Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro has announced that the Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve will reopen to the public on Monday, Sept. 28.
Brookhaven residents are required to make free, online reservations at www.BrookhavenNY.gov/Ecology to book a visit to the Animal Preserve. Only Town of Brookhaven residents with reservations and proof of residency will be permitted to enter for now; masks are required, as well. COVID-19 safety precautions, limited admissions and social distancing measures will be in place to ensure the safety of all visitors and staff.
The Animal Preserve will be open Monday through Friday with eight sessions available for reservations each day: 9 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. The Animal Preserve will be closed for cleaning and sanitizing in between the morning and afternoon sessions.
The Information Center and greenhouses will not be open; access to bathrooms will be available. The Animal Preserve will be open from the main entrance through the Eagle exhibit. Animals available for viewing at this time include alpaca, Arctic fox, Bald eagle, bobcat, Boer goats, buffalo, coatimundi, hybrid fox, hybrid wolves, llama, mini pigs, Nubian goats, other goats, pine marten, prairie dogs, rabbits, red fox, red tail hawk, and skunk.
The Ecology Site is located at 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville. For more information, call 631-758-9664.
Urban Air Lake Grove Adventure Park will re-open for business on Saturday, September 26 at 11 a.m., more than six months after it voluntarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with new cleaning and health protocols, creating a fun and safe indoor play experience for kids and families.
Located at 3147 Middle Country Road, Lake Grove, behind the Smith Haven Mall, the 48,000 sq. ft. indoor Adventure Park will include the Urban Air Sky Rider Indoor Coaster, a winding track that has young thrill-seekers flying along 30 feet in the air.
“The last six months have been extraordinarily challenging for kids and families. Kids want a place of their own to reclaim their sense of adventure and excitement,” said Urban Air Lake Grove co-owner David Wolmetz. “New Yorkers have proven we know how to get out into the world in a way that protects everyone’s health. We’re looking forward to hearing the park filled with laughter again.”
The park has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, including the play spaces, bathrooms and food service areas. Among the new health and safety protocols being put into place:
The park will operate at 25 percent capacity, with a new e-commerce ticketing system managing two-hour timed entry for all guests. Tickets are purchased online in advance.
To encourage social distancing, tickets will be offered for purchase at the door on a capacity only basis.
Guests will be given colored wrist bands corresponding to the time on their tickets and Urban Air staff will monitor the process to ensure all guests are able to safely experience the park and exit at their appointed time.
All Urban Air Lake Grove staff will submit to daily temperature checks, wear masks and practice frequent hand washing.
All guests will submit to temperature checks upon entry to the park and in compliance with NYS requirements, will wear masks while in the park.
Hand sanitizer kiosks have been installed throughout the park.
Every hour, play spaces and high touch areas will be wiped down and guests will be urged to use hand sanitizer. All individual-use attractions are wiped down after each use.
A new Urban Cafe ordering app is available to limit human to human transaction around food items. Guests can order on their phones and pick up when ready.
Plexiglass barriers and social distancing have been installed at ALL point of sale registers.
Tables and chairs are all spaced six feet apart in accordance with social distancing protocols.
The park HVAC system has been upgraded with MERV-13 anti-microbial filters, as suggested by NYS re-opening guidance.
“We have been working with the local officials and with guidance from the CDC to develop an appropriate reopening plan for Urban Air Lake Grove. After careful consideration, we decided to reopen our park with new health, physical distancing and capacity protocols and new ticketing procedures,” said Keith Handler, Co-Owner of Urban Air Lake Grove. “We believe in the power of enriching lives and creating joy through healthy, active play, and we have been working tirelessly to prepare to welcome you back into a clean, safe and fun family environment. We have always maintained stringent cleaning procedures that we are proud of and we’ve heightened our standards and protocols to keep you and our employees healthy and safe.”
In addition to the wall-to-wall trampoline adventures, adrenaline junkies will thrill to experience the following attractions:
High Ropes, an obstacle course in the sky;
Spin Zone Bumper Cars, where you can bump into your friends and send them into an uncontrolled spin;
The Drop Zone, an enormous inflatable landing pad perched below a series of trampolines;
The Runway Tumble Track, a unique attraction for flips, handsprings and cartwheels;
The Slam Dunk Zone, which allows guests to emulate their favorite basketball heroes with a trampoline-induced slam dunk of their own; and
Urban Air’s exclusive Urban Warrior Course™ and Battle Beam.
Urban Air also features the Urban Café, with food, drinks and snacks available for purchase. The location is available for birthday parties, corporate retreats, team building and private events.
For more information, call 631-861-4125 or visit www.urbanairtrampolinepark.com.
Debra Bowling, owner of Pasta Pasta in Port Jeff, set up tables outside for Phase Two reopening. Photo by Kyle Barr
By Leah S. Dunaief
Leah Dunaief
Half a year in, how are things going?
There are signs of normalcy returning. The world outside the home is slowly coming back to life. I just returned from the first general membership meeting of a local chamber of commerce that was held in person for the first time in six months and not via Zoom.
I must say, it was wonderful to see people whom I routinely work with in three dimension. We all felt like hugging, but we didn’t. We stayed apart and we were outside, under a three-sided tent. By having the fourth side open, the meeting qualified as “outside.” So we sat at picnic tables, four apiece, or stood outside the tent, and we wore our masks, which we intermittently unhitched as we sipped our coffee graciously supplied by Starbucks. And we got some real business accomplished even as we enjoyed the new reality of it.
New stores and businesses are opening. Three cheers to those optimists who are starting up during a pandemic-caused recession. Clearly they feel the time is right for them. There were over half a dozen that just joined the chamber, some of them pivoting from their prior businesses that did not sustain them. Owners of established stores in Port Jeff Village were looking better than glum.
Children are receiving some combination of regular education, in person and remotely, which makes them and their parents and teachers a lot happier. Restaurants have largely managed to survive thanks to outdoor dining and curbside pickup, but now their owners worry about the coming colder weather. Outdoor heaters will be allowed, a la Paris, with appropriate permits from local fire department officials to ensure safety. Shoppers with masks and hand sanitizers are routinely grocery shopping. Following medical guidelines, we have learned how to cope in such situations.
A few residents are even taking vacations to destinations mainly within driving distance.
As we wait for vaccines and anti-COVID medicines, we seem to have come to some semblance of equilibrium with the virus. Of course we are greatly helped in this by the low numbers of those falling ill in New York.
That is not to say that we have forgotten the thousands who have died or their families who will suffer the pain of their loss for a lifetime. Nor do we disregard the many unemployed and the men, women and children on food lines. So many people are holding their breaths with rent coming due and monthly bills to be paid, yet there is no Congressional relief funding in sight.
Churches and community organizations have mobilized to offer food. Local governments have stepped into the breach, and to some extent, offered financial help. The U.S. Small Business Administration and regional banks have also provided low interest financing. Nonetheless, for some there is true panic. And for many, salaries, hours of work and budgets have been reduced.
Behind the scenes, we at the newspaper and website offices are busy at work. We believe the latest relevant information we bring to the public and the sense of community that is defined by functioning local media are essential to coping in these unprecedented times.
While our offices continue to be closed to the public, we still maintain our five-day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours. Some of our staff work remotely part or all of the time, and unwillingly we have thinned our ranks. We can be reached by every sort of communication: telephone, email, texting, Facebook and just by knocking on our door. If the purpose for your visit is compelling enough, we will let you in, as long as you are wearing a face mask and that you maintain correct social distancing.
As we support our communities, we offer our resources and help to you, our readers and advertisers. For example, for several months we have run lists of restaurants open for curbside pickup and of other essential businesses open to the public at no charge. If we can help you with our communications platforms, please just ask us. If it is possible for us to do so, we will.
Even as we struggle to survive, we are committed to serving you.
Smithtown students rally in front of the Section XI building on Route 111. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Parent Ray Zuppa, below, said it playing sports can be done safely when wearing a mask.
A protester's sign rests on the statue of Richard Smith. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Students from other districts rallied with Smithtown athletes Sept. 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Students from other districts rallied with Smithtown athletes Sept. 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Students from other districts rallied with Smithtown athletes Sept. 18. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A student throws a football in front of the Richard Smith statue on Route 111. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Smithtown students and parents rally in front of the Section XI building on Route 111. Photo by Steven Zaitz
By Steven Zaitz
Richard “Bull” Smith, who founded Smithtown over 350 years ago, never played quarterback. Nor could he run the pick and roll in basketball, turn a 6-4-3 double play in baseball or swim the 100-meter breaststroke.
However, his statue was smack in the middle of about 100 student-athletes, coaches and parents Friday, Sept. 18, as they gathered to protest the Section XI decision to suspend all high school sports due to the coronavirus until at least January 2021. They met right on the front lawn of Section XI headquarters on Main Street and Route 111 in Smithtown.
Groups representing Kings Park, East Islip, Northport, Commack, Ward Melville and Connetquot joined Smithtown residents, who began their protest at the school district’s administration earlier on New York Avenue, and held up signs imploring the decision makers to rethink this delay. Many of these devoted and impassioned protesters were at the same location, doing the same thing Tuesday, Sept. 15.
One of these protesters was Ray Zuppa, an attorney from Smithtown, who feels that high school athletic facilities are far less dangerous than other places that kids might go. He is also a strong believer that not having the chance to play sports is devastating to the youngsters’ development.
“I believe Section XI has let the kids down,” Zuppa said later during a phone interview. “I realize it is a serious virus, but the science supports that it’s difficult to catch outside and when wearing a mask.”
Zuppa’s son, Isaiah Zuppa, is the starting quarterback of the Smithtown West Bulls and was one of the highest-rated passers in Suffolk County in 2019. He was also in attendance at the protest.
“Isaiah is a shell of himself,” the father said. “It’s not just about the games, but all these kids are missing the camaraderie, the discipline, team dinners and the bonding — and you know what, the parents are missing it too. Sports is essential to a lot of families.”
Zuppa coached his son for many years in the Suffolk County Police Athletic League, and when the father was asked if he took solace in the plans to have football season in March, he was skeptical.
“I think this March thing is just a way to kick the can down the road,” he said.“I don’t think it’s really going to happen, and this is just a way for them to bide their time.”
The masked protesters were rewarded by the encouragement of honking car horns, and they created a party-like atmosphere as they tossed footballs, sang team fight songs and ran through tumbling routines at the foot of Smith’s statue. However, Tom Combs, executive director of Section XI, and the main target of the protesters’ ire, did not address the crowd or make an appearance from his nearby office.
“While this was a difficult decision, we feel it was the best move for the health and safety of everyone involved,” Combs said in a Sept. 11 statement on the Section XI website. “We still have a lot of hard work ahead in planning and executing on the three seasons across six months in 2021, but we look forward to the challenge and collaboration with our member schools and providing an impactful experience for our student-athletes and coaches.”
Despite Combs’ nonappearance, Zuppa still thinks these public showings are beneficial.
“They know we’re out here,” he said. “They know how we feel.”
*Update* On Sunday, the Port Jefferson School District updated parents saying that after the middle school student was determined as positive for COVID, the Department of Health has quarantined a number of other students and staff who were determined to be in contact with the individual. All the individuals have been notified by the district.
The Department of health has determined students are cleared to return to the building on Monday. Staff not made to quarantine are supposed to report Monday as well as the students scheduled to be in school for learning that day.
“The situation today is a reminder about the importance of social distancing,” said Superintendent Jessica Schmettan in a letter to parents. “The community needs to remain vigilant to avoid closures in the future.”
Original Story
The evening of Friday, Sept. 18, both the Rocky Point and Port Jefferson school districts reported positive COVID cases among a single student each.
Rocky Point Superintendent Scott O’Brien wrote in a letter to parents Sept. 18 that a student at the high school had tested positive for COVID-19. The district said they were in contact with the Suffolk County Department of Health, and “all appropriate areas are being cleaned and disinfected over the weekend.” The school is planned to reopen Monday to follow the school’s hybrid schedule.
“As per the Suffolk County Department of Health, the individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 was last in the building Thursday, Sept. 17 and will not be allowed to return to school for at least 10 days after a negative test result has been provided to the district,” the school’s statement read.
The district is assisting the county DOH in contact tracing. Those contacted by the DOH will need to remain quarantined for 14 days from last exposure to the individual.
PJSD
Following another case Monday where Port Jefferson School District officials said an elementary student had tested positive, the district again sent a message to parents Friday saying that, after dismissal, the district was notified a middle school student had tested positive.
“We have been in contact with the Department of Health and have begun contact tracing procedures,” the district said in its notice to parents. “Students or staff members that were in contact with this student will receive a separate correspondence and a possible quarantine from the Department of Health.”
The district asked that people be mindful of their interactions with people as the investigation by the DOH is ongoing. The district said it will update parents of any further details once they recieve more guidance from the department of health.
Suffolk Republicans Put Onus on County Exec over Police Cuts
Steve Bellone, along with Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart and Police Chief Stu Cameron, said Sept. 18 that without federal funds, they would need to cut the next police academy class entirely. Photo by Kyle Barr
*Update* This story has been updated to include a response from county Republicans.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said Friday that this year’s budget will cut about $20 million from police spending, which includes the loss of an entire police recruitment class of about 200 officers.
Legislator Rob Trotta, a retired Suffolk County Police detective, claimed the police budget should be relatively stable due to its independent line on resident’s tax bills. Photo by Kyle Barr
During a press conference held at the Police Academy located on the Suffolk County Community College Brentwood campus, Bellone reiterated his plea for the federal government to pass additional aid for local governments. The cut to the police class is expected to save approximately $1.5 million and will shutter the academy for what amounts to a year and a half.
“Six months into this pandemic, the federal has failed to deliver disaster assistance to state and local governments,” Bellone said. “My message to Washington is simple: ‘Don’t defund the police — don’t defund suburbia by your inaction.’”
The county executive used language very reminiscent of President Donald Trump (R), who has previously asserted that if Democrats win in November they will “destroy the beautiful suburbs.” While Bellone indicated he does not agree with the defund-the-police movement — which aims to take funds away from traditional law enforcement and put them toward other social services or create new, nonpolice response units — he said that is “essentially what the federal government is doing” by not passing any new aid bills.
Bellone added the county budget, which is expected to be revealed in the next two weeks, will also include cuts to the student resource officer program that has trained cops for work in schools. Those officers will be reassigned.
Additional cuts include the community support unit, suspending promotions, and cuts in county aid to independent East End police departments. These cuts, and potential further cuts hinted in the upcoming budget, could mean less officers and patrols on county streets, according to the county exec, though by how much he did not say.
Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said during the press conference that the loss of the SROs and other specialized officers would be a great loss to the public.
“They are instrumental in intervening, intervening and addressing gang violence, opioid addiction and active shooter threats, while serving as a visual deterrent to illegal and dangerous activity,” she said.
Though Suffolk County received $257 million in CARES Act funding back in April, which Bellone said is used as part of the response to the pandemic, a financial report issued by Suffolk earlier this year estimated the county could be as much as $1.5 billion in the hole over the next three years.
In response to Bellone’s thrust that the federal government has not given enough, Republicans from the county Legislature stood in front of the Police Academy Sept. 22, instead claiming Bellone has not been transparent on Suffolk County finances.
Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), along with other Republican legislators, swore there was a way to keep the trainee cops program rolling, insisting that police are funded by a separate line on people’s taxes, and that unspent CARES Act funds can help cover the cost.
“What it’s like is a guy who has a credit card and he’s maxed out and he owes millions of dollars, then all of a sudden the coronavirus happens, and what does he do?” Trotta said. “He pays a little bit off and now he wants more money to make up for what he did before anybody heard about this.”
Legislator Steve Flotteron (R-Brightwaters), a member of the Budget & Finance Committee, said he and other legislators have asked the exec’s office to make a presentation to them about the county’s financial state but a person from Bellone’s office never showed.
Trotta insisted the county has only spent a relatively small amount of the funding it received from the federal government, and that the money should go to pay law enforcement payroll. Suffolk County has previously reported most of that money has already been allocated or spent. When asked where Republicans are getting their data, Flotteron said he and others have seen it in reports from places like the county comptroller’s office, but could not point to anything specific.
Republicans have consistently gone after Bellone on county finances, making it a cornerstone of then-candidate and current Suffolk Comptroller John Kennedy Jr.’s (R) run against the Democratic incumbent in 2019. Their assertion now is that Suffolk had long been in financial trouble even before the pandemic hit, citing the county’s Wall Street bond rating downgrades over the past several years. New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (D) called Suffolk, with Nassau, the most fiscally stressed counties in the state last year.
Other Long Island municipalities have also begged the federal government to send aid. On Sept. 14, federal reps from both parties stood beside several town supervisors to call for a bipartisan municipal aid bill. The Town of Brookhaven, for example, is requesting close to $12 million, as it had not been an original recipient of the original CARES Act funding.
At that press conference, Kennedy said the county is financially “on the verge of utter collapse.”
Suffolk, Bellone said, would need a $400 million windfall to stave off these massive cuts, and potentially up to $650 million to aid with economic hardship next year.
“We have seen death and devastation … and we are moving forward, but we know we face years of recovery.” he said.
Doctor Says People Can Be Impacted by Califorinia Fires as Far as Long Island
Stock photo
Scenes of the ash and smog from wildfires in the West Coast not only trigger sympathy for those with friends and family living in a paradise under siege, but also are a cause for concern for doctors who specialize in the lungs.
Dr. Norman Edelman. Photo from SBU
While doctors don’t know how far and wide the effects of these fires might be for those who are already struggling with their breathing, such as people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic bronchitis, physicians said the effect could spread well beyond the areas battling these blazes.
The danger is “not just at the site of the fire,” said Dr. Norman Edelman, a professor of medicine at Stony Brook University and a core member of the program in public health at Stony Brook. “I’m sure [the effect of the fire] is pretty wide.”
Indeed, at some point down the road, the small and large particles that are aerosolized during the fire could reach as far away as Long Island.
“We know quite firmly that air pollution from coal burning generator plants [in the Midwest] emits pollution that makes its way all the way to the East Coast,” Edelman said.
The current use of masks may offer some protection for residents on the West Coast.
Particulates, which are aerosolized particles that can get in people’s lungs and affect their breathing, come in various sizes. The larger ones tend to get lodged in people’s noses, throat and eyes and can cause coughing, hacking, and watery eyes. An ordinary mask can filter some of those out, although masks are not completely effective for these bigger particles.
The smaller ones are more dangerous, Edelman said. They can get further into the lungs and can exacerbate asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. They can even contribute to increased incidence of heart attacks.
“Nobody really knows” why these smaller particles contribute to heart attacks, Edelman said. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a reduction in pollution improves the health of a population.
When New York banned smoking in all public places, the level of heart attacks dropped by 15 to 20 percent.
“This level of pollution is nothing like what we’re seeing in the area of the wildfires,” Edelman said.
Additionally, lower pollution can improve the health of people with lung problems.
At the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, officials put in alternate day driving restrictions, which allowed people to drive every other day. By cutting down the pollution from traffic, doctors noticed a 25% reduction in admission to the emergency room for asthma.
If he were a doctor on the West Coast, Edelman said he would make sure his patients had all their medications renewed and available. He would also check in with his patients to make sure they had emergency instructions in case they need to boost the amount of any pharmacological agents.
The effect of the pollutants on people with asthma or other lung issues can be more severe if they are already dealing with an inflamed airway.
“The effects of various irritants are probably synergistic,” Edelman said. “If this is your allergy season, you become much more susceptible to the inflammatory effects of air pollution.”
COVID and the Lungs
As for the pandemic, Edelman said he didn’t come to the emergency room to work at the Intensive Care Unit during the pandemic.
His colleagues did, however, ask him to take care of patients who didn’t have to come in by telehealth. He’s continued to see many patients over the last three or four months.
One surprise from the data he’s seen related to the pandemic is that asthma does not seem to exacerbate the effects of COVID-19.
People with asthma “are not dying with COVID at any greater rate than the general population,” Edelman said.
He hasn’t yet seen the data for people with chronic bronchitis or COPD.
Stony Brook has set up a fund that helps students attend while dealing with small financial hurdles. File photo by Kyle Barr
Like so many other plans this year, the goal for Stony Brook University’s Student Emergency Support Fund has changed.
SBU students like Rijuta Mukim have relied on funds from the university’s emergency fund for their studies at home. Photo by Mukim
The fund, which SBU’s Dean of Students Richard Gatteau launched in January, was originally planned as an endowed source of funds that would help students in need. Amid the ongoing financial dislocation caused by the pandemic, the fund has now provided everything from money for car repairs, which some students need to get to campus, to books, iPads, or even rent.
Through July, the emergency fund provided about $935,000 in support to 1,194 students, according to the dean of students.
“Once COVID hit, we realized in March and April, the need was overwhelming,” he said. The school put in a new strategy to raise more money to expand the focus to include basic life essentials, like paying the electric bill or groceries. The university “didn’t want this circumstance to force someone to drop out.”
For some students, the financial need, especially in the current economic environment amid job losses and higher unemployment, exceeds the resources that financial aid, grants and loans can offer.
“We’re working with students on the margin,” Gatteau said. The parents of many students don’t have the financial ability to support them, either.
Many of the students who initially received money from the emergency fundwere remote learners who needed internet access or other remote support.
That included SBU junior Rijuta Mukim, who was working from her home in southern India when her computer broke down and her internet connection was unstable.
Taking classes and studying during the night and sleeping during the day to continue her education amid the time difference, Mukim was kicked off her Zoom calls for her classes within five minutes.
“I had a lot of trouble attending class,” Mukim said.
Without a fix for her computer and a better connection, Mukim, who is majoring in biology and psychology and hopes to attend medical school after she graduates, would have had to withdraw during the spring.
After she heard about the emergency fund on Reddit, she applied. Within a few hours, she received an email indicating that the school was trying to reach her by phone to make sure she was all right. She revealed her needs and received $1,000 within a week.
In the meantime, the support team explained her situation to her professors, who gave her extra time to complete her assignments.
Mukim had originally planned to work this summer at the Staller Center, but she was appreciative of the university and the donors who contributed to the fund for financial assistance, even as she worked from home several continents away.
“A thousand dollars might sound like a small amount but it helped me to ride through the spring and summer classes,” Mukim said. Having this kind of support “during a crisis is wonderful. It is satisfying to know there is a community helping you and looking out for you.”
Gatteau said other students also appreciated the calls soon after they made their requests.
Students “want an opportunity to tell their story, [to hear] a friendly voice on the other end of the call, to hear what’s going on,” he said. “Many students have faced challenging situations, with job losses and deaths related to COVID.”
A call from the emergency fund team can be as much about financial support as it is a counseling session with a student that helps them know how much the university cares about them.
As the fall semester started, the fund recently relaunched and has received between 130 and 150 applications for economic support.
The fund, which received a $75,000 donation from SBU President Maurie McInnis and is soliciting additional donations, is trying to rebuild after the earlier disbursements.
The call for donations has just gone out to community members, prior donors, alumni, parents, faculty and staff.
“We’ve done a full marketing campaign across all of the stakeholders who donated [previously] and then we try to reach out to new people,” Gatteau said.
The dean of students said the school is collecting donations of any size.
“Small amounts have made a big difference collectively,” he said.
The school estimates that $100 supports Wi-Fi access and other online learning costs; $200 contributes to lab fees and books; and $500 helps with groceries and rent.
The fund doesn’t currently allow donors to earmark their contributions for any specific purpose. Gatteau said the top priority with any student is for academic needs.
Despite the financial hardship caused by COVID and higher unemployment, officials said Stony Brook has not had many students drop out for financial reasons.
Amid concerns nationally about students ignoring social distancing or mask-wearing rules, Gatteau endorsed the way students have complied with rules.
“We’re very lucky,” he said. Students are motivated to prevent closures. “They want [the school] to stay open,”
Students whose financial need exceeds whatever the emergency fund can provide may be able to update their Free Application for Federal Student Aid — or FAFSA — forms, to see if they are eligible for additional financial assistance.
Meanwhile, students can apply to the Student Support Team at www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/studentaffairs/studentsupport. Students provide basic information and discuss their specific issues and challenges on a call.
Local legislators joined U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R) at a press conference Sept. 14 in Smithtown. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) invited elected officials from across Suffolk County and from all levels of government to join him Monday, Sept. 14, on the front steps of Town Hall to send a plea for help to the capital as Congress members prepare to negotiate the next federal COVID-19 package.
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine speaks at the Sept. 14 press conference in Smithtown. Photo by Rita J. Egan
On hand was U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1), who along with Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY19) introduced the Direct Support for Communities Act in the House of Representatives. The bill was also introduced in the Senate by New York Sens. Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D).
Wehrheim said the legislators are calling on Congress for direct coronavirus funding while their municipalities face historic financial shortfalls. He thanked Zeldin for working across the aisle and advocating for a bipartisan proposal for the funding that local governments could use for essential services and to offset lost revenues during the ongoing pandemic.
Zeldin said while there has been legislation to provide relief for families, small businesses and for state and local governments under the CARES Act, there was still more that needed to be done.
He gave the example of the Town of Brookhaven, which was excluded from the last relief package. The congressman said for a town to receive CARES Act funding directly it needed a population of more than 500,000. Brookhaven has just under that number. The town had requested $12 million from the federal government, according to Zeldin.
“It’s very important that if and when Congress provides additional support for state and local governments, that the money that is sent from D.C. to Albany actually makes its way to the constituents represented by the men and women who are here.”
— Lee Zeldin
“The formula of how that CARES Act money was distributed was very strict to ensure that the money could only be used for COVID-19 related expenses,” he said. “It’s important for there not only to be more funding for state and local governments, but also more flexibility in how that money is spent.”
The legislation introduced recently by Zeldin would allow a new formula to disperse relief funding based on population. Under the new guidelines, if the act is passed, Brookhaven could potentially receive the $12 million.
Zeldin said with the new formula half the money would go to the counties based on population and the other half to towns, cities and villages.
“It’s very important that if and when Congress provides additional support for state and local governments, that the money that is sent from D.C. to Albany actually makes its way to the constituents represented by the men and women who are here,” the congressman said.
During his speech, four protesters jeered Zeldin as he spoke and held up signs, one of which read, “Lazy Lee Must Go! CD1 Deserves Better!”
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) also spoke at the press conference. He said the pandemic has shut down the economy and the effects will reverberate for the next 100 years. He thanked Zeldin for his help with what he called “a rescue bill.”
“Government is no different than the average family,” he said. “Our revenues are down, and we still must provide services. We need some help. We need some leadership.”
Town of Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci speaks at the Sept. 14 press conference in Smithtown. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) said since the middle of March towns have provided much needed essential services such as senior centers providing meals for those in need, garbage pickup and public safety agencies patrolling the beaches and parks, which he said may have seen more visitors in the last few months than in the last 15 years. He added that the continuity of services continued without federal assistance and it’s important to remember that the future is unknown with COVID-19.
Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R) said the coronavirus has wreaked havoc on every aspect of county and local government functions.
“We are on the verge of utter collapse, and without intervention and swift intervention from the federal government, our county government and local governments will no longer exist as we know them here,” the comptroller said. “And guess what? We deserve better. We deserve better from Washington. We deserve a government that is going to actually be receptive to this crisis.”
New York State Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James), Suffolk County Legislators Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) and Rob Trotta (R- Fort Salonga), plus Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R), Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar (R), Southampton Supervisor Jay Schneiderman (D) and New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) also spoke at the event to show their support for the bipartisan bill.
State Dashboard Shows Comsewogue HS With Two Positive Tests, But District Says Not to Worry
PJSD said the Edna Louise Spear Elementary School has been temporarily closed and all students moved online after on student was tested positive. Photo from Google maps
*Update* The night of Sept. 16, Port Jeff Superintendent Jessica Schmettan released a follow up letter about the student who was confirmed positive. She said the elementary school was “thoroughly” cleaned after the district received the news. The New York State Department of Health interviewed the family and district, and has since advised the district that classrooms are cleared to reopen, saying the student was not infectious while on school grounds.
Students who had close contact with the student have been contacted, and contact tracing is underway.
“The situation today is a reminder about the importance of social distancing, the use of masks, and proper hygiene,” Schmettan said in the letter. “The community needs to remain vigilant in order to avoid closures in the future.”
Original story:
Parents in the Port Jefferson School District received a message Wednesday morning saying a student was tested positive for COVID-19 and that the Edna Louise Spear Elementary School would be closed for the meantime.
“This morning the Port Jefferson School District was notified that a student at the elementary school tested positive for COVID-19,” Superintendent Jessica Schmettan wrote in a message to district parents shared with TBR News Media. “Following our procedures and protocols and guidance from the [New York State] Department of Health, the elementary school is closed today for distance learning.”
The district added they will be conducting contact tracing and disinfecting the elementary school. Parents will be updated as the situation develops.
As of Sept. 15, Comsewogue High School has been listed by the New York State dashboard as having two positive cases in the Comsewogue High School.
Comsewogue Superintendent Jennifer Quinn described the situation as two siblings who had tested positive for COVID in another country, though she said the name of the country was not released for fear of the students being outed to their peers. They were cleared by the New York State Department of Health to come back to school, though while in school another test taken in the states came back positive.
Quinn said the Department of Health was aware of the situation, and health officials told the district the two students were likely positive because of the viral load still in the body, though they were not infectious. Both students have volunteered to stay home in the mean time.
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