In observance of Memorial Day, the office of TBR News Media will be closed today, Monday, May 31. Thank you to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
“Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it.
It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.”
– Unknown
Our national remembrance of Memorial Day had its roots after this nation fought the Civil War that ended in April of 1865.
Former veterans remembered their comrades after the terrible fighting of this four-year war in Waterloo, New York, in 1866.
Almost, a year after the fighting came to an end, the residents of this upstate town used flowers and flags to pay tribute to those citizens that were impacted by this war.
In 1868, General John A. Logan called for the nation to show unity in honoring the soldiers from both regions, as he stated that the battle scars and losses were felt within every American town.
“Decoration Day” was loosely recognized by most states until 1971, when “Memorial Day” was established by the government as a federal holiday. Through a three-day weekend, the blooming of flowers paid tribute to those men and women that served to protect this proud nation.
On this day, Americans take a moment to understand the historic examples of military service that has strengthened this country since the creation of our republic.
From May 18 to July 4, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant was in position to drive a decisive wedge against the Confederate ability to carry out this war. At this time, Grant was in the midst of a 47-day siege against the mighty fortifications and gun emplacements that hindered the Union transportation on the Mississippi River.
Since December of 1862, Grant struggled to overtake this southern post that was called the “Gibraltar of the Confederacy.”
For several months, Grant sought one scheme after another that failed within his goals of taking control of these powerful guns that proved impossible to overcome. The press turned against Grant, whom they wrote was heavily drinking on duty and should be replaced by Lincoln. Even this president who appreciated the fighting devotion of Grant believed that he was the only friend that Grant had within the government.
On April 16 and 17, Grant gambled perhaps the entire war, by moving his forces under all of the guns at Vicksburg to operate south of these enemy forces. Even as the Confederates opened fire, Grant who was accompanied by his wife and son, observed that his entire flotilla of ships that held men and materials were practically unscathed by this assault.
Now, Grant was within the interior of the state of Mississippi, where he successfully fought several battles, took over the capital of Jackson, and pushed General John C. Pemberton back to the gates of Vicksburg. Lincoln was ecstatic over the fighting exploits of Grant, and this was shown when he was visited by several congressional leaders.
They were alarmed at reports that this general was drinking too much alcohol while he led this massive army. The President listened to the complaints against Grant and firmly stated that whiskey should be allocated to his other generals that have yet to fight and win any significant battles.
By June of 1863, he established a siege of Vicksburg, where these heavy artillery guns were useless to the southerners, and it was only a matter of time before this position was captured by Grant on Independence Day of 1863.
Grant was at the cusp of the largest victory of the war, where he proved that Lincoln was correct to stick with this general that was widely criticized after the Battle of Shiloh and during the earliest attempts to take Vicksburg.
Closer to home during World War I, Camp Upton that is now known as Brookhaven Laboratory, played a pivotal role in preparing American soldiers for the rigors of this conflict.
Once President Woodrow Wilson finally declared war on Germany and the Central Powers on April 2, 1917, the United States compared to the European powers, had a small force of 127,000 soldiers, with 181,000 National Guardsmen.
While Wilson kept “our boys out of the war” before he was re-elected in 1916, the President was now responsible to prepare our soldiers that were mostly drafted into service to fight against the battle-hardened strength of Germany.
At once, the government invested three billion dollars to raise, equip, and modernize the armed forces within an extremely brief period of time. Eventually 40,000 soldiers from mostly New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut received their earliest instruction at Camp Upton.
They were comprised of more than twenty-five national backgrounds that came from different walks of American life. There was musical composer Irvin Berlin and one of the most decorated veterans of this war, Sergeant Alvin York, briefly called this part of Yaphank their home.
This army base that was established at Camp Upton played a vital role in establishing the training that was necessary to fight an experienced German military on the Western Front.
At this moment, the local towns of Rocky Point, Miller Place, Ridge, Middle Island, Wading River, and Yaphank, watched a huge influx of civilians from around this nation walked into the confines of Camp Upton. As we remember Memorial Day, it was some-105 years ago, that these soldiers were trained how to march, shine their boots, make a bed, follow orders, fire a weapon and handle explosives at this local base.
While Camp Upton was across the vast Atlantic Ocean, it provided a vital morale booster for our country that American soldiers that were trained at this installation were sent overseas to help win this war. General John J.
Pershing the Expeditionary Commander of all-American forces in France counted on the soldiers that were from Camp Upton that later aided the British and French in finally defeating the Germany Empire.
Reinforcements from the United States were desperately needed, as the casualty rate for both sides was excessive with an average of 230 soldiers that died during every hour of fighting between these fighting nations.
About 81 years later, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was preparing for the D-Day invasion of France that took place on June 6, 1944.
Like that of Grant, he was a mid-western officer, that was an easy officer to like, and a figure that believed in his duty to help win the war. Eisenhower was chosen over General George C. Marshall the great “Organizer of Victory,” due to the unwillingness of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to allow his most trusted general to leave the nation.
And with this massive buildup of men and materials, Eisenhower with his trademark smile and ability to get along with the other senior leaders of the allies, was determined to establish the best possible plan to pierce Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” in Normandy.
For several months leading up to this invasion, there were 73,000 American soldiers, and 83,000 British and Canadian men that were preparing to land on five beaches that spanned over fifty miles.
To support this massive operation that was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, over 7,000,000 tons of resources were shipped from the United States, that included 450,000 tons of ammunition. Citizens from every part of America prepared for their role in the “Great Crusade” to defeat one of the worst tyrannical leaders in world history.
While the British were in their fifth year of the war, they were pleased to see American soldiers and to befriend young men that were from places like New York City, Boston, Duluth, Galveston, Phoenix and Seattle. It was common to read the British slogan about the American presence of being “overpaid, oversexed, and over-here.”
As the Yanks were never shy to show their wild side, many of these soldiers were barely out of high school, and they were ultimately used to defeat the 50,000 German soldiers that defended these beaches that rested on the English Channel. As one of the most accomplished generals that this nation ever produced, Eisenhower was a simple officer that cared about his men.
Eisenhower had much in common with the average private, sergeant and officer that was expected to carry out this complex operation. He was from a poor background, that was fortunate to gain an admission for a college education at the United States Military Academy at West Point, was a talented football player and later coach, and he played minor league baseball under an assumed name.
When meeting with American soldiers, Eisenhower looked for army personnel that was from his hometown of Abilene, Kansas.
Although he was devoted to win the war, he accepted that casualties were going to be high, Eisenhower identified with some of the parents that were praying for their children that were in uniform. At the very moment that he prepared to issue the Operation Overlord orders, his son John prepared to graduate from West Point as a second lieutenant.
By the end of the war, both father and son were serving together within the European Theater to see the collapse of the Third Reich. Over the important history of the United States, Americans have always sacrificed and served for this nation.
May we always remember the examples of military service by our men and women that have proudly defined the strength and character of this country.
Rocky Point High School students Madelynn Zarzychi and Rosario Orantes helped write this article.
Rich Acritelli is a social studies teacher at Rocky Point High School and an adjunct professor of American history at Suffolk County Community College.
Huntington Town Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, Town officials, the Town Harbormaster, Bay Contables and members of the Greater Huntington Council of Yachting and Boating Clubs met at Mill Dam Marina in Halesite on Thursday, May 27 to promote boating safety for boaters and kayakers.
Saturday, May 22 kicked off Huntington’s Boating Safety Week heading into Memorial Day weekend. May, June, July and August are the busiest times for boating on Long Island.
“We expect high volume turnout on the water this year. Our Harbormaster’s Office averaged one rescue per day last season for boaters and kayakers,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci. “Kayakers: Don’t get out on the water before learning how to extricate yourself from an overturned kayak or how to get back into or on your kayak in deep water while you wait for rescue. Test yourself – not alone – but practice with a partner, sit in your kayak in shallow water, and turn the kayak over. Do not learn the hard way.”
“We Huntington residents are fortunate for our proximity to the waterfront, but that privilege comes responsibility. I want to thank the Greater Huntington Council of Yacht and Boating Clubs for helping Huntington meet one of our most important responsibilities: safety on the water. Each year the Boating Council sponsors an invaluable array of boating education classes for people of all ages and is a generous contributor of improvements to our waterfront and toward the well-being of boaters. Their public service is exemplary,” said Councilwoman Joan Cergol.
Councilman Ed Smyth reminded boaters that they can pick up spare lifejackets available at the Harbormaster’s office at the Halesite Marina, adding advice for kayakers, whom the Town has seen in increase in activity over the past year, “Kayakers should take note of offshore winds before getting out on the water — if you’re not careful, you may end up in Connecticut waters.”
Senior Harbormaster Fred Uvena warned that his team of Bay Constables are well-trained to spot intoxicated boaters and they are prepared to make BWI arrests. He warned against speeding and the dangerous wakes speeding boats create, also advising boaters to include baby aspirin in their first aid kits, and even ibuprofen as a precaution against anaphylactic shock from bee stings and other allergic responses that may occur over the waterways.
Boaters may call VHF Channel 16 for emergencies and VHF Channel 9 for pump-out service. The Harbormaster’s Office is located at 53 N. New York Avenue, Halesite, NY, open Monday through Saturday 8:30am to 4:30pm, office phone (631) 351-3255.
Jackie Martin of the Greater Huntington Council of Yachting and Boating Clubs reviewed highlights from Huntington’s 9th Annual Safe Boating Week, which was established after three children lost their lives in a preventable boating tragedy in 2012. She advised boaters, “you are responsible for your wake.”
The Harbormaster also reminded beachgoers of the reason dogs are not allowed on the sand at any beach, “Children play in the sand and you cannot clean up pet urine so please, respect your fellow residents and do not allow your dog on the sand, it’s unsanitary – keep them in the parking lot or on boardwalks.”
Supervisor Lupinacci also advised boaters and kayakers not to disturb the bird sanctuary at Hobart Beach, as landing boats and kayaks on the sand in the area of the preserve can have significant unintentional consequences for the endangered birds nesting there.
“Please heed the signs and fencing, stay away from the water and sand in the entire area located south of the parking lot during the birds’ mating season, which runs from early April through August.”
All trespassers in the sanctuary, including on foot, should be reported to the Department of Public Safety’s 24/7 emergency hotline at (631) 351-3234.
VIDEO: https://huntingtonny.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=2531
By Barbara Beltrami
With Memorial Day just around the corner, we will finally be gathering without guilt or fear with family, friends and neighbors to whoop up together at picnics, barbecues and maybe even pool parties. It will be a time to remember not just those Americans who have fallen on the battlefield but the more than 600,000 who have succumbed to the coronavirus over the past year. Like so many large get togethers, this one will probably be a cooperative effort with each guest bringing some part of the meal. If the answer you got to “What can I bring?” was “dessert,” then I suggest you think about dessert bars. Easier than cookies and good travelers, they will delight both young and old.
Maria’s Pineapple-Coconut Bars
YIELD: Makes about two dozen bars
INGREDIENTS:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
12 ounces softened cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup finely chopped almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2” baking dish. In a medium bowl combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. With pastry blender or fork, cut in 1 1/2 sticks of the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Spread over bottom of prepared pan and press into place with fingers; bake for 12 minutes. In medium bowl combine cream cheese, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla and eggs. Spread over baked crust, then spread pineapple evenly on top. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter and let cool; In a separate bowl, combine coconut, melted butter and almonds; spread over pineapple — cream cheese mixture. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until coconut and almonds are nicely browned. Let cool 15 minutes, then chill until set. Cut into squares and serve with hot coffee or tea.
Mary Alice’s Golden Squares
YIELD: Makes about two dozen 2” squares
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg white
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 13x9x2”pan. With electric mixer on low speed, beat butter until fluffy; gradually add sugar while continuing to beat until mixture is light in color Add eggs and vanilla; beat to combine. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder, then thoroughly blend with wet mixture. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Beat egg white until stiff; add brown sugar and continue to beat until stiff again. Fold in nuts, then spread over batter in pan. Bake 25 minutes, remove from oven and let cool to room temperature; cut into squares and serve with iced tea, coffee, or lemonade.
Stephen’s Mother’s Lemon Bars
YIELD: Makes about 20 squares
INGREDIENTS:
Two 8-ounce sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
Pinch coarse salt
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Confectioners’ sugar, if desired
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. In large electric mixer bowl cream the butter and 1/2 cup sugar; add two cups of the flour and the salt and mix on low speed just until combined. Turn dough onto a floured board and gather into a ball; flatten and press into a 13 x 9 x 2” baking dish; build up a two-inch edge on sides; refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes, then bake 15 to 20 minutes until crust turns a light golden; remove, place on wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Whisk together the eggs, remaining sugar and flour, lemon zest and juice, then pour into crust; bake until set, about 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then dust with confectioners’ sugar, if using, and cut into squares. Serve with raspberry sorbet.
“Army” of People Work to Save Life of Sound Beach Man
What was just a day of golfing with his two sons turned into a life or death situation for one Miller Place School District athletic director and another area resident. It became a day where scores of people, both medical and nonmedical alike, worked to save a man’s life and return him to his family, alive and with his full faculties.
It was a bright sunny day the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, May 22. Ron Petrie, of Sound Beach, was out with his two sons Michael and Matthew for a day of golf at the Rolling Oaks Golf Course in Rocky Point. Being it was a popular day for some socially distanced sports at the course, the trio was paired up with fellow Sound Beach resident Jim Kennedy. They were strangers, but they got to talking as they moved languidly across the greens. Petrie’s sons were still relatively new to golf and were taking it slow to learn more of the ropes.
Petrie said he could tell that the new acquaintance loved his wife and two daughters just by the way he talked of them and how one of his daughters just recently graduated from college.
Then at the 8th hole, Petrie turned around, and said he saw Kennedy a few yards behind them. The man had fallen face down in the fairway. He didn’t seem responsive.
“The initial thing is just to figure out what was going on,” Petrie said, remembering the events of a few weeks ago. “It was kind of a sense of we’ve got to figure out what’s going on … It was definitely unnerving.”
Petrie got to the ground and rolled Kennedy over onto his back. He shook him, shouted his name, but there was no response. He checked everywhere, from his carotid to his brachial arteries for a pulse, but could not find it. The man was in agonal breathing, as if he was gasping for air, whenever the athletic director moved or shifted him. Though Petrie didn’t know it, the man was having a heart attack, and a severe one at that.
He told one of his sons to call 911, then that they should clear the area of any kinds of obstructions like golf clubs and bags and stand at the top of a nearby hill to flag down the emergency service vehicles that came by. Despite the threat of the COVID-19 virus, the athletic director began compressions and continued it for about five minutes until emergency responders arrived.
It’s something that as the head of athletics, as well as health and physical education, is kept up to date with the latest training every year. He fell into the steps of compressions. He saw the man had lost all control of bodily function and fluid. He had already vomited and he decided to focus on what he could control, that being pumping Kennedy’s heart for him.
“I coached for 25 years, I’ve gone through every gamut of CPR that it seems every two years they’re changing,” Petrie said. “The latest protocols are when in doubt, hands only, breaths are secondary.”
Medical professionals would learn Petrie’s actions most certainly saved the man’s life, and likely helped preserve the man in what is the most consequential time in a heart attack, where oxygen no longer is being pumped up to the brain.
Speaking many days after his time in the hospital, as he continues his recovery day by day, Kennedy said he remembers very little of what he was doing before he collapsed, and practically nothing until he found he was lying in a bed at Stony Brook University Hospital. He learned later his heart attack, caused by the complete blockage of the left anterior descending artery, is sometimes called the widow maker, as that specific artery provides blood into the heart, allowing it to function properly.
EMTs on the scene put him on a machine to do compressions and managed to get a weak pulse back in Kennedy, about 15 minutes after he went down. The ambulance team decided to take Kennedy to Stony Brook University Hospital’s cardiac department, where nurses and doctors would spend nearly the next nine hours in battle over the man’s life.
Kennedy’s sister, Kathleen Taibi, just happens to work as a nurse practitioner at the Stony Brook cardiac department. Her husband, Dr. William Taibi was Kennedy’s physician before he retired from his own practice in 2016. The duo received the call of Kennedy’s circumstances from their house upstate. They rushed down to Stony Brook, who let the Taibis and Kennedy’s wife, Trish, into the normally restricted lab, as many there thought it could have potentially been the husband’s final moments.
Doctors in the catheterization lab put two stents in his artery to open the worst of the blockages. After that though, Kennedy suffered two more cardiac arrests after he was put into the coronary care unit. An army of staff “worked on him and worked on him and worked on him,” William Taibi said. Medical professionals managed to stabilize him during the second round of catheterization.
The doctors put the man in an induced coma for several days, using an intentional cooling of the body to minimize the amount of oxygen the brain and body need. When he was warmed and awoke that following Monday, doctors and family were relieved to find he did not seem to have any damage in brain function. In just a little over a week he was released from the hospital.
“He came out of it miraculously,” Taibi said. “There were all sorts of miraculous events … if you’re looking for a hero story, it’s [Petrie and his sons], they performed CPR on him in the time of COVID. They were able to give him those first five minutes, that’s probably why he has his brain function today.”
Despite having never really met each other until that day on the golf course, it just so happens that both men were connected through the school district. Justine Scutaro, who teaches in the district and is also the girls volleyball coach, is the goddaughter to Kennedy.
“I’m just happy the family still has him in their lives,” Petrie said.
Kennedy, who works as a corrections officer for Suffolk County, remembers very little of events, only really up until the Wednesday after Memorial Day.
“I’m feeling a little better every day — when I came home everybody was really happy to see me upright and able to walk.” he said “I’ll forever be indebted to Ron.”
Trish Kennedy said Petrie “is our hero — performing CPR on a total stranger — especially during this pandemic.” She added that the work of everyone, from the athletic director to the people in the ambulance to the men and women in the hospital, helped save her husband’s life.
“Ron not only saved my husband, he saved [my daughters’] Kimberly and Kaitlyn’s dad,” she said.
Petrie said CPR is taught during the first quarter of health classes every year. Students wonder aloud why they have to learn the skill or when they will have to use it.
“We got him to where he needed to be,” he said. “To think his family will have the opportunity to be together, to know they will still have that opportunity, is a huge relief.”
The story printed in the June 4 issue of the Village Beacon Record incorrectly spelled Petrie’s name. This version corrects that error.
By Heidi Sutton
In Setauket, Memorial Day is usually marked with a parade from Main Street to Route 25A followed by a remembrance ceremony, but these are not usual times.
For the first time in recent years the parade was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054, which hosts the Three Village Memorial Day Parade each year, decided to hold a brief wreath-laying ceremony at Setauket Veterans Memorial Park to memorialize those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.
The park’s monument honors members of the community who perished in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
“As long as two comrades survive — so long will the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States render tribute to our heroic dead,” said Post Commander Jay Veronko, who led the 10-minute remembrance event.
“On this day, forever consecrated to our heroic dead, we are assembled once again to express sincere reverence. This monument represents the resting places of many departed comrades who served in all wars. Wherever the body of a comrade lies there the ground is hallowed,” Veronko recited.
As in years past there was the traditional rifle salute, a prayer, the playing of taps and rousing renditions of our country’s national anthem and “God Bless America” by Arleen Gargiulo of Setauket, albeit with face masks while adhering to strict social distancing measures.
Kellen McDermott of Cub Scout Pack 18, Beverly C. Tyler representing the Three Village Historical Society, and Tim Still and Jack Cassidy from VFW Post 3054 presented wreaths.
“Our presence here is in solemn commemoration of all these men — an expression of our tribute to their devotion to duty, to their courage and patriotism. By their services on land, on sea and in the air, they have made us their debtors, for the flag of our nation still flies over a land of free people,” Veronko said.
The Post also paid their respects to their departed comrades Edward Arndt and Walter Denzler Sr. and “a solemn tribute to all comrades wherever they may rest.” The group also laid wreaths at the Setauket Village Green Memorial and the Stony Brook Village Memorial.
Veronko thanked the participants for coming. “Hopefully next year we can have a parade,” he said.
Photos by Heidi Sutton
It was a muggy Saturday morning at Washington Memorial Park Cemetery in Mount Sinai, May 23. Across lawns dotted with inset grave markers, small flags were listless in the stagnant air. There, while COVID-19 has meant many could not participate in the large, standout flag planting ceremonies normally seen the weekend before Memorial Day, families, friends, Boy Scouts and active service members still found ways to honor those who are buried there.
Riverhead residents Bill Merker and his son Zach visited the grave of Glen “Doc” Moody Jr., an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who had passed away April 8. His grave was still packed with fresh dirt and had not yet even received the stone marking his name on his grave.
“He was a very big inspiration for us,” said the younger Merker, a member of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets program who said Moody would teach them about medical procedures.
Moody, of Miller Place, had been featured in a previous article in TBR News Media papers. The marine veteran had been active helping his fellow veterans adjust to life outside the military and had been active with the Patriotic Service Dog Foundation, which helps provide service and therapy dogs to veterans. Moody, who passed at the age of 39, had his own service dog, a red fox Labrador named Independence, who never left his side.
Scattered around the park were others helping to plant flags. Ray Langert, one of the groundskeepers at the cemetery, helped one group of folks looking to plant flags at veterans’ graves.
Adam and Melora Morris, of Mount Sinai, joined with their children and friends to come out to Washington Memorial to plant flags. They said while they regularly attend the flag planting ceremonies at Calverton National Cemetery, federal orders to ban large gatherings at the cemeteries put a squash to those plans.
It was a sentiment shared all across the North Shore with people trying to offer memorials to those passed. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D), who had petitioned the federal government to allow the large-scale flag planting events at places like Calverton, still offered condolences and remarks. Bellone also thanked the health care and essential employees continuing to work through the Memorial Day weekend.
“This day is unlike any other we have seen in modern times,” Bellone said. “We could not gather the way we normally do … But we did come together today to recognize, make sure we are honoring those really precious individuals in our community who have served and sacrificed.”
Some still managed to go to the Calverton cemetery to offer what services they could. Members of the Rocky Point VFW Post 6249 went down that Saturday morning to place flags and host small services.
On Memorial Day, May 25, the VFW hosted a small ceremony in the park behind Tilda’s Bakery in Rocky Point. In Sound Beach, community leaders placed a wreath at their own vets memorial on New York Avenue.
Despite restrictions and the need for distancing, it’s still hard to estimate how positive the impact is in memorializing those who’ve passed. Langert’s own father and mother, Robert and Elsie, are buried in the mausoleum on the grounds of the Washington Memorial Cemetery. Robert was a U.S. Army veteran who passed in 2005. The Morris family and friends offered to place a flag by his father’s stone in the mausoleum.
“He would have loved to see that,” Langert said, sitting in his lawnmower’s seat with a smile. “He would have been ecstatic.”
After 66 days stuck in New York Pause, Long Island is expecting to start phase one of its economic reopening on Wednesday.
“If we continue on this track, and we believe that we will, we are looking to reopen Long Island” on Wednesday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “That is great news.”
Phase One includes construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, retail (which is limited to curbside or in-store pick up or drop off), manufacturing and wholesale trade.
Bellone urged residents to continue to wear face coverings when they are indoors or when they are around other people and can’t maintain a reliable six feet of social distancing. He also acknowledged that the reopening of the camping reservation web site did not go as planned last night, when it reopened at 7 p.m.
The site crashed amid a high demand which was built up by the long layoff from recreational and leisure activities.
Bellone expects to get the site up and running this week and indicated he would provide plenty of notice for when it is reopening so that people can book their reservations for periods starting after July 15.
This morning, Bellone joined residents at Babylon cemetery, who came out to place thousands of flags at the graves of veterans across the county.
Volunteers placed flags at the graves of former service men and women, thanking veterans across the generations and centuries who are all “part of this great American story that gives us and has given us our freedom,” Bellone said.
As for the COVID-19 update, the number of residents who tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours was 130, which brings the total to 38,802. That doesn’t include the over 12,000 who have tested positive for antibodies to the virus.
As of May 21, the number of hospitalizations from the virus declined by 16 to 409, while the number of people in the Intensive Care Unit declined by six to 125.
Bed capacity fell below 70 percent usage, with 993 beds available out of a total of 3,035 and 212 ICU beds available out of a total of 547.
Over the last day, 43 people left the hospital. An additional eight residents from the county died from complications related to COVID-19, which raises the terrible death toll to the virus to 1,822.
To honor the veterans and health care heroes, the Bayport Aerodrome Society, which is the last remaining public grass airfield on Long Island, will do a flyover with eight World War II era planes on Memorial Day.
Starting at noon on Monday in Brookhaven, the planes will fly over Long Island Community Hospital, Mather, St. Charles, Stony Brook, St. Catherine’s, Huntington Hospital, and Good Samaritan. The planes will end their flight over South Side Hospital in Bayshore.
Three of the pilots are veterans.
After a Memorial Day weekend when beaches will be open under new social distancing rules, Suffolk County is on track to reopen the economy starting next week.
Camp grounds will reopen starting on June 1. Starting tonight, residents can make reservations to visit those camp grounds starting on July 15, which is “a positive sign of the progress we’ve made,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said today that Long Island was on track to potentially reopen. What that requires is additional contract tracers, which Suffolk and Nassau officials said they were currently working on acquiring, and a 14-day total decline in deaths. The latter is likely the most tentative, and will surely depend on no spikes in numbers in the coming week.
The governor announced he would allow construction staging on Long Island, in anticipation for phase 1 of reopening, which would allow construction companies to start up again.
Bellone said people often think of Memorial Day weekend as the start of the summer season. This year, as the county and state look to loosen restrictions caused by COVID-19, summer will “serve as the unofficial transition to reopening our economy,” Bellone said.
Bellone encouraged residents to participate this weekend in the first of the Suffolk County Veterans runs. Interested participants in the virtual race, which is free but accepts donations to support veterans, can sign up at suffolkveteransrunseries.com.
The Suffolk County Police Department reiterated its plan to enforce social distancing and wearing face masks over the Memorial Day weekend. The SCPD anticipates crowds in downtown areas and said its Together Enforcing Compliance (or TEC) Team would be on foot in downtown areas and parks. Marine Bureau officers also expect more boaters on the water than usual after the end of New York Pause and planned to adjust their staffing levels and patrols accordingly.
Bellone raised the white flag in his ongoing effort to honor veterans who are buried at Calverton National Cemetery and Long Island National Cemetery. After putting together a proposal about how the county could plant flags safely at the cemeteries, Bellone received several rejections, interrupting an annual tradition that began in 1995.
The county executive still plans to plant flags for deceased service men and women at 15 non-national cemeteries tomorrow.
Bellone provided the daily update to the viral numbers.
An additional 119 people tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of residents who tested positive to 38,672. That does not include the 12,013 people who tested positive through the antibody test, which indicates they had the virus at some point.
The number of hospitalizations from the virus decreased by 28 to 425 through May 20. The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit increased by two to 131, also through May 20, which is the most recent 24 hour period for which the county had data.
With 882 beds available from a total of 3,009, the occupancy is just over 70 percent, which is the target for reopening. The number of available ICU beds is 193 out of a total of 547, which means ICU occupancy is at 65 percent.
In the last day, the number of people who died from complications related to the coronavirus increased by 12, bringing the total who died to 1,814.
Separately, the county executive office distributed an additional 30,000 pieces of personal protective equipment.
Bellone said 16 sites at CVS drive-through locations would provide self-administered COVID-19 tests. Residents will drive to the drug stores and will receive instructions with the kit. Someone from CVS will observe the process to ensure it is done correctly. Residents will get results within three days.
The county had six pediatric cases in the hospital as of May 20, which does not necessraily mean they have the rare inflammatory condition the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking.
Gregson Pigott, the Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, said the inflammatory condition caused by COVID-19 was still “very rare.”
Frustrated by a Veterans Affairs office that has denied his repeated requests to conduct flag planting at Suffolk County’s two national cemeteries over Memorial Day weekend, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) is asking President Donald Trump (R) to get involved.
“I’m asking for his support once again on an incredibly important issue in this moment,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters.
Bellone thanked U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY-1) and Trump for their help in securing personal protective equipment for the county and for helping to ensure that the county can tap into the municipal liquidity fund, which will allow the county to provide temporary property tax relief until July 15.
Without help from the president, Bellone said he is “afraid that a tradition that goes back a quarter of a century will end this Memorial Day weekend.”
Even if the county can’t place flags at Calverton National Cemetery and Long Island National Cemetery, Bellone and the county plan to place flags at 15 cemeteries. The County Executive is still looking for volunteers, who can sign up through his facebook page at facebook.com/SteveBellone. He is also looking for a donation of 3,500 8×12 inch or 12 x 18 inch flags in good condition.
Separately, the county executive indicated that Suffolk County residents shouldn’t expect fireworks displays in July to celebrate Independence Day.
“We know reopening our economy safely and being able to sustain that is directly connected to keeping our curve flat,” Bellone said. “Opening back up to mass gatherings” which would include July 4th fireworks “would undermine our goals.”
Viral Numbers
Hospitalizations continue to decline. The number of people in Intensive Care Units has declined by 29 through May 19 to 129, which is the “largest decline the county has seen” in a while, Bellone said.
The number of people who are hospitalized was 453, which is a decline from two days earlier, when the number was 497.
In the past day, 53 people have come home from the hospital.
The number of deaths due to complications from COVID-19 rose by 11 to 1,802.
The number of people who tested positive for the virus increased by 142 over the last day, rising to 38,553. That doesn’t include the 11,461 people who have tested positive for antibodies to the virus.
Stony Brook Update
Stony Brook is cutting back the hours of its drive-through testing site in the South P lot. It will be open from 8 a..m until 6 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Residents must make appointments in advance through the New York State Department of Health Hotline, at 888-364-3065 or at coronavirus.health.nygov/
Finally, America’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer and Apollo Theater Competition Grand Prize Winner Christian Guardino will perform tonight at 8 p.m. at the entrance to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
The performance is for hospital personnel only.
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