From left, Robert Catell, chairman of the board, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center; Vyacheslov Solovyov; Sergey Gelman, a Stony Brook engineering student; and Yacov Shamash, vice president for economic development at Stony Brook University. Photo from Stony Brook University
By Daniel Dunaief
It’s lighter, cheaper and just as strong. In the age of manufacturing the latest and greatest high-technology parts, that is a compelling combination. Indeed, the Department of Energy recently awarded the Brookhaven Technology Group, a business incubator tenant of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University, $1.15 million to develop a high-temperature superconductor cable with a new architecture. The grant supports the research of Vyacheslav Solovyov, an adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at SBU and the principal investigator at Brookhaven Technology Group.
“Very few projects are funded, so we’re very excited that ours was chosen,” said Paul Farrell, the president at BTG. The potential applications for Solovyov’s Exocable, as the new architecture is called, span a wide range of uses, including in high field magnets for a new breed of accelerator. The work entails creating a high-temperature superconducting cable that is an integral ingredient in creating the superconducting machinery. The BTG process produces a high-temperature superconducting cable after removing the substrate, which is a single-crystal-like material. Solovyov transfers the superconducting layer to a supporting tape that can be engineered for strength and not for crystallinity.
This work reduces the weight of the tape by as much as 70 percent per unit length for the same current capacity. The potential for this new cable is that it can contribute to the growing field of research at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory on superconductivity, said Jim Smith, assistant vice president of economic development at Stony Brook. “Maybe this is the next industry that replaces the Grummans and the aerospaces that have left,” he said. Semiconductors are of particular interest to manufacturers because they transmit energy with no resistance. Right now, about 6.5 percent of energy transmitted around the United States is lost in distribution wires, Smith said. Maintaining the energy that’s lost in the wires would have “tremendous benefits.”
To be sure, while the research at BTG could contribute to lower cost and improved efficiency in high-temperature superconductivity, there are hurdles to making this process and the applications of it work. For starters, the company needs to produce kilometers of ExoCable. “The challenge is to demonstrate that the properties will be as uniform as they were before the substrate removal,” explained Solovyov, who has been working in superconductivity since 1986.
Recently, Smith said he, Farrell and Solovyov met to discuss the wiring for their facility. “A lot of power and wiring will be installed in the next four to five weeks,” Smith said. Scientists who worked with Solovyov expressed admiration for his work and optimism about his results. Solovyov’s “new activity will definitely advance the long-promised practical application of superconductivity electrical power transmission, as well as in the development of high-field magnets for both industrial and scientific application,” David Welch, a former collaborator and retired senior materials scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, wrote in an email. Welch explained that Solovyov focused on methods for making composites of superconducting material with normally conducting metals in the form of wires, tapes and cables necessary for their practical application. “Such a combination of talents is unusual,” Welch continued. Early on, it was clear “that [Solovyov] was going to become an important member of the scientific staff at BNL.”
Solovyov started working on this process with BTG about a year and a half ago. When he first started collaborating with BTG, the company was working on a superconducting project funded by the army. When that work ended, Solovyov and BTG worked together to submit new proposals to the DOE. According to Solovyov, Stony Brook has been “very helpful in terms of providing facilities and lab space.” Stony Brook’s goal, Smith said, is to help companies like BTG succeed and measures that success in the number of new jobs created in the energy field.
Solovyov, who grew up in the Ukraine, said he has had several breakthroughs in his career. He helped develop a patented technology that can speed up the processing of superconducting materials by a factor of 10. “That has been used in production and I’m very proud of it,” Solovyov said. The professor lives in Rocky Point with his wife Olena Rybak and their two children, Natasha, 19, who attends Suffolk County Community College, and Dennis, 14, who is in high school. Solovyov said he enjoys Long Island, where he can fish for striped bass and bluefish. He pan fries what he catches.
As for his work, Solovyov has four patents and applications for three more. He and Farrell said the company is looking for opportunities for expansion. He is exploring ways to work with large-scale generators and wind turbines. Farrell explained that BTG has ambitions to become a larger company. BTG would “like to become a major contributor in this field,” Farrell said. That could include adding staff and developing more products that can be sold and used worldwide. “If our product is successful, in the sense that it improves the capability of superconductors to be used commercially, we’ll be adding people.” This work will need more funding, which the company plans to get either from the Department of Energy, from private investors or both.
“If you can improve the usefulness of superconductors and reduce the cost of the wire, there’ll be wider use than there is right now,” Farrell said.
The No. 2 Ward Melville girls' tennis team finishes in second place in the Suffolk County standings. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The conditions at William Floyd High School were less than ideal as the No. 1 and No. 2 girls’ tennis teams battled through wind and cold during the Section XI championship Oct. 25. Ward Melville had a more difficult time overcoming the conditions, and fell to the top-seeded team that avenged a finale loss last season, 6-1.
Shannon Sartain sends the ball back over the net. Photo by Bill Landon
The Patriots lost to the Cougars 4-3 on Sept. 15 — the team’s only loss during the regular season, which was a nonleague match. Ward Melville head coach Erick Sussin said the difference this time around, was that Commack was at full strength.
“The first time we met them they didn’t have their No. 1 singles player, so they beat us 4-3 and that wasn’t even their best team,” Sussin said. “We knew that today would be a lot harder. We had to win four out of seven points, so I knew we had to win second and third doubles, and most likely third and fourth singles.”
Commack’s first and second singles are the rock of the Cougars’ lineup.
Emily Tannenbaum won Commack’s first match, 6-0, 6-1 over Ward Melville freshman Jade Eddleston at second singles. Gabi Glickstein defeated Jillian Shulder 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 at third singles.
“She has extremely consistent groundstrokes,” Sussin said of Eggleston. “She has a gritty determination to win on the court.”
Despite her loss, Shulder, a co-captain and All-League player who Sussin said has consistent, powerful groundstrokes, left it all on the court.
“I played to the best of my ability,” she said. “Even though I lost today — and I won against them last time — I was playing a girl of a higher spot. The wind definitely affects your play because you try to get the ball to do one thing, and it does another.”
Denise Lai continues the volley. Photo by Bill Landon
Sussin said he was pleased with his team’s performance, and added he was proud of the level they achieved, despite the conditions being less than ideal.
“All the girls had to hit through the wind, the serves were tough and lobs were a little hard to deal with,” he said. “The doubles strategy was to try to win the points at the net and not worry about ground strokes, to end the point early because the wind’s going to take it.”
In first doubles, Ward Melville senior Morgan Voulo and sophomore Anna Ma, who the coach said has a tremendous forehand and killer overhands, lost to Commack’s Emma Matz, the younger cousin of New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz, and Julia Kinalis, 6-2, 6-2.
Ward Melville junior Julia Hu and sophomore Dara Berman lost 6-4, 6-1 over Commack’s Emma Mangels and Andrianna Kaimis in second doubles, and Ward Melville seniors Shannon Sartain and Julia Hoffmann fell 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 at third doubles to Commack’s Christine Kong and Victoria Pensiero.
“It was the best that I’ve played and it was hard once I knew that the team had lost,” Sartain said. “But I kept playing and I played hard all the way through.”
Jillian Shulder serves the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
Sartain, an All-Division player, is the leader and heart and soul of the Patriots’ team, according to her head coach.
Voulo, another All-Division co-captain agreed with her teammates that the conditions made it harder for her to perform up to her expectations.
“The wind and how cold it was it made it hard to get through,” she said. “I think I did the best I could. I was pleased with my serve and my forehand, because normally that lets me down, but I think I brought that today.”
Ward Melville sophomore Denise Lai fell 6-3, 6-1 in first singles to seal the victory for Commack (15-1).
“She’s an unbelievable talent,” Sussin said of the sophomore despite her loss. “She has an excellent tennis IQ, all-around game and powerful topspin shots as well as perfect slices. She can crush the ball from the baseline or win on a soft drop shot with ease. Lai knows how to exploit her opponent’s weaknesses and is our quiet leader that all the girls look up to.”
Junior Keren Collins was the only player to win for Ward Melville. She topped her Commack opponent 6-3, 6-2 in fourth singles.
Ward Melville finished the season 16-2 overall, and went undefeated in League V.
“I was pleased with everybody’s performance today,” Sussin said. “When you reach this level everyone’s playing well and conditions were unfavorable for everybody. Commack played some good tennis. They are by far the best team in the county and when you play like they did today, they deserved it.”
Clearing trees to build solar farms, like this one in Shoreham, would be illegal in Brookhaven Town if a proposed amendment passes. Photo by Nicole Geddes
By Nicole Geddes
Brookhaven Town is all for going green — but not at the expense of green.
The town board held a public hearing to discuss a resolution that would amend its solar code during a meeting Sept. 29 and would make land clearing for solar energy production illegal. If passed, solar energy production equipment could only be installed on land that was cleared prior to January 2016.
“It is a starting point and that is the best part,” Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said of the amendment in a phone interview. “We will not be clearing trees to create solar farms in business and industrial zones. … While I’m a believer in solar power, we don’t want to trade one green for another green.”
Community members spoke in favor of the amendment during the public comment period of the meeting.
“We will not be clearing trees to create solar farms in business and industrial zones. … While I’m a believer in solar power, we don’t want to trade one green for another green.”
— Ed Romaine
“We need not sacrifice forests for solar,” Richard Amper, executive director of Long Island Pine Barrens Society, said in an interview. “It’s equivalent to destroying the environment to protect it. We don’t have the open space to meet the requirements of Governor Cuomo’s ‘50 by 30’ initiative, without alternative transmission lines such as offshore wind farming.”
New York Gov. Cuomo’s (D) Clean Energy Standard requires 50 percent of New York’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2030.
Amper said he is in favor of alternate energy sources, and welcomed the amendment.
“We need renewable energy sources, solar is important,” he said. “We just need to be careful where it’s sited. It shouldn’t be on forested land, on farms where food is grown or in residential communities. It should be on rooftops, parking lots and previously cleared lands.”
Other members of the town board expressed their support for the amendment.
“My constituents in Council District 1 have expressed support for renewable energy and smart energy alternatives,” Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) said in a statement. “They want to ensure that government is thinking strategically about how to limit and reduce nonrenewable energy, improve air quality and diversify power sources.”
Additionally, the amendment would reduce the amount of acreage allowed for solar farming, from 10 to 5 acres in business and industrial zones.
Restrictions in the town’s solar code also require a buffer zone of 25 feet around all mechanical equipment and solar panel arrays for aesthetic reasons. Director and vice president of the East Moriches Property Owners Association, Jim Gleason, spoke in favor of the amendment during the meeting, but advocated for increasing buffer zones.
“Solar panels are ugly,” he said. “A 25-foot minimum buffer is not enough, 7-foot evergreens are not tall enough. Some panels are 20 feet.”
Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) disagreed.
“I think that shopping centers and housing developments are more unsightly than solar panels,” Bonner said. “There’s no noise, no traffic, no pollution and no long-term health risks for residents in communities where solar farming and energy production is located.”
The town board will vote on the resolution at the meeting Thursday, Oct. 27.
The subject of this talk is American education; or, as I sometimes call it … artificial intelligence. Full disclosure: I admit that I don’t know much about what goes on in high school, having spent only four distracted years at that level. This presentation refers to the foundational years — the K-6 building blocks where I invested six seasons as a parochial student.
After completing the requirements at Adelphi Suffolk University, I was invited to teach a few graduate courses there. Afterwards, I spent 34 enjoyable, yet disorganized seasons as a classroom teacher, then eight more years instructing a course called Thinking Inside the Box for K-12 teachers, which gave me the opportunity to examine the species up close and personal. That comes to about 50 years in fuzzy numbers. But, who’s counting on me?
You’re urged to disagree with anything expressed here, because I make mistakes regularly, myself being a product of the American industrial-education complex. Let’s start with the premise that all knowledge is worthwhile and desirable. There is no benefit to not knowing something. Ignorance is not blissful. However, all knowledge is not of equal value. The ability to read about the inventor of the cotton gin is of more value than knowing and memorizing his name. Likewise, although there would be some usefulness in recalling every number in the Manhattan phone book, and the cognitive exercise would be an accomplishment, it would mostly be a huge waste of “edu-minutes.” Knowing how to alphabetically look up a phone number is a more valuable and transferable skill. At least until it’s made obsolete in our advancing digital world. So, can we agree that some knowledge is of lower value, some is of higher value, and some is rapidly approaching an expiring shelf life?
Since schools operate by the clock and calendar, there is a finite amount of class time for learning. There is so much to learn, but students can’t learn it all. So, choices must be made. Schools need to adopt a regular policy of knowledge triage. There’s got to be jetsam and flotsam in order to make room for the important cargo. But even if schools agreed to do it, would they flotsam the right jetsam?
Ask your local administrator what’s the last thing added to the curriculum. Then ask, what was removed to make room for it. If there’s no answer, it means the program was diluted (unless the school day or year was expanded — not a chance) or in a misguided way, the usual ballast of art and music were reduced. Like the roach motel, once something enters the schoolhouse door, it can almost never leave. Schools change very little. If you were in the fifth grade 25 years ago and you visited a class today, it would look very familiar. Computers and tablets are used like electric paper, but the substance is the same. Oh, the blackboards are now smarter … but are the kids? Old wine in new bottles.
Remember, the learning clock is ticking. Time is passing. As a child, I had a fantasy of every person, at birth, receiving a huge hourglass. Except it wasn’t designed to measure an hour. It was constructed as a lifetime-glass. The top bulb contained all the sand representing one’s life according to actuarial tables. It was inverted at birth and the sand started trickling through the narrow stem passageway. One could see the top bulb dripping sand into the bottom bulb. Even at night, opening one eye, one could visualize their lifetime with the lower heap growing while the upper kept draining smaller. I wondered if a life would be led differently with such a visual aid.
Schools have to think that way. They must sort out, rummage through, and evaluate all available knowledge and select those age-appropriate things that will help develop students into educated people with transferable skills and functional wisdom. Ideally, layer upon layer will build up until enough practical knowledge and related talents enable graduates to negotiate life in a fluid and uncertain world — a very moveable feast. A friend recently told me the experience of his dental school orientation at the University of Maryland. The dean advised the new students that 50% of what they’d learn would no longer be true by the time they graduated. Furthermore, he advised, they won’t know which 50% it was.
So what did we learn in school? Reading. Of course reading. And math. Although I never did divide 4/7 by 3/9 ever again, I remember some lessons quite well. Pilgrims wore funny hats and buckled shoes. We drew pictures of them. They were brought home and taped to refrigerators — or iceboxes —remember, this was the South Bronx in the ‘50s. “Mary’s violet eyes … ” helped us learn what was, at the time, the order of the planets. But of what practical value is there in knowing that Jupiter is nearer to the earth than Saturn? So little time … so much knowledge.
Bruce Stasiuk of Setauket continued to teach after retirement. He currently offers workshops to seniors (citizens, that is) as an instructor in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, housed on the campus of Stony Brook University.
Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a mother and her daughter in Selden Oct. 22.
Shuofang Yang was driving a 2013 Audi S4 on Adirondack Drive when he attempted to make a left turn, heading westbound onto Middle County Road, when his vehicle collided with a Nissan Altima traveling eastbound on Middle County Road at approximately 5 p.m.
The driver of the Nissan, Marie Sanacore, 73, of Coram, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Her mother, Nellie Furino, 96, who lives with her, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where she died a short time later.
Yang, 22, of South Setauket, and his passenger were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Both vehicles were impounded for a safety check. The investigating is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sixth Squad at 631-854-8652.
It may look very pretty all wrapped in a red holiday bow, but for all the believers out there, the Country House is said to be haunted. File photo
By Ernestine Franco
It’s the time of the year when children and adults alike will be out en masse on the lookout for ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. During the month of October, which culminates on Halloween, the North Shore of Long Island has many places to satisfy die-hard thrill seekers. However, if you want to experience “real” haunted places on the North Shore, check out the list below:
Kings Park Psychiatric Center, located on West Fourth Street in Kings Park has been closed for many years and is not open to the public. For many years, Long Islanders have broken into this historic location to see the eerie, condemned facilities. At its height, the psychiatric center was home to over 9,000 patients. They were subjected to overcrowding and deplorable conditions as well as dramatic procedures, such as lobotomies and electroshock therapy. From inside and outside the many buildings, people have reported yells and screams of deceased patients, and some say they can see ghosts in the windows. Although you cannot go into the buildings, you can drive through the grounds for a quick peek. The grounds are monitored by the police.
Country House Restaurant is located at 1175 Country House Road in Stony Brook. This building has a prerevolutionary story behind it. It is believed to be haunted by Annette Williamson, the daughter of a former owner. She had allowed British soldiers to stay in the home and was believed to be a spy. She was hung from the second-story rafters and her spirit haunts the kitchen and stairways. Visitors say they can hear her cries and light bulbs flicker. The restaurant also has a “Ghost Bar” where you can view pictures of Annette Williamson. Genre artist William Sidney Mount was said to have attended séances there when it was known as the Thomas Hadaway House.
Lake Ronkonkoma, Lake Shore Road, Lake Ronkonkoma: One of the most frequent tales you hear about Lake Ronkonkoma is one involving a Native American princess who died at the lake in the mid-1600s. The story goes that the Native American princess fell in love with an Englishman named Hugh Birdsall. He lived across the lake, but her father would not permit her to pursue a romance with the Englishman. Legends say that the heartbroken princess killed herself because she could not be with her true love.
Folklore then goes on to say that every year since, in a desperate search for a soulmate in death, the princess takes a young male’s life. Lake Ronkonkoma is rumored to have no bottom, just an endless abyss of darkness. The lake itself is the largest lake on Long Island and it would be impossible for a human being to reach the bottom without assistance since it is 100 feet (30 m) at its southeastern side. Something that feeds into this tale is how the water level of Lake Ronkonkoma seems to rise and fall with no relation to rainfall, something that adds to the mystery. Michael R. Ebert, author of “The Curse of Lake Ronkonkoma,” delved into these allegations and found that, “One study showed that over 7 years in the early 1900s, the rainfall on Long Island was below the usual average by about 52 inches, yet the lake rose 7 feet.”
Another eerie oddity about Lake Ronkonkoma is about the bodies of people who have drowned in the lake. Bodies have been found washed up in Connecticut and out in the Long Island Sound, fueling claims that Lake Ronkonkoma has many hidden caverns, passageways and tunnels leading to different locations. Other bodies have never been found.
Centereach High School, located at 14 43rd Street, has limited access for the public. Some believe that the bleachers of Centereach High School are haunted by James Halversen, a New York City firefighter who used to run at the track every day. At 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 5, 1997, Halversen and his dog were shot. Some people can feel his presence or even a man running on the fifth lane of the track. Some say they also have seen a glowing object in the northeast corner of the track.
Katie’s of Smithtown is located at 145 West Main Street. Katie’s is a popular bar in Smithtown and home to a ghost named Charlie, who is said to have been a bartender and bootlegger during the 1920s. After committing suicide, he is said to frequently visit the bar. Many patrons have felt or seen him. Some have seen people in 19th century dress in the bar, and the figure of a woman has been seen walking up and down the bar and down the basement stairs. Women have reported toilet seats jumping open and making banging sounds when no one else is in the bathroom, and footsteps have also been heard coming from the basement when it is unoccupied. Glasses have also been known to fly off the bar and tables.
And last, but not least, the Port Jefferson Ferries are believed by many that a ghost haunts the ferries as they travel the Sound. Many riders have seen the ghost of a former captain who wears a weathered uniform.
Yow-Ning Chang of East Setauket is TBR's 3rd Adult Coloring Contest Grand Prize Winner!
By Heidi Sutton
Dear Readers, We recently held our second adult coloring contest, asking adults 21 and over to color in Karin Bagan’s nautical-themed graphic and the response was overwhelming! We received many colorful entries from readers all along the North Shore who used many different types of mediums, including colored pencils, markers, paint, stickers and glitter to create their masterpieces.
Along with her online entry, Laura Star of Setauket commented, “This was fun! I’m going to hang [the coloring page] on my fridge, alongside the kids’ works! And why not?” Why not indeed!
Although it was extremely difficult to choose a winner as every entry was unique in its own way, our three judges, Port Times Record Editor Alex Petroski, Managing Editor Desirée Keegan and intern Nicole Geddes, ultimately decided that Yow-Ning Chang’s interpretation stood out above the rest.
“We selected this particular coloring page because, in addition to the appealing pastel colors, the artist’s interpretation looked like it was sent by sea as a message in a bottle,” stated the judges, adding, “It was the perfect blend of bright and colorful along with a weathered, parchment feel that distinguished itself from so many other great submissions and gave it a unique element of texture. The combination was too catching to be denied.”
The East Setauket resident will receive a three-year subscription to the Times Beacon Record. All other entries will receive a one-year subscription. Thanks to all who entered and for sharing your talents with us!
Jennifer Portnoy and her son Javier cut the ribbon. Photo from Stony Brook University Hospital
By Rebecca Anzel
When Jennifer Portnoy of Stony Brook was given her son’s diagnosis, the doctors told her that there was nothing she could do but love him and enjoy her time with him. Javier, she was told, had a rapidly progressive form of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, an incurable genetic disorder most prevalent in boys.
“I’m not the type of person that finds that an acceptable treatment plan,” she said. “I needed to get to work to try and create a different outcome.”
“My son is either a part of the last generation to die of the disease or the first generation to survive it.”
—Jennifer Portnoy
Portnoy co-founded Hope for Javier Inc. a few months later as a not-for-profit organization to help fund research that might lead to an effective treatment or cure. Her family travelled to Cincinnati for doctors’ appointments and medical treatments.
Along the way, she met other families in the New York-area who did not have the job flexibility or financial resources to travel for out-of-state care. Portnoy said she realized that with Hope for Javier’s size, it could have an “enormous impact” by addressing that disparity in access to health care.
After researching other area hospitals, Portnoy and Hope for Javier formed a partnership with Stony Brook Children’s Hospital to create the first DMD Center in the tri-state area. The center opened Oct. 5 after a $600,000 donation from Hope for Javier.
“As an academic medical center, we will be able to identify clinical trials as we continue to fight this disease, and your support gives patients and families hope, and it will enable our clinical leadership to provide a level of research, care and support that is unrivaled in the region,” Samuel Stanley, Stony Brook University president, said in a public comment to Portnoy at the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
He added that the center will be a “destination” for residents of the tri-state area, and according to a Stony Brook University Hospital press release, the new center is the only one of its kind between Boston, Massachusetts and Baltimore, Maryland.
“This new program extends our geographic reach and continues our development as a regional healthcare provider of choice for thousands of patients and their families across the tri-state region,” L. Reuven Pasternak, SBUH CEO, wrote in a blog post.
Boys with DMD do not have a protein called dystrophin, which keeps muscle cells in one piece. Muscle weakness usually begins before age 5, showing first in their upper arms and legs. DMD can also affect a patient’s throat, brain, stomach, spine and chest muscles.
It affects about 1 in 5,000 boys in the United States, according to a hospital press release. DMD used to kill boys not long after their teen years, but with modern medicine, patients usually live into their early 30s, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s website.
“This will be a comprehensive center, including pediatric specialists from neurology, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, gastroenterology [and] orthopedics” to name a few, Margaret McGovern, physician-in-chief of Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, said at the new center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Studies have shown that access to this sort of multidisciplinary care adds an average of 10 years to the life expectancy of a boy with DMD, Portnoy said, and with the research being conducted on the disease, those 10 years are of the utmost importance.
“We’re at this tipping point, where ten years is the difference between being here when a cure is found and not,” she said. “My son is either a part of the last generation to die of the disease or the first generation to survive it.”
Stony Brook Children’s Hospital is Suffolk County’s only children’s hospital and has more than 160 pediatric doctors in over 30 specialties. It is set to occupy 10 floors of Stony Brook’s new Medical Center Hospital Pavilion, set to open in 2018, next to the main university hospital.
Peter Magistrale speaks in support of the Child Victims Act at a rally in St. James. Photo by Ted Ryan
By Ted Ryan and Victoria Espinoza
Residents of the North Shore gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in St. James Oct. 15, to raise awareness of sexual abuse of children in New York state.
Democratic candidate for the state Senate race in the 2nd District, Peter Magistrale, hosted the rally. He is advocating for a change to the current statute of limitations that restricts when a child rape victim can come forward with a civil or criminal case against their abuser.
In New York, once victims turn 23 they can no longer make a case for child abuse against the predator in question.
According to research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. In addition, the National Center for Victims of Crime said 14 percent of sexual offenders commit another sexual offense after five years, and 24 percent after 15 years.
The National Sex Offender Public Website stated children usually delay telling someone if they have been sexually abused because they are either afraid of a negative reaction from their parents or of being harmed by the abuser. The website indicated kids often “delay disclosure until adulthood.”
Magistrale said he thinks the restriction is unjust and wants to turn the tide on child abusers by removing the statute of limitations through the Child Victims Act. The bill would eliminate both criminal and civil statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse, and provide a one-time, one-year window in the statute of limitations to enable victims whose claim was time-barred by the current arbitrary limitations to revive their claim.
A similar version of this bill failed to make it past the state Senate floor during the legislative session this past June.
“A kid takes on average 21 years to come forward [to admit they were abused],” Magistrale said at the rally. “The average age that a child is raped is 8 or 9. By the time they build the courage and get over their psychological scars, time is up. We have to pass the Child Victims Act to do two things: Lift the statute of limitations completely, and then give a one-year look back window for people who were abused and unable to come forward in the past to point out who did it to them so we get them [the predators] off the street as well.”
Several victims of child abuse spoke at the rally, as well as members of anti-child abuse organizations. They told their stories of the abuse and their subsequent frustration with the restrictive statute.
Among the speakers was Melanie Blow, COO of the Stop Abuse Campaign.
“It’s simply ridiculous it’s taken us 10 years to pass the most significant bill to prevent child abuse,” Blow said. “But we’ve got survivors coming together right now to get the word out, to tell parents that this is an issue, and this piece of legislation will help.”
John De Vito, Democratic candidate for the state Senate’s 3rd district, also spoke at the rally.
“So many people here who are victims of sexual violence might never have a day in court to seek justice,” De Vito said. “But if we pass the Child Victims Act, our children will be awarded that opportunity going forward.”
During an interview at TBR News Media’s office in East Setauket, state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) said he agreed with Magistrale, who he is running against for re-election in the 2nd District, that this is an important issue but he does not support the legislation.
“There are significant protections in the law right now,” he said. “This is a one-year opener that could bring cases going back 40, 50, 60 years. We have statute of limitations for very cogent reasons and no matter how emotional a subject may be, witness availability, evidence, all those things have a salutary effect in terms of what happens.”
Often referred to as France’s gift to Long Island, Guy Reuge, executive chef of Mirabelle Restaurant and the Mirabelle Tavern at the Three Village Inn in Stony Brook, has a lot to celebrate. Last fall he opened a new restaurant on Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor, Sandbar, launched Le Vin Wine Bar and Tapas at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove in collaboration with Christophe Lhopitault, and just this week released an autobiographical cookbook, “A Chef’s Odyssey.”
I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Chef Reuge at his restaurant at The Three Village Inn as he reflected on his journey from north-central France to Long Island.
Chef Guy Reuge. Photo by Lynn Spinnato
I’ve read that you began your training at age 14. Did you know early in life that you wanted to be a chef?
I developed a passion for cooking when I was about 10. I loved baking with my mother. I’d wake up early to help her make Sunday lunch. I loved to roll dough with her. That’s where my early passion began. But things were different in those days. You either went to school or you found an apprenticeship, as I did. My father was a mason. We didn’t have much money and for me to leave the house and go to work somewhere where I would eat, I would sleep, I would be taken care of — with clothes and so on, it was a good way out for my parents who were not very poor, but also not very rich.
What made you decide to come to America?
I grew up in Orléans, where there was an American army base. As a kid, I saw American soldiers every day. In 1963 I was 10 years old when the family of an American soldier moved [in] across the street. So, there was the father, the mother, two sons and a daughter. The boys were about my age. Although we did not speak the same language, kids play together. I was so impressed with them. It’s the first time I saw a woman with pants — smoking a cigarette! And they would do “the barbecue” in the summer and invite me — with hot dogs and Wonder bread! Once or twice they took me to the camp, where they had a movie theater. This was my first encounter with Elvis Presley and I said, “Wow, that guy is good.” I decided one day I would go and visit America.
So when, and how, did you find your way to the United States?
Coming out of military service, I found a job in Freebourg, Switzerland. [But] it was not a good situation for me. So after two months I was looking for another job. [In] the newspaper was an ad [from] a Swiss man, established in America, looking for a chef. I answered the ad. His name was George Rey and he owned a restaurant on 55th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. He wanted someone quickly. I came to this country on a one-way ticket — no visa to work, only a tourist visa. I just wanted to try it. And, of course, I fell in love with New York. I got a lawyer and [began the process] of becoming legal in this country; a foreign resident with a green card, good for one year. And then, you have to renew it.
So now you were officially a New Yorker?
Not yet. In 1974 I returned to France with money to spend. That was new to me. I traveled to Morocco, to Spain — and spent time with friends in France. But I knew my green card was about to expire again, so I returned to America in late ‘74. Upon arriving in New York the second time, I met friends in a nice pub where we used to hang out. (P.J. Clarke’s; it still exists.) When we arrived there was a table of giggling girls. A few of them spoke French [and my English was not so good]. We stayed to talk. One of them was to become my wife.
Tell me about her and how your lives came together.
[Maria] had moved from Virginia [after college] and was working as a receptionist at Gourmet Magazine. Before long she was offered an editor position. [The publisher] decided to put out a book called “Gourmet France.” Half the book would be about traveling in France, and half recipes from great restaurants. Sally Darr, head chef for Gourmet, went to all kinds of restaurants and got all kinds of recipes for the book. By then, people [at Gourmet] knew I was a chef and the editor-in-chief asked me to help. For one year, beside my restaurant work, I tested recipes for Gourmet. I could buy whatever I wanted, so I shopped at Jefferson Market, at Balducci’s, at Zabar’s — the best stores in New York at the time. My friends loved me because on the weekend I would cook and invite them for dinner. The book was published in 1977. My name is not on it, but I had a great time doing it.
So then you married Maria?
We had a good relationship, but I wanted to move back to France — she wanted to stay in New York. We decided to part. I landed a job as a chef in a restaurant in Luneville, in eastern France. The restaurant was called Georges de la Tour (named for a 16th-century artist from there). We opened a great restaurant in the wrong place. It was a small town, very provincial, people were not open to the prices or the type of cuisine we were doing. It was challenging. And, to tell you the truth, I missed Maria. And she missed me. The restaurant was going so-so, and my father had died of cancer, when Maria sent me a letter. Sally Darr and her husband decided to open a restaurant called La Tulipe. She asked Maria if I would come back to New York to be her chef. My green card was about to expire again. So I returned to New York.
Tell me about that restaurant.
La Tulipe was at 13th Street and Sixth Avenue. I went to look at it as soon as I arrived. It was a shell of a building. There was nothing there and I realized the restaurant was not [going] to open any time soon. So I found a job in one of the best restaurants in New York, Le Cygne (The Swan) as “chef saucier” [and spent my days] making 16 different sauces every day. A year later, La Tulipe opened. It was a small restaurant with about 65 seats. In France they were doing “nouvelle cuisine,” and we were its precursor in [the U.S.]. We’d serve 30 to 40 customers a night. Then Times food reviewer Mimi Sheraton decided — within three visits — we were worthy of three stars which, in those days, put you on the map. We were packed every night from then on. Every big wig, every politician ate there. And celebrities: Danny Kaye, Mary Tyler Moore, Candice Bergen, Mary Travers, and the biggest thrill of all — James Beard. Those were my days at La Tulipe — very glamorous.
After spending all those years in New York City, how did you come to open Mirabelle in St. James?
Maria’s uncle Philip Palmedo lived in Old Field. He was a businessman, a physicist by training, and very fond of French food. He said to me, “Guy, why don’t you open your own restaurant?” I said I didn’t have enough money. He said, “Well, if I help you raise capital, would you [put] your restaurant in my neck of the woods?” We did a lot of little dinners at his home, invited a lot of people and put together a group of 50 investors. I found a location, Maria left Gourmet and I left my chef position at Tavern on the Green. We were young and ambitious. Nothing scared us. We were sure to be a success. A food editor at Newsday became interested in Mirabelle. She and a photographer followed us for three months during construction of the restaurant. When we opened in late December, she did a big spread on us. And we were on the map; packed every day. We opened with a three-star review in the New York Times from Florence Fabricant and [the critic] at Newsday gave us four stars.
Why did you relocate Mirabelle to the Three Village Inn?
Projects like [Mirabelle] are nice when they are young. The first 10 years you do well. Then things change. Other restaurants open. Trends change … I made a mistake, too. I opened a restaurant with partners in New York City in 2000. It was a fiasco. We lost a lot of money and came back to St. James. In 2007 a friend asked me, “wouldn’t you like to own the Three Village Inn?” He said, “if you can make a deal with the owner, we’ll go in together.” I always loved this place and thought we could do something interesting. I approached the Lessing’s Group but they told me it’s not for sale. Three months later CEO Michael Lessing called. “So, how about you sell your restaurant, we revamp the Three Village Inn, and you come in as the chef.” My life would change; I’d be corporate instead of being on my own, but we could make Mirabelle a success again. We transferred the name Mirabelle and the restaurant was reborn in 2008.
Beside breathing new life into Mirabelle, did the link with the Lessing’s bring other opportunities?
Yes. Mr. Lessing asked me to put a restaurant in his hometown of Cold Spring Harbor. We found a place, built the building from scratch, and it’s a beautiful restaurant we call Sandbar. Highly successful, it’s fully booked every night, thanks to good reviews in the Times and three stars in Newsday.
You’ve won many prestigious culinary awards. Which means the most to you?
I became a Master Chef of France in 1991. I never thought I would accede to that. I admire the chefs among that group. It’s an elite. Jean-Michel Bergougnoux, chef at Le Cygne, and Andre Soltner at Lutece sponsored me. And then [there is the] trophy — every year one of the Master Chefs gets it. I won the trophy in 2006 — a beautiful Toque d’Argent (silver chef’s hat) that you keep in your restaurant for a year. I received it at Le Cirque. There was a big ceremony and the French ambassador was there. It was nice. In France, we love our medals.
Do you have a favorite dish?
Not really. For me cooking is something that is based on your mood. So you are in the mood for fish because you go to a pier and you see a fisherman coming with a fish, and you think, “Oh my God, I would love to cook this.” To me, the situation sets the mood and the mood sets the food. I love everything. The beauty of working as a chef in this country is that you have so many influences: Asian, Mexican, so many others.
Tell me about Le Vin at Smith Haven Mall.
It’s a project I put together with Christophe Lhopitault who owns Lake Side Emotions [wine shop] across the street [in the Stony Brook Village Center.] We decided to get together to open a little wine bar. The wine is sold at a very good price, by the glass or by the bottle. We have a blackboard menu, which is all tapas, but with a French flair. The menu changes every two months. It’s challenging because it’s in the mall and people are not used to that. There’s an entrance from the food court and one from outside, [so we’re not limited to the mall’s hours]. Once inside you have no idea you are in a mall. It’s a breath of fresh air.
Do you have retirement plans?
I am getting older and people ask, “Why do you still do this?” It’s been 47 years. My role model is Paul Bocuse. He just turned 90, and although he does not cook anymore, he is still active in the business. I have no desire to give up what I am doing either, as long as I am healthy. Every day I come to work excited about it. I love projects. In this business we are constantly with young people. It keeps you young.
Book signings:
Three Village Inn
Tonight, Thursday, Oct. 20, Chef Guy Reuge will host a special book signing dinner in celebration of the release of his cookbook, “A Chef’s Odyssey,” at the Three Village Inn, 150 Main St., Stony Brook at 7 p.m. The night will feature a four-course prix fixe menu highlighting a selection of the chef’s classics. Menu items, subject to change, include panisses with harissa mayonnaise (first course); maple glazed quail and fried eggplant with lime and sherry-maple syrup (second course), aged shell steak and red wine braided beef short rib with an autumn vegetable medley or woven sole and salmon sauce Duglere (third course); and Gâteau Mirabelle and petits fours (fourth course). Cost is $110 per person and includes a copy of the cookbook and dinner. Reservations are requested and can be made by calling 631-751-0555.
Book Revue
On Nov. 7, the Book Revue, 423 Park Ave., Huntington will welcome Chef Guy Reuge who will sign copies of “A Chef’s Odyssey,” at 7 p.m. For more information, call 631-271-1442 or visit www.bookrevue.com.
Three Village Inn 
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