The Times of Huntington-Northport - October 27, 2022

Michael Raio, left, and Tim Cleary celebrate a Tiger touchdown. Photo by Steven Zaitz

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Huntington repeals pregnancy termination facility code provision

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

The Town of Huntington board repealed an old code, Chapter 155, at its Oct. 19 meeting that limited pregnancy terminations to hospitals.

The law was adopted Dec. 8, 1970, and the regulation required “justifiable abortion acts, as defined in the Penal Law of New York State, shall be performed only in a hospital duly licensed and accredited under the New York State Department of Health and having equipment and facilities acceptable to the State Hospital Review and Planning Council.”

Chapter 155 allowed the town to order a cease and desist to a facility that was not authorized and permitted by the town to perform the procedure. The misdemeanor also carried a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 15 days. However, due to the practice of medicine being within the authority of the NYSDOH, the law was never enforced.

At the Oct. 19 board meeting, Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D), who sponsored the measure, said she had the support of her colleagues.

“This is a violation of New York State law,” she said.

She added similar laws had been struck down in Hempstead [in 1972] as the law is unenforceable due to towns and villages not having police power to regulate police procedures.

“This has been a moot law on the books that is 52 years overdue to be removed because it has no effect at all, no matter what the laws of the land are, this law has no powers,” Cergol said. “It’s a paper tiger.”

The board held a public hearing on the motion. While some speakers gave their opinions as to why the code should remain on the books or not, a few used the opportunity to share their beliefs on abortion.

Among the speakers were representatives from the League of Women Voters who were on hand to support the repeal of the code.

Michael Lobasso asked the council members to remember “the spirit and intent” of the Town Board when the law was established. He said the board in 1970 had the foresight to choose a hospital as the safest place to have an abortion. Lobasso asked the current Town Board to ask themselves what is their intent and if they want to promote abortion procedures in any part of the town, and what precautionary procedures will they request of facilities. He asked the members to reconsider.

A mother carrying her baby was the last to come up to the microphone. She said it was great to repeal the “archaic” law, while it may not have a direct impact now due to state laws but could in the future. She said a few years ago when she had pregnancy complications, she was unable to access care in Huntington. She was told to go to Stony Brook University Hospital or Manhasset, which she said was costly and emotionally difficult.

The board voted unanimously to repeal the law.

In a statement released after the board meeting, Cergol said, “I am proud to join other local municipalities on Long Island to repeal outdated regulations on where a woman can choose to terminate her pregnancy. The state judiciary and Legislature have made it clear: The Town of Huntington does not have the authority to regulate this issue.”

in the loop!

by Friends of Steve Stern

Theater Three actors recently presented “Stand Up, Stand Out” at Washington Drive Primary School in the Harborfields Central School District, sponsored by the school’s PTA.

The anti-bullying show featured live actors,

puppets and a toe-tapping original score.

“Students in all three of our grade levels were engaged and entertained while they learned to be upstanders,” Principal Kathryn McNally said.

Washington Drive Primary School

Photo from Harborfields Central School District

SBU receives $147M in federal funding over eight years to treat WTC responders

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

As the medical challenges to first responders at the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 attacks increase, Stony Brook University’s treatment program has increased the number of people it helps and, recently, also the federal funds to support efforts to treat people.

At the same time, COVID-19 has also exacerbated conditions related to exposure to the site, with over 20% of this population experiencing lingering symptoms due to the pandemic.

HEALTH

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently awarded the Stony Brook World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program $147 million over an eight-year period to expand patient care and support infrastructure needs.

The SB World Trade Center Health and Wellness program now sees up to 13,000 patients, which is more than double the 6,000 patients it used to see.

“Patients are getting sicker and their diseases are much more complex with a variety of different systems being involved, both psychologically as well as physically,” said Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the WTC Wellness Program.

Through the work the SB WTC group has conducted, doctors and researchers have demonstrated that diseases and physical and cognitive challenges associated with aging have occurred more rapidly in the WTC population.

The WTC first responders have developed chronic sinusitis and a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD).

While these diseases occur in the general population, “the chronicity is unique,” Luft added.

The SB WTC Wellness program will use the funds to hire additional staff with specialties in pulmonology and psychiatry, among other areas, Luft said.

The majority of the work occurs at the Wellness Center’s main facility and clinic in Commack. SB also runs a site in Mineola. The funds will help revamp the Mineola site as well.

The two sites will use updated technologies and will deploy emerging capabilities in telehealth and artificial intelligence to communicate, diagnose and monitor cases.

Federal funds have supported the effort for 18 years, as NIOSH has funded clinical services for WTC patients treated at Stony Brook.

Medical conditions for this population have included post-traumatic stress disorder and respiratory illnesses.

The funding more than doubles the $60 million, five-year award the WTC Wellness Program received in 2017 from NIOSH that had

provided support until the end of March of this year. NIOSH had extended the grant for six months until the current funding started at the end of September, Luft said.

Patients have developed a range of cancers, as well as lung issues such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

Additionally, patients are struggling with a variety of mental processing challenges.

“We see a lot of patients who have a variety of cognitive and memory problems,” Luft said.

Luft emphasized that many of the thousands of patients he treats have several health issues simultaneously. By using new technologies, these efforts will enhance the quality of life for people who were on site after the attack.

Luft added that the connection and support from NIOSH have helped support health care for this population.

“The various people at NIOSH are really involved in the program,” he said. “It’s been very satisfying.”

Stony Brook University faculty in

public health, psychiatry, pulmonary care, cardiovascular care and neuroscience all take part in ongoing research related to the health issues of WTC responders.

Luft emphasized that the care first responders at the WTC receive tries to be “proactive” with an extensive effort to screen for various diseases, including cancer.

The research and treatment efforts for the WTC population extends to other health care initiatives for people exposed to carcinogens in wars or from other unintentional exposures.

The exposure from 911 is similar to those from burn pits, Camp Lejuene and other hazards.

“The toxins are similar,” Luft said.

Long Island fish kills climb to over 50 this summer according to researchers

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Fish kills in waterways around Long Island climbed to over 50 this summer from about five per year in earlier years, driven by increasing water temperatures, algal blooms and increased nitrogen in local waters.

With temperatures climbing more than 2 degrees Celsius over the last two decades, waters around Long Island don’t have as much oxygen, particularly at night when photosynthetic plants are no longer able to catch sunlight and turn it into oxygen.

The fish kills represent a “pretty big number,” said Christopher Gobler, endowed chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Members of Gobler’s lab sample Long Island waters routinely as a part of their research. While his team was out gathering data, Gobler asked them to report any fish kills that included 10 or more fish. The area between Hempstead Harbor and Northport Harbor routinely included observations of fish kills. Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen

than colder water, because oxygen can escape more easily from water in higher heat.

With temperature as the primary driver, a combination of factors robs the water of oxygen.

“The warmer the water gets, the quicker the bacteria take oxygen out, the faster the fish are respiring” Gobler said.

He added the fish kills often included menhaden, or bunker, fish. These fish have returned in larger numbers in recent years to the waters around Long Island amid other conservation efforts. More menhaden this summer also brought sharks to the area, as these apex predators hunt bunker fish.

While global warming likely had a significant impact on the number of fish kills, Gobler said, an increase in nitrogen in local waterways also contributed to anoxic conditions and is something residents can control locally.

With more nitrogen, typically from onsite wastewater, algae have more nutrients to grow.

At the same time, when more abundant algae dies, the bacteria that break down the algae consume oxygen.

An additional emerging perspective suggests that the more abundant algae at night are respiring, removing oxygen from the water.

Gobler said people can reduce the release of nitrogen into local waterways, which can also affect groundwater, by upgrading their sewage

treatment systems. Suffolk County has created rules, including a Reclaim our Water Septic Improvement Program, which protects the environment by reducing nitrogen emissions.

Gobler remains concerned not only for the fish that wash up in numbers along the shore, but for the marine organisms that aren’t as mobile, such as the invertebrates at the bottom of the waterways.

The fish kills are a flag that “these water bodies are impaired and are not capable of

sustaining marine life in a way we’d like them to,” Gobler said.

As for the future, Gobler said it’s difficult to predict how the combination of factors, from global warming to nitrogen runoff, will affect marine life.

“Maybe next year, we go back to five [fish kills] in the summer,” he said. This year was “unlike anything we’ve seen” with a combination of high temperatures and numerous fish kills.

WTC responders at Ground Zero, working on the pile in the aftermath of 911. Photo by John Bombace

Fish kills in Long Island have increased from about five per year to 50 this summer. Photo by Laurie Vetere

Wanted for questioning

Wanted for questioning

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man who allegedly stole merchandise from the Verizon store, located at 4000 Jericho Turnpike, East Northport on Oct.12. The items were valued at approximately $1,270.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the person who allegedly stole a cultivator, wheelbarrow and roofing shingles from Home Depot, located at 5025 Jericho Turnpike, Commack on Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. The merchandise was valued at approximately $1500.

Oakdale man arrested for Commack bank robbery

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney has announced the indictment of George Swanton, a 62-year-old man accused of robbing a Teacher’s Federal Credit Union in Commack earlier this month.

defendant allegedly entered the bank, threatened a teller and decided to steal cash that did not belong to him to finance a drug fueled binge and now he will be held accountable for his actions,” said Tierney.

Based upon the investigation from the Suffolk County Police Department, on Oct. 7, Swanton allegedly stole a minivan from a group home and used it the next day to drive to the Teachers Federal Credit Union branch on Vanderbilt Motor Parkway. Once there, he allegedly handed the teller a note threatening the teller and demanding money. The teller gave him $10,400 and he fled.

Swanton spent the next two days at the Bay Shore Inn where he allegedly spent the money on drugs. On Oct. 10, he allegedly called 911 claiming that he had a bomb strapped to his chest and allegedly admitting that he had robbed a bank. After officers responded, he let them in the room and told them that he had recently robbed a bank in Commack and that the money was in his pockets.

At the time of the robbery, Swanton was allegedly disguised in female clothing when he took the van and robbed the bank. The clothing was recovered from the motel room where he turned himself in.

At his arraignment Swanton was held on $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond or $300,000 partially secured bond. His next court date is Nov.14. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. — 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

Do you recognize this man? Photo from SCPD

Tigers triumph using class, commitment and character

BY STEVEN ZAITZ DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

This past week, the Northport High School football team showed the world that their credo — Class, Commitment, and Character — isn’t just a trio of noble-sounding words. They embodied it.

Two Saturdays ago, the Tigers not only lost a game to top-ranked Bellport and a share of first place in Suffolk County Division II, but also the services of their all-star quarterback, linebacker, and field general on both sides of the ball, senior Owen Johansen. He is out for the season with a broken ankle.

Johansen was injured early in the game against the Clippers when their star player, Donte Phillips, ripped Johansen down by his facemask and the Northport quarterback got his ankle rolled over and broken by Phillips, who never let go of the mask throughout the course of the play. It was an over-the-top, dirty tackle.

Phillips was called for unnecessary roughness, and Bellport lost 15 yards. But Northport lost its heart, soul and leader as Johansen’s brilliant high school football career was now over.

As the misery of that Saturday afternoon faded into the next week, there was not a single member of the Tiger football family that outwardly expressed any malice towards Phillips or Bellport. There was no complaint filed with Section XI about the flagrancy of

the foul or the severity of the injury. Instead, there was a lot of talk of ‘it’s football, injuries happen, and we have to move on.’

That’s class — and it starts from the top.

“Owen is a fantastic football player,” said Northport Head Coach Pat Campbell. “He’s a phenomenal quarterback, probably one of the best defensive players I have ever coached, and he’s a great teammate and leader. It [stinks] that he got hurt, but it’s a team game. Guys are going to have to step up.”

Senior Macklin O’Brien took over as quarterback in Bellport and showed flashes of competence. He directed a long, first-half drive that he finished himself with a 14-yard touchdown scramble. But the Tigers would lose, 21-7, and next up on their schedule on Oct. 22 were the always powerful and wellcoached West Islip Lions, who like the Tigers have a record of 4-2.

“Mack has been taking snaps with the first team in practice since August and he works his butt off,” Campbell said. “Nobody on the outside has really ever gotten the chance to see it, but everybody in our locker room knows that he’s a great quarterback.”

It was now time for O’Brien to prove it in a game against a quality opponent.

He would start the day spectacularly, engineering a 75-yard touchdown drive that included two nice throws and an off-schedule scramble for 15 yards that was reminiscent of his fallen friend and teammate Johansen.

“I’ve been working hard in practice behind Owen all year,” said O’Brien. “It’s just my nature to compete and try hard for

my teammates and myself. I thought I played okay today, but now I just have to get better.”

Christian Raio would finish the drive with a four-yard touchdown run on his only carry of the day, and Northport would lead 7-0 with six minutes left in the first quarter and would take 7-6 lead into halftime. Johansen was on the Tiger sideline in a boot and waved his crutches around whenever the Tigers and O’Brien did well. In turn, the team wore a #8 decal on their helmets, Johansen’s number, to honor him. This is Tiger class now blended with a commitment to one another.

Lest we forget, the West Islip football program is as successful as there is on Long Island. They are also mixed up in this Conference II dogfight and needed this game just as much as Northport.

To start the second half, they ripped off a 16 play, 85-yard drive for a touchdown. Bruising running back Chris Piropato had 29 of those 85 yards, and he capped it off with a two-yard blast up the middle. West Islip took the lead for the first time, burning most of the third quarter and wresting momentum in doing so.

On Senior Day for Northport, the stands were packed, the state champion field hockey team had won a playoff game earlier in the day, and the 300-piece marching band, sounded like it was 600 during their halftime performance. But the stadium was now stunned into silence.

With a Tiger loss, West Islip would leapfrog Northport and at 4-3, the Tigers would be scrambling just to make the playoffs with only a road game against West Babylon left on its schedule. The Tigers would need to answer.

Tiger running back Michael Campoli would do just that. He ran off right tackle and followed a devastating lead block from fullback/linebacker Thomas Kraus. Fiftyseven yards later and 57 seconds after they lost the lead, Campoli gave it right back to them. It was now 14-13 Northport.

“I just try to help the team any way I can,” said the junior Campoli, who also contributes on defense and special team. “Kraus made a great block, and I saw a lot of green in front of me. He was the reason I scored on the play.”

“Lead blocking is always a fun time for me,” Kraus said. “I had a feeling we were going to get Campoli in the end zone on that play and we did.”

Michael Raio would get in the end zone again for the Tigers from four yards out with 5:29 left in the game. The senior halfback electrified the crowd with a 28-yard run and two plays later, would close the deal and give Northport a 20-13 lead. The party was on.

It was Raio’s third rushing TD of the year and after the Tigers got the ball back on downs, was looking for his fourth with the ball deep in West Islip territory. He ran

Above, Macklin O’Brien, right, tries to escape grasp of West Islip’s Rocco Carpinello. Below, Nick Valenti makes a first quarter reception. Photos by Steven Zaitz

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NORTHPORT

behind Tiger tight end Andrew Miller and had enough yardage for a first down to seal the win. But linebacker Jordan Fileti got a desperation right hand on the ball as Raio ran by him. Lion Safety Dan Klein fell on it at the West Islip 10-yard line and down by only seven points, the Lions had new life in a now dead-silent stadium.

“I was sick to my stomach when I lost that ball,” Raio said, “One guy (Fileti) grabbed my arm as he was falling, and it came out. I should have had both hands on it.”

All Raio could do now was watch and root for his teammates on defense, as West Islip was 90 yards from tying the game with 2:15 remaining.

They would get a huge chunk of that 90 when Lion quarterback Patrick Keenan ran for 17 yards to start the drive and things started to get dicey for Northport. The Lions had all their timeouts remaining.

But Northport defensive lineman Justin Macke sacked Keenan on the next play and Tim Cleary, who is the de facto leader of the Tiger defense in Johansen’s absence, ended the threat with a leaping interception at the Tiger five-yard line. The Tigers had themselves an exhilarating and perhaps season-saving win, and they celebrated like it.

“That was a statement game,” said the senior linebacker Cleary, who had 13 tackles on the day. “We made some adjustments in the second half on defense, and we stopped

them when we needed to.”

So, in the first game in the post-Johansen era, the Tigers rolled up 256 yards of offense, overcame a second half deficit — however brief — and withstood a late charge after a costly turnover to gut out a victory in a very important game.

This was a character win in the truest sense, and it was a great time for all three of Northport football’s principles to not just exist as painted words on a locker room wall, but really have them come to life.

The Tigerettes and Northport High School marching band took to the field at the Oct. 22 game, which was also Senior Day for the students. Photos by Steven Zaitz

LETTERS

from

Fleming receives support of police organizations

Running for Congress this year in our District 1 are Bridget Fleming, a centrist Democrat, and Nick LaLota, a party-line Republican.

LaLota echoes the standard Republican falsehoods about voter fraud. He seems remarkably indifferent about the threat to American democracy represented by the failed coup of Jan. 6, propelled by these same falsehoods. According to him, it’s just another partisan issue. His campaign website contains not a single word about the effects of climate change, even though rising sea levels, flooding and more powerful hurricanes and nor’easters should concern every Long Islander.

Fleming has made public safety a major concern of hers. This is why she has received the endorsement of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association as well as that of the Police Conference of New York. She is the only Long Island Democrat running for Congress to receive the PBA endorsement. This is because she was a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for 10 years, a member of the sex crimes prosecution unit and in charge of another unit devoted to attacking fraud in public programs. She’s also

dedicated to stopping the flow of high-powered out-of-state guns to New York, which can put more firepower in the hands of criminals than in the hands of the police.

The Suffolk County PBA knows Fleming, a 20-year resident of Long Island, has the dedication and prosecutorial experience to put public safety first.

David Friedman St. James Hochul shows leadership we deserve

Lee Zeldin [R] wants us to believe he’s a moderate, “tough on crime” proponent of law and order. He is no such thing. This radical MAGA will ignore law and order if it serves his purposes. Ask the U.S. Capitol Police. Zeldin proved his anti-democracy bona fides by lying for former President Donald Trump’s [R] scheming insurrection, and disgracing himself with 147 Republicans to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Trump lost, but that didn’t stop them from trying to overthrow our democracy.

Insofar as “tough on crime,” that is another Zeldin charade. His plan is to stop crime after it has happened, the old, ineffective zerotolerance ploy that ignores the causes and does nothing for public safety. What is he promising police officers who gleefully endorse him, when he will make their job much harder by flooding the state’s streets with more unregistered guns? For NYC, that has “disaster” written all over it.

At every opportunity, Zeldin voted against efforts to reduce gun violence and strengthen

the social safety nets, which address violence and disorder. He voted against affordable health care, mental health services, drug treatment, affordable housing, poverty and even police funding. The safest towns don’t have different bail laws, they have better resources.

To cover for his pathetic voting record, he resorts to fearmongering ads with racist dog whistles that show only black people committing crimes.

Zeldin voted against the Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction bills, yet complains that Democrats have done nothing. He voted against bills that protect a girl’s and woman’s choice, contraception, nursing mothers, the equal-rights amendment and family violence prevention. He said he wouldn’t end abortion rights in New York. Don’t believe him.

Zeldin has no record of making life better other than for his rich donors. The Republicans took away our SALT deductions and plan to endanger public health with upstate fracking. That will drag us backward.

Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] shows the leadership and vision we deserve. She created thousands of jobs with upstate hydropower, solar and wind initiatives, a new rail line in NYC, tax cuts for middle-class families/small businesses, expanded childcare, affordable

housing and is bringing Micron Technology to New York. Working with the state Legislature she passed laws strengthening reproductive freedom, voting rights and gun safety.

Caral Bond East Setauket

Editor’s note: There will be no letters to the editor in our Nov. 3 edition. The page that normally features letters will have TBR News Media’s endorsements for the 2022 elections. Our letters page will return Nov. 10.

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The age of the uninformed voter

Election Day is less than two weeks away, and now is the time for citizens to begin researching their ballots.

When we vote, we are not merely selecting a “D” or “R.” Our representatives are living, breathing creatures with all of the features of ordinary citizens. They possess personality traits, character flaws, preferences, opinions and persuasions.

In these last few weeks, we must uncover these traits and determine whether they align with our values. Today, it is not enough to show up to the polls and vote. Here in Suffolk County, we find numerous examples of the popular will being subverted to advance the interests of a powerful few.

Take judicial elections, for example. Party leaders hold enormous power concerning our judges. Through a sequence of dealmaking and compromises — most of which happen behind closed doors and away from the public eye — the party leaders line up all county judgeships through crossendorsements well before the election.

To receive a judgeship and the sweet $185,000 to $211,000 salary that comes with it, our “elected” judges do what they must. They answer to their superiors, who are the political bosses awarding them their seats of power and cushy salaries. Meanwhile, the ordinary citizens — those paying these salaries — get left behind and forgotten.

If we do not research our ballots thoroughly, then our only options this November are those handpicked by the party chieftains. An uninformed citizenry only reinforces this broken electoral system, rendering our elected officials less accountable to the people with each passing election.

A functional, vibrant democracy requires that citizens take an active, rather than passive, role in the electoral process. We must take a deeper plunge into the candidates on our ballots. Who are these people? What are their professional backgrounds? If elected, how will they advance our values and interests?

It is time for the people to take back the reins of power. Let not the political bosses pull our strings as they do the puppets they try to plant in office.

If we want politicians to be accountable to us, we must give our votes much more weight. Blindly voting down a ballot is as pointless and unproductive as not voting at all, especially since ballots also include candidates who have not actively campaigned. No person, regardless of party affiliation, is entitled to our vote.

Next week, TBR News Media will release its election supplement. Read through those articles, and get to know your prospective representatives. Let us break away from the party masters. Let the age of the uninformed voter die a sudden, unceremonious death.

WRITE TO US … We welcome your letters. They should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style and good taste. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include a phone number and address for confirmation. Email letters to: rita@tbrnewsmedia.com or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

Letters to the editor

Get out and vote for Steve Stern

On Feb. 14, 2018, our lives were changed forever when our son, Scott J. Beigel, was murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, while protecting his students from a depraved gunman using an AR-15, a semi-automatic weapon. That day 16 other innocent people were murdered and hundreds more were traumatized. Their lives, and ours, will never be the same.

We have worked tirelessly every day since to advocate for gun safety legislation so that no other families experience this tragedy.

We are proud to support Assemblyman Steve Stern [D-Dix Hills] for reelection.

Steve has passed critical gun safety legislation, including the historic “red flag” law to keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a major threat. He supported the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act as well as raising the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons.

Steve is not just an advocate; he is a friend. Steve does not just talk the talk … he walks the walk. When Steve Stern sets out to get something done, he makes sure to see it through.

So much is at stake on Election Day. We cannot go backward. Make sure to get out and vote for Steve Stern for Assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Linda Beigel Schulman Michael Schulman Dix Hills

Only one choice on the ballot on Nov. 8

New Yorkers have important decisions to make in the upcoming election on Nov. 8. Reproductive rights, gun safety and environmental protection are on the ballot.

After the violence of Jan. 6, democracy itself is on the line.

For those of us who value environmental protection, access to reproductive health care and the need to have a safe society with less gun violence, there is only one choice on the ballot. We must vote for Democrats and reject Republican candidates, headed up by Trump acolyte Rep. Lee Zeldin running for New York governor. Recent news of texts to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows show the congressman plotting to contest the 2020 election before it was even called. We cannot have a governor who seeks to overturn elections. We deserve to have fair elections that are also safe. The right-wing extremist attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 has shown that we can no longer

count on that. This is why we must repudiate election deniers like Zeldin at the ballot box on Nov. 8.

We must consider the safety of our planet. Zeldin and other down-ballot candidates continue to point to fossil fuel extraction as the answer to our energy problems, rather than investing in renewable energy that can help mitigate the climate emergency. We cannot have science deniers in office. That is why we must repudiate candidates like Zeldin, and CD 1’s Nick LaLota, who have advocated for fracking, at the ballot box on Nov. 8.

We must also look at gun safety legislation. Zeldin’s record on this is egregious. He has received tens of thousands of campaign dollars from the NRA and voted against common sense measures like universal background checks and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. But it is not just Zeldin’s record we must examine. Every Suffolk County Republican in the state Legislature voted against raising the age to purchase a semi-automatic weapon, just weeks after the massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. One cannot claim to be concerned about public safety, and also vote to keep weapons of war on our streets. It is why we must repudiate gun safety opponents at the ballot box on Nov. 8.

Finally, we need politicians who do more than stoke fear and propose real solutions to the problems we face. We cannot frack, incarcerate and deny our way out of the very real challenges we face. When we invest in the social safety net and in renewable resources, our communities are safer for all of us. When we protect reproductive rights, we invest in women’s health care. When we invest in free and fair elections, we are all safer and freer.

Those of us who value safety and freedom must reject the extremist policies of Republican candidates and vote for a future that serves all of us. For these reasons, I will be voting for Democrats on Nov. 8.

Shoshana Hershkowitz South Setauket New York state’s culture of violent crime

Under one party rule, the quality of life in New York state has suffered a stunning decline over the last three years. The most obvious and unhealthy symptom of this decay is a spike in violent crime.

In 2019 Democrats, controlling all branches of government, ignored dire warnings from both law enforcement and district attorneys, before passing two laws. One was to institute a cashless bail program. The other raised the age from 16 to 18 for

Editor’s note: There will be no letters to the editor in our Nov. 3 edition. The page that normally features letters will have TBR News Media’s endorsements for the 2022 elections. Our letters page will return Nov. 10.

people to be tried as adults.

Judges, forced by statute to put unstable, dangerous people back on the streets have yielded exactly the kind of awful results nonwoke clear thinkers would expect.

Tommy Bailey, a hardworking steamfitter and father of three, was very well regarded in his Brooklyn community. Coming home from work, he was allegedly stabbed to death on a subway train by Alvin Charles. The latter mentioned had been arrested in July 2021 for allegedly stabbing a different straphanger in Brooklyn. Charles was freed on supervised release, only to kill Bailey.

On Oct. 4, Adam Bennefield was arrested on domestic abuse charges, and ordered to stay away from his wife, Keaira. Under state law, based on the charges, the judge was not permitted to require him to post bail. The very next day, while driving her kids to school, Keaira Bennefield, a 30-year-old mother of three, was allegedly murdered by her estranged husband in Buffalo. The grieving family reported she was wearing a bulletproof vest when Adam Bennefield reportedly shot Keaira, right in front of those children.

Raising the age to be tried as an adult to 18 has been a gift to street gangs. They’re recruiting kids as young as 12 into a type of criminal apprenticeship. And why not? That controversial legislation increased the age of criminal prosecution for gun possession … to 18 years old. Meaning kids under that age caught carrying a firearm are headed to family court.

Here’s a powerful example of just how badly this policy has played in the real world. In July 2021, a “major gang war” between ruthless Bronx crews left boys ages 13, 16 and 19 dead within five days. The two youngest had long arrest records including robbery, assault and gun possession.

A law enforcement source is quoted in the New York Post on July 12, 2021, as saying, “The system that purports to help these kids is actually acting as an incubator for future violence.” The 16-year-old “gets caught with guns, goes to kid-glove Family Court, and he’s out here walking the streets. The kid gloves ultimately allowed him to get murdered.”

While these types of senseless violent acts seem to have become part of New Yorker’s daily lives, Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] and Democratic lawmakers have shown no interest in holding a special legislative session to fix the mess they’ve made.

Given this kind of arrogant indifference to their constituents’ concerns over New York’s growing culture of violent crime, Kathy and company shouldn’t be surprised if, in a couple of weeks, voters express their great displeasure.

Jim Soviero East Setauket

Our pets do as much, or more, for us as we do for them

before our son had a driver’s license and I had to pick him up from school, I brought the dog in the car. I’d see my son walking from school, head down, shoulders slumped, with the equivalent of a teenage angst enveloping him.

and everything our son did, particularly when he pet our dog’s ears, was welcome and appreciated.

While I know many people love puppies, with their fluffy fur and their playful demeanor, I have become increasingly attached and fond of our dog as he has aged.

And, as my wife has said, the feeling appears to be mutual.

I’m feeling. When I get off the phone after an exasperating call with a customer service representative, he comes wagging over as if to say, “Yeah, that was annoying, but you’ll be fine and I’m still incredibly soft. Don’t you want to check?”

let out (yes, that was a different time). He used to return when he was ready and after he’d visited the neighbors and tended to his physical needs.

None of the above

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF

He’d get to the car, ready to throw himself into the seat next to me, to tell me his day was “fine” or that he “didn’t want to talk about anything,” and then he’d see the dog, wagging and prancing in the back seat and he was helpless against such charm and unbridled joy.

Our dog would throw his head into his hands, letting our son know that anything

When he was younger, our dog rarely came when I called him. He seemed fine with my petting him, but he didn’t go out of his way to get up from a comfortable nap.

But, then, something happened in the last year. Maybe it’s because we’ve traveled to visit family and friends for weddings and we haven’t taken him on each of our trips, or because he suddenly figured out that I feed him, provide water and take him for his necessary walks.

Whatever the case, he’s as happy to see me as I am to see him. At the same time, he’s become increasingly sensitive to the stress

Recently, I contracted COVID-19. My wife, who hasn’t been feeling too well herself, took incredible care of me, picking up food and medicine while I shivered in bed and struggled to swallow through the razor blades dangling in the back of my throat.

In addition to the necessary and helpful support from my wife and brothers, I received encouragement from our dog, who seemed to recognize something was amiss. He came to the side of the bed and leaned his head into my hand. He put his paw up near my arm as well, wagging cautiously and looking into my eyes.

He reminded me of our dog from my childhood. Also, a golden retriever, our earlier dog raced to the kitchen door to be

Do you have a special retreat in the neighborhood?

Last week I wrote about the pleasure of getting away, even for a day, and enjoying the foliage season in lower New England. This time I want to wax rhapsodic (well, in a manner of speaking) about the special places we love here in the neighborhood.

Melville Memorial Park, not far from 25A and my office in Setauket, but nicely hidden from view. Opened in 1937 as a memorial to Frank Melville Jr., it was the brainchild of his wife, Jennie MacConnell Melville, and his son, Ward Melville. While it is privately owned, the park is open for the pleasure of the public every day from sunrise to sunset.

In my junior year of high school, I developed a migraine that limited my ability to see and gave me a horrific headache. At the same time, all physical contact was uncomfortable, from my friend touching my hand to guide me to the nurse to my mother escorting me to the car.

When I returned home, I lay in a dark room, miserable under the searing pain. The dog, who wasn’t used to having me home during the day, stayed in my room all day. He didn’t move or make a sound and, more amazingly, he never tried to touch my hand.

He finally went outside after I got up and felt better. He stood guard all those years ago, just as our pets do now, protecting us against strangers and offering support in our lowest and most emotionally vulnerable moments.

by with their owners. The dogs immediately veered over for a pat, and sometimes the owners lingered for a chat.

It was quite a social affair on a beautiful fall afternoon for dogs and people.

BY LEAH S. DUNAIEF

Do you have such a special place? By which, I mean a place you go when you want to enjoy the beauty of the area, where you can sit and relax and let concerns just melt away for a few minutes. Or where you can go to think out troubles peacefully, deciding what to do next. Or maybe, you just want a bucolic walk. One such location for me is the Frank

So who was Frank Melville, you might ask, and how did it happen that a park is dedicated to him?

Frank Melville Jr. started by selling shoes to the residents from his sailboat on a fixed schedule, as he and his family of wife and small children circumnavigated Long Island. Eventually, he founded the Thom McAn brand with J. Franklin McElwain, a New Hampshire shoe manufacturer, exactly one hundred years ago. Their first retail shoe store in New York, selling a few simple styles at a low fixed price, then expanded to hundreds of stores across the US, becoming the largest footwear retailer in the country with 1400 stores. The brand name was eventually bought by Sears 86 years later.

As they grew wealthy, the Melvilles, who lived in Manhattan, bought a second home for themselves in Old Field, and became increasingly philanthropic, donating local land for community benefit, including what is now the campus for Stony Brook University. And it was Ward Melville, who visualized and created Stony Brook Village in 1941, the first outdoor mall in the country, and to this day, a fun daytime destination.

When I walk through the park, which surrounds the duck pond with leafy and varied greenery now changing colors, I marvel at the generosity and vision of the Melville family in fashioning such a jewel for anyone who wishes to enjoy its paved path, picture postcard views and many benches. It is such a place of respite for those of us who work just around the corner and those who come with their dogs from farther away.

Dogs are welcome, as long as their owners pick up after them. We sat on one of the benches last Saturday and called out, “Hello, Dog,” to the various pooches as they walked

One of the people we met as we strolled along was Anita Lago, an energetic woman from Stony Brook who discovered the pond and the park eight years ago and has been coming over to enjoy the swans regularly since then. When she was found cleaning out the stray fishing lines and other detritus that might enmesh the fowl, she was offered a pail and a rake by the foundation that oversees the park and invited to be official. And so, she can be found at water’s edge, when she is not at her full-time job, a hard-working volunteer helping to keep the pond clean and the swans and other fowl safe.

The Frank Melville Memorial Park is supported by donations from a grateful public. It’s that kind of place, one that brings out the best in all of us as it gifts to us all year round.