Councilwoman Jane Bonner and Councilman Michael Loguercio oversee the demolition. Photo from Town of Brookhaven
On March 21, Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) was joined by Councilman Michael Loguercio (R-Ridge) at the demolition of the building formerly known as the Oxygen Bar, on the northwest corner of Route 25A and Broadway in Rocky Point.
The demolition comes after numerous Brookhaven Town building code violations and resident complaints. The Town shut down the bar in 2011 due to an expired Place of Assembly permit after a non-fatal shooting of four people occurred there. It has been a vacant eyesore in the community ever since that time.
“This is a happy day in Rocky Point, and a long time coming,” Bonner said. “Removing this blight will keep the revitalization of our business district right on track. We’ve got more to do, and I look forward to working with our local business and community leaders to keep moving ahead.”
The Town purchased the property in November 2015 and Bonner is working with the Rocky Point VFW to transform it into a veteran’s memorial square, which will serve as the gateway to the downtown business district.
“Removing blight has such an immediate, positive impact on the community,” Loguercio said. “I commend Councilwoman Bonner for her determination to get this eyesore demolished.”
Deborah Bonacasa signs the deed for her new home in Sound Beach. Photo by Ron Pacchiana/JPA STUDIO
When Louis Bonacasa was to return home from his fourth deployment to Afghanistan, he told his wife he’d make it his last. He wanted to settle down, buy a home, become a dietician technician, open a business, give his 5-year-old daughter Lilianna a sibling and finally begin his life.
But Bonacasa didn’t return home.
Councilwoman Jane Bonner presents Deborah Bonacasa, who is fighting back tears, with a certificate of congratulations. Photo by Ron Pacchiana/JPA STUDIO
To honor him and his wife Deborah, also a veteran, the Rocky Point VFW Post 6249 chose the Bonacasa family to receive one of two homes being built on Tyler Avenue in Sound Beach.
“I don’t have the words,” said Deborah Bonacasa, whose husband was one of six killed in a suicide bomb attack on Dec. 21. “It’s an honor and I’m just very happy and overwhelmed with joy for their support in fulfilling this dream, because it’s something that my husband always wanted to do for the family — to provide the home for us. So it’s quite an honor.”
VFW Post Commander Joe Cognitore held the contract signing at the Fischer/Hewins post last Wednesday, and said it was a moving moment to be a part of.
“It was one of the best days I’ve had in all my time here at the VFW,” he said. “It was very cathartic. To know that we’ve helped Deborah out, and not only was her husband a veteran but she is too, it’s that much more gratifying to be able to honor both for their service.”
This is the ninth home that Cognitore and the VFW have partnered with Mark Baisch on, of Landmark Properties in Rocky Point.
“It’s my way of giving back,” Baisch said. “The Bonacasas are fantastic. It couldn’t be a better selection.”
Landmark Properties builds the houses from the ground up, and Bonacasa was able to pick out some of the finishing touches to make the house special to her.
Lilianna Bonacasa, 5, holds up a photo of her family’s new home given to them by the Rocky Point VFW Post 6249. Photo by Ron Pacchiana/JPA STUDIO
“I was able to pick out cabinets, flooring, what type of granite I wanted,” she said. “I was able to personalize it and able to pick certain colors that my husband would have liked to have in the kitchen and bathroom, so that was a special time.”
Bonacasa currently lives in California and lived with her husband in Coram for nine years after leaving the U.S. Air Force in 2006, and said that being able to move into the new home in two-and-a-half months is even more special because she’ll be able to be closer to him.
“We’ll be 20 minutes away from Calverton, so we’ll be on the Island with my husband,” she said, fighting back tears. “It’s bittersweet. I wish he were here to see and experience all of these wonderful things. It’s a beautiful home.”
Through tragedy, Bonacasa has been brought closer to her husband and to the new community she will be a part of. A home next door to hers will also house a veteran family. It has not yet been determined who will receive that home.
“I just want to thank everyone involved for all the love and support that they’ve shown our family,” Bonacasa said, sobbing. “I’ll never forget my husband and the sacrifices that he made. Not only did we lose a hero, but a wonderful man.”
Rocky Point school district will be spending half of its budget on the teachers, classes and programs, while spending the least amount on debt service and fund transfers.
By Giselle Barkley
Rocky Point school district will be spending half of its budget on the teachers, classes and programs, while spending the least amount on debt service and fund transfers.
Taxpayers in Rocky Point school district may see rebate checks from the government, thanks to Rocky Point school district’s 2016-17 budget proposal.
Rocky Point Superintendent of Schools Michael Ring held the final budget presentation on March 21, announcing that the district’s $80.6 million budget will help maintain the existing instructional, athletic and co-curricular programs, while also working to tackle improvements in the buildings and campuses, like fence and parking lot repairs, and increasing the number of cafeteria tables and cameras across the campus.
Although Ring said the district is confident it will receive money from the Gap Elimination Adjustment restoration, Rocky Point will currently receive $25.2 million in regular state aid, with the possibility of an increase, depending on the results of a vote to restore funds from the GEA. According to Ring, the district receives most of its revenue from tax levies. Residents will see an approximate 0.75 percent increase year over year in the tax levy in the district. Despite the increase, the district’s budget falls within the 0.12 percent tax cap. In light of the limited tax cap, the district only increased its budget by 2.34 percent.
“We believe that the budgets we have presented in previous years and [the one] we’re presenting this year are efficient and effective,” Ring said. “Efficient in that the level of expenditures is very conservative and within the tax cap, and effective because they continue to hold our programs together, both instructionally and co-curricular.”
Rocky Point’s instructional programs, which include courses for general and special education, make up around 50 percent of the district’s budget, followed by employee benefits, among other categories.
“I think this is a place to give every student an opportunity to succeed,” said Scott Reh, vice president of Rocky Point’s board of education.
The superintendent echoed Reh’s stance during the meeting regarding Rocky Point students.
“Success for our students is at the intersection of many roads, and these roads are the main components of our budget,” Ring said. “These many roads are represented by the breadth and depth of academic programs, instructional supports, and co-curricular opportunities we offer in order to allow each of our students to excel.”
Residents who are at least 18 years old and have lived in the school district for at least 30 days are eligible to vote. Community members can vote on the budget on Tuesday May 17, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. Community members can register to vote by calling the District Clerk, Patricia Jones, at 631-849-7243.
If the budget doesn’t pass, the district would have to cut around $360,000 from the proposal. Ring added that the board would also have to eliminate new additions to the budget and restrict the public’s use of various school facilities, to reduce the district’s expenditures. A contingency budget would still help the district fund new projects and maintain old programs.
“The Board of Education remained steadfast in its commitment to develop a financial plan that not only supported our district’s current educational and co-curricular offerings, but also provided for instructional enhancements geared toward further preparing today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders,” President of Rocky Point Board of Education Susan Sullivan said. “The Board believes that the proposed budget not only meets this mission, but also supports our commitment to taxpayers by staying within the confines of the New York State tax cap.”
This version corrects information about the Rocky Point school district’s contingency budget.
Queen Samatha Wooley, center, and her ladies Janice Pearson, left, and Emma Sweeney, right wave at residents during the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A little boy dresses up as an Irishman during the St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Children run up to hug the Easter Bunny during the parade festivities. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A drummer performs at the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Legislator Sarah Anker, Councilwoman Jane Bonner, Sen. Ken LaValle and Rep. Lee Zeldin walk in the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
An antique car drives down Route 25A during the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
George Faulkner's daughter walks at the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
An official wears a green mustache at the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Residents dress up as Jacqueline Kennedy, second from left and Marilyn Monroe, second from right, at the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Parade participants dress up as zombies at the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Residents advertise "A Festival of the Undead" at the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
The Sound Beach Fire Department , among other departments, made is way down Route 25A during the St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer points at residents during the Friends of St. Patrick's St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Members of local fire departments march down the street during the Miller Place-Rocky Point St. Patrick's Day parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A baby, dressed up in green and donned with a clover, looks on during the parade. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Several decades after its creation, the Friends of St. Patrick continue a 66-year-old tradition with its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Residents sported green clothing, face paint and accessories on Sunday, March 13, to celebrate the not-for-profit’s Miller Place-Rocky Point parade. Members of the Suffolk County police department, local fire departments and elected officials joined the queen and royal court, and other groups in the parade. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), New York State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) and Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) were among those who treked more than two miles down Route 25A, from the Flying Pig in Miller Place to Broadway in Rocky Point.
While the parade celebrated this Thursday’s St. Patrick’s Day, it is also a way to unite the community, said Grand Marshal and Friends of St. Patrick committee president John Barchi.
“Back in those days these houses were just summer rentals, so the regular population was locked up all winter,” Barchi said about the late 1940s and early 1950s. “[It was] like ‘where is everybody? Let’s get everybody out.’”
In light of long, dreary winters in the area, businessmen John Sullivan and George Faulkner founded the Friends of St. Patrick’s committee in 1949. The duo established the committee to come up with a way to draw people out of their homes after the winter.
Now tens of thousands of residents attend the celebration. Upwards of around 50,000 residents have attended the organization’s parades in the past. But the not-for-profit doesn’t only hold the parade. It also organizes fundraising events associated with the celebration, like the crowning of the royal court.
For Queen Samantha Wooley, of Rocky Point, and members of her royal court, Ladies Janice Pearson and Emma Sweeney, the experience was exciting.
“You’re really representing the town so everyone’s eyes are on you,” Wooley said.
Wooley added that being a member of the royal court means supporting the community and being a role model to little girls. The opportunity also allows them to try something new.
“You put yourself out of your comfort zone and it’s really special,” Sweeney added.
Although the parade’s first Queen, Peggy McKenna, used a historic 85-year-old carriage to ride down Broadway, this year’s royalty drove down Route 25A in a Mercedes Convertible.
While the area and various aspects of the celebration has changed since the first parade in 1950, over the past few years the event became Suffolk County’s largest and second oldest parade, according to the Friends of St. Patrick’s website.
Barchi, who has been a member of committee for the past 18 years, was grateful to be the Grand Marshal for this year’s parade.
“Working with a group of the most honest, loyal and dedicated individuals who put this project together year after year is nothing short of a great honor and privilege,” Barchi said in an article on the Friends of St. Patrick website. “Their commitment to this community event, and the camaraderie among us is truly unique.”
A late night house fire on Parkside Avenue in Miller Place Thursday night killed a 70-year-old man inside, Suffolk County police said Friday.
Authorities said a 911 caller reported the fire at 106 Pakrside Ave. around 11:50 p.m. Thursday night. That was when members of the Miller Place Fire Department discovered the man, whose identity was being withheld until authorities could notify his next of kin, and pulled him out of the blaze.
Police said the fire department took the man to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives said they did not believe the fire was criminal in nature.
Firefighters from other departments, including Rocky Point, Sound Beach, Mount Sinai and Middle Island also responded to the fire to help extinguish the flames, the county police department said.
Rocky Point Middle School Principal Scott O’Brien was named Administrator of the Year. Photo from Rocky Point school district
When Scott O’Brien read his favorite childhood book, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” to an elementary school class during college, he had no idea how important that moment would be to the future of his career.
“I remember reading the book to them and leaving and saying, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life. This is what I’m meant to do,’” he said. “I think I always knew.”
The landscape architect major switched his field of study to education. Since then, the Rocky Point Middle School principal has been named Administrator of the Year by the Council of Administrators and Supervisors.
Albert Voorneveld, President of the Council of Administrators, presents Rocky Point Middle School Principal Scott O’Brien with his Administrator of the Year award. Photo from Scott O’Brien
“I love every minute of being a principal,” he said. “I feel so honored to get this, and privileged to get it, but I just love my job. I love coming to work. I love what I do, and I think it’s just an added bonus to get honored by the people that you work with, that they also feel that that love of my decisions comes through and they value what I’m doing here for them, the staff, the students and everyone in the building.”
The faculty told O’Brien of the nomination in a very unconventional way.
“They had tricked me, of course,” O’Brien said, laughing.
The principal’s staff was adamant about reminding him multiple times of a department meeting in the library one afternoon. When he entered the packed library, he knew something bigger was happening. They presented O’Brien with a wrapped box. Inside, were the nominations by each teacher who wrote a supporting statement, poem or a note of congratulations.
“Before they nominated me for the award, I was well aware that I have a very special staff,” he said. “I feel extremely fortunate to work with not only dedicated and kids-first teachers and staff, but to be able to work together with them to implement change and make our building continuously better for kids. I have reflected on that moment in the library and how grateful I am to be recognized in such a meaningful manner. The work continues and the acknowledgement further signifies the importance and continuation of my role as an educational leader.”
The principal is in his eighth year at the helm of the school, but has been in the district much longer, serving as a special education teacher, assistant principal and principal at the Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School — working in that building for more than a decade. The St. James resident, who attended the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Port Jefferson Station, also worked out-of-state for four years, in Fairfax County, Virginia. O’Brien’s grandparents lived in Rocky Point, so he said he was familiar with the area when he received his first teaching job there.
Rocky Point Middle School Principal Scott O’Brien has created a warm and inviting atmosphere at his school for both his staff and students. Photo from Scott O’Brien
Nicole Gabrinowitz, a seventh-grade math teacher who has been with the district for 20 years, said she came down from the high school the same time O’Brien arrived.
“He was very welcoming,” she said. “He’s also really open to new ideas. He knows his entire staff and works hard and uses a lot of techniques you’d use in a classroom at the staff meetings to keep us close.”
A core group of staff members came up with the idea to nominate O’Brien once they heard about the award. Melinda Brooks, the school’s instructional coordinator for six years, said she wrote in her letter of recommendation that “every single person who is employed in his building is inspired to be their very best each and every day. Each year we receive many requests from teachers who want to transfer to the middle school because they want to inspire too.”
Brooks recalled when she met O’Brien in 2010 and he was warm and welcoming.
“I immediately saw that he was one of the strongest leaders in the district,” she said. “He found his calling. He was born to do this.”
On spirit day, Brooks said the principal dressed up as Superman and his wife, Theresa, whom he met while working at the elementary school and now has three children with, had her class make him a quilt for winning the award, which was decorated with all things Superman-related.
“Everyone sees him as Superman and the kids took it quite literally,” she said. “He’s someone that has an open-door policy and is willing to listen and work with you to do what is needed and is best for the community, the teachers, the kids and everyone involved.”
Dawn Callahan, an eighth-grade social studies teacher who has worked at the school since it opened nearly 14 years ago, said O’Brien has been a refreshing change.
He also, according to many, created a strong family atmosphere, and according to Callahan, looks after the staff.
“Last year we had a student that had passed away,” she said. “Knowing that I had that student for over a year and had done home-teaching at her house before she had passed, he called me personally at home to tell me about it over the weekend, instead of me coming into school the next day and finding out about it. That to me makes you realize that the people you work for really consider this a family, as opposed to being just a job.”
She added that O’Brien gives the staff areas to grow in, and the strong vibes within the building trickle down from the top.
Rocky Point Middle School Principal Scott O’Brien, center, poses for a photo with some of his staff after earning the Administrator of the Year award. Photo from Scott O’Brien
O’Brien works to instill this in other teachers looking to become administrators. He teaches an administrative program at St. John’s University and The College of St. Rose in his free time.
“I love inspiring teachers to be future leaders and to change the culture of buildings and teach how to do that effectively,” he said, “and teach how to get a building to be able to support powerful learning for kids, and create a building that can be the best that it should be.”
His school is in the running win the Inviting School Award, which is a national award presented by the International Exchange of Educational Practices, and is based on the atmosphere he has created.
Regardless of the accolades and success he’s had in the field, O’Brien is just thankful for the experiences.
“Making decisions in the best interest of students while supporting staff in that process was my goal each year,” he said. “The relationships I have created, supported and maintained over the years with all members of the Rocky Point School community have played a pivotal role in where I am today as a leader. I’ve had such wonderful experiences, especially in Rocky Point, and it’s been such a second home to me.”
Rocky Point board of education members voice their opinions of the bond. Photo by Giselle Barkley
After Rocky Point school district’s capital projects proposal didn’t pass last year, it was back to the drawing board.
The district presented its revised capital projects proposal on March 7, showing that while the school district is keeping many projects from its previous proposal last year, the Facilities Sub-Committee cut around $4.4 million worth of projects from the previous bond proposal.
The committee, which handles the school district’s bond proposals and revisions, got rid of extra projects like artificial turf for the varsity baseball and softball fields and outside bathrooms, among other projects. However, adding air conditioning to the Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School and Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School cafeterias and installing another means of leaving the Middle School’s nurse’s office, were added to the $16.5 million proposal.
Projects like turf fields and outside bathrooms were removed from the initial bond proposal.
The board of education said the bond is subject to change, as it may add or delete projects before it goes to a vote later this year. The bond will still target repairs and renovations to the district’s facilities, which includes, but isn’t limited to, fixing the ceilings in various areas of the schools, installing light-emitting diode lights, renovating the bathrooms, repaving the asphalt and improving security.
Smaller items like fixing a crack in the Middle School’s masonry were also factored into the bond, but Rocky Point school district Superintendent Michael Ring said this was intentionally added to the capital projects proposal.
“These are unique — unlike other special projects, these could be recipients of state aid because [of] the nature of them,” Ring said. “So if voters are going to consider a bond, it would make sense to put it in there.”
For the past three or four decades, state aid has reimbursed 70.2 percent of the school district’s project costs. This takes some pressure off taxpayers and the school district to fund the project. Ring added that mandatory projects like new security cameras, will go into the school district’s 2016-17 budget if the bond doesn’t pass. If it passes, the average homeowner with an assessed value of $2,600 will pay $74.48 a year in additional taxes over a 15-year period.
According to Rocky Point resident Bruce MacArthur, community involvement is important when it comes to passing a bond.
“We have virtually no participation right now from the community,” MacArthur said during the meeting. “[The] larger issue is how do we get the community more involved to be educated on the projects that are being proposed.”
Around 20 people, including the board of education, attended Monday’s meeting. The board and the sub-committee hope to attract more people for its future bond proposal meetings to get more community input before residents vote in favor or opposition of the bond.
“We all came to a consensus that we have to try to sell it [to residents],” said board of education President Susan Sullivan. “One of the reasons we’re meeting is because we are looking to move on this.”
A driver was killed on the North Shore on Sunday evening when his car slammed into a utility pole.
The victim, 60-year-old Joseph Labate, was driving a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo west on Route 25A in East Shoreham, the Suffolk County Police Department said, when he lost control of the car. At about 6 p.m., he hit a utility pole near Miller Avenue, according to police.
Labate, a Rocky Point resident, was pronounced dead at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson.
Police impounded the Isuzu for a safety check, and detectives from the SCPD’s 7th Squad are still investigating the one-car crash.
The southern pine beetle has been spotted in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens Preserve. Photo by Giselle Barkley
In light of the uptick in southern pine beetle populations on Long Island, environmental officials are looking to weed out the issue in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens Preserve.
Last December, the Department of Environmental Conservation proposed a timber thinning to combat the beetle’s presence in the state park. The prospective contractor wouldn’t only harvest pine trees in the park, but also cut down hardwood trees to use for personal benefit. New York State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), Assemblyman Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) and Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) voiced their opposition to the proposal on Feb. 11.
According to their statement, the project mainly involves the selling of scarlet oak trees rather than harvesting the beetle-infested pitch pine trees in the park. The property was not preserved to provide contractors with lumber, but to preserve the land, as the pine barrens property sits on the Island’s purest waterway. No bids were made on the contract thus far.
“We were going to do this thinning out as a preventative measure, and [the proposed plan] was their response, and we didn’t feel that it was logical,” Englebright said. “This doesn’t address that this crisis is advancing.”
The southern pine beetle appeared in Long Island en masse, in fall 2014, and has devastated thousands of acres of Pine Barrens property, according to Englebright. The beetle, which creates tunnels in the tress, targets all types of pine trees, including pitch pine trees like those found in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens Preserve. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation found infested pine trees in October 2014.
“When the extent of the infestation became known, it was apparent that there needed to be a lot of control efforts,” said Anthony Graves, the Town of Brookhaven’s chief environmental analyst. “But there was no funding. … the State was trying to figure out a way to go ahead and engage control efforts [with the opposed timber harvest plan].”
According to Richard Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, there are not many cases of beetle infestation in the park. However, the Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale lost around 3,600 acres of pine trees to the Southern Pine Beetle. Graves added that wind could have picked up the small beetles and carried them from New Jersey to the Island.
Warmer winter weather over the past few years has also contributed to the increase in pine beetle populations.
In the DEC’s proposal, it added that harvesting the trees will also help other trees grow. It added that harvesting is a common practice when combatting this type of infestation. There’s no mention of harvesting oak trees in its preventative thinning plan. Amper said the reasoning was odd, as the pitch pine trees are much taller than the oak trees that are currently marked in the park.
Englebright, LaValle and Thiele requested $3.5 million in the 2016-17 state budget to properly address the infestation without unnecessary harvesting. Graves said the best and cheapest way to deal with the beetles is to cut down infected trees.
“The cutting of the heavily-infested stands is widely accepted by federal and state agencies that have been dealing with this problem for the last 100 years,” Graves said. “In the U.S., it’s a long-term problem with the beetles damaging commercial forests. It’s that long-term information that’s being used to drive the plan.”
Rocky Point varsity wrestling team placed first in the Suffolk County Dual Meet Championship. Photo from Rocky Point school district
Rocky Point High School’s varsity wrestling team recently earned another high honor when the team captured the League V Tournament Championship.
On back-to-back weekends, the team shone on the mats to earn two consecutive regional titles. During the League V tournament, 12 Rocky Point All-League wrestlers competed and four of them captured the championship. In addition, the entire coaching staff received coach of the year honors.
The team then captured a first-place win at the Suffolk County dual-meet championship.
Facing off against the top teams in the county, the top seeded Eagles captured a win during the quarter-final match against No. 8-seeded Half Hollow Hills East, competed against No. 5-seeded Lindenhurst and clinched their championship title by defeating No. 3-seeded Hauppauge, 38-33.
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