Tags Posts tagged with "Town of Brookhaven"

Town of Brookhaven

Photo by Julianne Mosher

It was certainly not an “unbearable” day.

On Sunday, Nov. 21, the Town of Brookhaven teamed up with the Red Knights Motorcycle Club NY Chapter 26 for its annual “Teddy Bear Run.”

Each year, the club holds the event to collect donations of new Teddy Bears for thousands of needy children through the Town of Brookhaven Youth Bureau INTERFACE program. 

Bikers from across the Island then ride together from the North to South shores for a participation fee and toy donation.

Stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes were donated at the Terryville Fire Department Headquarters in Port Jefferson Station where hundreds of riders met before heading to their final stop — Painter’s restaurant in Brookhaven.

“I want to thank the Red Knights Motorcycle Club for their generosity and continued support of this program,” said Supervisor Ed Romaine (R). “These contributions will make it possible for so many children in need to experience the joy of opening a gift this holiday season.”

The Red Knights are an international firefighters motorcycle club and have been co-sponsoring the Teddy Bear run for nearly two decades. 

“These guys, their day job is being heroes,” said Councilman Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook). “They spend their off-time getting involved in good causes like this and we really appreciate these guys so much.”

— All photos by Julianne Mosher 

12th annual Polar Plunge: Freezin for a Reason at Mt. Sinai’s Cedar Beach Nov 20. Bill Landon photo

Freezin’ for a reason.

The Town of Brookhaven held its 12th annual Polar Plunge at Cedar Beach this past weekend, where 544 people stripped down and hit the chilled water of the Long Island Sound all for a good cause. 

On Saturday, Nov. 20, volunteers gathered at the beach in their swimsuits and shorts to benefit the Special Olympics which raises funds and awareness for Special Olympics New York athletes in the Long Island region. This year a collective $131,033 was raised. 

“The Polar Plunge is a great opportunity for the community to make a difference in the lives of the Special Olympics athletes,” said Supervisor Ed Romaine (R). “I thank all the volunteers, Town employees, police, fire and ambulance staff who work so hard to support the Special Olympics athletes every year.”

Special Olympics New York is the largest state chapter in the country, serving more than 51,000 registered athletes and unified partners across New York with year-round sports training, athletic competition and health screenings. 

The organization also partners with about 250 schools statewide to offer Unified Sports, where students with and without disabilities compete as teammates. All Special Olympics New York programs are offered at no cost to athletes, their families and caregivers. 

 — Photos by Bill Landon 

Photo from Town of Brookhaven

On Saturday, November 20, the Town of Brookhaven and Special Olympics New York will host the 12th Annual “Polar Plunge: Freezin’ for a Reason” at Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai. The annual event raises funds and awareness for Special Olympics New York athletes in the Long Island region. Pictured at a special presentation during the November 4 Town Board Meeting are (left to right) Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich; Councilman Kevin LaValle; Special Olympics New York Director of Development, Casey Maloney; Councilwoman Jane Bonner; Special Olympics New York athlete, Danielle Birnbaum; Supervisor Ed Romaine; Councilman Michael Loguercio; Councilman Neil Foley; Town clerk Donna Lent and Councilman Dan Panico.

A scene from the 10th annual Brookhaven Polar Plunge. Photo by Kyle Barr

All Special Olympics New York Polar Plungers are encouraged to comply with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus (www.cdc.gov). Masks are recommended, but not required for unvaccinated plungers. To create more social distancing, there will be Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available at the event for a sanitized experience.Plungers will be able to select their smaller group plunge times which start at 11:30 am. There will be a large group plunge at 12:30 pm. Online registration for the Polar Plunge is required prior to the event and there will be no on-site registration. All registrants must raise or surpass the fundraising goal of $150 to participate and to receive the signature Polar Plunge “Freezin’ for a Reason” sweatshirt. For more information, social distancing guidelines or to register online please visit www.polarplungeny.org\brookhaven. Donations are also accepted, and all funds raised help to support the cost for athletes to participate in training and competitions.

Supervisor Ed Romaine said, “The Polar Plunge is a great opportunity for the community to make a difference in the lives of the Special Olympics athletes. I thank all the volunteers, Town employees, police, fire and ambulance staff who work so hard to support the Special Olympics athletes every year.”

Councilwoman Jane Bonner said, “We are back on track to have a successful event in 2021 and I look forward to making my 12th consecutive plunge for the Special Olympics. As always, I have a great team of people to plunge with and I encourage everyone to join us and support these wonderful athletes.”

About Special Olympics New York
Special Olympics New York is the largest state chapter in the country, serving more than 68,000 athletes across New York with year-round sports training, athletic competition, and health screenings. The organization also partners with more than 170 schools statewide to offer Unified Sports. All Special Olympics New York programs are offered at no cost to athletes, their families or caregivers and are never charged to participate. It costs $400 to support training and competition for one athlete for one sports season.

For additional information about Special Olympics New York, to learn more about getting involved, or to make a donation, visit www.specialolympicsNY.org.

Above, a sample of some of the raffle prizes. Photo from Facebook

Time to shop! Dress for Success Brookhaven will hold a semi-annual fundraiser sale at Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville on Friday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Join them tomorrow for some amazing deals on clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, and coats. Make sure to visit their Designer Section. Take a chance on wonderful raffles and enjoy some free giveaways and door prizes. Proceeds will support programs that help women get back into the workforce. For more information, call 631-451-9127.

Stock photo

Polls closed at 9 p.m. and TBR News Media will update the results throughout the night.

The following are not the final election tallies, as the Suffolk County Board of Elections still has to count all absentee ballots starting. All current results can possibly change in the next few weeks, and those finding themselves in even moderately close races could see a shift.

As of  12:30 a.m:

Suffolk County District Attorney

Tim Sini (D) – 108277 votes 42.69%

Ray Tierney (R) – 145292 votes 57.28%

Suffolk County Sheriff

Errol Toulon Jr. (D) –  135162 votes 54.39%

William Amato (R) – 113285 votes 45.58%

Suffolk County Legislator, 6th District:

Sarah Anker (D) – 7141 votes

Brendan Sweeney (R) – 8329 votes

Suffolk County Legislator, 5th District:

Kara Hahn (D) – 7582votes

Salvatore Isabella (R) – 7508 votes

Suffolk County Legislator, 4th District:

Dawn Marie Sharrock (D) – 3066 votes

Nicholas Caracappa (R) – 7702 votes

Suffolk County Legislator, 16th District:

Susan Berland (D) – 5640 votes

Manuel Esteban (R) – 6165 votes

Suffolk County Legislator, 12th District: 

Leslie Kennedy (R) – 6754 votes

Mike Sidekaris (D) – 2411 votes

Suffolk County Legislator, 13th District: 

Rob Trotta (R) – 5761 votes

Kevin Mulholland (D) – 2564 votes

Michael Simonelli (C) – 2675 votes

Suffolk County Legislator, 18th District:

Mark Cuthbertson (D) – 9765 votes

Stephanie Bontempi (R) – 11419 votes

Brookhaven town clerk:

Donna Lent (R) – 54085 votes 67.89%

Ira Costell (D) – 25546 votes 32.07%

Huntington supervisor:

Rebecca Sanin (D) – 17782 votes 39.90%

Edmund Smyth (R) – 25057 votes 56.22%

Eugene Cook (Stop LIPA) – 1727 votes 3.87%

Huntington town council member – two seats:

Jen Hebert (D) – 18174 votes 21.01%

Joseph Schramm (D) – 17171 votes 19.85%

Dave Bennardo (R) – 26300 votes 30.41%

Salvatore Ferro (R) – 24835 votes 28.71%

Huntington superintendent of highways:

Kevin Orelli (D) – 19338 votes 43.39%

Andre Sorrentino (R) – 25216 votes 59.58%

Smithtown town supervisor:

Ed Wehrheim (R) – 20446 votes 75.01%

Maria Scheuring (D) – 6806 votes 24.97%

Smithtown town council member – two seats:

Thomas McCarthy (R) – 19753 votes 37.31%

Lynne Nowick (R) – 19833 votes 37.46%

Dylan Rice (D) – 6965 votes 13.16%

Marc Etts (D) – 6378 votes 12.05%

Smithtown town clerk:

Vincent Puleo (R) – 18537 votes 99.80%

Smithtown superintendent of highways:

Robert Murphy (R) – 22231 votes 99.80 %

 

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine has announced that the Youth Bureau INTERFACE Program’s Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive will run from October 15 to November 15. INTERFACE is a partnership between individuals, generous corporate neighbors and the Town of Brookhaven united in a shared effort to provide assistance to Brookhaven’s less fortunate residents all year round.

Supervisor Romaine said, “Every year, our Thanksgiving Food Drive provides healthy holiday meals to families in need throughout Brookhaven Town. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Youth Bureau staff, and volunteers have risen to the challenge by collecting donations are committed to make the holidays.”

“Many families struggle to make ends meet and our Thanksgiving Food Drive eases the stress of how they will pay for Thanksgiving,” said Councilman Michael Loguercio, Town Board Liaison to the Youth Bureau. “Thank you to the Youth Bureau and all the local businesses and residents who contribute to this drive each year.”

Last year’s Thanksgiving Food Drive provided hearty Thanksgiving meals for 956 families in need, feeding a total of 4,342 people. Without the generous contributions received during this drive, this would not have been possible.

Drop off locations for this year’s Thanksgiving Food Drive include:

  1. Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville
  2. Brookhaven Town Highway Department, 1140 Old Town Road in Coram
  3. Brookhaven Town Parks & Recreation Department, 286 Hawkins Road in Centereach
  4. Brookhaven Town Vehicle Control Building, 550 North Ocean Avenue in Patchogue
  5. Coram Fire Department, 303 Middle Country Road in Coram
  6. College 101 Resource Center, 290 Main Street in East Setauket
  7. Rose Caracappa Senior Center, 739 Route 25A in Mount Sinai
  8. Modular Devices, 1 Roned Road in Shirley

Suggested food items for donations include all non-perishables, including, but not limited to canned cranberry sauce, stuffing, canned vegetables, canned sweet or white potatoes, instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, soup, jar or canned sauce, pasta, canned pasta, macaroni & cheese, cake mix, icing, pudding, jello, cookie mix, cereal, and juice. Due to refrigeration requirements, the Town cannot accept frozen turkeys. However, residents can donate $10 gift cards from local supermarkets, enabling families to purchase turkeys. For more information about the Town of Brookhaven Youth Bureau INTERFACE Program’s Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, call 631-451-8011.

Incumbent Brookhaven Town Clerk Donna Lent is running against Democrat Ira Costell. Lent photo from Town of Brookhaven, Costell photo from Costell

TBR News spoke with Town Clerk Donna Lent (R) and Ira Costell (D) over Zoom on Monday. They will be running against each other as the election for town clerk for the Town of Brookhaven approaches quickly. 

Lent, who is serving her second term as town clerk, has managed day-to-day operations such as issuing death certificates and handicap parking permits, while land-use applications are filed within the office. 

There are three divisions — licensing, registrar and administrative units — in her department alone, and on some days, Lent says up to 200 people will come into the office.

After extensive training, Lent was certified as a registered municipal clerk by the New York State Town Clerks Association in 2017, but before entering public service, she worked as a law office manager and was a small business owner.

Her opponent, Costell, has taken leadership roles in environmental causes such as the Suffolk County Watershed Protection Advisory Committee and served as chair of the county’s Pine Barrens Review Commission. 

He has been passionate about the fight against opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse. Costell is a New York State-certified addiction and recovery coach and has been involved in various recovery committees.

The two opponents came to TBR News Media’s offices to debate their opinions on whose ideas would be best suitable for the town clerk’s position.

The concern of making Freedom of Information Law appeals more accessible to the public is something that Costell said he will actively work on if elected. His main argument is that residents of Brookhaven have been left in the dark when it comes to requesting information from the Town Clerk’s Office.

However, Lent said if materials or records are not able to be provided, there is a reason as to why not. 

“They probably haven’t asked for the records correctly, we are not required to create records for them, we only have to provide what is already existing,” she said. “Sometimes people don’t search thoroughly because there was an aspect of something they weren’t unaware of that we were able to shed light on.”

Rebutting Lent’s argument, Costell said he had very serious questions about the FOIL process as there were nearly 14,000 requests last year in the town’s Law Department.

“I would like to work as part of that process for an audit to figure out how we can streamline that process,” he said.

Costell feels the information on the town’s website is not readily available to residents. 

“When initiating a public hearing notice on the town’s website, the information about the hearing is not connected to the notice, so residents don’t always know about the particulars of what’s being proposed in the public hearing,” he said.

Lent said the Town Clerk’s Office does the public hearing notices, which are readily available on the website as soon as they go up. However, the town clerk does not make the determination on what needs to get posted because the notice is from what the Law Department already drafted. 

“It is incumbent upon the clerk in my belief, to coordinate and collaborate, not to just handle a piece of paper and move it on to the next level,” Costell said.

In regards to communicating with the Town of Brookhaven, he said the software the office is using should be able to have direct sign-ups for people who are interested in a particular issue so people from various areas do not have to rely on someone from a different town to tell them there’s a hearing related to something they are interested in.

However, Lent said there is a sign-up system within civic clerks for alerts and areas of topic. She noted that residents can call her office to be added to get notifications as well. 

Costell believes that the Town Clerk’s Office should have more outreach to the public on a quarterly basis by using town facilities such as senior centers and recreational programs, to help residents navigate the online services or to assist communities that don’t have access to broadband. 

“We have been improving that process, that’s why we changed our software system last February,” Lent said. “There has been a period of adjustment for residents that were accustomed to finding documents within the old system, but if you use the search bar at the top it will take you to whatever you are looking for.”

Disagreeing with Lent, Costell said he thinks the website is hard to navigate and should have the option to be translated to Spanish.

Lent feels her opponent will be biting off more than he can chew if elected as town clerk. “Everyone has hopes dreams and aspirations of what a job may be like, but it’s not until you get into the job that you have to face the reality of day-to-day operations and restrictions,” Lent said.

Photo from TOB

Representatives from Macy’s Smith Haven visited the Dress for Success Boutique at Brookhaven Town Hall recently to present a donation of $5,000 in Macy’s gift cards and a selection of women’s blouses. Macy’s Smith Haven has been a generous supporter of Dress for Success Brookhaven for many years. In 2020, the store donated 1,800 prom dresses to the Dress for Success Prom Boutique. 

Pictured from left are Supervisor Ed Romaine; Sharon Boyd, Executive Director, Dress for Success Brookhaven; Michelle Young, Director at Macy’s Smith Haven Mall; Lisa Keyes, Town of Brookhaven Commissioner of General Services; Councilwoman Jane Bonner; Arlene Famoso, Stylist at Macy’s Smith Haven and Councilman Kevin LaValle. For more information about Dress for Success Brookhaven, visit the Town website or call 631-451-9127.

Ed Romaine. Photo by Kyle Barr

Residents within the Town of Brookhaven could see a 1.89% tax hike for 2022 if the newly released potential budget gets adopted in November, staying within the state’s 2% property tax cap.

According to the tentative operating budget, all major tax districts are structurally balanced, and no fund balance is utilized to balance the budget for the six major tax districts for the fourth year in a row. The total tax levy increase for all tax districts is 1.89%, and the six major tax districts levy increase is 1.85%

Proposed by town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) earlier this week, the $316.8 million budget would restore a total of 36 jobs (4.4%) that were cut last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The town’s 2021 adopted operating budget planned for a continuing pandemic environment and I am happy to report that we have performed as expected financially, with revenues on target in most departments and expenditures expected to meet budget despite the sharp rise in prices for many commodities,” Romaine wrote. “I expect no erosion of fund balance in all major tax districts at the end of 2021, other than the use of surplus in one fund to address hazardous trees throughout the town.” 

Romaine noted that while certain facilities and programs are still not fully open due to the pandemic, he expects everything to be as it was before coronavirus early next year.

“My 2022 tentative budget assumes a return to normal operations beginning in January 2022 with all government services available both in person and virtually,” he said. 

The tentative budget also highlights a growth in the landfill post-closure reserve by $1.2 million to an anticipated $21.2 million, and stabilization of snow removal costs. 

The board will hold a budget public hearing on Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at Town Hall. 

Rocky Point Historical Society and community members are Supervisor Ed Romaine, New York State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, Councilwoman Jane Bonner and County Legislator Sarah Anker. Photo from Town of Brookhaven

On Sept.15, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) joined members of the Rocky Point Historical Society and Suffolk County elected officials at the unveiling of a new interpretive sign in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens. 

The sign commemorates the 100th anniversary of the world’s largest radio transmitting station on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest property. It was home to the world’s largest radio transmitting station until 1978. Towers at the station were 450 feet tall, and capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals across the ocean. 

Photo from Town of Brookhaven

“I am proud to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first radio transmissions from Rocky Point,” Romaine said. “This new sign represents a part of our history that is not well known to most people and I expect it will bring it to the forefront for everyone to discover.”

On Nov. 5, 1921, President Warren C. Harding pressed a button in the White House, which officially opened the RCA Radio Central facility at Rocky Point. 

“It’s great that Rocky Point has now been recognized in the history of worldwide communications,” Bonner added. “Thanks to everyone who played a part in securing the sign that will memorialize this historic property for generations to come.”