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Stony Brook

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Gloria Rocchio. Photo by Marie Gilberti

By Katelyn Winter

In 1939 Ward Melville along with his wife Dorothy created a not-for-profit corporation, the Stony Brook Community Fund, later named The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, to maintain and protect the historical and sensitive environmental properties that he would deed to it over the coming years. 75 years later, the organization continues to thrive. I recently had the opportunity to interview Ms. Gloria Rocchio, president of The WMHO, in her office at the Stony Brook Village Center.

How did you get involved with the WMHO?

My husband and I moved here on Memorial Day in 1977, and we volunteered for the organization. Mr. Melville passed away on June 7, 1977. I looked out the window, and I asked myself, is everything going to change? So we volunteered for a year or so, and then my predecessor decided to retire. I wasn’t too interested in applying [for the position] because I was head of Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. My husband wanted me to, because he never saw me. I was traveling to Washington, Albany and all over Long Island. So I applied [because] after volunteering here for a couple of years, I thought I knew what should be changed. I told them what I thought at the interview, and as I was leaving, I thought, well I won’t be selected. And I was. 36 years later, here I am, and I love it.

So you’ve lived here since 1977?

Actually I’ve been coming here since 1959. My mother and I came here, and when I got married, it was the only place I wanted to live. [My husband and I] got married in Nassau County and we honeymooned at the Three Village Inn.

What do you love about being president of The WMHO?

Well, first of all, for the first ten years I worked for Mrs. Melville — she was president. She was a wonderful mentor; I learned everything from her. She guided me, she had a great sense of architecture, and she was just a very intelligent, brilliant lady. Every day is a challenge. When I hire people I always say you’ll never be bored again, and it’s true. It’s not for everybody, it’s 24/7, and I’m not a one-man band. I have a wonderful staff that’s very hard working and we have a board of trustees that are very interesting, community minded, selfless, dedicated, and many of the people in the community don’t know them but they’re there and we have many meetings throughout the year. I’m just happy to be here.

What do you love about Stony Brook Village, and what is your favorite season here?

Oh, I love it all, I can’t pick one over another. But season is probably the fall, it’s just beautiful. We own the wetlands, 88 acres of it, and [one day] Dr. [Erwin] Ernst and I took some elected officials to the Marine Conservation center in a boat. It was in October, and the grasses and the trees were so golden. It was [Ernst’s] idea to come up with a Discovery pontoon boat to go into the wetlands. It was so different than seeing it by land, and it has really amazed people. Twenty something years we’ve been doing it. I once got a call from a lady who said she wanted to “take that ride into the swamp.” The next day, she called and said, “I never knew anything about the importance of wetlands, and how they contribute to the ecosystem and the wildlife.” She said it was “phenomenal.” They’ve been giving us rave reviews ever since.

What is the story behind the portrait of George Washington that hangs behind your desk?

That’s a funny story, because for a while I didn’t know either. This is Mr. Melville’s office, and I’ve been sitting in front of this picture for 36 years. As the years went by, I started to understand why [it was there]. Mr. Melville purchased properties that had to do with early America and George Washington’s spy ring; he bought the Brewster House. He knew about that in 1942, and so he purchased the Grist Mill. All these things had to do with early America, and Mr. Melville was fascinated by George Washington and what he did, and I am too. I do a lot of research on the houses, and I learned that one of the Brewster’s was very involved in the construction of the King’s Highway, and that’s how I found out about Austin Roe. Now that’s the Heritage Trail. It’s all so important.

How is the ‘It Takes a Team to Build a Village’ exhibit going?

Very well. In fact, we had a reception fairly recently, and a lot of people came. The board said it’s so popular [that] we’re leaving it up as long as we can, because more and more people are finding out about it. We did this because it’s the 75th anniversary of the village, and most things that happened in this area came out of this organization. The archives are enormous. We started to look in boxes and we found an eight millimeter film. It said “The Village Dedication,” and we got it transferred so we could watch it. And son of a gun, it was a video of what Mr. Melville did on July 3, 1941! He had huge parades, and a beauty contest — which we wouldn’t do now. He dedicated the village from the balcony at the fire house. We thought we should do something like this, and we couldn’t do anything as grandiose as he did, but we had this nice little re-dedication on July 10, and it was great. Then we found extraordinary documents, and we’re hoping to get funding to work with Stony Brook University and the Frank Melville Memorial Library to digitize it all and create a website. It’s a huge undertaking but that’s what this has inspired us to do.

What would you say you are most proud of about your time with the WMHO?

One is the Walk for Beauty — 23 years, raising 1.3 million for breast cancer research. [Also] the Youth Corps — 20 years, putting through scores of children. We now have 69 children enrolled who will all know what Ward and Dorothy did here, and they can pay that forward and teach others. I’m proud of the Educational & Cultural Center we built, I’m proud of the Inner Court, where Crazy Beans is — that used to be storage sheds, and we converted them — and The Jazz Loft — I’m very proud of that.

Tell us what upcoming events you’re excited for people to enjoy.

Well, the website with the digitized documents is one. But we’ve also received a grant from the Robert D. L. Gardiner Foundation to do distance learning. What that means is that an instructor giving a lesson in, say, the Brewster House [in Setauket], would be filmed and onto the distance learning site so that people from around the world could learn about the rich history we have here. We already have the cameras installed in the Thompson House [in Setauket] and the Brewster House and we’re developing programs for them. One program should be ready this fall, and the other should be ready next spring. It’s very exciting.

Do you remember what your younger self wanted to be when you grew up?

It’s funny, I wanted to be an artist, and I was an artist, for a while. I went to Pratt College, went into that career, and felt too isolated — you painted alone. I like people. But this is kind of an art form, when you think about it. I worked for government, county executives for a while, but then got into, not events, but being head of promoting Long Island. It’s interesting; it’s definitely an art form, this place. Recently, I began to understand that Mr. Melville wanted us to live with history. We take it for granted, and we shouldn’t. It’s really a phenomenon, what we live with. This morning I got stopped by a resident who has lived here for a long time and she said, “I want to tell you, Gloria, that living here is like living in a park, it’s so beautiful. It’s just wonderful to have it this way.” And I told her, well, as long as we can, the organization plans to keep it that way. It gets more challenging with years. You try to respect the past, but we have to be current and relevant, and be receptive to change. That’s what we try to do.

If you had to pick an ice cream flavor to represent yourself, what would you choose?

Muddy boots! It’s from Latitude 121, it’s such a great flavor.

At the end of the charming and educational interview I had with Ms. Rocchio, she left me with a very inspiring piece of advice. It is a quote, originally by Kuan-Tzu from the third century BC. It is also part of the inscription on a plaque at the purple beech tree on the Stony Brook Village Green planted by Mrs. Dorothy Melville on her 88th birthday, and was incorporated into the speech given by Dr. Richard Rugen, chairman of the board of trustees of The WMHO, for the closing remarks of the 75th anniversary of Stony Brook Village July 10 of this year.

“If you plan for a year, sow a seed. If you plan for a decade, plant a tree.

If you plan for a century, educate the people.”

This simple quote compromises the heartfelt and dedicated mission of not only The Ward Melville Heritage Organization but of Ms. Rocchio herself.

Author Katelyn Winter is a rising junior at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., majoring in English and creative writing. She is from Stony Brook and hopes to one day work in the publishing industry.

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A vintage European car from a previous event at the Stony Brook Community Church. Photo from Malcolm Bowman

Stony Brook Community Church, 216 Christian Ave., Stony Brook will host the 12th annual Vintage European Sports Car and Motorcycle Show on the lawn in front of the church on Saturday, Aug. 13 from noon to 4 p.m. This popular, free event, for all ages, will display a wide variety of interesting cars and motorbikes from all over Europe. There will be a People’s Choice vote for the best cars and bikes along with live music by the Barking Men and food and refreshments for sale. All proceeds go to the outreach of the church and the scholarship fund of the annual children’s Performing Arts Camp. Rain date is Aug. 14. For more information, call Malcolm at 631-751-1381.

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Sandy Pearlman lived in Setauket, graduated from Stony Brook University

Sandy Pearlman. Photo from Ronni Hoffman

By Susan Risoli

Who wouldn’t want more cowbell? Samuel “Sandy” Pearlman — who may or may not have inspired the classic “Saturday Night Live” skit about the song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” — had a fever for living the creative life. The former Setauket resident, Stony Brook University alumnus, and celebrated record producer-lyricist-executive, died last week in California at 72. His friends remember a man whose imagination raced ahead while urging everyone else to keep up.

“He was a philosopher-king,” said Norm Prusslin, an SBU professor who first met him on campus in 1969, when Pearlman was managing a local band he called Soft White Underbelly. In this bunch of guys he met at his father’s pharmacy in Smithtown, Pearlman found musicianship that could turn his stories and poems into records. He loved to write about astrology, architecture, mythical figures and all manner of futuristic things, Prusslin recalled.

Blue Öyster Cult recorded “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in 1976. The song, written not by Pearlman, but by the band’s lead guitarist Donald Roeser a.k.a. Buck Dharma, was a track on the “Agents of Fortune” album recorded at New York City’s Record Plant. Pearlman co-produced the album. So … was he in fact the record producer parodied by Christopher Walken in the SNL skit?

Bassist Joe Bouchard said it’s possible.

“Sandy had that look, yeah,” he said, with a chuckle, of the leather jacket and dark glasses worn indoors.

“He was always very happy in the studio — excited to get the band to do their best.”
— Joe Bouchard

More important was Pearlman’s success at pushing artists to go just a bit further.

“He usually said he wanted more energy during recording,” Bouchard said. “He was always very happy in the studio — excited to get the band to do their best.”

Pearlman worked with other artists, producing the Clash’s breakthrough 1978 release “Give ‘Em Enough Rope.” He also produced the Dictators — a punk band many consider to be a sonic link between the Stooges and the MC5, and bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols — and he managed Black Sabbath.

Pearlman lived on and off in a house on Main Street in Setauket, a few doors down from the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library. Prusslin said he had been hired to teach philosophy at SBU, but plans were curtailed by the cerebral hemorrhage Pearlman suffered in December of last year.

Longtime friends Robert Duncan, and his wife Roni Hoffman, saw Pearlman often. Duncan said Pearlman was especially proud of “Imaginos,” a project started as a poem and turned into a song circle album.

Although Blue Öyster Cult played on it, “Sandy always referred to it as his ‘solo record,’” Duncan said. “I think he would say that was his crowning achievement, when that record came out.”

Pearlman was always “the smartest guy in the room,” Bouchard said. “He knew that if you just do a pop song, it’ll be gone in a year. If you do a song with a little more depth to it, it’ll have some staying power.”

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One of 25 street gardens in the Three Villages that have been recognized. Photo courtesy of the Three Village Garden Club

To show appreciation for the wonderful efforts of the gardeners of the community, the Three Village Garden Club instituted a Street Garden Recognition Program 11 years ago. Residents of the Three Villages were invited to participate in this program, had to fulfill the requirements of using only living plant material and the garden had to be well-maintained and be pleasing to the eye.

Participants included Laura Nektaredes, Barbara DeBree, The Jazz Loft, John and Nancy DeBellas, Virginia Bushart, Anthony Isola, Julie Parmagiani, Glynn Mercep & Purcell, LLP, Innovative Nutrition, Karin Ryon, Janet MacDowell, Palma Sette, Aida Von Oiste, Kim Squartrito, Rita Scher, Mike Specht, Bob Bronzino, Jackie Kramer, Eileen DeHayes, Michele Matton, Mary and Bill Wilcox, Jeanette Reynolds, Jean Jackson, Gladys Belmonte and Ralph VonThaden.

Members of the garden club viewed the participant’s gardens, and those who qualified were invited to a Brunch Reception held on July 16, at the Emma Clark Library. At the reception, each participant received a plaque, which was designed by a member of the Three Village Garden Club, JoAnn Canino. Photos of the gardens were on display at the reception and will also be posted in the library during the month of September.

If you would like to participate in the street garden recognition program next year or recommend a garden in the Three Villages that you admire, applications will be available at the Emma S. Clark Library in the late spring of 2017. For more infor- mation on the Three Village Garden Club, visit www.threevillagegardenclub.org. The public is encouraged to visit the street gardens at the following locations:

22 Deer Lane, E. Setauket

24 Deer Lane, E. Setauket

11 Lodge Lane, E. Setauket

7 Stalker Lane, E. Setauket

42 Fireside Lane, E. Setauket

52 Fireside Lane, E. Setauket

2 Cedar Ave., E. Setauket

6 Van Brunt Manor Road, Poquott 6 Sharon Ave., Poquott

206 Route 25A, E. Setauket

5 Carlton Ave., E. Setauket

36 Lake Ave., Setauket

57 No. Country Road, Setauket

6 Wendover Road, Setauket

343 Main St., Setauket

15 Huckleberry Lane, Setauket

8 Huckleberry Lane, Setauket

15 Lewis St., Setauket

7 Mill Pond Road, Stony Brook

40 Main St., Stony Brook

275 Christian Ave., Stony Brook

139 Christian Ave., Stony Brook

16 Bailey Hollow Road, Stony Brook

8 North Road, Stony Brook

81 University Hgts. Drive, Stony Brook

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The Stony Brookside Bed & Bike Inn is the first of its kind on Long Island. Photo by Lloyd Newman

Innkeepers have brought European bicycle culture to Long Island.

Marty and Elyse Buchman, who have been bicycling the world together for a decade, opened the Stony Brookside Bed & Bike Inn on June 1, located at 48 Main St., Stony Brook.

The couple set out to create a bed and breakfast that would cater to cyclists; providing not only sleeping space and a morning meal, but bike tour itineraries and even bikes, if needed, as well. Two months in, business has been much better than they expected.

“We’ve had people just looking for a place to stay — and that’s fine,” the husband said, indicating that not only cyclists have made up their clientele. A wedding party used Brookside for lodging recently.

The Buchmans have enjoyed bicycling in Europe because traveling by bicycle is considered normal there. It’s not just recreation; it’s a legitimate form of transportation, even for vacationers.

Their inspiration for a new kind of American bed and breakfast came during a 2010 bike tour of Italy. They booked a room in a “bike hotel” in Riccione on the Adriatic Sea. “Each day a guide came and took you for a different ride,” Marty said. “The idea was that you came back to the same place; and didn’t have to worry about navigating [your way] around.”

Marty and Elyse Buchman open the first bed and breakfast catering specifically to bicycle enthusiasts on Long Island. Photo by Lloyd Newman
Marty and Elyse Buchman open the first bed and breakfast catering specifically to bicycle enthusiasts on Long Island. Photo by Lloyd Newman

The following week they had a similar experience at Lake Garda in the mountains of northern Italy, this time staying at a “sports hotel.”

By vacation’s end, they had all the inspiration needed to start their own business.

When they first saw the colonial revival building at 48 Main Street, next to the Stony Brook Grist Mill and across the street from the duck pond, they decided it was perfect.

Built in 1941 by renowned architect Richard Haviland Smythe in a beautiful natural setting, it had the added advantage of being within walking distance of restaurants and shops, a museum and historical landmarks, a pond and nature preserve. It took perseverance, patience and negotiation skills, but they were able to purchase the house in 2014.

“This is an up and coming area for people to visit,” Marty said. “We’re always struck by how beautiful it is when we go on bike rides. People think they have to go out to the Hamptons or Sag Harbor. This is an undiscovered area. Just in the past year, [the opening of] the Jazz Loft and the Reboli Center, it seems like a lot of stuff is happening.”

The couple has done various kinds of marketing. The most effective, they said, was the simplest. A friend who runs a bike tour company put their business cards in every bike store in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

“It’s called a Bed and Bike Inn because it is a Bed & Breakfast, but oriented towards cyclists,” Marty said. “We have mechanical stuff. We have pumps. We have everything you might need for your bike. We have bikes, we have helmets; but most importantly, if you come to me and you say, ‘I want to do 20 miles and I want to see historic things,’ I’ve created a route book to provide just that. People can look through our ride book and decide what fits them.”

Elyse pointed out that each ride page gives you distance and elevation data in addition to the general route.

“Once a route is chosen, we print out turn-by-turn directions and we also provide a Garmin GPS which mounts on their bike and beeps when they have to make a turn,” Marty said. “I have lots of suggested routes — everything from 12 to 100 miles.”

Marty is a high school history teacher and said he would love to lead a local history bike tour. So far, though, no one has asked for that. Elyse noted that most guests have preferred self-guided rides, because then it becomes an adventure. “People tend to like to do that,” she said.

The house has three bedrooms, each with a private bath, and is open to guests seasonally. It will close Nov. 1 and reopen to guests on April 1 next year. For more information, call 631-675-0393.

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Jewish Summer Festival attendees watch the performance with cotton candy and snow cones. Photo by Jim Harrison

More than 500 people stopped by West Meadow Beach last Wednesday evening for the three-hour Jewish Summer Festival.

Entertainment included an acrobatic performance by Cirque-tacular Entertainment, the music of Israeli singer Sandy Shmuely, face-painting and a moon bounce for the children.

That and a kosher barbecue dinner with all the fixings were part of the lure, but the bigger enticement was the camaraderie and friendship the festival offers.

The festival is a creation of Chabad at Stony Brook, and is co-directed by Rabbi Motti and Chaya Grossbaum.

“Seven years ago,” said Rabbi Grossbaum, “I was looking for a way to bring the community together for a public celebration of Jewish life, pride and future here in Suffolk County.” Now in its seventh year, it has become a midsummer classic event that many people look forward to.

A NYC Cirque-tacular Entertainment duo wows the crowd. Photo by Jim Harrison
A NYC Cirque-tacular Entertainment duo wows the crowd. Photo by Jim Harrison

The festival has grown every year, he said, gathering new partiers and sponsors as well.

“It’s nice to ‘hear’ your culture,” said Dominique Shapiro of Smithtown, referring to Shmuely’s music, “and to meet people—young, old, Jewish, non-Jewish—and also bump into those you know.”

Shapiro discovered the festival last year and brought her family again this year. Her three children played in the sand, sampled the food and swayed to the sounds of Shmuely’s guitar.

Steve Zalta of Holbrook attended with nine members of his family, including his two young granddaughters who, he said, danced away to the Hebrew music.

The 63-year-old sales rep of Syrian descent moved to Long Island from Brooklyn 30 years ago. He said at first, he used to go back to Brooklyn for Jewish content and connections; now, he has found outlets where he lives.

“We’re all one family,” he said in general. Of the summer event, in particular, “It’s a way for the children to see their heritage.”

Rabbi Grossbaum thanked the crowd for attending, and acknowledged the sponsors for helping make the night a success and bringing the community together. In fact, that’s what drew Elyse Buchman of Setauket to the festival for the second time.

“It’s very community-based,” she said. “No matter what temple you’re affiliated with—or none at all—you get together as a community and share in a good time. There are not a lot of places where you can do that.”

Buchman and her husband Marty are owners of the Stony Brookside Bed & Bike Inn, which opened in June and focuses on bike tours. She pronounced the North Shore “full of history and beauty that often falls under the radar.”

The icing on the festival cake was, as Shapiro noted, a very beautiful sunset, “one of the best on Long Island.”

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Porta-potties are located outside the locked bathroom facilities at the popular Stony Brook beach.Photo by Rebecca Anzel

By Rebecca Anzel

The absence of functioning public bathroom facilities has caused a problem at a popular Stony Brook beach.

Because the health department does not permit swimming where there are no restrooms, there will be no lifeguards on duty this season, town spokesman Jack Krieger said.

A recently added sign warns beachgoers to swim at their own risk, due to the lack of lifeguards.

Stony Brook Beach is crowded in the summer with families, children and dogs, village resident Nicole Mullen said. She goes to this beach on Sand Street four to five times a week.

Now that the bathrooms are closed, though, she said some beachgoers are less than thrilled.

Mullen said she is lucky to live nearby, but for the typical folks that frequent the beach, the nearest public bathroom is in Fratelli’s Italian Eatery — about a 10-minute walk away.

“It feels like the town put so much money into West Meadow Beach, upgrading it, and they cut back here,” — Nicole Mullen

The Town of Brookhaven did not open the bathrooms at Stony Brook Beach, which is commonly referred to as Sand Street beach by residents, because findings in an engineer’s report commissioned by the town found structural and plumbing issues with the 50-year-old building, said town spokesman Kevin Molloy. The beach will remain open all summer, albeit without lifeguards.

“I have been working with the Parks Department to address the issues with the bathroom facilities at Stony Brook Beach as it is of great importance for our community to have access to our beautiful Town beaches,” Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) said in an email. “I have, and will continue to, explore the options for reinstating lifeguards with [Brookhaven parks commissioner] Morris.”

The Town placed two porta-potties outside the existing, closed bathroom structure, Cartright added. Though Mullen said the town does not clean them.

It is unclear when the beach’s restrooms will be renovated. Molloy said the estimated cost of the work is a minimum of $400,000. Parks Commissioner Ed Morris is just beginning the budget process for 2017.

“It feels like the town put so much money into West Meadow Beach, upgrading it, and they cut back here,” Mullen said. She added that the restrooms look the same now as they did when she worked at Stony Brook Beach in the 1980s.

Her friend Michelle Roach agreed. “This beach is a little hidden treasure,” she said, adding that she prefers Stony Brook Beach because it is free to park in its lot. There is a $5 charge to park at West Meadow Beach, which is about 3.5 miles away.

“Moving forward, I will continue to work with Parks to address repairs to the bathrooms with the expectation that they will be opened as soon as possible,” Cartright said in an email.

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New Mobi-Mats make sand easier to navigate for those with wheelchairs, other mobility devices

Deputy Parks Commissioner Rob Maag, Councilwoman Jane Bonner, Aisha Grundmann, Supervisor Ed Romaine Jason Soricelli, Program Supervisor for Wheelchair Programs, and Alex Grundmann, stand on a new Mobi-Mat at Cedar Beach West in Mount Sinai. Photo from Town of Brookhaven

By Rebecca Anzel

Brookhaven is laying the groundwork to make its beaches more accessible to residents.

Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) announced new sand surfacing mats, called Mobi-Mats, at Cedar Beach West in Mount Sinai and West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook.

“The mats open up opportunities that didn’t exist before for people that, whatever the reason, the sand was not easy to navigate,” Bonner said. “So often times they wouldn’t go to the beach.”

The nonslip, semi-rigid roll-up beach access mats, completely made from recycled polyester roll by New Jersey company Deschamps Mats Systems Inc., enable residents who are elderly or using wheelchairs, crutches, strollers or other mobility devices to more easily traverse sandy beaches. They are low maintenance — the tear-resistant, permeable structure allows sand to filter through — and are easily maintained by removing any excess sand buildup with a broom or leaf blower. Mobi-Mats have already been used at beaches in Nassau County, including Jones Beach, and by the Marine Corps for the past 20 years in vehicular beach landing operations.

Accomplishing this project was easy, Bonner said. She saw a picture of the Mobi-Mats online over the winter and showed it to Parks Commissioner Ed Morris, who ordered them. “Everything in government should be that simple,” she said.

Rocky Point resident Aisha Grundmann said the mats are “wonderful” and installing them was “a great idea.” Her son Alex, 11, uses a wheelchair and asks to go to Cedar Beach more frequently now that he knows the mats make it easier for him to navigate across the sand.

“Multiple people have asked Alex for a beach playdate now, where they otherwise maybe wouldn’t have,” she said. “I can’t think of a more accepting community.”

Alex, who is going into fifth grade, is a local advocate for greater mobility not just for wheelchairs, but for everyone. He influenced improvements to the playgrounds and restrooms at his school to make them more handicap-accessible.

“The feedback for this project has been some of the most positive feedback I’ve ever received since I’ve been in office,” Bonner said.

Cedar Beach West and West Meadow Beach are just the first of Brookhaven’s beaches to get the mats. According to a town spokesman, Brookhaven purchased three — and there are plans to expand the program.

“They will be placed at some point at all of our beaches to allow people with disabilities or physical limitations to also enjoy the beach — one of the great pastimes on Long Island,” Romaine said. “We think this has a large impact on people’s lives.”

He added that for wheelchair-bound Brookhaven residents, beaches also have “beach-ready” chairs with larger wheels available upon request from the lifeguards.

Mobi-Mats are available for use between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

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In a celebration on the July Fourth weekend, a Black Lives Matter banner is dedicated. Pictured are, Racial Concerns committee co-chairs Kay Aparo and Barbara Coley, Janet Hanson, John Lutterbee and Sara Lutterbee. Photo by Barbara Coley

The congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook took a stand in favor of equality the day before the country’s Independence Day.

They held a ceremony to celebrate the placement of a banner below the fellowship’s identifying sign at its entrance on Nicolls Road.

“Unveiling the Black Lives Matter banner on the Fourth of July weekend,” said Barbara Coley, co-chair of the congregation’s Racial Concerns committee, “reminds us that one reason we cherish our country is that we have the freedom to call attention to the struggle for justice for all.”

The idea for the banner originated with fellowship member Laura Lesch.

She attended a Unitarian Universalist congregation where a similar banner was displayed while visiting Florida in January. She took a photo and showed it to Coley upon her return. The photo spurred congregants to do more than just talk about the topic.

A Black Lives Matter banner is dedicated on the July Fourth weekend. Photo from Barbara Coley
A Black Lives Matter banner is dedicated on the July Fourth weekend. Photo from Barbara Coley

Coley presented a proposal to the board of trustees that UUFSB display a Black Lives Matter banner.

“The board wanted to make sure that the congregation learned about the BLM movement,” said Coley, “and had opportunities to express their support and/or concerns about displaying such a banner at a predominantly Euro-American house of worship.”

The question the Rev. Margie Allen posed to the congregation was: “Does our congregation consider itself willing to display the Black Lives Matter banner?”

“We stand with African American citizens in support of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Allen said.

“And we want the surrounding community to know that we support this 21st century civil rights movement – as does the Unitarian Universalist Association.”

Members and friends were invited to express their opinions at two forums.

One concern voiced was a mistaken notion that the BLM movement is anti-police. Another, that it might invite vandalism, was deemed valid.

“But when banners were defaced or destroyed in other places, congregations replaced them and used the attacks on banners as teachable moments,” said Coley, “by inviting community members to participate in discussions where they learned the history, purpose and goals of the movement.”

The banner was approved by a large majority – 92 percent of the congregation – June 1.

The design includes the Unitarian Universalist Association’s standing on the side of love symbol as well as the words ‘Black Lives Matter.’

This tangible expression of support is in keeping with a long history within the Unitarian Universalist tradition of working to advance civil rights as individuals and as congregations.

 

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Kings park residents and their elected officials stand opposed to any plans to build a bridge or tunnel across Long Island Sound. File photo

By Phil Corso

North Shore boaters are making waves over a lack thereof.

Members of the Smithtown Bay Yacht Club and the Stony Brook Yacht Club have been kicking up sand for weeks with hopes that county and town officials would throw them a lifesaver and dredge the waters where the Stony Brook and Porpoise Channels merge on their way out into Smithtown Bay along the North Shore. And while there has been some support vocalized via elected leaders, action is still pending.

Members of both yacht clubs, though fierce competitors when the two cast off in interclub fishing contests, came together in the name of public safety this boating season when they penned a letter on June 2 to Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D). Using urgent language, commodores for both groups, including Mike Kozyrski and Kevin Rooney of Smithtown and Denis Lynch of Stony Brook, asked for a quick dredging of the channel leading out to Smithtown Bay in the name of boater safety.

“At dead low tide, there is oftentimes less than a foot of water in the channel leading out into the Long Island Sound,” Kozyrski said. “Should a boater experience a serious medical emergency out on the water, the bay constable or other emergency personnel may be unable to transit the channel in order to assist them. In our opinion, this is a personal tragedy simply waiting to happen.”

Rooney, coordinator of the dredging project for the Smithtown Bay Yacht Club, said the low-tide and low-water situation has reached a “critical stage” due to the continued shifting of sand and bottom material into the channel.

“It is not an overstatement to say that the very lives of our members, their families and all other boaters are potentially in serious jeopardy due to inaction by various government agencies to prioritize and complete the necessary dredging of the Smithtown Bay channel,” he said. “The situation is dire. And it is totally unacceptable.”

In their letter, the commodores said the area in question was mostly limited to where Stony Brook and Porpoise Channels merged. Navigation buoys turn in a northwesterly direction there, leading into the bay and out into the Long Island Sound. If not dredged properly, the boaters argued that personnel could be unable to reach someone in need of assistance from the shorelines of Port Jefferson or Eaton’s Neck.

“By the time they arrive, it may be too late,” Lynch said.

Bellone, who has put his administration at the forefront of the fight to improve water quality on Long Island, expressed the importance of dredging earlier this year when his administration announced the completion of a project at Champlin Creek in the Town of Islip. A spokeswoman from his office said the Town of Brookhaven submitted a formal request this week before the county’s dredge project screening committee, which will consider making the area a part of the dredging program.

Earlier this month, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) requested that Suffolk County dredge more than a dozen spots across the town for the 2016-2017 dredging season, including the waters of Stony Brook.

“Dredging our waterways is essential for both the economic and ecologic health of our region,” said Romaine, who is a past member of the Suffolk County Dredge Project Screening Committee. “Keeping these channels safe, open and usable on a consistent basis is essential for the health of these waterways, and for boaters to safely enjoy during the summer months.”

The commodores said they hoped lawmakers would put the channel on a regular maintenance dredging schedule in order to allow unlimited access to the Long Island Sound for both boaters and emergency personnel. They, along with other activists across the North Shore, have started a grass roots lobbying campaign with the goal of expediting that kind of schedule.

“This is not about boater convenience,” Kozyrski said. “This is simply about the health and safety of all boaters from our two towns — something clearly needs to be done and we hope that our county and town officials feel the same sense of urgency that we do for the safety of our club members, friends and neighbors.”

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