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Your Turn: Fire and Rain — Climate change is ravaging our planet

by TBR Staff - January 23, 2025

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default — A scene of destruction in Western North Carolina after Tropical Storm Helene. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/NCDOTcommunications

By Kurt Johnsen

On August 19, 2024, a “thousand-year” rain event breached Harbor Road and drained the Stony Brook Mill Pond. TBR News Media published my memoir of my personal relationship with the pond and my deep sorrow of its loss on Aug. 29.

I live in Asheville, North Carolina and on September 28, I awoke to a Natural Disaster that was beyond my comprehension. Tropical storm Helene had scourged our beloved Western North Carolina. I’ll first note that my wife and I were fine, and our home only suffered minor damage. I stepped outside and began to witness what was soon to be apparent destruction of “biblical” proportion.

Overnight, 40 to 100 miles-per-hour winds had ravaged our region. Asheville received 14 inches of rain, much of Western North Carolina received two feet of rain and even up to 30 inches, all in the previous two days. Trees were downed everywhere and with them thousands of power lines cutting off electricity and making even simple travel down the road impossible. Soon, the magnitude of the destruction started to become evident.

Close to 900,000 acres of forest were downed or damaged, thousands of homes were destroyed and 150,000 people were displaced. If you haven’t yet, you can go on YouTube and watch the hundreds of videos showing events that, before this, we only witnessed from afar often in third world countries. Two miles from our house Biltmore Village was flooded and EVERY business was gutted or ripped down. Eighty percent of our beloved River Arts District was destroyed. The torrents caused massive mudslides. Across the region, houses were torn apart and floated like balsa wood along powerful rivers that, two days prior, were small streams and brooks.

There are 104 verified storm-related deaths. It is Incredulous this number isn’t higher. Vehicles, homes, businesses were piled like matchsticks. People’s lives were upended and, for many, will never be the same. Even now, as you drive out to smaller towns that were virtually destroyed, you proceed through a “tunnel” of the hulks of demolished cars, trucks, houses and other flotsam.

The main Pipeline from the reservoir that supplies most of Asheville with water was shattered and under 28 feet of thick muck! Water immediately ceased flowing out of the tap for, in most cases, months and even longer to become potable. Asheville’s unemployment rate jumped from three to 9 percent overnight. The lack of affordable housing, already a crisis for service industry employees in our tourist-based economy, was extraordinarily exacerbated overnight.

Stop reading for a minute and imagine the all-too-real picture I have painted above. Now, let me put this in perspective. The Mill Pond is approximately 11 acres in size. That is 0.001 percent of the area that was impacted in WNC from Helene. And now, much of Los Angeles looks like Dresden after the firebombing. I will not go far out on a limb to say we have reached the “tipping point”; climate change is now ravaging our planet. James Taylor sang “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain.” He had no idea how prophetic his prose would become.

Author Kurt Johnsen, who grew up in idyllic Stony Brook, now resides in Asheville, North Carolina.

Your Turn: Sharon R. Soderstrom named ‘101st Senator’ at her retirement

by TBR Staff - January 19, 2025

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SHARON SODERSTROM MITCH 222 — Former Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sharon R. Soderstrom, his former chief of staff. Photo courtesy of Sen. McConnell’s website

By D. Bruce Lockerbie

Just before its Christmas recess, the U.S. Senate met for an unusual ceremony, the retirement of an employee who, after 43 years on the job, had become known as one of “the most powerful” women in Washington (The Atlantic, May 20, 2015) and, according to former Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), even the 101st Senator. Her name is Sharon R. Soderstrom, former chief of staff for McConnell.

Few ordinary citizens understand the inner workings of our national government; in particular, the “sausage-making process” of passing bills into law to fulfill the policy expectations of voters who sent politicians to high offices.

The U.S. Senate describes how a senator’s hired staff functions: “Senators depend on the assistance of staff on Senate committees and in their individual offices, both in Washington, D.C., and in their home states. Senate committee staff include clerks, staff directors, staff assistants, legal counsel, researchers, policy analysts, press assistants, and archivists. Most senators’ offices include a chief of staff to manage the office, legislative correspondents to communicate with constituents, and legislative directors and assistants to help develop legislation, as well as schedulers, communications and press staff, and other administrative assistants.”

Sharon Soderstrom filled the role of senior adviser for three Republican majority leaders: Trent Lott (R-MS), William Frist (R-TN) and McConnell.

Soderstrom’s father Karl E. Soderstrom was the head of The Stony Brook School; her brother Mark Soderstrom is a senior captain on the Port Jefferson/Bridgeport Ferry. With their younger sister Cheryl, they all attended North Country Elementary School through sixth grade, then enrolled at The Stony Brook School.

She was valedictorian of the class of 1978 before going on to the University of Virginia, where she majored in English; her intended graduate studies were interrupted by an opportunity to work in the Washington, D.C., office of then Senator Paul Trible (R-VA).

“I thought I’d work there for a year or two before I found my real job,” Soderstrom said. “I started answering phones but soon moved into a role that I found stimulating — learning about policy issues and thinking about how to strategically advance causes through the legislative process.”

The Hill, a widely-circulated insider publication, acclaims her as “an expert on Senate rules and procedure” and “well regarded for the counsel she provides to McConnell and members on Senate strategy. . . . Former aides in the office say that she constantly has her finger on the pulse of the [Republican] conference and the full trust of the longest-serving leader in Senate history.” (Sept. 12, 2023)

McConnell’s spoken tribute began, “For several months now, I’ve been calling the Senate’s attention to the extraordinary people who have me, this institution, and our nation so well — and for so long — in the Republican Leader’s office. Today, I’ve reached the end of the list. My one remaining task is to prepare our colleagues for a Senate without Sharon Soderstrom.”

McConnell ended his tribute by stating, “Come January, the Senate will convene again. The 119th Congress will bring us a new slate of weighty business, new moments of minor crisis, and new opportunities to better serve the nation we all love. But in the most trying moments — and the most triumphant ones — a great many of us will feel like something is missing. We will miss Sharon — the 101st Senator. Sharon, you have served the Senate with honor. You are the greatest at what you do.”

As for her own retrospective, Soderstrom says, “One of the joys of my work through the years has been the opportunities to mentor public-spirited young people. The role placed me at the intersection of operating between the White House, the House leadership and Senate Republican leaders. Among the many things I’m proud of is despite the stresses on our institutions, in moments of crisis I have been part of national leaders who led during 9/11 and 1/6/24 — two different evacuations of the Capitol, two different Republican leaders, and one imperative: Return to the Capitol the same day and demonstrate national resolve for the country and for the world.”

When asked to cite both high and low points in her career, she replied, “I have also been grateful at different moments in time to drive agendas that have been consequential in the moment. After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, I was with Leader McConnell in Finland, then Sweden, the day they voted to join NATO. We then were part of the legislative team to drive early U.S. ratification of the treaty, and met again with the Prime Minister the day he presented the accession papers to the State Department to make it official.”

“I did ask on behalf of my Norwegian grandparents what took them so long,” she added.

“I credit my upbringing at The Stony Brook School for modeling lessons that helped me in this role. At the end of his life, my Dad told me of his deep satisfaction in doing purposeful work with talented colleagues, many of whom became lifelong friends. I too was able to work with the best and brightest, and as a team we were each better than our individual parts. Building and managing a team that maintained our reputation for excellence and high morale through the tenure of the longest serving leader in Senate history was a great good gift.”

“But I think my greatest disappointment through the years has been watching politics become more performative among each party’s base, making progress more difficult. Mark Shields once said, ‘There are two types of political parties like there are two kinds of churches: those who seek converts and those who root out heretics.’ I hope that we can return to a moment when we try to persuade through the weight of a winsome argument rather than shutting down dissent and vilifying fellow citizens.”

For the first time in more than four decades, Sharon Soderstrom’s daily routine is no longer at the behest of 100 men and women who live their lives in six-year cycles and count to 51 (or 60), depending on the nature of the case before them. She plans to take a well-earned break from Senate arithmetic.

D. Bruce Lockerbie is a longtime resident of the Three Villages.

Your Turn: Trail to Eagle winds through our community

by TBR Staff - December 20, 2024

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By Robert DeStefano

You don’t have to walk too far along the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail before you notice an Eagle Scout project. Maybe it’s a bench, or perhaps some bat houses. Look closely and you might see the modest plaque that names the Eagle who led each project.

In fact, all around us, local Scouts deliver valuable service projects benefiting various local organizations and our residents at-large. In recent months, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing several of these wonderful implementations of community service in Port Jefferson Station.

Outside Boyle Road Elementary School, João Ferreira’s Eagle Scout project created an outdoor workspace for students and local organizations that use the facility. The concrete work table is roughly 14’ x 6’, offering space large enough for an elementary class to spend time learning in an outdoor classroom. His project complements existing benches in the same space, an earlier Eagle Scout project led by Jordan Roche.

Over at Comsewogue High School, Ethan Matz organized a renovation to room 123, the Courtroom classroom. His Eagle Scout project returned the space to a style reminiscent of its décor a generation ago. Comsewogue alumni may recall the courtroom that served as the classroom for now-retired educator Mr. William Bodkin. The return to that style looks fantastic, and echoes the uniquely American history taught over the years.

At the Comsewogue Community Garden, many volunteers, including several local scouting organizations, have invested time to resurrect the garden. Their efforts have been bearing fruit for a couple of seasons now. With community volunteers regularly working the vegetation, the need for more storage space was addressed through another local Eagle Scout project. Danny Cappiello project-managed the development of a new storage shed at the back of the site. At roughly 100 sq. ft., the additional storage space invites plenty of helping hands who are growing vegetables that help feed others in our community. Volunteers helping volunteers; how wonderful is that?!

Not all Eagle projects are visible in the public, but the value they provide matters to the organizations they support. Within the courtyard at John F. Kennedy Middle School, Massimo Olson has led the charge to build composting bins. The compost from these bins will help feed Jackie’s Garden (in memory of Mrs. Jacqueline Rella, wife of late Superintendent Dr. Joseph Rella), and will provide nutrients for the work of the middle school’s Greenagers club, which recently planted several young trees near the bleachers to share the athletic fields.

Most recently, Spencer Aron unveiled his Eagle Scout Project, a big Adirondack chair painted in red, white and blue for all to enjoy, at the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce’s tree lighting event at the Train Car Park.

Failure to mention how these projects are funded would be an oversight. Scouts working on their Eagle rank are required to project-manage a community service project. That includes not only planning and building, but also fundraising. This is where our wonderful community comes in. When you make a donation or attend an Eagle Scout fundraising event such as hosted by generous local restaurants, this is where your contribution goes. It enables our local youth to execute projects that give back in our local community. It lets them know that our neighbors care and support the service they do as they grow.

So, in thanking them for their work, we also thank you for supporting them on their Trail to Eagle: a rank only about 6% of Scouts earn, nationwide. An investment in them is an investment in a future that will undoubtedly inspire future leaders in our community!

If you’re interested in signing your child up for Scouting, please feel welcome to contact me at [email protected] and I’ll help you get connected with information and the Pack or Troop in your area.

Author Robert DeStefano is an Assistant Scoutmaster with Scouting America (BSA) Troop 354 and serves as trustee for the Comsewgoue School District Board of Education.

Your Turn: The Chanukah story lights the path to togetherness

by TBR Staff - December 19, 2024

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By Rabbi Joshua Gray

Chanukah is definitely not the “Jewish Christmas,” but the first of our eight nights does happen to coincide with Christmas day this year!

Did you know that we actually begin celebrating Chanukah on the 25th every year? The 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, that is. Each year, we tell the story of the Syrian-Greek King Antiochus IV, and how his soldiers raided Jerusalem, desecrating the Holy Temple in the process. Antiochus outlawed Judaism and its rituals, and affixed idols and altars upon its holiest spaces.

A famous group of Jews known widely as the Maccabees led the resistance against this tyranny. The story is famous for its underdog component; the small group of Maccabees were able to defeat the large and powerful Syrian-Greek army. The word “Chanukah” means “dedication,” and signifies the rededication of the Holy Temple in Judea (Israel) following these arduous battles. In fact, the Maccabee victory established the first Jewish monarchy to rule in Israel since the Babylonian exile occurred hundred of years prior.

The second Book of Maccabees, a book that exists outside of the Jewish Bible, claimed that the eight days of Chanukah were actually something of a “make-up” festival. Due to the restrictions of Syrian-Greek rule, the Jews had missed being able to celebrate the eight-day festival of Sukkot. The widely-known story of the miraculous oil actually came much later!

Today, Chanukah has transformed from a military story into a more spiritual one. It tells of a miracle wherein one day’s worth of oil, used to light the Temple’s “ner tamid” (eternal light), lasted for eight days. We symbolize this miracle with the lighting of a special kind of menorah called a “Chanukiyah,” which has nine branches as opposed to the seven on a typical menorah.

We also acknowledge our resistance against Hellenization and assimilation, characteristics that have kept the Jewish people for thousands of years. Just as the oil did not burn down against all odds, we celebrate the sustenance and light of our traditions; alive and thriving in the face of so many historical challenges.

While rich with history and tradition for all sensibilities, can we look at Chanukah a bit differently this year? In the midst of so much unrest in the Middle East, and in the wake of a tumultuous election season in our own country, don’t we all need a little bit of light to shine on us and our loved ones and friends? It is a mitzvah (good deed) to display your Chanukiyah in a place where it is easily seen by others. A window is a popular place.

How can we put our own inner lights on display for all to see and feel this holiday season? Can we “rededicate” ourselves to loving our neighbor, accepting our differences, and realizing that our community is so much richer when we approach challenges “b’yachad,” which means “together,” or “as one?”

So, no, Chanukah is not the “Jewish Christmas,” but we do celebrate as one this year! Consider attending a menorah lighting in your community, or reach out to your neighbors who might pray and think a bit differently from you. When we allow our individual lights to shine upon one another, we all benefit from the warmth of a united flame. I wish all of you a healthy and happy holiday season, and as we say in our tradition: Chag Urim Sameach — A Happy Festival of Lights!

The author is the Rabbi at Temple Isaiah in Stony Brook.

Your Turn: A Year of Progress — Building a safer, more affordable Suffolk County

by Press Release - December 19, 2024

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415507696_122093790860180810_1190846810702090748_n — Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine

By Ed Romaine, Suffolk County Executive

After 12 years as the Brookhaven Town Supervisor, in 2023 I decided to run for Suffolk County Executive to make our county safer and more affordable and to restore professionalism to every county department.

Good governance is about doing what’s right for taxpayers and employees, and that’s exactly what we’ve focused on since I have taken office.

Fiscally, we are on the right road, and our efforts have been recognized. The county’s 2024 budgeting has earned Suffolk two bond ratings and three credit rating upgrades as of early December.

As promised, we’ve brought new leadership to the Suffolk County Police Department, hired 200 new officers, and added 50 new detectives to tackle crime across the county. New leadership has put the department on track for continued success, and my administration will provide what our law enforcement agencies need to protect our communities.

The Department of Social Services was in crisis when I took office. Poor management, low staffing, and tragic incidents resulted in Suffolk County being among the worst-performing DSS operations in New York State. For example, Suffolk was last among counties processing SNAP applications, which provide people in need with food. Due to new leadership and a complete overhaul of DSS operations, Suffolk is now the best in New York State.

New call center policies have reduced SNAP wait times by more than 95%, boosted employee morale, and decreased caseloads. While there is still work to be done, especially in filling the over 1,000 open positions, we’re making real progress.

To address these vacancies, we launched the “Suffolk is Hiring” campaign, meeting job seekers where they are—on social media, at college campuses, and at job fairs. This proactive approach shifts from reactive to addressing problems before they become crises.

When I took office, many county buildings were in terrible shape—leaky roofs, broken systems, and general neglect. These buildings belong to the taxpayers and house our dedicated workforce. We’ve made it a priority to bring these spaces up to standard, both for the employees and the public who rely on these services.

Here are just a few of the results our taxpayers are already seeing:

246 acres of land preserved—a significant increase from previous years, thanks to reforms in the Department of Economic Planning that streamlined the process.
Sewer projects funded in Smithtown, Wyandanch, Wheatley Heights, Deer Park, the Forge River, and Southwest Sewer Districts. These projects are critical for protecting our environment and revitalizing downtown areas.
$56 million invested in public safety equipment, ensuring our police and first responders are better equipped to keep our communities safe.
Major improvements to county parks planned for 2025, offering enhanced recreational spaces for families.
Micro transit zones to improve connectivity on the East End, making it easier for residents to access essential services and work opportunities.

None of this would be possible without the incredible team I have by my side. Together, we are committed to making Suffolk County safer, more affordable, and a place where every resident can thrive.

I look forward to continuing this important work next year and wish all of you a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Guest editorial: Vote ‘yes’ for clean water!

by TBR Staff - October 24, 2024

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Port Jefferson Harbor. Photo by Beth Heller Mason

By George Hoffman

This Election Day, voters face an important ballot question: Proposition 2, the Clean Water referendum. If passed, this measure will fund crucial efforts to protect our drinking water and our bays and harbors from harmful nitrogen pollution. Much of this excess nitrogen comes from outdated cesspool systems in homes throughout Suffolk County.

Nitrogen pollution is the primary cause of water degradation in our streams and coastal waters, and it also threatens our deep aquifers. Fortunately, there are affordable solutions available to reduce nitrogen pollution, which will allow us to begin restoring local water quality to healthier levels.

As one of the founders of the Setauket Harbor Task Force and someone who has monitored water conditions in Port Jefferson and Setauket harbors for nearly a decade, I’ve witnessed firsthand how nitrogen disrupts the delicate ecological balance in these fragile environments. Nitrogen acts like a steroid in marine systems, fueling excessive seaweed growth and harmful algal blooms. These blooms can lead to fish kills and unsightly seaweed buildup along the shoreline, impacting the quality of our recreational waters. With climate change heating our local waters, we are at greater risk of more frequent algal blooms, which will only exacerbate the problems we are already facing.

Proposition 2 offers a solution: for just 1/8th of a penny in sales tax, we can create a reliable funding source to help homeowners replace their outdated cesspools with modern low-nitrogen systems. This change will significantly reduce nitrogen levels, leading to cleaner water in our harbors and bays.

This Election Day, remember to flip your ballot and vote “Yes” on Prop 2 for clean water and a healthier environment in Suffolk County. Supporting this measure is essential for ensuring that we take the necessary steps to protect our vital water resources for future generations. Together, we can secure a cleaner, safer environment for our community, benefiting both residents and local ecosystems.

Author George Hoffman is a member of the Setauket Harbor Task Force.

The sun shines on historic All Souls Church at annual race in Stony Brook Village

by TBR Staff - October 11, 2024

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By Daniel Kerr

The sun shined brightly on the 200+ folks (not including the marching dogs) that gathered in front of Stanford White-designed All Souls Church in Stony Brook for the 16th Annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk on Sunday, Oct. 6.

The large crowd included runners dressed as the Mario Brothers, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, “One and ½” bulldogs, butterflies, silver ballerinas, and three generations of skeletons. Retired Suffolk County Police Sargeant Mark McNulty played the bagpipes to inspire the runners as they began their trek up Hollow Road, and the North Shore Rockers played throughout Registration at the Reboli Center. Former Suffolk County Poet Laureate Richard Bronson led the annual march of the Live Poets Society, as Barbara Branca read the poems of Barbara Southard.

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright and Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich joined All Souls’ own Brave Trio to sing the National Anthem, and our elected representatives thanked the runners and walkers for participating in this very special annual event to celebrate the role of All Souls in the community and to raise funds to make the church and accessible to all. The large amount of food collected as part of the All Souls “Lend a Hand, bring a Can” food outreach, was transported to St Gerard Majella’s food pantry in Terryville.

For the second consecutive year, Felipe Garcia from Brooklyn was the overall race winner with a time of 17:14 and Margaret Kennedy from Port Jefferson Station was the overall female winner with a time of 21:07. Race co-founder Mary Ellen Doris awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic-style ceremony to various age groups from 13 and under to 80 years and older. Six-year-old Hope Orcel from Stony Brook won the bronze for the female 13 and under group and eighty-five-year-old Rolf Sternglanz from Davie, Florida won the silver for the over 80 group of runners.

All of the volunteers and sponsors thank the community of runners, walkers, residents and students for their outpouring of love and support.

Your Turn: In memory of Max

by TBR Staff - October 10, 2024

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Ellen Mason, a volunteer at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport, has reported that Max, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum cat who greeted visitors at the gatehouse for years, has passed away. Below is a poem she wrote in his honor.

Our Max, the Vanderbilt Cat

A sad day has fallen,

Enshrouded in gray.

Cherished and honored,

Our Max passed away.

Max was our mascot,

Our Vanderbilt cat.

He lived on the grounds,

But was much more than that.

He greeted our patrons

From his perch near the gate,

By the Vanderbilt gatehouse,

Entrance to this estate.

His special companion,

A guard here named Ed,

Brushed Max and loved him,

Making sure he was fed.

He bought Max a house

For those cold wintry days,

Where he snuggled inside,

Staring with his cat gaze.

Max lived life to the max,

Living up to his name.

For the guards at the gatehouse,

It just won’t be the same.

— By Ellen Mason, Stony Brook

Your Turn: Solutions required to tackle extreme weather

by TBR Staff - September 2, 2024

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By John Avlon

This past week’s extreme weather is yet another wake-up call that we can’t afford to ignore.

Touring the damage in Port Jefferson village, the devastation was striking, but let’s be honest — none of this should surprise us anymore. We’ve seen it before, and it’s clear we need to do more. The federal government has got to step up, which is why I’ll work to make sure that we deliver more relief and resilience for our communities in the face of natural disasters.

The first step is a significant boost in funding for FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program. BRIC isn’t just another government acronym — it’s a crucial resource for states, local communities, tribes and territories to tackle hazard mitigation head-on, reducing disaster risks before they strike. The goal is simple: Stop reacting after disasters and start building resilience now.

BRIC is currently funded by a 6% set-aside from major disaster declarations, meaning the funding is inconsistent and not guaranteed. While the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act committed $1 billion to BRIC over five years, that’s just a drop in the bucket. That’s why I’m advocating for an annual $1 billion investment in BRIC. To be serious about this issue, we need to make serious investments.

This investment isn’t just smart policy — it pays off big time. The National Institute of Building Sciences reports that every federal dollar spent on hazard prevention saves society $6. That’s a return on investment that would make Wall Street jealous.

But we can’t stop there. There’s a glaring gap in FEMA eligibility that needs to be addressed. Condos, co-ops and homeowners associations are excluded from aid because FEMA classifies them as businesses. That’s absurd. These are middle-class housing options that deserve relief like everyone else.

I saw it firsthand at a homeowners association I visited in Port Jefferson, where a landslide wreaked havoc after the rain. This gap has been well known since Hurricane Sandy, and it’s time to fix it.

Send me to Congress, and I’ll fight to bring real resources home and tackle climate change with the urgency it demands. The time for action is now.

John Avlon is Democratic candidate for New York Congressional District 1 on Nov. 5.

Perspective: Restore and protect Stony Brook Mill Pond

by TBR Staff - September 2, 2024

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By Steve Englebright

In the dark early morning hours of Aug. 19, almost 11 inches of rain descended like a cataract upon the central North Shore of Long Island. The storm then crossed into Connecticut where it killed two people and destroyed numerous bridges and roads.

The paved roads and impermeable surfaces within the catchment of Stony Brook Mill Pond caused it to immediately flood. This deluge then spilled over the top of that part of Harbor Road which capped the artificial earthen dam adjacent to the National Register of Historic Places-listed circa 1751 mill. Floodwater poured uncontrollably over the road, creating a thunderous curtain that plunged into the marine side of the dam, quickly and severely eroding its base. The dam failed, and the pond emptied catastrophically into Stony Brook Harbor.

The boundaries of two towns, one incorporated village and one hamlet all meet at this location. In the aftermath of this catastrophe, it is important for each of these governing units as well as all other elements of the community to quickly come together in support of a single plan of restorative action. Fortunately, President Joe Biden has heeded the call of local governments, including Suffolk County, to declare this site a federal disaster area. Much-needed federal dollars may now follow. This precious funding can be wisely utilized, presuming that everyone is cooperating. One of the challenges now before all of us is to find commonality and consensus. In particular, we must reconcile the interests of historic preservation and environmental protection so that they are aligned and mutually supportive within a thoughtfully engineered plan.

Some have wondered if it may be appropriate to leave the breached dam unreconstructed purposefully. Several threshold questions arise from this thought:

• Should we allow the recently unconstrained Stony Brook Creek to continue to flow freely and allow recovery of natural processes such as the breeding activities of the herring-like fish known as the alewife?

• What course of action would provide the greatest overall environmental benefit?

• Would the nationally significant cultural treasure that is the Stony Brook Grist Mill have diminished relevance without its historic impoundment?

Reasons for restoration

This author would argue strongly for restoration of Stony Brook Mill Pond for reasons that embrace both environmental and historic preservation purposes. These include:

• More than 90% of the Stony Brook Harbor is tidally-influenced salt water. Freshwater habitats within the harbor are rare and enhance its biodiversity. Prior to the dam’s breach, the largest surface freshwater feature of the entire harbor was Stony Brook Mill Pond. Allowing this scarce resource to remain permanently reduced would significantly subtract from this ecosystem’s vibrancy and health.

• The Stony Brook Mill Pond Basin uniquely joins Main Street with the Avalon Preserve — arguably the finest nature center in New York state. This geographic juxtaposition created a remarkable outdoor education classroom that enabled thousands of children and families to directly experience nature. It would be most unfortunate to compromise or lose the open water and aesthetic appeal of this site which could, if restored, continue effectively to foster for each next generation an ethic of learning and respect for the environment.

• The Mill Pond helped keep the Stony Brook Harbor clean. This relatively-unspoiled harbor’s water chemistry was maintained, in part, by the fact that the Mill Pond acted as a sediment trap and contaminant settlement basin that intercepted substances in road runoff that would otherwise have flowed directly into the harbor.

• The continued existence of two significant rookeries on the edge of Stony Brook Mill Pond featuring, respectively, cormorants and herons would be uncertain if the pond is not restored.

• While some fish species, such as alewife, might theoretically benefit from a free flowing Stony Brook, it is unknown if this site would support a significant run for such fish.

• Suffolk County’s largest industry is tourism, and Stony Brook Mill Pond and Grist Mill combine to create a major magnet attracting and welcoming visitors to Old Stony Brook and its vicinity. Any decision to delay reconstruction of the Mill Pond dam could compromise the sense of place of Old Stony Brook. Loss of these landmarks in pursuit of limited or speculative environmental improvements could create significant community resentment, which would only detract from other preservation efforts

Reconstruction of Harbor Road and Mill Pond dam

It is useful to note that the dam at the north end of Setauket’s Frank Melville Memorial Park was subjected to the same storm event and did not rupture. The apparent reason for this is because that dam is armored with cement on its seaward side. Reconstruction of Harbor Road at Stony Brook Mill Pond should proceed expeditiously and be built in like kind to what was there previously except that the reconstructed dam should be armored on its seaward-side in a manner similar to the construction of its sister site in the Frank Melville Memorial Park.

We are fortunate that this event did not cause loss of human life, and that our volunteer first responders were unharmed. Another takeaway from this catastrophe is that its effects would have been worse if the proposed extensive construction of impermeable surfaces already existed on three large properties in the immediate watershed area, i.e., Flowerfield, Bull Run Farm and a former private school.

This ruinous flood should be a wake-up call for planners as they consider these and other intensive development proposals within the immediate watershed of Stony Brook Harbor and its Mill Pond. Going forward, this recent flood event should be top of mind — land use decisions here should reflect awareness, restraint and caution. Although we can hope that the unusual storm that eroded the Mill Pond dam at its base is not a new normal, exceptionally destructive weather events are occurring much more frequently than in the past. A similar torrential flood could occur at any time.

We should restore Stony Brook’s historic Mill Pond and, by extension, also preserve that extraordinary harbor and its namesake community.

Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) is the Suffolk County legislator for the 5th Legislative District and a former New York State Assemblyman.

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