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Eye on the Street: Weighing in on Gilgo Beach suspect’s arrest

by TBR Staff - July 29, 2023

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gilgo — Gilgo Beach sign. Photo by Hector Mosley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

By Carolyn Sackstein

The July 13 arrest of Rex Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, for the alleged murders of three women — Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy — has people talking. As investigations ramp up, TBR News Media interviewed mainly visitors to downtown Port Jefferson on Saturday, July 22, asking them for reactions to Heuermann’s arrest, evidence against him and closure for the victims’ families. One is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

— Photos by Carolyn Sackstein

Wilber Argutea, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Argutea suggested parents must do a better job raising children, promoting positive activities such as school and sports. He said, “We need more people in the community raising kids [to do] good. Teaching good stuff in schools, sports, so people stay away from [doing] bad things.”

Maddy Trotta, Glen Cove

Trotta expressed her concern, “It is just ridiculous to me that people can get away by doing that for such a long time and not get caught right away. Now that they got caught, I think they will pay the price for all they have done and the damage they have caused.”

Sarah Hull, Port Jefferson, and Thomas Hull, Wilmington, Delaware

Sarah was breathing a little easier with the arrest. She had heard that Heuermann had visited Port Jefferson years ago, explaining, “I found out that he had dinner at the Steam Room, and I used to work there — luckily not in the same year.”

Thomas also weighed in on the alleged crimes. “I live out of state right now, so I got the news [from] people all over Long Island who kept texting me, ‘Did you hear the Gilgo Beach killer got caught? They caught the Gilgo Beach killer!’ I was driving in, driving past Massapequa Park. I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s the exit.’”

Marinka Buckley, West Hartford, Connecticut

When asked about the recent arrest, Buckley responded, “It brings you back to when they first were talking about it. I was surprised to hear who they had arrested. It seems like he was a normal guy, I guess. It’s interesting.”

Naomi Ponce, Bridgeport, Connecticut

“I saw the news a few days ago,” said Ponce. “I was surprised after so many years that they were looking for this person. I was happy that the families finally have closure. It must be terrible.”

Janet Ficht, Long Island

When asked about the arrest, Ficht said, “It was scary and crazy, but I’m glad they got him. It is unbelievable the stuff they are finding, how far back it goes and how many states it goes over. It’s crazy.”

Matthew Kubelle, Suffolk County

When Kubelle was asked about the recent arrest and the evidence, he said, “It is great it finally happened, but obviously not how long it took. Closure for the families is great for them. I think it is a solid arrest. They have a lot of evidence, and he doesn’t have any clear alibis. And as more evidence comes up, he looks guilty. It’s about time we stopped this stuff.”

300 Lights Pop Concert in Setauket postponed to July 30

by Heidi Sutton - July 29, 2023

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300 Lights Pops Concert

In celebration of its 300th anniversary, Caroline Episcopal Church, 1 Dyke Road, Setauket invites the community to a free 300 Lights Pops Concert featuring the Sound Symphony Orchestra on the Setauket Village Green on Sunday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. (This event was moved from July 29 due to the weather forecast.) Directed by Maestro Dorothy Savitch, the program will include works by Mozart, Gershwin, Puccini, Verdi, highlights from Grease and Wicked, and an Armed Forces Salute. Bring seating. 631-941-4245

Long Island Museum unveils Little Free Library inspired by popcorn wagon from collection

by Tara Mae - July 29, 2023

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By Tara Mae

The chaos of creation yields the quietude of reflection.

Newly installed at the Long Island Museum of Art, History, & Carriages (LIM), the Little Free Library came from just such a process. It was assembled by Brownie Troop 1343, which consists of fourteen local 3rd graders from the Three Village School District and horticultural art therapist/mediations instructor Fred Ellman, with troop co-leaders Lisa Unander, Kaethe Cuomo, and Christine Colavito offering practical support.

Cultivated from a sort magical mayhem on a series of manic Mondays as the girls painted their projects and maybe themselves, the Little Free Library is the result of artistic exuberance and pragmatic craftsmanship. Ellman previously worked with Unander on LIM’s In the Moment programs, which are garden activities designed for people with memory loss.

“To my pure delight, he volunteered to help us design and build the project! It was Fred’s idea to use the popcorn wagon [design], inspired by the Popcorn Wagon, 1907, C. Cretors & Company, Chicago, which is prominently featured in our carriage museum collection,” Unander, who is also LIM’s Director of Education, said.

Ellman donated his time, talents, and materials, functioning as artistic advisor, serene supervisor, and pragmatic visionary. He created a digital template and used that as the blueprint for the actual pieces of wood.

“Lisa told me about this incredible project, and I really enjoy working with her. I wanted this library to be very playful and encourage children to come use books and connect to the collection. With this installation, we are using a fresh way of looking at a free library, inviting and enticing patrons with its welcoming appearance,” Ellman said.

This 22”x24” box, made of birch and cedar, is a blend of functional fun, with its bright colors and and unique shape. Installed adjacent to LIM”s aromatic herb garden, visitors will be able to take a book and immerse themselves in the stories as they settle in the tranquility of nature.

This visage belies the Brownies determined diligence in creating and maintaining the free library. A requirement for being formally recognized as an officially chartered member of the nonprofit Little Free Library network is that the girls are stewards of this installation. Each Brownie will be assigned certain weeks of the year to check on the library, including cleaning, maintaining, and restocking it as well as reporting any needs to Troop 1343.

“To have a long term project that [the troop] could get excited about and work on collaboratively created responsibility and pride in what they accomplished,” Unander said. “Since all the girls live in the Three Village area, we know they will grow up helping keep the library well maintained and bring friends and family to see what they helped create.”

For the Brownies, its motivations for the Little Free Library are multifaceted. Starting when the girls were Daisies, the Girl Scouts program for kindergarten-first grade, their meetings frequently commenced with a co-leader reading them a story that related to a project on which they were working.

“They always responded in a positive way to each book that was read to them and we felt it created a strong bond between the girls and the badges that they were about to take on,” said Unander.

Then last year, the group began working on its World of Journey badges, a four part certification that focuses on “girls around the world and how stories can give you ideas for helping others,” according to Girl Scouts USA’s website.

Inspired by a pamphlet that depicted girls traveling the world in a flying bookmobile to learn about different cultures, and having recently read a book about Little Free Libraries’ founder Todd Bol, Troop 1343 decided to create a Little Free Library of its own in pursuit of the badges.

“Many troops do a simpler project to complete this journey, but we felt the girls in our troop were willing and ready to make a true and lasting impact,” Unander added.

They were not the only ones embarking on a new adventure; it was Ellman’s first time constructing a free library too, though he anticipates it will not be his last. “I definitely want to build another one,” he said.

As reading invites the imagination to explore, facilitating LIM’s free library has alerted everyone involved in this endeavor to other possibilities: Troop 1343 and its co-leaders are discussing developing a book about this process.

“Fred had the idea of the girls creating a book that would tell visitors a little bit about them and some of their favorite books; I loved it,” Unander said. “Next year the girls will be Junior level Girl Scouts, and we plan to incorporate this project into our meetings. Ideally, this book would be attached to the Little Free Library onsite for all to read.”

In the meantime, the girls collected and donated their own books to launch the library. Given its location, Unander believes that as the library continues to expand its collection, visitors will be particularly inclined to leave books about art and history; its public accessibility binds the library to the community and encourages any visitor to the museum to indulge in the exchange of ideas.

“We are grateful to our Co-Executive Directors Sarah Abruzzi and Joshua Ruff for enthusiastically giving us the green light to use this magnificent space to host our Little Free Library. We all feel this small structure will bring a large amount of joy to all who see it,” said Unander.

To take a book, leave a book, visit the Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook Thursdays to Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. To learn more about the museum’s exhibits and other programs, visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

SBU’s Weisen Shen receives over $625,000 to study land below South Pole ice

by Daniel Dunaief - July 28, 2023

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SBU Shen with grad students — From left, graduate students Thomas Reilly and Hanxiao Wu with Weisen Shen. Wu and Shen are holding two of the 183 sensors they will place in the Antarctic. The team is shipping the sensors in the black container, which will travel through Port Hueneme, California and New Zealand before reaching the South Pole. Photo by Maeve McCarthy/ Angela Gruo

By Daniel Dunaief

While it’s easy to see and study materials in valleys or on the tops of bare mountains, it’s much more difficult to know what’s beneath 2.7 kilometers of ice. Turns out, that kind of question is much more than academic or hypothetical.

At the South Pole, glaciers sit on top of land that never sees the light of day, but that is relevant for the future of cities like Manhattan and Boston.

The solid land beneath glaciers has a strong effect on the movement of the ice sheet, which can impact the melting rate of the ice and sea level change.

Weisen Shen, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University, recently received over $625,000 over the course of five years from the National Science Foundation to study the unexplored land beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet at the South Pole.

The subglacial water and hydrosystems, together with geology such as sediment or hard rocks, affect the dynamics and contribute to the movement speed of the ice sheet.

Once Shen provides a better understanding of the material beneath the ice, including glacial water, he can follow that up with other researchers to interpret the implications of ice sheet dynamics.

“We can predict better what’s the contribution of the Antarctic ice sheet to the sea level change” which will offer modelers a way to gauge the likely impact of global warming in future decades, he said.

Using seismic data

Starting this November, Shen and graduate students Siyuan Sui, Thomas Reilly and Hanxiao Wu will venture for two months to the South Pole with seismic monitors.

By placing 183 seismic nodes and installing an additional eight broad-band seismic stations, Shen and his team will quantify the seismic properties and, eventually, use them to infer the composition, density and temperature structure of the crust and the uppermost mantle.

The temperature when they place these monitors will be 10 to 30 degrees below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. They will need to do some digging as they deploy these sensors near the surface.

While the South Pole is believed to be geologically stable, signs of sub-glacial melting suggest the crust may bear a higher concentration of highly radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium and potassium.

Those natural elements “produce heat all the time,” said Shen.

The process and analysis of seismic waves works in the same way it would for the study of a prism. Looking at the refraction of light that enters and leaves the prism from various angles can help researchers differentiate light with different frequencies, revealing clues about the structure and composition of the prism.

Earth materials, meanwhile will also cause a differentiation in the speed of surface waves according to their frequencies. The differentiation in speeds is called “dispersion,” which Shen and his team will use to quantify the seismic properties. The area has enough natural waves that Shen won’t need to generate any man-made energy waves.

“We are carefully monitoring how fast [the seismic energy] travels” to determine the temperature, density and rock type, Shen said.

The water beneath the glacier can act like a slip ’n slide, making it easier for the glacier to move.

Some large lakes in Antarctica, such as Lake Vostok, have been mapped. The depth and contours of sub glacier lakes near the South Pole, however, are still unclear.

“We have to utilize a lot of different methods to study that,” said Shen.

The Stony Brook researcher will collaborate with colleagues to combine his seismic results with other types of data, such as radar, to cross examine the sub ice structures.

The work will involve three years of gathering field data and two years of analysis.

Educational component

In addition to gathering and analyzing data, Shen has added a significant educational component to the study. For the first time, he is bringing along Brentwood High School science teacher Dr. Rebecca Grella, A PhD graduate from Stony Brook University’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program, Grella will provide lectures and classes remotely from the field.

In addition to bringing a high school teacher, Shen will fund graduate students at Stony Brook who can help Brentwood students prepare for the Earth Science regents exam.

Shen is working with Kamazima Lwiza, Associate Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook, to bring Earth Science, including polar science, to schools in New York City and on Long Island with a bus equipped with mobile labs.

Lwiza, who is the Principal Investigator on the EarthBUS project, will work together with Shen to build a course module that includes a 45-minute lecture and exhibition.

Shen feels that the project will help him prepare to better educate students in graduate school, college, and K-12 in the community.

He feels a strong need to help K-12 students in particular with Earth Science.

As for students outside Brentwood, Shen said he has an open door policy in which the lab is receptive to high school and undergraduate students who would like to participate in his research all year long.

Once he collects the first batch of data from the upcoming trip to the South Pole, he will have to do considerable data processing, analysis and interpretation.

While Shen is looking forward to the upcoming field season, he knows he will miss time in his Stony Brook home with his wife Jiayi Xie, and his four-and-a-half year old son Luke and his 1.5 year old son Kai.

“It’s a huge burden for my wife,” Shen said, whose wife is working full time. When he returns, he “hopes to make it up to them.”

Shen believes, however, that the work he is doing is important in the bigger picture, including for his children.

Record high temperatures, which are occurring in the United States and elsewhere this summer, will “definitely have an impact on the dynamics of the ice sheet.” At the same time, the Antarctic ice sheet is at a record low.

“This is concerning and makes [it] more urgent to finish our work there,” he added.

Animals to leave Sherwood-Jayne Farm in East Setauket

by Mallie Jane Kim - July 28, 2023

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Photo_by_Mallie — The Sherwood-Jayne Farm House in East Setauket where animals currently graze in the roadside fields. Photo by Mallie Kim

By Mallie Jane Kim

East Setauket’s historic Sherwood-Jayne Farm will bid farewell to its grazing animals this summer as nonprofit Preservation Long Island seeks to focus its programming to align closer with its mission.

“The animals serve as a visual respite for people on the road, but they don’t really connect the property to what we do,” said Alexandra Wolfe, executive director of PLI, an organization that works to preserve the cultural heritage of the region by preserving historic buildings and using them to engage and inform the public. “We have to think about how we use the Sherwood-Jayne property in ways that are more education-based and talk about history in ways that are more focused on Setauket and Long Island.”

Snowball the horse and four sheep currently live on the grounds of the Sherwood-Jayne Farm. Photo by Nancy Trump

Going forward, Wolfe said, the organization wants to engage the community with history — more than just maintaining small museums or a beautiful farm tableau. “We want to think about interpretation as a very interactive experience,” she said. “Try not to just tell the public about history, but get them to interact with the property.”

But the property’s caretaker and some community members are upset about the change.

“What they’re doing is ruthless and insensitive,” said caretaker Susanna Gatz, a doula who coaches and supports women through childbirth, and who has lived in the farm’s carriage house apartment for eight years, managing the property and the animals.

Gatz said she is sad both to say goodbye to the animals and to lose her home. PLI hopes to install an employee in the carriage house, according to Wolfe, someone who can represent the society and the house’s history while keeping an eye on the property.

The farm hosts an aging white pony Snowball — some 40 years old — and four sheep in the fields on Old Post Road next to the 18th century farmhouse, all managed by Gatz, whose goats and chickens also live on the property.

The current flock of sheep was established in 1933 by Howard Sherwood, founder of the organization that later became PLI, according to information in a virtual tour of the property available on the nonprofit’s website. The tour text explains the organization has been maintaining the flock “as a tribute to Sherwood and to preserve the working nature of the farmstead.”

PLI asked Gatz to discontinue the breeding program about three years ago.

Gatz, who mows, mends fences and liaises with the community, calls the work “heart led” for the amount of time, energy and care she puts into it. Gatz is currently nursing a sheep back to health from injuries it sustained on an unsanctioned romp in the woods, and she looks out for the nearly deaf-and-blind Snowball, giving her the extra care she needs, like approaching upwind so she can smell Gatz is coming.

Snowball may not survive a move, according to Gatz, and the sheep were born on the farm. “My wish would be for the animals to live out their lives in the place they know best,” she said.

Longtime neighbor of the farm, Nancy Trump, believes getting rid of the animals is a loss to the community. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “They represent a part of society that’s just dwindling away.”

Trump passes the farm at least twice a day, and she brings her grandchildren to greet the animals and take pictures of them as the seasons change. “I don’t know how you have a farm without the animals,” she said.

Gatz agreed. People stop by often to watch the animals graze, she said. A bus full of children passes by daily during the school year, honking while the children wave out the window. “I could set my watch to it,” Gatz said. “It was really cute.”

Other passersby have expressed concern about the animals, in particular the ancient — in pony years — Snowball, who has lost most of her teeth, causing her to drool and her tongue to loll out. According to Wolfe, PLI hears from citizens upset about the pony’s condition.

“It’s not that she’s sick or neglected,” Wolfe said, noting that Gatz takes excellent care of the pony. “Things like that become problematic. People who don’t understand call, and you have to explain.”

Wolfe added that the animals bring in extra liability, as well, especially with people who may not stay on the outside of the fence.

She said she hopes to finalize the animals’ new homes by the end of the month, and she is dedicated to finding good placements for Snowball and the sheep. “I want to make sure they are cared for,” she said, adding that she’s careful to vet good Samaritans who aren’t prepared for the undertaking of farm animals. “I want to make sure that whatever life they have left, there is quality of life.”

The Sherwood-Jayne House is open for public visits on Saturdays this summer, and the grounds, including nature trails around the property, are open to visitors year round from dawn until dusk.

Suffolk County Legislature recesses, blocks referendum on wastewater fund

by Raymond Janis - July 28, 2023

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Protest copy — Environmental advocates protest outside the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge on Tuesday, July 25. Photo by Raymond Janis

Cries for liberty and demands for clean water were heard outside the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge Tuesday, July 25.

For the second straight month, the Republican-led Suffolk County Legislature shot down a proposed 1/8 penny sales tax creating a local match program for state and federal subsidization for wastewater infrastructure.

The 10-7 vote to recess was along party lines, effectively dooming the measure from reaching the November ballot.

According to environmentalists and county officials, individually operated cesspools have grown increasingly problematic, with leakage from septic tanks contributing to brown tides, rust tides, algal blooms and fish kills.

Dave Calone, Democratic nominee for Suffolk County executive. Photo by Raymond Janis

In a rally, dozens of environmental advocates and community members joined Democratic candidates Tuesday morning, who collectively condemned the course taken by the majority.

“Today, the most fundamental need of water meets that most fundamental of American values — the right to vote,” said Dave Calone, Democratic nominee for Suffolk County executive. “The county Legislature needs to act. They need to give the people of Suffolk County the right to have a say about their own future.”

Joining Calone and others were several Democratic candidates running for county seats, including former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright of Setauket and pediatrician Eve Meltzer-Krief of Centerport.

Englebright, a geologist by training who had previously served as chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Environmental Conservation, tied clean water initiatives to regional economic development.

“Our two largest industries on Long Island are tourism and agriculture,” he said. “Both of them require clean water.”

He added that Long Island’s sole-source aquifer is continually “in motion,” with contaminated groundwater “changing the chemistry and ecology” of the county’s harbors and bays.

“Do you think the tourists who visit us, who put the money into our restaurants, hotels and motels, will want to come out here if there are dead fish and putrid algae masses in the harbors?” Englebright said.

Skyler Johnson, chair of Suffolk County Young Democrats. Photo by Raymond Janis

Meltzer-Krief maintained that the Legislature is depriving county residents of limited grant opportunities from the state and federal governments.

Skyler Johnson, chair of Suffolk County Young Democrats and former candidate for New York State Senate, referred to the Legislature’s posture as “willful apathy.”

“The Republican majority in the Legislature is throwing young people’s futures under the bus,” he said, adding, “We cannot afford to be using water that is polluted. It is not fair for our residents, our children or our future.”

Legislators quarrel

Inside the Legislature building, Republicans and Democrats went back and forth on the issue.

Majority leader Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) indicated that the “bill as it sits right now is not right.”

“We disagree on resolutions all the time,” he said. “Let’s get together and fix it, and we can.”

Eve Meltzer-Krief, candidate for Suffolk County Legislature. Photo by Raymond Janis

Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said the majority is passing up on “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“If we keep waiting … the water will get worse,” she said. “It will cost us more to fix the water. People will be getting sick. We’ll be losing money on our economy.”

Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) suggested there are surpluses within the county budget better suited for reallocation for sewers. He said he objected to introducing new taxes with alternatives on the table.

“Stop taxing the people and run the government more efficiently,” he said.

Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) said she was saddened by the decision, suggesting that as the body delays funding “our water gets dirtier.”

“If we wait to get it just right, the money gets allocated elsewhere,” she said. “Why should we wait for clean water?”

A second measure that would consolidate the county’s 27 sewer districts was also tabled.

As the Legislature recesses, wastewater infrastructure will likely remain central as campaign season ramps up.

Letters to the Editor – July 27

by - July 27, 2023

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Denying Suffolk voters input is undemocratic

Newsday, yet again, reports that our water quality in Suffolk is hitting an all-time low.

When many of us moved to Suffolk after the establishment of the Suffolk County Legislature in 1970 — to be more representative after 200 years of the Board of Supervisors — the Legislature took a lead in protecting our land and water.

We were proud of its ability to “work across the aisle” for the good of our county community. We were proud to have a government that put the well-being of people and our treasured island ahead of any hint of partisan politics.

The case has been made over and over again that septic discharge is the culprit. Now there is a major proposed funding mechanism to make it all work — a sales tax increase of 0.125% to generate an estimated $3.1 billion through 2060 to expand sewers and offer grants to homeowners for new septic systems. It’s the culmination of a 10-year campaign and part of a referendum authorized by the state Legislature in April to be placed on the ballot as early as November. This mechanism is IR1573.

The county Legislature’s decision to table IR1573 and remove it from Suffolk voter input is undemocratic and suggests their underlying distrust of voters to educate themselves when the referendum would be voted on in November. Objections to details of IR1573 should not be the issue now.

Arguments that we have enough money to make a difference in water quality are beside the point. Work is already in progress — for 10 years — and there can always be more money allocated if we have fiscal windfall. We need to do much more, and only allowing voters to take personal responsibility and decide on the $0.125 increase to the sales tax is the first step.

The science is clear, our economy is paying the price, our children’s health is at stake.

Last week, both the Republican and Democratic candidates for Suffolk County executive supported putting the referendum on the ballot. If they can agree, why can’t the Legislature?

The League of Women Voters’ mission is making democracy work through informed and active participation in government. Let the voters decide, not individual politicians in an election year.

Lisa Scott, President

League of Women Voters of Suffolk County

Republican majority is failing its homework

Ironically, in the very same week we learned that the water quality in Suffolk’s waterways is at an all-time low, the Republican-led county Legislature effectively turned down billions of dollars in time-sensitive state and federal grants that would have paid for the needed interventions to clean our waters.

They blocked residents the opportunity to vote on a .125% tax increase, essentially 12 cents per $100 that would have funded the expansion of sewer projects and updated septic systems leaking nitrogen into our waters, the culprit of our poor water quality. The tax funds collected were to be matched by New York State and would have allowed us to access the grant funds. These monies will not be waiting for Suffolk County in a lockbox until this can be revisited next year. The waters which deteriorate in quality with every passing day have also now become much more expensive for us to clean thanks to the actions of the legislature.

In a recent letter [“Voters deserve legislators who do their homework,” July 20], Legislator Stephanie Bontempi [R-Centerport] asserted that the legislators are keeping the water quality referendum off the ballot this November because they want to “do their homework” before bringing the initiative to the people. Anyone with knowledge of the water quality project knows that this plan, which has wide bipartisan support, has been years in the making with ample opportunity to raise concerns, propose changes and “do their homework” rather than waiting until the 11th hour. It was in fact the legislators’ responsibility to do their homework long before they claimed they needed time for further exploration. Interestingly, the Presiding Officer [Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst)] had given every indication that the Republican caucus would be supporting including the referendum on the ballot on Election Day.

Reversing course now with contrived concerns shows utter disregard for the bipartisan group of policymakers, scientists and legislators who have been dedicated to this work along with every credible environmentalist group who implored the legislature to move forward with the referendum.

Either they did not do their due diligence when they should have or are concerned that having water quality on the ballot will risk bringing out voters who might not be voting for them. In any case, their decision has effectively lost the county a window of opportunity to affordably address one of the greatest environmental challenges faced by Suffolk County. They have failed “their homework” and have failed the people of Suffolk County.

Eve Meltzer-Krief

Centerport

Democratic candidate, Suffolk County Legislature LD18

Intervention on water quality is long overdue

Contrary to what County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi [R-Centerport] claims, the environmental record of the Republican majority does not “speak for itself.” [Letter, “Voters deserve legislators who do their homework,” TBR News Media editions, July 20.]

What does speak volumes is unanimously blocking voters from deciding for themselves in a general election whether the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, 10 years in the making, should be implemented. All Suffolk state legislators from both parties support it. Ditto Suffolk congressmen. And ditto both candidates for Suffolk County executive.

Legislator Bontempi refers to “a false sense of urgency.” Last summer and this summer, there have been record fish kills, algal blooms and other water quality impairments. According to the Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook University, “Excessive nitrogen coming from household sewage that seeps into groundwater and ultimately into bays, harbors and estuaries or, in some cases, is directly discharged into surface waters, is a root cause of these maladies.”

So, should we continue to allow this problem to fester as it has for decades. Or should we finally do something about it? What will it take to give Bontempi a true sense of urgency?

She promises that it’s the “intention” of the Republican majority to “ultimately” allow voters a referendum. Why should we believe this? Excuses for inaction are a dime a dozen. As they say, get it in writing.

In another letter about the same issue, Peter Akras complains about cost [“Proposed sales tax a blank check for developers”]. Implementing this plan would unlock state and federal matching funds. That’s free money for the benefit of Suffolk. He claims our water quality is as good as that of Nassau County. In fact, Suffolk County has more lakes with blue-green algal blooms than any of the 64 counties in New York state. Most water quality impairments in Long Island — brown tides, algal blooms, fish kills, hypoxias — are in Suffolk.

He also asserts that if homeowners want to install advanced septic systems, the cost should be on them, not “on the public dime.” This is fundamentally wrongheaded. The benefit of installing these systems doesn’t go to the individual homeowner no more than does the benefit of lugging disposed toxic chemicals to a recycling center instead of simply dumping them in the garbage. The benefit goes to the public — to all of us — in the form of cleaning up the environment in which all of us live and finally doing something about the toxic algal blooms and hundreds of thousands of dead fish in our bays and estuaries.

David Friedman

St. James

Let voters decide

Thomas Paine said something like, “A body holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” The majority in the Suffolk County Legislature is blatantly exercising the evils of “legislature-ism,” stealing the residents’ ability to register their vote on their own drinking water and claiming to know more than the voters.

The Republican majority in the Suffolk Legislature cannot be trusted. What choices will they deny next?

Joan Nickeson

Terryville

Legislature appropriately nixes sewer tax

Kudos for the Suffolk County Legislature for not enacting another tax — that always increases over time — for sewering the county by closing cesspools and septic tanks in homes and small buildings, while building and expanding sewer plants and laying the large and numerous pipes needed for connections. This is no small change as $2.1 billion is mentioned arising from this initial tax.

Sewering is the landowners’ and developers’ dream. Lack of sewers prevents them from increasing building height, numbers and density, hence more rent, profits and value. If they could get the Legislature to have the public pay for sewering, they hit the lottery.

Regional sewer plants are concerning. Huntington has one as does Northport, for example. They discharge into the harbor and even with “upgrades,” high nitrogen and other components flow into the harbor and beaches. In stagnant conditions, the water is deoxygenated, fish die and green and brown tides of algae proliferate. Would you swim from a town beach in a harbor with a discharging sewer plant?

But are cesspools contaminating groundwater? They have been used since Roman times and work for single homes and structures. Waste goes into a perforated cement cylinder buried in soil and bacteria digest it. The effluent flows through the dozens of feet of sand and soil and is cleansed before entering the water table.

Sewering may be useful in coastal and near-coastal areas to prevent pollution. The rest of Long Island is doing fine with cesspools and septic tanks, and is quite happy that high-rise offices, housing, commercial structures and density are not blighting their communities.

Mark Sertoff

East Northport

Maryhaven is not just a facade

The July 13 article, “Port Jeff village board cans code changes for Maryhaven,” states that the proposed changes “were an effort by the previous administration to preserve the historic building.” That’s not entirely the case.

While the preservation of the building’s facade was touted as a concern, the proposed code change was, as former village attorney Brian Egan explained, a “proactive” step to clear the path for developers. And because that change in code, from Professional Office to Moderate-Density Residence, would have allowed developers to construct nearly 200 condos — a significant increase in density — it came under strong opposition from the public.

Many residents urged the board of trustees to consider alternative uses for the property that would not only be in the best interests of the village as a whole, like moving our Fire Department and EMS there, but more in line with the legacy of a building once known as the Center of Hope.

We thank Mayor Lauren Sheprow and the current board of trustees for rejecting this code change and allowing us the opportunity to explore those other options. A building, which for generations was used to help those in need, should be repurposed for something greater than expensive condominiums that would only serve the few at the expense of the many.

Ana Hozyainova, President

Kathleen McLane, Outreach Officer

Port Jefferson Civic Association

Official newspaper of the Northport-East Northport school district

It is with great pleasure that I notify you that at the Annual Organization Meeting of the Board of Education of the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District, held on Thursday evening, July 13, The Times of Huntington-Northport was designated as the official newspaper for the district publications and legal notices for the 2023-24 school year.

We thank you for your support and extend our best wishes for the new school year.

Beth M. Nystrom

District Clerk

Official newspaper of the Village of Belle Terre

At the Organizational Meeting of the Board of Trustees held on July 18, The Port Times Record was designated as the official newspaper for the Village of Belle Terre for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.

Louise Smit

Deputy Village Clerk-Treasurer

Funtastic 2023 concert rocks Bald Hill

by Tara Mae - July 27, 2023

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On July 23, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame celebrated the power of music with “Funtastic 2023,” a benefit concert for the organization featuring Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo with special guest Taylor Dayne at the Catholic Health Amphitheater at Bald Hill in Farmingville. The packed crowd enjoyed rock favorites including “Love Is A Battlefield, “Heartbreaker” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” from Benatar and “Tell It to My Heart,” “Love Will Lead You Back,” and “With Every Beat of My Heart” from Dayne, both native Long Islanders.

Photos by Tara Mae and Dylan Ebrahimian

D. None of the Above: A soggy hamburger that helped a defendant flee

by Daniel Dunaief - July 26, 2023

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By Daniel Dunaief

They found me.

After several decades without my civil service responsibilities cropping up, I recently received a summons to appear for jury duty.

The summons brought back memories of a jury I served on years ago. While I was sitting in the courtroom waiting as a court officer chose names of potential jurors for a criminal case, a woman sitting next to me asked my name. When I told her, she said I’d be picked for that jury.

I smirked because there were 200 of us in the room.

Two names later, they called me. I looked back quizzically at the woman, who smiled and walked out of the room with the others who weren’t called.

I served on that jury. It was a buy and bust drug case. I listened carefully as the defense attorney questioned the under cover police officer who tried to buy drugs from the defendant.

When the defense attorney asked how many such operations the policeman had been on, the number was high enough to raise questions about how well he remembered this defendant.

The officer said he made notes, which the defense attorney asked him to read. Going through the notes, he described someone who was about the same build and age as the defendant. He also described a leather jacket with a specific insignia. That was not the defense attorney’s finest moment, as the defendant was wearing that exact same jacket to court. Whoops!

The rest of the trial wasn’t particularly memorable. On closing, the defense attorney suggested that the defendant became addicted to drugs when he served in Vietnam. The judge asked us to focus only on whether the defendant broke the law and not on how he might have gotten addicted to drugs.

After the judge sent us to deliberate, the foreman suggested that we take a vote. Who thought the man had drugs in his possession?

Every hand shot up.

Who thought he intended to sell those drugs?

Everyone but one person agreed.

We asked her about her concerns. She said she had ordered lunch and wanted her hamburger and fries. We told her we’d be happy to pitch in and give her money for a lunch if that was the only reason she wasn’t voting to convict.

Was that, we wondered, paying her for a verdict?

It didn’t matter. She wanted to wait. When lunch came, we ate quietly, waiting for the moment we could take another vote. The holdout said the burger wasn’t good and the fries were soggy.

Gnashing our teeth, we voted again. This time, we all voted to convict. One of the other jurors asked her if she had any other concerns or questions. She shook her head.

When we knocked on the door to let the officer know we were ready, he told us to wait. We spent another three hours in that room.

We returned to the courtroom, where the foreman announced our verdict. The defense attorney polled us all on both counts.

Once we were out in the hallway, I asked the prosecutor why we had to wait so long. She said the judge had held them in the courtroom, figuring that we’d have a verdict before lunch. When he heard we broke for lunch, he told everyone to leave and return in an hour.

Everyone but the defendant came back. The defense attorney spent the next few hours calling his relatives and trying to bring him back.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked.

The police would go to his residence and there would be a warrant for his arrest. He would also enter a database. How hard, I wondered, would the police search for him?

She suggested they would look, but that he was more likely to be caught committing another crime.

“He’s out because someone wanted a soggy burger?” I asked.

She shrugged.

With cell phones and an electronic footprint, the system today may work better than it did then.

Between You and Me: A spy story whose heroes were largely unknown until now

by Leah Dunaief - July 26, 2023

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Toole-Andre-1 — 'The Capture of John Andre' by John Toole. Wikimedia Commons

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

But for the fact that three militia men were playing cards and having lunch in the bushes alongside the Albany Post Road south of the West Point fort in 1780, we might be speaking English with a British accent.

It was down this road that British Major John Andre came galloping, and when the three stopped him near Tarrytown, N. Y. to ascertain his business, they searched him and found detailed maps in one of his boots. It was key information about the fort, and the men realized the rider was a spy, trying to get behind the British lines in New York City.

As it turned out, Andre was coming from a meeting with Benedict Arnold, the commander at West Point, who was about to turn over the fortification to the British and join them in the Revolutionary War. The fort was a most important installation, blocking the British garrisons from moving up the Hudson, splitting New England from the rest of the colonies and connecting with their troops in Canada. This strategy could well have ended the war.

The British troops had tried to overwhelm the fort but failed. There was a British ship moored in the Hudson, and when Arnold got word that Andre had been captured, he boarded the ship and crossed over to the other side of the river where the British were camped, making his escape and marking him for all of history as a traitor to his country.

Andre was recognized as an important figure and turned out to be head of British intelligence. The Colonists questioned him in detail. The map and information he carried would have allowed the British to enter and capture West Point. Andre confessed his role and ultimately was hanged as a spy, much as Nathan Hale had been four years earlier.

During the time Andre was held prisoner, he succeeded in charming his captors. A well educated man, of keen wit and culture, he was appealing to the upper-class American officers, including Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette, of the Colonial Army for his patriotism to his country. Ironically, we have heard of “Poor” Andre and Benedict Arnold, but most of us have never heard of John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart, the three who captured the Brit. That is, until now.

Van Wart and the other two were farmers in their early twenties and were part of a local militia attempting to protect the much harassed residents sandwiched between Washington’s forces in the Hudson Highlands and the British army in Manhattan. That is why the three were stationed along the dirt road. Andre tried to bribe the men to release him, but they handed him over to American forces.

The men “were recognized by the Continental Congress with hand-wrought, silver military medals, now considered to be the first ever awarded to American soldiers,” according to a New York Times article in last Saturday’s issue. And while two of the three medals were stolen from the New York Historical Society in 1975 and never found, the third was held by the Van Wart family for over two hundred years and has now been donated to the New York State Museum in Albany, where it can be seen starting in the fall.

The three men met with Washington, were given the medals, and each a plot of land and a lifetime annual pension of $200, which was then a “princely sum.”

Van Wart died in 1828, and the medal was passed down through the generations of his family until it reached Rae Faith Van Wart Robinson in White Plains. She was inordinately proud of her ancestor and kept the medal in a shoe box under her bed, taking it out to display at historical events. She never married, had no children or siblings, and when she died in 2020, she instructed that the medal be given to a museum where it could always be viewed and the story told. The front of the medal prominently bears one word: “Fidelity.”

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