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The Smith/Swift/Tyler/Davis house in 1900. Photo courtesy of Beverly C. Tyler
Annie, Carrie and Corinne Tyler about 1935. Photo courtesy Beverly C. Tyler
The Tyler Brothers Store. Photo courtesy of Beverly C. Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

The Smith/Swift/Tyler/Davis house, built about 1740, was home to many generations. On June 1 and 2, the house at 97 Main Street in Setauket will function as the central hub for Gallery North’s 20th Annual Wet Paint Festival. The history of the house itself, as well as the families who have lived there, is a representation of the story of the growth of the Three Village community; of farming, transportation, commerce and trade. 

The original section of the house was constructed with white oak timber framing. Over the frame and on the floors were white pine boards; on the roof were red cedar shingles. These were the trees found locally and used to build most colonial-era buildings in this area. For more than 100 years, this was a farmhouse on an active farm with many out-buildings. In the original house there were two rooms on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor.

As a family home and farm, many generations of two prominent families lived here. Amos Smith and his wife Juliana Hawkins raised five children, born between 1773-1785. When Amos died intestate in 1799, an inventory of his home and farm included household goods, farm tools and farm animals. Their son, Walter Smith and his wife, Elizabeth Ellison, raised five children here, born between 1811-1825. 

About 1831, Joseph Swift purchased the house and farm. Joseph and his wife, Amelia Bacon, raised nine children here, born between 1832 and 1851. Joseph’s eldest daughter Eliza married Charles B. Tyler, my great-grandfather, in 1851. Charles purchased the house and farm in 1854 and raised nine children here, born between 1851 and 1870. Charles’ wife Eliza, their unmarried daughters, Annie and Corinne, and one of Charles’ granddaughters, Carrie, lived here until their deaths in 1924, 1941, 1943 and 1947, respectively. The house and property then passed to Carrie’s half brother Beverly Griffin Tyler, his wife Blanche and their three children. When Blanche Tyler Davis died in 2016 in her 102nd year, ownership passed to the Three Village Community Trust, who will preserve the home and property, including Patriot’s Rock, in perpetuity. 

 The Tyler Brothers General Store stood on the corner of the property, just north of the house, where it served the community as a post office and store for more than 50 years. The store was run by Charles B. Tyler and his brother Israel. Israel lived in East Setauket along what is now Gnarled Hollow Road and he served as Setauket postmaster for most of the years between 1870 and 1897. Both men were schooner captains who traveled up and down Long Island Sound and the U. S. East Coast carrying commercial cargo and passengers. Their knowledge of trade routes and sources of supply contributed to their success as general store owners.

The original house served well for the large families who lived there; however, by the last decades of the nineteenth century, with American industry providing more and more labor-saving devices for the home, change and growth was inevitable. In 1889, an addition included a formal dining room and two additional bedrooms. Over the years, the use of a kitchen had changed from a central fireplace to a summer kitchen, separated from the house. Finally, about a decade before World War I, that structure was moved and attached to the house as a “modern” kitchen with an ice box, a large coal stove and other appliances. All of these changes were implemented, not by the men, but by the women who remained in the home after most of Charles and Eliza’s children had moved on. 

Following the deaths of Israel in 1895 and Charles in 1899, Charles’ wife, Eliza, sold the general store to her children, Corinne and Annie Tyler, for one dollar. Corinne ran the general store. Annie was Setauket’s postmaster from 1897 until 1915.

Lucy Hart Keyes remembered that when she was six or seven and going to the school on the Village Green, she would walk home, stopping first at the post office. “They were such nice ladies. Miss Annie took care of mail … Miss Annie used to make money orders and everything. Miss Corinne took care of the store. They kept it open even during lunch–Miss Corinne and Miss Annie switched. It was open until after mail at night… We used to trade with Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. It came in the mail.”

Lucy recalled that Corinne’s brother Henry Tyler helped her at the store. “Momma and Poppa bought all their  groceries there. We bought canned goods, salt pork, potatoes, bread and even bananas in later years. We were a big family and we were always down there. Sometimes Poppa paid once a week. They kept track of it and I could get anything. They never asked questions.”

Lucy remembered a candy case in the store which contained a number of selections. “You would get 4 or 5 round things for a penny. JawBreakers, 3 or 4 for a penny, and stick candy was a penny a stick.”

By the 1920’s, the appeal of the local merchant who carried all the staples needed by the local family was decreasing. The variety of products was increasing by leaps and bounds, and the small country store could not keep pace. Chain food stores with quantity buying were able to offer lower prices and wider selections. In East Setauket the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A & P, established 1859) was getting a large share of daily trade with advertisements in the local papers listing prices such as “New Potatoes 5 lbs-15¢, Grandmother’s BREAD Small Loaf 5¢-Large Loaf 8¢.” (“Port Jefferson Times’’ – July 7, 1927). 

“After being established in the grocery business at Setauket for more than 60 years, the familiar old corner store, known as Tylers’ grocery store, near the lakes, closed out their stock last week and have discontinued business. . .” (“Port Jefferson Times” – April 1927). 

Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.

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Pixabay photo

It’s easy to overlook the impact that local school boards have on our community. 

Yet, the decisions made by these boards directly influence the quality of education our children receive, shaping not just their future, but the future of our communities. As we approach another election season, we must recognize the importance of voting for local school board members, for the sake of our children, pillars of our collective future.

Local school boards wield significant power in determining educational policies, budgets and curriculum standards. They are responsible for hiring superintendents, setting district priorities and ensuring that our schools are safe and conducive to learning. The individuals we elect to these boards will make decisions that affect the daily lives of our children, from the quality of their teachers to the resources available in their classrooms.

When we vote for school board members, we are not just casting a ballot — we are making a commitment to our children’s education and well-being. A strong, well-funded and innovative school system can provide our children with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed in an ever-changing world. 

Conversely, neglecting to participate in these elections can lead to underfunded schools, outdated curriculums and a lack of necessary support for both students and teachers.

By voting for dedicated and knowledgeable school board members, we ensure that our children are given the best possible start in life, equipping them with the tools they need to build a brighter future for all of us.

Moreover, active participation in school board elections fosters a sense of community and civic responsibility. It sends a powerful message to our children about the value of democracy and the importance of being engaged in local governance. When they see us prioritizing their education and future, they learn the importance of advocacy and the impact of collective action.

In addition to voting, it is crucial that we hold school board members accountable. Attend board meetings, stay informed about the issues at hand and communicate with board members to ensure they are meeting the needs of our students. A well-informed and engaged community can make a significant difference in the quality of education provided.

Not nearly enough residents vote in school board elections. Please learn about the candidates and the issues by referring to the relevant TBR stories or by going to your district’s website, then get out and vote your choice next Tuesday, May 21. 

Just as importantly, voters will be asked to approve school budgets for the upcoming year, 2024-25.

Your vote counts. 

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Scene from Stony Brook University graduation day 2024
Scene from Stony Brook University graduation day 2024
Scene from Stony Brook University graduation day 2024
Scene from Stony Brook University graduation day 2024

Honorary Degree Provided to Nobel Prize-Winning COVID Biochemist and Researcher Katalin Karikó

More than 7,600 Stony Brook University students joined the ranks of the university’s accomplished alumni at the 2024 Degree Commencement Celebration ceremony. The ceremony took place at LaValle Stadium on Friday, May 17, 2024.

Students from this year’s graduating class in the university’s 67-year history, were awarded a combined 7,785 degrees and certificate completions. All candidates, with their family and friends, were invited to participate in-person or could watch via livestream.

Nobel Prize-winning Hungarian American biochemist Katalin Karikó was bestowed with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science at the university’s earlier May 14th doctoral hooding ceremony to celebrate her efforts that helped pave the way for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID vaccines that helped stem the spread of the pandemic.

Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis, Provost Carl Lejuez, and University Deans conferred the degrees to the university students.

Stony Brook University President McInnis challenged this year’s graduating class: “Be a changemaker in the world. This is what it means to carry the spirit of Stony Brook with you.” She also paid tribute to the late former Stony Brook Department of Mathematics Chair and university benefactor Dr. Jim Simons, who she said had “a shared belief in the world-changing potential within each and every Stony Brook student that led [him] and his wife [Dr.] Marilyn [Simons] a Stony Brook alum, to make a $500 million dollar endowment gift to Stony Brook from the Simons Foundation in 2023….I am certain Jim would be so proud of you today, and I can’t think of a better tribute to his legacy than each of you leveraging your Stony Brook education in service of today’s greatest challenges.”

The Class of 2024 officially joined the ranks of more than 220,000 Seawolves worldwide. This class contains students from 65 countries and 45 states, and ranges in age from 19 – 77 years.

Degrees were bestowed in the following categories:

  • 4,905 Bachelor’s Degrees

  • 2,075 Master’s Degrees

  • 580 Doctoral and Professional Degrees

  • 225 Certificates

Several graduating students were highlighted in this resilience recording that can be found here.

As part of the ceremony, the President of the Undergraduate Student Government announced to President McInnis that more than 600 students donated to the Senior Class Gift, resulting in over $26,000 donated to the Stony Brook University Community. Also, the Stony Brook Alumni Association provided matching dollars for this gift.

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Beginning of the ‘color run’ at Ward Melville High School. Photo courtesy the Three Village School District’s Instagram

By Katherine Kelton

On Saturday, May 4, the Ward Melville Parent Teacher Student Association hosted a Star Wars-themed color run. The event welcomed all members of the Three Village Community, including all ages, from 2 to 4 p.m. for a one-and-a-half mile run around the perimeter of Ward Melville High School. Younger children ran a shorter quarter-mile lap around the track field. 

The full course went through the woods, the back parking lot, the front of the school, and back onto the track field where it began. Complementary water bottles were given to runners after finishing. 

Assistant Principal Michael Jantzen along with parent and staff volunteers ran the event. Students from the new T.E.A.M W.A.R.D club, targeting emotional and mental wellness and recovery development, also worked at the event. 

One T.E.A.M W.A.R.D member, junior Jason Stiles, shared, “Working at the event was a great experience. I got to throw color powder at runners and make them smile.”

Students were stationed at various points throughout the course with colored powder to toss at the runners. Star Wars-themed music also played to pay homage to the “May the Fourth Be With You” holiday. 

Upon check-in, runners received a white event-labeled T-shirt that cost $20 along with registration. The proceeds of the event went directly back to the students. “Knowing that the color run was going toward a good cause, in the senior scholarship fund, felt good helping out,” Stiles said.

“The turnout was great. I didn’t expect to see as many young kids, but a lot of middle school and high school kids showed up as well,” Soraya Masrour, a student who participated in the run said. 

Many kids stayed after the run to play in colored powder and run around the football field. The weather was incredibly nice, making it the perfect day to get outside and active. 

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Leslie and Priscilla Howard at the Case House at Cleo’s corner. Photo by Lynn Hallarman
Howard in front of his 1949 Allis Chalmers tractor. “We got it for free and it is easy to fix,” he said. Photo by Lynn Hallarman
The Howards inspecting their plants at their new home on the Case House property. Photo by Lynn Hallarman

 

By Lynn Hallarman

When Leslie and Priscilla Howard heard they had been chosen, they were shocked and relieved. They knew their pitch to win the farming rights at Cleo’s Corner in Southold was solid. But they also knew the competition was stiff. “We were worried it wasn’t going to happen, a lot of worthy farmers applied,” Leslie said. 

A few weeks after receiving the good news in February, the Howards moved into the Case House, a newly renovated historic colonial from the 1700s situated on 5.7 acres of farmable property owned by the Peconic Land Trust. The house was still empty of furniture, but they stayed anyway, sleeping on an air mattress just “to make it feel real,” Priscilla said. 

The Case House property is located at the intersection of Horton’s Lane and County Road 48, known as Cleo’s Corner. Across the road, lies another stretch of farmland also owned by the Peconic Land Trust. This land is leased to aspiring farmers as part of their Farms for the Future program. The Howards are recent graduates of the program. Priscilla’s Farm, a project they began together in 2018 on a single acre as part of the program, is now being recast as the Case House location as a fully operational, certified organic vegetable farm. Priscilla’s Farm has a community-supported agriculture pledge now with 30 members and sells directly to the public at the Port Jefferson and Sayville farmers markets.

Farms for the Future

Growing vegetables is easy, selling them is hard, according to Dan Heston, director of agricultural programs at the land trust and leader of Farms for the Future. It’s the infrastructure demands — fencing, water access and equipment — that derail farming ventures, he explained. “You also need a solid business plan,” he said. “Just because you grow it doesn’t mean you can sell it.” 

Heston helped launch Farms for the Future in 2009. The program offers emerging farmers technical assistance and affordable land leases. “Everyone starts with one acre,” he said. “An acre is a lot bigger than most people realize.” Participants have five years to expand their farms, adding acreage and crop variety. The program also created a cooperative for equipment rentals, and assists with field layouts, irrigation systems and tractor operation — resources that are hard to master without guidance. “This is not a gardening program,” Heston said. “We’re trying to find the next generation of farmers.” 

The program encourages, but doesn’t require, participants to farm food or organics. “We support all kinds of agriculture — wine, sod [grass], nurseries — but we give more help to food growers, because it’s harder,” Heston said. According to him, Farms for the Future has 32 leases covering 400 acres run by farmers of all ages and backgrounds. “We have a lot of women farmers,” he added. 

After five years, farmers are expected to move on from the program to expand their businesses. “Nobody gets kicked out but you have keep people moving, otherwise it wouldn’t be a program anymore, it will be stagnant,” Heston said. He estimates that 90% of farmers who go through the program continue doing something that relates farming. “Just not always going on to running their own farm,” he said.   

A more complicated piece of the program is land acquisition. The trust buys, protects and sells farms with a verve associated with saving endangered species habitats. The strategy involves selling the development rights of a farm to local governments and then applying an easement that prioritizes food production. “Farmers pay a fair rate, we’re not looking to make money,” Heston said. This approach makes the land affordable for food farmers either to purchase or to lease from the trust. 

The Case House project is a recent example of the trust’s mission to combine affordable housing for a farm family ready to run a larger operation. Heston, who has farmed his whole life, wanted the property to be set up for somebody to be successful. And the land trust predicted that the Howards would be a perfect fit. “They were ready to move on to the next phase about the time we finished renovating the Case House,” he said. 

Food farming in Suffolk County

Organic vegetable farming in Suffolk County is its own microcosm, existing on the margins of the agro-industry that is itself subject to a tangle of state and local regulations, competing interests and the constant pressure to rebuff development. Navigating it all can be daunting and expensive. In Suffolk County there are currently 20 organic certified farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Organic vegetable farming is particularly ephemeral, and cultivating high-quality soil and crops can take years. 

Harder to know is how many of these farmers are sustaining profit margins big enough to stay in business for the long term. Larry Foglia, an executive committee member of the Long Island Community Agriculture Network and himself a farmer for decades, noted that for some farmers sticking with vegetable farming, organic or conventional, is an impossible choice in a marketplace where sod, for instance, offers real profit. He believes that soil preservation is key to sustaining the organic industry in Suffolk — “my soil is like chocolate cake, I have been building it for 60 years” — and in recent years has focused on educating the public about this issue.  

Growing Priscilla’s Farm

As it happens, vegetable farming is Leslie Howard’s secret superpower. He is 50 and when he gave me a tour of the farm, his face hidden by a baseball cap and a reddish beard, his strides were hard to keep up with. He has a calm competence built on years of tinkering with growing techniques, and his opinions about organics come across as missionary, but without the arrogance or bluster. “We never lay down plastic sheeting to suppress the weeds — we could, but we don’t,” he said emphatically. Howard loves soil and water, and old farm machinery. He pointed to his 1949 Allis-Chalmers tractor. “We got it for free and it is easy to fix,” he said. 

Howard is a descendent of the Wells family, whose farming roots in Suffolk County date back to revolutionary times. Although Leslie Wells, Howard’s great-grandfather, was the last of his family line to farm, Howard believes farming is “in my blood.” After spending over a decade as a winemaker for local vineyards, he decided to transition to food farming when a series of personal and health events left him feeling burnt out with the wine industry. Then, in 2016, he met Priscilla. 

What began as a chance encounter while working on the same organic vegetable farm quicky blossomed to romance, and in 2017 they married. Starting an organic vegetable farm together was a natural next step.

For Priscilla Howard, 46, a gardener and vegetable grower her whole life, realizing she was a farmer took years. She spent her 20s and 30s raising two children and working in the public school system teaching social studies. What ultimately drew her to take the plunge into farming was the challenge of figuring out the magic of growing, turning that into a plan to earn a living — and being outside while doing it. 

Priscilla has showstopping green eyes and a schoolteacher’s penchant for listening. Together the couple can come across like characters from a Tolkien novel — he working wizardry, she earthbound and observant. While Leslie described the intricacies of organic pest management, Priscilla wandered among rows of newly-sprouted beans, digging up remnants of plastic sheeting left by the previous tenant. 

 “It’s a labor of love for us and we like the lifestyle. We just need to make enough that we can support ourselves,” Leslie Howard said, adding, “And we really like to eat fresh food.” 

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Ward Melville High School. File photo by Greg Catalano

By Mallie Jane Kim

Three Village Central School District is attempting more advanced budget planning, but that may be easier said than done. Discussions at the May 8 Board of Education budget hearing highlighted the complications and uncertainties districts face in trying to look ahead.

After a presentation of the $236.1 million district budget for 2024-25, which is up for vote on May 21, the board returned to the recent hot topic of building out a five-year budget plan. Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon indicated that he gave trustees a document looking forward to upcoming district needs considering state mandates likely coming down the pike, including electrification of school buses, mandatory universal pre-K and 3-year-old pre-K.

But projecting finances is another matter.

“There’s factors that, like this year, it’s a gamble,” Scanlon said, referring to the threat earlier in the spring of losing $9 million in state aid funds that did not happen. 

Other uncertainties include fluctuating costs in vital areas like health insurance, security and transportation, changes in salaries negotiated every few years and the new unreliability of state aid.

Trustee Karen Roughley, one of the board members who has pushed for advanced planning, noted that any such plan would be something of a guess.

“We need to understand what the financial impact is, but we also need to understand that that’s going to be generalizations,” Roughley said. “You’re never going to get down to the dollar on what our budget is going to look like, but we can have an idea of what we want to do.”

Even planning year to year has challenges, for instance, special education or English language learning services could arise at any time, as Deputy Superintendent Jeffrey Carlson noted.

“We always know there’s going to be additional needs that we don’t even know yet,” Carlson said, noting that if a family moves into the district with needs, those services are mandated. “We can’t say, ‘Well, sorry we don’t have the money budgeted.’ We have to find the money in the budget for that.”

Scanlon added that for 2024-25 school year, the district already knows of 37 students, which he said is more than 10% of the incoming kindergarten class, who will be in self-contained special education classes this fall.

Extrapolating all of that out to plan five years ahead brings in even more unknowns. Trustee Shaorui Li pointed to the fact that the tax cap changes each year, based on a state formula that doesn’t always reflect inflation accurately.

“Whenever we have high inflation, I’m sure something is being sacrificed,” she said.

Budget facts

The $236.1 million budget facing voters stays within the state’s mandated 2.84% tax levy increase and therefore requires a simple majority vote to pass. 

Carlson noted the budget includes $3 million in capital improvement projects, which will fund adjustments to the high school to accommodate adding ninth grade in 2025. Other capital projects on the docket include bathroom renovations and ongoing asbestos abatement. New York State reimburses the district for 66% of these capital improvement costs over time, according to Carlson.

He added that he expects a large number of retirements over the next few years, something that, brain drain aside, saves the district money. According to district data, this year’s number of retirements is up to 75, including 33 teachers and five administrators, and about 131 employees are coming up on their first retirement eligibility. 

“It would create tremendous financial opportunities for the district,” Carlson said of future retirements. “Whether that be to add programs, or to simply fund more reserves, start putting money in capital reserves or maybe not increase the tax levy as much, all of those are the opportunities that will be coming.”

Three open board of education seats

Voters will also select three trustees for next year’s school board. At a PTA Meet the Candidates night, May 9, candidates were asked to share something they wished the budget had accomplished.

Stanley Bak indicated he wished some slice of any extra money found through budget adjustments would go toward decreasing the tax levy, rather than getting absorbed by other areas of the budget. “I would have liked to see some acknowledgement that taxpayers exist within the district,” he said. “Our enrollment has been going down for some time, and our taxes keep going up.”

For Amitava Das, secondary school start times would’ve been his priority. “All the evidence points that school should start later,” he said. “If the budget was the only thing that stopped late start to school being implemented, I wish that weren’t the case, and that we had found the funds to do so.”

Current board member Shaorui Li acknowledged that she, too, is concerned about the budget but pointed out that Three Village is on par or better in per-student spending when compared to Syosset and Jericho school districts, which she called out as other “very good” school districts in the area. Elsewhere in the evening, she emphasized the importance of the variety of programs available for students. “If we keep under the cap, that is OK for us,” she said. “Making it lower will just lose our advantage and standing as a very good school district.”  

Susan Rosenzweig, also an incumbent, said she would have preferred rebuilding funds in accounts set aside for a rainy day. “I wish we could have repaid the money we borrowed from ourselves to stay open during COVID, and begun to really build up those reserves,” she said, adding that she believes the state should change regulations to allow districts to build reserves even higher than current limits. “If the state’s allowed to, we should be allowed to, as well.”

The two top candidates will each win three-year full terms, and the candidate who receives the third-most votes will fill the one year remaining on a term left open last year by a board member who had to resign for personal reasons. 

Residents can vote Tuesday, May 21, at Ward Melville High School from 6 a.m. through 9 p.m. Early and absentee ballots are also available through the district.

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Marilyn Simons, left, and Jim Simons, third from left, toast the announcement of a $500 million contribution to Stony Brook University’s endowment with SBU President Maurie McInnis and Simons Foundation President David Spergel. File photo from John Griffin/ Stony Brook University

By Daniel Dunaief

James “Jim” Harris Simons, the founder of Renaissance Technologies and former Mathematics chair at Stony Brook University whose foundation donated over $6 billion to scientific and other causes, died on May 10 at the age of 86.

Simons, who was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Marcia and Matthew Simons, touched the lives of many across Long Island and the world. He shared a dry sense of humor with those fortunate enough to interact with him, compassion with those who, like him, had suffered painful losses and a readiness to contribute personally and financially in a host of settings, including creating the beloved Avalon Preserve in Stony Brook.

Simons developed an early proficiency in mathematics that helped him earn prestigious distinctions and awards and after he left academia, helped him develop an investment approach that enabled him to amass personal wealth estimated at over $31 billion. Simons, whose cause of death wasn’t released, was the 55th richest person in the world, according to Forbes.

In 1994, Simons co-founded the Simons Foundation with his wife Marilyn. He provided much more than financial support to numerous efforts around the world, including to local institutions such as Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Indeed, last year, the Simons Foundation gave a $500 million unrestricted gift to Stony Brook University, which is the largest-ever unrestricted gift to a public institution and over the course of seven years, will more than double the endowment for the school.

“Our university is infinitely better because of [Simons], and his passing leaves an enormous hole in the hearts of all who were fortunate to know him,” Maurie McInnis, president of Stony Brook University wrote in a letter to the campus community.

Simons served on the boards of institutions like BNL and SBU, offering well-received advice to leaders of these institutions and to the scientists conducting the kind of work that could one day help combat diseases and improve the quality of quantity of life for future generations.

“He really applied his talents toward trying to better [Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory] and to other area institutions,” said David Tuveson, director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center.

In addition to funding a range of scientific research, the Simons Foundation also supported research into autism. The Simons’ daughter Audrey was diagnosed with autism when she was 6 years old.

The Simons Foundation committed over $725 million to support autism research for more than 700 investigators in the United States and around the world, according to the Simons Foundation.

Simons was “the largest private funder of autism research in the world,” Matthew Lerner, formerly an SBU research associate professor and now an associate professor and life course outcomes program leader at A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, explained in an email. Lerner added that the “impact of his loss will be enormous.”

‘Smartest and richest guy in the room’

When Simons was part of the board at Brookhaven National Laboratory, he offered insights that benefited the institution and the talented researchers who came from all over the world to contribute.

“He always had hard questions,” said Sam Aronson, the lab director of BNL from 2006 to 2012. “That was really stimulating and scary at the same time, talking to the smartest and richest guy in the room.”

Aronson recalled that Simons never needed a cheat sheet from the staff to know what to ask people giving reports when Brookhaven Science Associates, which is a combination of members from Stony Brook University and Battelle and oversees BNL, met to discuss strategy and science.

During fiscal year 2006, a reduction in funding for the nuclear physics program meant that BNL would likely have to cut staff. Simons stepped in to contribute and help raise $13 million to ensure the continued operation of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, or RHIC.

“That was showing evidence that the board who knew what we were doing scientifically really cared about us getting it done and were not looking for someone to fire,” said Aronson, who became director at BNL just after Simons helped spearhead the financial support.

In addition, Simons, who was committed to educating students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, took time to speak with students about his life experience and these fields.

Doon Gibbs, who retired as lab director at BNL last year, recalled coming to the facility early on a Saturday morning with one of his sons.

Simons was at the lab early on a Saturday morning, telling these students to follow their interests and to rely on their own judgment and decision-making and interests, rather than what other people advised or told them to do.

“That demonstrates the commitment he had personally” to education and to inspiring students, Gibbs said.

Simons inspired leaders at the top of their fields, offering inspiration and encouragement.

Stony Brook “went from the concept of being a great math and physics center to being a great university and [Simons] was all on board for that,” said Shirley Kenny, who was SBU president from 1994 to 2009. “There’s no question that I could dream bigger for Stony Brook because of [Simons].”

The geometric path

A gifted math student who first attended Brookline High School in Massachusetts and then moved to Newton High School, Simons earned his bachelor’s degree in three years from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1958.

After he graduated, Simons and friends from Colombia decided to ride motor scooters from Boston to Buenos Aires. At the time, he didn’t own a motor scooter and had never ridden one.

After seven weeks, he and his friends got as far as Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. Recalling the harrowing trip, Simons had said he came perilously close to death and was sure his mother wouldn’t have allowed him to take such a trip had she known of the risks.

After his motor scooter adventure, Simons chose to attend the University of California at Berkeley because he wanted to work with Shiing-Shen Chern. When he arrived at Berkeley, Simons, who hadn’t met Chern at that point, was disappointed to learn that the Berkeley professor was on sabbatical for the year.

While Chern didn’t serve as thesis adviser for Simons, the two mathematicians did work together, producing the Chern-Simons theory, which has applications in math and physics.

After earning his doctorate, Simons, who regularly smoked cigarettes and preferred to wear loafers without socks, split his time between lecturing at MIT and Harvard and working at the Institute for Defense Analysis in Princeton, where he served as a code breaker for the National Security Agency.

Publicly expressing opposition to the war in Vietnam cost him his job at the IDA.

In 1968, Simons, who was married to Barbara Bluestein, made the fateful decision to join the then 11-year-old Stony Brook University, enticed by President John Toll to become the chairman of the Math Department.

Irwin Kra, who joined the Math Department at Stony Brook the same year as Simons, suggested the two mathematicians became “good friends immediately.”

Building on a passion that Simons would share with friends and colleagues throughout his life, Simons and Kra shared time on a small boat that Kra described as a “putt-putt.” The motor on the boat regularly broke and Kra’s job was to hand Simons tools while he went under the engine trying to repair it, which he successfully did many times.

Kra and Simons, who are both Jewish, got into trouble with Irwin Kra’s wife Eleanor when they brought lobsters to a lake the night before Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of the year in the Jewish religion and does not typically involve consuming shellfish prior to the Day of Atonement.

As a mathematician, Simons won the American Mathematical Society Veblen Prize in Geometry in 1976, which Kra described as a “very distinguished award in differential geometry — he attacked extremely difficult problems.”

In 1974, Simons and his wife Barbara, who had three children, Elizabeth “Liz,” Nathaniel and Paul, divorced.

Simons married Marilyn Hawrys in 1977. Jim and Marilyn Simons had two children, Nicholas and Audrey.

Birth of Renaissance

In 1978, Simons left the Math Department at Stony Brook to start a company that would later become Renaissance Technologies.

Recruiting mathematicians rather than typical stock pickers or money managers, Simons, who was well ahead of his time in his approach to the market, wanted to develop computer programs that would analyze the markets, deciding when to buy and sell commodities, at first, and then stocks.

The so-called quant funds used the early equivalent of artificial intelligence to find trends in the way the investments they bought and sold — sometimes within a single day — moved, profiting from gains that didn’t rely on typical fundamental Wall Street research.

Over time, Renaissance Technologies’ Medallion Fund established a spectacular track record, with annualized returns of 66% before fees and 39% afterward from 1988 to 2018, according to Gregory Zuckerman, author of “The Man Who Solved the Market,” a biography of Simons.

Simons retired from Renaissance in late 2009, with an estimated net worth of over $11 billion.

Empathetic friend

Simons, who lost his son Paul at the age of 34 from a bike accident in 1996 and his son Nicholas in 2003 when he drowned off Indonesia, gave from his wallet, his intellect and his heart.

In the late 1990s, when Shirley and Robert Kenny were managing through the difficulties of leukemia treatments for their son Joel, Simon sent them on a trip to the Caribbean aboard his yacht.

The boat took them to St. John’s, St. Croix and other islands, providing them with a “wonderful vacation,” Shirley Kenny said. “It was just heavenly. It was a very, very happy memory. We had this joyous time before we had this terrible time and that’s thanks to [Simons.]”

Simons was also known to connect with the families of friends who were experiencing medical challenges or coping with grief.

After his son Paul died, Simons was searching for a way to memorialize him. He reached out to The Ward Melville Heritage Organization to purchase land in Stony Brook. Gloria Rocchio, president of the WMHO, took Simons on a tour of the property that would become the first parcel of land for Avalon Preserve. Simon stood on top of the hill and said, “This is it,” Rocchio recalled, leading to the first land purchase of the Avalon Preserve.

Since then, Simons has added to the preserve, which now includes about 216 acres of property.

Up until this year, Simons remained involved in the preserve, as he wanted to build a tunnel so people wouldn’t have to walk on the road to go from one piece of property to another.

That tunnel, which took years of planning, will be completed in August.

In describing the growth of the preserve, Rocchio recalled how Avalon had added 15 acres, which included a run-down house the donor stipulated couldn’t change.

One day, the trustees arrived and walked through a plastic curtain in the house and discovered the rest of the house was missing.

Simons explained that there were too many termites and the house had to come down.

“That was [Simons],” Rocchio said. “He found out the house was structurally not able to be saved.”

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) recalled how important it was to protect that land.

“I have seen most of the nature preserves around the state,” Englebright said. Avalon is not only the “finest in the entire state” but one of the “best I have ever seen anywhere.”

While Avalon is a memorial to Simons’ son Paul, it’s also “a memorial” to Simons, Englebright added.By remaining undeveloped and continuing to protect the old growth forest, the Avalon Preserve prevents the water of Stony Brook Harbor from the kind of pollution that runoff from developed property might otherwise carry.

Simons “turned a terrible tragedy into a living legacy,” Englebright said.

Simons also honored his son Nicholas, creating the Nick Simons Institute in 2006. The institute provides training, support to district hospitals and advocacy for rural health workers in Nepal.

Jim and Marilyn Simons visited Nepal regularly, traveling to remote parts of the country and visiting eight hospitals that would become a part of the Nick Simons Institute.

A humble legacy

Despite the many ways Jim and Marilyn Simons, who earned her bachelor’s degree and her doctorate in economics at Stony Brook University, contributed to science and to the area, they remained humble and accessible.

Aronson suggested to Simons that he wanted to honor him personally for his timely and important contributions to the RHIC at BNL.

When Simons declined, Aronson asked if he could name one of the roads on-site after Renaissance, which Simons approved.

On one of the Stony Brook buildings that bears their name, the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Simons focused on the student and faculty experience. He wanted to make sure people in the building had a place to eat and didn’t have to trek to the dining hall.

“He wanted a good restaurant there,” recalled Kenny.

Apart from ensuring the building served food, Simons found a problem he wanted to fix. At the opening of the center, he noticed that the elevators were too slow, so he hired the person who built the center to create a separate, faster elevator which was attached to the building after it was completed.

Still contributing

Despite stepping away from the world of academia to become one of the most successful fund managers in history, exceeding the returns of titans like Warren Buffett, Simons still found time to contribute to the world of math.

Bruce Stillman, CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, visited Simons’ office about six years ago. Stillman noticed a copy of a geometry journal on the coffee table and expressed his surprise that Simons was still reading math literature.

“What do you mean reading?” Simons replied, according to Stillman. He told the CSHL leader to open to a particular page, where he had co-authored an article.

“He was still publishing mathematics after being an extremely successful hedge fund manager,” said Stillman, who added that Simons was the largest contributor to CSHL. “He kept a lot of balls juggling in the air.”

Several people shared their appreciation for the opportunity to share relaxing and meaningful time aboard the various boats Simons owned over the years, including the 222-foot yacht called Archimedes.

Aronson took a trip around the harbor aboard the Archimedes soon after Simons had purchased it, describing the ride as akin to a “floating cocktail party.”

While on board, Aronson met famed Kenyan anthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey. Aronson wound up going on a number of trips to Kenya to work on ways to apply green energy.

As for Kra, he recalled a time when he was supposed to take a trip aboard Simons’ boat. One of the engines broke and Kra suggested he postpone the journey.

Simons refused to cancel and suggested the boat would come in slowly to Miami and would travel slowly to the Caribbean, navigating in calmer, shallower waters, which it did.

Numerous people shared their admiration for a man who contributed and continues to contribute to the lives of educators and students.

Famed actor Alan Alda benefited from his interactions with Simons. He was “a huge force in so many people’s lives, including mine,” Alda wrote in an email. He was “as generous as he was smart. And he was scarily smart.”

With the help of the Simons, Alda helped found the eponymous journalism school at Stony Brook.

“I’ll always be grateful for his and his wife Marilyn’s contributions to the Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook,” and of course, he will have touched countless lives through his landmark gifts to Stony Brook University, Alda added. “He certainly put his love of knowledge to good use.”

Simons is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren, and a great grandchild.

Stony Brook University plans to celebrate Simons’s impact in the coming months.

 

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125 graduates of the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University received their MD degrees in 2024. Photo by Arthur Fredericks

By Daniel Dunaief

On May 14, the Renaissance School of Medicine celebrated 50 years since its first graduating class, as 125 students entered the ranks of medical doctor.

The newly minted doctors completed an unusual journey that began in the midst of Covid-19 and concluded with a commencement address delivered by former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Dr. Fauci currently serves as Distinguished University Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the McCourt School of Public Policy and also serves as Distinguished Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.

“I have been fortunate to have had the privilege of delivering several commencement addresses over the years,” Dr. Fauci began. “Invariably, I have included in those addresses a reference to the fact that I was in your shoes many years ago when I graduated from medical school.”

This graduating class, however, has gone through a journey that “has been exceptional and, in some cases unprecedented,” Dr. Fauci added.

Indeed, the Class of 2024 started classes remotely, learning a wide range of course online, including anatomy.

“Imagine taking anatomy online?” Dr. Bill Wertheim, interim Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine, said in an interview. “Imagine how challenging that is.”

Dr. Wertheim was pleased with the willingness, perseverance and determination of the class to make whatever contribution they could in responding to the pandemic.

The members of this class “were incredibly engaged. They rolled up their sleeves and pitched in wherever they could to help the hospital manage the patients they were taking care of,” said Wertheim, which included putting together plastic gowns when the school struggled to find supplies and staffing respite areas.

“Hats off to them” for their continued zeal and enthusiasm learning amid such challenges, including social issues that roiled the country during their medical training, Wertheim said.

Student experience

For Maame Yaa Brako, who was born in Ghana and moved to Ontario, Canada when she was 11, the beginning of medical school online was both a blessing and a curse.

Starting her medical education remotely meant she could spend time with the support system of her family, which she found reassuring.

At the same time, however, she felt removed from the medical community at the Renaissance School of Medicine, which would become her home once the school was able to lift some restrictions.

For Brako, Covid provided a “salient reminder” of why she was studying to become a doctor, helping people with challenges to their health. “It was a constant reminder of why this field is so important.”

Brako appreciated her supportive classmates, who provided helpful links with studying and answered questions.

Despite the unusual beginning, Brako feels like she is “super close” to her fellow graduates.

Brako was thrilled that Dr. Fauci gave the commencement address, as she recalled how CNN was on all the time during the pandemic and he became a “staple in our household.”

Brako will continue her medical training with a residency at Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where she will enter a residency in obstetrics and gynecology.

Mahesh Tiwari, meanwhile, already had his feet under him when medical school started four years ago. Tiwari, who is going to be a resident in internal medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, earned his bachelor’s degree at Stony Brook.

He was able to facilitate the transition to Long Island for his classmates, passing along his “love for the area,” recognizing the hidden gems culturally, musically and artistically, he said.

After eight years at Stony Brook, Tiwari suggested he would miss a combination of a world-class research institution with an unparalleled biomedical education. He also enjoyed the easy access to nature and seascapes.

A look back

Until 1980, Stony Brook didn’t have a hospital, which meant that the medical students had to travel throughout the area to gain clinical experience.

“Students were intrepid, traveling all across Long Island, deep into Nassau County, Queens and New York City,” said Wertheim.

In those first years, students learned the craft of medicine in trailers, as they awaited the construction of buildings.

Several graduates of Stony Brook from decades ago who currently practice medicine on Long Island shared their thoughts and perspective on this landmark graduation.

Dr. Sharon Nachman, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, graduated from Stony Brook Medical School in 1983.

In the early years, the students were an “eclectic group who were somewhat different than the typical medical school students,” which is not the case now, Nachman said.

When Nachman joined the faculty at Stony Brook, the medical school didn’t have a division of pediatric infectious diseases. Now, the group has four full time faculty with nurse practitioners.

The medical school, which was renamed the Renaissance School of Medicine in 2018 after more than 100 families at Renaissance Technologies made significant donations, recognizes that research is “part of our mission statement.”

Stony Brook played an important role in a number of medical advances, including Dr. Jorge Benach’s discovery of the organism that causes Lyme Disease.

Stony Brook is “not just a medical school, it’s part of the university setting,” added Nachman. “It’s a hospital, it has multiple specialties, it’s an academic center and it’s here to stay. We’re not just the new kids on the block.”

Departments like interventional radiology, which didn’t exist in the past, are now a staple of medical education.

Dr. David Silberhartz, a psychiatrist in Setauket who graduated in 1980, appreciated the “extraordinary experience” of attending medical school with a range of people from different backgrounds and experiences. He counts three of the members of his class, whom he met his first day, as his best friends.

Silberhartz, who planned to attend commencement activities, described the landmark graduation as a “wonderful celebration.”

Aldustus Jordan III spent 43 years at the medical school, retiring as Associate Dean for Student Affairs in January 2019.

While he had the word “dean” in his title, Jordan suggested that his job was to be a “dad” to medical students, offering them an opportunity to share their thoughts, concerns and challenges.

As the school grew from a low of 18 students to a high of 150 in 2021, Jordan focused on keeping the small town flavor, so students didn’t become numbers.

“I wanted to make sure we kept that homey feeling, despite our growth,” said Jordan.

Jordan suggested that all medical schools recognize the need for doctors not only knowing their craft, but also having the extra touch in human contact.

“We put our money where our mouth is,” Jordan said. “We put a whole curriculum around that” which makes a difference in terms of patient outcomes.

Jordan urged future candidates to any medical school, including Stony Brook, to speak with people about their experiences and to use interviews as a chance to speak candidly with faculty.

“When you have down time, you have to enjoy the environment, you have to enjoy where you live,” Jordan said.

As for his own choice of doctors, Jordan has such confidence in the education students receive at Stony Brook that he’s not only a former dean, but he’s also a patient.

His primary care physician is a SBU alumni, as is his ophthalmologist.

“If I can’t trust the product, who can?” Jordan asked.

As for Fauci, in addition to encouraging doctors to listen and be prepared to use data to make informed decisions, he also suggested that students find ways to cultivate a positive work life balance.

“Many of you will be in serious and important positions relatively soon,” Fauci said. “There are so many other things to live for and be happy about. Reach for them and relish the joy.”

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File photo by Raymond Janis

Green energy update

Last Friday, May 10, Xena Ugrinsky, Port Jefferson energy committee chairperson and I visited with Peter St. Germain, general manager, Terminalling, at Northville Industries on Belle Mead Road, East Setauket. Northville has proposed building warehouses or apartments on this site and Xena and I wanted to speak with St. Germain regarding its potential for future hydrogen storage. Northville Industries has a strategic importance for energy and the Long Island economy.

We discussed the economic demand for hydrogen, its fast-growing use in the new economy, the need to switch to green energy in the power generation and rail industries, and discussed, also, the speed of worldwide adoption of this fuel to reduce climate change.

St. Germain supports these green goals and reports that Gene Bernstein, Northville’s chairman, is already planning for a “4 Gen” green future. We can hope this site remains an energy site and is not intensely developed.

On Tuesday, April 30, I went into Manhattan to address the MTA board of directors. My request was simple — to have a meeting on green energy with Long Island Rail Road president Robert Free, a Port Jefferson Station resident. My time to speak was short. Janno Lieber, MTA’s chairman, was polite and did not yawn. The MTA is coming to an end of its 20-year planning for LIRR. I see no evidence of any desire of LIRR to accommodate state law or reduce carbon emissions.

I will be addressing the Three Village Civic Association and its president, Charles Tramontana, on this topic on Monday, June 3. I am discussing this issue with Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association president, Ira Costell; Port Jefferson Civic Association president, Ana Hozyainova; and county Legislator Steve Englebright [D-Setauket], sponsor of the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act when he was an assemblyman. We would hope to petition Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] to support her own law for climate and green energy use.

We have proposals for Mr. Free for new technologies that make this transition far more feasible and economical — even beneficial to the New York state economy. 

Green transportation: “A better ride” — a “one-seat ride” to Manhattan is critical to our North Shore environment and economy.

Contact your elected representatives. The MTA is getting $10 billion from the federal government to transition to green energy. I see no benefit to the North Shore from these funds. “We pay taxes, too.”

RSVP Mr. Free.

Bruce Miller

Port Jefferson

Celebrate your favorite waitstaff

Tuesday, May 21, is National Waitstaff Day. Your neighborhood restaurant waiters are on their feet all day working long hours. They take and deliver meal orders, follow up to make sure your meal is up to expectations, refill your coffee, tea or water glass, box any leftovers you want to take home and prepare the check — all with a smile and friendly disposition. 

On this day, why not show your appreciation and honor your favorite waiter? Leave a 25 percent tip against the total bill including taxes. Remember that they usually have to share the tips with the busboys. Drop off some flowers, a box of candy or some cookies as well.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Ceasefires do not work

In recent weeks, colleges and universities across the country have been visited by large groups of antisemitic activists, known as Palestine protesters, whose stated goal is the abolition of the state of Israel. Although it might be only partially accurate to describe these visitors as guest lecturers, they do share many of the same qualifications, as they teach students various things they need to know, including how to recite catchy slogans, the proper wearing of masks to avoid being identified and how to live in a tent.

Here in Stony Brook, the SUNY protesters seem to be doing well, and have branched out to beyond the confines of the university, with a few of them joining the ranks of the North Country Peace Group, which congregates on North Country Road in Setauket every Saturday morning from around 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and has been doing so for many years. 

On the opposite side of the street, the Stony Brook Patriots meet at the same time, for the purpose of countering most of the positions advocated by NCPG. For motorists passing by, the two sides are easily distinguished: NCPG displays three flags: a Black Lives Matter flag, a U.N. flag and, most recently, a Palestine flag. The Patriots, on the other hand, display only two types of flags: about a dozen examples of the American stars and stripes, and a single flag of the nation of Israel. 

The members of the Patriots believe that advocating for peace, while at the same time supporting Palestine — which implies support for Hamas — is inconsistent and hypocritical. 

Last Oct. 7, Hamas perpetrated a murderous, unprovoked attack on the civilian citizens of Israel, an atrocity unmatched since the Holocaust and World War II. After the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States, we had no viable option other than to wage war against Japan and achieve an unconditional surrender. If Japan had requested a ceasefire a few months after Pearl Harbor, it would not have been considered. As it turned out, the United States and the Allies decisively defeated both Japan and Germany, and prosecuted and punished the criminal leaders of both countries. 

“Peace Through Strength” is a concept that has been espoused by many of our great leaders, from George Washington through Ronald Reagan, and the leaders of Israel know that it applies today. As British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain showed us in 1938, appeasement and ceasefires do not work.

George Altemose

Setauket

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Scenes from the May 4 Pancake Breakfast. Photo courtesy Nicole LaMacchia NYS Senate Regional Director

On Saturday, May 4, several elected officials hosted a pancake breakfast to honor the service of local veterans. The first annual pancake breakfast took place at the VFW Post 3054.

The program began with an opening prayer by Chaplin Michael Russell, who was followed by Chaplin David Mann, singing a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. 

The highlight of the gathering was the moment Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), Assemblyman Ed Flood (R,C-Port Jefferson) and Leg. Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) presented staff Sgt. Michael E. Russell with a state proclamation acknowledging his service and dedication to his community.

Michael Russell was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He was enlisted in the United Air Force from 1966-1970 and served in Vietnam from 1968-1969. Upon his return to the United States, Russell was employed with the Federal Aviation Administration from 1970-1981 until he left there and spent the remainder of his career as Managing Director and Senior Vice President of merged Wall Street firms. 

For his service, Russell received two bronze stars and a purple heart.

Throughout his life in the private sector, Russell continued to serve his fellow man. He was a member of the NYS small business administration and the MTA Capital Review Board. 

He was commissioner of New York State Cable TV Commission, special assistant to NYS Senate Majority Leader Ralph Marino, a trustee on the SUNY Board of Trustees, the chair of the Committee of SUNY Hospitals and the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council. 

Russell also served as a member of the Committee of SUNY Community Colleges, the Committee of Finance and Investments, Committee of Athletics and Four-Year Schools, Committee on Charter Schools, and a member of the Board of Trustees at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital. 

Russell is a founding member of Jefferson’s Ferry Continuous Care Facility and was chair of the Transition Team for Suffolk County District Attorney James M. Catterson and a member of the  Transition Team for Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney.

Russell is married to his wife Barbara Russell and they have three children and six grandchildren.

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