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A small taste of history: Saturday nights at Aggie’s Steakhouse

by TBR Staff - March 2, 2021

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Amongst the Middle Country Public Library’s many historical artifacts are a few that explain just how far the area has come from its pastoral routes. The pictures and story below comes courtesy of a collaborative effort among the librarian staff.

For over 40 years, Aggie’s Bar and Grill (also known as Aggie’s Steakhouse), located on Middle Country Road in Selden, was the “local watering hole” for area residents.

Aggie’s opened its doors in 1927 and was owned and operated by Agnes O’Hagan, who moved to the United States at age three from Calabria, Italy. Events at Aggie’s and their contributions to community life were a mainstay in Selden during these years. Celebrations like wedding showers, birthday parties, costume balls, amateur nights, card nights and St. Patrick’s Day parties were held there. The staff even formed a shuffleboard team, which participated in local competitions with neighboring teams in the area.

Saturday nights would find considerable crowds enjoying 45 cent spaghetti and meat sauce, square dancing and other specialty dances with music provided by Aggie’s Brown Jug Mountaineers. An advertisement for a Gala New Year’s Eve Party was placed in the Patchogue Advance of Dec. 25, 1936 to publicize the event, which featured noisemakers, hats and souvenirs, music and entertainment, and a seven-course turkey dinner. Tickets cost $1.00 for this specially licensed nightlong event, which concluded at 8 a.m.

In the summer of 1939, Aggie’s showed appreciation to their summer patrons by announcing “a surprise” for them on a Saturday night from 10 p.m. until midnight.

The festivities included dancing to the music of Leonardi and his Club orchestra, and listening to the pride of Harlem, “Singing Sam” and Aggie’s customary entertainer, Eddy Kane. Earlier that summer, Aggie’s advertised their official Ham and Cabbage Summer Opening for the night of July 22 in the July 19, 1939 edition of The Mid-Island Mail. Performers included Don Ritchie and his Rhythm Masters as well as Eddy Kane and Virginia Servidio.

These are just a few examples of the central role that Aggie’s Steakhouse played in Selden’s social world, bonding its residents in family, friendship and community for more than four decades.

Centereach couple working to open a new gamer café

by Julianne Mosher - February 26, 2021

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level up centereach 2 — A Level Up latte. Photo from Cat Smith

A Centereach couple is looking to score big with their coffee café concept.

Cat and Tim Smith both had experience working in different coffee spots. Being natural baristas and mixologists, they decided they wanted to open up their own spot, blending some of their favorite things — coffee, snacks, games and a cozy atmosphere everyone can enjoy.

“There’s really nothing on Long Island that has both a gaming atmosphere and a café,” she said. “When we were younger, we would play games all the time. We’d have game nights every week.”

There is, however, a cafe with this concept a little further west from where the couple lives, Main St. Board Game Cafe, located at 307 Main Street in Huntington.

But the duo and their friends and family all began having kids — making it harder to go out, chill with their friends and find a space that can accommodate board games.

Cat and Tim Smith have been experimenting with different coffee flavors and showing off their new Level Up logo, seen on Tim’s shirt. Photo from Cat Smith

“We’ve put the feelers out there,” she said. “And so many people have said that they would love a place like this.”

Their idea for Level Up — a coffee and gaming café — originally started up nearly three years ago. While collecting more games to add to their library and finding a local roaster for beans, they devoted their weekends to finding a home to their soon-to-be business endeavor.

The Smith’s began saving, with the goal to settle down and officially open in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed them. But Cat said that was a blessing in disguise.

“It’s been good in a few ways because we’ve been able to really take time and make sure we’re doing it the right way,” she said. “We want to use everything that we’ve been able to accomplish in this past year and really try to give back and make our business as community centered as possible.”

And it’s allowing them to thoroughly search the North and South Shores to find the best location possible. They want to be on a Main Street, with tons of foot traffic.

“We’ve been primarily looking on the South Shore, but we’re also considering Port Jeff,” she said. “We want to be where we can attract people who are interested in supporting local businesses and have a place to go to spend time with their friends when COVID settles down.”

But Level Up won’t be just for board game lovers, she said.

“We want people to nerd out and talk with fellow fan geeks about pop culture, comics and anything like that,” she said. “We want to have this community where people who are the deepest fans will come in and get really nerdy and chat with other people who are just as interested or people who are just mildly interested and want to learn more.

She added that Level Up will be a place that offers something different to do for locals.

“I think we want connection,” she said. “We want people to be able to come to us and find connection if they want it, or just delicious coffee.”

And the coffee drinks will be something out-of-this-world. Working with Brooklyn-based Sweetleaf Coffee Roasters.

“Our goal is to be really creative,” she said, adding that Level Up is going to be a “pop culture coffee house.”

For fans of Marvel, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, they’re working on some themed drinks that even Professor Severus Snape will want to order.

The couple said their goal is to be opened up sometime in the summer, so stay tuned.

To stay updated, follow @LevelUpCafeNY on Instagram and Level Up Cafe on Facebook.

This article was updated to include Main St. Board Game Cafe.

Comsewogue Warriors stay victorious

by Bill Landon - February 24, 2021

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The Comsewogue Warriors extended their winning ways with another victory at home snaring the visiting Cougars of Centereach 73-61 to extend their league IV record to 3-0, 4-0 overall.

Liam Gray led the way for the Warriors nailing 3 triples, 4 field goals and 14 out of 16 from the charity stripe for a team high of 31 points. Matt Walsh followed with 3 treys of his own, 3 field goals and 5 from the line for 20 points along with teammate Anthony Chmela who netted 16.

Chris Cartolano was the offensive spark for the Cougars hitting eight from the floor 2 triples and a pair of free throws for 24 points. James Kiernan banked 14 and Riddick Drab tacked on 6.

In this Covid abbreviated season Comsewogue retakes the court hosting Deer Park on Feb. 23 before concluding their regular season on the road against Bellport.

Centereach searches for that elusive first win in their season finale on the road against West Islip Feb. 23.

Post season play begins Feb. 25 with the conference championship the following day at noon. Photos by Bill Landon

Man Killed in Multiple Vehicle Crash in Centereach

by TBR Staff - January 31, 2021

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Crime-Scene-cop-car-police-w — File photo

Suffolk County Police 6th Squad detectives are investigating a five-vehicle crash that killed a man in Centereach Jan. 30.

Ant’Wan Pevy was driving a 2011 Kia sedan northbound on Nicolls Road when he suffered a medical event that caused him to lose control of the vehicle at approximately 5:30 p.m. The Kia struck a 2016 Nissan SUV being operated by Zachary Morrison that was westbound at the traffic light at the intersection of Middle Country Road and Nicolls Road. Pevy’s vehicle also struck a 2000 Jeep, a 2015 Audi, and a 2018 Mercedes, all at the intersection.

Morrison, 29, of Holbrook, was pronounced dead on the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Pevy was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation. Pevy, 25, of Ronkonkoma, was charged with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle and will be arraigned at a later date. There were no other injuries reported from the scene.

All five vehicles involved in the crash were impounded for safety checks. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call the 6th Squad at 631-854-8652.

Centereach Family’s Drive Donates More Than 400 Pajamas for Needy Kids

by Kyle Barr - December 24, 2020

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Untitled (1) — Town of Brookhaven's Youth Bureau head Josephine Lunde, along with Centereach resident and matriarch of the donation drive EJ's PJs Patricia Poggi stand among the hundreds of pajamas donated for children who need them. Photo from Poggi

Ten years on, and a Centereach family and friends are still donating pajamas for kids to warm themselves during the holiday months. This year, despite the pandemic, has been their biggest drive yet.

Hundreds of pajamas were donated to the Town of Brookhaven’s INTERFACE program to help give kids that warm holiday feeling on these cold nights. Photo from Patricia Poggi

The Centereach Poggi family, which includes mom Patricia and her three sons, started EJ’s PJs in 2011 when the mother’s brother asked her two older sons, Edward and Jeremy, to find a charity to donate to instead of giving them gifts.

“Because we always wore ‘Poggi plaid’ pajamas on Christmas morning, we came up with the concept to start our own pajama drive so that clouds would be able to feel warm, comfy and cozy and have a fresh pair or brand new pajamas feeling,” Patricia Poggi said.

Her youngest son, Patrick, was 1-years-old when it got started, and now he is 11, having grown up participating in the drive.

At first, their drive included just a single bin on the front porch of the Poggi residence, but now with the support of many local shops throughout Brookhaven, EJ’s PJs has ramped up to include 22 drop off boxes all throughout the town.

“Last year, I started getting into a few businesses to help us in hopes that our 10th year would get us to our highest and it did,” Patricia Poggi said.

Jeremy Poggi, a student at Centereach High School, helped facilitate work with one of the school clubs to generate extra donations.

“This year was easily our biggest year,” he said.

And in a year of COVID, when more and more people are struggling financially, such generosity is felt even moreso.

“We are thankful for the support of our new and existing partners who are committed to make this 10th year our biggest pajama drive yet,” Messina wrote in an email. “In a year where the world has been turned upside down, we are grateful to be able to do our small part with the community’s assistance to provide a warm and cozy pair of pajamas to children and teens in need.”

Setauket Patriots Plan Caravan Despite Village Summons for Previous March

by Kyle Barr - October 14, 2020

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PTJEFF_D — Setauket Patriots Plan Caravan Despite Village Summons for Previous March. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Coming to a town near you: another Trump caravan.

The Setauket Patriots announced they would be hosting a Trumpalozza Road Rally event starting and eventually ending in Port Jefferson Saturday, Oct. 17.

A copy of the summons received by Setauket Patriots, posted to Facebook.

Setauket Patriots organizer James Robitsek said he expects 800 to 1,000 participants. On the group’s Facebook page, a little over 400 say they will be attending, with more indicating they possibly may.

The car caravan is just the third event hosted by Setauket Patriots, an online right-wing group that often posts in support of President Donald Trump (R), among other conservative and far-right messaging. Previous events have been based on Fourth of July and Veterans Day celebrations, though each has carried a strong political tinge in support of Trump. Out of these other past events, this one is the most explicit in its support.

The caravan is to start in the parking lot of the Port Jefferson LIRR train station before moving down Main Street then turning left onto West Broadway. Cars are set to move onto Route 25A in Setauket, down into St. James along Lake Avenue, past the Smith Haven Mall. The caravan will move through Centereach and Selden before turning onto County Road 83 and back onto Route 112 to finish back at the Port Jeff train station.

Robitsek said he has been in contact with Suffolk County police about the event, and though they might be around to facilitate cars leaving the parking lot, they will not be there for the entire run of the car parade.

Other car caravans in support of Trump have passed through the North Shore in the past month. Several went from Huntington out to the North Fork, where people hung out sunroofs and stood in the back of pickup trucks. Pictures also show people in the caravan had placed tape to obscure their license plates, which is against the law.

Robitsek said he has not advocated that drivers use tape on their license plates, but participants in other pro-Trump events have been outed online by people tracking their license numbers.

Despite this, police report nobody in the caravans has been arrested to date, though one resident from Northport was arrested by Northport police for alleged menacing and disorderly conduct involving a caravanner’s truck, something he has reportedly heavily disputed.

The planned caravan is only three days before Robitsek and the Setauket Patriots are set to be in village traffic court, Oct. 20, over their previous Veterans Day event, which drew hundreds down through the village without a permit. Most marching that day did so without masks.

Village of Port Jefferson had issued an executive order signed July 6 by Mayor Margot Garant effectively stopping the village from signing any new permits for marches or protests. This was in response to the Patriots’ July 4 car parade as well as a Black Lives Matter march hosted in Port Jeff in June. The order was enabled by the village’s previous declaration of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Garant has said the issue is with how many people these events bring together during a pandemic.

On Facebook, Robitsek said they were issued a summons on Oct. 5, and claimed local officials from village, county and state were targeting him and his group.

“I’m being unfairly targeted because I’m a pro-Trump group in an all-Democrat town,” he said, adding the reason they chose Port Jeff as their starting point was “its high visibility, it’s a Democrat-run village, so why not show support for the silent majority that does support President Trump.”

Village officials have previously said the Patriots submitted a permit application for the July 4 event, but that they failed to file it correctly, and that they did not pay fees attached to the permit process.

The Setauket Patriots organizer posted the summons online, which said the offense was because they “led a procession/parade down a public sidewalk without a permit” in violation of village code. The Setauket Patriots have also planned a rally in front of Village Hall Oct. 20 in protest of receiving the summons.

Deputy Village Attorney Rich Harris said the summons was only for the violation of the village code, which depending on a plea or a court ruling could result in a 0 to $2,000 fine or up to 15 days in jail. On its face, the violation does not have anything to do with recouping losses from either police or constable’s overtime.

“It’s a violation of the village code for operating a parade or procession without permit,” Harris said.

Whether this event could also be in violation of village code depends on how the event proceeds, Harris said. It could be different, especially as most people will be in vehicles and that the caravan will not be exclusive to Port Jeff.

The car caravan is scheduled for the same day and time as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce’s Pumpkinmania, that’s set to bring in professional pumpkin carvers to do live demonstrations as well as host a pumpkin carving contest.

Barbara Ransome, executive director of the chamber, said she is not worried that the caravan would impact the chamber’s event. Pumpkinmania will be held 12 to 7 p.m. and will be located at 138 E. Main St. in the small brick patio area. There will also be a set of pumpkin carving contests for Port Jefferson residents, one for children and one for adults, that will be judged by the professionals. There is a $5 entrance fee for each participant.

Ransome said the caravan of cars will likely have already moved on, and there will be plenty of time afterward for people to come down. The chamber event is also designed to promote the small businesses on East Main Street.

Police: Body of Woman Found in Centereach Woods Sunday

by Kyle Barr - October 13, 2020

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Suffolk County Police detectives said they are investigating the death of a woman found in a wooded area in Centereach Sunday, Oct. 11.

Police said 6th Precinct officers responded to a 911 call reporting a female body lying in a wooded area off of Hawkins Road, near Eastwood Boulevard, at around 12:10 p.m.

Jaclyn D’Andrea, 33, of Bellmore, was pronounced dead by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. An autopsy was performed and the cause of death is under investigation.

Police are asking anyone with information on this incident to contact detectives at 631-852-6392.

Centereach Man Seriously Injured in Hit and Run

by Kyle Barr - October 12, 2020

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Suffolk County Police reported a Centereach man was seriously injured Sunday night in the parking lot of a local bar.

Police said Gary Harnig, 48 of Centereach, was standing in the parking lot of Jack McCarthy’s Pub, located at 2582 Middle Country Road, when he was struck by a vehicle at around 10 p.m, Oct. 11. Harnig was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious but stable condition.

The motor vehicle, described as a white pickup truck, fled the scene southbound on Lake Grove Boulevard, according to police.. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the 4th Squad at 631-854-8452 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS (8477). All calls will remain confidential.

Hobbs Run Goes Digital

by Kyle Barr - September 4, 2020

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Hobbe-farm-third-annual-runthefarm_LaVallew — Bethel Hobbs Farm's Run the Farm will be going virtual this year. Funds support the farm in its community endeavors. File photo from Councilman Kevin LaValle's office

Bethel Hobbs Community Farm is taking its annual fundraiser virtual Saturday, Sept. 5 through Sunday, Sept. 13.

Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) announced he will co-sponsor the sixth annual Run the Farm Four Mile Challenge with Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma) and Friends of Hobbs Farm. Participants are invited to lace up their sneakers and traverse the four-mile course that includes a fast start on roughly two miles of flat terrain leading to a mile of rolling hills and two mildly challenging ascents before concluding at the historic grounds of Bethel Hobbs Community Farm in Centereach. The first 300 participants will receive a 4M Run the Farm buff and be entered in a special raffle. To register, people can visit BrookhavenNY.Gov/RunTheFarm.

People can run or walk whenever they like. After running, they can go to www.elitefeats.com/Results and click on the Bethel Hobbs event to enter their name and time. They can also optionally upload up to five photos.

Proceeds will go toward repairing the Hobbs Community Farm barn that is critical to the farm’s functions, whose mission is devoted to providing fresh, wholesome produce to local food pantries and other programs in the community. Even if one doesn’t run, they can make a donation for any amount and be entered in the raffle to win a special prize. This year’s event is sponsored by ShopRite of Selden, owned and operated by the Gallagher family and Middle Country Automotive (MCA) of Selden and MCA II of Centereach.

“Hobbs Community Farm plays such an important role in the community and they rely on this annual event to continue their good work,” LaValle said. “I am proud to once again join Legislator Muratore to help make this year’s virtual ‘Run the Farm Four Mile Challenge’ a success and I thank the runners and our sponsors for their support.”

People can call LaValle’s office at 631-451-6647, email at [email protected] and visit BrookhavenNY.Gov/RunTheFarm for more information.

Two Mount Sinai/One Centereach Vape Shops Employees Arrested in Police Sting

by Kyle Barr - July 30, 2020

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Suffolk County Police arrested four people the night of July 29 for allegedly selling E-liquid nicotine, in the form of JUULpods, to minors at businesses located in Mount Sinai, Medford, and Centereach.

In response to community complaints, 6th Precinct Crime Section officers, in conjunction with representatives from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services Tobacco Regulation Enforcement Unit, conducted an investigation into the sale of E-liquid nicotine to minors, during which five businesses were checked for compliance on July 30 between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Those businesses that were found to not be in compliance were issued a notice of violation by the Suffolk County Department of Health.

The following clerks were arrested and charged with unlawfully dealing with a child 2nd degree after they sold E-liquid nicotine to a minor:

Nalin Kaushik, 22, employed at Barcode Hookah and Smoke Shop, located at 39 Route 25A in Mount Sinai
Dylan Kincel, 19, employed at Vapor Nation, located at 331 Route 25A in Mount Sinai
Anthony Mazza, 21, employed at Hookah City, located at 2717 Route 112 in Medford
Mario Hawk, 24, employed at Hemp Clouds, located at 1515 Middle Country Road in Centereach

All four clerks were issued Field Appearance Tickets and are scheduled to appear in First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.

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