According to the President, through the “close collaboration with faculty, staff and administrator across the institution, as well as welcomed support from government and institutions from across New York,” she reminded her audience of some of the university’s achievements since the last State of the University including:

  • Welcoming the first cohort of Simons STEM Scholar students;

  • The University being selected as the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island;

  • Achieving our highest ranking from the US News & World Report (#1 New York’s public college and #58 nationally)

  • Stony Brook University Hospital was named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals in 2023 by Healthgrades,  putting it in the top one percent of the country;

  • Stony Brook garnered its highest state funding in a decade; and

  • The university received a $500 million endowment gift from the Simons Foundation which is the largest unrestricted endowment donation in the history of US higher education. It also serves to more than double the entire endowment previously held by the university.

Also, the President shared her strategy for success by implementing “the three Rs” which serve as guideposts to enable success: “Recognition,” “Revenue” and “Reputation.”

  • Stony Brook provides recognition by “celebrating the amazing faculty and staff [as well as students] who are building a culture of ambition and excellence.”

  • Regarding revenue, the university looks to raise the matching funds that will build our endowment and will look for ways to secure the ongoing support needed to grow and to maintain operations.

  • Stony Brook will continue to build our reputation by letting the world know that it is New York’s number one public university, a flagship institution, a top health care system hospital, and an innovative research university focused on addressing the world’s most important challenges.

President McInnis stressed the university’s efforts to develop more multidisciplinary collaborations to address important questions and tackle some of the greatest challenges of our time.  As the university moves forward, one of the priorities includes supporting faculty who are working at the spaces between disciplines and forming partnerships supporting climate science, clean energy, healthcare and quantum information science.

The President also addressed how the university community will use its past successes to pave the way to the future with programs like the new Collaborative for the Earth faculty-driven initiative that looks to leverage Stony Brook’s role as a climate solutions leader. It will bring together members from almost every school and college in the  university, representing a united effort to work across disciplines and perspectives to develop  equitable solutions.

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NYS officials alert public to possible local impact

Inside one of the remaining derelict buildings at the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station. File photo

News Flash

Key takeaways by ChatGPT, edited by the TBR staff

• Derelict buildings at Lawrence Aviation site in PJS to come down after New York State takeover from Feds.

• Daily air quality sampling, wet demolition planned for hazardous material removal.

• Proposed solar farm and MTA rail yard discussed.

By Carolyn Sackstein

On the road to redevelopment, the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station will clear a significant hurdle in the coming months.

Port Jefferson Village Center hosted Wednesday, Oct. 4, New York State officials and the contractor who will demolish the remaining derelict buildings on-site at the Lawrence Aviation property.

The two-hour information session featured informational posters and charts on easels around the room’s perimeter, with state Department of Environmental Conservation officials explaining their contents and providing additional clarity for members of the public.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “did the investigation of the site, performed removal actions such as soil and drum removal of underground storage tanks, transformers containing PCB [polychlorinated biphenyl] oils and implemented the groundwater remedy over the last 10 years,” said NYSDEC environmental engineer Steven Scharf. The EPA has now “turned it over to the state, as required by federal law. Now that the company is bankrupt and the Suffolk County Landbank Corporation has seized the property for back taxes, we can take the buildings down.”

Mark Sergott, representing the New York State Department of Health, said that during the demolition of the buildings, there will be “mostly dust issues.” Scott McDonald, project manager of Groundwater & Environmental Services, the contracting firm performing the demolition work, explained that removing structures from the property will be a “wet demolition” to lessen the number of airborne particulates.

Jeffrey Dyber, also representing NYSDOH, explained that “the air quality will be sampled daily. Monitoring equipment will vary locations from day-to-day depending on the direction of the wind.”

Should the equipment detect levels of particulates and volatile organic compounds beyond those considered safe, he added, alarms will sound, and demolition will be halted and mitigated before continuing. The materials will be wrapped and secured for safe transport.

NYSDEC project manager Payson Long. Photo by Carolyn Sackstein

The above-ground structures should be removed by summer 2024, according to NYSDEC project manager Payson Long. “We are going to sample below the pits, sumps and through the slabs in several areas to ensure that we have documented the entire site to ensure there is no contamination in that area,” he said. “We are [sampling] down to the water table, which is about 200 feet.”

“Currently, the buildings are an attractive nuisance,” Long continued, explaining it is not just the unhoused who have been drawn to create encampments on the property. People from the community have exposed themselves to toxins by riding dirt bikes and local teens using it as a hangout location. There is even evidence that the buildings have been used for drone racing.

McDonald discussed the potential traffic impacts related to the demolition project. He said the wooden bridge to the west of the property will not be used as it is not rated to carry the weight of the trucks and equipment. All project-related traffic will be routed from Route 112 to Sheep Pasture Road and then enter the Lawrence Aviation property using the gate at 100 Sheep Pasture.

When it was pointed out that the gate and roads on the property were overgrown and derelict, McDonald indicated that those would be rehabilitated to allow the trucks and heavy equipment to access the work zones on-site. 

Once demolition equipment reaches the property, it will stay there. Site security will be present during the off hours. Truck traffic will be limited to between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

The event was well attended by Port Jefferson and Port Jefferson Station/Terryville residents, including Bill Caraftis, Paul and Carolyn Sagliocca, Liz and Jim Marzigliano, who demonstrated a keen interest in the possible uses for the land after the cleanup.

A 36-acre solar array and an MTA rail yard have been proposed, which could necessitate rerouting a section of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway trail

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From left, Hip Hop Legends Half-pint (Son of Bazerk) and DJ Johnny Juice (Public Enemy) will participate in the next TeachRock training workshop for local teachers at LI Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of LIMEHOF

As part of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHoF) partnership with rock and roll legend Steven Van Zandt’s TeachRock organization announced earlier this year, LIMEHOF will host the second in a series of free TeachRock workshops for teachers sponsored by Harmony Insurance at LIMEHOF’s Stony Brook location, 97 Main Street, Stony Brook, on Sunday, October 15 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

These workshops are free (registration required) for teachers in the Long Island and New York City area. This workshop has a 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop theme and Hip-Hop artists Half-Pint from Son of Bazerk and DJ Johnny Juice from Public Enemy have recently announced they will participate. Both artists also have backgrounds in education.

“TeachRock champions the integration of arts in public education through a groundbreaking, transformative methodology, promising a paradigm shift for generations to come,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHoF’s Educational Programs Director. “This approach can propel high school graduation rates and foster lasting change.”

These are free workshop events, sponsored by Harmony Insurance, open to local area teachers with registration. Teachers can register on TeachRock’s workshop registration page https://teachrock.org/LIMEHOF/.

The workshops will be taught by TeachRock Star Teacher Stephanie Arnell who is a veteran Freeport Public Schools educator who has helped her district embrace arts integration and had fun doing it! She’s excited to share her tips and the free TeachRock lesson plans she uses with local educators. All attendees are granted free access to the museum following the event and are eligible for NY CTLE credits through TeachRock.

“We are so excited to have two of Long Islands Hip-Hop icons join us in discussing the dynamic growth of rap music, culture and sampling since the early days of the art. These legends share their stories and experiences from the 80s to present,” said Arnell. “Looking at curriculum through a musical lens keeps students engaged while they don’t even realize they are learning. For example, learning the history of MLK Day through Stevie Wonder’s song “Happy Birthday” or using data from Beyonce’s Instagram account to practice calculating ratios.  I’ve seen in my classroom the way students’ gravitate towards TeachRock lessons and I’m excited to spread that enthusiasm to teachers and students on Long Island.”

Launched in 2002 by Van Zandt and the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, TeachRock.org provides free, standards-aligned resources that use music to help K-12 students succeed in science, math, social studies, and language arts, among other subjects. TeachRock improves students’ lives by filling every classroom with the sound, stories, and science of music. Nearly 60,000 educators—representing all 50 states—are registered at Teachrock.org.

“TeachRock teachers don’t tell kids to take out their earbuds, they ask them what they’re listening to and then make connections between their favorite music and the core curricula they need to master to succeed in life,” said TeachRock founder Steven Van Zandt. “This partnership will help my TeachRock team create more of those educators whose cool class keeps kids coming to school.”

The workshops are made possible by Harmony Insurance. “Harmony Insurance is proud to sponsor TeachRock’s Long Island Music Workshops for teachers, aiming to inspire and educate through music,” Harmony Insurance said in a statement.

“We’ve seen for years how the shared interest in music helps forge connections between teachers and students, and every year we witness how arts-integrated math, science, and social studies classes pull students from the margins and inspire them to participate,” said Bill Carbone, TeachRock Executive Director. “We’re thrilled to partner with LIMEHOF to help as many LI teachers as possible get excited about inspiring their students through the arts.”

For more information about LIMEHoF’s education programs please visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/teachrock/

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