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Larry Penner

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File photo by Raymond Janis

Port Jeff Branch LIRR riders still waiting for basic amenities at Grand Central Madison

It has been 14 months since the Long Island Rail Road began full-time East Side Access service to the $11.6 billion Grand Central Madison terminal in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan, with the prospect of benefits for Port Jefferson Branch riders. So it is disappointing that MTA Chairman Janno Lieber just announced the release of a request for proposals for a master developer to manage and operate all 32 vacant storefronts at GCM. Responses are due by June with a contract award in summer 2024. MTA anticipates that all 32 storefronts should be open for business by 2026.

In the meantime, only one storefront will be occupied later this year. This is a sad commentary on MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, MTA Office of Capital Construction and MTA Real Estate in management of the LIRR ESA GCM project. The original completion date was 2011. Full-time service began in February 2023. MTA Real Estate had years to find tenants for the vacant storefronts. They should have completed the process to hire a master developer to manage the storefronts years ago. This would have given the master developer plenty of time to find tenants for the vacant storefronts and give tenants adequate time to coordinate the opening of their stores.

Waiting three years until 2026 before all 32 storefronts are open for business is a failure. Given the physical layout, it is also not credible to believe that you can replicate the Metro-North Grand Central Madison Dining Concourse. There is no central location for significant seating. MTA clearly dropped the ball for planning retail openings. It also represents a loss of three years’ worth of tenant revenue. Riders will continue looking at the artwork covering up the vacant storefronts. Commuters and taxpayers have to also ask when will the other vacant storefronts at NYC Transit, Long Island and Metro-North Railroad stations be leased. Why was MTA Real Estate unable to lease all vacant assets in a timely manner? It would have generated badly-needed revenue and provided riders with the basic amenities they are still looking for. 

Larry Penner 

Great Neck

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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

 

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Photo by Raymond Janis

The majority wins in a democracy

We are about to vote to confirm or change the people who comprise the majority of state and federal elected officials. Unfortunately, most of our information about the people who are running for office we get from the television news media, which is motivated by building an audience that they can sell to advertisers. This is true for virtually all news media outlets.

he owners and senior management of the news media know that “hate and discontent” builds the largest audience so they emphasize “hate and discontent” in their reporting. These people don’t want their audience to be reasonable and rational — they want you to be angry. They want you to march on the Capitol when the vote doesn’t come out your way. Don’t give them what they want.

We live in a democracy so, right or wrong, the majority wins. If you don’t like the rules, get off your butt and engage in the hard work that it takes to change them. That requires ignoring the media and learning how to change the state and federal rules. The most important of these rules are called the constitutions. It requires getting involved, at the grassroots level, in picking who will ultimately run for office. Accept that in this endeavor, as I said before, in a democracy, the majority wins.

Francis G. Gibbons Sr.

Terryville

Quality education is the answer, not grade reorganization

Anthony Dattero in his Opinion piece entitled ”Preserving what works in 3V school district” [The Village Times Herald, March 14] finds that “the notion of transitioning to a common middle school model is, frankly, mind-boggling and irresponsible.” I do not.

Preserving what works in the Three Village school district is no different from what works in any school district and has no relation to grade organization. What works well begins with a capable teacher with every student. Add capable support staff, effective administrators, budget support and an engaged community providing safe learning places — they make quality education possible.

I was with Commack school district from 1973-88 during which time the pupil enrollment fell from 15,000 students to 6,000. Thirteen of 21 schools were closed and the grade organization changed from K-6, 7-9, 10-12 to its current K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 organization. There were hostile public meetings, threatened lawsuits and negative press. There also was a resolute board of education that made wise decisions about present and future space needs. 

The change in grade organization did not change the quality of education in Commack. It would not do so in Three Village either.

Forrest McMullen

South Setauket

Supporting local journalism

The New York Local Journalism Sustainability Act would provide tax credits to local community based newspapers for hiring local news reporters. It is important to lobby Gov. Kathy Hochul [D], state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins [D], Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie [D], along with your local state senator and assemblymember to support this critical legislation. Most communities are down to one local daily or weekly newspaper. Newspapers have to deal with increasing costs for newsprint, delivery and distribution as well as reduced advertising revenues and competition from the internet and other news information sources.

Daily newspapers concentrate on international, Washington, Albany, business and sports stories. They have few reporters covering local neighborhood news. Weekly newspapers fill the void for coverage of local community news. 

I’m grateful that you have afforded me the opportunity to express my views via Letters to the Editor, along with others who may have different opinions on the issues of the day. 

 Albany needs to join us in supporting weekly community newspapers. Readers patronize advertisers, who provide the revenues to help keep the papers in business. Let us hope there continues to be room for everyone, including the Times of Huntington-Northport, Times of Smithtown, Times of Middle Country, Port Times Record, Village Times Herald and Village Beacon Record.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Try to be more responsible

In regard to the letter, “Women are not cattle,” published on March 14. Being a woman, I wholeheartedly agree with this. Yet, regardless where anyone stands on abortion, the last sentence totally lost me by quoting lesson No. 1: “Try not to be born with a uterus.” Heavy subjects regarding pro-life, anti-choice, etc., should not be taken in jest. Due diligence should have been taken into consideration before blatant sarcasm was quoted with lesson No. 1. 

It would have been more admirable and respectful to have simply stated, “Try to be more responsible” — and not get into the program “Financial Literacy for Women” sponsored by Assemblyman Ed Flood [R-Port Jefferson] at the Comsewogue Library by using the venue as a prop or to get an agenda and/or point of view across. 

Rhoda Angelier

Coram

Potential impact of school enrollment decline

The article, “Residents debate future of Port Jefferson School District at civic meeting,” in Port Times Record March 14 gives the incorrect impression that resident Gail Sternberg delivered a presentation at a Port Jefferson Civic Association meeting “advocating drastic measures such as closing the school district.”

 We attended that meeting and Ms. Sternberg never advocated closing or defunding the school district. Nor did anyone else present. There is an audio recording of the entire meeting that confirms this.

 In discussing ways to address declining district enrollment, Ms. Sternberg suggested retaining the elementary school and hopefully the middle school, while exploring sending the high school students to a neighboring district on a tuition basis should enrollment fall to such a low level that the high school would be unable to offer a viable academic, athletic and social experience. The current district enrollment in the Port Jefferson elementary grades suggests the real possibility of this, with eventual high school graduating classes of less than 50 students. 

It is important that all Port Jefferson School District residents be aware of the potential impact of the enrollment decline in this district as it is also adversely affecting most of Suffolk County school districts — including all of our neighboring ones — as Newsday recently reported and updated Feb. 12. The Board of Education should be proactive in examining ways to address this. Hopefully, this meeting will motivate the school board to begin this necessary dialogue with everyone in the community. be.

Robert Nicols, Darcel Weldon, Holly W. Fils-Aime, Molly Mason, April Quiggle

(all Port Jefferson)

A correction — and the challenges faced by Port Jeff school district

I am writing to correct the record, as an article in this paper misrepresented a report I gave at a recent Port Jefferson Civic Association meeting [“Residents debate future of Port Jefferson School District at civic meeting,” Port Times Record, March 14]. The article claimed I was “advocating for drastic measures such as closing the school district.” That is patently false. I never said a word about closing the district, nor did anyone else at that meeting.

My presentation was primarily focused on the alarmingly low student enrollment projected for the high school in coming years, and the fact that the district has yet to address this with residents — despite repeated calls to do so. I also suggested that while we should keep both the elementary and middle schools here, we might explore the possibility of tuitioning out only our high school students to a neighboring district, in the event that these enrollment projections prove true. I did not advocate for a merger, which could be more costly and complicated.

The reporter asserted that the information I cited was from documents I “allegedly” received from the Freedom of Information Act. I actually had those documents with me but she didn’t request to view them before reporting this story.

From the FOIA data, as of October 2023, present class sizes from pre-K to fourth grade reveal the projected size of each future graduating class: pre-K: 35 students; kindergarten: 49; first grade: 39; second grade: 49; third grade: 50; fourth grade: 55.

Based on these figures, projected total high school enrollment is also concerning: fall 2031: 193 students; fall 2032: 187; fall 2033: 172.

 I understand there is a great sentimentality for the high school. However, many alumni that speak so fondly of their experience attended when there were 250 or more students in their graduating class. We are now facing a situation where there likely won’t be that number in the entire school. The vitality of the school will not be the same — and neither will the number of academic, club and athletic offerings. I believe most Port Jefferson teenagers are ready by high school to attend a larger academic environment, especially one close to home and with their Port Jefferson pals coming with them.

Our school district faces many unprecedented challenges and only by the school board and community working together cooperatively will we find solutions that best serve our students and residents.

Gail Sternberg

Port Jefferson

Editor’s note: 

We have now seen the FOIA data and can remove the word alleged with relation to Gail Sternberg. The recording of the meeting indicates remarks to another attendee suggesting some aspects of the district can be mitigated without advocating such. We express our apologies for any misunderstanding or discomfort our words may have caused.

School district should be more forthcoming

We were pleasantly surprised to see so many fellow residents with diverse viewpoints at the Port Jeff Civic Association’s March 11 meeting about the school district. Did the conversation get heated at times? Yes. But while there was passionate disagreement on how to achieve what’s best for our students, there was no conflict about the vital importance of the goal itself.

That said, we were disappointed by the paper’s coverage of the event. The article wrongly claimed that Gail Sternberg was advocating for “drastic measures” like closing the school district. Neither Sternberg nor anyone else at the meeting ever said that. It also cast doubt on the validity of the declining student enrollment numbers Sternberg presented. A follow-up call from the reporter could have verified the numbers.

The article omitted to mention Bob Nicols’ presentation regarding the potential impact of declining revenue from LIPA on our school taxes. His research indicates that every $100 paid in school taxes this year could escalate to $126 by the end of the glide path in 2027-28, with a worst-case scenario reaching $195 if LIPA successfully grieves its taxes. Nicols based his numbers on data sourced from four documents, including the glide path agreement and three reports by LIPA. He also prefaced his work with the urgent call for further research from the school board to prepare for various scenarios. Despite this, his numbers were dismissed as “scaremongering” during a school board meeting.

While our role as a civic association is to provide a forum to discuss issues of importance to the community, as a volunteer board we need our members to bring their research, viewpoints and vision to the discussion, as Sternberg and Nicols did.

To address school district challenges effectively, we need accurate, accessible data. Yet, obtaining essential documents like expenditure reports and enrollment figures often require FOIA requests and waiting, thereby hindering public debate.

Therefore, we urge the school district to be more forthcoming with the entire community, not just those with children in the district. If we work together and continue to engage in open and honest debate, we will find solutions that best serve our students and residents.

Our next meeting, which will focus on the future of the LIPA power plant, will be April 11, 6:30 p.m., at the Port Jeff Library. All are welcome.

Ana Hozyainova, President

Kathleen Mc Lane, Outreach Officer

Port Jefferson Civic Association

 

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Photo by Raymond Janis

In celebration of Long Island

Thank you for your wonderful editorial celebrating Long Island and highlighting the benefits of Long Island’s history, culture, institutions and natural beauty [“Uniqueness of where we live,” TBR News Media, March 7]. 

We should all be very proud of being Long Islanders — one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

My wife reminds me that since we met 16 years ago, we have traveled to more than 39 countries, but I still love Long Island, NY, USA, the best!

Yes, it’s expensive, traffic is bad, mass transit is substandard, taxes are excessive, regulations burdensome, many rules are prudish and Victorian. But Long Island has some of the best beaches, fishing, parks, wildlife and water sports in the world.

Our spring and fall seasons are beautiful and most of our people are diverse, friendly and caring. But most of all we have the NY Islanders, the NY Yankees, the NY Mets, NY Knicks, NY Nets, NY Giants and NY Jets and some of the best sports fans in the universe. 

I have been a Smithtown Rotarian for over 40 years and we are dedicated to local and international charities. Long Islanders are extremely generous to Rotary helping our veterans, children, seniors, handicapped and those less fortunate. Celebrate Long Island and let’s work to make it the paradise it can be.

Alan H. Cohn

Nesconset

Women are not cattle

Supreme  Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote, “The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.”

Ironically, anti-choice Assemblyman Ed Flood [R-Port Jefferson] sponsors program CWA332 at our local Comsewogue Public Library titled, “Financial Literacy for Women,” which includes the descriptor, “Learn the basics to make informed financial decisions, regarding goals.”

We know how to make informed decisions because we are not cattle. Unfortunately we must constantly organize against anti-choice legislators who consider us as such. How big to grow our families is key to our informed financial decisions, goals, investments and budgets. Is lesson No. 1, “Try not to be born with a uterus”?

Joan Nickeson

Terryville  parent

Electric buses save money in the long run

Your article on the necessary and state-mandated transition to electric school buses makes a number of valid points, but then pivots to a recitation by state Assemblyman Ed Flood [R-Port Jefferson] of the supposed disadvantages of electric buses [TBR News Media, Feb. 29]. 

 Before echoing the disinformation of the fossil fuel industry perhaps Flood should visit Chile, which has the world’s second largest fleet of electric buses after China. Santiago alone has several thousand electric buses used for public transit in a city known for its hills. This is a far tougher job than carrying perhaps 60 students on a limited route on the flat island we live on.

 Cost is another phony issue Flood raises. At the moment, the upfront cost to purchase an electric bus is higher than that of a diesel bus — that will come down in a few years as production ramps up. But even now, the electric “fuel” and maintenance required by an electric bus cost far less than those of their diesel counterparts. 

And we are all paying the hidden health and medical cost of the asthma and other respiratory ailments caused or worsened by the toxic diesel bus fumes breathed by our children who ride those buses every school day.  

Those few school districts that own their buses should start by buying some electric buses as soon as possible to gain experience with them. Gov. Hochul’s [D] administration needs to give them the tools they need to navigate the acquisition and installation of charging stations. 

The districts that bid out their transportation contracts should modify their bid packages to reduce risk to the companies bidding by offering longer contracts for bus companies that provide an increasing portion of electric buses in their fleet during the contract.

 Mass charging of school bus fleets will require upgrades to our electric grid, but these upgrades can be implemented gradually as the number of buses increases over the years. The buses can be charged at night, when off-peak rates are lower. And during the summer, when bus usage is low, their batteries can be used for grid backup and to support electric demand at peak times in the late afternoon, just as PSEGLI uses our home batteries whose cost has been subsidized by government rebates.

 Finally, eliminating diesel from New York state’s school bus fleet is one of many steps to fulfilling the state’s climate law. Investments we make now are going toward a livable future for our kids — on and off the school bus. 

Peter Gollon

Huntington

On the road again

March  12 was the 102nd anniversary of Northport resident Jack Kerouac. It made me reread one of his best writings, “On The Road.” His works reminded me of the more adventurous spirit of youth. Sadly, as we get older, with more responsibilities and less free time, there are fewer journeys to take, but Kerouac’s ideals continue to live in all of us.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

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File photo by Raymond Janis

Thank you from the White Family

To: Reverend Lisa of Bethel AME Church; our Bethel Church family; The Three Village community; Kevin Finnerty, director of athletics at Ward Melville High School; the Ward Melville faculty, Booster Club, students; Town of Brookhaven and others:

Words can’t express the heartfelt gratitude you all showed in your own special way during our time of sorrow. Thank you all so much for your kind words, cards, love and support!

Your memories, tributes and accolades that you shared were absolutely beautiful! They truly warmed our hearts and eased the pain for the moment. We knew Willie was special to his family, but from the attendance at his wake, homegoing celebration of life and repass, showed the love you had for him. Willie L. White is gone for now, but truly left a legacy that will forever live in our hearts.

Sincerely With Love, 

The White Family

A call for fiscal accountability

The Port Times Record of Feb. 8 published a letter [“Rallying against unjust state aid cuts”] from Jessica Schmettan, superintendent of schools of the Port Jefferson School District, asking residents to use a district-provided form letter opposing the New York State governor’s proposed cut of 28.38 % in state aid (“Foundation Aid”) to the district.

 I chose to write my own letter and sent state Assemblyman Flood [R-Port Jefferson] and state Sen. Palumbo [R-New Suffolk] the following:

 I’m a longtime resident of the Port Jefferson School District and notice that the district is aggressively encouraging parents to engage in a letter-writing campaign to state legislators regarding the cut in Foundation Aid proposed in the governor’s [Kathy Hochul (D)] budget. I’m sure you will receive the form letter the district is circulating.

 At this time, I would encourage you to examine the fiscal practices of this district. While the enrollment in the district continues to decline (from the present 910 students overall to projected enrollment close to 766 students by 2031) the district has done nothing to address this, despite numerous comments by district residents at Board of Education meetings.

 Instead, a pattern of spending has seen district funds expended of close to $800,000 on new bleachers on an athletic field, $240,000 on sod for that field, and a proposed “security booth” projected to cost close to $400,000.

 Two recent multimillion dollar bond issues ($23 million and $16 million, respectively) calling for substantial enhancements in an existing school building, as well as an artificial turn field costing $1.6 million, were wisely rejected by residents, although the district continues to ignore the message sent by residents.

 Despite the significant drop in enrollment, administrative staffing in the district has not been reduced nor has the district explored other potential cuts to address this major financial problem.

 The revenues from a Long Island Power Authority plant in the district are rapidly dwindling and the district presently faces seven Child Victims Act lawsuits. (The latter has only been acknowledged by the district when the proposed Foundation Aid cut was announced.) Transparency has not been evidenced by the school board and the administration.

 While you are examining the campaign to restore Foundation Aid cuts to the district, I would strongly encourage you, in the interest of fiscal prudence, to examine the spending practices of this school district and hold the board and district accountable for the lack of effective stewardship of taxpayer funds.

Charles Backfish

Port Jefferson

Cut the losses!

The recent article in the Port Times [“Uncertainty looms over the future of Port Jefferson Country Club,” Feb. 8] shows the futility of trying to keep back the forces of nature — the way of wind and waves — as concerns the East Beach bluff. For some of us the attempt to save the country club building always seemed a fool’s errand. 

To start with: Nature usually wins, but the previous village board of trustee’s would not admit to this, and forced without a vote a [$10 million] bond onto our taxes. See where this got us.

What to do? Declare the loss and build a more modest country club house way, way back, and let nature take its toll on the bluff; and focus on how to protect the downtown area with parks, shops, apartments and ferry infrastructure for the future and coming high waters.

Bente and Flemming Videbaek

Port Jefferson

Immigration history lesson

I want to thank Arnold Wishnia for the history lesson on immigration [“A critical analysis of immigration rhetoric,” TBR News Media letter, Feb. 8]. I was totally unaware that it occurred before the latest wave or that throughout human history some groups of people — including “mostly brown” people as Mr. Wishnia writes — treated other groups of people poorly. What an eye-opener. An eye-opener for him is that it is not only “Latin American immigrants” who are coming here illegally and in fact we don’t know who is coming. For this and many other reasons fear is reasonably mongered.

I could not and did not disregard “[George] Altemose’s inflammatory talk of invasion” as I do not know him and have not read the letter he wrote. This did not stop Wishnia from making assumptions about heroes and projection. An artful word to describe these assumptions is “prejudice” as Wishnia has, indeed, prejudged me.

Wishnia concludes by writing that I slandered the racist and sexist policy of diversity, equity and inclusion by describing it as racist and sexist. Let me ask him: If he did not get accepted by an Ivy League college or get hired as a university professor because of a quota, would he consider that to be “rather minimally” a mitigation of harm inflicted — not by him, but by other people? It seems that like Bruce Stillman [president and CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory], Wishnia’s prototypical elitism is showing.

Paul Mannix

Wading River

One year after Grand Central Madison’s opening

There is still much to do one year after the opening of the Grand Central Madison station. Information was omitted from the MTA ceremony celebration that Port Jefferson LIRR branch riders would be interested in.

How many of the original 73 East Side Access contracts has the MTA completed? What is their collective dollar value? How much of the $600 million in debt service payments buried in the agency operating budget that covered project costs are still outstanding? 

The same applies to several hundred million more in debt service payments that financed $4 billion worth of LIRR readiness projects to support start of full service in February 2023. They are carried offline from the official project budget. These include the $2.6 billion Main Line Third Track, $450 million Jamaica Capacity Improvements, $387 million Ronkonkoma Double Track, $120 million Ronkonkoma Yard Expansion, $44 million Great Neck Pocket Track, $423 million for rail car fleet expansion. Without these, the LIRR would lack the expanded operational capabilities to support the promised 24 rush-hour train service to GCM and 40% increase in reverse peak rush-hour service. Honest accounting would include these other expenditures bringing the true cost of ESA to $16.1 billion.

How many thousands of the original promised daily ridership projection has not been achieved? This goes for the reverse peak as well. Why does Grand Central Madison still not provide 24/7 service as does Penn Station?

Grand Central Madison still has only two men’s bathrooms with a total of 18 urinals and 13 toilets, two women’s bathrooms with a total of 25 toilets, one lactation room and two gender neutral bathrooms each with a single capacity, all located on the Madison Concourse. There are none on the lower or upper level platforms and mezzanine.

There is still only one waiting room located on the Madison Concourse. It has only 29 seats and seven stools for Wi-Fi connections to serve riders. There are no other seating options on the platform and mezzanine levels while waiting. 

Options for recycling newspapers or beverage containers, disposal of garbage or other waste continues to be nonexistent except for a handful of garbage cans at the platform level. There are few options to dispose of waste at either the mezzanine or Madison Concourse levels. This conflicts with MTA’s claim to be environmentally friendly. 

There are still no open newsstands. These services are readily available in Metro-North Rail Road Grand Central Terminal, Penn and Jamaica stations. 

There are 11 ticket vending machines still waiting to be installed. It appears that the designed space is not wide enough to accommodate standard LIRR ticket machines. 

All the facility storefronts still stand vacant. The original completion date was 2011. Full-time service began in February 2023. MTA Real Estate had years to find tenants for the 32 vacant storefronts. MTA Real Estate has yet to issue a request for proposal to find a master tenant to manage all 32 vacant storefronts. When will this take place?

The MTA Arts & Design recent announcement that it is presenting a selection of works from photographer Stephen Wilkes’ “Day to Night” series of famous New York landmarks at this facility is of little value to most commuters. Some advertising posters would be better and generate some badly needed revenue. 

Transparency on the part of Gov. Kathy Hochul [D], MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and LIRR President Richard Free in sharing with commuters, taxpayers, transit advocates and elected officials in dealing with these remaining open issues is required

Larry Penner

Great Neck

 

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Hooray for Theatre Three

As a longtime season ticket holder of Port Jefferson’s Theatre Three, I certainly appreciate the fine job Bradlee and Marci Bing did with their performance of “The Gin Game.” They still have it! To all who read this, we are blessed with live theater in our village. It is difficult these days to compete with modern technology, but on the other hand up close and personal performances are something special. This is more than a plug for Theatre Three. It is a message of do not miss these opportunities for live entertainment in your local area

Harry Faulknor

Port Jefferson

Glad for Lawrence Aviation action and looking for more 

The The tentative Metropolitan Transportation Authority deal at the former Lawrence Aviation site in Port Jefferson Station is moving forward with positive reactions from the officials on this plan. It is a partnership with federal, state, county and town officials that is making this happen: 

Proposed MTA electric line trainyard with a county bridge constructed if New York State requires it. 

A passive solar farm that is proposed in the old buildings site, which is being cleared and the metals being recycled.

The much-needed open-forested space in our hamlet as a buffer. All this is still in the planning process with the Suffolk County Landbank Corporation working on the details of which some are time critical such as the federal Environmental Protection Agency lifting the Superfund designation by the end of this year and the New York State Department of Transportation working on any Greenway rerouting. 

We in the community are glad for the positive results we see with the removal of these eyesores and are now asking our officials to move on with the paperwork. Our Port Jefferson Station has been looking for years for this progress. Let’s make it happen.

 Charlie McAteer

Port Jefferson Station

Legal immigrants justifiably fearful

If true, it is commendable that George Altemose [“Legal talented scientists are welcomed,” Jan.18, TBR News Media] and Paul Mannix [“The illegal immigration issue,” Jan. 25, TBR News Media] harbor no animosity toward legal immigrants, and only object to illegal immigration. Perhaps 40 years ago one could have reasonably argued that most conservatives felt that way. But unfortunately, they are wildly out of touch with the attitudes that now prevail in the Republican Party.

A 2019 Pew poll found 57% of Republican voters fear “losing our identity as a nation” due to immigration, a 13% increase in just two years. That phrasing gives away the game, as equating our “identity” as Americans to ethnicity or race is inherently bigoted. The leading Republican presidential candidate recently said that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” If they are really a threat to our “blood” it is clearly irrelevant whether they are documented or not. He gleefully separated children from their families and is now promising internment camps and mass deportation for 11 million people peacefully living, working and paying taxes in the U.S. His followers are loving it.

Prospective foreign Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory students and employees rightly recognize that such rhetoric wouldn’t exist if the MAGA faction of the Republican Party was making nuanced distinctions between legal and undocumented immigrants. They understand that this rhetoric, and the normalization of the hatred behind it, pose a real threat to their physical safety.

Let’s be frank: U.S. business loves illegal immigration because it gives a huge pool of vulnerable workers. The farming, meatpacking, construction, landscaping, hospitality, health care and food service industries all heavily exploit cheap, undocumented labor. Republican politicians refuse to effectively punish employers — the only way to actually reduce illegal immigration — because the issue lets them exploi their voters’ racial and ethnic fears in every election. Witness their blocking the recent bipartisan Senate border security bill. MAGA voters, currently driving the Republican Party, are virulently anti-immigrant because they believe the U.S. should be a white, traditional, Christian country.

By all means let’s implement a humane, legal immigration system that actually addresses the obvious workforce needs of the country, punishes illegal hiring, while addressing impacts on infrastructure and services. Let’s pursue a more enlightened foreign policy that helps stabilize and develop Mexico and Central America — by far the largest sources of illegal migration. But let’s not pretend that most Republicans are happy to welcome nonwhite legal immigrants.

John Hover

East Setauket

Wernher von Braun is considered a great American

I would like to respond to a recent commentary letter from Professor Lester G. Paldy regarding my characterization of Wernher von Braun as a great American, as a consequence of his enormous contributions to our space program [“Hardly an example of a great American,” Jan. 25, TBR News Media]. 

It is true that von Braun was instrumental in the development and use of the German V-2 rocket during World War II. He was forced to join the Nazi party in 1937, when he was 25 years of age, and the SS in 1940, when he was 28. He showed no enthusiasm for activities other than rocket development, and advocated for work on space travel. In 1944, von Braun was suspected of having a defeatist attitude, for which he was arrested by the Gestapo and held for two weeks, before being released because his contributions were deemed essential for the German war effort. 

Following the defeat of Germany, von Braun and more than 100 of his associates were brought to the United States, where they were attached to the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps for the purpose of developing advanced military rockets. This effort was enormously successful under von Braun’s leadership. They produced the Redstone and Jupiter-C missiles, leading to our entry into the space program with our first satellite in 1958, closely following the Soviet Union’s Sputnik a year earlier. This was followed by the Saturn V rocket, which took us to the moon in 1969, and is still the most powerful machine ever built by man. None of this would have been possible without von Braun, both for his technical leadership and for his popular promotion of the importance of sending people into space.

Today, von Braun remains a controversial figure, primarily as a result of the brutal use of Holocaust slave labor for the manufacture of the V-2 rockets. Research appears to show that he was aware of this situation, but was powerless to prevent it. Had he tried, he would have been immediately removed from the program, and almost certainly killed. As it turned out, he spent the first 33 years of his life in Germany, and his next — and last — 32 years as a model citizen of the United States. Was he a great American? I believe that he was.

George Altemose

Setauket

Need to reassess Hochul’s plan to decrease our school aid

As a lifelong member of the Three Village community, alumnus of Ward Melville High School and parent of a school-aged child, I am incensed by Gov. Hochul’s [D] plan to decrease our state aid by nearly $9 million. 

The recent proposal for the 2024-25 school year to cut nearly 18% of state aid to our district is quite plainly unjustifiable and contradictory to the current “hold harmless” policy. On Jan. 16, during the governor’s budget presentation, she touted “the highest level of education funding in state history,” yet she has chosen to penalize a district that was previously recognized by the State Comptroller’s Office as “susceptible to fiscal stress.” 

The decision to drastically cut aid to a high performing Long Island school district has the capacity to catastrophically fracture our incredible academic, arts, music, technology and extracurricular programs. We would also be vulnerable in areas concerning mental health and wellness, and physical safety and security at a time when these services are more essential than ever before.

Politicization of this situation would be a very easy sword to throw ourselves upon, but this is not the time to make this a “red-blue” issue. We need to stand together as it is truly incomprehensible to think that more consideration should not be given to all that would be lost by our district if these cuts were to happen. I, along with many other parents and community members, have reached out to the governor and other state officials in an attempt to urge a reassessment of the proposal. 

Our district simply cannot sustain the potential long-lasting damage that this proposed budget could cause, and our kids are worth the strength we can exude in our words and actions. 

Time is of the essence. Take a stand for our kids.

Stefanie Werner

East Setauket

Setauket Neighborhood House: a community gem

I recently attended a meeting of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce at the Setauket Neighborhood House and was intrigued on how our community came to own this wonderful place situated across from the lake leading into Frank Melville Park on Main Street.

The plaque in the house says the Neighborhood House was purchased by the 19th-century industrialist Eversley Childs and his wife Minnie and given to the Setauket community as a place for meetings and community gathering since 1918.

What a wonderful philanthropic gesture by the Childs couple to bequeath our community with a publicly-owned meeting house that in many ways is the center of community activity in the Three Villages. I know of few other places on Long Island that have such a community run and supported meeting house. 

Kudos to the members of the Setauket Neighborhood House’s board of directors and its manager for providing a special gathering place for civic, community and family events and for keeping it in such historic splendor. And a belated thank you to Eversley and Minnie Childs for their considerable community philanthropy and wisdom in providing a place for the Setauket community to meet and come together for more than 100 years.

George Hoffman

Setauket

Best person to serve as an MTA board member

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine [R] now has an opportunity to appoint a representative to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority 15-member board. Allow me to offer my services. I’ve been a regular Long Island Rail Road commuter for decades and previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions of dollars in annual grants that supported capital projects and programs for the MTA including the LIRR, NYC Transit subway, bus and Staten Island Railway, Metro-North Rail Road and MTA Bus along with 30 other transit agencies in New York and New Jersey. I also assisted the MTA in winning a number of national competitive discretionary grants. 

I possess a detailed knowledge of all MTA operating agencies including the LIRR physical assets such as equipment, stations, yards, shops and maintenance as well as management of capital projects and programs. I gave emphasis to completing federally funded projects on time, within budget with a minimum number and dollar value for contract change orders. They had to be justified as fair and reasonable. This was my motto for the MTA and LIRR. 

There is no MTA board member today who has had firsthand experience in applying for and managing federal assistance from Washington. Federal dollars play a key role in the success of MTA’s capital program. My addition to the board could be a real asset. Having no driver’s license, I have always been transit dependent. Being retired, I could represent the interests of Long Island commuters, taxpayers and transit advocates as a full-time member on the MTA board at no expense.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Tell Hochul to keep the ‘hold harmless’ state school aid provision

I join fellow residents and school districts in shock and dismay after reviewing Gov. Hochul’s [D] proposed cuts to some local districts’ state education aid. There is no way to justify pulling the rug out from under our already strained school districts. This would only lead to hasty discussions about cuts to our children’s programming and staff, and likely increases to our already excessive property taxes. 

The proposed education aid reductions to 44% of New York state’s school districts — and increases in aid to the other 56% — result from the governor’s proposal to end the “hold harmless” provision. This provision has historically provided all districts with at least as much state education aid as they received in the previous fiscal year. 

Unfortunately, state Assemblyman Ed Flood’s [R-Port Jefferson] claim that “Hochul is dumping taxpayer dollars into New York City’s disastrous migrant crisis and leaving the priorities of New Yorkers behind” is either a misunderstanding of how the NYS budget works or a political attempt to pin our community’s upset on an unrelated issue. In the proposed budget, statewide education aid would actually increase by over 2% to a total of $35.3 billion, and our districts would lose funding only because this aid is being redistributed without the “hold harmless” provision.

Any attempt to tie this nonpartisan education policy issue to any partisan issues will weaken this urgent call to action. For the sake of our children’s quality of education and to avoid another burdensome tax hike, we must join in bipartisan opposition to this sudden abandoning of the “hold harmless” provision in the state’s foundation aid formula. We need all community leaders and residents to wholly engage in a clear message to Hochul: Reinstate the “hold harmless” provision for the 2024-25 state budget.

Rebecca Kassay

Port Jefferson

                                                               The writer has declared her candidacy for New York’s District 4 Assembly seat under the Democratic ticket.

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Still no green light for Port Jeff Branch electrification

You can learn a great deal about the priorities of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in her State of the State speech, when it comes to any consideration for advancement of the $3.5 billion LIRR Port Jefferson Branch electrification project. 

Only months ago, she participated in the announcement of a $7.7 billion Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement ($3.4 billion federal/$4.3 billion local share) for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway. Before the shovel is even in the ground, she now wants to extend Second Avenue subway further west along 125th Street in Harlem for another $7 billion.

Hochul also wants funding to be provided for the start of design and engineering in support her pet $5.5 billon Brooklyn to Queens Light Rail Connector project. Hochul continues to be a vocal advocate in support of the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel — two new tunnels connecting New Jersey and Penn Station benefiting Amtrak and NJ Transit — and her own plans for an $8 billion Penn Station upgrade.

This same week, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber published his agency’s proposed 2024 Program of Projects to apply for FTA funding. Included is a request for $2.2 billion toward paying for the $3.1 billion Metro-North Bronx East Penn Station Access project. Hochul, along with Democratic Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand, have been consistent supporters for all of these projects.

There was nothing in Hochul’s State of the State speech or Lieber’s FTA 2024 Program of Projects to include any funding to advance the $3.5 billion LIRR Port Jefferson electrification project. 

In the eyes and lack of action on the part of Hochul, Schumer, Gillibrand and Lieber, they have no interest in providing any significant financial assistance to support advancement of any major transportation improvements that would benefit LIRR Port Jefferson Branch residents, taxpayers and commuters.

Supporters of this project need to continue lobbying Hochul, Schumer, Gillibrand, Lieber and LIRR President Robert Free if you ever want to ride an electric train on the LIRR Port Jefferson Branch in your lifetime.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Come join us at a Quaker meeting

We are writing to extend New Year’s well wishes and reintroduce ourselves to you. We are the Conscience Bay Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) — a small, but growing community practicing our faith.

The Quaker religious movement began in England in the mid-17th century and emphasizes the belief that “there is that of God in everyone” and that therefore all people can access “the Light within.” Our testimonies about simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship all flow from this core belief. Historically, Quakers have lived these testimonies by participating in movements to end wars, abolish slavery, and bring about racial and gender equality.

While Quakers have lived and worshiped in Suffolk County since around 1650, our own Quaker meeting was established in 1961 and found its home in St. James when William R. Huntington — a local architect and American Friends Service Committee representative to the United Nations — helped to facilitate the purchase of the property and the conversion of a carriage house to our meetinghouse.

Since its formation, our meeting has been moved to participate in a variety of activities driven by our testimonies: counseling conscientious objectors in the 1960s and ’70s; organizing against both the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant in the 1980s and the stockpiling of nuclear materials; and marching against endless wars and social injustices in more recent decades.

In the current moment of international and national violence, our members and visitors have found sustenance in our Sunday practice. Waiting in silence upon the Light is a deep and powerful experience leading to spiritual guidance.

We invite you to join us. We worship every Sunday at 11 a.m. at our meetinghouse, off Moriches Road in St. James. All are welcome. More information at: consciencebayquakers.org. In friendship,

Carolyn Emerson

Clerk of Conscience Bay Meeting

Hardly an example of a great American

The recent letter [“Legal talented scientists are welcomed,” Jan. 18] making the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants listed Wernher von Braun as a great American together with Einstein, Tesla and others. He was an aerospace engineer secretly brought to the United States after World War II with other German scientists to contribute to the American space program.

He was one of the leaders of the Nazi V-2 missile program employing slave laborers at the Dora-Nordhausen concentration camp who were often worked to death or executed for work deficiencies. 

He was an early Nazi Party member appointed as an officer in Heinrich Himmler’s SS that played a key role in the Holocaust and other war crimes. Whether von Braun’s admission that he knew of the horrendous condition of his workers should have led to his prosecution as a war criminal is a matter of legal interpretation, but he is hardly an example of a great American despite his recognition by the U.S. government and engineering societies for his work on the U.S. space program.

Lester G. Paldy

Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus

Stony Brook University

The illegal immigration issue

A few comments about your article addressing Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory President Bruce Stillman’s concerns [“CSHL’s Stillman concerned about the effect of anti-immigrant talk, policies on US science,” Jan. 11].

To begin, please stop hurting your credibility by referencing “anti-immigrant talk” or “toxic talk toward immigrants.” The issue is illegal immigration. I know, and you know, that you know this. Your disingenuous use of “immigration” casts a shadow on everything you say.

Exactly which “immigration policies that exclude a broad swath of people who might otherwise ensure American technological competitiveness” are there? I doubt they truly exist but if they do and you can cite them I will gladly work to change them. Bruce grew up in Australia so, unless he was born here and moved, is an immigrant hopefully ensuring American technological competitiveness and stands as a refutation to the claim about broad swaths.

As for the racist and sexist policy of diversity, equity and inclusion, Stillman appears to be the prototypical elitist, complaining that “now people are emboldened to attack those in leadership positions” and that “many people have an opinion on the way things ought to be.” Imagine that! Bruce seems upset that the peasants are revolting.

Paul Mannix

Wading River

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Fueling drug violence

I have been reading about the violence engulfing Ecuador with its drug gangs — and thinking. Some in our community are users of cocaine, and they have to be affluent since cocaine is not cheap. Do they realize that they are fueling this violence? Or do they just not care? How do they justify themselves?

Jane O’Sullivan

Setauket

LIRR and its president must do better in 2024

The MTA invested $11.6 billion in direct costs for construction of the Long Island Rail Road East Side Access to Grand Central Madison. Part of the scope of work involved upgrading the Harold Interlocking and signals west of the Woodside Station. This cost over $1 billion. These capital assets were previously updated in 1991 at a cost of over $100 million. 

The most recent work included upgrading and expansion of the signal system to accommodate new LIRR service to Grand Central Madison. How disappointing that less than one year later, there was another round of signal problems west of the Woodside Station. This resulted in service delays on Saturday night, Dec. 30. There was no service in or out of either Grand Central Madison or Penn Station for one hour around 10 p.m. 

This represents the most recent in a series of failures on the part of the LIRR to maintain consistent safe and reliable service 24/7 on the Port Jefferson and all 11 branches. Once again, the LIRR left coal in the stockings of commuters this holiday season. So much for any decent on time performance. 

Our New Year’s resolution is for new LIRR President Robert Free to do better in 2024.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Epitaph

We now have politicians that apparently exist in a state of moral depravity. Witness the state of the nation presently. God bless America from a veteran to World War II and the Greatest Generation.

Leonard J. Henderson

       Port Jefferson 

Legal talented scientists are welcomed

A recent edition of The Village Times Herald featured an interview of Bruce Stillman, the president and chief executive officer of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. [“CSHL’s Stillman concerned about the effect of anti-immigrant talk, policies on US science,” TBR News Media, Jan. 11.] In the interview, Stillman lamented the “toxic talk” and “adversarial dialogue” that many Americans are expressing with regard to the invasion of our southern border by “immigrants,” eschewing the use of the correct legal term, which is illegal aliens. 

This hostility, he claimed, makes it difficult to hire very talented scientists from other countries.

I think Stillman should explain to his potential candidates that the concern of American citizens over immigration issues is not directed toward those who obey our laws and comply with our regulations, which almost certainly applies to those whom he is considering hiring. 

All Americans have tremendous appreciation for the incredible contributions made by (legal) immigrants of the past and present, including great Americans Andrew Carnegie, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Wernher von Braun and Elon Musk, as well as many others.Once this distinction is clarified for the new hires, I have no doubt that they will happily follow the proper procedures, and I wish them long and fulfilling careers at CSHL.

George Altemose

Setauke

Communication necessary between community and BOE

It was with great frustration that I watched the video recording of the Port Jefferson Board of Education meeting of Jan. 9. At 35 minutes 50 seconds, during public comments, resident Gail Sternberg addressed many of the same concerns that I, along with my neighbors, share. She gave rational, factual and statistical information that she took the time to FOIA. She presented the information to the BOE. There was no response, and then she was “thanked for her comments” and simply told her time was up. Disappointingly, it appeared there was a dismissive tone for her broaching these uncomfortable topics. I was rather surprised to learn that the total student enrollment for the high school is projected to be less than 200 students within just seven years, and even lower thereafter. I also recently learned from reading Newsday that Port Jefferson School District has seven lawsuits filed against it for which we are potentially responsible. 

Along with these lawsuits and a decline of student enrollment, we have the current glide path of taxpayer expenses rising, due to loss of LIPA revenue contribution. All these issues are veering ahead at precisely the same time, and we have no large reserves for all of these expenses, thus creating an unfortunate “perfect storm.” It would be helpful if a special meeting is held where the community can ask questions, voice their concerns and try to understand what is ahead. The other surrounding school districts that are facing the dilemma of declining enrollments have already done so — to let the community know what is going on, and what remedies might be considered. 

We need to keep taxes down and spending curtailed if we want to bring in new families. A declining enrollment does not lend itself to having opportunities for socialization, sports programs and advanced courses. We cannot simply “kick the can down the road.” If we desire to keep our high school a thriving and financially viable school in the coming years, the time to start a conversation is now. 

I think it is the responsibility of the BOE to address the community so we can be educated voters in the future. I am hopeful the BOE will want to consider this community’s input when making decisions going forward and, if so, share with us what a plan B might look like. It is time to discuss the elephant in the room.

Darcel Weldon

Port Jefferson

Vote on proposed Terryville Fire District bond issue to upgrade facilities

I want to take the opportunity to alert the residents of Port Jefferson Station/Terryville to an important upcoming event impacting the safety and quality of life in our community. The Terryville Fire District has recently proposed several upgrades and repairs to the two facilities operating within their jurisdiction. These improvements would bring the headquarters on Jayne Boulevard and Old Town Road, Station 2, into compliance with current firefighting standards as well as replacing aging materials and equipment. EMS personnel and equipment needs have nearly doubled since the construction 50 years ago of Station 2 in 1974 and the main facility on Jayne Boulevard has not had any meaningful upgrades in over 20 years. 

The district has proposed to replace the roof and upgrade the existing siren at the headquarters as well as provide additional storage and training facilities within a new utility building at Station 2. 

I would suggest the district considers providing for public spaces and meeting rooms for community use as is the case in surrounding fire districts. The proposed bond to pay for all these renovations is $18 million.

Given the growth in our hamlet in past years and facing significant development pressures in the future from the proposed Jefferson Plaza project — and many others surrounding the 112 corridor — it is imperative our residents carefully evaluate this bond issue with an eye toward meeting the challenges we face over the coming decades. 

Unfortunately, the fire district reached out to the local civic association only recently, and I applaud Commissioner Lee Brett for his efforts. However, as president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, I appreciate their efforts to engage the community, it is hard at this late date to fully weigh the benefits of these improvements against the cost impact that might result in a projected tax increase to residents of about $10-$12 a month from passage of this bond. 

I am hopeful the fire district, with less-than-ideal outreach, will still be able to generate the community support needed to persuade my neighbors that approving the bond issue is a wise investment that will meet the needs of our area.

The vote will be held at the main headquarters on Jayne Boulevard Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 9 p.m. I urge concerned citizens to participate in deciding the ability of our first responders to rise to the occasion when called upon to help our community.

Ira Costell

President of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association

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Keep those letters coming

Congratulations to my fellow 2023 letter to the editor writers. Surveys reveal that “Letters to the Editor” is one of the most widely read and popular sections of any newspaper. Most newspapers will print letters submitted by any writer regardless of where they live so long as the topic is relevant to readers.

It helps to have a snappy introduction, good hook, be timely, precise and to have an interesting or different viewpoint to increase your odds of being published. Many papers welcome letters commenting on their own editorials, articles or previously published letters to the editor.

I continue to be grateful that the Times of Huntington-Northport, Times of Middle Country, Port Times Record, Village Beacon Record, Times of Smithtown and Village Times Herald along with other newspapers afford both me and my fellow letter writers the opportunity to express our views, as well as differing opinions on issues of the day.

Please join me along with your neighbors in reading the Times of Huntington-Northport and all other sister TBR newspapers. Patronize their advertisers — they provide the revenues necessary to keep them in business. This helps pay to provide space for your favorite or not-so-favorite letter writers.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Wouldn’t you prevent cancer if you could? You can. January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. The Cancer Prevention in Action program at Stony Brook Cancer Center wants to share how you can prevent cervical cancer for yourself and your loved ones.

There are two things you can do to significantly reduce your cervical cancer risk: regular cervical cancer screenings and getting the HPV vaccine. Most cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus. Being vaccinated against HPV would prevent most cervical cancers. The HPV vaccine is recommended for children beginning at age 9 and can be given to young adults through age 26. This vaccine can prevent about 90% of HPV-related cancers from occurring later in life, including cancers of the mouth, throat, anus, vulva and vagina, and penis.

Regular cervical cancer screenings can also help you prevent cancer. Cervical cancer screening tests can find the cells that lead to cancer before it starts. These cells can then be removed. Screening also helps to find cancer early when it may be easier to treat. Cervical cancer screening is recommended from age 21 to 65.

The CPiA program at Stony Brook Cancer Center works to increase HPV vaccination and help reduce cancer rates on Long Island. CPiA educates health care providers, community organizations, parents and young adults about the benefits of the HPV vaccine. 

To learn more about cervical cancer prevention and the HPV vaccine, go to takeactionagainstcancer.com or contact us at 631-444-4263 or [email protected].  

The best time to take action against cancer is before it starts.

Cancer Prevention in Action

Stony Brook University

Inspirational family stories

My wife and I wondered how we could leave our children and grandchildren with a record of some of the history and genealogy we have collected over the years and make it interesting as well.

This Christmas, we gave each of our children and grandchildren a book of short stories about our families. The 85-page book we finished in early December is titled “Grandpa Swallowed His False Teeth and Grandma Got Run Over by a Cow.” These two stories plus many others, some going back more than 10 generations, are included. We worked diligently over the past year to pull stories together and to edit and correct the book until we were satisfied with its content. We also included many pictures to go along with the text. Some of the stories are parts of articles I have written in The Three Village Herald and The Village Times Herald over the past 40-plus years. 

We hope this may inspire you to write down some of your family stories and possibly even share them with readers of TBR newspapers.

Beverly C. Tyler

East Setauket

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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

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