Recognizing Kara Hahn’s efforts for the 5th District

I’d like to express my gratitude to outgoing Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn [D-Setauket] for her unwavering dedication to the residents of the 5th Legislative District. While we may have differing viewpoints on some issues, I truly appreciate her commitment to serve our district with utmost integrity.

Kara’s background as a social worker gave her unique insights into the harrowing reality of drug addiction — especially into Suffolk’s fentanyl crisis. She was instrumental in championing a law to provide our police with Narcan, a crucial measure that has saved numerous lives from drug overdoses. Moreover, her efforts in stewarding the allocation of funds from the opioid settlement to aid those battling addiction in Suffolk are commendable.

Kara understood the significance of preserving our county’s natural splendors. Her advocacy for funds to enhance parks and conserve open spaces in our district has left an indelible mark.

As a father with three young children, I resonate with the principle of prioritizing families over politics. Kara’s commitment to constituent service is a mantle I will carry close as we move to this next and exciting chapter in our community.

On a personal note, I’d like to wish Kara great success in her new endeavor as the Long Island deputy regional director for the New York State Parks Department. It’s a role that undoubtedly befits her expertise and passion.

Anthony M. Figliola

East Setauket

Constituent and Republican candidate for Suffolk County Legislature, District 5

DMV closure an unnecessary hardship for Northern Brookhaven

I was disappointed to read about the recently announced plans to close the local DMV Office in the Three Roads Plaza in Port Jefferson Station. 

This facility not only provides important services to motorists around our region, it has served as an important anchor to the small businesses which surround the office that benefited from the additional “traffic” the DMV office created. Beyond that, the present location offered a reasonable and convenient alternative to the longer drive to Medford or Hauppauge where one would be met with mass confusion and interminable wait times when seeking out the many services one needs from the DMV. 

Though a smaller facility, the PJS staff were always pleasant and professional and even when needing to be patient in waiting your turn, you knew when you were done you were close to home and even closer to a great slice of Colosseo’s pizza. These benefits have been important to many in the Northern Brookhaven area, and this announced change presents an unnecessary hardship to those of our hamlet and beyond. 

There were attempts in the past to make this move which thankfully were quashed by our previous state Assemblyman [Steve Englebright (D-Setauket)]. I call upon our current state officials in the Assembly and Senate to show the same grit and intercede on our behalf and halt this diversion which will “drive” this hub of local activity from our midst.

Ira Paul Costell

Port Jefferson Station

Editor’s note: The writer is president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association.

Discrepancies in Aug. 7 meeting coverage

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing as a concerned citizen to express my disappointment in the coverage of the recent village meeting held on Aug. 7.

It has come to my attention that there were significant omissions in your report on this event. Most notably, the tabling of warrants due to the mayor’s failure to review them, which resulted in checks being held and the accruement of late fees.

This is a significant matter that directly affects the fiscal health of our community and the fair disbursement of taxpayer funds. While it may be an uncomfortable subject to report, it is vital for maintaining transparency and public trust in our local government.

Additionally, I was surprised to learn that the settlement with Martin Burden was not included in your report. This settlement was a key reason for the meeting transitioning into an executive setting, a fact that was also omitted.

As a respected news source in our community, we depend on TBR News Media to provide accurate, comprehensive and timely information about key events and decisions that shape our village’s future. As the editorial staff stated in the March 23 issue, “we view one of our roles as the watchdog of local government for the people.” Selectively reporting on certain aspects while neglecting others can create a skewed perception of events and undermine the transparency necessary for a healthy, functioning democracy – the opposite of being a “watchdog for the people.”

I kindly ask you to address these omissions and provide your readers with the complete picture of the Aug. 7 meeting. It would be greatly appreciated if you could also elucidate your editorial policy when it comes to reporting on such matters. This will help your readers, including myself, understand the process and considerations that guide your reporting.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response and continued commitment to fair, comprehensive and transparent journalism.

Keith Ottendorfer

Port Jefferso

Battery storage proposal a bad idea

Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy, no generation when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, battery backup/storage is presented as the solution.

Renewables have an output of about 20% of nameplate capacity. Disregarding the huge cost and the fact that lithium ion batteries are rated at only 4 hours discharge, many battery backup storage sites are being proposed.

One, Key Capture Energy of Albany, is on Pulaski Road west of Town Line Road, in Huntington, near residences. It is near a LIPA substation, so interconnection is not a problem. But the issues are concerning:

1. Lithium ion battery storage units unexpectedly and spontaneously explode and catch fire. This fire is self-fueling and inextinguishable. Fatal, toxic clouds of poisons are emitted and fire companies need sealed oxygen breathing apparatus to fight the fires. Residential areas near the fire must be evacuated.

2. The site is over a Suffolk County Sanitary Code Article 7 Deep Recharge Area — an aquifer protection zone. That means this is a designated area where our drinking water is recharged, and there must not be hazardous materials present to contaminate our water supply. Lithium poisonous runoff from a destructive battery storage fire goes into the ground to endanger our drinking water.

3. Gov. Kathy Hochul [D], recognizing this problem, has convened a panel to address the battery storage fire problem. There have been three battery storage fires in New York state and elsewhere, too. 

4. The site is near the Huntington Landfill, laced with methane, also the Iroquois natural gas pipeline and the Huntington animal shelter.

5. With China, Russia, India and others opening many reliable, cost-effective and clean fossil-fueled and nuclear generators, all our efforts of renewable generation, with their negatives of high cost, unreliability, rare-earth needs from child labor and hostile countries, intermittency, huge land and seabed needs, destruction of sea life and flying birds like eagles, terns, bats and more, all our efforts of destroying our current, reliable generation are wasted and weaken us.

This is a revenue-generating plan that wants to cash in on taxpayer subsidies, ignores the life-or-death safety concerns of the nearby residents, potentially poisoning our sole source of drinking water and endangers firefighters. It is a Band-Aid for faulty, unreliable renewable electricity generation and endangers our health and safety. This proposal should be denied.

Mark Sertoff 

East Northport

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

Not a resignation

I would like to take this opportunity to make a correction to a statement which appeared in the July 13 edition of The Port Times Record [see story, “Port Jeff village board cans code changes for Maryhaven, tensions flare amid reorganization”].

 It was reported that at the Port Jefferson Board of Trustees reorganization meeting that I resigned from my position as village clerk. This is not fully accurate, as I was unceremoniously informed by newly elected Mayor Lauren Sheprow that I would not be reappointed to my position in her administration.

I love this community where I have raised my family, and was honored to have served and worked tirelessly for the last 13-plus years. I consistently performed my job duties with integrity, honesty and professionalism, attributes I will bring to my next job, which regrettably will not be in the Village of Port Jefferson.

Barbara Sakovich

Port Jefferson

Voters deserve legislators who do their homework

The notion that Suffolk County Republicans “don’t care” about the environment is, of course, absurd [letter, “Suffolk County Legislature neglecting wastewater infrastructure,” two directors from League of Women Voters of Huntington, July 13]. 

We live, work and raise our children on Long Island just as much as Democrats do. Creating a false sense of urgency, some have suggested that all opportunities to improve our water quality will be lost if we do not act today. Hardly. 

Suffolk County’s Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan’s goal of restoring and protecting the waters of Suffolk from the impacts of nutrient enrichment-related water quality degradation is a 50-year plan. I am very proud of our pro-environmental record to date, which speaks for itself.

The Republican majority and Democratic minority, in a bipartisan fashion, have approved more than 200 resolutions, resulting in the appropriation of more than $155 million for sewers and other infrastructure projects, clean water initiatives and open space preservation. 

To be clear, at the June 21 general meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature, we did not “vote down” two important pieces of legislation that came before us; both in accordance with the Suffolk County Subwatersheds Plan’s goal of reducing the nitrogen level in our groundwater and surface waters. 

We simply voted to recess the public hearing, as we need to work out some concerns we have with the proposed legislation, one being that it allows for 10% to cover administrative costs and 75% for Innovative/Alternative Wastewater Systems. 

Let’s do the math. Once 10% has been deducted for administrative costs, 67.5% remains for I/A systems, not 75%. And there is no set amount set aside for sewer infrastructure — zero dollars could be used for sewers.

It is our full intention to ultimately allow the voters to decide, via a referendum, whether this legislation should be adopted or not. However, it would be irresponsible to rush through this important work as it is our responsibility to put forward financially viable, sensible and fully transparent legislation. Should a referendum not take place in November, there will be another opportunity during primary elections in the spring, at no additional cost to the taxpayers.

I don’t need to “score political points.” What I need to do is serve the residents of Suffolk County with integrity, responsibility and transparency. And yes, once the voters have all the facts, it will be up to them to decide — of course.

Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport)

Suffolk County Legislator

18th Legislative District

Proposed sales tax a blank check for developers

I must respond to the letter to the editor in the July 13 edition regarding the proposed 1/8% sales tax increase that was recessed by the Legislature on June 21.  

The estimated $3-to-4 billion additional tax is in addition to the 1/4% sales tax already in place for sewer expansion and septic system replacement. The building industry is strongly in favor of additional sewer expansion, which will permit further development, increase density and traffic and ultimately result in more pollution. If anyone thinks that Nassau County, which is mostly sewered, has better water quality than Suffolk, then I have a bridge to sell you.

If developers desire to connect to sewers and if homeowners desire to install $25,000 so-called advanced septic systems in their front yard (really underground sewage treatment plants with blowers, pumps and continuous electrical and maintenance costs) then they should pay for it themselves and not on the public dime.  

The county is already losing population to lower taxed areas. If this wrong-headed proposal does appear on the November ballot, it should be voted down as a blank check to developers to build, build, build at an exorbitant cost to the public and the environment.

Peter Akras

Wading River

LIRR fare hikes needed to improve services 

How many Port Jefferson LIRR riders remember that in July 1947 the LIRR increased fares by 20%?

MTA NYC Transit Bus, Subways and Staten Island Railway, MTA Bus along with Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad have been required every few years to exist on much smaller rate increases. Fare hikes are needed if the MTA operating agencies are to provide the services we count on. The rate rises are inevitable due to increasing costs of labor, power, fuel, supplies, materials, routine safety, state of good repair, replacement of worn-out rolling stock, upgrades to stations, yards and shops.

In 1993, 30 years ago, MetroCards were introduced. These provided free transfers between the subway and bus. This eliminated the old two-fare zones, making public transportation an even better bargain. It has been eight years since the $2.75 base fare was adopted.

Purchasing a weekly or monthly MetroCard, OMNY card or LIRR commutation ticket reduces the cost per ride and provides virtually unlimited trips. Employers offer transit checks which help subsidize a portion of the costs.

The quality and frequency of service is dependent upon a secure revenue stream. MTA management, MTA unions, riders, taxpayers along with city, state and Federal Transit Administration — that provides both capital and operating assistance — all must do their fair share. 

This is necessary to ensure a safe and reliable service that millions of daily riders count on. We all have to contribute, be it at the farebox or through tax revenues generated by different levels of government redistributed back to the MTA. 

TANSTAAFL stands for “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” — or, in this case, a free ride. 

Larry Penner

Great Neck

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