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Long Island

Thomas Manuel inside The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook. Photo by Julianne Mosher

The Long Island Arts Alliance is asking artists, performers and creators to share their stories amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lauren Wagner, executive director of LIAA, said that over the last two years, the group has been asking creatives to share the experiences pre-pandemic and onward in hopes that new legislation will be created to further help the art and culture sector locally.

“The percentage of job losses in the arts is three times worse than other nonprofit organizations,” she said. 

LIAA serves as an alliance of and for the region’s not-for-profit arts, cultural and arts education organizations.  LIAA promotes awareness of and participation in Long Island’s world-class arts and cultural institutions in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. 

Formed in 2003, LIAA offers leadership and diverse support services to arts organizations, serves as an advocate for arts education in our schools and collaborates on strategies for economic development and community revitalization.

An advocate for artists, painters, sculptors, dancers, performers and musicians, Wagner added that when things were shut down two years ago, LIAA decided it wanted to reach out to its community to find out how people were handling the stressful changes.

That’s when LIAA came up with surveys to give a platform for creators to explain what’s going on in their lives.

“The surveys are to poll everyone’s status,” Wagner said. “Then, we use those numbers to go back to our new legislators and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on and we need help.’”

Most recently, a 2022 update has been posted to the LIAA website. This is the third survey to make its way around the arts community.

The survey states, “As COVID-19 extends into 2022, it is important to secure updated information about the continuing impact of the pandemic on the creative sector and creative workers. The information you provide is critical to advocacy efforts for the arts and culture sector across Long Island.”

Wagner said the more creatives who participate, the better.

“Artists/creatives were — and remain — among the most severely affected segment of the nation’s workforce,” she said. “The arts are a formidable industry in the U.S. — $919.7 billion (pre-COVID) that supported 5.2 million jobs and represented 4.3% of the nation’s economy.”

She added that they have not seen significant relief funding earmarked for the arts from the local government despite the impact the sector has on the local economy.

“The American Rescue Plan provided $385,003,440 to Nassau County, $286,812,434 to Suffolk County, and an additional $170 million to our local townships,” she said.

But when it comes to the higher levels of government, Wagner said that things often get “skewed” because of the Island’s proximity to New York City.

“I hate to say compete with the city, but we do,” she said. “We’re a great economic driver on Long Island and we get forgotten about.”

She said the surveys could “paint a real picture of what it’s like to be an artist on Long Island.”

The artists

Patty Eljaiek. Photo from Patty Eljaiek

Patty Eljaiek, a visual artist from Huntington Station, said that many people might not realize the impact art has on the community — especially financially.

“I think it’s part of the perception that art is not a business,” she said. “Art is a business.”

Elijaiek added that if an artist is looking to share their expertise with the world, they are, in fact, a business. 

“Art has been something that people appreciate but they don’t know how to put value to it,” she said.

Wagner agreed. She said that early on during the pandemic, people looked to the arts for solace.

“Artists are second responders,” she said. “First responders save lives, but artists put everything back together.”

Alex Alexander, a musician in Rocky Point, said that people who work in the arts — such as being a working musician — don’t have the typical 9-to-5 routine.

“You can plan with a 9-to-5,” he said. “I can’t plan my life as other people would.”

And Tom Manuel, executive director of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook and a musician himself, said that his venue was shut down for 15 months throughout the pandemic, but still continued to serve its community with outdoor shows despite the lack of revenue coming in. 

Manuel said that while big industries were being saved by the federal government, the nonprofit sector was “left out” and they had to look to their sponsors to help save them. 

“We were really blessed in that we had a lot of our donors and sponsors step up and say, ‘Hey, we know that you’re closed, but we’re going to still give our sponsorship and don’t worry about programming, just stay open,’” he said.

Board members at The Jazz Loft began raising money themselves for other artists who were struggling, raising nearly $20,000 worth of assistance.

But the pain and struggle were still there as they helped their peers. 

“The statistics show of all the things that could close and not reopen, the most unlikely place to reopen after being shuttered is a performing arts venue,” he said. “That’s the data.”

Manuel said that jazz is all about improvisation — which is what musicians did — and to work through the blues.

“I think that one of the beautiful things that did come out of the pandemic is people realized how important the arts were to them,” he said. “I think there was a reconnection that was established, which is a beautiful thing.”

Artists can participate in LIAA’s survey until Feb. 16 online now at longislandartsalliance.org.

“People don’t realize this is their livelihood on the line,” Wagner said. 

Senior running-back Max Barone looks for an opening for the Wildcats in the Div IV Long Island Championship game against North Shore Nov 27. Bill Landon photo

The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats found themselves in an unusual position as the final minute ticked off at Lavalle Stadium in Stony Brook with a goose egg on the scoreboard in the Long Island Championship game against North Shore. 

The Vikings were able to move the chains with their running game while containing the Wildcats one-two punch ground game for a 7-0 victory for the Div-IV title Nov. 27. It was the only time the Wildcats were shut out this season. 

North Shore quarterback Daniel Quigley on a keeper found the endzone in the final minute of the opening quarter for a 7-0 lead that held up the rest of the way.

It was a tough weekend for Suffolk football where Nassau County captured all four championship games. Massapequa defeated Walt Whitman in D-I, Garden City beat Bellport in D-II and Plainedge edged East Islip in D-III. 

It was the Wildcats sixth appearance in eight seasons having captured four Long Island Championship trophies. 

— All photos by Bill Landon 

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Prohibition agents examine barrels of booze found on a rumrunner seized by a Coast Guard cutter. Photo from the Library of Congress

On Saturday afternoon, Aug. 22, 1931, William Fillbach was sitting in his car, which was parked on the ferry dock at Port Jefferson, waiting to serve a warrant on a man due there at 5:30 p.m.

An investigator for the Suffolk County District Attorney, Fillbach was turning the pages of a newspaper when he caught a glimpse of a boat being hauled out of the water and on to the ways of the Port Jefferson (aka Long Island) Shipyard at the foot of Main Street.

The rumrunner Artemis was hauled out of the water and on to the ways of the Port Jefferson Shipyard shown at the foot of the village’s Main Street. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

All Fillbach could read on the vessel were the letters “Art,” but they were enough for him to identify the boat as the notorious Artemis, a rumrunner that had disappeared following her heated battle with a Coast Guard cutter.

Fillbach climbed aboard the now high and dry craft, which had been moved into a shed, and carefully observed the scene. There was no contraband on the battered booze boat, but the bullet-riddled vessel was strewn with broken glass and three planks on her port side were smashed inward.

Fillbach learned that the crippled Artemis had been towed to Port Jefferson by the swordfisher Evangeline, but workers at the Port Jefferson Shipyard claimed not to know who owned the disabled craft, which bore no registration numbers, or who gave the orders to make her seaworthy.

Fearing that the mysterious smugglers might attempt to spirit the stranded Artemis out of Port Jefferson, Fillbach and five deputy sheriffs guarded the fugitive vessel until Sunday, Aug. 23, when a Coast Guard cutter took over the watch.

Just days before, on Thursday evening, Aug. 20, CG-808 was patrolling Long Island Sound, searching for suspected rumrunners. The cutter had sighted the 53-foot Artemis about two miles east of the Cornfield Point Lightship and commanded her to stop.

Although loaded down with illicit liquor, the speedy rumrunner answered by racing off into the darkness, propelled by her powerful Liberty aircraft engines that had been converted for marine use.

The Coasties gave chase and fired hundreds of shots at the fleeing craft, many hitting the mark. During the thick of the running battle, the agile Artemis suddenly turned about and rammed the 45-foot CG-808, forcing the severely damaged cutter to stop the pursuit and limp back to the Operating Base in New London, Connecticut.

Known as a ‘Six Bitter,’ a 75-foot Coast Guard patrol boat is docked at Port Jefferson’s Bayles Landing. During Prohibition, the government’s patrol boats waged a relentless war against rumrunners operating in local waters. Photo from the Michael F. Lee Collection

The rumrunners then landed on the beach three miles west of Orient Point, where two badly wounded men were taken off the speedboat and driven to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport while the vessel’s prized cargo was quickly unloaded by swarms of willing local residents. 

Angered by the attack on CG-808, and miffed by the escape of the Artemis, Coast Guard officials brought in a private airplane and dispatched two patrol boats to locate the infamous rumrunner. Despite their best efforts, the Artemis was secreted away, stopping briefly in Mattituck Harbor for some patchwork before moving on to Port Jefferson for major repairs.

In the aftermath of the incident, the two crewmen who were aboard the Artemis and severely injured by gunfire from CG-808 were discharged from the hospital, both refusing to talk with the authorities.

The Artemis was seized by the United States Marshal, who claimed that her owners had an outstanding debt at the Gaffga Engine Works in Greenport. After the dispute was settled, the Artemis posted bond and quietly left Port Jefferson, much to the dismay of the Coast Guard.

Over the ensuing years, the Artemis changed hands and home ports several times, but never lost her reputation as a lawbreaker. In May 1935, the Coast Guard captured the Artemis off Chesapeake Bay and brought her to New York Harbor on suspicion of rumrunning, but without any evidence of illegality, the speedboat and her crew were released by the government.

Cases of Scotch Whisky fill the hold of a rumrunner captured by the Coast Guard. Photo from the Library of Congress

With the end of prohibition, the Artemis began a new, but less exciting career, running as a ferry between Bay Shore and Fire Island.

In Port Jefferson, however, the Artemis will always be remembered for bringing the rum war directly to the village.

Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson Village Historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.     

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. Photo by Julianne Mosher

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) packed up his moving trucks at the governor’s mansion, the soon-to-be state leader headed to Long Island last week for a quick appearance and chat with local reporters.

Before she became New York’s 57th and first female governor, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) made a quick stop in Hauppauge for a roundtable discussion on Friday, Aug. 20, with local labor leaders where topics included job training, green jobs and new legislative efforts to support essential workers.

Although the discussion was closed to media, Hochul stopped for a small press conference to quickly discuss her intentions during the meeting.

“One of my first priorities is continue creating good jobs,” she said. “Getting the offshore wind institute off the ground and give opportunities to just really train people in the underserved communities and the jobs of tomorrow where there will be tens of thousands of jobs in that space.”

Hochul said she and the business leaders in attendance also talked about workforce development and creating opportunities to keep young people fully employed on Long Island.

The visit wasn’t anything new, she said, mentioning that over the last seven years “coming out and seeing the people is what I do.”

“If you ask anyone, I’ve been told that Nassau and Suffolk counties are planning on taxing me as a local resident because I’m here so often,” she joked.

As chair of the Regional Economic Development Councils, she said that she is going to continue and be accessible throughout her term.

“I’m going to continue showing appreciation to the labor community, the job creators, the business community and elected officials,” she said. “I have a deep appreciation for all the various roles of government, and I want them to know that they have a governor who recognizes and appreciates that.”

Hochul officially took on her new role early Tuesday, Aug. 24, moving into the governor’s mansion in Albany.

“I haven’t thought about getting a U-Haul,” she joked to reporters on Friday. “I was just going to pack an overnight bag and see what happens. I’ll then keep our residence in Buffalo, as well. It’s going to be very fluid.”

During the event, reporters urged Hochul to announce what her plans were surrounding mask mandates. At the time she said she couldn’t release an official statement until she took office but hinted that “people should be ready.”

As expected, she said during her first press conference as governor that New York will require schools across the state to mandate mask wearing for students. Faculty and staff must be vaccinated or tested weekly, as of press time Wednesday, Aug. 25.

Photo from Edna Giffen

By Edna Davis

Old Mans (Mount Sinai) was a small hamlet of 16 families in 1775, but seven young men volunteered for service during the Revolutionary War.  

Two sets of brothers were among this group. All of them traveled to parts of the country they never would have done if not for the army, including northern and western New York, Canada, Pennsylvania, and finally Yorktown, Virginia. Often armies walked for miles before a battle, food was always short, clothing did not meet the needs of the weather, and illness was always present. By the end of the war most of the men were worn out.  

New York including Long Island was finally evacuated by the British Nov. 25, 1783. All New York units were disbanded Nov. 15, 1783 at Newburgh, New York. The men had to find their own way home, and once home, there was little time to rest and recuperate from the war as they had to support themselves and their families.  

All seven of the men survived the war, but not all of them moved back to Old Mans. Each of them did return to work, most were laborers, but one was a tailor, one a boatman, and one a farmer. They could work as they expected, but as they grew older, they were finding the effects of deprivations during the war started to affect their abilities. But they had to continue as there was no other income for their families. This changed in 1818.

Congress was divided on the issue of providing pensions for the veterans. It was a contentious debate for 30 years, but by 1818 the pension act was passed. Veterans could apply for pension relief, as could their widows and the disabled. The major portion of the application was a deposition from the veteran or his widow given in front of a Justice of the Peace, written by a clerk. 

Other individuals could provide supporting evidence of service. Oral histories were required as few records survived or were not available to the individuals. Few of the men could find any paperwork including their discharge papers. The deposition had to include dates of service, which unit or units, officers, battles, discharge. Recall of this amount of information, especially after 30 years, proved to be difficult for some men more so than for others.  

To qualify man had to have served at least nine months, must be “in reduced circumstances” and “in need of assistance from their government.” All seven men proved they qualified for a pension.

Richard Davis, age 18, was the first to sign up in May of 1775. He was assigned to the 2nd Regiment of the New York Line of the Continental Army. When his term of enlistment was up, he reenlisted for the duration of the war. He achieved the rank of sergeant. 

At the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, he received a scalp wound from a musket ball, but he was able to continue to fight and was at the surrender of British General John Burgoyne and his entire army. He participated in many of the major and minor battles with the final battle at Yorktown where General Charles Cornwallis surrendered.  

Richard was discharged on June 6, 1783.  He settled in New York City where he worked as a boatman.  By 1790 he had moved back to Old Mans where he married and raised his family and continued as boatman. In 1818 he applied for a pension due to his “bodily infirmities being afflicted with rheumatism and was frequently incapable of attending to his business.” Upon his death his wife, Temperance, applied for a widow’s pension which she received based on the information she knew of her husband’s war time activities. They are buried in the Phillips-Davis Cemetery on North Country Road, Mount Sinai.

Jeremiah Kinner, age 18, enlisted for one year in the militia company of Captain Selah B. Strong in February 1776. His first assignment was to a lookout post at Mt. Misery (Belle Terre) to watch for possible invasion of the British and Tories by way of Long Island Sound.

In August 1776 he was pulled with his company to the west end of Long Island as a part of the regiment commanded by Colonel Josiah Smith, Brigade of General Nathaniel Woodhull. Their assignment was to collect all the cattle and drive them east out of the reach of the British. This activity was thwarted by the British and resulted in the capture of General Woodhull.   

Jeremiah with many of the other militia men were able to reach the patriot lines in Brooklyn and were evacuated to Manhattan where they fought with the rest of the army while retreating north up Manhattan to the Bronx and Westchester. 

When his year enlistment was up, he was discharged by Lieutenant Caleb Brewster and returned home to Old Mans. He remained home “until the British took possession of that part of Long Island.” 

He left the island moving to Goshen, Orange County, New York. Once he settled in, he joined the local militia under Captain McDowell of Colonel Tuston’s regiment. At the Battle of the Minisink he was wounded in the knee and was next to Colonel Tuston when the colonel was killed. Jeremiah was sent back to Goshen to recover from his wound which took six months. For the rest of the war the militia unit joined the Continental Army in battles in western New York.  

At the end of the war he returned to Old Mans where he married and raised his family. He was a laborer and did not apply for a pension until 1833 when he was 74.

Nathan Phillips, age 22, enlisted for one year in the 4th Regiment of the New York Line Captain Daniel Roe’s company in March of 1776. He served as the company fifer. When he was discharged in March of 1777, he returned home where he spent the rest of his life. He married and raised his family. He was a laborer by trade. He applied for a pension “owing to my bodily infirmities being afflicted with rheumatism and in indigent circumstances.”

Photo from Edna Giffen

Chapman Davis, age 17, younger brother of Richard, enlisted in the spring of 1776 and assigned to the 2nd Regiment of the New York Line of the Continental Army. He participated in the Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of General John Burgoyne. He fought throughout the war and was at the final battle at Yorktown and the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis. After the war he married and moved to a farm in Aquebogue. He applied for a pension and received it in 1819 but was required to reapply in 1820. By that time, he was a widower with four children the oldest being 20 years old. He was suffering from ill health and having difficulty working his farm. His farm was 250 acres worth $2,788, but his mortgage was $2,800. 

He gave his deposition before David Warner one of the judges in the Court of Common Pleas, however by 1820 the paperwork was a printed form which had to be purchased. The Judge requested the Pension Board to accept the handwritten application as “Mr. Davis is a very poor man and not able to be at the expense of making out a new declaration.”  

Joshua Davis, age 19, joined the 4th New York Line as a private in April 1776 where he served until 1778 when General Washington had him, he transferred to the Whaleboat service under Captain Caleb Brewster. Brewster chose the men he wanted in his unit and “he would choose Long Island men as they knew the harbors and waterways of Long Island.” Joshua grew up on the family farm adjacent to Old Mans harbor. It is also probable that he and Brewster knew each other as Brewster grew up in Setauket.  

Caleb Brewster is known for his activities as a member of the Culper Spy Ring, but that was not all he did. He made frequent forays to Long Island to collect intelligence of British activity on Long Island. One such foray had him observing the Maryland Loyalist Militia which was bivouacked in Miller’s Place 1778.  He also fought British and Loyalist ships that were sailing on the sound.

Photo from Edna Giffen

During Benjamin Tallmadge’s raid on the Fort at the Manor of St. George, Joshua Davis was one of the men guarding the boats in the Old Mans Harbor. His discharge papers included a Badge of Merit for his faithful service.

After the War Joshua became a tailor, married, and raised his family in Greenfield, Fairfield, Connecticut. As he grew older his eyesight started to fail him and his general infirmity caused him to find employment for more than one day a week. He also had lameness in his left leg and back making it impossible to rise from his bed. He is buried with his family in Greenfield, Fairfield, Connecticut. 

George Norton, age 22, grew up on Shore Road. He enlisted in the 4th Regiment of the New York Line of the Continental Army in the spring of 1776. He entered as a private, but eventually was promoted to sergeant and served for seven years. Upon discharge he also received the “Badge of Merit for seven years of faithful service.” 

After the War he returned to Old Mans, married, and raised a family. By 1818, he is in indigent circumstances. In 1820 he was brought into court and upon examination by the judges he is declared insane and incapable of taking an oath. His wife, Elizabeth, appeared in the court stating he is generally insane and incapable of attending to his business. She had been taking care of everything. Two of their sons, wives, and children, and their own 14-year-old son lived in the house. His support comes mainly from the several properties he owned.  

Jonathan Kinner, age 18, younger brother of Jeremiah, enlisted in the Continental Army being assigned to the 4th Regiment of the New York Line in 1777. In 1778 General Washington ordered Jonathan   transferred to the Whaleboat service, Captain Caleb Brewster where he served for the rest of the war.  Again, he was chosen because he was “a Long Island man.” 

When he was a child his family moved from Brooklyn to a farm on Old Mans Harbor adjacent to the farm of Joshua Davis’ family. When he was discharged, he also was awarded the “Badge of Merit for length of service.” He remained in Connecticut, married, and raised his family in Weston. He applied for and received a pension in 1819 but was required to reapply in 1820 giving a detailed inventory of his property and household goods. He is buried in Connecticut with his family.

The Revolutionary War brought about freedom from Britain, but the long years of fighting took its toll on many of the men and their families.  

Edna Davis Giffen is the Recording Secretary of the Miller Place-Mt. Sinai Historical Society. She enjoys doing history research of Mt. Sinai and Miller Place, and helping others learn about their community.

Photo from Samantha Schwab

The goal is to help people in need and break the stigma surrounding “that time of the month.”

Samantha Schwab, a 17-year-old junior at Comsewogue High School decided last year that she wanted to become involved with a national group that has a very specific cause — menstrual products.

Her Drive is a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides bras, menstrual care and general hygiene products to people in need in an effort to combat period and hygiene poverty.

“I love the idea around it,” she said. “We have no idea how [limited access to personal and hygiene products] impacts people in our community.”

Photo from Samantha Schwab

From May 7 through June 9, people can donate products to the pink-colored box inside the Comsewogue Public Library — located at 170 Terryville Road in Port Jefferson Station.

Accepted donations include pads, tampons, individually wrapped pantyliners, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, masks, baby wipes, diapers, bras and socks. 

Schwab said this is the very first local drive for the organization on all of Long Island. So far, she has received 6,000 menstrual products and 300 general hygiene products from the one location.

“I am overwhelmed by the generosity in the community,” she said. “My house is currently filled with boxes, and it makes me feel good to know that we’re helping people in need.”

She said that she will soon be dispersing the products among several local nonprofits, including Give Kids Hope Inc., in Port Jefferson Station.  

People who want to donate to the local Her Drive efforts can drop off products to the library or send Schwab a package using her Amazon Wishlist here.

 

Photo by James Palumbo

By Angela Palumbo

In January 2020, former President Donald Trump (R) signed an executive order that replaced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers definition of what is considered a federal body of water under the Waters of the United States rule, known as WOTUS. 

In his election campaign, President Joe Biden (D) promised to undo these changes, which are currently under review. 

But what does all of this mean for Long Island?

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present near the surface of the soil all year for varying periods of time. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, as at 2004 6% of Long Island was made up of wetlands — that’s about 51,000 acres. 

Wetlands, due to their beneficial services to people and wildlife — including providing habitats to multiple species, improving water quality and assisting with flood protections —are among some of the most productive ecosystems in the world.

Photo by James Palumbo

Wetland protections can also create problems for business developers and farmers. One of Trump’s main reasons for passing his executive order in 2020 was to redefine the definitions of which bodies of water could be protected under WOTUS in order to remove legal roadblocks to farmers caused by the need to determine whether water on their land fell under control of the federal government.

“After decades of landowners relying on expensive attorneys to determine what water on their land may or may not fall under federal regulations, our new Navigable Waters Protection Rule strikes the proper balance between Washington and the states in managing land and water resources while protecting our nation’s navigable waters, and it does so within the authority Congress provided,” said EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, in a January 2020 news release.

Now, due to the undoing of restrictions by Trump’s administration, local conservationists are worried about the long-term effects on Long Island’s wetlands.

Coby Klein, a conservationist at the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society and adjunct professor of Natural Sciences at Baruch College, said that Long Island’s wetlands are beneficial to both the community and the organisms that dwell in them, and they need to be preserved.

“Wetlands provide protection from flooding, especially the coastal wetlands, the salt marshes and things like that,” he said. “They also help work to mitigate climate change. When plants die in these wetland areas, they don’t decompose very quickly. They serve as what’s called a carbon sink. Instead of carbon being put back into the atmosphere when a plant dies, it gets stored in the soil and in the muck in the water.”

Victoria O’Neill, Long Island Sound Study habitat restoration coordinator at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, is another local conservationist who confirms that healthy wetlands are important to Long Island.

“Tidal wetlands provide many different ecosystem services to Long Island communities,” she said. “They help provide protection from coastal storm surge, improve water quality, provide recreational enjoyment and serve as nesting, breeding and resting grounds for commercial and recreationally important fish and shellfish.”

With all of the benefits wetlands provide to Long Island communities and ecosystems, why did the federal government want to push back on protecting them? Klein said it is because, “they get in the way.”

“When there’s any type of pollution that gets into a body of water, it ends up in a wetland,” Klein said.  “That’s bad news for the things that grow there and live there. Salt marshes are very susceptible to nitrogen pollution, and that’s a big problem on Long Island because almost everybody around here fertilizes their lawns, and they tend to overfertilize.” 

He added that because of the high volume of sewage systems on Long Island, the excess fertilizer from people’s lawns and farmers’ fields tends to go from the sewage systems to large bodies of water and then eventually into rivers and wetlands. This causes excess nitrogen that is detrimental to those ecosystems.

Photo by James Palumbo

Under Trump’s redefinition of protected waters under WOTUS, it has become easier for developers and farmers to make those kinds of damages to wetlands but, according to the DEC, New York is taking great steps forward as a leader in the efforts to protect state wetlands and their invaluable natural habitat.

“It is estimated that the Navigable Waters Protection Rule will remove federal protections for about half the nation’s wetlands,” the state DEC said in a 2020 statement. “Thankfully, existing strong protections of waters in New York state will reduce the impact of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule compared to many other states. However, not all wetlands are protected under New York law and we rely on federal protection and our water quality certification review to protect smaller wetlands. Recent changes in the definition of Waters of the United States have resulted in fewer of these smaller wetlands receiving any regulatory protection.”

According to O’Neill, active steps are being taken to restore wetland habitats that have been lost.

“The tidal wetland ecosystem target in the LISS’s 2015 Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan set a goal to restore 515 additional acres of tidal wetlands by 2035 from a 2014 baseline,” she said. “As of 2020, we are 15.5% toward our goal.”

Klein said that restoration projects are time sensitive and need to happen as soon as possible.

“Wetlands provide us with all kinds of important ecosystem services and even more important than that, they’re just pleasant places,” he said. “We should try to preserve them simply because there are so many creatures besides us that depend on them. So even if they didn’t do all this important stuff for us, we should still try to conserve them because they do important things for other species.”

To see more photos, visit tbrnewsmedia.com.

Hank Aaron. Photo from the Baseball Hall of Fame

By Rich Acritelli

Hank Aaron: “I tell young people — including my granddaughter — there is no shortcut in life. You have to take it one step at a time and work hard. And you have to give back.” 

These were the words of one of the most prolific baseball players ever to hit against opposing pitchers. Aaron had staggering numbers that saw him compile 755 home runs, 3,771 hits, 2,297 runs that were driven in, and he held a career batting average of .305. 

On Jan. 22, this noted giant within “America’s Pastime” died at 87 years old.  Always armed with a big smile and a can-do attitude, Aaron was a true ambassador to baseball that saw him reach some of the highest personal achievements that any person has ever gained in this game.

Surpassing Babe Ruth was an endeavor that Aaron worked on during the length of over 20 years in baseball. After the 1973 season, he hit 713 home runs and had to wait the following season to surpass this record. At 9:07 p.m. on April 8, 1974, in front of over 53,000 fans, Aaron stepped up to the plate, with light bulbs going off, and reporters were eager to write about the two-run home run swing that surpassed Ruth. 

Since he left baseball in the late 1970s, Frank Tepedino worked at Port Jefferson Sporting Goods, where he was a fixture behind the counter. For decades, he screened T-shirts, uniforms and he provided professional advice for local families to help them pick out baseball equipment. 

This Brooklyn native and resident of St. James was a talented hitter who was on the rosters of the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves. He was later a 9/11 firefighter who threw out the first pitch in the New York Yankees playoff game against Oakland Athletics, only weeks after the nation was attacked by terrorists. 

During his career, Tepedino played next to the historic baseball figures of Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer and Aaron. Tepedino opposed baseball legends of Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt and Bridgehampton local farm boy Karl Yastrzemski. 

Frank Tepedino, a resident of St. James, retired from the baseball scene decades ago, but the memories of playing alongside Hank Aaron, who passed away last month, in the 70s are memories he could never forget. Photo courtesy of Frank Tepedino

Tepedino recalled that it was an amazing experience to compete against the best players ever to put on a uniform. According to him, “Players like Aaron changed the entire atmosphere of the game, the stadiums and their own teams. They were a different caliber of talent and playing with Aaron, you always appreciated his work ethic toward the game. You always wanted to do your best within his presence. If you appreciated baseball greatness, Aaron was one of the top five ever to take the field.” 

When looking at the newsreels and pictures of Aaron hitting the pitch from Los Angeles Dodgers’ Al Downing over the left field wall, Tepedino can be seen welcoming him after he rounded the bases. On an electric night, the look of Aaron running around the bases and being patted on the back by two fans was one of the greatest sports scenes ever recorded. With his sideburns and blue Braves jacket, Tepedino along with his teammates and coaches, greeted Aaron at home plate. 

During this chase to surpass this record, Tepedino recalled, “Everyone was wondering when Aaron was going to hit enough home runs — except Aaron. As a power hitter, he was fully confident that he would eventually catch Ruth.” 

The game resumed with Aaron staying in the game for one more at bat, but he was physically and mentally exhausted from this daunting experience, and Tepedino replaced him in the lineup.  

It was a wonderful night for baseball, but there were many concerns over the personal safety of Aaron.  Even in 1974, 20 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that ended the “separate but equal” conditions within public schools, poor conditions for Black Americans were still present.  Tepedino remembered that these ballplayers had to face difficult segregation conditions within hotels, restaurants and traveling accommodations. 

Long after President Harry Truman (D) desegregated the armed forces, Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color barrier and President Lyndon Johnson (D) signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans were still battling for equality. During his own career, Tepedino met Robinson and as he played for the Yankees, he was trained by Olympic hero Jesse Owens. Tepedino looked back “in awe” of these athletes that accepted an immense responsibility to fight for an entire race of people in America.

In 1948, a younger Aaron cut class in Mobile, Alabama, to see Robinson speak at a local drugstore. After seeing this extraordinary player and activist speak, Aaron was determined to be a professional ballplayer who later faced similar hatred problems that Robinson had to endure with the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

At an early age, Aaron was continually warned by his parents to stay clear of the Ku Klux Klan that marched near his home and widely displayed burning crosses. In 1952, Aaron signed his first professional contract with The Negro Leagues team of the Indianapolis Clowns, where early scouts determined that he was an “all-around hitter.”  

Tepedino identified the racial complexities of this time, noting that “the Black ballplayer in the South still had limited rights, compared to when we played games in Chicago, where you would see leaders like Jesse Jackson visit our teammates in the locker room.”  

For Aaron, it was an amazing chase to overcome Ruth’s record, but at a dangerous personal cost.  Starting in 1973, the Atlanta Braves had a security presence for him during home and road games.  Eventually the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent agents on the field to protect him from the numerous death threats that he received.  

Every day, Aaron read hate mail that threatened the kidnapping of his children if he attempted to break Ruth’s record. Aaron later stated on CNN, “I’ve always felt like once I put the uniform on and once I got out onto the playing field, I could separate the two from, say, an evil letter I got the day before or event 20 minutes before. God gave me the separation, gave me the ability to separate the two of them.”

Hank Aaron. Photo from the Baseball Hall of Fame

In 1973, for most of the season the Braves were contenders to make the playoffs. At 39 years old, Aaron was at the cusp of passing this record by hitting 40 home runs. Tepedino remembered that the enhanced scrutiny and media hype never impacted Aaron’s performance on the field. Tepedino also described the positive support that his manager Eddie Mathews had toward his former longtime teammate in Aaron.  Both Mathews and Aaron terrorized opposing pitchers within the heart of the Braves lineup by hitting between them 863 home runs. Next to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, this was one of the most feared tandems ever to consistently oppose pitching for many years.

Unlike daily media scrutiny of today, Aaron during most of his pursuit, only had the Braves beat writers covering the team. It was not until he was within reach of Ruth that there were over 50 reporters following his every movement until April 8, 1974.  

Tepedino enjoyed playing with Aaron and remembered him to be a “soft-spoken man, that never bragged, was approachable, that always flashed a big smile. During this stressful time, the team realized that he was under immense pressure, and we all gave him his space.”  

With a full house of fans, and Gov. Jimmy Carter (D) in attendance, Aaron’s home run was hit beyond the left field reach of Dodger Bill Buckner. With his family around him, Aaron later held onto the ball that was retrieved from the fans. After the game, he spoke with President Richard Nixon (R) who congratulated him on this endeavor. Later after Aaron crossed home plate with this record in his name and surviving through this immense pressure, the prolific hitter said to the media, “I just thank God it’s all over.”

The last time that Tepedino saw Aaron was five years ago at a major dinner in New York City to support Baseball Assistance Team. They were with many other former ballplayers helping to raise money for some of their peers who had fallen upon hard economic times.  

While Tepedino was pleased to see Aaron and to say hello to this legendary figure, these former players were once again together to share a special “comradery and fraternity” of former athletes who were reminiscing about their days in the sun. 

Through the passing of an absolute gentlemen in Aaron, who was a special player and a citizen to fight for enhanced rights for African Americans, Tepedino surely has witnessed major American memories within local and national history.  Through his own immense baseball talent, Tepedino shared the field with athletic figures who will never fade away from “America’s Pastime.”

Sean Hamilton of the Rocky Point High School History Honor Society contributed to this article.

Stony Brook University. File photo

Stony Brook University has been at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospital staff has treated and comforted residents stricken with the virus and researchers have worked tirelessly on a range of projects, including manufacturing personal protective equipment. Amid a host of challenges, administrators at Stony Brook have had to do more with less under budgetary pressure. In a two-part series, Interim Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos and President Maurie McInnis share their approaches and solutions, while offering their appreciation for their staff.

Part I: Like many other administrators at universities across the country and world, Fotis Sotiropoulos, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Interim Provost of Stony Brook University, has been juggling numerous challenges.

Named interim provost in September, Sotiropoulos, who is also a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, has focused on ways to help President Maurie McInnis keep the campus community safe, keep the university running amid financial stress and strain, and think creatively about ways to enhance the university’s educational programs.

Stony Brook University which is one of two State University of New York programs to earn an Association of American Universities distinction, is in the process of developing new degree programs aimed at combining expertise across at least two colleges.

“We have charged all the deans to work together to come up with this future-of-work initiative,” Sotiropoulos said. “It has to satisfy a number of criteria,” which include involving at least two colleges or schools and it has to be unique. Such programs will “allow us to market the value of a Stony Brook education.”

Sotiropoulos said Stony Brook hoped that the first ideas about new degrees will emerge by the middle of January.

Fotis Sotiropoulos. File photo from SBU

Under financial pressure caused by the pandemic, the university has “undertaken this unprecedented initiative to think of the university as one,” Sotiropoulos said. Looking at the East and West campus together, the university plans to reduce costs and improve efficiency in an organization that is “complex with multiple silos,” he said. At times, Stony Brook has paid double or triple for the same product or service. The university is taking a step back to understand and optimize its expenses, he added.

On the other side of the ledger, Stony Brook is seeking ways to increase its revenue, by creating these new degrees and attracting more students, particularly from outside the state.

Out-of-state students pay more in tuition, which provides financial support for the school and for in-state students as well.

“We have some room to increase out-of-state students,” Sotiropoulos said. “There is some flexibility” as the university attempts to balance between the lower tuition in-state students pay, which benefits socioeconomically challenged students, and the higher tuition from out-of-state students.

While the university has been eager to bring in talented international students as well in what Sotiropoulos described as a “globally-connected world,” the interim provost recognized that this effort has been “extremely challenging right now,” in part because of political tension with China and in part because Chinese universities are also growing.

Stony Brook “recognizes that it needs to diversify right now. The university is considering strategies for trying to really expand in other countries. We need to do a lot more to engage students from African countries,” he said.

Sotiropoulos described Africa as an important part of the future, in part because of the projected quadrupling of the population in coming decades. “We are trying to preserve our Asian base of students,” he said, but, at the same time, “we are thinking of other opportunities to be prepared for the future.”

While the administration at the university continues to focus on cutting costs, generating revenue and attracting students to new programs, officials recognize the need to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts for students. “Assessment is an integral part,” Sotiropoulos said. The school will explore the jobs students are able to find. “It’s all about the success of our students,” he added. The school plans to assess constantly, while making adjustments to its efforts.

Pandemic Response

Stony Brook University has been at the forefront of reacting to the pandemic on a number of fronts. The hospital treated patients during the heavy first wave of illnesses last spring, while the engineering school developed ways to produce personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, and even MacGyver-style ventilators. The university has also participated in multi-site studies about the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

Stony Brook has been involved in more than 200 dedicated research projects across all disciplines, which span 45 academic departments and eight colleges and schools within the university.

Sotiropoulos, whose expertise is in computational fluid mechanics, joined a group of researchers at SBU to conduct experiments on the effectiveness of masks in stopping the way aerosolized viral particles remain in the air, long after patients cough, sneeze, and even leave the room.

“Some of these droplets could stay suspended for many minutes and could take up to half an hour” to dissipate in a room, especially if there’s no ventilation, Sotiropoulos said, and added he was pleased and proud of the scientific community for working together to understand the problem and to find solutions.

“The commitment of scientists at Stony Brook and other universities was quite inspirational,” he said.

According to Sotiropoulos, the biggest danger to combatting the virus comes from the “mistrust” of science, He hopes the effectiveness of the vaccine in turning around the number of people infected and stricken with a variety of difficult and painful symptoms can convince people of the value of the research.

Sotiropoulos said the rules the National Institutes of Health have put in place have also ensured that the vaccine is safe and effective. People who question the validity of the research “don’t understand how strict this process is and how many hurdles you have to go through.” 

Part 2 will appear in next week’s issue.

Stock photo

They said the American flag belongs to everyone — not a single party or point of view. 

With the recent events at the United States Capitol and the riots that ensued from pro-Trump groups, local residents are joining in a national campaign to Take Back Our Flag.

Beatrice Ruberto, a Sound Beach resident, said the campaign, which started online around the 2020 election, implies that the American flag has become a symbol of President Donald Trump’s (R) beliefs.

“We started searching the internet, wondering how the American flag was being used,” she said. “We saw that over the past four years, it became shorthand for MAGA.” That’s Trump’s campaign slogan of Make America Great Again.

During her research, she found that after the election, many people on all sides of the political spectrum were ready to take it back. 

“We want to make the flag a unified symbol rather than a one-sided symbol,” she said.

So now, Ruberto and many members within the community, are looking to make sure the flag stands for its initial emblem, a symbol of We the People.

Ruberto and her group are hoping to persuade all people to hang their American flags outside their homes the day of the U.S. presidential inauguration, next Wednesday on Jan. 20.

“This is not a message of division,” she said. “It’s a message of inclusion.” 

After making its rounds online locally and nationally, Ruberto said the feedback so far has been generally positive, although some has been otherwise. 

But the message is simple, Ruberto noted. “Fly the flag,” she said. “Continue flying the flag, no matter what your point of view is. Everyone should be flying it.”