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Photo by Beverly C. Tyler

**Important Event Update**
Due to inclement weather forecasts, the Wet Paint Festival Reception being held at The Reboli Center is being moved from Friday, July 21 to: Saturday, July 22 from 5:30pm – 8:00pm.

Join the Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main St., Stony Brook for a Backyard Picnic Reception to celebrate the artwork and artists of Gallery North’s 2023 Wet Paint Festival from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Featuring an awards ceremony (awards will be granted to Best Picnic Blanket Spread and Centerpiece and 1st, 2nd and 32d Place in the People’s Choice of Artwork), live music by the Bayport Jazz Band, coffee and cake. Bring your own picnic spread.  For more information, call 631-751-7707 or email [email protected].

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Suffolk County Water Authority Board Chair Charles Lefkowitz, at podium, urges residents to adjust their watering patterns. Photo by Raymond Janis

By Raymond Janis

[email protected]

Tucked away on 5th Avenue in Bay Shore, just south of Sunrise Highway, lies the heart of the Suffolk County Water Authority’s operations.

Data streams into this control center around the clock, funneling information from each of the water authority’s myriad wells and pumps from Melville to Montauk. Amid these summer months, that data indicates Suffolk residents are overloading the system through excessive water consumption.

SCWA officials held a press conference at this site Thursday, July 13, sending a singular message to Suffolk County residents: Conserve water.

“We’re pleading to the public at this point to conserve,” said Charles Lefkowitz, chair of the SCWA Board. “We need all the residents to participate in these conservation efforts.”

Lefkowitz attributes the problems with overpumping primarily to irresponsible irrigation practices. “It starts with the irrigation systems,” he said. “Lawns do not need to be watered every single day.”

Joe Pokorny, deputy CEO for operations at SCWA, indicated that county residents are pumping 500,000 gallons per minute during peak irrigation periods during this summer season. By contrast, peak levels are around 100,000 gallons per minute during non-irrigation months.

“This time of year, people are using about five times as much water during the peak as they would in the off period,” he said.

He added that if residents en masse do not begin to curtail their water consumption, they may begin to experience issues with water pressure. This phenomenon impacts those on the East End most markedly.

“When demand outstrips supply, our tank levels fall,” the deputy CEO noted. “When our tank levels fall, the pressures in our system go down. And if the pressure in your water system goes down, the people that are irrigating are not going to get much irrigation on their lawns at all.”

To counteract these challenges, SCWA is encouraging residents to adopt an odd-even watering pattern, that is, irrigating their lawns every other day. 

“This will theoretically divide up the water usage by half,” Pokorny indicated. “That will then allow more people to water during those periods … and they will have green lawns as a result.”

But the problems associated with overconsumption continue beyond the front lawn. With too much stress on the tanks and diminished water pressure, there could be public safety repercussions as well.

“If firefighters need to fight a fire and a water tank is low, that means there’s less water available for fighting fires,” he added.

Along with the odd-even irrigation schedule, Lefkowitz implored residents to avoid watering during the peak hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The SCWA Board chair also announced that it has instituted up to $250 per year in “water credits” for residents who use rain sensors, irrigation timers, leak detection and compliant faucet heads.

To learn about SCWA’s water credits program, visit www.scwa.com.

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A scene from Stony Brook Medicine's ribbon cutting ceremony on July 19. Photo by Aidan Johnson
Dr. Peter Igarashi speaking at the grand opening. Photo by Aidan Johnson
A scene from Stony Brook Medicine's ribbon cutting ceremony on July 19. Photo by Aidan Johnson
Dr. Todd Griffin speaking at the grand opening. Photo by Aidan Johnson
A scene from Stony Brook Medicine's ribbon cutting ceremony on July 19. Photo by Aidan Johnson

By Aidan Johnson

[email protected]

Stony Brook Medicine’s new facility at Smith Haven Mall held its official ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, July 19, welcoming the completion of the facility’s Phase One of its advanced specialties, which will likely be finished by 2027.

The new facility, which will be the new home to the different advanced specialties that were found on Technology Drive, offers a much more accessible “one-stop shop” for patients.

Maurie McInnis, president of Stony Brook University and overseer of Stony Brook Medicine, spoke at the ceremony, saying Stony Brook Medicine’s new location will be reminding their patients that they are there for them.

“We believe in quality health care that is accessible to all,” McInnis said in her speech. “As a world-renowned medical system and an entrusted flagship university for New York State, it is our duty and our privilege to make it so,” she continued.

Dr. Todd Griffin, vice president for clinical services and vice dean for clinical affairs at Stony Brook Medicine, shared his outlook for the facility’s future, saying, “We eagerly anticipate hosting a health care open house in the near future where our community and patients can explore our beautiful facility and learn more about the services that are available to them.”

Since Smith Haven Mall falls in both the towns of Brookhaven and Smithtown, Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) each spoke during the ceremony.

“You think about life and you wonder, and you ask people in their everyday lives what concerns them,” Romaine said after praising SBU, the hospital and its staff.

“They’re concerned about health, because without health, you don’t have anything else. This facility will do so much good for so many years and for so many people,” he added.

Wehrheim spoke about the renaissance he believes is underway in Smithtown. 

“This is an excellent partnership and a huge benefit both to the new residents that will be coming to live in our Town of Smithtown, and also for Stony Brook Medicine,” he said, expressing his gratitude to McInnis.

“We make laws in government, but you folk, you doctors and staff and nurses, actually save lives and that’s what’s important to a community.”

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

We are miles, three graduations and almost exactly five years removed from leaving the first house my wife and I bought.

As a close friend prepares to move into the first house he and his wife will own, I started to reflect on the way that first house served as a backdrop for such a seminal period in our family life.

As the temperatures have soared recently, I recalled how our children, who were born in Manhattan, reveled in the chance to run through their own sprinklers. They raced in and out of the water, laughing as their bare feet gripped the soggy, cool ground.

We moved into the house when our daughter had just turned five. On one of her first walks around the neighborhood, she brought back an inchworm on her finger. Eager to share the magic of that tiny life with her mom, she carried it all the way back inside our house, where it disappeared into our steps moments after its arrival.

In the backyard, a perfect climbing tree called to our children. Both of them displayed considerable prowess in scaling that tree towards the top, reaching over 15 feet above us. Their grandparents were in awe of their climbing skills and a bit unnerved by the heights they reached.

Our son and daughter shared a blue swing set. At the top of a small rock climbing wall, they sat on a board sheltered from the sun and rain by a triangular blue cloth. There, they enjoyed ice cream and a few moments in the shade.

On the lawn, we and our children played kickball with their friends and relatives, tossed around a baseball and softball, and played games like Kan Jam.

The seasons each had their defining characteristics. In the spring, a bush by our driveway announced the approaching warm weather with a celebration of white flowers.

Amid a few memorable hurricanes, including the vicious Sandy, we sought shelter in our protected basement, where we slept on mattresses we lugged downstairs, away from howling winds and driving rain. Fortunately, downed trees which cut power for nine days and reduced the temperature inside to 50 degrees didn’t hit our house.

With one season moving both slowly and rapidly into the next, we watched in wonder as our children grew up, bringing hard-earned athletic trophies home and filling the walls with the sound of music that became increasingly melodic and precise.

Family members pulled up to our steep driveway, bringing carved pumpkins, presents and support for our children.

At the end of their treks around the neighborhood during Halloween, our son and daughter emptied enormous pillowcases or bags of candy onto our living room floor, lining up and trading the kind of candy haul that would have made Willy Wonka proud.

Often as my birthday approached, my wife and I spent more time than we probably should have making soft chocolate chip cookies.

During one particularly difficult summer, I developed my first kidney stone. Not wanting to wake anyone, I sought solace in the basement, where I contorted my body into positions on the same floor where we found shelter amid the hurricanes. In the middle of the night, my daughter came down and stood on my back, providing some relief.

Like its occupants, the house wasn’t perfect, with water that took a while to heat at times, bulbs that needed replacing, and appliances that didn’t always work.

And yet, that first house served as the launching pad for new days, dreams and friendships. My wife and I greeted our children’s friends and their parents, who sometimes stopped by for barbecues or to drop something off before the next activity.

As my friend prepares to enter the next phase of his life, I hope the house he shares with his wife bears witness to excitement and adventures that lay ahead, one magical inchworm at a time.

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Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Big mammals must appeal to me. I love horses. When I visited South Africa, I fell in love with elephants. And now that I have returned from a few days on Cape Cod, I am totally smitten by whales.

It was my first whale watch foray. We boarded a ferry-size boat in Provincetown, off the eastern tip of the Cape, and I was surprised to see at least 200 people, who had the same idea, seated on two decks. It was a perfect day to be out on the water, hot, humid, with only a soft breeze barely stirring the ocean. We finally found seats in a shaded section of the upper deck just as the boat took off heading north east into the Atlantic.

Everyone seemed in a holiday mood, talking and laughing for over an hour until someone yelled, “Look! There are mists ahead.” Then silence, as everyone peered at the horizon. The captain slowed the boat and as we got closer, we could see the backs of two whales, diving and surfacing, expelling air through their blowholes as they breathed.

“Those are humpbacks,” the tour guide explained over the PA system. “There are many different kinds of whales,” she continued. It seems there are about 80 species of living whales, and they fall into two groups: baleen and toothed. We were seeing baleens, a word that refers to the manner in which they secure their food. Instead of teeth, baleens are like broad vertical Venetian blinds that grow down from the roof of the whale’s mouth. They are hard, like our finger nails, each one at least a foot long, maybe five inches wide and close together. They act to filter what the whale takes in, excluding anything wider than plankton.

Two years ago, around this time, a whale swallowed a man just off the Cape. This is a true story that made headlines all over the globe, and the man, Michael Packard, lived to tell the tale. 

“I’m done! I’m dead!” was the immediate reaction of Packard, who is a lobster scuba diver, when he was sucked into the mouth of a whale that came up behind him as he was descending to the seabed to search for lobster. Whales feed by opening their mouths like a wide elevator door, squeezing whatever is ingested, then spitting out what doesn’t get filtered by their baleen. 

Suddenly he felt a huge shove and it got completely black, and Packard realized he was inside a whale. “ I could feel the whale squeezing with the muscles of his mouth,” said Packard, as quoted by Newsweek. “I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m getting out of here.’”

But then the whale “started going up. All of a sudden it just got to the surface, and he started shaking his head and getting all erratic … and then boom!” The diver flew out of the whale’s mouth, traveled a distance of some 50 feet and lay floating on the surface, looking up at the sky. “I think I’m going to live,” he remembers. He was inside the whale for about 40 seconds. Packard was picked up by a crew member, who called to shore, and when they arrived at the pier, an ambulance was waiting to take him to the hospital. He wound up with one broken rib and some soft tissue damage. Three weeks later, he was back diving for lobsters but now also making TV appearances with the likes of Jimmy Kimmel.

Actually, the whale didn’t swallow Packard. A whale’s throat is too narrow for a human to pass through. The humpback held Pachard in his mouth, then surfaced and spit him out.

We were lucky on that trip, seeing 18 whales, according to the tour guide’s count. Once the boat stopped, the whales surfaced and dived around us, almost as if they were entertaining us. One whale, estimated by the captain to be about 6 months old, cavorted and flipped  not far off the starboard side of our boat for at least 15 minutes. Some of us believe he was encouraged by our screams of approval and deliberately putting on a show.

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Photo from Town of Brookhaven

Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro and Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich have announced the completion of two paving projects in East Setauket. The first project involved the resurfacing of Research Way and Technology Drive; in the second, Gaul Road North, Gaul Road South and Gun Path were resurfaced.

Prior to paving in both projects, crews completed extensive concrete improvements, inspecting and installing new drains and repairing and replacing damaged concrete curbing, sidewalks and aprons. More than 80 ADA-compliant handicap ramps were replaced on Research Way and Technology Drive.

The total cost for both paving projects was just over $1 million.

Superintendent Losquadro said, “The roadways in this East Setauket medical office park had significantly deteriorated over the years. They will now be safer for the staff and patients who visit the businesses and medical facilities along Research Way and Technology Drive. Similarly, residents in the Gaul Road neighborhood will enjoy a smoother ride, as well.”

Councilmember Kornreich said, “Thank you Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro for your team’s efforts in completing the resurfacing projects on Research Way, Technology Drive, Gaul Road and Gun Path. The newly resurfaced roads are now safer, more weather resilient and easier to navigate. They will contribute to the quality of life of all our road users. I would also like to thank our residents and encourage them to keep reaching out to let us know what you’re seeing out there and how the Town of Brookhaven can help.”

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Photo by Des Kerrigan from Pixabay
By Carolyn Sackstein

In keeping with heightened media attention to the threat of shark bites, TBR News Media went to the streets on Saturday, July 8, asking visitors to Port Jefferson if they were concerned about reports of shark sightings and shark attacks on Long Island’s South Shore. 

One person voiced fear of sharks. Another said she doesn’t like fish in general. The rest seemed confident that local authorities and lifeguards could minimize the risks from sharks and keep beachgoers safe.

— Photos by Carolyn Sackstein

 

Douglas Maze, Connecticut, and Dee Schmitt, Connecticut

When asked if they had changed their beach habits due to the recent reports of shark attacks, Douglas said, “Yes, I will not go to the beach or in the water because I have a fear of sharks.” When asked how long he feared sharks, he replied, “My whole life.” 

Dee said, “Yes and no. I am more cautious now. I still go in the water, but only up to my knees. That’s about it.”

 

 

 

Lisa Freeman, Tarpon Springs, Florida, and Al Latchford, Clearwater, Florida

Lisa responded to our inquiries with, “Yes, I go to Clearwater Beach, which is in the Gulf of Mexico.” She also acknowledged that there are sharks in the Gulf and that she plans to go in the water while she is visiting Long Island. “I am going to Robert Moses [State Park] tomorrow. We heard there are shark sightings there.” When asked if sharks deter her from going in the water, she said, “No. We respect that it is their place. If we see them, we get out of their way.”

 Al added, “As long as we are aware and watching out what is going on, I’m OK with going in the water. No fear, just caution.”

 

 

Mike and Lauren Librizzi, Lynbrook 

Mike said, “I go to, more often than not, Atlantic Beach [in Hempstead].” When asked if he was concerned about the recent sightings and attacks, he replied, “Not as much. If the lifeguards are on duty, and you’re being smart by not going in too deep, you should be OK.”

Lauren won’t go in the water at the beach. She explained she does like the beach for the sun and sand: “We go to a beach club in Atlantic Beach. I just don’t like fish. If I can’t see my feet, I don’t go in. I do go into pools.”

 

 

 

Genie Weisman, Mount Sinai

When asked if she goes to any of the South Shore beaches, Genie offered, “Not very often. We’ve taken the kids to Corey Beach [on the Great South Bay].” She explained that not going to the beaches anymore is a matter of opportunity, not sharks. Genie suggested that the increase in shark sightings is likely, “the bunkers and the bait fish. [Sharks] are following their food.” She added that she is willing to go to a beach if the opportunity arises, “probably, as long as there are no red flags.”

 

 

Megan Wesolowski and Jake Hine, Port Jefferson Station

Megan said she goes to Cupsogue Beach. Jake also goes to Cupsogue and out in Montauk.

When asked why they chose those areas, Megan explained, “Nice sand, the water’s nice. They keep it clean.” When asked about the recent shark reports, they weren’t concerned. Megan said, “I hadn’t really thought about it.” 

Jake continued, “We swim at our own risk either way — lifeguards or no lifeguards. We just like the towns over there. No change [in beach habits], still going in.”

 

Gregg Fedus, Mystic, Connecticut

“I don’t really know about the local reports [on shark sightings and attacks] because I just came here yesterday and staying for the weekend. My guess is it’s overblown a little bit. You’ve just gotta be careful when you’re out on the water.” He feels the warmer water is drawing the sharks here. When asked if he would go into the water, he responded, “Sure.”

 

 

 

 

Trey Pratt, Old Saybrook, Connecticut

When asked if he fears sharks, he emphatically responded, “No!” When asked what is responsible for the reports of shark sightings, he felt it is due to “active media!” He fishes but has no problem going to any of the ocean beaches or fear of needing “a bigger boat.”

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Stony Brook Medicine’s new facility at Smith Haven Mall. Photo by Aidan Johnson
By Aidan Johnson

When a person plans a trip to the mall, they may imagine buying new clothes, browsing storefronts and eating at the food court. Now they can add a trip to the doctor’s office to their list.

Stony Brook Medicine has opened a new advanced specialty care facility at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. The approximately 170,000-square-foot space, previously occupied by Sears, is now host to a plethora of specialties, offering a “one-stop shop” to patients.

Sharon Meinster, the assistant vice president of facilities planning and design, and Dr. Todd Griffin, vice president for clinical services and vice dean for clinical affairs at Stony Brook Medicine, explained how the new facility would be more accessible for patients than the offices at Technology Drive in Setauket.

The facility will open in multiple phases, likely to be completed by 2027. As their leases end at Technology Drive, the other practices will gradually make their way to Lake Grove. 

“What’s great here is that there’s much better public transportation to the mall,” Griffin said. “That was one of the things that we used to hate about tech parks because many of our patients were taking two or three buses to get there.”

The closest bus stop to Technology Drive is at Belle Meade Road, and if the practice was located farther down the park, it could be difficult for a patient to get there, especially in inclement weather such as heat waves or snowstorms.

There will also be an urgent care complex built in the automotive center at the Smith Haven Mall, which will have direct ambulance support to Stony Brook University Hospital.

Since the new location connects to the rest of the mall, the idea of a buzzer system, similar to those found in restaurants, was considered, allowing patients to walk around the mall while they wait, though Griffin does hope to cut down the wait times.

The phase one services, which are currently open and occupy 60,000 out of the 170,000 square feet, include family and preventive medicine, primary and specialty care, pediatrics, diabetes education, genetic counseling, neurology, neuropsychology and pain management.

The facility will help to foster collaboration between the different doctors since they will all be under one roof.

“It’s nice to have sort of the neuro institute people together,” Griffin said, adding, “You have the surgeons and the docs all in the same space, which helps with collaboration.”

“Right now, they’re in two different locations. So when they move here, they’ll be all together,” he added, “and it’s the same thing with our comprehensive pain center.”

Stony Brook Medicine will also continue to build its Commack location, which has been open since 2017. That building sits at around 350,000 square feet and houses around 38 specialties. They aim to open a surgical center as well as an advanced urgent care center by early 2025.

Despite not having many windows, the Lake Grove facility’s lighting and paint job help to create a more welcoming atmosphere. With much more to come from the Stony Brook care facility, it is already offering a fast and easy way for locals to see their doctor and then grab a pretzel on the way out.

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Frank Melville Memorial Park, 1 Old Field Road, Setauket hosts a Sip & Paint fundraiser event at Hap’s Red Barn on Tuesday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy a night of fun and relaxation as you paint Japanese Cherry Blossoms. $55 per person includes step by step painting lessons, 11″ by 14″ canvas, all painting materials, wine and light snacks. To register, visit www.frankmelvillepark.org/fundraisers. Questions? Call 631-689-6146.

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Member of the Year John McGregor, pictured above with Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine and Charlie Lefkowitz. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce
Hope Kinney, pictured with Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, David Prestia, Supervisor Romaine, and Councilmember Kornreich, received the Harold Pryor Award. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce
Martha Stansbury, pictured with Supervisor Romaine, Ed Gutleber, Nicole Sarno, Charlie Lefkowitz, and Councilmember Kornreich, was presented with the Roy Dragota Award. Photo from Three Village Chamber of Commerce

The Three Village Chamber of Commerce honored three dedicated residents for their service to the business community at their annual Awards Dinner at the Three Village Inn in Stony Brook on June 14. 

John McGregor, pictured above with Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine and Charlie Lefkowitz, was honored as Member of the Year. Recipients of this award have shown to go above and beyond to support the Chamber and its mission. A member of the chamber for 8 years, he is Senior Vice President at Island Federal Credit Union and also a member of the Three Village Dads.

Martha Stansbury, pictured in top right photo with Supervisor Romaine, Ed Gutleber, Nicole Sarno, Charlie Lefkowitz, and Councilmember Kornreich, was presented with the Roy Dragota Award, named after the founder of the Three Village Chamber, for her outstanding commitment to and participation in the Chamber. Stansbury has served the chamber for 15+ years and currently serves as Treasurer.

Hope Kinney, pictured on right with Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, David Prestia, Supervisor Romaine, and Councilmember Kornreich, received the Harold Pryor Award which is bestowed upon an individual that demonstrates a commitment to the Three Village Community through their faithful service. Kinney is the President of the Rotary Club of Stony Brook and is on the board of the Three Village Community Trust.

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