Town head has eyes on illegal housing, environmental issues
Supervisor Ed Romaine discusses his last term and his goals for another two years if re-elected. Photo by Desirée Keegan
After his first full term at the helm, Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said he thinks the Town of Brookhaven should look better than it does, and if re-elected plans to continue the town on its positive trajectory.
Romaine is running for another two years as supervisor against Democratic challenger Douglas Dittko, who declined to attend a debate at the TBR Newspapers office alongside his opponent. Dittko also did not answer a request for an interview.
According to the Suffolk County Democratic Committee’s website, Dittko, a Manorville resident, is a civic leader who has worked to preserve open space and has been involved in other community issues.
For Romaine, re-election means finishing up current environmental projects, managing the town’s budget and introducing technology to make it easier for residents to interact with the town. While he said there is still work to be done, he highlighted improvements since his special election in early 2013, which put him into office for several months before he was re-elected to a full term.
“My predecessor left in mid-term and he left with a fiscal crisis. He was firing over 100 people as he left,” Romaine said, referring to former Supervisor Mark Lesko (D). “We stopped some of those firings — I haven’t laid off [anyone] since I took office.”
While in office, Romaine has helped get the town’s debt under control, and this year the town finished paying off its pension debt. One of the ways in which Romaine brought in funding to do that was selling the former tax receiver’s office in downtown Port Jefferson as well as the old town hall in Patchogue.
“I’ve worked on finances because I’ve learned from a long life that all issues of government are issues of money,” Romaine said.
One of the incumbent’s focuses in another term would be housing. Following the recession, there were more than 200 foreclosed homes that the town is trying to maintain or tear down. And residents of neighborhoods near Stony Brook University complain of illegal boarding homes bursting with college students. To combat that issue, Romaine and town officials have already enacted some restrictions, like making it illegal to pave over front lawns to make more room for parking.
Another goal the supervisor has for a second full term is expanding his single-stream recycling program beyond Brookhaven’s single-family homes. The single-stream system, in which residents can put all of their recyclables on the curb together, has already drastically increased recycling townwide, and has made money for Brookhaven because the town sells material it brings in.
He would also like to continue his efforts to encourage renewable energy use and reduce nitrogen pollution in local bodies of water.
“It’s time for us to wake up,” Romaine said. “We’re going to lose what we cherish about living in this town if we don’t start to preserve our waterways.”
Sarah Anker talks local issues at a debate at Times Beacon Record Newspapers. Photo by Elana Glowatz
By Desirée Keegan
With her second full term under her belt, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said she hopes a third term would allow her to expand on the toughest issues facing the 6th District. But her Republican challenger, Steve Tricarico, says it’s time for a fresh perspective.
Steve Tricarico talks local issues at a debate at Times Beacon Record Newspapers. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Tricarico, who works as Brookhaven Town’s deputy highway superintendent, said the county’s finances were a main focus of his campaign to unseat the incumbent. Anker, however, said she is also focused on being fiscally responsible, but keeps tending to the needs of her constituents at the core of her decision-making.
“I’m looking forward to taking on more issues, more problems, and then addressing them, but also taking on projects that are benefiting the community,” said Anker, a 30-year Long Island resident. “I’m ready to jump in the fire and be the action to get things done. I’ve put in so much time and energy and effort — I’ve networked, I’ve created these very strong relationships and I have the knowledge to move those projects forward.”
But community projects, her opponent argued, still cost money, one way or another. Tricarico, born and raised in Shoreham, said he planned to address the county’s financial stress by proposing that legislators avoid budgeting for sales tax increases year to year.
“It would force us to make the difficult decisions in our departments to stay within our means, and any extra revenue could go toward paying off what we’ve already borrowed,” he said. “I think that we’re drowning, and we need someone that understands public finance, and I do it every day of my life, professionally, to make those cuts and find those efficiencies. I think all the services in the world are great, but if people cannot afford to live here, they mean nothing. And I’m fighting to make it more affordable here, in Suffolk County.”
Sarah Anker talks local issues at a debate at Times Beacon Record Newspapers. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Tricarico said he managed a $115 million budget, as an example of his understanding of finance.
Anker argued that while she and her challenger both understand that addressing issues requires dollars, she’s done work to keep the county financially sound. She helped reduce county government costs 10 percent by streamlining services, saving taxpayers more than $100 million annually.
There are other issues Anker said she’s addressing and projects she’s working on to help the people of the 6th District, which she argues Tricarico does not have the experience to address.
“Besides keeping the county fiscally stable, we need to speak for the residents here, and that’s something I’ve been doing for the last 25 years,” she said. “We can’t address the issues in the community unless we talk to the constituents, work with them and meet with them. My doors are always open, my phone is always available, and I don’t know if [Tricarico] has the experience to do that.”
Anker noted particular projects she’s spearheaded that she feels enhance the quality of life of her constituents.
After her grandmother died of breast cancer, Anker founded the Community Health and Environment Coalition, which was vital in advancing the New York State Department of Health’s research on cancer cluster causes, the legislator said. She also implemented the Green Homes Go Solar program, to bring renewable energy opportunities to residents.
Anker also advocated to create Heritage Park in Mount Sinai, initiated the North Shore Coastal Erosion Task Force, created the Jobs Opportunity Board to connect graduating seniors with local jobs, started a sports safety forum as a result of a recent death and some serious student-athlete injuries, and provided more health services to people struggling with addiction.
While Tricarico, who is also concerned about keeping young adults on Long Island, said he wouldn’t throw away any projects Anker has already put into motion that he in turn supports, he said he disagreed with how Anker handles addressing problems, pointing out Anker’s tendency to create task forces when addressing issues.
“I’m a man of action,” he said. “I think that there’s a lot that we can do to make the government more efficient. What the residents want to see is less task forces, less commissions, less talk and more action, and that’s what I’m offering the 6th District.”
An issue Tricarico brought up was the progression of the 10-mile Rails to Trails recreational path that would run from Mount Sinai to Wading River.
“What have we been doing for 15 years?” Tricarico said of the project, which was originally introduced in 2001. “I grew up in this community and I’ve been hearing about Rails to Trails since I was in high school. I think that the project has taken way too long, if it’s ever going to happen.”
Anker, who took office in 2011, said the federal government takes time on any project, and said that after a year of required public input, a plan will be in place, and the money is there to complete the project.
Tricarico said if elected into the Republican minority caucus, he will work with the Democratic majority to get things done, but said he would not be a “rubber stamp” for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D).
“We’re basically seeing one government here,” he said. “To get thing done, of course you have to work across aisles, but we need a check and balance. We need a Republican legislature, which is a check on absolute power.”
Tricarico admitted he does see good work in what Anker has done, but said he wants to work in a different direction.
“I think Legislator Anker is a good advocate to the community,” he said. “I see her at a lot of different events, she’s a good people person, she’s able to relate with folks. I just think the county needs a different leadership at this time, especially when it’s related to fiscal issues.”
This version corrects information about how long Legislator Sarah Anker has been in office.
Jane Bonner discuses previous terms and goals for another two years, if re-elected. Photo by Elana Glowatz
After four terms in Brookhaven Town, Councilwoman Jane Bonner isn’t ready to stop.
“The longer I’m at it, the more I realize that more needs to be done,” Bonner (C-Rocky Point) said.
The veteran politician is looking to be re-elected to a fifth term with the hopes of working on that “more.”
“Every year you’re in office, it’s like peeling back an onion layer,” she said. “I’m finishing up my eighth year in January, and the longer I’m at it the more in-depth issues can be resolved.”
Bonner faces a challenge from Democrat Andrew Berger, but Berger did not return requests for an interview.
Bonner explained that when she was first elected, she did the “quick, sexy things. You make a little splash so people know you’re serious.” But now she’s rolling up her sleeves and delving into the grittier projects.
In her time at Town Hall, Bonner has helped establish a neighborhood watch group in Mount Sinai, pushed to revitalize downtown Rocky Point, spearheaded sidewalk projects on major streets like North Country Road and Shore Road, and helped complete the Route 25A corridor study, a project Bonner said she is most proud of.
“We’ve delineated a true downtown for Rocky Point,” Bonner said of the study, which now serves as a guideline for development along the busy artery from Mount Sinai to Wading River. The study allows for some development in downtown areas, “but it will never look like Middle Country Road, and I think that’s a good thing. Development will happen in the areas where there’s already development; it won’t sprawl out.”
Bonner also lent a hand in Shoreham, to help locate a new solar energy farm. With that property, which will be used to set up solar panels, according to the councilwoman, about $1 million — in payments in lieu of taxes — will go to the local school district over the next 20 years.
The incumbent has also worked to protect open space — the town is in the midst of acquiring the wooded Cordwood Landing property in Miller Place — and to beautify the area, going after derelict houses and storefronts.
“I felt like Rocky Point and Sound Beach and everything up north were like the stepchildren — that’s why I ran for office,” Bonner said. “I stamp my feet and get my stuff done. We’re making Brookhaven better every day by improving the appearance of it and … it improves the quality of life for the residents in the community.”
If re-elected, Bonner said she will continue to work on the projects she’s put into motion, like using $1.3 million in federal funding to clean up Friendship Beach in Rocky Point and pushing for more funds to repair the town’s jetty in Mount Sinai Harbor. That dilapidated jetty represents a hazard to boaters and allows the harbor to fill with sand, but a $10 million repair project — of which $6 million is already set aside, Bonner said —will help keep recreation and business in the inlet.
“We work very, very hard to show people that we are a very, very constituent-driven office,” Bonner said. “I send out newsletters to let the community that I represent know the projects that are going on. There’s something to do every day and the longer you’re at it, the more you see needs to be fixed, and the longer you’re at it, the more things that you can get done.”
This female bobcat, named Surabi, lives at Holtsville Wildlife and Ecology center. Photo from Brookhaven Town
Proceeds raised at a bowling event on Sunday will be used to feed and care for the more than 100 animals that live at Brookhaven Town’s Holtsville Wildlife and Ecology center.
Halloween Bowl for Animals will run from 4 to 7 p.m. at Bowl Long Island at Patchogue, and will cost $30 for adults, $20 for children and $10 for non-bowlers who attend. That price includes unlimited bowling, shoe rental, a buffet and dessert. Reservations are required.
“This is a great event for the entire family that will help to ensure the animals at the ecology site continue receiving the proper care,” Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro said in a statement.
The spooky bowling fundraiser will include a costume contest — children are encouraged to dress as their favorite animal — and a 50/50 raffle.
To reserve lanes, register online at www.brookhavenwildlifecenter.org or call 631-758-9664 x11.
The bowling alley is located at 138 West Ave., Patchogue.
Supervisor Ed Romaine, Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro and Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross pose with a 32-inch female American alligator turned in on Amnesty Day. Photo from Brookhaven Town
Long Islanders turned in three American alligators and eight turtles at a recent animal amnesty event in Brookhaven Town, and all of the reptiles are shipping up to a Massachusetts sanctuary.
Brookhaven’s Holtsville Ecology Center hosted the event on Oct. 10 to allow residents to turn in any protected, endangered or threatened animals that require special New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permits without fear of penalties or questioning. It was the second annual event of its kind for the town, which operated with the help of those two agencies and the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
People with dangerous or illegal animals were able to turn them over to professionals, no questions asked.
Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross called the recent amnesty event a success, saying the three alligators turned in “had the potential of ending up endangering the public.”
According to Brookhaven Town, the average length a fully grown female American alligator is a little more than 8 feet, and a fully grown male can be longer than 11 feet. Of the three alligators turned in, two were males, measuring 27 and 29 inches, and one was a 32-inch female.
“People should think twice before acquiring illegal reptiles or mammals,” Gross said in a statement from the town. “They do not make good pets and you are risking fines and possible jail time.”
At last year’s animal amnesty event, people turned in 25 animals, including a western diamondback rattlesnake, a green anaconda, four boa constrictors, an American alligator and two marmosets.
“These animals were turned in before the people harboring them as pets released them into the wild, creating a potentially dangerous situation in our local communities,” Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro said in a statement about the alligators and turtles turned over this year. “These animals will now receive proper care without posing a threat.”
Owners of potentially dangerous animals have dumped them in public places in the past, creating a public safety issue. In late August, a 25-pound alligator snapping turtle was discovered in a stream of the Nissequogue River opposite the Smithtown Bull on Route 25. The reptile is not indigenous to Long Island — it is a freshwater animal with enough power to bite off a human toe or finger, and is usually found in places from eastern Texas to the Florida panhandle.
“People need to understand that many exotic animals can be very dangerous if not handled properly or allowed to grow to their adult size,” Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said in a statement. “They are even more threatening if released into the wild, where they could harm people or other animals.”
Workshop gives incentives for homeowners to install solar panels
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Romaine opens the Solarize Brookhaven event at Town Hall. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A little sunshine never hurt anyone, especially now that solar power is here to stay.
On Saturday, the Town of Brookhaven hosted its second annual Solarize Brookhaven event featuring SUNation’s solar system program. SUNation was one of almost 30 solar companies that the town considered to help encourage Brookhaven resident to go solar, be energy efficient, and save money.
According to Christina Mathieson, chief administrative officer of SUNation, in the company’s 13 years of business, it’s sold 1,600 solar systems and saved solar users around $3 million annually. Mathieson said residents qualify for the program if their electricity bill will cost less when they go solar.
“Our goal is to [help] customers offset almost 100 percent of their electrical consumption,” Mathieson said in an interview before the event.
Although residents can produce their own electricity using the solar system program, users must remain connected to the Public Service Enterprise Group. The energy generated by the solar panels is not stored in the user’s home, but in PSEG’s grid system. This is regardless of whether residents buy or lease SUNation’s service. According to Mathieson, homeowners who decide to buy the service and lock in their payment when they go solar will eventually pay around $11 to stay connected to PSEG.
During the event on Oct. 10, residents could speak to one of several site evaluators from SUNation to discuss going solar and what it may cost for each specific resident. Roofs that get ample sunlight during the day or those facing the South, East or West will produce more energy than houses with a roof facing North, according to Mathieson. Site evaluators can see a prospective client’s roof via Google Earth and determine how much going solar will cost and save a client, depending on the orientation and overall location of the perspective buyer’s roof and the location of their home. SUNation’s solar system program will last up to 40 years. In a 30-year period, Mathieson saw clients save anywhere from $60 to $250,000 dollars after going solar.
According to Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), the purpose of the Solarize Brookhaven event is to help everyday people find a means to buy or finance solar for their home. Romaine also highlighted additional benefits of going solar, including the fact that solar has created 175,000 jobs and has pumped nearly $15 million back into the economy.
But reducing greenhouse gases is another benefit to going solar. During the event, Romaine said town and state officials alike are “involved [with Solarize Brookhaven] because [they’re] trying to reduce the greenhouse gases in [Brookhaven] town.”
Brookhaven’s chief environmental analyst, Anthony Graves, added that the idea was to have the event so residents know they will be getting a good, reliable system at a good price.
“And that’s what we’ve gotten with SUNation,” Graves said.
Graves also said the company provided a 15 percent discount on its service. In order to appeal to the masses and encourage more residents to participate in the program, residents will receive a check for $1,000 if 100 people participate in the program. The deal taps into the fact that, according to Mathieson, one of the main reasons people go solar is because their neighbor went solar.
But for residents like Stephen Plesnik of Miller Place, his electric bill was enough for him to look into going solar. Plesnik said he was looking into solar as he saw his electricity bill continually increasing over time.
“I’ve been looking into solar for the last six months and since this is a company that is approved by the Town of Brookhaven, supposedly they’re giving a better deal,” Plesnik said, while waiting to speak to a site evaluator at the event.
And SUNation’s service offers one of the better deals when it comes to going solar, according to Mathieson and town officials.
“Most of us never thought that we could have a system that made electricity,” Mathieson said. “We almost never imagined not paying an electric bill. The days of people having to lay out money to own solar systems are over, and the days of a return of investment are gone.”
A West Meadow Beach bench sports a new plaque honoring former park ranger Eileen Gerle. Photo by Eric Santiago
By Eric Santiago
More than 30 North Shore residents gathered around a park bench at West Meadow Beach on Sunday for the chance to see former Brookhaven park ranger, Eileen Gerle. The bench — which now bears a plaque commemorating Gerle’s work as an environmental educator — was dedicated to her after she retired and moved to Florida last year.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said an emotional Gerle. “It’s very overwhelming and touching to be loved by so many people.”
Gerle returned this week for a special Eagle Scout award ceremony of one of her former students just in time for a group of residents and friends to seize the opportunity and formally show her the plaque and celebrate old times.
Former town park ranger Eileen Gerle is honored at West Meadow Beach. Photo by Eric Santiago
“She was the best,” said Paul Feinberg, a West Meadow watchdog who helped organize the dedication along with a handful of other North Shore natives.
They were all frequent guests at Gerle’s “Sundowner” beach parties, where they would drink wine, eat cheese and watch the sunset. When it was clear Gerle was going to retire, the group hatched a plan to honor her work.
“We just decided that a simple plaque would be the nicest thing to do,” said Naomi Solo, a Port Jefferson resident who worked on the dedication.
As park ranger, Gerle was responsible for maintaining the beach, the area wildlife and, critically, educating people about the environment. She worked at West Meadow from 2009 to 2014 and said she made many friends along the way.
It was for this reason Solo and the others contacted Brookhaven Town for permission to install the plaque on a bench at the beach.
Her influence was so impactful that immediately after she resigned residents campaigned for town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) to guarantee that her position would be filled with another full-time park ranger. Their efforts were successful and Gerle’s successor Molly Hastings took over the spot at West Meadow.
A year into the job, Hastings said the response has been nothing short of warm.
“It was really nice,” she said of when she started working at the beach. “I literally pulled up with the moving van and people were greeting me and welcoming me as I was taking the sofa and bed off of my truck.”
But Gerle’s greatest legacy lies in the students she taught, those at the ceremony said.
Aidan Donnelly, 13, was one of those who attended the educational programs Gerle organized. The newly appointed Eagle Scout was also the recipient of the William T. Hornaday badge — a prestigious award for “distinguished service in natural resource conservation,” according to the Boy Scouts of America website.
Aidan attributed the work he’s done, and the work he hopes to do as a future environmental physicist, to the lessons he learned from his mentor.
“She taught me everything I know about the beach,” he said of Gerle. “I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her.”
Figgy is one of the dogs up for adoption at the animal shelter. Photo from Brookhaven Town
Residents who visit the Brookhaven Town Animal Shelter on Oct. 17 can adopt a dog or a cat for free, as part of a Halloween-themed “Barktoberfest” event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The family-friendly event also includes music, games and face painting.
While dog adoptions at the shelter typically cost $137 and cat adoptions cost $125, those fees will be waived. All animals have been spayed or neutered and microchipped, and received their vaccinations and licenses. They have also been tested for heartworm and fleas.
The shelter is located at 300 Horseblock Road in Brookhaven. For more information, call 631-451-6950 or visit www.brookhaven.org/animalshelter.
Funding would increase for snow removal, environment
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. File photo by Erika Karp
By Giselle Barkley & Elana Glowatz
Brookhaven Town won’t ask for more money from residents next year, according to Supervisor Ed Romaine’s 2016 budget proposal.
Romaine (R) revealed his nearly $281 million budget plan at a meeting on Oct. 1, touting its benefits of complying with the state-imposed limit on property tax increases and putting more funding toward snow removal as the winter season approaches.
Crafting the budget was a challenge given the tight limit on how much the property tax levy could increase, according to Romaine — the state’s limit was 0.73 percent this year. Despite that, “I support the tax cap because I understand what the tax burden is on the taxpayers of this town,” Romaine said during a meeting with the press last week. “I’m trying to do my best to limit that tax burden while providing needed services and that’s crucial, and our five-year plan reflects that.”
According to the budget proposal, the town’s property tax levy will not see a net increase in 2016, holding taxes steady for many residents. Romaine was able to maintain the levy because of the amount of money the town will save from satisfying debts. Some of the money that would have gone toward those debt payments was used instead to fund increases in other budget lines. When money from the town’s debt reserve fund is excluded, the budget proposal actually reduces overall spending more than $800,000.
“That’s come from careful management of capital projects and the elimination of pipeline debt,” Finance Commissioner Tamara Wright said during the meeting.
Just as there were cuts in the budget, there were also additions. Romaine proposed bringing the highway department’s snow removal budget up to $5.2 million — a budget line the supervisor and the town board have been adding to since the massive February 2013 storm, frequently dubbed Nemo, that buried Long Island under three feet of dense snow. That removal budget has doubled in the last few years.
“I hope that someday we will have a less snowy winter,” Romaine said.
Town officials hope any leftover snow removal money will be deposited into a reserve account, to be used in an emergency winter weather situation.
The supervisor’s proposal also increases spending on environmental protection and funding for public safety staff, code enforcement and internal auditors, among others.
Romaine’s proposed capital budget totals $62.2 million, a reduction of about 2.4 percent from the current year. The capital funds will go toward local projects like long-awaited athletic fields in Selden and road and drainage improvements.
Bob Hebert, left, and Darlene Ghents, right, with trainer Wendy Karyo and puppy Elijah, center. Photo from Hebert
A little bit of change has gone a long way for one Setauket-based wine shop.
Bob Hebert and his team at Hamlet Wines, 730 Rt. 25A, started collecting spare change about six months ago to benefit the Brookhaven Animal Shelter in order to pay for formal dog training for some of the dogs that have been in the shelter the longest.
The purpose behind the project, Hebert said, was to help the animals become more likely to find forever homes.
“A dog trained to walk on a leash, sit, stay has an easier chance of finding a forever family to adopt,” Hebert said. “Our customers have been amazing. In a short six months we have collected enough spare change to have a trainer come to the shelter and start to train.”
Hebert said the trainer also wants to help and committed to match every hour donated with one of her own.
The change collection for Brookhaven shelter dogs will continue through Dec. 31.
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