The fireplace at the Country House Restaurant. Photo by Carolyn Sackstein
The Country House Restaurant. Photo by Carolyn Sackstein
The Country House Restaurant. Photo by Carolyn Sackstein
The Country House Restaurant. Photo by Carolyn Sackstein
The Country House Restaurant. Photo by Carolyn Sackstein
By Carolyn Sackstein
The universe works in mysterious ways. It embraced the Country House, located at the corner of Route 25A and Main Street in Stony Brook, on May 4, 2019, race day for the 145th “Run for the Roses” at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky.
Owner Bob Willemstyn was preparing to open the restaurant when a friend informed him that one of the horses, running in the Kentucky Derby, was named Country House. Never a gambler, Willemstyn went down to the off-track betting to place a $100 bet to win on the horse bearing the name of the restaurant he had worked in since 1978 and owned since 2005.
Willemstyn was told, “The horse is a long shot with odds 65-1 against it.” Many tried to get him to reduce his wager or not bet the horse at all. “I really don’t care, I didn’t want to be cheap,” Willemstyn said. “I have lost a hundred dollars on other things before. So that was the year that it was a very rainy racetrack, it was mucky. The horses were coming around and something happened that has only happened once in 149 years of the race — the first-place horse got disqualified.”
The winner and 9-2 favorite, Maximum Security, was found to have violated rules against interference when he strayed into the paths of War of Will, Long Range Toddy and Country House. After race officials viewed the video tape, Country House, who never raced again, was declared the winner. Willemstyn’s bet and faith in Country House was vindicated.
The providential windfall from his bet came just in time to allow for renovations to the restaurant building when the COVID-19 shutdown occurred. Willemstyn was able to address structural issues in one of the smaller dining areas used for private parties. It also happens to be the room in which the spirit of former colonial resident Annette Williamson manifests itself.
The ceiling was removed along with the floor of the room above, and the beams were exposed. This process revealed the upper room and resulted in a more spacious feel to the dining room. The ceiling above was painted to suggest a blue sky. Other tweaks and repairs were done to the building and grounds, while keeping the traditional colonial look so beloved and expected by his patrons.
During the renovations a variety of artifacts and structures from the 18th and 19th centuries were found. Willemstyn is considering ways in which to display some of them. As in years past, he continues to refresh the interior decor throughout the year as seasons and holidays change. Attention to the smallest detail is paramount to Willemstyn’s hospitality.
Just as the building and grounds were refreshed, the menu was also revamped to appeal to family dining and bar patrons. Some 90% or more of all offerings are homemade, and farms from the East End bring their fresh seasonal produce to the Country House. Seasonal foods and bar offerings reflect holidays and special occasions. As an example, mint juleps were featured on the first Saturday in May, Kentucky Derby Day.
The Country House Restaurant is open Wednesdays though Sundays, from noon
to closing. Due to confusion about Country House on the web, Willemstyn requests that people
use the following websites: countryhouserestaurant.com or countryhouserestaurant.net.
Immigration advocates during a May 23 press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge. Photo by Raymond Janis
A nationwide debate over immigration, coupled with the end of Title 42, is sending shockwaves through Suffolk County.
Title 42, a COVID-19 pandemic-era federal immigration policy that expired earlier this month, enabled U.S. Border Control agents to swiftly expel asylum seekers on public health grounds. The end of the procedure has led to a spike in new migrants entering the country, with many directed toward New York City and, possibly, Long Island.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has identified three SUNY campuses, including Stony Brook University, for migrant housing, Spectrum News NY1 reported on Tuesday.
NYC received more than 900 migrants daily over several days, Mayor Eric Adams (D) told CBS News “Face the Nation,” Sunday, May 21. It is an influx, the mayor suggested, that has overburdened the city’s budget and facilities. Adams called upon Hochul and counties throughout the state to assist his city, referring to the requested relief as a statewide “decompression strategy.”
“New York City is the economic engine of the state and the country,” he said. “We believe the entire state should participate in a decompression strategy, and it’s unfortunate that there have been some lawmakers and counties that are not carrying on their role of ensuring that this is a decompression strategy throughout the state.”
Tensions swelled on the same Sunday morning during a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building where immigration advocates clashed with Republican lawmakers.
Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, at podium, with Republican officials during a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building on Sunday, May 21. Photo by Raymond Janis
Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), standing alongside U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and Republicans from across levels of government, criticized the city’s policies, affirming that Suffolk County is not open to new asylum seekers.
“New York City made a conscious decision to call itself a sanctuary city. Suffolk County did not,” McCaffrey said.
U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota during the May 21 press conference. Photo by Raymond Janis
He added, “The residents of Suffolk County have already dealt with the financial costs of the pandemic and the historic inflation because of the failed policies of the state and federal government. We cannot stand by and allow the residents of Suffolk County to further burden the failed policies of the Biden, Hochul and Adams [Democratic] administrations in dealing with this crisis.”
McCaffrey stated the federal government’s vetting process is inadequate, so “we do not know who’s being sent into this county,” noting the potential strain upon law enforcement is still undetermined.
He described the expected cost of food, shelter and related medical and school expenses as “daunting,” saying that financial assistance from the federal and state governments would be “a mere drop in the bucket compared to what it would actually cost” to accommodate these requests.
“We cannot allow the federal [government] and state to pass on these costs to the residents of Suffolk County,” McCaffrey added.
LaLota criticized New York City’s sanctuary city designation, tying the influx of asylum seekers to unresolved issues at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We here in Suffolk County are 2,000 miles from the southern border, but we are to become a border county because of the Biden administration’s failed border policies and the sanctuary city policies of New York City,” the congressman said.
Protesters storm a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge on Sunday, May 21. Photo by Raymond Janis
Throughout the Sunday morning press conference, the speakers heard steady chants from the gallery opposing their efforts. “No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here,” the protesters cried in unison.
Two days later, at the same county complex in Hauppauge, the immigration advocates held their own press conference Tuesday morning.
“For far too long, Suffolk Republicans have denied Long Island families — particularly those seeking asylum — the freedom to thrive,” said Elmer Flores, advisory board member of the Long Island Immigration Clinic. “People seeking asylum are individuals, children and families that deserve to live in peace and live free from danger, which is why exercising their human and legal right to seek safety in the U.S. should be protected.”
Minerva Perez, executive director at OLA [Organización Latino Americana] of Eastern Long Island, during a May 23 press conference in Hauppauge. Photo by Raymond JanisMinerva Perez, executive director at OLA [Organización Latino Americana] of Eastern Long Island, suggested the vetting process for asylum seekers is adequate, noting the possible regional economic benefits of expanding the workforce.
“Asylum seekers can work — they are given work permits,” Perez said. “If anyone’s noticed, there’s also a labor shortage in Suffolk County. Do the math.”
Ivan Larios, manager of organizing and strategy for the Long Island branch of the New York Immigration Coalition, appealed for the acceptance of new asylum requests on humanitarian grounds, noting the harsh conditions from which many are fleeing.
“Immigrants are already a part of our community and make Long Island richer and better because of their economic, social and cultural contributions,” he said. “People seeking asylum are individuals, children and families fleeing danger and persecution in exercising their human right, a legal right to seek safety in the United States.”
Despite these appeals, the county Legislature introduced a procedural motion on May 23 to appoint a special counsel “to pursue any and all legal options available to protect the unfunded location of any asylum seekers in Suffolk County,” McCaffrey said.
A vote on the motion is expected during the Legislature’s June 6 meeting.
While for now, the pandemic is officially in the rearview mirror, according to the World Health Organization, it’s worth considering what we can and can’t blame on COVID-19. For starters, here are a few things that aren’t the fault of the pandemic.
— A favorite sports team’s defeat. Every team had to deal with COVID-19. The pandemic didn’t affect my team’s best athletes any more than any other team’s stars.
— The weather. It’s going to rain, and it’s going to be too hot and too cold. That happened before the pandemic, and it’s going to happen afterward. Global warming, if anything, might have slowed slightly as more people stayed home each day.
— Unrequited love. Authors throughout history have found this topic particularly appealing. A would-be romantic goes out into the world with a proverbial heart filled with affection and admiration. Cupid hits that person with an arrow, creating a wellspring of dedication and devotion toward someone who doesn’t return the favor. The pandemic might have made it harder to know where we stood with each other, but unrequited love will continue to cause problems and lead to sad-but-relatable romantic comedies.
— Bad grades. We all have moments when we don’t study enough, the right way, or even the right material. The pandemic might have made it harder to focus or to care about theorems or memorizing dates, but it’s not the fault of the virus. It might have been tougher to concentrate in those early days, with dogs barking, parents yelling into Zoom calls, and people dropping off food at our front door.
— Anger in Washington. This is one of the easiest to dispel. Did you pay any attention to the vitriol coming out of the nation’s capital before 2019? It’s not as if the parties suddenly decided fighting each other was more valuable than getting anything done or compromising. The words under the Washington DC license plate shouldn’t read “taxation without representation,” which refers to the fact that residents pay taxes but don’t have federal representation. Instead, it should read: “Grrrrrrrrrrr!”
— Biased journalism. As a member of the media, I understand the frustration with the written and spoken words on TV and in print. The left hates Trump; the right hates Biden and ne’er the ‘twain shall meet. The pandemic didn’t pour gasoline on that dumpster fire. Media organizations staked out their territory prior to the pandemic and have remained more faithful to their talking points than many people do to their own marriage vows.
Okay, now, what about the things we can blame on the pandemic.
— Mental health strain. While the pandemic may be gone, we haven’t wrapped our arms around the mental health impact. We spent way too much time on our phones, making us feel simultaneously connected and disconnected while the pool of frustration continues to get deeper.
— Educational gaps. Students will never get back those days and the lessons they missed during the pandemic. Classes condensed their syllabi, lowering requirements and expectations for each class and for graduation. Students of all ages missed lessons and assignments that might have inspired them and that would have helped them reach previous educational requirements.
— Social graces. A first-grade teacher recently told me that their school still can’t bring all the first-grade classes together. When they do, the students argue about resources and space. Prior to the pandemic, students from several classes could easily play together. Hopefully, that will change as the students age and fill in gaps in their ability to interact.
Even as we hope to move past the pandemic, we can’t ignore the difficult reality, forcing parents, teachers, children and members of society to relearn lessons about acting and interacting. No, we can’t take cues from Washington, but maybe we can overcome deficiencies exacerbated by the pandemic.
Above, Maasai tribe leaders during a visit to Port Jefferson on Saturday, April 22. Left to right: Chief Joseph Ole Tipanko, Cecilia Tipanko and John Kilenyi Ole Parsitau. Photos by Raymond Janis
Following a multiyear delay due to COVID-19, representatives of Port Jefferson’s sister village visited last weekend.
On Saturday, April 22, the chief of the Maasai tribe in Kenya returned to the Port Jefferson Village Center with two fellow members of the tribe. The Maasai delegation presented on local developments in Kenya since its last visit, as the shadow of the pandemic and environmental degradation have diminished their way of life.
In Maasai villages, there is no running water or electricity, they explained. The women construct huts made of sticks and mud. Men protect the community from the numerous dangerous animals that cohabitate in their territory. In this agricultural society, a Maasai family’s worth is determined by the number of cattle it owns.
‘For any American, it’s very beneficial to know about other cultures and other parts of the world.’
— Virginia Armstrong
In recent years, the Maasai have been ravaged by severe drought, killing off much of their cattle and endangering their very existence.
The chief, Joseph Ole Tipanko, oversees approximately 7,000 people in Kenya. His wife, Cecilia, and John Kilenyi Ole Parsitau were with him.
During their presentations, the Maasai people had an opportunity to share their culture with Port Jeff, highlighting the many similarities and differences between the two.
Virginia Armstrong is a local resident and partner of the Maasai organization, helping arrange their events while they are visiting the United States.
She said that through the year, the leaders and community members of the two villages, though separated by 10,000 miles, have forged close ties.
“Mayor [Margot] Garant has been here several times, and she calls them her sister village,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong also stressed the unique opportunities that this bond creates, emphasizing how cultural exchanges between the two villages mutually enrich one another.
“We benefit each other,” she said. “We bring some cultural awareness to Port Jeff and then, in exchange, we are supported by the village here.”
She added, “For any American, it’s very beneficial to know about other cultures and other parts of the world.”
‘Whenever we come here, we feel so connected.’
— Chief Joseph Ole Tipanko
During the presentations, the chief explored some of the challenges that the Maasai people face today, including severe droughts, environmental degradation and the ill effects of climate change.
The chief said there are numerous attributes that Port Jeff village residents should take away from the Maasai way of life. “People need to be bonded together by love and unity,” he said. “It’s also good that they know that they should conserve.”
Tipanko stressed that in much of the undeveloped world, including the Maasai villages, access to food is often limited. He reminded Americans that they should not take food for granted.
“They should appreciate what they have here in this country,” he said.
He has also observed in the U.S. a tendency toward excess, with many Americans consuming well beyond their basic needs. He commented that this mode of thinking could lead to a grasping, materialistic outlook and culture, impeding one’s connection to others and enjoyment of life.
American children “need much, but in Africa, even getting a sweet — a candy — is something big,” he said. “Getting a pair of shoes is something that’s big because some of the kids are barefoot.”
He added that Americans “should be thankful for what they have because they have running water in their houses, bathrooms and electricity. To me, I think they are very lucky.”
Upon returning to Port Jeff, the chief highlighted the importance of sharing that message.
“Whenever we come here, we feel so connected,” he said, adding that this unique forum “teaches the students to come and appreciate the diverse cultures of the world. And in that, when I understand their culture and they understand my culture, we are able to live peacefully as brothers and sisters for a peaceful global world.”
Sound Beach Civic Association President Bea Ruberto, left, and Dorothy Cavalier, Democratic candidate for Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District, celebrate during the hamlet’s 2nd annual Spring Festival. Photo by Raymond Janis
Along New York Avenue in Sound Beach, before rows of storefronts and restaurant spaces — some filled, others not — thousands gathered on Saturday, April 22, for the 2nd annual Sound Beach Spring Festival and Street Fair.
The event featured dozens of local businesses and merchants tabling outside, along with food stands, face painting, music and other festivities.
The annual festival is hosted by the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce, an organization founded in 2018 to draw businesses and economic development into the neighboring hamlets.
Gary Pollakusky, president and executive director of RPSBCC, said there was a two-year gap in the first and second festivals due to COVID-19. With public health concerns abating, the chamber picked up where it had left off before the pandemic.
“We had, I’d say, over 65 vendors, and we had thousands of people come through, all seeing for the first time some of the new businesses in Sound Beach,” he said.
Bea Ruberto is president of the Sound Beach Civic Association, the leading advocacy group representing the hamlet’s roughly 7,000 residents. She has been a leader in raising awareness for this private beach community.
“One of the things that we as a civic have tried to do for years is make people aware that we exist, make our representatives aware that we exist,” she said.
To do that, Ruberto has been forceful in distinguishing Sound Beach for its unique history and local identity. She authored “Sound Beach: Our Town, Our Story,” which was recently adapted into the documentary film, “The History Upon Our Shores: Sound Beach, NY.”
Gary Pollakusky, above, president and executive director of the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Raymond Janis
The historical uniqueness of Sound Beach established, Ruberto has her sights on the future. She said the annual spring festival represents a vital organ in drawing attention to the area.
“I love it because it brings people outside of Sound Beach into Sound Beach,” she said. “We want people to get to know about our community.”
Though several restaurants and merchants are in business, the commercial strip is a ways away from a fully formed, traditional main street. That, Pollakusky said, will require additional advocacy work to keep occupants of the storefronts commercially viable.
“Seeing businesses come and go is heartbreaking sometimes because those are families that are local and that are losing their livelihoods,” he said. “To see a business that did everything that it could to survive and then fail, it’s heartbreaking.”
Pollakusky indicated that countering these trends will take time and effort from local organizations and government. He outlined his aspirations for the hamlet.
“I’d like to see that our storefronts are filled,” he said. “I’d like to see that people want to come to Sound Beach to live and to patronize our businesses.” The chamber president added, “I’d like to see that we have a robust business community that is self-sustaining.”
Putting this vision into action is not so cut and dry. Consistently, Sound Beach has competed for and lost out on limited grant funding against established downtown districts also debilitated by the pandemic.
The commercial district’s small size is another limiting factor, cutting the hamlet off from certain types of grants.
“Sound Beach does not have a downtown,” Ruberto said. “We have two commercial nodes. Therefore, a lot of the downtown revitalization grant funding we can’t have.” The civic president added, “That has to be fixed.”
The Sound Beach commercial district is currently zoned J-2, a general business zoning classification typical for retail spaces. For Sound Beach to qualify for downtown revitalization funding, the Town of Brookhaven would have to rezone the hamlet to J-6, a Main Street Business classification.
Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) represents Sound Beach on the Town Board. Reached by phone, she commented on the difficulties of Sound Beach making use of those granting opportunities, stressing that Suffolk County should consider easing the criteria for qualification.
“Those funds are hard to come by,” she said. “I think the onus is on the county in being a little more flexible” in dispersing downtown revitalization funds.
Map of the Sound Beach commercial district, which is currently zoned J-2, a general business classification. Graphic from the Town of Brookhaven website
Currently, Sound Beach has much of the look and feel of a traditional downtown despite lacking the zoning classification of one. Bonner nonetheless remained open to the proposal to rezone the commercial district to J-6, potentially giving the hamlet a proper downtown and opening it to grants.
“If any business owner wanted to come in to become J-6, it’s certainly something that we would obviously entertain,” the councilwoman said.
The U.S. Census Bureau indicates that Sound Beach’s population shrunk by more than 2.5% between 2010 and 2020. This population decline is comparable to those of neighboring hamlets in the area, including Rocky Point, Miller Place and Mount Sinai.
Dorothy Cavalier, legislative aide to Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), is running to fill the seat of her boss this November as Anker is term limited.
The candidate remarked upon the need for a larger governmental initiative to return small businesses to the area and keep residents from leaving the county for the Sun Belt.
“We’re losing a lot of people to Down South and other places, and we really need to figure out how to get them to stay here,” Cavalier said. “We need to get the small businesses back here because once we get the businesses to come back, the people will follow. They’ll stay.”
In the meantime, Bonner emphasized that the businesses in Sound Beach are still recovering from the aftermath of the pandemic. To support those businesses, she encouraged the community to continue patronizing local mom-and-pops in their hour of need.
“The pandemic really brought a lot of people to their knees financially, and our small businesses are the ones that suffered the most,” she said. “That’s why we have to invest with our dollars, to shop locally and support them.”
There have been rumblings recently regarding the state of the commercial real estate market. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, people were forced to leave the workplace and instead work virtually, if possible.
Though going back to the office full-time is now an option for many businesses, some are satisfied with employees working from home. Experts now worry that remote work could be driving down the demand for commercial real estate.
“If these commercial landlords can’t make money, they’re going to file for … property tax relief,” said Martin Cantor, director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy, in a phone interview. “And if they get it granted because they’re not making money, that property tax is going to be shifted to residential.”
Deputy Comptroller for New York City Rahul Jain also shed light on the topic, noting that the industrial market is doing very well right now but office markets remain questionable.
“Real estate generally pays a higher rate on the value of the property than residential does,” he said in a phone interview. “If you have a real decline in the value of that property … that means somebody else has to pick up the remainder. And so that burden could end up potentially falling on residential taxpayers.”
Phil Shwom, president of the Long Island-based industrial and commercial realtor Schacker Realty, added further context.
“We’ve seen a couple of deals where they’ve taken an office building and converted it to industrial,” he said in a phone interview. “There’s also been talk about taking down some office buildings and building residential, which I think is happening in the city, but less so on Long Island, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it does happen at some point.”
When asked if commercial property owners might consider repurposing some locations as residential developments, as Shwom said, Jain agreed that that could be a possibility.
“When you look at the economics of it, it might make sense not only on the demand side,” Jain said, referencing that there are now fewer people going to offices to work. “But on the supply side, there’s clearly some push to increase the number of housing units because housing in the metro area has always been more expensive than the rest of the country.”
Jain emphasized that the burden of commercial taxes potentially falling on residential taxpayers and the possibility for commercial spaces converting into residential development are very complex issues.
It may still be a few years until the full effects of the pandemic on commercial office spaces become evident and what domino effects may result from that.
A scene from Benner's Farm 2023 Easter Egg Hunt. Photo by Rita J. Egan
The spring holidays and weather often fill people with hope and joy. This year is no different as residents may feel more optimistic than ever.
Local egg hunts and holiday events that took place last weekend exemplify the optimism our fellow residents are experiencing. While some community events during the past two years were able to take place, many of our social gatherings were severely limited. With egg hunts, organizers asked attendees to sign up for time slots. After egg hunting, they would need to complete any additional activities during a specific period due to COVID-19 precautions. Some events experienced low attendance amid COVID fears, with many people hesitant to return to their usual social activities.
This year, organizers were able to hold events resembling those held before COVID-19. Community members embraced the opportunity to get out of the house. For our reporters who were photographing the egg hunts and Port Jefferson parade, it was a delight to see community members able to fully enjoy activities and engage with each other.
It’s no surprise that we’re getting back to life as we knew it before 2020. It’s taken a while to get here, but it feels as though we are slowly approaching normalcy. As of April 6, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services reported 1.9% tested positive in the county, and the seven-day average was 1.8%. The COVID-19 Community Level for Suffolk is low. The DOHS also reported that as of April 7, 78.9% of county residents are fully vaccinated.
The community getting out and about regularly and mingling, as well as fewer COVID infections and more vaccinated people, are positive signs for the future.
This wave of good news is beneficial for small businesses as well. After spending a day full of fun activities, consider stopping by a local restaurant for lunch or dessert or patronizing a local store on the way home. Like community gatherings, our local mom-and-pops add a sense of place and charm to our towns and villages. Frequenting local downtowns gives these areas a chance to thrive, to employ even more of our residents and to pay taxes to our municipalities.
Our readers should keep an eye out for upcoming events in our coverage areas throughout the year as listed in our Arts & Lifestyles section.
We also remind residents that April 30 to May 6 marks National Small Business Week. Started by the U.S. Small Business Administration, these seven days recognize the contributions of entrepreneurs and small business owners. While enjoying the warm weather in the months ahead, we encourage our neighbors to grab a bite to eat, buy a new ornament or a plant for their home locally.
New York State Department of Health statistics indicate that nearly 5,000 Suffolk County residents have died from COVID-19. Many more throughout our state, nation and world have not survived the last few years. While we cannot undo what has happened, we can chart a course ahead. May these COVID years make us stronger, wiser and more socially responsible citizens. May we begin to thrive again, reminded of the joy and hope life has to offer. May we continue to rejoice and celebrate right in our backyards.
The number of people battling significant symptoms from the flu and respiratory syncytial virus has been coming down since its peak in January, as these infections have run their course.
“This year, we experienced the most severe flu and RSV waves in decades, and our COVID wave wasn’t small either,” said Sean Clouston, associate professor of Public Health at Stony Brook University.
The number of these illnesses was high as people no longer wore masks in places like schools and after people experienced lower-than-usual illnesses in the months before the mask mandate was lifted, creating fertile ground for viruses to spread.
“The most likely reason that the current flu and RSV seasons have improved is that we have had such a bad season earlier on that we have hit a natural ceiling on the ability for these diseases to successfully infect more people,” Clouston said in an email.
As for COVID-19, the numbers of people who have developed significant illnesses has continued to decline as well, through a combination of the natural immunity people have after their bodies successfully fought off the infection and from the protection offered by the vaccine and boosters.
Doctors added that the vaccine and natural immunity hasn’t prevented people from getting infected, but they have helped people avoid severe and potentially life-threatening symptoms.
“All these people who run around saying, ‘My vaccine isn’t working because I got reinfected,’ are missing the point,” said Dr. Bettina Fries, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Medicine. “It is working. It doesn’t protect you from infection, but [it does prevent] a bad outcome.”
Indeed, during the most recent COVID surge during the winter, Fries said the hospital continued to care for patients, most of whom recovered.
Vaccine timing
Amid discussions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health organizations throughout the state and country about the timing of future booster shots, local health care providers indicated the increasing likelihood of an annual COVID booster.
Fries said we will get to an annual vaccination for COVID, adding, “It’s the same as we see with the flu.”
In general, people aren’t rushing off to get an updated COVID booster.
“To maximize the protective value of the vaccine while minimizing the number of vaccines you use, people should likely get the vaccine two weeks before they anticipate heavy exposure,” Clouston said.
For most people, that would mean getting the shot in early November to prepare for larger indoor gatherings, like Thanksgiving and the December holidays.
In a recent article in the journal Lancet, researchers conducted an extensive analysis of COVID reinfection rates.
The study dealt only with those people who had not had any vaccinations and addressed the effectiveness of natural immunity from preventing infections and from the worst symptoms of the disease.
Prior infections in general didn’t prevent people from getting reinfected, but it does “protect you from getting a really bad disease and dying,” Fries said.
Long COVID
Even with the number of people contracting COVID declining, the overall population of people battling symptoms of long COVID, which can still include anything from loss of smell and taste to chronic fatigue, continues to increase.
“There’s a plethora of symptoms of long COVID,” Fries said. “We’ll have to figure out how to classify this and hopefully come up with better therapy. Right now, we can only symptomatically treat these patients.”
Dr. Sritha Rajupet, director of the Stony Brook Medicine Post-COVID Clinic, explained in an email that some patients who have lost their sense of smell or have a distorted sense of taste have tried a process called a stellate ganglion block “after several case reports and early research have shown that it could be helpful.”
In such a procedure, doctors inject a local anesthetic on either side of the voice box into the neck. Rajupet said that “additional research and clinical trials still have to be performed.”
Newborns and COVID
As for children infected with COVID soon after birth, doctors suggested that the impact has been manageable.
“The great majority of young children who contract COVID do quite well and recover fully,” Dr. Susan Walker, pediatrician with Stony Brook Children’s Services, explained in an email. “The impact on their development from having actually experienced COVID illness is minimal.”
Children hospitalized with more significant illness from COVID might experience temporary developmental regression which is common in children hospitalized for any reason. The developmental impact seems more tied to social isolation.
“Children born during the pandemic spent their first years of life rarely seeing adults or children other than those in their immediate family,” Walker said. “The result is that many of these kids became excessively stranger anxious and timid around others.”
The lost social opportunities, the pediatrician said, resulted in delays in the personal/social domain of development. She added, “The good news is that kids are resilient and, in time, with appropriate social stimulation, [these children] should be able to regroup and catch up developmentally.”
After a November and December in which realities like a “tridemic” of viral threats sickened residents throughout Suffolk County, the new year has started off with fewer illnesses and cautious optimism among health care professionals.
“The numbers are coming down now,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. The overall threat is “less” and “we’re in the take-a-deep-breath phase.”
Indeed, the frequency of cases of several viruses is lower.
“Flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are down,” Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health and associate professor of medicine at Hofstra School of Medicine, explained in an email.
At the Catholic Health hospitals, including Port Jefferson-based St. Charles and Smithtown-based St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, the emergency room visits are down around 10% from a few weeks ago, said Dr. Jeffrey Wheeler, medical director of the Emergency Department at St. Charles.
In between too busy and too quiet, the hospital is in the “sweet spot” where health care providers have enough to do without frantically racing from one emergency to another, Wheeler said.
Among those visiting St. Charles, Wheeler added that health care providers are seeing a smattering of illnesses.
At the same time, the vaccine for the flu has proven to be a “good match” for the current strain, Nachman said. “Amongst those who did the flu shot, they have tended to not get sick enough to go to the doctor.”
According to New York State Department of Health figures, the overall numbers across the state have been declining for the flu. For the week ending Jan. 14, the number of infections was cut in half.
Suffolk County saw a slightly larger drop, falling 59% for the same week, to 571.
This year, people who were going to get the flu vaccine may have helped themselves and their families by getting the shot earlier, rather than dragging out the process of boosting their immune systems over the course of months. Nachman said.
Cases of monkeypox continue to be on the lower side, in part because of the number of vaccines people in the area have received.
To be sure, health care workers are still helping people overcome a range of infections circulating in the county.
“We are still seeing a smorgasbord of flu, COVID and RSV,” said Nachman. Of the people admitted to Stony Brook Hospital, most of them have a comorbidity.
At Huntington Hospital, admissions are “high,” and the hospital census remains high, Popp added.
Health care workers are diagnosing viruses like the flu and COVID-19 and have used available treatments to reduce the symptoms and the spread of these viruses.
New COVID vaccine approach
Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration posted documents online that reflected a possible future change in its approach to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Instead of recommending bivalent boosters or a range of ongoing vaccinations to provide protection against circulating strains, the FDA plans to approach COVID-19 vaccinations in the same way as the flu.
Each year, people who are otherwise healthy and may not have high risks may get a single dose of a vaccine based on the strains the administration anticipates may circulate, particularly during the colder winter months.
Health care professionals welcomed this approach.
Nachman and Popp thought a single shot would be “great” and appreciated how the annual vaccine would simplify the process while reducing inoculation fatigue.
“The simplest messages with the simplest strategy often wins,” Nachman said.
Bivalent booster concern
Addressing concerns raised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a potential link between the bivalent booster and stroke, Nachman suggested that was one data point among many.
Israel has used the Pfizer bivalent booster exclusively and hasn’t seen any such evidence linking the booster to stroke.
The CDC data is “one of multiple data points that we use to look at safety events,” she said. “Not a single other one has shown any relationship with stroke among the elderly in the first 21 days.”
Above, at podium, state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James), surrounded by Long Island child care advocates and Republican colleagues in the state Legislature. Photo by Raymond Janis
In an effort to influence the upcoming state budget, Republican officials in the New York State Legislature joined policy advocates at the Perry B. Duryea State Office Building in Hauppauge Thursday, Dec. 15.
The officials called the press event to raise public awareness about the lack of child care services on Long Island, hoping to pressure Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who is preparing the state budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
Child care on Long Island “is not a problem, it’s a crisis,” said Dean Murray, state Sen.-elect (R-East Patchogue), who organized the event. “We are at a crisis level on Long Island when it comes to child care, and there is no simple solution.”
Murray regarded the issues associated with child care as threefold. For him, the state government can remedy the problem by addressing its affordability, availability and accessibility.
While Murray applauded Hochul and the Legislature for targeting the issue in last year’s budget, he said the changes do not adequately account for regional economic differences throughout the state.
“The cost of living here on Long Island does not compare to areas upstate,” he said, “So when you have a statewide standard, it simply isn’t fair to regions like Long Island.”
He added that the child care is underfunded, arguing, “We need to do what we can as a government to help to create more availability, helping to build more facilities, helping to encourage employers to offer on-site child care.”
The state senator-elect regarded child care service as “a profession, not a job.” However, he said these professionals are often underpaid.
“Can you think of a job that’s more important than caring for our kids?” he said. “This is a professional job. [The workers] need to be treated as such, and they need to be compensated as such.”
State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) explained the problem similarly. He detailed the underinvestment in child care personnel, saying the incentive is to pursue other industries.
“The people right now with child care are leaving because they’re getting other jobs,” Mattera said. “They’re getting better [paying] jobs even in McDonald’s. That’s a problem.” He added, “They are watching our kids and protecting our children, but they’re not getting paid properly.”
Mattera also addressed the need for more child care training programs. If child care is to be a profession, he said these service providers deserve similar specialized teaching to those of other fields.
“We need to educate,” the state senator said. “We need to make sure [institutions] like Suffolk Community College, a perfect example, have some kind of a course … to have qualified people watching our children.”
Jennifer Rojas, executive director of the Commack-based Child Care Council of Suffolk, discussed the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child care industry. While these essential services remained operational throughout the public health emergency, the industry has struggled since.
“When everything shut down in March of 2020, child care remained open because we knew how important it was for our essential workers to continue to work,” she said. “Unfortunately, our industry is in a crisis. … It’s expensive for parents, and the workforce is making poverty wages.”
She added, “It’s because you cannot raise the cost on parents in order to pay your staff more, so we’re stuck in this bubble where providers are not able to pay their staff and, therefore, not able to recruit.”
Without sufficient staff, Rojas said some child care programs are cutting back resources and, in some instances, shutting down altogether. “This is a crisis like we have never seen in this industry, and it’s always been an industry that has operated on razor-thin margins,” she added.
Above, state Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead). Photo by Raymond Janis
State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) echoed Rojas’ sentiments about the crippling effects of COVID-19 on child care service providers. To Giglio, the lockdowns generated conditions where child care was less necessary for parents.
“Because the moms couldn’t go to work and everybody was expected to stay home, a lot of these facilities closed down,” she said. “It costs a lot because your payroll is not going down and you’re still turning the lights on every day.”
Also in attendance was Ryan Stanton, executive director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, who emphasized the inordinate expenses associated with child care and the need for state support.
“In both Nassau and Suffolk counties, the cost of care is about $30,000 a year,” he said. “That is more than going to the State University of New York for an entire year. You have working families struggling to make ends meet. In order to go to work, [they] must have care in many instances. And we’re asking them to pay for a college tuition bill or more.”
Giglio, a member of the state Assembly’s Labor and Economic Development committees, suggested funding child care to remediate labor shortages, viewing such an investment as an economic development tool.
“We have warehouses out there that are full of materials, waiting to be delivered to customers, and those items are not getting delivered because they don’t have the drivers,” she said. “We need to get people back to work. Employers are looking for workers, and parents are looking for a better life for their families.”
Concluding the press conference, Murray outlined some possible solutions. He recommended removing the statewide eligibility standard to resolve the regional economic differences between Long Island and the rest of the state.
“Because of our economic diversity here, [the statewide standard] doesn’t serve Long Island like it should,” the state senator-elect said. “Rather than a statewide eligibility level, we should break it into the 10 regional economic development council regions.”
With different standards for different regions, Murray maintained that Long Islanders could qualify for additional state aid for child care, reflective of their higher cost of living. “This is a fairer way, especially for Long Island families,” he said.
Murray said another way to improve the issue is through employer-based on-site child care. He offered that expanding these benefits could assist working families and employers alike.
Speaking to employers directly, he said, “If you offer on-site child care as a benefit to your employees, I guarantee you that will put you above your competition in the game of recruitment,” adding, “What we want to do is incentivize that.”
Lastly, he suggested exploring any changes in state regulations that may be holding up the construction of new child care facilities. “We also need to sit down and look at whether or not there are regulations slowing down the building of health care facilities,” Murray said.
He added, “Let me be very clear: We will never change any regulations that deal with the health, the safety or the well-being of the children. But we should take a look at the regulations otherwise and see if they are slowing them down.”
Hochul is expected to release her proposed FY 2024 budget next month.
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