CLOSE
Tags Posts tagged with "David Friedman"

David Friedman

by -
0 454
File photo by Raymond Janis

Common-sense decision

At the Three Village CSD Board of Education meeting on April 9, a common-sense decision was finally made to remove the start time change from the 2025-26 budget.  After months of under stimulating banter and a constant “will they, won’t they” cliffhanger hovering over every meeting, four of the seven board members voted to hold off on this nonsensical and very costly change. Reality came into play as metaphoric light bulbs slowly began to flicker representing all that would be lost educationally for the majority of our students to satisfy a 30-minute time adjustment. 

Over a million dollars of transportation costs alone would have partially negated our IG Program, increased elementary class sizes exponentially, erased some secondary extra-curriculars and electives and slashed SEVERAL positions both in and out of the classroom.  And yet three members of the board continued to advocate for this change despite all that would be lost. 

How can these individuals truly believe the supposed benefits of going to school 30 minutes later could possibly outweigh the costs of what would be taken away?  The persistent rambling about the 30 minutes of “extra sleep” continues to stick in my craw, particularly at the secondary level.  If you want your child to sleep more, be a parent and tell them to go to bed.  We don’t need a million dollars in transportation to send them to their rooms.  Healthy sleep gains will be just as beneficial if they go to sleep 30 minutes earlier and still wake up for school, it’s a simple fact.  

We now wait on eggshells to see how our million dollars will be re-allocated.  The board has a lot of decisions to make before the May 20th vote and they need to carefully consider the fragile standing of this year’s budget. Three Village is in deep, and we need to save ourselves from drowning.  Cooler heads must prevail and a more realistic vision for our district needs to be added to the playbook to ensure success for the ones we are all fighting for, the kids!  I speak for many in the community when I express my satisfaction knowing that our tax dollars will be going to academics rather than bus rides.

Stefanie Werner

East Setauket

The EPA should be protected

A letter by Jim Soviero appeared in this newspaper on April 3 [EPA and media need accountability]  filled with innuendos and deceptive claims about the Environmental Protection Agency.  He calls for “accountability” for money already legally disbursed by the EPA as per the Biden legislation passed by Congress and signed into law, to fund beneficial projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution.

He’s echoing Lee Zeldin, our former Long Island congressman and now head of the Donald )Trump (R) EPA.  While in Congress Zeldin had a long record of opposing measures to safeguard air and water quality, instead serving the interests of the oil and gas industry, in spite of the fact that Long Island has no oil and gas industry.  If Zeldin really wanted “accountability,” why didn’t he protest when Trump fired the EPA Inspector General, whose one and only job is to hold the EPA accountable for its expenditures?  This IG, Sean O’Donnell, was appointed by none other than Trump himself back in 2020.  Could it be that Zeldin really wants not “accountability” but a more pliable IG to rubber-stamp the Zeldin-Trump agenda of climate denialism and environmental havoc?

Zeldin describes the mission of the EPA as “lower[ing] the cost of buying a car, heating a home, and running a business.”  No – the EPA is not the Commerce Department. The EPA’s mission, embedded in its name, is to protect the environment. I remember when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted with oil slicks it caught on fire –  many times.  When Los Angeles was covered by a thick poisonous smog on a daily basis.  All before the EPA.  The EPA’s mission is to protect us from sickness and premature death from damaged lungs, heart disease, asthma and other consequences of the unchecked release of toxins into our air and water.  And it’s also about energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that threaten us, our children and grandchildren.

In spite of the letter writer’s innuendos, the rightful recipients of the funding Zeldin is trying to snatch back are reputable and longstanding organizations run by qualified professionals with years of experience in engineering, finance and energy efficiency.  The funds are being used for such things as increasing the affordability of modern, efficient heat pumps to replace inefficient gas or oil heating.  And the organization Power Forward Communities, so sneered at by the letter writer, is a coalition of some of the most trusted nonprofits in the nation, including Habitat for Humanity International and United Way Worldwide.

David Friedman

St. James

Ward Melville track

 I’d like to thank Sabrina Artusa for her excellent article highlighting the success of the Ward Melville boys 4 x mile relay team and of my son Jon winning the state indoor 1600-meter championship. 

Jon began running cross-country when he entered seventh grade at Gelinas. He did not show a lot of promise over the course of his first two races, finishing nearly last, but his junior high coach, Claudia Rippe, encouraged him and made running fun and enjoyable.

Jon joined the varsity cross-country team at Ward Melville as a freshman and head cross-country, winter track and spring track coaches Ryan DeLuca and assistant coach Brian Liebowitz took Jon’s running to a whole new level. These two coaches provide training and instruction on every aspect of being a successful runner, including diet, stretching, warming up, cooling down, training, preventing injuries, getting proper rest and most importantly being a good teammate and leader. 

As a freshman Jon won the Suffolk County 800-meter run championship and the next year was the Suffolk County sophomore  2-mile champion. That same year during winter track he ran the fastest 1000 meters in the United States for a sophomore. Over the last five years,coaches DeLuca and Liebowitz runners have been named to multiple all-conference, all-county, all-Long Island and all-state teams in all three running sports. Their knowledge of their sport and dedication to their runners are exceptional.

I don’t know if Jon was either the strongest or fastest runner in his state 1600-meter victory, but I’m fairly certain he was the most experienced runner in the field. Of the 12 runners, Jon ran the best race strategically — by far.   Over the last four years, the Ward Melville coaches have provided Jon and his teammates the opportunity to run over 50 races in major invitationals at some of the fastest indoor tracks on the East Coast located throughout New York and New England.  By comparison, Jon has friends on other teams who’ve told him they rarely leave the Island to race. 

I am so impressed by the Ward Melville cross-country and track programs and the quality of athletes that coaches DeLuca and Liebowitz have consistently produced  — especially given how physically challenging the sport is. A few years ago one of Jon’s teammate’s sisters remarked, “You know what you do for a sport, other sports do as a punishment.” Funny and true.

David Seyfert

Stony Brook

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL 

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

 

by -
0 1212
File photo by Raymond Janis

We need the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act

Toxic microplastics have invaded the Long Island Sound, harming wildlife and making their way into human bodies, too. Unfortunately, you can bet on this problem to get worse, because plastic production is projected to double nationwide in the next 20 years.

Plastic is polluting our lakes and oceans, filling our landfills, spewing toxins from garbage-burning incinerators and making us sick. On top of all that, it costs taxpayers millions to deal with all the waste that plastic pollution creates. We need to control this monster. Thankfully, New York is on its way to doing just that. 

Long Island’s state legislators can do their part by helping pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act: a bill that’s already backed by two thirds of New York voters. It will reduce plastic packaging by 30% over the next 12 years, require at least 75% of remaining packaging to be reused or recycled by 2052, outlaw 17 harmful chemicals and materials used in plastic packaging and require large companies to pay fees on packaging, thus reducing local taxpayers’ burden.

Plastic pollution is out of control, but we can live with safer packaging. Our health depends on it.

Judith Enck

President of Beyond Plastics and former EPA Regional Administrator

The reality of renewable energy on Long Island

In his letter [Feb. 27] about the transition from our present fossil-fuel- based electrical economy to one based on renewable energy, George Altemose calculates what he believes the necessary area that must be covered by solar panels in order to supply Long Island’s energy, including charging large batteries to carry us through several overcast days of low solar generation.

If the number of square miles of solar panels Altemose calculates appear daunting, it’s because he overlooks several important factors in our plan to end our use of fossil fuels on Long Island — the same fossil fuels that are producing the climate change that is now so obviously here.

First, it is planned that the largest source (49%) of our renewable energy needs will come from offshore wind turbines that will generate energy even after the sun goes down and solar panels stop producing; solar generation will be much less than that.

Second, the Long Island Solar Roadmap, released just before the COVID-19 outbreak after several years of research by the Nature Conservancy and the Defenders of Wildlife, indicates that 5,000 MW of solar generation — a number equal to Altemose’s worst-case scenario — could be installed on just one quarter of Long Island’s “low-impact” sites consisting of large flat roofs, carports, industrial land, brownfields, etc., without impacting any residential or wooded areas. But Long Island won’t need such a massive installation because we’ll have plenty of wind energy.

Finally, while we are a physical island, we are not an electrical island. The LIPA grid is currently connected to the mainland by five high voltage underwater cables that are used to import energy from New Jersey, Connecticut and Westchester when that is needed here. In addition, the Propel New York project will add two new cables linking us to the Bronx and Westchester. These would normally be used to export offshore wind energy that is landed here to locations in the New York City metro area and upstate, but they could equally be used to import energy from mainland sources if that were needed here.

All these carefully researched plans assume a rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles (these will be charged mostly at night, when electrical demand is lower than in the day), and the replacement of air conditioners and furnaces with efficient heat pumps that will reduce summer peak loads while increasing the lower demand we now have in the winter.

A massive transition to renewables is happening here and in the rest of the world; many major countries are well ahead of the United States because the United States is held back by those who would deny climate change in order to advance their own financial or political interests.

Peter Gollon 

Former LIPA trustee, Energy chair, Long Island Sierra Club Huntington

The EPA should be protected

A letter by Jim Soviero appeared in this newspaper on April 3 [EPA and media need accountability]  filled with innuendos and deceptive claims about the Environmental Protection Agency.  He calls for “accountability” for money already legally disbursed by the EPA as per the Biden legislation passed by Congress and signed into law, to fund beneficial projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. 

He’s echoing Lee Zeldin, our former Long Island congressman and now head of the Donald )Trump (R) EPA.  While in Congress Zeldin had a long record of opposing measures to safeguard air and water quality, instead serving the interests of the oil and gas industry, in spite of the fact that Long Island has no oil and gas industry.  If Zeldin really wanted “accountability,” why didn’t he protest when Trump fired the EPA Inspector General, whose one and only job is to hold the EPA accountable for its expenditures?  This IG, Sean O’Donnell, was appointed by none other than Trump himself back in 2020.  Could it be that Zeldin really wants not “accountability” but a more pliable IG to rubber-stamp the Zeldin-Trump agenda of climate denialism and environmental havoc?

Zeldin describes the mission of the EPA as “lower[ing] the cost of buying a car, heating a home, and running a business.”  No – the EPA is not the Commerce Department. The EPA’s mission, embedded in its name, is to protect the environment. I remember when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted with oil slicks it caught on fire –  many times.  When Los Angeles was covered by a thick poisonous smog on a daily basis.  All before the EPA.  The EPA’s mission is to protect us from sickness and premature death from damaged lungs, heart disease, asthma and other consequences of the unchecked release of toxins into our air and water.  And it’s also about energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that threaten us, our children and grandchildren.

In spite of the letter writer’s innuendos, the rightful recipients of the funding Zeldin is trying to snatch back are reputable and longstanding organizations run by qualified professionals with years of experience in engineering, finance and energy efficiency.  The funds are being used for such things as increasing the affordability of modern, efficient heat pumps to replace inefficient gas or oil heating.  And the organization Power Forward Communities, so sneered at by the letter writer, is a coalition of some of the most trusted nonprofits in the nation, including Habitat for Humanity International and United Way Worldwide.

David Friedman

St. James

Support our libraries

Please support our libraries in your publication! Interviews with librarians and patrons, and analyses of how our libraries support our communities. There are books, yes, but there is so much more. Our libraries are threatened, and we need to save them. They build community, support learning and critical thinking, offer classes and access to, e.g., internet to those who need it. And best of all, they’re a place you can go to get a lot without paying for anything.

Bente Videbaek

Port Jefferson

by -
0 756
File photo by Raymond Janis

First Amendment rights cannot be stopped

Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) believes that constituents can be controlled and silenced by offering candy as if they were 5 year olds. It’s insulting and degrading that grown adults who speak out against injustices and understand how to use their First Amendment rights to free speech are being silenced. 

No, Steve, a Life Saver isn’t going to make me stop speaking out against the draconian rules that [Suffolk] County passes that harm the public’s general welfare by turning the county police department against the Latino population. The presiding officer infringed and trampled on my First Amendment rights because he didn’t like what I said. 

Let’s face it, the appearance of senior women speaking at public meetings exercising a constitutional protection of free speech surrounded by fully armed sheriff’s officers is bad public relations for the legislative body in a democracy. 

Lisa Sevimli, Patchogue 

We do not need another freight station

I wholeheartedly agree with Frank Konop [Smithtown freight yard is a threat to our community,  [TBR News Media, Jan. 23] that the proposed Townline Rail Terminal will do more harm than good to residents of Smithtown township.  However, his attempt to link it to the wildfires in southern California is way off base.

This has nothing to do with “social justice policies.”  Regarding the California fires, it’s false that they were related in any way to redirecting reservoir water to save fish.  State reservoirs storing water for southern California are at or near record highs.

The elephant in the room is global warming.  Although it’s impossible to narrowly tie it directly to a particular disaster, it’s foolish to deny its role in the increasing prevalence of wildfires, droughts, floods and freak weather.  In March 2024 the Smokehouse Creek fire burned over one million acres in the Texas Panhandle, compared with more than 40,000 acres burned in California thru January 2025.  In October 2024 in Valencia, Spain, 232 people were killed by a year’s worth of rain falling in a few hours.  Right here in Smithtown we were hit by a “rain bomb” last August that destroyed Stony Brook Pond and Stump Pond and flooded town hall.  The Main Branch of Smithtown Library is still closed.

Getting back to the TRT, there are lots of questions.  This facility will be used not only to ship incinerator ash as well as construction and demolition debris off Long Island, but also to transport construction materials, vehicles and other undefined goods and commodities onto Long Island.  What limitations are there?  Will propane, heating oil or hazardous materials be among these commodities?  We don’t know.  What need is there for two transfer buildings, track to accommodate 161 freight cars and a fleet of 50 trucks if this facility will run only one 27-car train in and out per day as its sponsor claims?  Will the tracks become a magnet for illegal dumping, attracting rats and mosquitos?  TRT will undoubtedly have impacts beyond wrecking the Kings Park residential community it’s adjacent to, including the pollution emitted by the 1970s era diesel locomotives pulling all those freight cars. 

The culprit behind this misbegotten proposal is not “social justice policies” or the “Green New Deal,” but our own Smithtown Town Board, which unanimously railroaded it through (pun intended) every step of the way.  It’s now proposing to change town zoning code to add a new use called “rail freight terminal” to districts zoned Light Industrial, of which there are many, including Flowerfield, around town.  Flowerfield was once a Long Island Rail Road station with its own siding track. Could this rezoning affect the disposition of Flowerfield?  The Smithtown Town Board is supposed to protect the interests of Smithtown residents.  But apparently, they’re so sure of being reelected due to their party affiliation that they presume it’s safe to ignore overwhelming opposition to TRT from the community.  And who’s to say they’re wrong?

David Friedman, St. James

Presidency of Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny and Dr. Jack Marburger

As the former president of the Three Village/Stony Brook Soccer Club from 1990 to 2002 and 2010 to 2017, I read with great interest your article on the presidency of Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny and her impact upon the Three Village community. While Dr. Kenny’s support for the local community and especially our local soccer club was second to none, I do not want the article to give the impression, as I think it does, that her predecessor, Dr. Jack Marburger, was not interested in the local community and was only interested in the science aspect of the university. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially as it related to the development of the soccer complex next to the P lot at [Stony Brook] University.

Prior to our request to be able to develop the unused land for a variety of soccer fields, our local soccer club played all of their games at our local schools, forcing our children and families to go from one site to another, or be forced to miss their games. Upon our request to Dr. Marburger to be able to develop the fields, he played a major role in giving us permission to develop the property and ensuring our success even in the face of considerable opposition from the local neighbors and others. Knowing that such a complex would be of great benefit to the larger community, Dr. Marburger made sure that we received a permit from his office and in fact only charged the soccer club $1 a year for the use of the property. I think it is fair to say that without his support and understanding of what such a use would mean to the thousands of children and families in our community there would have been no soccer fields for our community to use on the university campus.

Upon her acceptance of her position, Dr. Kenny continued her support for the decision of Dr. Marburger with regard to the soccer fields, allowing the permit to continue for $1 a year and allowing the soccer club to build a multi-use building which contained both “real bathrooms” for our families as well as a concession stand. In addition she allowed for the soccer club to hold various outdoor and indoor tournaments on the campus, at no charge, including the major tournament on Long Island at that time, the Long Island Junior Soccer League championships. She was a frequent visitor to the fields on Sundays when over two thousand of our children played during the day. She made sure her staff was always supportive of our efforts to improve the complex and supported our efforts to gain a state grant which we did with the support of former State Senator Jim Lack and former State Assemblyman Steve Englebright.

Both Dr. Marburger and Dr. Kenny understood that Stony Brook University is more than just buildings and research. It is a community asset of the Three Villages and as such must be engaged with the local community in more ways that just selling tickets to various events. Unfortunately, neither of their two successors understood how a state university and a larger community must be engaged with each other, to the point where the soccer complex was taken over by the recreation department and charged the local soccer club over $100,000 each year for the ability of our local children to play soccer on land which had been developed by the local soccer club. Unfortunately they looked at the soccer fields solely as a money maker and not as a community benefit, to the point where they now charge for almost everything, significantly reduced the amount of time allotted for games and practices and have closed the building which was built for the benefit of our families.

While one may think that this is all history, it is not, especially as Stony Brook University engages once again in the selection of a new president. The selection committee and the SUNY Board of Trustees must understand that Stony Brook University must be part of the community, as promoted by both Dr. Kenny and Dr. Marburger, and not merely located in our community as made clear by their successors who gratefully have gone on to other places far from here. One would hope that the new president will understand and promote a concept of togetherness and mutual commitment to each other and not just what is good for the university. We hope that the history of what Dr. Kenny and Dr. Marburger accomplished will be the type of history which the new president will provide and not the type of history which their successors failed to provide. Our community is a better place to live when the university understands that it is part of the community and not just located here.

Mitchell H. Pally, Former President

Three Village Soccer Club

1992-2002; 2010-2017

by -
0 464
File photo by Raymond Janis

Disingenuous projection

Jim Soviero’s letter “Local Dems put politics first” (TBR News Media, Aug. 15), accusing Democratic politicians of avoiding “substantive talk of policy,” is a classic example of disingenuous projection.

Projection because it is Republicans who are avoiding discussion of their policy plans, from a national abortion ban to mass deportations. The Republican Party didn’t even bother to draft a new platform in 2020, instead officially endorsing whatever then-President Donald Trump [R] advocated on any given day.

The current Republican platform is a vague, self-contradictory manifesto — long on rhetoric but very short on specific policy prescriptions. And Republican politicians can’t distance themselves

quickly enough from Project 2025, the very specific federal overhaul playbook that will be implemented if Trump wins. Local U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota [R-NY1] claims to oppose a federal abortion ban, while having voted for multiple federal anti-abortion laws.

All this is unsurprising, given that Republican policy positions are incredibly unpopular. Significant majorities of Americans support reproductive rights, worker and union protections, stricter gun laws, marriage equality and higher taxes on corporations and the very wealthy. All are signature Democratic positions.

The Democratic Party, like all other mainstream political parties around the world, has a detailed written platform with numerous specific policy positions. For example, it supports a $15 per hour federal minimum wage, a 25% billionaire minimum tax rate and expanded Medicare drug negotiation authority, which has already resulted in a $35 per month cap on insulin and asthma inhalers. Mr. Soviero can consult that platform whenever he wants to understand what Democrats, both local and national, propose.

Most importantly, his accusation is disingenuous because this election is clearly not about specific policies. It is about fundamental questions of what government is for and what you think “The United States” should mean. Do you want a white, male, straight, single-party, Christian nationalist state run by a personality cult for the benefit of billionaires? Or do you want a secular, multiethnic, pluralist democracy under the rule of law?

There’s little point in debating detailed policies until we resolve that.

John Hover

East Setauket

Stony Brook’s flood fallout

The massive flooding and damage to Stony Brook village following the torrential rainfall of Aug. 18-19 is already well documented [“Storm ravages the North Shore,” TBR News Media, Aug. 22]. Now comes the process of rebuilding the dam and the washed-out segment of Harbor Road. Just hours after the catastrophe, officials from numerous were predicting “years” of reconstruction. The EPA, Army Corps of Engineers and a host of other agencies (i.e., red-tape), weighed in on the complexities of remediating the situation. Few could have predicted the 9-plus inches of rainfall within just a few hours, but after inspecting the wreckage at Harbor Road, it appears to have been just a matter of time.

Like the rickety Sheep Pasture Road bridge over the LIRR tracks in Port Jefferson, the dam at Stony Brook is a 19th-century design, and the opportunity for an updated/robust structure to replace the wreckage is now. 

After surveying the scene on Aug. 21, it appears the destroyed section of Harbor Road sat atop an “earthen” dam, wooden pilings and an ancient sluice-gate system to manage the flow of water. Yes, there will be time needed for design and engineering plans, and hopefully the new structure will incorporate reinforced concrete and steel, rather than dirt. That said, we’re not talking Baltimore Harbor Bridge here but only perhaps 100 feet of roadway and its underpinnings. 

The environmental crisis is here and now, not in the rebuild process. Maximum six to seven months to rebuild the structure and full restoration of the lake, a bit longer. Oh wait, I forgot something: this is New York State I’m talking about. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] stopped by the scene the other day … but Gov. Kathy Hochul [D]: “Hello, hello, where are you?”

Michael Meltzer

Old Field

Editor’s note: Gov. Hochul met with state and local elected officials Aug. 27 to tour the Mill Pond as well as Stony Brook University to assess storm damage.

Misguided optimism: A reality check on Smithtown’s storm damage

Supervisor Ed Wehrheim’s [R] statement that Smithtown was “fortunate” compared to surrounding areas, as reported in the news item “Storm ravages the North Shore” [TBR News Media, Aug. 22],” is highly misleading to say the least. Smithtown was inundated by the same 9 inches of rain as surrounding towns, and suffered similar damage.

Most notable were the devastation at Stump Pond — the centerpiece of Blydenburgh Park — and extensive damage to the main building of Smithtown Library.

The concrete dam at the west end of Stump Pond, long home to a variety of wildlife, was wrecked by the torrential downpour, causing the pond to empty out, much like what happened to Stony Brook Mill Pond. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water came rushing out, flowing toward the Nissequogue River, flooding Paul T. Given Town Park, severely damaging nearby homes and flooding streets. All that’s left now is a pit of mud and tree stumps that haven’t seen the light of day for 226 years, since the pond was first formed by clearing forest and building a dam. 

As for the library’s main Smithtown building, the entire basement floor was flooded from floor to ceiling. The Long Island History Room located there was badly damaged, particularly its priceless and irreplaceable collection of original materials dating as far back as the 1600s, including the original patent of Richard Smith. It was the most significant collection of historical archives on all of Long Island. In addition over 20,000 audiovisual materials were destroyed, as well as books, computers, wiring, shelving and other hardware. Now would be a good time to donate to the library or join the Friends of the Smithtown Library.

This is to say nothing of the many homes that suffered devastating damage and the streets that were flooded, including Main Street, and the 4 feet of water that flooded Smithtown Town Hall.

Instead of issuing a self-congratulatory statement after the storm, dubiously claiming that due to “proactive measures” and “recent upgrades” Smithtown was better off than neighboring towns, it would have been far better had town Supervisor Wehrheim acknowledged that, like them, it suffered painful and devastating losses. Unlike Supervisor Wehrheim, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine [R] gets it. He termed the losses “catastrophic.” “I don’t think we’re going to have to wait another hundred years for another storm like this,” he said. “It tells you the impact that climate change is having on our weather.”

David Friedman

St. James

by -
0 603
File photo by Raymond Janis

Why ‘divisive’ hits the mark

Art Billadello objects to the word “divisive” headlining a TBR news article [Aug. 1] about the gigantic “In Trump We Trust” sign put up on a building at the main intersection of Port Jefferson, right across from the ferry terminal. He ignores the obvious: Of course a sign like that is divisive.

This was not a campaign sign. It was put up in January 2020, immediately before President Joe Biden’s [D] inauguration and shortly after the attack on the U.S Capitol sparked by the lie that former President Donald Trump [R] hadn’t lost the election. Some 20 feet long and some 3 feet high, it was displayed on the building’s second story balcony. It took our national motto, “In God We Trust,” and swapped out “God” for “Trump.” How is that not divisive?

When I moved to this area over 35 years ago there were no political signs outside of election season, let alone a gigantic sign erected in the middle of town three months after the election, implicitly claiming God-like status for the losing candidate. All that changed after 2016. After that election was over and Trump won, his flags and banners didn’t come down. They remained prominently displayed throughout his entire term. Then, when Trump lost in 2020, the Trump flags and banners still didn’t come down after the election. Why is that? What is the purpose of this other than to provoke and inflame division within our community? It’s not exactly the kind of thing expected of a good neighbor. It expresses the opposite of what unites us.

As for the letter writer’s attempt to draw a false equivalence between Trump and Biden as equally divisive, it’s just more gaslighting. The Biden administration passed the first major infrastructure bill in decades with bipartisan support, in spite of opposition from the extreme left and the extreme right. Trump, on the other hand has trafficked in race-baiting and ethnic stereotypes, hurled childish and vitriolic insults at his political opponents, and refused to disavow the most extreme and violent of his supporters, even to the extent of refusing to condemn their threats to hang his own vice president for performing his constitutional duty.

David Friedman

St. James

Local Dems put politics first

During interviews with TBR, several local Democrats could barely hide their excitement over the change at the tippy-top of their party’s ticket [“Local Democrats see new political energy and interest after Biden withdraws,” TBR News Media, July 25].

John Avlon said, “People are excited to be a part of something bigger than themselves.” Dems are becoming “fired up” about their political prospects. 

Steve Englebright was especially upbeat: “Everybody who I’ve talked to is energized. … I see the ascension of a Democratic candidate … who is a woman of color, a woman of substance, in terms of her accomplishments, as validating the idea that women are equally ready” to serve in any political office.

Hitchhiking on that idea, Rebecca Kassay added, “I’m energized and inspired to be running with our first potential female president.”

Suffolk County Democratic Committee campaign manager Keith Davies saw all this as a “great opportunity for local candidates to not have to worry about exciting Democrats.” Davies also added those running won’t have to spend much time fielding questions about President Joe Biden’s “cognitive abilities.”

All that uncontested “happy talk” was weeks ago. Missing then and, as of this writing, missing now, is any substantive talk of policy from the two candidates atop their ticket.

Both the vice president, Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Tim Walz, currently remain basically mute regarding specifics on how they’d manage inflation, illegal immigration, two wars started on their party’s watch, growing antisemitism especially on college campuses, fracking, police funding or restarting ICE “from scratch.”

The aforementioned, a partial list of important issues, does not include Harris’ 2019 call for ending private health insurance.

Campaign staffers trying to “walk back,” some would say flip flop, on her more extreme and unpopular positions are a poor substitute for answering probing questions in her own voice.

But, perhaps the most troubling part of the interview was Davies’ apparent relief that Biden’s “cognitive abilities” may no longer be a pesky political liability. The implication, in this time of multiple global existential crises, is that the fitness of POTUS is off the table. This, despite the fact that Biden’s significant cognitive disabilities remained purposely hidden, until after his awful debate. How then, without careful, unbiased scrutiny, could we know if the current president is fit to run our nation for the next six months?

It’s that kind of deliberate media incuriosity that has cost them credibility and gotten us to the point where unchallenged partisans can put their politics first, and celebrate muted candidates, with little fear of blowback.

Jim Soviero

East Setauket

The community we love

Every Saturday, my husband Bill and I head for the Rolling Pin Bakery at the Three Village Plaza in East Setauket to load up with goodies. This Saturday, when we entered the store, the manager called us over and surprisingly gave us an envelope with a $20 bill in it. 

It was found on the floor last week. They looked at the security video and lo and behold … it was us!

The point of all this is that it is really satisfying to know that we live in a community with such honest and caring people.

Thank you to the staff at the Rolling Pin Bakery. You made our day as uplifting as those raisin scones.

Patricia Martin

Stony Brook

Errors in Joseph ‘JOJO’ LaRosa Foundation article

I want to bring your attention to two errors in the recent article that was published about the Joseph “JOJO” LaRosa Foundation golf outing on Monday, July 29 [“Celebrating the life of JoJo LaRosa,” The Village Times Herald, Aug. 1].

The first being at the beginning of the article where you refer to our foundation in parentheses as “Forever JoJo Strong.” This is not accurate. JoJo’s father — and our dad — has a separate foundation with that name. JoJo and I’s parents are divorced and therefore made two separate foundations. 

The second error that needs to be corrected is when you refer to “JoJo’s dad” based on a comment by my mom Gina. In the interview she said, “my husband” when referring to the person JoJo used to play with at St. George’s Golf and Country Club and that is because her husband is JoJo’s stepdad, not his father. As I mentioned above, JoJo’s father is not married to my mom and has a separate foundation from JJLF.

I do apologize for the confusion, however, these are very important errors that need to be retracted or revised.

Emily LaRosa, Vice President

Joseph “JOJO” LaRosa Foundation

Editor’s note: We regret these errors and thank Emily LaRosa for bringing them to our attention.

by -
0 708
File photo by Raymond Janis

A new Easter tradition

Thank you, Arts & Lifestyles Editor Heidi Sutton, for sharing the wonderful recipe for Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole (TBR News Media, “Let’s Eat,” Feb. 22). Every year for decades we have had ham, turkey or lamb for Easter. This year we decided to try something new. The Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole was the centerpiece of our first Easter brunch and it was fabulous. The recipe was easy to follow and the flavor was amazing. We have a new tradition!

 Joan Dickinson

Lake Grove

Clarifying on climate, renewables and electric vehicles

In a letter appearing in the March 28 editions of TBR News Media, Mark Sertoff makes a number of highly dubious assertions.

To begin with he claims “there is no climate crisis” and that “thousands of scientists around the world concur.” Sounds impressive, but really it isn’t. There are well over 8 million scientists worldwide. In addition, scientists are not equal climate experts. What a geologist, astronomer or nuclear physicist thinks about global warming has little more weight than what you or I think. What does matter is what actively publishing climate scientists think. The answer is that close to 100 percent agree that human-caused global warming is occurring.

He claims Germany is backing off renewables because of “massive problems in reliability and cost.” This is simply untrue. On Jan. 3, Reuters reported that Germany’s power grid reached 55% renewable power last year, a rise of 6.6%. It’s aiming for 80% by 2030.

He’s worried about birds killed by wind turbines, as well as whales. I share his concern, but the fact is that by far the biggest human-related cause of bird mortality is collisions with buildings (Flaco the Owl being a recent sad example). As far as whales, entanglements in fishing gear and strikes by large ships are the leading human-related causes of whale deaths. And there’s no observational evidence linking whale deaths to offshore wind turbines, either in construction or operation. 

Getting to the subject of electric buses he plays on fear. The fear of getting stuck in cold weather. The fear of explosions. Kings Park school district is currently purchasing propane-fueled buses. Propane can explode if not handled properly. As for diesel, studies have linked breathing diesel fumes to harmful effects on student respiratory and brain health, also decreased performance at school. And the range of electric school buses is more than adequate for our suburban Long Island districts, even in the dead of winter.

As far as the depreciation of electric vs. standard vehicles, the claim that “you can’t give away a used EV” is misleading, to say the least. The reason for higher depreciation is currently EVs cost more than standard vehicles to begin with. That’s likely to change in the near future. He omits to mention that electric school buses are significantly cheaper to operate.

It’s perfectly valid to disagree on the pace of transforming school bus fleets to electric. What’s not valid is climate change denialism and spreading misinformation about renewables.

David Friedman

St. James

The U.S. government needs to better protect its citizens

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently finalized the Comprehensive Asbestos Reporting Rule, and we must ask the question: Why has it taken so long? We know there are hundreds of toxic chemicals that lead to disease in this country, yet why is the U.S. one of the last to protect its own citizens? 

Asbestos has been a known carcinogen for decades, causing over 40,000 deaths in the U.S. every year, and now our government is finally banning it. In 2016, during the Obama administration, the federal government passed legislation to update the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. However, why did it take 40 years to update a bill on toxic substances? 

Twenty-two years ago, after my grandmother died from breast cancer, I founded the Community Health and Environment Coalition to address the high rate of cancer in the area. I wanted to know why it was happening and how to prevent it. Community members, elected officials and health professionals challenged the NYS Department of Health to do more. The Health Department did this by launching an investigation that left us with more questions than answers. During the investigation, most residents expressed concerns about our environment, particularly our water. Today we have identified toxic chemicals in our water including PFAS “forever chemicals” and 1,4-dioxane. 

Decades of illegal dumping, military and industrial use of toxic chemicals dumped in the ground and now-banned pesticides have contributed to our long toxic chemical legacy. We are finally seeing some progress after years of grassroots environmental advocacy and government policy proactively holding those responsible, but more must be done. 

As the chemical industry continues to exert power over the government, we must understand that cheap utilitarian toxic chemicals may seem helpful at first, but the long-term health effects may negate any cost savings and may put our lives at risk.

It’s been over 20 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed thousands of people. Since then, many first responders have suffered delayed symptoms and continue to lose their lives due to exposure to toxic chemicals. Now that we better understand the long-term health effects of toxic exposure, we must hold those responsible and insist that they do more to protect lives.

Sarah Anker 

Sarah Anker (D) is a former Suffolk County legislator and is running for New York State Senate in District 1.

Northville is potentially a local treasure

Monday evening, March 25, I attended a gathering. 

It was not intended to be a gathering. It was intended to be a hearing, and the hearing was about Northville Industries proposal to put either warehouses (plan A) or apartments (plan B) on its Belle Mead Road property. 

Only local residents were notified of this “hearing” but apparently these residents felt strongly enough to enlist friends and relatives from Northern Brookhaven to attend. The “hearing” was so well attended that it had to be postponed and relocated.

Let me state that both options are terrible choices. Plan A comes with immense truck traffic, while plan B comes with dense-pack zoning and IDA funding. 

What is IDA funding you might ask? That’s when the town gives away taxpayer money to subsidize private development. This means incredibly low taxes for the developer for up to 15 years and then a gradual increase thereafter. All the services that you and I receive for our taxes will be rendered, but at your and my expense. 

But here’s the thing. The Northville property is potentially a local treasure — this is not hyperbole. The future of transportation, including railroad, and electrical generation is with hydrogen.

We cannot go green enough without it. Foreign countries are building hydrogen trains and are putting them on the rails. Hydrogen is a solution to our truly poor-quality railroad transportation. The European market is investing $5 billion in a Swedish steel plant. The electricity for the plant will come from hydrogen.

But where do you store the hydrogen?

Well, the pipeline rights-of-way are already in place for Northville. This can be done safely and it can be an enormous boon to our Brookhaven Town, Suffolk County and even New York State economies (Alstom, a subsidiary of GE, manufactures hydrogen trains in Plattsburgh). The alternative is that we purchase trains in America from foreign countries.

The vacant and underused parts of the Northville property must be protected for future use to meet New York’s climate standards.

Please come to the new hearing and tell your representatives that both plan A and plan B are unacceptable. 

Bruce Miller

Port Jefferson

Embracing 3V schools reconfiguration

The Three Village Central School District has finally made the decision to move into the 21st century and reconfigure our schools to a middle school model. This is a move that is decades overdue and was overwhelmingly supported by students, staff and the community at large.

An Opinion piece published in the March 14 edition [“Preserving what works in 3V school district”] is a direct contradiction to all that this long-awaited, and very necessary, reconfiguration represents. Anthony Dattero, a district guidance counselor and author of this piece, has stated his dissent regarding this move citing the “history” and “uniqueness” of the district. To that I must say that there is a stark difference between one of a kind and one left behind. 

As a dual certified teacher, licensed social worker and former guidance counselor, I simply cannot fathom why the benefits of this monumental change are not obvious to everyone who is committed to the growth and success of all of our students. And as a Ward Melville alumni and parent of a Three Village student I am thrilled for the students that will bask in the new opportunities that the reconfiguration will offer.  

Sixth graders will now have access to the study of a foreign language as well as an array of academics that peers in every other district in New York — except for one —- have. Ninth graders will finally, finally be housed in a high school as high schoolers. No longer will they be subjected to bus rides for upper-level courses and JV athletics. 

Gone will be the limited elective choices in art, music, technology, etc., as well as sacrificing these opportunities due to scheduling conflicts. This reconfiguration is akin to hitting the refresh button on a page long left with the cursor blinking.  

In Dattero’s Opinion piece and his many public comments at Board of Education meetings, he has claimed that the district did not do its due diligence and that the 100-or-so people that he has spoken to are now questioning the changes that are indeed coming. He doesn’t understand why the district is in such a hurry to reconfigure something that “isn’t broken.”

I counter his position with my own experiences speaking to those in Three Village and several other districts. Fellow 3V members are excited for their children’s new opportunities and cannot believe it has taken so long. Those outside of our community are stunned that our antiquated system still exists as no other ninth graders on Long Island are considered “junior high school” students. If we are hurrying this through, then it’s the quickest two-decade race I have ever observed at a sloth-like pace.

I am not always a fan of the decisions in this district, just ask Superintendent Kevin Scanlon, but my family has been a part of Three Village my whole life. My mother spent nearly three decades teaching at Ward Melville, my sister and I are graduates, and my daughter will be too. I have seen this place ebb and flow through good and bad, and we have been calling for this change for way too long. The community has spoken, and the time has finally arrived. Middle school here we come!

Stefanie Werner

East Setauket

Setbacks and uncertainty for Port Jeff LIRR electrification

There is even more bad news for those who support the $3.5 billion MTA Port Jefferson Branch Long Island Rail Road electrification project. 

It is clear that the MTA for decades has never been serious about supporting this project. The project was not included in the March 11 announcement from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg [D] concerning President Joe Biden’s [D] FY25 budget request under the Annual Report on Funding Recommendations Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Investment Grants New Starts Core Capacity Program and Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program for the Federal Transit Administration. This would have been the federal funding source to finance these projects.  

To date, neither MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, NYC Transit President Richard Davey, New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Eric Adams, have never been on board for electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch line. You will know within nine months if the MTA is serious about advancing this project. Funding would have to be included in the next MTA $51 billion or more 2025-2029 Five Year Capital Plan. It has to be adopted by Jan. 1, 2025.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

 

by -
0 699
Photo by Raymond Janis

Rallying against unjust state aid cuts

As many community members have already heard, Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] has proposed drastic cuts in state aid to many school districts across Long Island. Based on the governor’s proposed state aid allocations, Port Jefferson School District stands to face a total 28% cut to our state aid package, which amounts to almost $1.2 million. This is one of the largest percentage cuts for any school district on Long Island.

The governor’s proposed reductions in state aid are very concerning to us. The reduction would put a significant strain on our district. The excellence of our faculty, combined with the careful management of the district budget, has allowed us to continually deliver a high-quality education to our students. However, this proposed cut in state aid would place a significant burden on our staff and community to maintain that level of educational excellence. The governor’s proposal is patently unfair and places our district in an untenable position. It is a gross injustice to the students and taxpayers in our district and we are determined to fight back. We are calling on our state legislators to advocate and work with the governor’s office to restore our Foundation Aid to its full level.

We are asking that the community join us in this advocacy. Our website provides template letters for residents to sign and forward to the governor and our state representatives. Together, we can send a powerful message to Gov. Hochul and our local elected officials to ensure adequate and equitable funding. The Port Jefferson School District relies on these funds to support our students and maintain the integrity of our educational system.

Jessica Schmettan

Superintendent of Schools

Port Jefferson School District

Upholding the promise of public education

Every child,  regardless of their ZIP code, deserves a high quality public education. Our public schools are an investment that benefits our communities and families. It is crucial that our elected leaders do not play politics with the well-being and future of our children.

It is unfortunate to see elected officials of both parties playing politics with public education funding. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s [D] “hold harmless” budget proposal is problematic for many school districts, as it falls short of the expected aid for the coming fiscal year. The state Legislature must correct this in their one house budgets and negotiations with the executive branch in determining the upcoming fiscal year budget.

However, it must be pointed out that in 2023, every Suffolk County Republican in the New York State Legislature voted against education funding. This was a year where there was record funding for public education, after a decades long fight for full Foundation Aid. To watch these same elected officials weaponize the current moment for political gain reeks of hypocrisy. The same is true at the federal level, where U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota [R-NY1] just voted against expanding the child tax credit that would lift half a million of America’s children out of poverty, a bill that passed the House with broad bipartisan support.

We need leaders who will prioritize caring for our youngest New Yorkers, not elected officials who use them as political pawns. New York is a wealthy state, and we do not need to cut funding for education or any human service or public good. We have the resources to provide these services, but, unfortunately, we don’t have enough elected officials who place the well-being of our children over their own political grandstanding. 

The New York State Legislature must restore these cuts in their one house budgets. And Suffolk County’s Republican elected officials should put the money where their mouths are, and vote for fully funding public education this year. Their votes are a reflection of our region’s values, and political grandstanding is inadequate at this moment for our communities. We, the voters, will be watching.

                                                  Shoshana Hershkowitz, South Setauket; Ian Farber, Setauket; Christine Latham, Stony Brook; Anne Chimelis, Setauket; Jeanne Brunson, South Setauket

A critical analysis of immigration rhetoric

Two letter writers use your Cold Spring Harbor Lab article [Jan. 11] as the slim local hook to propagate the fearmongering on would-be Latin American immigrants that former President Donald Trump [R] thinks he can ride into the White House: Paul Mannix (“The illegal immigrant issue,” Jan. 25) and George Altemose (Jan. 18, who also lavishes praise on a Nazi war criminal). 

Mannix claims you are “hurting your credibility” by decrying toxic talk on immigrants when the issue is “illegal immigration,” disregarding Altemose’s inflammatory talk of “invasion” of our southern border by hordes of “illegal aliens”, not to mention their hero Trump’s “they’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists” and “poisoning the blood” of America.

Immigrants have always come here because U.S. employers were looking for workers. Pew Research Center tells us that since 2005 about 10 million unauthorized immigrants — their term — live in the U.S. and about 8 million work for willing employers. 

What makes these mostly brown immigrants “illegal,” whereas the ancestors of the white residents of Long Island were “legal”? Until 1808, southern landowners found their agricultural labor force in “legally” imported, kidnapped and enslaved Black Africans. Until 1882 immigration into the U.S. was totally unrestricted. Chinese came in great numbers to help build the transcontinental railroads and when they were no longer needed, the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) made them illegal. Until 1924, white Europeans entered simply by showing up with no signs of infectious disease. They needed no documents of any kind, neither a passport nor visas, and in their millions headed for the mills, mines, railroads or sweatshops whose owners were hungry for workers. In 1924 a xenophobic immigration law was passed that limited all but immigration from northern Europe to a trickle, since modified for some political categories such as anti-Castro Cubans and Nazis with useful talents. Employers still welcomed “illegal” workers for jobs citizens wouldn’t take, as we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic: farmworkers, meat and poultry processors, health and service workers of all kinds.

The U.S. has made life difficult for Latin Americans for 200 years. Today, refugees are fleeing gangs and chaos, even death squads. Many are legal asylum seekers, whom Trump refused to recognize. 

Mannix, lastly, slanders diversity, equity and inclusion — practices that rather minimally try to mitigate centuries of legal and de facto discrimination — as “racist and sexist,” a classic Trumpist projection of placing their own failings onto their opponents.

Arnold Wishnia

Setauket

Unmasking the myth

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

George Altemose insists Wernher von Braun was a “great American” even considering his participation in Nazi crimes [Letters, Feb. 1]. In his eagerness to whitewash von Braun’s career as a Nazi, he distorts a number of facts, and omits others. Von Braun was not “forced” to join the Nazi Party in 1937, nor was he forced to join the SS in 1940. During his career in the SS he was promoted three times by Heinrich Himmler, the organizer of the systematic mass murder of Jews and others deemed by the Nazis unworthy of life.

 Like so many Nazis after the war, von Braun retrospectively downplayed his own participation in the holocaust. But by his own admission he was quite aware that his V-2 rockets were being built by concentration camp slave laborers living in appalling conditions and being routinely worked to death. 

As for his 1944 arrest for having a defeatist attitude, that’s not quite the whole story. He was arrested after having drunkenly — and correctly — remarked that Germany was losing the war. Also because he regularly piloted a government-provided plane he potentially could use to escape to Britain. During his brief detention he was pressured to speed up the development of the V-2 — so much the worse for the slave laborers — and to pledge not to defect. He was released on the direct order of Hitler, who called him “indispensable” for the Nazi war effort. He was a willing participant in, not a victim of, the crimes of the Nazis.

Although von Braun could not have single handedly stopped the V-2 program and its use of slave labor, he could have refused to participate. That’s the key. To state, as Altemose does, that for this he would have been killed is a well-worn fallacy. There were cases of Germans who refused to participate in Nazi atrocities. No one in the Third Reich was executed for mere refusal. This has been thoroughly documented by numerous works such as “Ordinary Men” by Christopher Browning. At worst, if von Braun refused to participate in Nazi crimes, he would have stalled his career. Many were faced with the same choice in Nazi Germany. Not everyone made the same choice as he did.

It really doesn’t matter what rockets von Braun developed for America. He was a man without morals, a willing participant in the Nazi enterprise. To tout him as a “great American” is a travesty and an insult to our country.

David Friedman

St James

Farewell to a sweet tradition

I was very disappointed to learn about the closing of Stony Brook Chocolate. I loved taking my grandchildren there to choose from the large assortment of candies filling an entire wall. The wonderful chocolates and truffles were my go-to holiday gifts, and they were always well received. I will also miss the friendly and helpful salespeople. Stony Brook Chocolate was a terrific asset to our quaint village. So sad to see it go.

Susan Mcbride

Setauket

 

by -
0 769
File photo by Raymond Janis

Fire station relocation in Port Jeff

There has been a lot of discussion about moving the fire station because of flooding. A site often mentioned is the Maryhaven building or site. Several issues arise from these suggestions. 

One is that of distribution and circulation. Fire stations are typically central to the area that they serve to get fair access to all in the fire district. If a fire station were to be built on the east side of a fire district, another would probably have to be built on another side of the fire district, i.e., make two districts or more. Therefore a careful study of circulation routes and population density would precede site selection.

Secondly, fire stations are very expensive. If you look online a small one runs about $6 million and the average seem to be around $15 million. This would presumably be paid for by the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson with a bond and tax increase. 

We are working on a village grant to study stormwater flooding in the village to find a solution to flooding in the village (this preliminary work was presented at Village Hall on April 5 and is available as a village podcast). A most important area is the fire station and its surroundings because it was once the location of Crystal Lake. We believe that a real effort should be put into a solution for this before it is deemed necessary to retreat.

Similar discussions have arisen about moving Village Hall to Maryhaven. Not sure why because it is an important symbol of community and it’s central placement at the harbor seems important to this meaning.

Michael Schwarting

Campani and Schwarting Architects

Port Jefferson

Will Hochul be a transit Santa or Scrooge?

The next opportunity for MTA to commit funding to advance the Port Jefferson Branch electrification would be within 12 months when the 2025-2029 Five Year Capital Plan is adopted (Editorial, “Long Island’s wish list for Gov. Hochul: Port Jeff Branch electrification,” Dec. 14). This will be followed by the 2030-2034, 2035-2039 and 2040-2044 Five Year Capital Plans. Funding needs to be programmed in increments. First, for preliminary design, engineering and the National Environmental Policy Act review. Following NEPA is necessary to preserve Federal Transit Administration funding eligibility.

Next, Hochul must instruct MTA Chairman Janno Lieber to request permission from FTA to enter the Capital Investment Grant New Starts/Core Capacity program. Then comes final design and engineering, property easements, land acquisition and utility relocation. This would be followed by $1.5-$2 billion in local MTA funding to leverage a similar amount in federal funding under a future FTA CIG Full Funding Grant Agreement. These actions would be spread out over several MTA Five Year Capital programs. As each new Five Year Capital program comes and goes without any dedicated project funding, it will delay any hope of seeing Port Jefferson Branch electrification in your lifetime. A completion date of 2040 continues to be a moving target.

You will know in December 2024 if Hochul and Lieber will be Scrooge and leave coal in your transit stocking or be Santa and leave some real cash under your transit tree.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

An issue of education vs. ignorance

In the past few weeks there have been the past few weeks there have been several antisemitic incidents in schools in Smithtown, Commack and Port Jefferson. Like most Jews I am appalled and disgusted by the spike in such incidents, and fearful about what the future holds for our community and our country. Demons we thought were laid to rest after World War II appear to be rising again, zombie-like. In truth antisemitism is a centuries-old scourge. It’s not so easy to eradicate. Even so, we must now redouble our efforts to oppose it. History has taught us where it leads.

Some may dismiss the appearance of a swastika in a school as a crude juvenile prank, in poor taste but essentially harmless. That’s wrong. Regardless if it was placed out of hateful malice, or out of simple ignorance or stupidity, to a Jewish person the message is the same: “You should be eliminated.” Not because of anything you do, say, or believe, but just because of who you are. A Jew. Over 180,000 American servicemen were killed in Europe in World War II fighting Nazism. Does “Never again” mean anything or is it just an empty slogan? As the war against Nazism passes from living memory are we doomed to just forget what it was?

The proliferation of antisemitic graffiti in schools is symptomatic of gross ignorance about the Holocaust among young people. A recent survey found that among Americans aged 18-39 one in 10 believe it never happened. Another 23% thought it was a myth or that the number of Jews murdered was greatly exaggerated and 12% never even heard of the Holocaust. You might think these numbers reflect ignorance elsewhere in the country, but you’d be wrong. One of the most disturbing findings was that 19% of New Yorkers in this age group think it was the Jews who caused the Holocaust. More than in any other state. The next generation is now in our elementary, middle, and high schools. Is this going to get worse or better?

This is not a political issue. It’s an issue of truth vs. lies. It’s an issue of moral clarity vs moral confusion. It’s an issue of critical thinking vs. uncritical acceptance of propaganda spewed forth from social media. And it’s certainly is an issue of education vs. ignorance. Not just the education children receive in school, although that’s real important. But even more important is what children are learning at home, from their parents. Even the best and most intelligently designed lessons children learn at school will be ineffective if children are taught bigotry, lies and hateful stereotypes at home. Words matter. It’s up to every single one of us to teach our children empathy, compassion, kindness and the value of life. Toward everyone.

David Friedman

St James

by -
0 797
File photo by Raymond Janis

Preserving Long Island’s water starts with your vote

A recent article in Newsday described how the tourist industry is booming on Long Island and particularly in Suffolk County.

We have our farms, beaches, vineyards, state and national parks, museums, fishing and other water activities, theaters, music venues and, of course, a diversity of people. What underpins all of these things is the quality of our environment, especially water. Water that we drink, bathe in, cook in, swim, harvest and play in.

If we do not protect this resource, we will become known as the island surrounded by filthy water with contaminated drinking and bathing water that makes residents and visitors alike sick. All of this would not make for good tourism slogans.

If you want a healthy life and healthy economy, then be sure to vote, and vote for the candidates that pledge to protect this life-giving resource. Vote the Democratic line A and protect our beautiful island.

Deirdre Hensen

Miller Place

Democratic policies wrong for Suffolk

Suffolk County went red last year because Democrats running New York State have given us policies local voters found wholly unacceptable.

Incumbents, even long-serving ones, lost races because they didn’t grasp the sea change in priorities for county residents.

It began with a disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s [D] deadly mishandling of the COVID-19 public health emergency. In addition, the real-time results of Dem-endorsed cashless bail hit home when Suffolk suffered 399 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2022, and Officer Michael LaFauci miraculously survived a shooting from an alleged assailant, whose prior arrests should have kept him off the streets.

Proudly proclaiming New York state and its five boroughs “sanctuaries” has been a humanitarian disaster, a security risk and fiscal nightmare. The latter is sure to cost already-overburdened taxpayers a ton of money.

Even hardworking, productive people fleeing NYS in record numbers have not been a wakeup call for Democrats. None of these crises have been critical enough for Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] to call her one-party rule Legislature back to Albany. There remains no serious attempt to reverse their poor decisions regarding our high taxes, growing crime and flood of unvetted migrants.

On the contrary, they have candidates running on platforms pretty similar to the ones costing them elections less than a year ago.

Long-serving, former Assemblyman Steve Englebright [D-Setauket] has voted for cashless bail, remained mum on our sanctuary status and been part of the Dem bloc that got NYS rated as having the highest overall tax burden in the U.S.

As someone who’s had cordial, respectful conversations with Steve, this is not meant to be a personal attack. But, his endorsement by the Working Families Party is a clear indication they believe he remains in step with many of their far-left positions, which puts him out of step with the changing concerns of Suffolk voters.

Jim Soviero

East Setauket

School literature at Three Village school district and America’s legacy

Upon reading the letter about the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” [“Challenging the assigned literature at Three Village school district,” The Village Times Herald, Oct. 19] I was wondering if the letter was written tongue in cheek. Our record of how we have treated Native Americans is absolutely horrendous.

To say, “With a few exceptions, we have been nothing but kind to the so-called Native Americans,” is a gross and inexcusable perversion of American history. Native Americans have been murdered, forced off their land, moved across the country, forced to live on reservations and assigned to the horrors of poverty and alcoholism.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony paid a bounty for Indian scalps. These are the same people who supposedly “broke bread” with Native Americans. The book referred to in the letter is a story of the life of one teenager and how being a Native American affected that life.

The book’s discussion is of the life of a teenager, similar in age to the juniors in our high school. Those juniors are 16 to 17 years old. This is not a manual for decadent behavior, but rather a story of what one Native American has lived through. These stories are known to our teenagers in their lives growing up in 21st century America.

Unfortunately, this letter distorts American history and shows little faith and understanding of America’s teenage population.

Stuart Bernstein

Setauket

Distinguishing between opinions and prejudice

Regarding the letter, “Challenging the assigned literature at Three Village school district” [The Village Times Herald, Oct. 19], I am astonished that you would publish such an ignorant and bigoted letter, which was so off the wall I thought at first it was a joke.

We have a long, rich tradition of free speech in our country, which says that everyone is entitled to their opinion. But an opinion unsupported by evidence is a prejudice. And while people are entitled to their prejudices, you do not have to lend them legitimacy by printing unsupportable claims about how the Europeans treated the Native populace with mercy and kindness (Google the “Trail of Tears” sometime), or that 16- and 17-year-old high school juniors need to be protected from literature that might lead them to perform “decadent acts on themselves,” presumably meaning masturbation.

I’ve got a feeling the horse has long since left the barn on that one, which recalls the old joke: “99 out of 100 teenage boys admit to masturbating — and the other one is lying.”

People are allowed to believe all kinds of nonsense, but you are under no obligation to amplify and legitimize it.

Kenneth Wishnia

East Setauket

The case for transitioning Long Island’s homes from gas to electricity

The Oct. 19 article on Long Island’s opposition to the NYS natural gas ban [“NYS natural gas ban meets intense local opposition on Long Island,” TBR News Media website] details some potential issues predictably raised by those concerned about change or invested in the status quo, but some of these concerns don’t stand up and others are addressed in legislation passed by the Senate last year and which proponents are now urging Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] to include in her budget this year.

Breathing clean air inside our homes will be a significant benefit to everyone currently using gas, most especially our children.

Both LIPA and PSEG Long Island state that the present electrical system is quite adequate to handle minor additional loads from stoves and heat pumps, especially since winter loads are lower than summer loads.

Only about 1,100 new homes are built on all of Long Island each year, limiting the impact on job elimination. While plumbing demand will decrease when electricity replaces gas, the demand for electricians will rise.

Affordability is a critical consideration as we move forward in the energy transition, and the proposed NY Heat Act directly addresses the issue in two ways. The bill will cap energy bills at 6% of income for low- and middle-income families. In addition, the legislation would do away with the “100-foot rule,” which requires customers to pay for the extension of gas lines to buildings within 100 feet, regardless of need. Estimates state that the 100-foot rule could result in a savings of up to $75 per month on energy bills for low- and middle-income families.

Most importantly, the switch from gas to electric will dramatically improve indoor air quality, leading to improved health for NY residents. In the U.S., children living in a home with a gas stove have an increased risk of asthma by 42%. Chronic exposure is linked to cancer and heart disease.

“The levels of [indoor] air pollution can easily exceed health guidelines and would be considered illegal if they occurred outside,” Sandra Steingraber, co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York, said. “These vapors quickly spread throughout our homes and in some cases raise bedroom benzene concentrations above acceptable health benchmarks for hours after the gas stove has been turned off.”

Both the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association have recognized the links among gas stoves, nitrogen dioxide pollution and increased respiratory illnesses in children, and have called for a transition away from gas stoves and toward electrification of home appliances.

Stuart Braman

Port Washington

Editor’s note: The writer is an adjunct research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

The importance of local restaurants

Why not patronize your neighborhood restaurants during Long Island Restaurant Week Oct. 25-Nov. 5 with a wide variety of lunch and dinner specials all year long.

My wife and I don’t mind occasionally paying a little more to help our favorite restaurants survive. Don’t forget your cook and server. We try to tip 20-25% against the total bill, including taxes. If it is an odd amount, we round up to the next dollar.

If we can afford to eat out, we can afford an extra dollar tip. When ordering take out, we always leave a dollar or two for the waiter or cook. It is appreciated.

The restaurant industry employs hosts, bartenders, waiters, busboys, cooks, cashiers and parking valets, wholesale food sellers, distributors and linen suppliers. There are also construction contractors who renovate or build new restaurants.

Our local entrepreneurs work long hours, pay taxes and provide local employment especially to students during the summer. 

If we don’t patronize our local restaurants, they don’t eat either. Why travel into Manhattan when we have so many great neighborhood restaurants in Centereach, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Hauppauge, Northport, Mount Sinai, Port Jefferson, Smithtown, Stony Brook and other nearby communities in Suffolk County from which to select.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Supporting Chad Lennon for Suffolk

As a Vietnam War combat veteran with a Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star V Device and Air Medal, I am asking not only all veterans but all to vote for Chad Lennon for Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District. 

Chad is a major in the U.S. Marine Corps and a proven leader. While serving in Afghanistan, he was wounded and received a Purple Heart. I can tell you firsthand that Chad is always assisting veterans and their families. He stands with our men and women in blue and will always back them.

He will be active in stopping drugs that are decimating our young generation as well as keeping environmental issues top of mind. Chad has proven himself as a leader and will bring that learned experience to the 6th Legislative District. Vote Chad Lennon.

Joe Cognitore

Sgt. 2/8th First Cav Air Mobile Recon

Rocky Point

Two incumbent Suffolk County legislators stifle democracy

As we approach Election Day, some incumbent Suffolk County legislators are counting on voters to have short memories. Three months ago, they voted against allowing you to vote on the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act.

This act was passed by the New York State Legislature earlier this year as part of the state budget. It’s the product of many years of delicate negotiations. It has overwhelming bipartisan support from Suffolk County state and congressional representatives, earmarking millions of dollars of New York State money for the benefit of Suffolk.

It also would mean additional millions of federal infrastructure dollars for Suffolk. It addresses, after decades of inaction, the underlying causes of the serious and worsening problems with water quality in our county, producing extensive algal blooms and fishkills in our lakes, harbors and estuaries, and growing nitrogen pollution of our aquifers.

In spite of all this, county Legislators Leslie Kennedy [R-Nesconset] and Trish Bergin [R-East Islip] voted to not allow this act to be put to the voters on the November ballot. Doing so, they effectively stymied it, since it requires voter approval to take effect.

They offered lame excuses for this, such as proposing to “fix” the act. They know this is bogus. The act, which allocates state money to our county, is state, not county legislation. There was griping about the 1/8 of 1% increase in the sales tax, which amounts to $50 on $40,000 of nonfood or clothing purchases in one year. Is that too much to finally deal with our water pollution problem?

Most likely, the real reason for blocking voters from approving or rejecting this act was to protect their own political fortunes, hoping that with it off the ballot voters who care about water quality won’t show up.

Which brings up the real issue: The flagrant arrogance of putting themselves above the people who elected them. If you oppose the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, fine. You should be able to vote to reject it. If it’s rejected by the voters, that’s the way democracy works. The way democracy doesn’t work is by having politicians use their power to disallow voting.

Whatever your views on the act itself, you should vote for Denis Graziano or Derek Stein, who oppose Kennedy and Bergin, respectively, to send the message that politicians who use their power to block voters have no business representing them.

David Friedman

St. James

 

by -
0 652

Snaden is a vote for stability

On Monday, June 5, I ran my last public meeting as mayor of Port Jefferson Village. Over my 14-year tenure, I have run and attended well over 6,700 meetings and spent countless hours serving and representing this great village.

It has truly been my great honor to serve, protect and build our community, stabilizing the tax base, building our reserves now to well over $2 million, while improving our parks, paving our streets and reducing crime (as Suffolk County police reported at our last meeting).

It is hard work, committed work and work that doesn’t result from a crash course. It is work that comes from spending lots of time sitting in the seat, getting to know your partners, revenue streams, who to call and when to call. It takes thick skin, the ability to listen and most of all — the ability to know when it’s time.

I am endorsing Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden to be our next mayor — to be my mayor. Why? Because she is ready – she has trained for five years, is more than capable and she cares and has passion for this community.

I made the decision to retire because I knew my successor was ready, willing and able. You can’t learn this job in under a year — it’s not possible. And for goodness sake, why would we want a neophyte mayor when we can elect Kathianne and keep our trustees in place so they can continue to learn and serve? 

Doing otherwise would be so detrimental to the trajectory of this village — it would wreak havoc and result in a devastating, unstable and inexperienced board creating damage that might be irreparable for years to come. 

A vote for Deputy Mayor Snaden is a vote for stability and to keep your board intact so we can move onward and upward together. Please be responsible and get out to vote on June 20 at the Village Center. After our 14 years together, please help me in this one last request: To vote for Katharine Snaden to protect our beloved Port Jefferson and ensure it remains our very own beautiful destination — for a lifetime or a day.

Margot J. Garant

Mayor, Village of Port Jefferson

Sheprow will shake up status quo

As a lifelong resident and former trustee of Port Jeff, I am enthusiastically supporting Lauren Sheprow for village mayor. 

A vote for the opponent will maintain the status quo at Village Hall. We cannot afford to continue the fiscal and land-use policies of the current administration. 

In 2008, when I was a trustee, a significant and illegal situation in a residential area was brought to the board’s attention. Shockingly, 14 years later, the problem persists. We need a mayor who will be proactive, respond quickly to problems and represent all of us. That person is Lauren Sheprow. 

Sheprow will ensure land-use decisions are made with the advice of village professionals, taking into account the need to preserve the character of our cherished village while revitalizing certain areas. We can and must do better.

Please join me by writing in “Lauren Sheprow” in the write-in space for mayor on the ballot.

Virginia Capon

Port Jefferson

Editor’s note: The writer is a former Port Jefferson Village trustee.

Snaden’s commitment to public safety

As someone with a career in law enforcement, I admit to being very impressed by Kathianne Snaden. 

Deputy Mayor Snaden’s ongoing dedication to public safety has truly been something to behold. Even as a new trustee, I often remember seeing her at the Suffolk County Police Department 6th Precinct monthly meetings, engaging with the department, taking notes and advocating for more involvement by SCPD within the village. This was going on since day one of her being an elected official.

 Her involvement with SCPD over the years — both at Village Hall and at the 6th Precinct — still continues to this very day. There have been ever evolving improvements with our own code officers, her many different initiatives such as having code officers on bicycles, code officers meeting every inbound train uptown and working with the schools to allow code officers to be a presence there, again to name a few. 

She is always interacting with the 6th Precinct Whiskey Unit every summer, always being on call and present whenever necessary at any time of day or night. She has even gone on a few ride-alongs to really dig deep and be involved in every aspect of public safety. It’s so refreshing to see.

It is true, the flowers in the village are beautiful. However, what is more beautiful is an elected official who has worked on improving the safety of our village for years since day one. I am confident Kathianne will use this experience and institutional knowledge as our mayor to continue making Port Jeff the best it can be.

Keith Ottendorfer

Port Jefferson

Sheprow will bring change

Experience counts, but wisdom counts more. Networks, contacts and vision count more.

Lauren Sheprow brings to our village a wide range of professional management experience, an extensive network of contacts in the village — including myself, Stony Brook University and beyond, and a tradition of resident enfranchisement. She will also bring integrity.

You will need to write in Lauren’s name on June 20, and you will need to write in exactly as prescribed. This, because your current establishment continues its tradition of unfair dealing; this, because your current establishment throws out petitions on technicalities — instead of saying, “Take this back, you forgot something.”

The opposition response? Getting a little scared? Eliminate the competition. We are seeing character assassination in the form of unsigned attacks.

Do you know your village history? Seems a lot like what happened to Mark Lyon when he was trustee. (Mark had made a negative comment on the Lombardi’s renovation to Port Jefferson Country Club, a last-minute leak that cost him his seat.)

I have a lot to say about Port Jefferson, but I say it in signed letters or in an open public forum.

There is much that is not being done and much that needs to change.

Remember our recent code enforcement scandal? It didn’t have to happen. I warned the board of trustees of this. 

We need to look to our future. We are losing 50% of our power plant revenue but we could lose the other 50% starting in 2027.

Decommissioning

It is time to attend to this. Lauren will reach out and bring in people with the networks to address these issues. Conversations with LIPA, PSEG, National Grid and the new public LIPA. Conversations about future technologies — here in Port Jefferson.

LIPA, LIRR, Lawrence Aviation, revenue from solar installation battery storage — here in Port Jefferson. We need to start attending to all of these big issues.

Lauren will bring in the people of Port Jefferson who can make it happen. Lauren will lead.

Bruce Miller 

Port Jefferson

Editor’s note: The writer is a former Port Jefferson Village trustee.

Is this your village?

It is changing. Is it changing for the better? Behemoth apartments. A code enforcement group that seems out of control.

I put in much time and effort working with the Grassroots Committee to Repower Port Jefferson. The whole community was involved. What happened to that community effort? It seems like little is happening. It seems like it has all been pulled inside the village. All is secret.

The school district and the community are no longer involved. No efforts are being made for a positive economic future. Are we just awaiting taxes doubling? There are alternative sources of tax revenue but they are not being pursued. Ms. Snaden suggests “experience” in her campaign. Experience in what? Our planning department is just a rubber stamp for developers. Code enforcement?

Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency

This committee is giving your tax dollars and services away to multimillionaire developers. Apartment buildings are not “industrial.” Where are the long-term jobs the IDA was designed to create? The first village development on Texaco Avenue was well through the planning process as a private sector investment. The IDA board was scrambling to throw money at this development and win favor with this developer — and future developers — before time ran out and the plans approved.

Uptown is a mess. But why? We have ordinances to ensure decent commercial housing. Were these ordinances ever enforced? Or were these four blocks allowed to deteriorate to give developers greater leverage for more dense development through more dense zoning? (Speaking of dense zoning: Maryhaven? Really?)

Above-ground parking garages? We are looking more like Queens every year.

What’s your comfort level with our current Village Hall? Let us not be intimidated by one joker with an iPhone. Let’s reopen Village Hall to our villagers.

 Remember, Lauren is for the residents.

Molly Mason

Port Jefferson

AHEPA upholds American ideals

Almost exactly 100 years ago, in the summer of 1922, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association was established.

The organization was formed in response to attacks on Greek immigrants by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist and anti-immigrant groups operating across the country. Although now, several generations later, Greeks are successful and well established in American society, to this day AHEPA remains active and continues to promote the best qualities of Ancient Greek society, including philanthropy, education, civic responsibility, integrity, family and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism. 

Always faithful to its history, AHEPA was instrumental in the restoration of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, through which millions of immigrants flowed, often with little more than one or two pieces of hand luggage and a dream.

This past weekend, I was invited by AHEPA and the local Greek-American community to be recognized for public service. To receive an award from an organization of this quality was truly humbling, and I am very thankful to the community for its kindness. 

Reflecting on the history of AHEPA, I was reminded that although Greek immigrants ultimately overcame their challenges, successive groups of immigrants continue to face the same fears, the same attacks and the same bigotry.

People rarely leave their native countries and immigrate to the United States because things are going great for them at home. The choice to leave behind their food, language and culture is a painful decision, never taken lightly, and very often in desperation. 

But Lady Liberty doesn’t just open her arms to the wealthy, the gainfully employed and the highly educated. Her invitation extends to “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me” [Emma Lazarus’ famous 1883 sonnet, “The New Colossus”].

Fortunately, throughout history there have been those with compassion and courage who have stood up to defend true American ideals. Our nation is a nation of immigrants, and although immigrants sometimes arrive with empty pockets, they have that hustle which helped build America into the amazing land of opportunity it is today. 

I am so proud to know the good people of AHEPA and my many friends within the Greek community who have been a beacon of moral courage, compassionate leadership and democracy not just for 100 years, but for thousands.

Jonathan Kornreich

Councilmember, Town of Brookhaven

Stony Brook

Carlton “Hub” Edwards: an uplifting story

Congratulations to Rita J. Egan and The Village Times Herald for a wonderfully uplifting story on Carlton “Hub” Edwards [“Veteran Stories” series in Arts & Lifestyles section, also TBR News Media website, May 25]. 

A Korean War veteran, he’s been a knowledgeable, affable, active and patriotic fixture in our community for many, many decades.

One of Ms. Egan’s many interesting highlights features Hub unquestioningly trading his baseball glove and local team jersey for the uniform of our United States Army. What people may not know is he made that switch after being drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers, who happened to be one of the top three or four Major League teams in 1951.

The pitcher of three no-hitters simply said, “Uncle Sam took first precedence,” feeling even today that the military can provide much-needed discipline for young people.

Whether it’s been Hub’s work at the American Legion Irving Hart Post 1766, his Bethel AME Church or our Three Village Historical Society, the post’s community liaison Joe Bova summed up things perfectly: “He really felt strongly about what his commitment to people should be and that just transferred over to the community he belongs to.”

Talking to Hub or his lovely wife, Nellie, whether it be at the Memorial Day ceremony or during a Frank Melville Memorial Park concert, is both a treat and an enriching experience. Here’s hoping those who haven’t read the article will now take the opportunity to do so.

Jim Soviero

East Setauket

Yes, words do matter

I found the title to Shoshana Hershkowitz’s recent letter on the immigration debacle taking place quite ironic [“Words matter in immigration dialogue,” May 25]. Let’s examine “words matter” for a moment, shall we? 

I wonder if anyone remembers when people were caught entering our country illegally, they were referred to as illegal aliens. That term was legally accurate, yet deemed offensive to progressives. The acceptable words to describe a person in our country illegally then became undocumented immigrant. 

Now, the words (that matter) have become “asylum seeker.” Asylum is defined as protection granted to a political refugee. It was not intended to bypass the legal immigration process for people that want to enjoy all of the benefits of living in the United States. I think honest people can agree that not everyone coming over our border illegally is a political refugee. 

I fully support legal immigration. No one is above the law in the U.S. Once again, the compassion and goodness of the people of this country is being taken advantage of by progressives that created this unprecedented and unsustainable surge. 

I read that Vice President Kamala Harris [D] was supposed to be figuring out the “root cause” of the surge at our border. I have not seen her give an explanation yet. Could it be progressive policies? For example, in New York, politicians declared a sanctuary state and gave out over $2 billion of taxpayer money to noncitizens through the Excluded Workers Fund. Is that an incentive to come here illegally?

Ms. Hershkowitz quoted Kevin McCaffrey [R-Lindenhurst], presiding officer of the county Legislature, stating, “We don’t know who’s coming over.” Is that not a true and fair statement? Ms. Hershkowitz says asking that question implies that asylum seekers are a danger to us. How extremely disingenuous of her. 

Our leaders cannot ask simple, reasonable questions about who enters our country now? Can Ms. Hershkowitz personally vouch for all of these people? In New York City, the mayor was housing some of these people in public school facilities. Our governor is considering using our taxpayer-funded universities to house these people in our neighborhoods, and our elected officials cannot ask any questions without being labeled xenophobic or accused of demonization? 

Seems like Ms. Hershkowitz’s rhetoric is a bit extreme to me. Does constantly labeling people who you don’t agree with politically as evil or dangerous, just for asking questions, bring us together or divide us?

Words matter … indeed.

Charles Tramontana

East Setauket

Open letter to Assemblyman Ed Flood

Dear Assemblyman,

I urge you to vote for the Birds and Bees Protection Act when it comes before you this week. The bill (A7640/S1856A) will protect honey bees and other pollinators from neurotoxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids which are having a devastating impact on bees.

You might not be aware, but the original bill was worked on by Maria Hoffman, my wife and longtime state Assembly staffer and local Setauket beekeeper, in response to the massive die-off of bees caused by these new genetically manufactured nerve agents that are coated on corn and soybean seeds and then spread by contact with bees as they forage for nectar and pollen.

You should also know that the bill is very specific and bans only neonic-coated corn and soy seeds and does allow farmers to use locally applied pesticides if their crops are threatened.

Beyond the partisan wrangling of our elected officials that seem to take up so much of government lately, you should know that your Assembly district has a strong environmental leaning by both Democrat and Republican residents of the district. The Birds and Bees Protection Act has strong support districtwide and your constituents will appreciate your leadership on this important bill.

George Hoffman

Setauket

Another Birds and Bees plea to Assemblyman Flood 

How disheartening to think the state environmental bill A7640/S1856A, the Birds and Bees Protection Act, that has the bipartisan support of Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine [R] and other local legislators, may not be supported by our new state legislator Assemblyman Ed Flood [R-Port Jefferson]. 

Maria Hoffman, a local Setauket beekeeper who originally helped formulate this bill, was a steadfast advocate for environmental protection and a dear friend who passed away last year. Many in the community knew and respected Maria.

We are very dedicated to protecting our waterways in this district and wholeheartedly support this bill. Its intent is to protect honey bees as well as all other pollinators from neurotoxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids. 

These nerve agents are coated on corn, soy and other seeds prophylactically to avoid agricultural pests. They are now widely used by large nurseries as well to avoid pests during transport of stock to local stores. 

There is significant opportunity for misapplication by both farmers and homeowners which leads to residue of these toxins in field margins, local waterways and potentially the produce we eat. Integrated pest management, regulated by the EPA, would still permit farmers to treat threatened crops. 

I urge Mr. Flood to respect the strong environmental leaning of both Democrat and Republican residents of his district. These constituents will value leadership in passing this important bill.

Anne Chimelis

East Setauket

Boating safety is necessary

Thanks to TBR News Media for their timely editorial on boating safety [“Safety key to a successful summer,” May 25].

The sobering facts about boating safety should be of concern to everyone who enjoys the water this year. There is little doubt that the use of a personal flotation device, or life jacket, would have contributed to saving a number of lives lost due to drowning.

There are a number of organizations which offer short courses that provide a New York State boating safety certificate or its equivalent, including the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the United States Power Squadrons — America’s Boating Club.

Just this past spring, the Mount Sinai Yacht Club, in association with the Suffolk County Police Department, ran a boating certificate course for the general public. These courses give you an opportunity to talk to instructors and get all your questions and concerns answered.

The requirement for all operators of a motorized vessel to have a boating safety certificate is being phased in by age. As of Jan. 1, 2025, every operator of a motorized vessel in New York state waters will be required to have a boating safety certificate or its equivalent.

Beverly Tyler

Certified instructor and past commander

Old Field Point Power Squadron

MTA’s continued staffing, safety failures

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority inspector general’s report on excess employee overtime and safety issues is nothing new for Port Jefferson Branch riders.

Every generation of MTA chairmen, agency presidents, board members, finance officers and executive management who manage agency budgets has made the wrong choice. They believed it would be cheaper to pay overtime than hire additional employees, whose critical specialized skills were necessary for maintaining functioning safe and reliable transportation operations.

They thought it would be less expensive by avoiding the costs of training, full-time salary plus fringe benefits, medical insurance and pensions by not increasing the headcounts of various departments. This has contributed to excessive overtime and potential safety issues.

The LIRR should have the ability to hire more full-time and part-time employees to deal with routine and emergency workloads. This would provide a larger pool of employees resulting in less overtime, excessive and unsafe work hours for employees.

Another option is upon reaching retirement eligibility, allow employees to collect 50% of their pensions while still being able to work part time. MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and LIRR President Catherine Rinaldi should include both in the next round of contract negotiations with SMART Transportation Division 505 Union General Chairman Anthony Simon.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Severe lead poisoning of local swan

We live in Port Jefferson, close to Mount Sinai Harbor. Last Sunday, a swan came to visit us, which was most unusual because they never come up from the harbor. This juvenile looked really sick. We called Lisa Jaeger, who rescues animals, and she trapped the swan and brought him out to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays, where he was diagnosed with severe lead poisoning. The swan may not survive. He will be at the wildlife rescue center for a long time.

Severe lead poisoning? How did this happen? We have learned that duck hunters often use lead shot — even though it’s illegal — and it falls to the bottom of the harbor and gets ingested by swans.

How much lead is sitting at the bottom of the harbor? Are the clams, mussels and oysters that fishermen dig up from the harbor contaminated, too? People kayak and swim here and walk their dogs, and we worry that the dogs could also ingest the lead.

We want Port Jefferson residents to be aware of how our harbor is being polluted. Perhaps we can work together to ensure that no other swans suffer as this juvenile is suffering.

Cynthia Kravitz

Peter Boerboom

Port Jefferson

A sad episode for Smithtown

How ironic it is that those who ran Martine Francois-DePass out of town with their bigoted and hateful social media campaign are themselves Exhibit A for exactly that which they so passionately deny: Namely, that racist discrimination against Black people, far from being a thing of the past, is still very much with us. [See June 1 story, The Times of Smithtown.]

It’s yet another reminder that America in general and Smithtown in particular continue to be far from the ideal of a color-blind society to which we all aspire.

What a missed opportunity. An opportunity to expose Smithtown children to a positive authority figure from a minority background. An opportunity to move the needle on the perception of Smithtown as a community hostile to non-whites. An opportunity to stand up and defeat fear and bigotry. The decision of Ms. Francois-DePass to withdraw from consideration as principal of Smithtown Elementary in the face of a campaign of vilification and hate against her is our loss, not hers.

Does anybody seriously believe that if Ms. Francois-DePass was white, her every word on social media would have been subjected to the same kind of aggressive and invidious scrutiny? Not that there was anything troubling about her social media posts. She supports Black Lives Matter and racial justice. What a surprise. Is that the litmus test? If it is, it amounts to a frankly racist refusal to countenance the hiring of just about any Black person.

One Smithtown parent stood up at a school board meeting and proclaimed that Ms. Francois-DePass was unqualified. What nonsense. She has degrees from Boston University, SUNY Stony Brook and an advanced degree from Fordham. She also has an advanced certificate in educational leadership and administration from Long Island University, experience as a New York City school teacher for 18 years and as an assistant principal here in Suffolk in the Longwood school district for four years.

Another parent posted that he was going to tell his child not to recognize this “piece of trash” and to “disregard any guidance/direction given by this person.” What a great example for his child.

Is this how some parents want to be “involved” in their children’s education? Racism is still very much with us largely because it’s passed down from generation to generation. What a sad, sad episode this is for our Smithtown community.

David Friedman

St. James

12Next Page 1 of 2
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©