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LIGMC presents ‘A Visit from St. Nick and A Rockin’ Holiday’  concerts

by Press Release - December 6, 2022

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Gather ‘round the fire with the Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus (LIGMC) this holiday season for “A Visit from St. Nick and a Rockin’ Holiday!”

During concerts set for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook, 380 Nicolls Road, East Setauket, and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 12 Prospect St., Huntington, LIGMC will be serving yuletide storytime realness as it presents a wide-spanning musical revue of favorites and a fabulous glitter-flecked musical retelling of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

“Since September, this merry band of choristers has been making our lists and checking them twice as we prepare to bring you a musical celebration of the most wonderful time of the year,” Bradley Meek, President of the LIGMC Board of Directors, said. “We hope that you’ll be able to join us for the concerts that we crafted with the hopeful, joyous and sparkling spirit of the season in mind.”

It’s been a busy season for LIGMC, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary this spring. On Saturday, Nov. 5, LIGMC commemorated the 100^th anniversary of LGBTQ icon Judy Garland’s birth with its “Over the Rainbow – Songs of Pride, Rainbows and Judy Garland” cabaret at the Sayville VFW Post 433. Following the conclusion of its concert series, LIGMC members are set to have a Manhattan encore on Tuesday, Dec. 13 when they are scheduled to perform selections from the concert at the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel.

“Not only is it always a joy to work with such an enthusiastic and committed group of singers, it’s especially rewarding to see our Chorus has continued to grow larger and stronger since we began performing again last winter,” LIGMC Artistic Director Jeanette Cooper said. “If you’ve never seen LIGMC perform, ‘A Visit from St. Nick and a Rockin’ Holiday’ is a great time to experience the eclectic and jubilant spirit that makes this group so special!”

Tickets are $25 and are available for purchase at the door or online at http://www.ligmc.org/concerts.

About the Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus (LIGMC)

The Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus is a voluntary, not-for-profit, community-based organization that provides diverse audiences with high-quality choral performances and musical experiences. LIGMC uses music to unite the LGBTQ community, fight prejudice and discrimination, affirm the contributions of the LGBTQ community to the region’s cultural life.

Ward Melville Patriots pickoff Lindenhurst

by Bill Landon - December 5, 2022

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Ward Melville set the tone of the game early, nearly shutting out Lindenhurst in the first eight minutes of play as the Patriots found their rhythm and outpaced their visitors, 54-27, in a non-league home game Dec. 2.

Ward Melville junior Tyler Jean-Noel led the way for the Patriots with four field goals and two free throws for 10 points. Ben Sano added eight, along with Brady Reyling and Luke Chitkara, netting 7 points apiece.

It was the Patriots’ second victory in as many games to launch their 2022-23 campaign. The team retakes the court when they host Connetquot to begin league play Dec. 12. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.

‘Winter Secrets’ walking tour heads to Stony Brook Village

by Press Release - December 4, 2022

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hercules — The Hercules Pavilion in Stony Brook. Photo by Heidi Sutton

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) has announced their next walking tour – “Winter Secrets”, on Wednesday, December 14 at 10:30 a.m.

As participants stroll the walkways of Stony Brook Village with a toasty cup of hot chocolate from Stony Brook Chocolate, they will hear about Stony Brook residents, artifacts and the holiday spirit. Stories include gilded age socialite Alida Emmet’s holiday parties, the year Dorothy Melville saved the holidays, arctic fever and the Polaris whaleboat, finding joy during the holiday season (and beyond) during the Great Depression, and more!

Rain date is Thursday, December 15 at the same time. Reservations required. $15 per person, includes hot chocolate and a complimentary glass of wine with the purchase of an entrée at Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern at the Three Village Inn. To reserve your spot on the tour and to learn more about the WMHO, call 631-751-2244.

SBU’s Karine Kleinhaus urges efforts to save Egypt’s valuable coral reefs

by Daniel Dunaief - December 4, 2022

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0-11 — Egypt’s coral reefs, shown here in a recent photo of the Red Sea in Egypt, remain one of the few pristine reef systems worldwide. Photo by Maoz Fine

By Daniel Dunaief

While global warming threatens most of the warm water reefs of the world, the reefs off the coast of Egypt and nearby countries are capable of surviving, and even thriving, in warmer waters.

That, however, does not mean these reefs, which live in the Northern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and are along the coastline of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, are safe.

Indeed, several factors including unsustainable tourism, sewage discharge, coastal development, and desalination discharge threaten the survival of reefs that bring in more money than the Great Pyramids.

Recently, Karine Kleinhaus, Associate Professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, published a letter in the prestigious journal Science that suggested it’s time to conserve the Egyptian reefs, which constitute about 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Along with co-author Ellen Pikitch, Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science at SOMAS, whe urged an expanded and fortified marine protected network. As of now, the MPAs only protect about 4 percent of Egypts’s waters.

Kleinhaus, who is President of the Red Sea Reef Foundation which supports scientific research on the reefs, also urged more effective fisheries management and enforcement and an investment in sustainable tourism practices and infrastructure that mitigates land-based pollution, such as waste-water treatment infrastructure and garbage disposal mechanisms.

Science published the letter just days before the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

During the COP27 conference, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) committed up to $15 million to scale reef-positive blue economic growth and conservation finance in the Red Sea in partnership with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs.

Kleinhaus called the investment a “great start” in protecting a “valuable global treasure. It’s great that the US recognizes the value of this place and that the US is working to contribute to preserve it.”

Other work ahead

Kleinhaus added that considerable works lies ahead to protect one of the few reefs capable of surviving climate change. “We can’t turn the clock back right this minute on warming the oceans, [but] we can stop the conditions that are happening along the Red Sea reef,” she said.

Kleinhaus suggested that all the threats to the reefs are significant. Tourists who are not educated about the fragility of the nature they’ve come to see have damaged the reef. Scuba divers, meanwhile, smash into the reefs with their tanks or drag their regulators and other gauges over the reefs, killing or injuring them.

During Covid travel restrictions, Kleinhaus heard that some parts of the reef, which would have otherwise been damaged by visitors, recovered. Raw sewage and general pollution reaching the reefs also threatens marine life, as is over fishing.

Other reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, have sustained damage from global warming. Kleinhaus described those reefs as a “warning that things are going to change.”

Transplanting parts of the Red Sea reef into other parts of the world to enhance temperature resilience is unlikely to work, Kleinhaus said. These reefs include a diverse ecosystem that supports it, including algae, bacteria, invertebrates and fish.

“We don’t have the scientific knowhow to transplant entire ecosystems at this time,” said Kleinhaus

Evolution of resistance

Kleinhaus explained that heat resistance in the Red Sea reefs developed through natural selection of the coral animals.

During the last Ice Age, the Red Sea got cut off from the Indian Ocean, which meant the temperature climbed and the sea didn’t have any rivers emptying into it. When the Ice Age ended, waters rose into the Red Sea that carried coral from the Indian ocean. The coral that survived had to be tolerant of heat and salt.

“That is the working hypothesis as to why the corals in the northern Red Sea are resilient,” Kleinhaus explained in an email. “They were selected to tolerate hotter water than where they live now.” She called this resilience a “lucky break” for the reefs.

Unusual path

Kleinhaus, who grew up in Westchester, New York, followed an unusual path into marine research.

After attended medical school in Israel at Tel Aviv Medical School, she practiced briefly as an obstetrician in New York. From there, she was the divisional vice president for North America for an Israeli biotechnology company.

Egypt’s coral reefs, shown here in a recent photo of the Red Sea in Egypt, remain one of the few pristine reef systems worldwide. Photo by Maoz Fine

Kleinhaus was reading about the effect of heatwaves and global warming on coral reefs. Upset that they were dying, she decided to make a career change and earned her master’s degree in Marine Conservation and Policy at Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

The common thread in her career is that she was working on cell therapy using cells from the placenta, which is an extension of her obstetrics career. Nowadays, she studies reproduction in corals.

Like humans, corals have the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Unlike humans, reefs are hermaphrodites and can switch back and forth between genders. Kleinhaus is exploring the relationship between hormones and the stages of reproduction in coral.

Numerous species of coral spawn once a year within 20 minutes of each other. Their reproduction is tied to the moon cycle. Kleinhaus has collected over two and a half years of data and plans to publish those results in a scientific journal.

She started diving in 1993 and said she enjoys seeing the colors, the shapes, the fish, turtle, octopuses, dolphin and barracuda. Invertebrates and sponges also contribute to the “overwhelming and glorious” experience of visiting reefs.

Down the road, she’d like to collect information from the COP27 conference and write a follow-up piece that would include more deep research about policies and conditions of the reef.

The point of the letter was to “highlight that this has to be protected and it’s a serious interest to everybody in Egypt.”

Councilman LaValle and Di Santo go head-to-head in Brookhaven clerk special election

by Raymond Janis - December 2, 2022

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disantolavalle — Pictured above, Lisa Di Santo and Town of Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden). Left from Di Santo’s Facebook page; right from the town website

In a race to fill former Brookhaven Town Clerk Donna Lent’s (I) seat, Town of Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) will square off against community advocate Lisa Di Santo, of East Patchogue.

Lent announced her retirement last month, vacating her seat and triggering a special election for her expired term ending in 2025. [See story, “Brookhaven’s town clerk retires from public service.“]

Both candidates were chosen unanimously by their respective parties during separate nominating conferences last week. In phone interviews with TBR News Media, the candidates discussed their professional backgrounds, reasons for pursuing the office of clerk and plans for the future.

Before entering elected office, LaValle, a lifelong Brookhaven resident, owned a title agency, assisting prospective homebuyers with vital records, such as liens, deeds and similar documents. He then transitioned into the mortgage business, where he still works today.

In 2013, LaValle campaigned successfully to represent Brookhaven’s 3rd Council District, an office he has held ever since.

“Why I’m making this run for town clerk, I think it’s [because] we see in the paper every day with what just happened with Suffolk County, the hack that happened,” he said. “You can see very clearly that that’s something we don’t want to happen in Brookhaven. Managing people’s personal records is critical to our county and our township.”

Di Santo is a 50-year resident of Brookhaven whose background is in community advocacy. Before running for office, she was a social studies teacher, served as vice president of the Bellport Area Community Action Committee, and for over a decade was a trustee on the South Country Central School District Board of Education.

In her interview, she emphasized the need for citizens to have a stake in their local government and connect to the democratic process.

“When looking at the way the town functions, the town clerk plays a very important role in the accessibility of good government, accountability of good government and the security that’s necessary in good government,” she said. “In all of those three areas, I currently see that the town fails miserably.”

The Democratic candidate added, “I’m running because I do believe wholeheartedly that the town clerk, especially now, needs to be an independent person and an independent voice to be certain that there is truly open government in Brookhaven Town.”

For LaValle, the protection of residents’ sensitive information is paramount. Like Di Santo’s proposal, he said he intends to promote efficiency and expand resident access to their records and to the office of clerk.

“We have to make sure records are secure, but we want to increase access,” the town councilman said. “We want to be able to have people with disabilities not have to come up to Town Hall to get handicap parking passes, and what have you.”

He added, “We have to increase our internet capabilities to be able to service residents’ needs without making them have to come to Town Hall. And certainly, we have to work to increase the transparency within the government.”

LaValle contends that town clerk is a technically demanding position to learn and to hold. However, he maintains that his professional training within the public and private sector have prepared him in unique ways for the demands of the office.

“I believe that I have the ability and the experience to be able to do this job effectively, managing an over-30-person staff, and making sure residents are taken care of as we move forward,” he said.

On the whole, Di Santo viewed Brookhaven as failing in its obligations to promote open government. She cited the Freedom of Information Law request process as needing reform.

“You’d be hard to find an individual who has taken the time to participate in Brookhaven Town government who would tell you that the FOIL process is one of accessibility and accountability, and there’s a serious problem there,” she said. “If a citizen, a taxpayer, can’t access information, then how can the government represent those people?”

Di Santo said her campaign rests on the notion that quality governance requires informed and engaged citizenship. Given her advocacy background, she considered herself uniquely suited to this task.

If elected, Di Santo said she intends to begin by reforming the scheduling of open meetings to bolster public participation.

“When government continues to schedule meetings that are inaccessible to people, they’re sending a message that they do not want to have a democracy,” she said. “You can’t have a democracy without the participation of the people.”

Brookhaven residents will get the final word on these two candidates during a townwide special election on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

SBU News: Stony Brook Heart Institute expands treatment options for severe aortic valve stenosis

by Press Release - December 2, 2022

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0-17 — Stony Brook Heart Institute has expanded its current array of TAVR treatment approaches, providing new options for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Photo by Jim Lennon/Stony Brook Medicine

Includes valve technology used for the first time on LI and NYC

Physicians at the Stony Brook Heart Institute Valve Center have expanded the array of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) approaches with two innovative techniques for treating patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve opening, affects up to 20 percent of older Americans. AS can lead to significant heart problems. For those with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, the mortality rate within a year can go as high as 50 percent if left untreated.

Stony Brook Heart Institute’s new treatment options offer these potential benefits to patients:

More precise procedures. Building on the existing family of TAVR treatment approaches, Evolut FX, the fourth and latest-generation of the Evolut™ TAVR System Medtronic self-expanding valve technology, is designed to provide physicians with greater ease of use, precision and control throughout the procedure—leading to overall more predictable, deliverable and precise TAVR procedures. On October 5, 2022, the specially-trained Stony Brook TAVR team completed their first FX system procedure.
Reduced wear of the valve. A new type of transcatheter tissue valve, the Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA™ valve, has the potential to improve valve longevity and reduce the need for reintervention by using enhanced calcium-blocking technology to help reduce calcification and the wear of the valve. On November 2, 2022, the first procedure using the SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA™ valve for an aortic valve replacement was performed by the Stony Brook TAVR team. On the same day, the SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA™ valve was used in an intervention procedure to replace a failed surgical mitral valve. Procedures using the SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA™ valve at Stony Brook were the first on Long Island and in NYC to be performed using this type of valve technology.

For three years in a row (2021-2023), Stony Brook has been named a Five-Star Recipient for Valve Surgery by Healthgrades, the first organization in the country to rate hospital quality based on actual clinical outcomes. The TAVR team is led by cardiovascular surgeon, Henry Tannous, MD, Co-Director, Stony Brook Heart Institute, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgical Director, Structural Heart Program; Smadar Kort, MD, Director, Valve Center and Director, Interventional Echocardiography; and interventional cardiologists Robert Pyo, MD, Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Director, Structural Heart Disease Program, and Puja Parikh, MD, Director, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) Program.

“Many of our patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis will, now, based on their individual preferences and discussion with their heart team, be able to opt for the most innovative, minimally invasive method of aortic valve replacement that best ensures their safety and outcomes,” shares Dr. Tannous. “It is an exciting and transformative time both for patients and the medical community, alike.”

“Our TAVR clinicians now have more ways to provide quality care that is customizable to the patient’s needs,” says Dr. Pyo. “Our ever-growing TAVR program continues to raise the bar for cardiac care on Long Island and we are proud to provide our community with the full array of the most comprehensive aortic stenosis diagnostics and treatments under one roof.”

“Our TAVR program is patient-focused in every aspect, from patient selection to procedure planning to treatment and postoperative care,” advises Dr. Kort. “The treatment provided at the Stony Brook Heart Institute Valve Center is distinguished by easy access to our entire team of specialists and our wonderful and dedicated nurse navigator who acts as a liaison between the medical team and the patient and family.”

“The combined expertise of our multidisciplinary teams allows us to bring the best approach to each patient, treating our cardiovascular patients with some of the most advanced technological breakthroughs for optimal outcomes and quality of life,” says Dr. Parikh.

The TAVR procedure involves placing a replacement valve into the aortic valve’s location through a catheter. For those with severe AS who are considered high-risk for conventional open-heart surgery, the minimally-invasive alternative provides a viable option that eliminates the need for traditional open-heart surgery. TAVR is also a surgical treatment option for patients with severe AS who are considered low-or intermediate-risk for conventional open heart surgery. Stony Brook was the first in Suffolk County and among the first in the nation to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacement or TAVR.

For more information about innovative heart treatment at Stony Brook Heart Institute, visit heart.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

About Stony Brook Heart Institute:

Stony Brook Heart Institute is located within Stony Brook University Hospital as part of Long Island’s premier university-based medical center. The Heart Institute offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The staff includes full-time and community-based, board-certified cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, as well as specially trained anesthesiologists, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, surgical technologists, perfusionists, and other support staff. Their combined expertise provides state-of-the-art interventional and surgical capabilities in 24-hour cardiac catheterization labs and surgical suites. And while the Heart Institute clinical staff offers the latest advances in medicine, its physician-scientists are also actively enhancing knowledge of the heart and blood vessels through basic biomedical studies and clinical research. To learn more, visit www.heart.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

Daughter inspires North Shore singer to live her dreams

by Rita J. Egan - December 2, 2022

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For one North Shore singer, an injury and her 13-year-old daughter have led her on a path she has dreamed about for years.

Singer-songwriter Robbie Harte, above, won two awards at the 2022 International Singer-Songwriters Association awards ceremony. Photo from Robbie Harte

Growing up in Montreal, Canada, Robbie Harte wanted to become a singer-songwriter. However, her goal was put on hold when an accident 14 years ago caused a back and spine injury that left her in chronic pain and unable to sing.

“It affected every part of me,” Harte said.

She added the best way to describe the issue to people is to imagine throbbing tooth pain from the waist to the toes all day, where sitting, standing or lying down doesn’t relieve the pain. It was so overwhelming that it was difficult for her to take in the breaths she needed to hold notes.

The Canadian was already living in Suffolk County when the accident occurred. She had met her husband during a trip to Hawaii. She worked for an airline and planned to go to Paris to write. Last minute Harte said she felt she shouldn’t go to France and opted to go to Hawaii, a place she was familiar with from visiting a couple of times. One morning while sitting in a coffee shop, she saw him run by, and then he was inside the shop a little while later. He stopped by her table to talk to her while she was writing about a couple meeting

In her song “Out of the Blue,” she recounts the meeting saying she “traded Paris in for paradise.”

They began a long-distance relationship, with the two traveling between Canada and Smithtown, where he lived at the time. Shortly after she moved to Suffolk County, they married. Soon after she became pregnant with her daughter, she was injured.

“It was such a happy time for us, then I was sidelined,” Harte said. “It wasn’t just that I was sidelined — I was sidelined and silenced.”

She added that she navigated sad times in the past by expressing herself through music. Harte said at first, she accepted this was the way it was, but she started realizing she wasn’t herself.

After her daughter was diagnosed with autism when she was 7, Harte wanted to show her child that a medical diagnosis shouldn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams.

“She’s the driving force that I’m on this journey,” the singer said. “She is the reason I’m pursuing my dream. She’s the reason that I’m doing all of this.”

Harte said she was inspired to pursue her goals despite chronic pain to show her daughter, right, that obstacles shouldn’t get in the way of dreams. Photo from Robbie Harte

Harte remembered the day she and her husband told their daughter about the autism diagnosis. She said they explained that sometimes things may be more challenging for her than others, but she shouldn’t let it get in the way of living her dreams. Harte said that conversation catapulted her to start pursuing her own goals.

“Here I was sitting on the couch, curled up in a ball, not living my dream because I couldn’t do it anymore, and things were really hard for me,” she said. “I said, ‘You know, I can’t tell her that and not put action behind my words. I have to show her by example, by being the best possible role model I can.’ That was the moment that I really decided this is my dream.”

Harte decided to put everything into singing despite how difficult or uncomfortable it was at first. The singer, who taught herself to play guitar, released her first EP in 2020 and has been enjoying musical success with her country/pop songs ever since. She has won and been nominated for several awards. Recently, she won the Gold Songwriter of the Year award and Bronze Single of the Year award for “Outside My Window” from the International Singer-Songwriters Association.

A few weeks ago, Harte released the single “Reason to Rise.” She described the song as an “anthemic power ballad.” The single has received airplay all over the globe and has landed on Canadian, country and indie music charts.

The journey has taught Harte a lot about herself and her strengths, she said. Initially, she was afraid she would never be able to get on a stage because she uses a cane regularly. However, she decided she would hold on to whatever else she needed, whether it was a curtain or microphone stand.

“You can’t let any of these things stop you because they’re just details,” Harte said.

The wife and mother also had advice when it comes to balancing various responsibilities and demands that parents face when juggling their own and their children’s obligations. She said the key is not to let everything overwhelm a parent, and she feels it’s important to make time for oneself. Harte said it’s vital to have a release such as singing, a hobby or playing a sport.

“If you don’t have that, you can’t give to other people,” she said. “You need to be in a positive mindset, and you need to have a few minutes — even if it’s 15 minutes — to do something that you love, so that you’re grounded, so that you can give your best to the people around you.”

Harte said she hopes to use her platform “to uplift, inspire and empower people” and to encourage them to let nothing stop them from doing what they love.

“I want to remind people to go out there and pursue their dreams and do what they love, despite their age, their ability or their limitations.”

For more information, visit robbieharte.com.

Small Business Saturday offers vital support for local downtowns

by TBR Staff - December 1, 2022

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DSC_0913-scaled — Rising energy prices, rents and wages are all applying greater pressure on small business owners. Pictured above, storefronts in downtown Port Jefferson. File photo by Julianne Mosher

By Rita J. Egan & Raymond Janis

Residents of communities throughout the area came out on Saturday, Nov. 26, to support local downtowns during Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday was a campaign first developed by American Express in 2010. Martin Cantor, director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, detailed the history and purpose of this effort.

“Because everybody was focusing on Black Friday, American Express wanted to focus on small businesses,” he said.

Mary Joy Pipe, owner of The East End Shirt Company and president of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, described this year’s iteration of Small Business Saturday as a success. She forecasts a favorable holiday season for the small business community this year based on the turnout.

“Am I optimistic about how I did on Small Business Saturday and over that weekend, and that things should go well?” she said. “Yes.”

The success of these business initiatives, according to Pipe, is primarily contingent upon the weather. She characterized the clear skies on Friday and Saturday as fortunate for the business community.

Tandy Jeckel, owner of TandyWear in Commack, said Small Business Saturday was similar to last year saleswise but that Black Friday was better.

Black Friday “was major,” she said. “We beat last year. Small Business Saturday was pretty much the same as last year.”

Confronting difficult times

While some storefront owners saw favorable returns over the weekend, others discussed the several factors working against their businesses. Among these are nationwide economic instability and inflation, soaring prices and hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeckel said her business did well during the pandemic by making masks to match outfits and so drawing in customers. She added she had noticed customers opting for dressier outfits where people were looking for more comfortable loungewear for a while.

Joe Schwab, co-owner of Schwab’s 2nd Wind in East Setauket, said he didn’t experience an increase in traffic on Small Business Saturday. He said that the special shopping days did not necessarily boost sales, even though Black Friday was better this year than it has been in years past.

“I would love to have a big excitement about shopping days again, but for the time being it seems to be a bit lost or fizzled out,” he said.

Cantor maintains that the broader economic trends are squeezing small businesses and local downtowns. Ballooning costs associated with energy prices, rents and wages are making it harder for small businesses to stay profitable. At the same time, consumers have less discretionary income and, therefore, less to spend in these downtown settings.

“Right now, small businesses are caught between trying to recoup the high rents, energy costs and things like that,” he said. “And then they’re running into the competition and the fact that consumers don’t have the money to spend.”

Competing with big businesses

Inflation and other economic pressures are driving consumers to try to stretch their dollars, Cantor said. This is adding even greater strain on small businesses compared to big businesses.

“The reality is that these big businesses can buy goods and services at much cheaper prices, and consumers are certainly looking for bargains,” he said.

Despite this popular narrative, Patty Kaczmarczyk, owner of Cheese & Spice Market in Wading River, insists that her prices are competitive and often outperform her larger competitors.

“People sometimes feel, ‘I’m going to go to the supermarket where I can get things cheaper there,’ but now that’s not so true,” she said. “I’m a small business, so I’m trying not to kill people in pricing to stay very competitive. That’s my goal.”

Contrasting the business models of large and small businesses, Kaczmarczyk said smaller stores are better adapted to meet the needs of consumers. Whereas large retailers emphasize bulk purchases, she said small vendors allow for smaller, often cheaper orders.

“I carry so many loose spices, which are way cheaper than buying them in a grocery store,” she said. “I sell it loose, and you can buy smaller amounts.” Maximizing these advantages, she suggests, can keep small businesses afloat while competing against their larger counterparts.

Susannah Meinersman, owner of Huntington-based Bon Bons Chocolatier, said the store has been busy in general, which she attributes to making a great product. Meinersman said she appreciates Small Business Saturday: “I think the day brings awareness to the small Main Street business, so that’s a good thing.”

Giving back to the community

David Wolmetz is co-owner of Urban Air Adventure Park in Lake Grove. He described the small business sector as an extension of the greater community. Through various interactions of small businesses with community members, he said these businesses foster a greater sense of local cohesion.

“It’s not only about money for us,” he said. “It’s about connecting to the community.”

For example, Wolmetz sits on the board of the Stony Brook Cancer Center Community Advisory Council. Maintaining connections between small businesses and other local institutions is crucial, Wolmetz said, for community prosperity.

“We look for them: Girl Scouts, Boys Scouts, anything that’s related to our demographic of a youth, family oriented connection,” he said. “I’m very familiar with that connection, and that’s my reason for having the business.”

This connection will be imperative as businesses transition into the post-pandemic era. For Suzanne McEnroe, owner of This n’ That Gifts in St. James, the turnout on Saturday was encouraging.

She said she appreciates resident support as the business owner opened the gift store in February 2020, just a few weeks before the COVID-19 shutdowns. She is grateful to be open.

In general, she noticed a difference in business this year with more people out shopping. “They love to have a town shop to be able to just come and get a quick gift,” she said.

A critical juncture

While Small Business Saturday primarily targets the retail and service sectors, Long Island’s regional economy consists of small businesses across many other industries.

John Hill is the founder and CEO of the Long Island Advancement of Small Business, an organization committed to the growth and development of small businesses that do not interface with customers, such as financial planners, bankers and IT service providers, among others.

Hill contends that these small businesses are struggling, too. “They’re not growing, they’re not failing, they’re just eking out a living right now,” he said.

Given the high living costs on Long Island, Hill sees more small business owners closing up shop and heading to more affordable regions in the country, a startling trend for Long Island’s regional economy.

“We’ve had four people leave our organization to move off of Long Island,” he said. “Two moved to Florida, one to North Carolina and one to Tennessee.”

To stay afloat, Cantor suggests business owners will soon have to find creative ways to attract consumers to downtown areas while eliminating operating expenses.

“Businesses are at a critical juncture,” he said, noting that Small Business Saturday is “super.” He added, “We want all these small businesses to survive, and it’s great that Long Islanders are coming out to the downtowns to shop on Small Business Saturday. But they have to continue to do it.”

Between You and Me: Tormented by letters and numbers

by Press Release - November 30, 2022

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Here are three of my most feared words: what’s your password? I understand that passwords were designed to keep out the unwelcome in any digital circumstance. Early passwords worked for ATM machines. After all, we didn’t want anyone else to be able to get our money, right? OK, so that was four numbers that we could remember, certainly easier than committing our social security number to memory, for example.

Not any longer do we enjoy such brevity. Now we are asked to use eight or 10 numbers and letters, the combinations of which must contain capitals, lower case, numbers and some other vital symbol, like an asterisk or a dollar sign or an exclamation point. And we are admonished not to use the same password twice for fear of opening the gates to financial ruination. I would bet the fact is, though, that the only person kept at bay by the request for the password is the password holder who has forgotten the sacred assemblage of letters, numbers and pound signs.

Further, needing the password makes no sense since the frequently asked question, “Forgot your password? Press here to make another,” often allows anyone to bypass the gate anyway. All the intruder has to do is come up with a new password, and they are in.

Some passwords are useful. Certainly, we don’t want just anyone to access our banking records if we bank online. And if we pay for a service, like a subscription to a newspaper, we don’t want an undesignated person to share it. But some of the pass requirements are just plain stupid. Who else but me cares how many steps I walk per day? Or how much sleep I averaged over the past week?? Or how much I weigh? Almost as soon as I apply for an app, I have to select a password to use it, even though the app is free.

Passwords are just one irritant of the digital age, however. As long as I am voicing my frustrations, let’s consider telephones and what has become of what was a perfectly helpful way to enter in conversation with another human. Just try to call an airline or an insurance company and see how long you are put on hold. Sometimes they will tell you that the operator will be with you in 28 minutes and ask if you would like them to hold your place in line and call you back. That’s civilized. Or the automated voice will try to shove you off to their website. But you cannot ask questions of a home page beyond the couple of programmed Q&As posted there.

When you finally get a person on the other end, after pressing any number of buttons, they will ask you to hold for the correct extension, which will ring and ring and finally disconnect you. Then you have to start all over.

I recognize that there is an attempt to have a paperless world. I understand that companies are feeling pressured financially and are trying to cut down on personnel. But does the world have to get there by driving us to distraction first? Some technology is actually helpful. Instead of a password, some apps ask for fingerprint ID. Once you register with your thumb or whichever finger you choose, you need only to present that finger in the future, and you are immediately admitted. Why isn’t that more commonly used to authenticate the user? Or ask a personal question as the price of admission only the user would be able to answer, like the name of your junior high school or your first pet’s name. Sometimes I am asked two or three questions like that, but only after I have already offered my password. And usually it’s my mother’s maiden name, which by itself used to work but no longer. Not complicated enough, I guess.

One friend figured she had solved the password problem by putting all her passwords into one file on her cellphone. Only trouble? She has forgotten the file’s password.

D. None of the Above: Dropping unwanted baggage makes it easier to move ahead

by Daniel Dunaief - November 30, 2022

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ManMotorbikeFieldHC1609_source — METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

As we reach the beginning of December, we are only a month away from the inevitable promises to shed unwanted pounds.

Today, however, only a few days after our journeys to visit friends and families for Thanksgiving, I’d like to urge you to consider shedding unwanted baggage.

Metaphorically, we all lug unwanted baggage with us — remembering the spot where a girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with us; the moment we decided to substitute the wrong player in a game we were coaching; and the time our teacher gave someone else partial credit for the same answer on which we received no credit.

Some of that baggage is constructive, giving us the tools and the memory to learn from our mistakes and to have a perspective on the things that happen to us.

We might, for example, learn to cope with losses on the athletic field more gracefully when recalling how we felt the time we shouted at a coach, an umpire or an opposing player. Days, weeks, or years later, we might realize that we have the tools and the distance to understand the moment better and to develop a grace we might not have possessed when we were younger.

Extending the baggage metaphor, it seems that the more we carry with us everywhere, the harder it is to move forward. Baggage, like those unwanted pounds that make it harder to hike up a hill or to climb stairs, keeps us in place, preventing us from improving and moving forward.

Shedding pounds, which isn’t so easy itself, has a prescribed collection of patterns, often involving an attention to the foods we might mindlessly eat and a dedication to exercise.

But how do we get rid of the emotional baggage that gets in our way? What do we do to move forward when the burdens around us weigh us down?

For starters, we might learn to forgive people for whatever they did that annoys or puts us down. Forgiveness isn’t easy, of course. We sometimes hold onto those slights as if they are a part of our identity, becoming a doctor to show our biology teacher who didn’t believe in us that we are capable and competent or developing into a trained athlete after a neighbor insulted us.

Holding onto those insults gives other people unnecessary power over us. We can and should set and achieve our goals because of what we want and not because we continue to overcome limits other people tried to set for us.

We also might feel weighed down by our own self-doubt. As I’ve told my children, their peers and many of their teammates, we shouldn’t help our competitors beat us. Believing the best about ourselves is difficult.

We also don’t, and won’t, always win. It’s easier to carry the memories of the times we failed a test or when we didn’t reach the top of the mountain on a hike. Carrying those setbacks around with us for anything other than motivation to try again or to go further than we did before makes it harder to succeed.

Now is the time to set down that baggage, to walk, jog or even run forward, unencumbered by everything that might make us doubt ourselves and our abilities and that might make it harder to achieve our goals. While all that baggage might feel familiar in our hands, it also digs into our palms, twists our fingers and slows our feet.

Even before we resolve to eat better, to exercise, to lose weight and to look our best, let’s check or even cast aside our emotional and psychological luggage. Maybe dropping that baggage in the last month of the year will make achieving and keeping our New Year’s resolutions that much easier.

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