This week, TBR News Media has embarked upon a pilot project we’re calling News Flash.
It’s a first-of-its-kind journalistic endeavor to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into our newsroom operation. Using ChatGPT, a popular chatbot developed by OpenAI that launched in November 2022, we believe News Flash can aid us in our mission to inform our North Shore readership.
The concept here is simple. We are feeding some of our original content into ChatGPT, directing the chatbot to extract the most interesting or insightful news nuggets within a given article.
While AI generates the bullet points, we assure our readers that our staff retains complete editorial control over the end product. We are committed to subjecting AI-produced content to the same rigorous standards we use for content by human writers.
There are several motivations behind this effort. We are acutely aware and deeply concerned our digital technologies have diminished our attention spans and impaired our faculties for processing large chunks of information. Reading proficiency scores in the U.S. are declining, and in an electoral system demanding a well-informed citizenry, this rings of deep trouble for our republic.
Presenting noteworthy or insightful points up front may make one more inclined to read the entire article. But even if a reader opts not to read the article, News Flash will have delivered some of the necessary material, informing even the nonreader.
There is also a broader philosophical objective behind this project. Artificial intelligence may be the defining technological innovation of our lifetimes. Our staff is in uncharted waters, with no precedents to guide us on properly synchronizing AI and local journalism.
With the awesome power of AI comes an equally awesome responsibility to harness its power appropriately. We believe trained journalists must guide AI, using this tool to enhance and augment the reader experience. Without strict human oversight, we risk irreversible disruption to a vital American institution, with the potential ramifications still unknown.
Scanning the local media landscape, we see alarming trends all around us. Each year, more local news outlets shutter. Others consolidate under large conglomerates. And most disturbingly, more and more Americans live in news deserts, or places without a local newspaper. These are trying times that should trouble journalists and citizens alike.
Without the local press, we naturally gravitate to larger, national media outlets whose contents are increasingly polarized and politically charged. Reading only about higher levels of government, whose centers of power are far away from Long Island and interests often unaligned with our own, we become disillusioned and disconnected from the democratic process.
For the first time ever, local journalists have a powerful tool to help advance their mission to inform democracy. If used properly, AI can help counteract these downward trajectories in our industry, restoring local journalism to its central place in American life.
At TBR News Media, we pledge to use AI technology responsibly. Like generations of pioneers before us, let us plunge forth into the Great Unknown. May this adventure prove fulfilling for both local journalism and democracy — and our readers.
I recently read a book about a boy in high school.
He had a supportive basketball coach who passed along quotes like “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field or endeavor.”
He had a teacher that inspired him to do more with his life than previous generations. We should all want our children to achieve more than we have. This is a key part of the American dream. As such this book is patriotic in the best sense of the word.
There are too many inspiring role models in the boy’s life to list here.
This book provides a valuable perspective of a Native American who grew up on a reservation. A perspective that would be foreign to many of us if not for books like this one.
Some passages in the book are uncomfortable to read. Like a teacher admitting at one point the goal was to kill Native Americans; not literally but instead killing their culture. It’s uncomfortable, but unfortunately that is part of our history. Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and those that prevent history being taught fully intend to repeat it.
The title of this book is “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and the 11th-grade students at Ward Melville High School are lucky to have it as part of their curriculum.
Recently, some parents accused this book of being smut because of a few sentences referring to self-pleasure. Something not unique to this book and something most students are aware of by high school if not sooner.
It’s pretty clear that based on their objectives, the so-called Moms for Liberty and those associated with them are not truly for liberty. Instead, they should be called “Moms for Tyranny.” Their goal is to take away the freedoms of other people. Whether it’s an attempt to have a book removed or it’s an attempt to infringe on others civil liberties, it’s a level of tyranny that never should have left the dark ages.
A famous ship captain once said, “No one is so important that they can usurp the rights of another.” On that note, no one should ever infringe on a student’s liberty to read a great and patriotic work of literature as part of their curriculum.
Ian Farber
Setauket
How to pay for transit improvements
A Long Island Rail Road train arrives at Stony Brook train station during rush hour. Photo by ComplexRational from Wikimedia Commons
Here is how to pay for the transit initiatives outlined in last week’s editorial [“Interconnected trails: Local transit reimagined for Long Island,” Sept. 28, TBR News Media].
Federal funding is available to pay for Long Island Rail Road electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch. The project must be included in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment plan and upcoming 2025-2029 Five-Year Capital Plan.
The MTA must ask for and obtain permission from the Federal Transit Administration to enter this project in FTA’s Capital Investment Grant New Starts Core Capacity Program. MTA Chairman John “Janno” Lieber, LIRR Acting President Robert Free, U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] and Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] along with the next Suffolk County executive must also be on board in support.
Apply for federal and state funding to purchase smaller buses and create new services. Suffolk County Transit was created in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private contract operators, which had previously provided such services on their own.
These companies manage the maintenance and operations of their buses. Buses are paid for by grants from the FTA with the 20% local share split between Suffolk County and state Department of Transportation. Both Suffolk County and NYSDOT provide operating assistance to cover shortfalls from farebox revenues.
Suffolk County Transit and Huntington Area Rapid Transit Bus both use FTA grants to pay for buses, paratransit vehicles, fareboxes, radio communication equipment, bus shelters, bus stop signs and other capital improvements required by private operators to continue providing safe and reliable service that riders count on. They can be used to pay for additional transportation service to serve residents, especially those who reside in low-density neighborhoods.
Operating subsidies are required to establish new service or increase the level of service and reduce the amount of time one waits for a bus on existing routes. Same for adding more off-peak, evening and weekend service. Many of the less dense towns will also have to step up and provide financial assistance to help pay for new services to communities with little or no bus service.
Funding for MTA or Suffolk County Transit is a four-way dance between what riders pay at the farebox and a combination of capital and operating assistance from Suffolk County, Albany and Washington via the FTA.
Everyone needs to have skin in the game. TANSTAAFL — “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” — or in this case, bus or train ride.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
The writer is a transportation analyst and former director for Federal Transit Administration Region 2
WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL
We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Scan the QR code above or email letters to [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733
Stony Brook University is thriving. We welcomed our largest-ever incoming class this year and are seeing great momentum from the Simons Infinity Investment and our leadership of The New York Climate Exchange. The energy is palpable.
You know how truly special Stony Brook is, and the world is recognizing it, too.
The U.S. News & World Report 2024 Best Colleges rankings have just been released, and for the second year in a row, we moved up significantly and have solidified our spot as the No. 1 public university in New York.
We are now nationally ranked No. 58 overall and No. 26 among public universities, up 19 and 5 spots, respectively. In addition, we climbed to No. 12 in the U.S. for social mobility, which ties us at No. 2 among all Association of American Universities.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support.
Maurie McInnis, President
Stony Brook University
Reconfiguration urgent for Three Village school district
It has been more than 40 years since the idea of reconfiguration was first discussed in the Three Village Central School District.
As a strong supporter of the changes that are long overdue, particularly the ninth grade being moved to the high school where it belongs, I am dismayed to find that it has been pushed back at least one more year. At the board meeting held on Sept. 13, Superintendent Kevin Scanlon announced that all will remain as it is until at least the 2025-26 school year, stating that the shift needed to be done correctly, not quickly (I paraphrase). [See story on page A5].
Now while I agree that the move should be given its due diligence, and I believe that the superintendent has the district’s best interest at heart, I am truly tired of the endless delays. There are so many ninth graders that have been disadvantaged by the continued housing of high schoolers at the junior high level, my own child included. The lack of electives that are offered to our “freshmen” is simply not fair, and it is so disheartening that our students will continue to suffer for it.
When this idea was first floated back in the early 1980s, Ward Melville had graduating classes that were twice as big as anything in the recent past or near future. Wings have been added onto a building that was far smaller when I graduated in a class of 752 and yet will more time be wasted trying to find room to add another grade?
The board and the administration need to stop wasting time on this ridiculous “start time” discussion and make reconfiguration happen already. Every high school on Long Island — and New York state — starts within the same time frame that we do. Teenagers aren’t going to bed any earlier, and a 20-minute start time shift won’t change anything. It’s simple reality.
High school starts early and ninth grade belongs at Ward Melville. Conducting another survey is just sending the pitching coach to the mound for a bullpen stall.
Stefanie Werner
East Setauket
Municipalize LIPA
The contract between the Long Island Power Authority and the private PSEG-Long Island expires December 2025.
There are arguments on both sides of the question, but mostly from PSEG for the status quo. And why not? They’re making billions as a private, for-profit corporation and want it to continue.
Why municipalize? First, the utility would be more efficient with fewer management people needed. Conflicts and delays would be cut because the management structure is united to provide optimal electricity.
Also being state owned and run, there are no shareholders to satisfy, so maintenance and upgrades are done timely and effectively. I remember with National Grid and PSEG, tree trimming was reduced to cut costs.
With Long Island having a high amount of overhead transmission, there were so many service interruptions from trees damaging wires, they were forced to increase the trimming. Events like this will not happen with a municipal grid. Other benefits are lower borrowing rates and access to federal and state funds.
Should we worry about the government running the show? LIPA is a New York State authority like the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority running the tunnels and bridges, or the Transit Authority. They get the job done, have significant maintenance equipment and personnel and create many jobs. A private company wants to reduce personnel and equipment to cut costs and maximize profits.
And from the Tennessee Valley Authority, a government electricity provider: “The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electricity for 153 local power companies serving 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six states, as well as to 58 large industrial customers and federal installations. We don’t get taxpayer funding; our revenues come from sales of electricity.” They started in 1933 and have a great history of electrifying the South reliably and cost effectively. Can you imagine private companies doing this?
Or the Bank of North Dakota, “a state-owned, state-run financial institution. It is the only government-owned general-service bank in the United States. It is the depository for all state funds in North Dakota, and uses these deposits to fund development, agriculture and small businesses.” It was unaffected by the banking crisis, and being state owned, does not have to please stockholders.
It is way past the time for LIPA to maximize its advantages to benefit the public. The public-private partnership is inefficient, wasteful, raises costs and cuts quality. A properly staffed and equipped municipal power authority is needed now, especially with the attempted transition to “green” energy and its many critical issues.
Mark Sertoff
East Northport
Leave a mark on local military history
The Rocky Point Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6249 is creating the Suffolk County World War II and Military History Museum and Learning Center that will open on Dec. 7.
We are in the process of collecting military artifacts from veterans and their families that will be exhibited in this museum and creating a history library. If you have any items that you would like to donate or give to Post 6249 on loan, it will surely help our efforts to give this museum a local feeling of patriotism and service from our residents.
There will also be a Wall of Honor for all veterans: active, reservists, National Guard, war and peace time for all Armed Forces components. All veterans are welcome to have their names engraved in black granite on a masonry wall that will be surrounded by a “victory garden” of plants and flowers, especially during the spring and summer.
Anyone who served in the military from all parts of Long Island or this nation could be added to this memorial wall. The cost is $125 for the first name and $100 for each additional person. It is our goal to have over 100 names placed on the wall by our opening and the names of veterans are coming in every day.
We have many families that are adding multiple names of loved ones who have proudly served this country. If there are companies, unions, law enforcement organizations or families who would like to sponsor the creation of this museum, there are opportunities to financially help with $500-$3,000 donations.
All names will be written on a black granite plaque that will be placed at the museum for all to see for many years to come. If you would like to donate any type of item, have a family or friend’s name placed on the Wall of Honor and/or have a sponsorship, please contact Rich Acritelli at 631-839-2996 ([email protected]); or Joseph Cognitore at 631-873-8272 ([email protected]).
The museum will be located directly across the street from the VFW Post 6249, near King Road and Broadway, within the new condominiums on the former site of Thurber Lumber.
Richard Acritelli, Curator
Joseph Cognitore, Post Commander
Rocky Point VFW Post 624
Animal shelter management reflects poorly on Town of Brookhaven
Politics has indeed become a blood sport in daily life.
With the use of social media and the willingness to complain, the Town of Brookhaven’s animal shelter volunteers are among those with a loud voice. After reading the article in the local newspaper [see story, “Volunteers and officials express concerns over Brookhaven animal shelter,” TBR News Media website, Aug. 5] and hearing a report on NPR Radio, these animal lovers have good reason to complain.
These reports about volunteers criticizing the Brookhaven animal shelter are concerning. Volunteers are the lifeblood of an animal shelter. They do a tremendous amount of work for free.
What Brookhaven Town needs is a new animal shelter. The Town of Islip ultimately did just that. It was built because of the constant clamor of complaints from its volunteers and other interested parties.
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine [R], a person who knows the politics of consensus decisions, has not been responsive. He has heard the continual complaints from the shelter’s most ardent advocates. Yet, he remains silent and unconcerned about those animals who spend time in a shelter about which they are unable to complain.
The conclusion I draw is that if the supervisor of the largest town on Long Island does nothing to help animals who have no voice of their own, what will his response be as a candidate for Suffolk County executive to those who are at least able to express themselves.
The scope and size of The Stony Brook School’s proposed expansions
In response to your Stony Brook School article on Aug. 31 [See story, “The Stony Brook School submits application for new buildings as neighbors voice concerns”], please note a total of 95 signatures, not “over a dozen,” were submitted to the Town of Brookhaven Zoning Board at the Aug. 23 meeting opposing the indoor practice facility. You can review the video of that meeting on Channel 18 to see when I actually presented the board with the petition.
It is true that the Stony Brook School’s representatives — the lawyers and architect — presented an updated plan that we were only informed of the changes an hour before the case was called before the board, eliminating the access of the indoor sports facility from Chubb Hill Road and also eliminating the 14 proposed parking spots, which is good.
The new proposed access road will be at Quaker Path, pending the fire department’s approval. But the proposed size of the building itself is huge: 35,000 square feet and 46-feet tall.
It’s like a Costco smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. A metal building of that size will significantly impact the aesthetics of the beautiful wooded area of old Stony Brook.
Please note that the proposed 35,000 square feet is 23,800 feet over the currently permitted size of 11,200 square feet. And the proposed 46-feet height is 11-feet taller than the currently allowed 35 feet. The school said they would do nice landscaping around the sports facility, but you can’t hide a 35,000-square-foot, 46-feet-high metal building.
The Stony Brook School only has approximately 400 students grades seven through 12, so the question is why such a large building is needed for a small student body when other schools in our area that have many more students do not have an indoor sports facility. Once the metal building is up, the local residents will be stuck with this monster of a building in our backyard.
Potentially The Stony Brook School can use this sports facility for any function sports or nonsporting event any time of day and night.
The school can also rent out the facility to outside groups, though the school’s representatives at the Zoning Board meeting said they would not do that.
I’m not so sure of their sincerity. The next ZBA meeting to discuss this proposal is on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Hope Wolinski
Stony Brook
Polluted groundwater affects more than the tap
A recent letter by George Altemose [“An alternative to advanced septic systems,” Sept. 7, TBR News Media] suggested that instead of increasing Suffolk sales tax 1/8% to help fund upgraded, nitrogen-reducing septic tanks, it would be more cost effective to eliminate the nitrogen after it has already entered the groundwater. But only the groundwater that comes from Suffolk County Water Authority wells and into our homes as drinking water.
What about the polluted groundwater from old cesspools and septic systems that’s now going into our beaches, bays and other waterways, killing fish and creating dead zones?
Old cesspools and septic systems need replacing, and they should be replaced with upgraded, nitrogen-reducing systems and there are rebates and grants to help pay for it.
Another consideration, according to one local company’s website, is that the upgraded systems work best when homeowners use less water and fewer chemical cleaning products. So in the long run the homeowner will be motivated to reduce water use by running only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher and to stop buying expensive cleaning products with harmful chemicals and instead make their own homemade cleaners using baking soda or white vinegar to prolong the life and improve the performance of their new, high-tech septic system.
Remember, we live on an island and there are grants and rebates to help pay for the upgraded systems because we all benefit from Long Island’s beautiful beaches and abundant wildlife.
Diane Ives
Copiague
Editor’s note: The writer serves on the executive committee of the Sierra Club Long Island Group.
SCWA can’t ward off algal blooms
While the Suffolk County Water Authority can do something about nitrogen in drinking water, it does not and cannot do anything to reduce the excessive amount of nitrogen in the drinking water of those of us that get our water from our own wells, nor can it do anything to reduce the amount of nitrogen in our lakes, ponds, streams and saltwater bodies. In those bodies, it is a fertilizer for all sorts of life.
Plant life, called algae, grows and reproduces at an increased rate when fertilizers are present in the water. In large numbers, they form a “bloom” which actually changes the color of the water.
Two of these are brown algae and green algae. Brown algal blooms — aka brown tides — shadow the seafloor, which leads to the death of seagrasses. It also can slow the growth of shellfish.
Red algae, which contains saxitoxin — a nerve damaging toxin — when present in large quantities as in a red tide or red algal bloom, can kill many fish and shellfish and sicken any animal that ingests the water, including making humans quite sick. Red algal blooms also deplete water oxygen levels, resulting in fish not getting enough oxygen through their gills and dying as a result.
Then there is blue-green algae, which is actually a bacteria — aka a cyanobacteria — that grow in number in shallow, still, warm bodies of fresh or salt water. It, too, contains a neurotoxin called microcystin that is known to cause rashes and make people sick. In fact, it is an excess of this toxin that has killed dogs and other animals when they drink the water.
All because of excess nitrogen that the no drinking water process does or can remove.
Jane Fasullo
Setauket
The system needs a reset
It makes no sense that inflation creates a work shortage [See story with Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio [R-Riverhead], “Giglio: Long Island still grappling with labor shortages, inflation,” Sept. 7, TBR News Media].
How else can you keep up with inflation if you don’t work? And, if wages increase, you also increase prices, which creates inflation.
This is putting the carrot on the stick in front of the donkey. Add to this Big Government and high taxes. The system needs a reset.
Today marks 22 years since the terrorist attacks on America. May we never forget those who were taken from us, those extraordinary heroes who saved so many lives, and the first responders who risked their lives to save countless others on that fateful day, September 11, 2001.
The opioid epidemic in Suffolk County remains unresolved among local families, policymakers, resource providers, drug prevention advocates and victims. Fortunately, for once, we see some reasons for hope.
Opioids remain a major killer, particularly of youth, in Suffolk. Hundreds of our fellow residents die each year from opioid overdoses, with a growing number of these deaths brought on by synthetic opioids — notably fentanyl.
While our community and society continue to grapple with the devastation of the drug epidemic, we are encouraged by several developments taking place here at home.
Last week, Suffolk County opened a second round of opioid settlement payments from a projected $200 million lawsuit won by the county government against opioid manufacturers, retailers, distributors and other entities that had compounded the problems and contributed to deaths. [See story, “Suffolk County opens application portal for second round of opioid settlement,” Aug. 31, TBR News Media].
We encourage all qualifying, interested parties and organizations to write an application for this money. While the $200 million cannot undo the damage inflicted upon our people, it can hopefully bring our citizens and nonprofits together around the common cause of ending the opioid epidemic here in Suffolk.
It is also necessary to consider recovery options for addicts. Prevention is critical, but recovery resources are an equally vital side of this conversation. With growing local concerns over a potential lack of space in treatment centers, those who ask for help should receive the necessary care.
Caught in the daily and weekly news cycles, we can sometimes forget that people among us are dying from opioids far too regularly. We are encouraged by the various demonstrations this week — namely at Brookhaven Town Hall and Northport Village Hall — for Opioid Awareness Month.
Still, we acknowledge that so much work must still be done. When September ends, this issue won’t go away.
Therefore, we must use this month as an opportunity to learn about the drug phenomenon here in Suffolk, educate ourselves and others, and apply those lessons during the remaining months of the year.
Public awareness combined with public funds can be a powerful deterrent to help combat the spread of addiction in our community. The actions we take today will impact generations to come.
To apply for opioid grant funding through Suffolk County, please visit www.suffolkcountyny.gov and search under “Opioid Grant Application.”
Sen. Schumer gives support to Sound Beach post office reopening
Dear Postmaster General DeJoy,
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Photo by U.S. Senate Photographic Studio/Jeff McEvoy
I write regarding United States Postal Service (USPS) operations in the hamlet of Sound Beach, New York, on Long Island’s North Shore, where the local post office was shuttered months ago without warning. Sound Beach residents, community leaders and elected representatives are troubled by the lack of communication about the closure from USPS and the apparent lack of any work being done on-site to remedy the situation.
It is my understanding that the Sound Beach post office was shuttered around May 29, 2023, after a potential structural issue at the facility was uncovered. According to community leaders, the only official notification to the community since the closure has been the placement of signs in the building windows stating that the post office is temporarily closed for safety reasons, as well as a statement to a local media organization by a USPS spokesperson stating that the building “remains closed awaiting necessary repairs.” There are also concerns regarding undelivered mail to Sound Beach residents and reported short staffing at the Miller Place post office, where Sound Beach post office personnel have been relocated. I ask that USPS provide me and other community leaders with detailed information about the closure and what work is being done to rectify the situation, including answers to these specific questions:
1) What are the structural issues that have been identified at the Sound Beach post office building?
2) Where is USPS in the process of remedying the structure issues at the facility and what is the timeline for reestablishment of services at the post office?
3) What is the estimated reopening date of the Sound Beach post office?
4) What exact measures are being taken to ensure that mail delivery and postal services are smoothly and adequately provided to Sound Beach residents?
5) Is a temporary location within Sound Beach being considered for postal operations and services? If no, why not?
As you know, local post offices are the bustling center of healthy communities across New York and the country. Reestablishing a post office in Sound Beach is critical to ensuring vital services are accessible to all those who need them. I urge you to work with stakeholders to reestablish operations at the Sound Beach post office as quickly and safely as possible.
Thank you for your attention to this important request. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my staff.
Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senate Majority Leader (D-NY
Lack of emergency response from PJV
I take the safety of this community very seriously.
On Sunday afternoon, there was a scary and extremely unsettling incident that took place in Port Jefferson. Suffolk County Police Department, village code officers and other first responders, including a SCPD helicopter, were deployed to the harbor area.
Seeing the helicopter and emergency response, I was concerned about what potentially could be unfolding, yet no word came. In desperation, I turned to social media to see if any information was posted from village officials. There was nothing.
What I found instead were panicked messages from residents, also desperate for information, and rumors and hearsay about what might be going on Down Port. Was it a bomb? Had someone targeted the ferry boats or ferry terminal?
Social media was rife with comments and conjecture about what was happening. Instead of information, residents posted their fears, concerns and panic online, as there were over 100 comments on social media posts in real time.
These are from actual social media posts on Sunday:
“My son is down there and I was panicking.”
“This is so scary.”
“They heard a bomb was going to explode.”
My daughter “is working downtown today.”
My daughter “too, she’s working the boats!”
“No communication. People are very angry.”
Despite this, there was not one word from the administration or the mayor [Lauren Sheprow], the self-appointed commissioner of public safety, to calm the concerns or panic. This is the same mayor, who during her reorganizational meeting, chose to deactivate the safety committee.
While I agree that “law enforcement agencies … are responsible for, and lead the communication efforts,” that in no way precludes the administration from coming out in front and informing residents, calming fears and letting the community know the situation is being handled.
Port Jeff Village has an emergency communication system called Code Red, which is designed to keep residents safe. The mayor chose not to use this system nor to communicate through social media or the village website.
It’s shameful that village officials were asleep at the wheel and allowed this incident to unfold and did not take any action to inform residents. Our community was expecting, at least, a Code Red notification. Instead, residents received nothing. Zero communication. Not a word.
During times of crisis, strong leadership that inspires confidence in local government is paramount for a strong community.
Strong leadership or leadership of any kind was nonexistent during this time.
Kathianne Snaden
Port Jefferson
Editor’s note: According to the village website Sept. 4, a bomb threat was made at Port Jefferson Harbor Sunday, Sept. 3, 1:40 p.m., but no bombs were found.
The writer served as trustee of the Village of Port Jefferson from 2019-23, holding the position of deputy mayor and commissioner of public safety.
Port Jefferson’s motorcycle noise
On Saturday, Sept. 2, we were enjoying the wonderful food and service on the porch at The Fifth Season restaurant at 34 E. Broadway. It was a beautiful evening near the boats and the beach, and a pleasure to be outside.
Unfortunately the extremely loud noise made by motorcycles passing by was deafening.
To an extent, the noise is a safety measure for riders, but there is no reason for the exaggerated degree frequently in use by some, especially on the narrow and crowded streets of Port Jefferson.
The noise is at a level to be startling and disturbing to anyone near it and likely harmful to riders themselves. Consideration should be given to requiring a reasonable legal threshold or possibly setting aside a special parking area and street restrictions.
Dave Gross
Port Jefferson
Palumbo way off the mark on migrants
In New York State Sen. Anthony Palumbo’s [R-New Suffolk] op-ed [“Local control is key to protect communities from migrant crisis,” Aug. 31, TBR News Media], he blames lack of leadership for the immigrant crises and argues for the need for local control. Unfortunately, his argument is way off the mark.
The failure of leadership comes from Congress in general and Republicans specifically for failing to pass a comprehensive policy and plan for dealing with immigration. We are not the only country facing a crisis — hundreds of thousands of Central and South Americans as well as Africans are desperately fleeing war, famine, lack of security, gang warfare and the effects of global warming.
The world needs a plan to both stabilize those countries and provide for asylum seekers. Seeking asylum is a basic right. The U.S. should subscribe to international standards for asylum; an asylum claimant must demonstrate persecution based on one of the five protected grounds — race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
We should have sufficient judges to quickly process cases, admit those who qualify and deport those who don’t. We need standards to admit those not seeking asylum. Finally, the question is not local control — which runs the risk of not-in-my-backyard claims — or state or national control, but both a comprehensive plan and the acknowledgement that all Americans should welcome immigrants.
It should not be left to the border states, nor should we accept the stunts of Govs. Ron DeSantis [R-FL] and Greg Abbott [R-TX], who have shipped immigrants north without notice or the agreement of the immigrants themselves.
Adam D. Fisher
Port Jefferson Station
The time is now for PJ Branch electrification
A Long Island Rail Road train arrives at Stony Brook train station during rush hour. Photo by ComplexRational from Wikimedia Commons
Please forward this information to friends and relatives in Port Jefferson and include friends and relativeswho reside along the North Shore, west to Greenlawn.
I have been working with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Sierra Club on the Port Jeff Branch electrification project for many years. (The USGBC-LI is focused on green transportation.)
The LIRR has told our village’s Conservation Advisory Council and me that there are challenges to modernization and electrification of the line.
We are not seeing this as an “all or nothing” proposition. We can provide the LIRR planners with options if they need assistance. We can electrify now and “double track” in the future. Better is better than nothing.
This is an economic issue for our area and a green issue for Long Island and New York state. Much money is being spent to improve transportation elsewhere throughout the state.
We pay taxes, too.
New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act — signed into law in 2019 — requires public agencies to work diligently toward New York’s zero-emissions goals.
Diesel locomotion does not conform. Driving from the Port Jefferson line to the Ronkonkoma line for a decent ride does not conform. Building unnecessary parking garages and paving acres of asphalt for parking does not conform.
Suffolk County has designated space at the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site on Sheep Pasture Road for the LIRR that would help with electrification and eliminate two grade-level crossings and two old and obsolete bridges. This would be valuable to our local economy and traffic flow as well.
The time is now. If we do not make progress in the short term, it may be decades before we have better transportation.
Bruce Miller
Port Jefferson
Editor’s note: The writer is a former Village of Port Jefferson trustee.
An alternative to advanced septic systems
The Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, if passed by referendum vote, would provide an increase in the county sales tax of 0.125%, thereby increasing the combined New York State and Suffolk County tax rate to a whopping 8.375%. The reason for this, we are told, will be to provide reimbursements to beleaguered homeowners who have been required to have advanced wastewater treatment technology installed as part of their cesspools.
Although there is considerable controversy regarding the wisdom of passing this legislation, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that the widespread, possibly even universal, requirement for these high-tech, electric cesspools is a good idea. But is this reasonable?
There are a number of significant problems associated with these units. The initial installation expense is comparable to the cost of a new car, and maintenance and inspection issues are likely to be an ongoing nuisance forever.
But what is the alternative? A much more sensible approach, in my opinion, would be to leave the present concrete cesspools as they are, and to develop large-scale denitrification systems to be installed and operated at the distribution sites of the Suffolk County Water Authority.
These systems would process the nitrate ions, which are composed of nitrogen and oxygen atoms, and produce pure, clean nitrogen and oxygen gasses, which could be released into the atmosphere with no ill effects whatsoever. As a result, the nitrate level of the purified water can be made as low as desired. As a bonus, power could be provided by solar arrays or windmills. And, as we were told by former state Assemblyman Steve Englebright [Perspective, “Let the people vote for clean water,” TBR News Media, Aug. 17], “Pure water is our most essential resource.”
In the early 1900s, Fritz Haber developed a method for synthesizing ammonia from gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1919. This revolutionized the manufacture of fertilizers, at a reasonable cost, which helped to feed millions of people throughout the world.
If Haber could devise a methodology for combining nitrogen and hydrogen in a cost-effective manner over 100 years ago, surely we can figure out how to separate nitrogen from oxygen just as easily today. And I have no doubt that the SCWA can build, maintain and operate a few hundred of these systems with far greater efficiency, much lower cost and infinitely less aggravation than 380,000 Suffolk homeowners would expend on the electric cesspools buried in their backyards.
Many readers may have either had the disease, know someone who’s had it or tragically know a man who’s lost his life to it. Having touched all three of those bases, I’d like to address this subject from a personal standpoint.
For me, it began with the insistence of my “old school family doctor” and friend to begin carefully monitoring an incrementally rising, but not especially high, PSA score. “Dr. John” felt it was important to establish a “baseline” number and then watch for increases based on the percentage of any jumps.
After almost a decade of “watching,” John recommended I see a urologist, who urged having a biopsy done. That’s when the idea of having cancer in my early 50s suddenly became a real possibility. How could that be when I had no overt symptoms? I went for the test, and another one a few years later. Both came back showing nothing growing. The third time, however, was not a charm.
Plans needed to be made going forward. My wife and I carefully studied all the treatment options and chose laparoscopic surgery, to be done at Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital in New York City.
When everything was confirmed we sat down with our children to go over the arrangements. It was a tough conversation, but she and I had confidence in my terrific surgeon and our decision. The operation was a complete success followed by a full recovery.
Having read articles on the possibility of this type of cancer running in some families, I brought male cousins into the loop. The emphasis was on following PSA results with a focus on the percentage of increase from previous scores. Shortly thereafter, two were diagnosed and very successfully treated for the disease.
A stunning, heartbreaking, little known statistic regarding this oft-times silent killer is how it has an especially outsized, negative impact on African Americans, who die at about two times the rate of their white peers.
Given advancements in testing, diagnosis and treatment, this disease is beatable. Have frank conversations with your wives, loved ones, doctors and men you’ve known who’ve had prostate cancer. If you’re a Black man, you need to be especially vigilant.
The trick is to not let this illness get too far ahead of you. Be proactive! September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. All men should take it seriously and personally.
Jim Soviero
East Setauket
Electrification survey a likely dud
The online survey being conducted by the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning to understand the extent of public support for electrification of Long Island Rail Road’s Port Jefferson Branch is nothing new.
It is available on the Village of Port Jefferson website. The idea has been periodically advocated since the 1960s by generations of elected officials with no success. In 1970, electrification was extended from Mineola to Huntington. In the 1980s, discussions took place between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LIRR, Suffolk County and elected officials over which branch should be electrified first.
The Ronkonkoma Branch was selected over the Port Jefferson Branch. It took 35 years before completion of full double track-electrification between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma. The estimated cost to extend electrification east beyond Huntington today is $3.6 billion. This will increase over time.
Billions are necessary to pay for planning, design and engineering, environmental review, land acquisition for construction of power substations, expansion of commuter parking, relocation and/or consolidation of existing stations, new stations and platforms, new electric multiple-unit car storage yard, double tracking, third rail, signals and construction management.
From start to finish could require 15-20 years. For the project to proceed, it must be included within the MTA’s upcoming 2025-2044 Needs Assessment plan, due to be released in October.
To pay for future construction, the project would require a Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement under the national competitive discretionary Capital Investments Grant Core Capacity New Starts program. It would have to be matched by $2 billion or more of local MTA sources.
Even if the project is given a green light, based upon my past experiences on other FTA-MTA-LIRR projects, Port Jefferson Branch electrification will not be completed until 2040 or later.
Supporters should lobby Gov. Kathy Hochul [D], MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and LIRR President Catherine Rinaldi if you ever want to see this project get underway within your lifetime.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
Beyond nuclear deterrence
Joseph Levine’s letter [“Context for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Aug. 24] suggests that mutual assured destruction, or nuclear deterrence, will keep superpowers from launching preemptive nuclear strikes because of the prospect of devastating retaliation. This view reflects current U.S. policy and is held by many thoughtful persons, but there is a risk associated with this policy that deserves discussion.
The technological complexity of the current system of command and control of thousands of nuclear weapons on high alert capable of being launched within minutes leaves us vulnerable to disaster. A history of close calls involving accidents, computer failure, false alarms and human misjudgment shows the system is vulnerable and that its failure could lead to an accidental nuclear war.
In a world without nuclear weapons our nation, possessing overwhelming military superiority, could not be held at risk by an impoverished North Korea led by a dictator. The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has not been signed by the U.S. and other nations that possess nuclear weapons, but it is a step in the right direction toward a safer world.
Lester Paldy
South Setauket
Editor’s note: The writer is a distinguished service professor emeritus at Stony Brook University and a former Marine officer, who served as a member of the U.S. nuclear weapon negotiating delegations with the Soviet Union in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the U.N
WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL
We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Scan the QR code above or email letters to [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733
Is the Port Jefferson School District spending unnecessarily, yet again?
The Board of Education on July 11 learned that bids to replace present high school bleachers and press booths came in much higher than the $561,000 allocated in the 2022-23 budget. According to the superintendent of schools [Jessica Schmettan] the bids indicated a cost of “just under a million dollars” for bleachers, with significantly fewer seats than the present ones. The present bleachers seat 1,000 but the replacements will seat less than 600. Doing the math, this works out to spending over $1,600 per person on a bleacher bench.
The superintendent confirmed in an email that the present bleachers are structurally safe, evident also by the fact that they remain in use. They are not, however, compliant with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) code.
Given this huge price tag for a total bleacher replacement, consideration should be given to modifying our present bleachers to make them ADA-compliant. Only the first row would need modification. According to posted information, describing how other school districts faced with this issue addressed it, with the addition of some ramps, guard rails and removal of enough bench area to accommodate 10 wheelchairs in just the first row, we can meet ADA standards, retain the present 1,000-person seating capacity and likely stay well below the initially budgeted amount — and certainly way below the million dollar expense for all new bleachers. Extra handrails could also be installed as an option on upper rows of bleachers for additional safety. The press booth can simply remain as is and need not be enhanced.
The Board of Education will be discussing the bleachers at their Aug. 29 meeting. Surely there are more important priorities in our school buildings than spending a million dollars on all new bleachers if the present ones just need some modifications to meet ADA code. Installing a new HVAC system in the high school could be one of them.
Port Jefferson residents are very generous in supporting their schools. Hopefully the school board will in turn show respect for the taxpayers by avoiding more unnecessary or excessive spending.
Gail Sternberg
Port Jefferson
Context for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A firestorm cloud hangs above the Japanese city of Hiroshima following detonation of an atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945. Public domain photo
I felt some discomfort after reading Myrna Gordon’s letter [“Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Aug. 10] regarding the North Country Peace Group’s vigil around the anniversaries of the dropping of the atomic bombs.
I think it is clear to all that war is a terrible thing, and I certainly understand the mourning of those killed in wars. My discomfort comes from the selectivity and moral attitude taken by most people I have known, or heard from, regarding these attacks. I apologize if these factors may not apply to the members of the Peace Group.
To start, the letter seems to imply that these bombings were the most devastating ever. Reports note anywhere from 129,000 to 226,000 killed from the combined attacks. Yet, prior to these attacks, the firebombing of Tokyo killed between 80,000 and 100,000 people immediately in one night alone and does not get similar attention.
My bigger concern is the general perception of such mourners that these attacks were a moral atrocity. They fail to look at the overall picture. If the war had not ended this way, we were looking at an invasion of Japan. The estimates are/were that an invasion would have resulted in the loss of over 1 million people.
While this number alone is large, it fails to note all the descendants that would never be born because of these deaths. I take this very personally because my father likely would have been killed in that invasion and I would never have been born. Millions of people are alive today for that reason. It should also be remembered that this action was our means of ending a war that we did not start.
Lastly, as I was thinking about this topic during the past week and deciding whether to respond, a new thought came to me. While there has been some reasonable concern about the potential use of nuclearweapons over the last several decades, one could make a case that their existence has saved many lives and prevented major wars. Once Russia, and later China, had nuclear weapons, we have not had a direct conflict between world superpowers.
I think this might be because of the mutually assured destruction theory that the superpowers would not launch nuclear preemptive strikes on each other because of the understanding that it would result in both countries destroying each other. Yet another unappreciated benefit.
Joseph Levine
Stony Brook
WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL
We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Email letters to [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.
Citizens have a right to know who they’re dealing with, whether it be in government or private enterprise. But that’s not the case when it comes to limited liability companies, or LLCs, which for example can own property, apply for grants, operate as landlords and donate to political campaigns. Holding government accountable for its actions demands a well-informed public. We need to know who, not what, is benefiting in order to do our jobs as citizens.
Discovering who’s behind the curtain isn’t easy. Cruise through your local property tax rolls or the state’s campaign finance disclosure database. You’ll see plenty of LLCs but you won’t see many names.
Anonymous shell companies have been a popular vehicle for money laundering, tax evasion, organized crime, terrorism and other forms of corruption for decades. Yet, as the proposed New York State bill notes, establishing an LLC requires less personal information than getting a library card.
That’s why it’s imperative for Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to sign the LLC Transparency Act, passed in both the state Assembly and Senate, which would require these special kinds of business organizations to publicly identify the owners to the state and to the public registry run by the Department of State.
At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act, taking effect next year, seeks similar disclosures from businesses, including LLCs, but stops short of making the information publicly available. A wide variety of businesses, from pizza shops to mall developers and property buyers, use the LLCs as an organizing business structure.
The approach, sanctioned by state law, provides the owners some limits on liabilities the company could face. As a practical matter, LLCs also offer the people who actually own the company the ability to remain anonymous.
Under current reporting requirements, LLCs need only supply a company name, county of operation and a basic address where legal documents should be sent. Sometimes, the address is a P.O. Box, sometimes it’s an attorney’s office, sometimes it’s a registered agent.
For anyone interested in knowing more, the information provided is often frustratingly nondescript and consequently useless. We all have a well-established interest in this information, and the state Legislature should be commended for recognizing this by including solid public disclosure requirements.
The lack of transparency with campaign donations is just one of the reasons the LLC Transparency Act has the support of good government groups, such as Common Cause and the League of Women Voters. While a 2019 law change required LLCs making political donations to disclose their owners, many are ignoring the requirement, the groups say.
The Business Council of New York State opposes the law, saying it would violate the privacy of law-abiding businesses — including thousands of small businesses organized as LLCs — and put their security at risk. There are some provisions in the legislation for public disclosure to be waived when “a significant privacy interest exists.” The law’s efficacy will be determined in part in how waiver requests are handled.
Given the benefits state law confers upon LLCs, it’s not too much to ask that they at least let us know who they are. This is a good step toward much-needed transparency
Judy Patrick is vice president for editorial development of the New York Press Association, of which TBR News Media is a member.
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