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Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta

Pictured at Troop 75’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor are Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (left), Eagle Scout Joshua Ayres and Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. 

Recently, Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta and Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick attended the Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Joshua Ayres at the Kings Park High School, where Joshua is a senior.

Through his scouting activities, leadership skills, acquiring merit badges, and completing his community service project, Joshua received the rank of Eagle Scout.  For his Eagle Scout project, he created and supervised the building of an outdoor fitness gym with four stations on the field of the Kings Park High School. Joshua donated the remaining $900 that he raised for the project to the track team.

At the Eagle Scout Court of Honor, Legislator Trotta presented Joshua with a proclamation and Assemblyman Fitzpatrick provided him with a certificate and a letter of commendation for his attainment of the rank of Eagle Scout.

“This is a wonderful occasion for Joshua, his family and friends and the other scouts. This accomplishment will be with you for the rest of your life, and I hope you will serve as an inspiration to the younger scouts,” said Leg. Trotta.

 

Pictured at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, housed at St. Joseph’s Church in Kings Park, are the pantry’s coordinator Annette DeFino and Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta.

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta is currently collecting non-perishable food items, including snacks for school and after school, as well as personal care products for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. The pantry is located at St. Joseph’s Church, 59 Church Street, Kings Park, and is open on Monday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 pm. To speak with someone at the pantry, please call 631-269-6635.

Specific items that they are seeking include snack size cookies, chips, pretzels, juice boxes, small bottled water, and salsa and chips. They also need such staples as cereal, bottles of cooking oil, sugar, flour, mustard, mayonnaise, pasta, sauce, breadcrumbs, Hamburger Helper, pickles, canned fish, meat and fruit, boxed milk, Pop Tarts, honey, napkins, paper towels, sandwich bags, and cleaning supplies.  Personal care items requested are body wash, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, shampoo, tissues, small hand sanitizers, and laundry detergent.

“It is important to help our fellow neighbors so donations of these needed items may be dropped off at my office at 59 Landing Avenue, Suite 1 A, (blue door), Smithtown, throughout the year, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or brought to the food pantry,” said Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. For more information, please call Legislator Trotta’s office at 631-854-3900.

 

Employees of St. Catherine of Siena Hospital. Photo courtesy of Leg. Trotta's office

The Suffolk County Legislature created an annual recognition program so that each legislator would designate a Healthcare Hero from his or her legislative district to acknowledge their work and service to the community.

Legislator Rob Trotta named St Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown as his district’s Healthcare Hero for 2023. St. Catherine is a member of the Catholic Health, and is a 296- bed, not-for-profit community hospital that has served the residents of Smithtown for more than 50 years.

Committed to providing the highest quality of care, St. Catherine offers multidisciplinary experts in numerous specialties including bariatric surgery, behavioral health, cardiovascular care, diagnostic imaging, dialysis, emergency medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, robotic surgery, sleep medicine, stroke, woman child care, women’s health, wound care and much more.

“As the legislator representing St. Catherine’s, I have had the opportunity to know its staff, nurses, doctors ,and administrators as well as experiencing its high level of care on a personal level. St. Catherine is a tremendous asset to the community as they sponsor important events such as its annual Community Health Fair, blood drives, blood pressure checks at senior centers and complexes, clothing and food collections, flu vaccines and recognition ceremonies for EMS workers and the hospital staff,” said Leg. Trotta.

 

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The smoke cleared from the skies just in time, and the St. James-Smithtown Little League concluded its regular season and playoffs with a gala, daylong championship Saturday, June 10, at Gaynor Park in St. James.

Due to the poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires earlier in the week, the weekend was jam-packed from sun-up to sundown with baseball and softball games from all age groups. In addition to the exciting action, players, parents, and fans enjoyed music, face painting, a bouncy house and the smell of smoke of a much more pleasing nature wafting from the east parking lot — free hot dogs and hamburgers all day long. There were also churros, cotton candy and big, salty pretzels.

“It was the best ceremony and festival we’ve ever had for the league,” said S.J.S.L.L. President Richard Tomitz. “We were able to raise a lot of money for (former New York Jet and current radio voice) Marty Lyons’ foundation and Legislator Rob Trotta’s donation to our league is much appreciated.”

Lyons, whose construction company LandTek helped build the league’s new turf fields, also runs a foundation that works with children from ages 3 to 18 with terminal illnesses and grants them wishes. His foundation has raised $43,000,000 since its inception four decades ago.

“Never take anyone or anything for granted in this world,” Lyons told the crowd. “What we have today, we might not have tomorrow, and we should give thanks to God for the opportunities that he’s allowed us to have. I do this every day of my life.”

Through the sale of raffle tickets and individual donations, Tomitz raised several thousand dollars for the foundation. Suffolk  County Legislator Rob Trotta also spoke to the crowd and presented Tomitz with a check for $2,500 as Trotta’s office, S.J.S.L.L. and BusPatrol America — an organization devoted to creating a system to sustain the safety of children as they travel to and from school — have partnered to help the Suffolk County Police Department to issue tickets and enforce critical law to change driver behavior.

“We want to bring the number of school bus accidents and violations to zero in Suffolk County,” said Trotta in his remarks to the crowd.

When the microphone and podium were removed from the field, it was time for baseball. In the first game, the 11 and under minor league championship game pitted Trophy Hut v Smithtown Ninja, with Trophy Hut winning 15-9. The 12U Championship was played next and Armor Fence defeated Memas Little Italian 12-7. Armor Fence capped off an undefeated season with the win.

 In Majors Softball, La Familia won the Championship 9-2 in finals vs. Team Sciortino.

For the smaller players, Tee Ball and Coach-Pitch leagues for kids 4-7 also played their finales on a colorful, balloon-filled, and sun-splashed morning, afternoon into early evening. The eight-year-old All-Star game kicked off the activities early in the morning.

Although the 2023 S.J.S.L.L. intraleague season is in the books, the action is just heating up for baseball and softball in Smithtown.  Six different age groups have qualified for participation in Williamsport tryouts, which is where the Little League World Series is held each August.  In July, Smithtown will host the New York State Softball tournament, which will send the winner of the 12 and under group to North Carolina to compete on a national level.  The Smithtown girls who played on the 11 and under team last year, won their State Bracket. Many of them are the 12U team this year and have a real chance of playing in the national championship.  Tomitz is one of the coaches on that team.

“Everyone is really excited about the softball tournament coming here,” Tomitz said. “We can’t wait to host and hopefully win again. It’s going to be awesome.”

Pictured at the Youth Award Ceremony in Hauppauge are Frank and Deanne Bandiero, Ashley Bandiero and Leg. Rob Trotta. Photo from Leg. Trotta's office

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta has selected Ashley Bandiero, a senior at Kings Park High School, as this year’s Youth Award Recipient for the 13th Legislative District. She was nominated by her guidance counselor, Michelle Manzelli. 

Ashley is a member of the National Honor Society, co-president of the Art Honor Society, and vice president and treasurer of the Italian Honor Society. Throughout high school, she has been a member of the Leadership Club. Ashley is also a volunteer at the Summer Reading Program at the Kings Park Library. This June she earned the rank of Eagle Scout. She will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and will major in Fashion and Graphic Design with a minor in Sustainability. 

“Ashley is deserving of being my district’s recipient of the 2023 Youth Award as she has demonstrated personal achievement, developed leadership skills, and other qualities of humanity so desirable in young people. I wish her much success as she starts her freshman year in college,” said Leg. Trotta.

 

Photo from Leg. Trotta's office

The Commack Kickline Cougarettes won the varsity kickline title and the Sportsmanship Award at the 2023 National Dance Alliance Competition in Orlando, Florida. This was their second consecutive kickline title at this competition.

Suffolk County Legislators Rob Trotta, Leslie Kennedy and Manuel Esteban Sr., who represent the Commack area, invited the team, their coaches and School Superintendent Jordan Cox to attend the May 23 General Meeting of the Legislature to recognize the team and coaches for their achievement.

“As a graduate of Commack High School North, I am so impressed by these student athletes and congratulate them and their coaches for their athleticism, precision and team effort,” said Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. In addition, Legislator Trotta invited several of his classmates who were on the Kickline team at Commack North to join him in congratulating the current team members.

Pictured at the Suffolk County Legislature are the Commack Kickline team, coaches, Commack Superintendent Jordan Cox (left) Commack Athletic Director Pat Friel (next to the superintendent) Legislator Rob Trotta (center) former teammates (in front of him) and Legislator Kennedy (sixth from right).



Photo from Let. Trotta's office

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta invited Northport High School senior Kaitlyn Ruiter and her parents, Anna and Walter, to the Legislature’s General Meeting on May 23 to recognize Kaitlyn for winning a Grammy as a member of the New York Youth Symphony, where she plays double bass. The New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy for its album, “Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, and Valerie Coleman.” This is the first youth orchestra ever to win a Grammy. Legislator Trotta congratulated Kaitlyn on this major achievement and expressed his admiration for her musical talent.

Pictured with Grammy winner Kaitlyn Ruiter (center) are, from left, Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, Kaitlyn’s parents Anna and Walter, Northport High School orchestra teacher, Michael Sussino, and Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta.

Photo courtesy of Leg. Trotta's office

Teachers Federal Credit Union held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new Smithtown location at 47 Route 111 in Smithtown on May 3. Credit union executives and its members, representatives from the Greater Smithtown Chamber of Commerce and the St. James Chamber of Commerce, as well as government officials attended the grand opening.

Founded more than 70 years ago, it has over 440,000 members across the country. At the opening, they presented a donation of $5,000 to Beacon House, which provides homes and services for veterans. 

“I wish the members of Teachers the best of luck in their new location and appreciate all that they do for the community. They are a real asset for the town,” said Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta.

Pictured at the ribbon cutting from left are: Smithtown Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim; Smithtown Councilman Tom Lohmann; Teachers Chairman Timothy M. Southerton; Teachers President & CEO Brad C. Calhoun; Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta; and Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puelo. 

Legislator Rob Trottapictured with his dog Buddy.

Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta is participating in the 12th Annual Legislative Food Drive Challenge to collect pet food for the clients of Long Island Cares through the end of April. Since 2009, Long Island Cares has provided free pet food and supplies to individuals and families in need, in an effort to enable them to keep their pets at home instead of placing them in shelters.

Legislator Trotta pointed out that, according to Long Island Cares, dog and cat food are the most requested items by their member agencies. “I would be most appreciative if the generous residents and pet lovers in my district would help out,” he said.

The pet pantry is in need of canned and dry cat/dog food, cat/dog treats, birdseed, and food for fish, rabbits, and ferrets, as well as kitty litter and small new toys. The drive is from now until the end of April, and donations may be brought to Legislator Trotta’s district office at 59 Landing Avenue, Suite 1 (Blue Door), Smithtown. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9am until 5pm. For more information, please call his office at 631- 854-3900.

 

Red-light camera tickets will be less expensive in the future after the Suffolk County Legislature voted to repeal the $30 administration fee. File photo by Phil Corso

Suffolk County red-light camera offenders will find their bill will be a little less in
the future.

County legislators passed a veto-proof resolution, 12-6, to repeal the $30 administration fee that was an addition to the $50 ticket at their general meeting Dec. 6. The resolution was sponsored by Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga). Trotta has been an opponent of the red-light camera ticket program since its inception more than a decade ago. The $30 administration fee was added a few years after the program began.

The bill now awaits County Executive Steve Bellone’s (D) signature.

All 11 Republican legislators were in favor of the legislation and Tom Donnelly (D-Deer Park) also voted for its repeal. The remaining Democrats voted against it.

Trotta has called the program a “money grab to generate revenue by the county executive.”

In a phone interview, Trotta said it’s the equivalent of people going a few miles over the speed limit.

“It’s not a safety issue, it’s a scam,” he said.

Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon) said in a statement that those who voted “no” did so because of the county’s budget.

“Repealing the administrative fee for red-light camera tickets is a fine idea and is not what our caucus has an issue with,” Richberg said. “This problem is we have a law on the books that says the Legislature cannot remove any funds out of the budget unless there is an offset, which there is not currently. Without a budget offset we are knowingly putting a $7 million hole in the county’s 2023 budget, which was voted on and passed less than a month ago. We’re not able to amend the budget until February, so until then there will be gaps that could lead to shortages in other areas.”

Trotta also acknowledged the problems with the budget. While he is against the red-light cameras entirely, he said removing them completely presently does not make sense.

“We’re in a bind where we have to be very careful,” Trotta said. “We have to start cutting before we can start cutting the cameras.”

Trotta said the current administration fee was deemed illegal by a state Supreme Court judge. The ruling was handed down in 2020, and the county has appealed it. With the red-light program being a state initiative, the county cannot charge more than other municipalities in the state, according to the court.

Marykate Guilfoyle, a spokeswoman for Bellone, said the county executive would sign the bill. Once Bellone signs the legislation and it is filed with the Office of the Secretary of State of New York, the law will take effect.