The Times of Huntington-Northport - February 2, 2023

Residents oppose proposed Kings Park train yard

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Community members are voicing their opposition to a proposed rail yard in Kings Park.

COUNTY

A petition titled “We Oppose Townline Rail Terminal” started by Keegan Harris, has already received more than 1,600 signatures on Change.org to stop the proposed construction of a rail spur that would extend approximately 5,000 feet off the Long Island Rail Road Port Jefferson Branch line and be located near Pulaski and Town Line roads.

The petition was posted after The Smithtown News published several articles by managing editor David Ambro, with editorials during January. Townline Rail Terminal LLC, an affiliate of CarlsonCorp. with property on Meadow Glen Road in Kings Park, made a proposal to the Surface Transportation Board — an independent federal agency — that asks for the tracks to be used for commercial use. Among the uses would be the disposal of incinerated ash and construction debris using diesel freight trains. The incinerated ash would then be trucked between the rail terminal and the Covanta waste facility on Town Line Road in East Northport. The proposal from Townline also said “that the line would provide freight transportation to CarlsonCorp’s transloading facility and could serve other local shippers, including Covanta Energy, Kings Park Ready Mix Corp., Kings Park Materials and

Pelkowski Precast.”

Currently, ash is transported to the Town of Brookhaven Yaphank landfill, which will close in 2024.

Surface

1"=100' HENNINGSON, DURHAM & RICHARDSON ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, P.C. ISSUE DESCRIPTION DATE 1 3/25/2021 PROGRESS MEETING #1 2 4/01/2021 PROGRESS MEETING #2 3 4/01/2021 PROGRESS MEETING #2 EDITS 4 6/11/2021 MATERIAL STORAGE WAREHOUSING CONCEPT 5 7/01/2021 MODIFIED PER 06/23/2021 COMMENTS 6 1/20/2022 RELOCATION OF TRANSFER STATION 7 2/16/2022 MODIFICATIONS PER TOWN COMMENTS 8 4/13/2022 MODIFICATIONS PER TOWN COMMENTS

Petitioners feel that if the project is approved, it will negatively affect Kings Park, Fort Salonga, East Northport and

homes; diesel trains operating between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.; the impact on the quality of life; noise and possible water pollution; negative impact on home values; and the lack of notice provided to residents about the project. D. BAGGOTT D. BAGGOTT R. SEMENICK R. SEMENICK 01

TRAIN YARD CONTINUED ON A9

Community members fear will negatively affect hamlet and surrounding areas, including Commack and East Northport

Positions Available

Veteran receives the gift of virtual golf

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNESMEDIA.COM

Smithtown’s Harold Tweed is ready to yell, “fore,” even if it’s just virtually.

The U.S. Air Force veteran now has a new PlayStation 5 game system set up in his den so he can play with his grandchildren, including virtual golf. Tweed is a big fan of the sport but can no longer play like he used to on the green.

The PlayStation 5 was delivered Jan. 30 by the Long Island chapter of the nonprofit Twilight Wish Foundation. James Ciervo, the foundation’s regional director, was on hand for the presentation. He said the nonprofit heard about the idea to gift Tweed with a gaming system from Melanie Corinne, a representative from Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project.

One day Corinne was talking with Tweed’s

wife, Christine, and the two thought it was a great way to keep the veteran active and allow him to spend quality time with his grandchildren.

“This was a beautiful, intergenerational way to offer something that’s more accessible because Harold is a big golfer, but he can’t go as much anymore,” Corinne said.

While he never used the gaming system before, Tweed said, “It was marvelous,” as he watched the volunteers set it up. He was looking forward to playing with his five grandchildren and said he knows they will beat him at the games.

Twilight Wish grants requests through donations from corporations and individuals to those 65 years or older or a permanent member of an eldercare facility. One third of wishes granted are to veterans to thank them for their service. For more information, visit twilightwish.org.

Harold Tweed, seated, received a Play Station 5 from the nonprofit Twilight Wish. His wife, Christine, standing, was also on hand as volunteers, including Melanie Corinne, left, and James Ciervo, helped set up the game system. Photo from Twilight Wish

As vehicle thefts surge, Suffolk police detective warns against leaving key fobs in cars

BY RAYMOND JANIS EDITOR1@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

The Suffolk County Police Department has observed a recent uptick in stolen vehicles and now urges residents to take precautions.

Detective Richard Marra of SCPD offered a brief history of the crime phenomenon in a phone interview. While vehicle theft cases have been recurrent, the detective noted that the crime is relatively preventable.

“Ninety percent of the cars that are stolen are probably stolen because [drivers] leave the key fobs in the car,” he said.

Marra said the police department first noticed the trend about three years ago when an organized out-ofstate group started targeting luxury models.

“We had a group of guys coming out of New Jersey, mostly from Newark, and they would go to the more affluent neighborhoods,” he said. “They’d come in a van, walk down the street and look for any kind of foreign car.”

Thieves often sought out vehicles with the mirrors folded open. This, Marra said, was an indicator that the vehicle was unlocked. If the key fob was left inside, they would

easily steal the vehicle. If not, they may rummage through it for hidden valuables.

“Three years ago, it was crazy,” Marra said. “It slowed down a little bit in the last eight months, but we still have a lot of thefts of cars because the key fobs are left in the car.”

The SCPD detective said that the New Jersey bunch often resold their stolen cars on the secondary market. In a highly coordinated manner, they would steal the cars, drive to New Jersey, remove any GPS trackers and then prepare them for international shipment.

“When they had a container ready, they put them on the container, and it was usually going to South Africa,” Marra said.

While the group from New Jersey had targeted luxury models, some vehicle thieves are less interested in the car’s resale value than its utility.

Marra said some would use the vehicle to temporarily transport drugs or steal catalytic converters, then discard it. While victims of this variety of theft often retrieved their stolen cars, its condition could be irreversibly impaired.

“The ones that are taking just any car — anything that happens to be left with the fob in it — may drive it around for a day or two and then leave it somewhere,” he said. “Sometimes it’s destroyed, sometimes it’s

not, but most of the time it’s not in the shape you left it in.”

The spike in vehicle theft follows another auto theft crime that has hit the county, the theft of catalytic converters. [See story, “Catalytic converter theft on the rise in Suffolk County,” TBR News Media website, Feb. 26, 2022.]

Marra indicated that catalytic converter theft has fallen off substantially in recent months due primarily to coordinated arrests conducted with the federal government. For residents to protect themselves

from vehicle theft, he said there is a simple solution — taking their fobs with them as they exit their cars.

“If people would take their key fobs with them and never leave them in the car, I’d say 90 to 95% of the car thefts would go down,” the detective said. “You just have to keep your keys in your pocket instead of leaving them in the console or the glove compartment.”

He added, “I know it’s nice to just jump in and drive away — but then everybody could jump in and drive away.”

Commack, Huntington residents will see local Investors Bank branch closures

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNESWSMEDIA.COM

Many Investors Bank customers will soon find an empty building where they once traveled to take care of their financial matters.

Last year, Citizens Bank, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, acquired New Jersey-based Investors Bank. While Investors’ doors remained open to customers, the process of the merger began in August as investment accounts transferred to Citizens, and in October, mortgage loan services transitioned from Investors to Citizens.

According to the Citizens website, the merger will “offer Investors’ customers an expanded set of products and services, enhanced online and mobile banking capabilities, and more branch locations, along with a continued commitment to making a difference in our local communities.”

While the East Northport location on Larkfield Road will remain open doing

business under the Citizens name, the Investors Commack location on Jericho Turnpike will close Feb. 14. The Huntington branch on Main Street and the Setauket location on Route 25A will close their doors for the last time Feb. 15. All three due-to-be closed branches have Citizens operating nearby.

Nuno Dos Santos, retail director of Citizens, said the banks located in Commack, Huntington and East Setauket are less than 2 miles away from the Investors branches that are closing.

“As we continue to integrate Investors with Citizens, we have been reviewing customer patterns and branch locations to ensure we are serving customers when, where and how they prefer,” Dos Santos said. “As a result of this review, we will close the Investors branch locations in Commack, Huntington and Setauket.”

Current Investors employees have been encouraged to apply for positions at Citizens, according to a company spokesperson.

Pixabay photo

Investors Bank branches in Commack, Huntington and Setauket, above, will close permanently in mid-February due to a merger with Citizens Bank. Photo by Rita J. Egan

‘Ninety percent of the cars that are stolen are probably stolen because [drivers] leave the key fobs in the car.’

—Richard Marra

The following incidents have been reported by Suffolk County Police:

Dix Hills man charged with DWI

Suffolk County Police today arrested a Dix Hills man following a motor vehicle crash that seriously injured a woman on Jan. 28.

Sargunvir Sondhi was driving a 2019 Mercedes Benz G30 eastbound the Long Island Expressway, near exit 51 in Dix Hills, when his vehicle struck the rear of a 2015 Nissan Sentra at 5:07 a.m. The passenger in the Nissan, Irene Weitz, 63, of Plainview, was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of serious injuries. The driver of the Nissan, her husband, Howard Weitz, 63, of Plainview, was not injured. Sondhi, 26, of Dix Hills, was not injured.

Sondhi was charged with Driving While Intoxicated. The vehicles were impounded for safety checks. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.

Couple indicted for murder conspiracy

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Jan. 26 the indictment of Jordan Dekie, 21, of Huntington, and Emily Tague, 19, of Northport, for their roles in a failed plot to allegedly rob and murder a Huntington Station man.

“These two individuals not only allegedly tried to steal the victim’s belongings, but they also tried to rob him of his life,” Tierney said. “This cowardly and heinous act of violence will not be tolerated in Suffolk County, and as such, these individuals will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

As detailed in court filings, on the evening of December 12, 2022, the victim picked up both Dekie and Tague in his Dodge Charger, and headed to Dekie’s home in Huntington where he intended to drop them off. After arriving at Dekie’s home, the three sat idly in the victim’s car. A short time later, Dekie signaled to Tague, who then allegedly stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife. Dekie, who also had a knife, allegedly attempted to forcibly remove the victim’s lanyard containing his car keys from his neck, and then proceeded to stab the victim multiple times. The victim was able to wrestle the knife out of Dekie’s hand and escape from the vehicle. Both defendants then fled the scene.

The victim, while severely injured, drove home and called 911. Shortly thereafter, units from the Suffolk County Police Department and an ambulance arrived at the scene and rendered aid. The victim was transported to Huntington Hospital and received treatment for his injuries.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

Wanted for grand larceny

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Second Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man who allegedly stole merchandise from CVS, located at 2000 Jericho Turnpike in East Northport, on Jan. 14 at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Dekie and Tague were arrested at their homes a few days later.

Members of the Suffolk County Police Department obtained numerous text messages between Dekie and Tague allegedly outlining their plan to rob and murder the victim. Additionally, Tague’s hairbrush was recovered from the victim’s vehicle. Dekie and Tague are both charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a Class B violent felony; Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a Class B felony; and Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, a Class C violent felony.

Man arrested for bank robbery

Suffolk County Police arrested a Middle Island man who allegedly robbed a Centereach bank on Jan. 31. Ralph William Dominguez entered M&T Bank, located at 1919 Middle Country Road, and allegedly handed a note demanding cash to a bank teller. The employee complied and Dominguez fled on foot at approximately 3:20 p.m. Approximately 25 minutes later, a man matching his description was located by Sixth Precinct patrol officers in the parking lot of 7-Eleven on Middle Country Road, Centereach. He was taken into custody and charged with Robbery 3rd Degree, a felony.

— COMPILED BY HEIDI

SUTTON

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS.

Do you recognize this man? Photo from SCPD

Devils take down Smithtown West Bulls

The Huntington girls basketball team took on the Smithtown West Bulls Jan. 31 at a home game held at Huntington High School. The Devils emerged the winners of the Division 1 matchup, 49-38.

Huntington now stands 5-11 in the league,

6-12 overall. Smithtown West is 7-8 in Division 1 and 8-9 overall.

The Devils will take on North Babylon in an away game on Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. On the same day, the Bulls will host Northport.

— Photos by Bob Giglione

School News

Harborfields Central School District

Robotic visit

The Harborfields High School Robotics Club recently visited Oldfield Middle School to speak with coding classes and the OMS Robotics Club, discussing the construction and programming of their robots.

Several middle school students were given a chance to drive the high school’s robot. The high school’s Robotics Club is currently participating in the FIRST Tech Challenge, taking place throughout January.

A winning anchor

Elwood-John H. Glenn High School junior Mattias Weber, shown in the front of above photo, a member of the combined fencing team with South Huntington’s Walt Whitman High School, led his saber team to the gold medal at the prestigious Alan Kuver Memorial Relay fencing tournament, held Jan. 7 at Huntington High School’s Louis D. Giani Gymnasium.

Weber served as the four-man team’s anchor in their 45-19 victory over Hills.

The medal was just the latest honor for

the nationally ranked Weber, recently listed as one of Newsday’s Top 10 overall boys fencers on Long Island. Last season, he finished with a superlative 29-3, the top boys saber record for Suffolk County, and finished fifth in the Brentwood holiday tournament. This year, he took third at the Brentwood tournament.

Weber has also participated in USA Fencing’s North American Cups, July Challenge and Summer Nationals as well as the Junior Olympics.

Cozy reading

Elwood’s Harley Avenue Primary School held a Read-In on the rainy morning of Jan.23, with the entire school cozying up with books.

warm and dry.

Photo from Harborfields Central School District

Photo from Elwood School District

Elwood-John H. Glenn High School

Students read together in the Harley hallways in their comfiest clothes, promoting a love of literacy while staying

Photo from Elwood School District

Harley Avenue Primary School

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GORDON,ETAL.

Defendant(s)

PursuanttoaJudgmentof

ForeclosureandSale,duly

entered02/28/2022,I,the

undersignedReferee,will

sellatpublicauction,atthe

HuntingtonTownHall,100

MainStreet,Huntington,NY

11743,on2/16/2023at

9:00AM,premisesknownas

63RandolphDrive,Dix

Hills,NY11746,AndDescribedAsFollows:

ALLthatcertainplotpiece

orparcelofland,withthe

thereonerected,situate, buildingsandimprovements

lyingandbeinginCommack,TownOfHuntington,

SuffolkCounty.

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#609028/2015 ForeclosureandSale;Index oftheaforesaidJudgmentof besoldsubjecttoprovisions andcosts.ThePremiseswill $1,192.435.87plusinterest thecurrentJudgmentlienis Theapproximateamountof

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shallhavenofurtherrecourseagainsttheMortgagor,theMortgageeorthe

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Huntington,NYonFebruary

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pluscostsandinterest.Sold ofjudgmentis$744,123.78 Lot091.000.Approx.amt. Section263.0,Block01.00, Path,DixHills,NYa/k/a prem.k/a189Candlewood

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andtermsofsale.DONNA

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February15,2023 ,and 11:00a.m.onWednesday, Station,NewYork11746by 50TowerStreet,Huntington

publiclyopenedandread thenatsaidtimeandplace

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TRAIN YARD

Continued from A3

Members of the Commack Community Association have also stated their concerns on their website and at a Jan. 19 CCA meeting. Comments from the Town of Smithtown

The Town of Smithtown is currently preparing a FAQ for its website regarding the proposal to answer questions they have received from residents.

According to the town, while Townline Rail Terminal has submitted its petition to the federal agency STB, it will be “the first of many steps in a multi-year-long process.”

Once federal approval is received for the rail spur, proposed buildings and site work will be subject to town approval. “These include a change of zone, amendments to the town’s zoning ordinance, Special Exceptions to the TB and BZA, and site plan approval, and would be subject to a full SEQRA review, including Environmental Impact Statement.”

Smithtown’s draft FAQ states that Covanta “is permitted to process non-hazardous residential, commercial and industrial wastes. Air emissions are monitored to ensure they are below permitted levels (emissions data is available on Covanta’s website) and ash residue is tested per state environmental regulations to ensure it is a non-hazardous waste.”

While Townline in its petition to the STB and in preliminary discussions with town staff

and officials “expressed an interest in importing commodities for the local industrial area that are currently trucked to the area” the company would need an amendment “to the town’s zoning ordinance, including the requisite public hearing and SEQRA requirements.”

According to the town, the company plans to run one train per day, five days a week: “Per Townline and its engineer, HDR Inc., the proposed yard has been designed to handle one inbound and one outbound freight train of up to 27 cars daily. The storage tracks have the capacity to store approximately three days of excess storage (up to 79 cars) in the event of rail service outage.”

In a letter to the STB dated Oct. 28, 2022, Town of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) wrote in support of the project.

“The town is supportive of Townline’s petition because there is mounting pressure on towns and villages due to the anticipated 2024 closing of the Town of Brookhaven’s Yaphank landfill facility,” he wrote. “Smithtown’s residential and commercial solid waste and residential construction debris (“C&D”) is currently disposed of at the Brookhaven landfill. Smithtown’s solid waste is converted to ash at the Covanta waste-to-energy facility which then delivers the ash to the Brookhaven landfill. Alternative means of disposal and carting of C&D and ash off of Long Island will be mandatory soon for municipal and nonmunicipal waste facilities.”

According to a STB Jan. 12 decision, the federal agency will address the issues presented in a subsequent decision.

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Description job responsibilities: Assist Director of Operations in daily operations. Duties include: daily banking, member relations (updating member records, billing, new member intake); answering phones, social media updates; interacting with visitors to the Chamber. Qualifications: Computer literate; Word, Excel, Quickbook , Word Press. Can work UNSUPERVISED, Detail-oriented. Understand the operations of a non-profit organization or similar operation. Good communication skills and multi-tasker.

Contact by email: info@portjeffchamber.com or call 631-473-1414

Help Wanted

P/TSALES/CUSTOMER

SERVICE

Insidepositionsellingadvertisingforanaward-winning communitynewsmediagroup, Faxresumeto631-751-4165or emailresumeto Class@tbrnewspapers.com. Seeourdisplayadformore information.

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MOREINFORMATION

• Retain & grow client base

• Computer experience and excellent spelling skills helpful

• Sales or customer service experience a must

• Must have good people and communication skills

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email resume: class@tbrnewspapers.com

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Editorial

Substance over slander: The art of letter writing

To our readers: We appreciate your weekly letters to the editor. Writing a letter enables vital communication and contributes to a meaningful community dialogue. It is also a safety valve for expressing different, equally passionately held opinions in a civil fashion.

Letter writing can be powerful as the writer broadcasts opinions to the wider public. Here at TBR News Media, our editorial staff shoulders responsibility in channeling that message appropriately.

We hope writers and readers can regard our letters page as a community forum, a place to express themselves and potentially influence their peers and neighbors. But by necessity, this forum must be moderated to function. When a writer expresses a thought as a fact, we do our best to confirm the information is accurate. If we cannot find the information on our own, we go back to the writer and ask for a source. As journalists, we have an obligation to ensure that the facts cited are verified, that we are not allowing someone to use our letters page to spread misinformation or vitriol.

Often we are asked why our letters do not focus squarely on local matters. It’s simple — we don’t receive as many localized letters as we would like.

Our editors aim to choose letters that represent a mix of local, county, state and national topics. We also look for a mix of opinions from conservative, liberal and moderate points of view. Letters serve as a form of public debate, and people from various sides of the political spectrum should be heard.

Moderating our letters page, we view ourselves as mediators for the various interests and opinions of the community. By sharing diverse perspectives on a range of topics, we arm our readers with the information and give them the freedom to make up their own minds.

We are asked why certain writers appear regularly on the opinion page. It’s because they write to us often and thoughtfully, and contribute to the public dialogue. We welcome and encourage letters from readers, and we hope to continue seeing new names each week.

Sometimes, we don’t receive a substantial number of letters to choose from each week that gives both sides of an issue.

If readers feel something is missing from our paper — whether from the news or editorial sections — we urge that they write us. We welcome readers’ thoughts — including criticism — regarding our content. Please feel free to react to a recent article or reflect upon life in our hometown. You can comment on an entertaining festival or even chronicle a delightful day spent at the park. The opportunities for letter writing are endless, so don’t be shy. Let your thoughts be heard.

We edit letters not to censor, but to catch grammatical mistakes, for consistency and to protect the media outlet and letter writers from libel suits. We edit for A.P. style, which is the standard in most U.S.-based news publications. We also edit for length and good taste. If a letter runs longer, we may print it as a perspective piece along with the writer’s photo.

As for good taste, our letters page is not the place to bash a neighbor or a fellow writer. There are plenty of instances when one writer will reference another person and their letter, addressing specific ideas in the other’s writings, and that’s acceptable. However, name-calling or denigration are not helpful.

In the past, we have received letters using derogatory nicknames for presidents and other officials and political figures. We do our best to edit out uncivil language.

The letters page is not a place for one to spew animosity or insults. If blanket, hateful statements are made about a group of people based on the color of their skin, ethnicity or religion, they will not be published. Our letters page is designed to add to, not detract from, a healthy public discourse.

So, please send us a letter — see address and formal policy statement to the right of this editorial. We are always interested in your thoughts, especially regarding what goes on in our coverage area.

Flooding the zone

Two letters in the Jan. 19 TBR News Media newspapers — by George Altemose [“Not only Santos economical with the truth”] and Mark Sertoff [“No electric car for me”] — are flagrant examples of a tactic dubbed by rightwing ideologue Steve Bannon as “flooding the zone with BS.” The strategy aims to overwhelm readers with long lists of false, misleading and irrelevant information, making it difficult for readers to separate fact from fiction.

Sertoff’s letter omits the most crucial fact about electric vehicles: They are dramatically more energy efficient than internal combustion engines. EVs convert about 60% of their battery energy into movement, while internal combustion engines convert just 20% — the rest is lost as heat. Large power plants are about 45% efficient. So, even with energy losses along the path, most electric vehicles still get more than 100 miles-per-gallon equivalent, which means fill-ups for $15. Recycling, battery performance and power distribution are indeed challenges, but all are being addressed and are perfectly solvable. But Sertoff doesn’t really care about the environmental or social impacts of lithium mining, given the overwhelming impacts of fossil fuel extraction and climate change. The purpose of his letter is to stoke the flames of the culture war on behalf of a Republican Party and conservative media heavily funded by the energy industry.

The letter by George Altemose drew a false equivalency between embellishments — some minor, some serious — and the outright fabrication of an entire identity by recently elected U.S. Rep. George Santos [R-NY3]. Santos claimed education, degrees, finances and work history that were completely false, along with a host of other personal attributes that appear to be utter fabrications.

Altemose accused Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA30] of “lying” about having evidence of Trump campaign collusion with Russia. However, the evidence Schiff referred to includes emails showing that Russian agents offered the campaign “dirt” on Hillary

Clinton as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Trump.” Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote back, “If it’s what you say I love it,” and the campaign eagerly took the meeting.

Later, 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort shared internal Trump campaign polling data and strategy with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The only plausible reason to do that would be to allow Russia to coordinate its U.S. election influence operations. That Trump himself wasn’t charged with being a foreign agent doesn’t change the documented facts of multiple Trump associates’ numerous illicit contacts with Russian representatives. Even if legal, what else can all this be called but “collusion”?

But Altemose doesn’t really care about politicians’ honesty. The purpose of his letter is to draw attention away from the Republican failure to expel Santos from the party and force his resignation.

Why does TBR News Media continue to publish such transparently misleading letters? By all means let’s argue about which facts are more important, and what our national energy goals should be. But the media have a responsibility to exercise some judgment about the veracity and honesty of what they publish.

John Hover East Setauket

True cost of East Side Access

Even with the opening 15 years late on Jan. 25, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] still refuse to acknowledge that the $11.6 billion cost for construction of Long Island Rail Road East Side Access to Grand

Central Madison is misleading.

It does not include $1 billion debt service payments for borrowing costs bringing the price tag to $12.6 billion. Debt service charges are buried under a separate agency operating budget.

There is also $4 billion plus for indirect costs known as LIRR readiness projects. They took place east of the Harold Interlocking near Woodside carried off line from the official project budget. These include the $2.6 billion Main Line Third Track, $450 million Jamaica Capacity Improvements, $387 million Ronkonkoma Double Track Project, $120 million Ronkonkoma Yard Expansion, $44 million Great Neck Pocket Track, $423 million for rail car fleet expansion and others that are necessary for successful full implementation of East Side Access.

Without these projects, the LIRR would have lacked the expanded operational capabilities to support both promised 24 rush-hour train service to Grand Central Madison along with a 40% increase in reverse peak service as per the Federal Transit Administration MTA 2006 Capital Investment $6.3 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement. The federal share was capped at $2.6 billion. The MTA also had to pick up the tab for any additional costs above $6.3 billion. The temporary shuttle service between Jamaica station and Grand Central Madison was never designed to be permanent. Rather, it gave the MTA and Hochul political cover so they could claim service began. Commuters will have to wait many more weeks to see the full benefits of East Side Access when the LIRR ends the temporary limited service and initiates full service.

Larry Penner Great Neck

O

ne day, you’re playing with your twin sons at home, running around with a ball on the driveway, calling and waving to neighbors who pass by when they walk their dogs or take their daily stroll through the neighborhood.

D. None of the above

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF

You want to know why or how, but you’re too busy trying to apply the brakes to a process that threatens the nature of your existence and your current and future happiness.

Your son had some gastrointestinal issues for a few weeks. You took him to the pediatrician and he said he’s got to get over a virus.

You wait, hope, and maybe say a few extra prayers, because the hardest thing for any parent

to endure is the sickness of a child.

You check on him, day after day, hoping he’s better, only to find that there’s no improvement.

Suddenly, three weeks later, you’re in the hospital, trying to keep yourself, your spouse, and your other son calm while doctors remove a malignant brain cancer in a 5-year-old boy who defines “goofy” and “playful.”

The next day, your life changes.One of our close friends in our neighborhood just started this unimaginable battle against a disease many of us know all too well, although the specific form of cancer varies.

Their babysitter shared the horror of the prior weekend with me outside the window of her passing car, where she normally would have driven both the twins to school.

I heard the story because I asked about the empty car seat in the back, where both boys typically showed me whatever stuffed animals or toys they had decided to bring to school, either for show and tell or because they were carrying an object that began with a particular letter.

As I talked with the babysitter, who spoke

in the kind of hushed and dramatic tones often associated with discussions about serious health crises, I thought about how hard it was and will be for the other son. I thought he needed the kind of 5-year-old normalcy that might become hard to find when he’s worried about his brother and the anxious adults around him.

I asked him to show me what he was holding. He had a pink llama, who he said wanted to poop on my head or on my dog’s head.

I told him that my dog wouldn’t appreciate the poop unless the stuffed llama somehow pooped pink marshmallows.

He laughed, flashing all his straight baby teeth.

As I walked home, I thought of all the things my wife and I planned to offer our neighbors. Maybe we’d babysit the healthy son, walk their dogs, help with house chores, bring over food, do anything to lighten the unbearably heavy load.

I also thought about all the scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University I have

‘The Sopranos’ and our scary sailboat ride

known who are working towards cures for cancer.

Many of them know someone in their family, their friend group, their neighborhood, or their schools who, like my daughter’s beloved firstgrade teacher, suddenly were in a battle for their lives against a disease that steals time and joy from people’s lives.

Their labs often invite or include family members of people with cancer to staff meetings and discussions about their work, making the connection between what the scientists are studying and the people desperate for solutions.

It seems utterly cliche to write it, but I’m going to do it anyway: we should appreciate and enjoy the days we have when we’re not in that battle. The annoyance of dealing with someone who got our order wrong at a restaurant seems so spectacularly small in comparison.

We can appreciate that the person who seems like a total jerk for cutting us off on our way home may also be the one racing back to hug his child or spouse after an impossible day that changed his life.

wild rainstorm. Unable to see the road ahead, and with all of them feeling in peril, Tony parks and ushers his family into an Italian restaurant nearby. There, despite the loss of electricity, the proprietor cooks a marvelous pasta dinner for them, which they finally calm down and eat by candlelight, huddled together at a table in the warm and dry dining room. As he is appreciating the spaghetti on his fork, Tony looks up and says to his children something like, “When you think back on your childhood, it will be scenes like this that you will remember,” while the camera fades out.

a large frying pan from the cupboard, mixed together flour, eggs and milk, poured Hi-Hat peanut oil (the popular brand then) into the pan, and started cooking the mixture, as thunder cracked overhead. Almost immediately, the irresistible smell of the pancakes started to fill the rustic room.

peaceful sail near New Haven harbor, my husband and three sons and I, sprawled out in the big cockpit, when the unexpected shift in weather occurred.

Between

you and

Having been exposed to the pleasure of streaming movies on my “smart” television, I now look for good stories and have caught up with “The Sopranos.” I well remember how popular the series was, running from Jan. 10, 1999, to June 10, 2007, winning all kinds of awards and addicting millions with its 86 episodes. Somehow I never caught up with the drama, but now, thanks to HBOMax, I have turned the family room into a nightly theater and watch as Tony Soprano tries to balance his work “family” and his biological family responsibilities, thanks to the help of an Italian-American woman psychiatrist.

At the end of the latest installment, Tony, his wife Carmela and his daughter and son are driving at night when they are deluged by a

TIMES BEACON

That got me thinking. Can I recall such scenes from my childhood, when being with my family in a safe place was so comforting?

One of the first such memories for me was of an intense rainstorm in the Catskill Mountains. I was perhaps 5 or 6 and with my mother and sister in a dilapidated cabin, whose roof leaked ominously. After my mother put pails under the leaks, she realized I was frightened. “Just wait,” she said with a smile, “This storm has brought us pancakes.” With that, she took out

RECORD

My mother dabbed the extra oil from the dollar-sized pancakes at the stove, put them on a platter on the kitchen table, brought out a bottle of maple syrup, and my sister and I started to eat ravenously. Soon, my mother joined us at the table, and despite the frequent bolts of lightning I could see through the windows behind her head, and the dripping water in the buckets, I felt warm and safe. The only trouble with that memory: every time there is a heavy rain, I get the urge for pancakes.

I asked my middle son if he had such a memory, and he remembered when we were out in the Sound in our 22-foot Pearson Ensign day sailboat, and the wind and seas suddenly picked up. We had been enjoying a sunny,

With the waves towering around us, we pulled down the sail, put the outboard motor at the stern on high speed, and made for the harbor. My husband, at the tiller, gave each of us a task. My sons were to bail out the water that was flooding the cockpit with every crashing wave, and I was to sit on top of the motor to try and keep it in the water every time a wave pushed us up.

Needless to say, it was a harrowing ride until we finally reached shore and tied up at the marina, onlookers clapping. We left the boat and were thrilled to be on the sand. Drenched as we were, we walked the short distance to the harborside restaurant, Chart House and, laughing by then, had one of the best meals of our lives.

BUSINESS MANAGER

Sandi Gross

Beth Heller Mason

PRODUCTION

Janet Fortuna

Sharon Nicholson

CLASSIFIEDS DIRECTOR & SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER

Sheila Murray

CIRCULATION & LEGALS

MANAGER

Courtney Biondo

INTERNET STRATEGY DIRECTOR

Rob Alfano

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

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A pink llama, an empty car seat and some perspective