The Times of Smithtown - May 25, 2023

Photos by Raymond Janis

Rail is less costly to the taxpayers who must pay to have the ash transported. Every rail car represents four trucks being taken off the road. Rail reduces pollutants and carbon emissions in our environment. The Town of Smithtown has recognized the many economic, environmental and infrastructure benefits of transporting ash and debris by rail rather than by truck (2015 Draft Comprehensive Plan).

Republican lawmakers, immigration advocates clash over asylum seekers

BY RAYMOND JANIS EDITOR1@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

A nationwide debate over immigration, coupled with the end of Title 42, is sending shockwaves through Suffolk County.

Title 42, a COVID-19 pandemic-era federal immigration policy that expired earlier this month, enabled U.S. Border Control agents to swiftly expel asylum seekers on public health grounds. The end of the procedure has led to a spike in new migrants entering the country, with many directed toward New York City and, possibly, Long Island.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has identified three SUNY campuses, including Stony Brook University, for migrant housing, Spectrum News NY1 reported on Tuesday.

NYC received more than 900 migrants daily over several days, Mayor Eric Adams (D) told CBS News “Face the Nation,” Sunday, May 21. It is an influx, the mayor suggested, that has overburdened the city’s budget and facilities. Adams called upon Hochul and counties throughout the state to assist his city, referring to the requested relief as a statewide “decompression strategy.”

“New York City is the economic engine of the state and the country,” he said. “We believe the entire state should participate in a decompression strategy, and it’s unfortunate that there have been some lawmakers and counties that are not carrying on their role of ensuring that this is a decompression strategy throughout the state.”

Tensions swelled on the same Sunday morning during a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building where immigration advocates clashed with Republican lawmakers.

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), standing alongside U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and Republicans from across levels of government, criticized the city’s policies, affirming that Suffolk County is not open to new asylum seekers.

“New York City made a conscious decision to call itself a sanctuary city. Suffolk County did not,” McCaffrey said.

He added, “The residents of Suffolk County have already dealt with the financial costs of the pandemic and the historic inflation because of the failed policies of the state and federal government. We cannot stand by and allow the residents of Suffolk County to further burden the failed policies of the Biden, Hochul and Adams [Democratic] administrations in dealing with this crisis.”

McCaffrey stated the federal government’s vetting process is inadequate, so “we do not know who’s being sent into this county,” noting the potential strain upon law enforcement is still undetermined.

He described the expected cost of food, shelter and related medical and school expenses as “daunting,” saying that financial assistance from the federal and state governments would be “a mere drop in the bucket compared to what it would actually cost” to accommodate these requests.

“We cannot allow the federal [government] and state to pass on these costs to the residents of Suffolk County,” McCaffrey added.

LaLota criticized New York City’s sanctuary city designation, tying the influx of asylum seekers to unresolved issues at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We here in Suffolk County are 2,000

miles from the southern border, but we are to become a border county because of the Biden administration’s failed border policies and the sanctuary city policies of New York City,” the congressman said.

Throughout the Sunday morning press conference, the speakers heard steady chants from the gallery opposing their efforts. “No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here,” the protesters cried in unison.

Two days later, at the same county complex in Hauppauge, the immigration advocates held their own press conference Tuesday morning.

“For far too long, Suffolk Republicans have denied Long Island families — particularly those

seeking asylum — the freedom to thrive,” said Elmer Flores, advisory board member of the Long Island Immigration Clinic. “People seeking asylum are individuals, children and families that deserve to live in peace and live free from danger, which is why exercising their human and legal right to seek safety in the U.S. should be protected.”

Minerva Perez, executive director at OLA [Organización Latino Americana] of Eastern Long Island, suggested the vetting process for asylum seekers is adequate, noting the possible regional economic benefits of expanding the workforce.

“Asylum seekers can work — they are given work permits,” Perez said. “If anyone’s noticed, there’s also a labor shortage in Suffolk County. Do the math.”

Ivan Larios, manager of organizing and strategy for the Long Island branch of the New York Immigration Coalition, appealed for the acceptance of new asylum requests on humanitarian grounds, noting the harsh conditions from which many are fleeing.

“Immigrants are already a part of our community and make Long Island richer and better because of their economic, social and cultural contributions,” he said. “People seeking asylum are individuals, children and families fleeing danger and persecution in exercising their human right, a legal right to seek safety in the United States.”

Despite these appeals, the county Legislature introduced a procedural motion on May 23 to appoint a special counsel “to pursue any and all legal options available to protect the unfunded location of any asylum seekers in Suffolk County,” McCaffrey said.

A vote on the motion is expected during the Legislature’s June 6 meeting.

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, at podium, with Republican officials during a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building on Sunday, May 21. Photo by Raymond Janis

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Head of the Harbor holds public hearing on church application

BY LEAH CHIAPPINO LCHIAPPINO@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

A packed room full of Head of the Harbor residents gathered last Wednesday, May 17, for a public hearing on the application of the Monastery of Saint Dionysios the Areopagite, also known as the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension, that occupies the historic Timothy House, to build a church on the property.

The monastery, which purchased the house in 2018, is seeking a special-use permit for religious purposes, to build the church, which will be about 3,341 square feet. As previously noted by the The Times of Smithtown (March 30, 2023), Timothy House, constructed in the 1800s, was once the home of former Head of the Harbor historian and architectural preservationist Barbara Van Liew, who died in 2005. The house was built by a descendant of Smithtown founder Richard Smith. In honor of Van Liew, community members passed out buttons with her photo reading, “Save Her Legacy.”

The village board listened to a presentation made by Joseph Buzzell, the attorney for the monastery along with public comments made by the community. A decision has not been made and the next meeting is on June 21. Public comment will be open until then.

Calls for recusal

At the start of the meeting Deputy Mayor Daniel White addressed calls from some community members to recuse himself from the application, as he has a family member in the monastery. He declined to step aside.

“A grandchild of one of my aunts is affiliated with the monastery,” White said. “While I know this individual, who he is, I have not had any significant conversation or other dealings with him in the last 20 years. I am not required to recuse myself here as a matter of law. I believe I can be fair and impartial in the assessment and determination of this application.”

Village Mayor Douglas Dahlgard stood behind White, and said the village is small, and most people know each other.

Plan details

Buzzell said the Monastery has received a letter from the State Historic Preservation Office noting that the house will have “no adverse impact on the Timothy Smith house.” SHPO is requiring the monastery to take photos of the site for documentation purposes. He added that the monks “have, do and will fully maintain the Timothy Smith house.”

The plan does not include any changes or modifications to the actual house.

“This is not an insensitive builder,

demolishing a historic structure,” Buzzell said. “Part of the monastery’s proposal from the very beginning is to preserve and maintain the Timothy Smith house. It’s done so in the past, it does so now, it will continue to do so.”

Buzzell said that since the monks purchased the home, they have put over $340,000 into the maintenance of the property including structural repairs to the basement and east wing, emergency repairs to beams and front stoop, along with repairs to the roof, plumbing and sanitary systems, electrical repairs, repairs to leaks in the basement and roof and mold remediation.

The monastery is not presently proposing to widen the driveway, or add new lighting, Buzzell said. The attorney for the monastery said the decision about the driveway came up “late during the SHPO process.”

The foliage along 25A will also stay the same. A school is no longer part of the plan, according to Buzzell. It is proposed the church be situated 271.5 feet from the road and that 36 parking spaces be added to the property.

The project would tie the monks to the house, Buzzell said.

“This ties into the church functionally, to the property functionally, to tie them to the property financially, all of which serves to preserve the Timothy Smith house.”

Dahlgard questioned Buzzell as to if the monastery is able to afford the construction.

“My wife and I have two old houses in the village, and we know all too well the cost and the effort that goes into maintaining these houses including money,” he said.

Dahlgard continued: “Building a new 3,200 square foot church at today’s prices,

the way things are, you’re talking somewhere close to a million dollars.” The mayor asked Buzzell if the village could get “assurances that [the monastery] has the ability to fund and finance construction.”

While Buzzell previously agreed to Dahlgard’s request to have a building inspector, he said he was “not involved in the financial aspects of the project but was sure” something could be worked out.

“If [the monks] didn’t feel that they could actually build and run that church, I would not be standing at this podium,” Buzzell said.

Parking concerns

Ethan Schukoske, a traffic engineer for the monastery said they host a large morning service on Sundays for approximately 35 to 40 members.

“They don’t expect a large increase of members,” he said. “Obviously they want to have some space … but it’s really a relocation of services in the Timothy House to their nicer facility on site.”

Schukoske said the facility had at most 40 cars entering the property during their Sunday peak period, according to his study, in which he observed traffic flow. He noted a maximum of 21 parked cars on site. When projecting the traffic using industry standard data from the Department of Transportation, a standard church of the same size would generate about an additional 17 cars and 31 parked cars, if projecting a typical church of the same size.

When trustee Jeffrey Fischer pointed out that the study was done in 2021, and it was still at pandemic levels, Schukoske said that around 20,000 vehicles travel on 25A

each day, so “when you have less than 100 vehicles during the peak hour, it doesn’t have a significant impact.”

Community response

Erica Rinear, who lives next door to the monastery, said at the meeting the monks have always been good neighbors.

“They have been nothing but the most wonderful human beings,” she said. Rinear added that she and her husband used to call the section of 25A near their home “highway to heaven,” as there are a number of churches. She welcomes another.

“My husband just died February 5 of this year,” she said. “I like to think that this church will help me get to him directly.”

Leighton Coleman III, the village historian, had a number of concerns about maintaining the historic integrity of the space. He said the SHPO representative, who penned the approval letter for the home, told him she did not make a site visit to the house. He also was concerned that should the parking lot fill up, cars will be parked on 25A, blocking the view of the house.

Natasha Acker, a neighbor, said when she recently went to work, there were three construction vehicles in front of her. Parishioners have also walked up to her fence line, she said. Finally, she was concerned her home would decrease in value after the construction of the church.

“Say somebody here wants to retire tomorrow,” she said. “It may be years of construction before they’re able to sell their home because nobody wants to buy a home, especially a nice million-dollar historic home, next to a construction area.”

Residents are concerned that a proposed house of worship on the property of Timothy House on Route 25A will destroy the historical integrity of the property. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The following incidents have been reported by Suffolk County Police:

Two girls from Stony Brook missing

Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to locate a 16-year old girl and a 13-year-old girl who were reported missing from Stony Brook on May 21. Brittany Villatoro, 16, and 13-year-old Angelina Smith were last seen leaving a home on Stony Brook Road together on May 21 at 5:45 p.m. Villatoro is Hispanic, 5 feet 2 inches tall, 144 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Smith is Hispanic, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 185 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on their location is asked to call 631-854-8652 or 911.

Dance teacher from Centereach arrested Suffolk County Police arrested a Centereach man on May 17 for alleged Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance for incidents that occurred last month.

Jordan Viscomi, a dance instructor at David Sanders Dance Dynamics, located at 4110 Sunrise Highway in Oakdale, met and befriended two female juveniles, aged 15 and 16, who were dance students there. Over the course of three days in April, Viscomi allegedly engaged the two victims in live video chats and phone text messages, where he exchanged sexual content with them.

Anyone who may have been victimized by Viscomi is asked to call 631- 854-8552.

Woman killed in Holtsville hit-and-run Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a hit-and-run crash that killed a woman in Holtsville on May 21. Fifth Precinct police officers responded to a 911 call regarding a body on the grass on the side of North Ocean Avenue, north of Fish Road, at approximately 7:45 a.m. The victim, Jennifer Bianco, was pronounced dead at the scene. It was determined that Bianco, 42, of Bay Shore, was struck by a 2019 to 2022 blue Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6553.

Bicyclist injured in Sound Beach crash

Suffolk County Police Seventh Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that seriously injured a bicyclist in Sound Beach on May 19.

Matthew Aparicio was riding a bicycle eastbound on the North Shore Rail Trail, when he stopped at the intersection of Hallock Landing Road at a stop sign. He proceeded through the intersection, where he was struck in the crosswalk by a 1997 Ford Super Duty truck traveling southbound on Hallock Landing Road, at approximately 4:35 p.m.

Aparicio, 20, of Miller Place, was airlifted by Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The driver of the Ford, Luis Delgado, 27, of Riverhead, was not injured. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to call 631-852- 8752.

— 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.

Have you seen Brittany and Angelina? Photos from SCPD

Jordan Viscomi

Photo from SCPD

Student organizer petitions against armed guards at Smithtown schools

BY DANIEL FEBRIZIO DANIEL@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

In February, the Smithtown Central School District Board of Education opted to bolster school security by adding armed security guards to the exterior perimeter of its schools.

Since the decision, some students have opposed the new policy. While the school district has not yet employed armed security, Maddox Elbert, a freshman at Smithtown High School East, preemptively organized a petition calling upon the school board to reverse the decision.

“There’s a multitude of reasons why armed guards shouldn’t be in any school,” Elbert said in a phone interview, noting the costs associated with the plan.

It is projected to cost $800,000 to employ these armed guards, Elbert indicated, a price tag more than eight times more costly than a proposed mental health initiative from Northwell Health that has been widely controversial in the community.

Elbert argued that mental health initiatives are more effective in mitigating armed violence at schools than employing armed guards, citing a study from University of

Albany and the RAND Corporation that found that school resource officers “do not prevent school shootings or gun-related incidents.”

Elbert added that death rates are actually higher for school shootings in schools that employ armed guards than in those that don’t.

The school board has focused more on appearances and less on addressing the issue at hand, Elbert said. “God forbid there was a situation, they could say that they did something when really it would be doing the opposite.”

Elbert also expressed concerns over the proximity of firearms to school grounds. “Armed guards are proven to increase anxiety levels and stress levels, which can lead to a mental health crisis,” he said.

In a letter dated Feb. 15, Superintendent of Schools Mark Secaur and BOE members argued that their primary reasoning for this initiative was to increase response times for potential active-shooter incidents.

“Having armed guards on school grounds will improve our response time in order to better protect our students, faculty, staff and community members who are in and around our buildings on a daily basis,” the letter stated.

School officials also maintained that the guards would only be stationed in the exterior of the buildings, and that they would not “comment on specific details, such as guard

deployments, locations and working hours as it may compromise their safety and effectiveness.”

Elbert presented his concerns to the school board in an April meeting. He said that he and BOE President Matthew Gribbin had agreed to disagree on best practices for protecting schools.

The student organizer hoped something

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When contacted for further comment on this topic, a district spokesperson stated: “The district is not providing any comments outside of the community letter.”

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Some students in the Smithtown school district oppose a new policy that would allow the district to hire armed guards. File photo by Kyle Barr

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Carbon-free technologies explored for local power stations

BY AIDAN JOHNSON DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

The Biden administration and the Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed regulations requiring most power plants fired by fossil fuels to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent between 2035 and 2040, or shut down.

This climate rule would likely affect the Port Jefferson and Northport power stations, since they are both fossil-burning plants.

Under consideration for the new standards are carbon capture and storage, or CCS, a method of capturing and storing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, though this is still not widely practiced.

“CCS has not reached a widespread commercialization stage,” Gang He, an assistant professor in the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University, said in an email. “According to the Global Status of CCS 2022 report by Global CCS Institute, there are only 30 operational projects with a total capture capacity of 42.56 million metric tons — about 0.1% of the total carbon emission in 2022.”

As the global climate crisis continues, the World Meteorological Organization announced May 17 that world temperatures are “now more likely than not” to cross the 1.5 degrees Celsius

threshold, recommending policymakers act promptly to reduce carbon emissions and help mitigate the mounting concerns.

Another proposal being explored is hydrogen, a low-emission fuel source which produces power through a process called electrolysis that could move Long Island’s toward a greener future, according to former Port Jeff Village trustee Bruce Miller.

Miller said hydrogen could play a major role in reshaping Long Island’s economic and energy futures as some companies have already started

acquiring and selling hydrogen.

“It is hoped [hydrogen] will be an important part of our economy in the near future, and there’s a lot of money being allocated for that,” Miller told TBR News Media in an interview. “I believe that National Grid has the capacity to do this in Port Jefferson.”

National Grid did not respond to a request for comment.

Miller said local plant operators would probably need to modernize the existing power stations to accommodate hydrogen in the future.

Also factoring into this hydrogen equation would be energy demand. While a lot of energy is expected to be received from the Atlantic, where offshore wind turbines are currently being developed, these represent intermittent energy sources, Miller indicated.

Given Port Jeff Harbor’s deepwater port, Miller suggested that hydrogen could be feasibly captured, pumped and stored along existing maritime commercial routes and transported via cargo ships.

While decisions over local power stations remain ongoing, National Grid needs to determine whether it would be worth it to use hydrogen, or whether the electricity generated in the Atlantic would be enough. The municipalities would also need to be on board with repowering the plants.

“We call ourselves a welcoming community,” Miller said. “If that’s the direction that National Grid would want to go in, the village [should] support that.”

While there is a market to extract and sell hydrogen, it needs to be at an affordable price. Although the amount that hydrogen will play in creating a sustainable future is unknown, questions over local plants remain ongoing with the subsequent detrimental effects on the Port Jefferson and Northport tax bases.

Editor’s note: See also letter, “The reality of closing local generating plants,” page A22.

New proposed EPA regulations may affect the Port Jefferson Power Station, pictured above. File photo by Lee Lutz

Wildcats end Kings Park’s season

BY BILL LANDON DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Liam Kershis led the way for Shoreham-Wading River in the opening round of the Suffolk County Class C playoffs as the Wildcats eliminated Kings Park.

Kershis tallied an assist with five goals for the Wildcats, while teammate Alec Gregorek netted three assists and three goals. Gregorek’s brother, Liam, notched three goals of his own and tacked on an assist in the SWR victory. Goalie Jaden Galfano had eight saves in net, and Jon Gordon stopped two.

Sports

Kings Park had struggled against the Wildcats’ defensive pressure, unable to gain traction in the 17-7 loss at Cutinella Memorial Field May 18.

Kings Park senior attack Thomas Hnis recorded three goals and a pair of assists for the Kingsmen. Nick Papa, John Flynn and Tommy Cassar rounded out the scoring for Kings Park.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Clockwise from upper left, battle at the“X” in the opening round of the playoffs; Shoreham-Wading River’s Will Miller wins the faceoff; Kings Park attackman Jack Salva looks toward the cage; and Kings Park midfielder Tommy Cassar pushes past a defender.

Undefeated no more: Hauppauge flag football team dealt first loss in Suffolk semis

BY STEVEN ZAITZ DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

In leading the Hauppauge Eagles flag football team to a perfect regular season, freshman quarterback, middle linebacker and punter Taylor Mileti virtually never stepped off the field. She will now have to wait 10 long months to step back on it.

After beating Longwood in the opening round of the playoffs last Thursday, Half Hollow Hills rolled into town and shut out the Eagles 13-0 on Monday in the Section XI semi-final game. Hauppauge’s inaugural season ended after 12 straight wins and a League I regular season title. They were the number one seed coming into this playoff tournament and Hills was seeded fourth.

Mileti’s father Steve is the Eagles head coach.

“They have a very good team over there and they earned that victory,” said Coach Mileti. “They played a good man coverage, and the ball just didn’t bounce our way today.”

Half Hollow Hills has a two-way superstar of their own in Jahniya McCreary. Aside from scoring both Hills touchdowns, McCreary had seven flag pulls, an interception, and a sack from her middle linebacker position. The Lady Thunderbirds defense gave Mileti and her offense no room to breathe for most of the afternoon.

“We came in hungry and had a mission to win,” said the senior McCreary. “We remembered what happened the last

time we played them and did not want that to happen again.”

Hauppauge beat Half Hollow Hills 6-0 on April 14 when Mileti scored a late touchdown on a 50-yard run.

“Jahniya is one of the best players on Long Island,” said Hills head coach Michael Lupa. “She flies to the ball on defense and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field on offense. She was the most valuable player of the game tonight.”

After a scoreless first half, McCreary scored on the T’Birds opening possession of the second half when she took a wildcat snap and sliced up the middle for a twoyard touchdown run. McCreary had six catches for 140 yards on the day, including a bomb of a touchdown from 48 yards from quarterback Sami Heyman to seal the game with under six minutes remaining. Heyman, who like Mileti is also a freshman, was 7 for 12 for 185 yards on the day.

But it was the Thunderbird defense that set the tone in this tilt.

“They had a fast pass rush which made it difficult to complete passes,” said Taylor Mileti. “We had such an amazing season and we all worked so hard to get to this point. Losing this game definitely hurt but it’s just one game and we will come back and work hard next season to get to the next level.”

As Half Hollow Hills (13-2) prepares to take on Patchogue-Medford for the Suffolk County Championship on Thursday, Mileti, along with her disappointed teammates, will need to step away from the field — finally.

Clockwise from left, Half Hollow Hills quarterback Sami Heyman splits Stephanie Braun, left, and Melissa O’Connor; Tyler Mileti, top, Bryana Sulinsky, left, and Stephanie Braun, bottom, stop Heyman; and Melissa O’Connor avoids the flag pull attempt of Hills DB Olivia Hamilton Photos by Steven Zaitz

Car show raises $25K for vets and first responders

Paws of War and the Fabulous 50s and 60s Nostalgia Car Club hosted a car show on Sunday, May 21, at Nesconset Plaza.

The organizations raised $25,000 to support local veterans and first responders in the Long Island community. The car show included vintage, classic and custom cars, live music,

hot food, 50/50 raffles and more.

The proceeds from the event will help Paws of War provide injured veterans and first responders with a companion dog that will be trained to become a service dog through the organization’s service dog training classes.

— Photos by Rita J. Egan

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Letters to the Editor Editorial

Safety key to a successful summer

Boating can be one of the most joyous parts of summer, especially on Long Island. There is truly nothing like the breeze running through our hair as we relax with family and friends, soaking up the natural beauty and the overwhelming landscape.

But it’s important to remember that boating is a privilege, not a right. Despite the fact that a night on the water could create lifelong memories, you don’t need a boat to get to work, the doctor or the grocery store.

This makes it even more imperative to be safe and considerate while on the water. It also makes it even more senseless when tragedies occur. Even the most experienced of boaters, like James Jaronczyk, of Massapequa, who died in the Great South Bay earlier this month, clearly can succumb to the dangers of the water. Sadly, these stories are not unique.

According to the United States Coast Guard, there were 636 boating fatalities nationwide in 2022, a 3.3% decrease from the 658 deaths in 2021. The most devastating aspect of the statistics is that several of the deaths were preventable.

Of the total fatalities 88 deaths, or 16%, involved alcohol. “Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, excessive speed and machinery failure,” were other contributing factors, according to the Coast Guard report. Of the victims 75% drowned, and of those drowning victims, 85% were not wearing a life jacket.

As the Coast Guard advises, boaters must stay sober, check the weather, carry an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon — which signals if you get into trouble — and have VHFFM radio on hand in case cell service drops.

Also always let someone who is staying onshore know your float plan, which breaks down where you are going, how long you will be gone, a description of your boat and the safety equipment you have on board. Boating is not a time to take risks or explore coves and inlets you have not been to before, if you do not know what you are doing.

Most importantly, boaters should register for a boating safety course as they can never be too experienced to refresh their knowledge or learn something new. They have an obligation to themselves and those on board to practice responsible boating habits and return home safely.

We at TBR News Media wish you a happy, fun and safe summer on the water with your families and friends.

Memorial Day

Please note that our office will be closed on Memorial Day, May 29.

Veterans for Peace Golden Rule sailing into Port Jeff Harbor

Veterans for Peace Golden Rule will be sailing into Port Jefferson Harbor on Friday, May 26, at approximately 6 p.m. and will be docked at Harborfront Park from May 2628.

This historic small ship is currently on a journey along the Atlantic coast for educational conversations about peace, nuclear disarmament, clean water and collective consciousness for our environment.

In 1958, as atmospheric nuclear testing heightened the stakes in the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Golden Rule sailed toward the Marshall Islands aspiring to stop early atmospheric testing.

The Golden Rule was the first sailing vessel in American history to practice nonviolent activism on the high seas 65 years ago and was the forerunner for today’s better-known Greenpeace ships, as well as the template for every kayak, canoe and outboard motorboat that’s peacefully protested anything in the nearly seven decades since.

The Golden Rule helped ignite a worldwide movement to end nuclear testing and led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed by President John F. Kennedy [D] in October 1963, some five years after the initial action.

The boat has a significant connection to Long Island as its first crew included William Huntington, a Quaker from St. James. In homage to him, a true trailblazer, the Society of Friends, Conscience Bay Quakers Meeting will join members of the Setalcott Nation, the original stewards of our waterfront community, and many other peace and justice organizations in meeting the boat and welcoming its captain and crew.

North Country Peace Group with South Country Peace Group are the sponsors of this event with a special acknowledgment to the Conscience Bay Quakers. We hope everyone can join us.

Myrna Gordon Port Jefferson

The reality of closing local generating plants

Your editorial and lead article [TBR News Media, May 18] both address the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed stringent limitations on power plants’ emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide that cause the climate change we already see here.

The EPA’s proposal is consistent with the existing state Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that mandates similar reductions in New York state of fossil

fuel generation and its replacement with renewably generated electricity.

Both TBR pieces recognize that the Northport and the Port Jefferson plants cannot continue for too many more years to be powered by natural gas.

Your editorial correctly challenges local governments and school districts that have been subsidized by tens of millions of dollars annually that are indirectly paid by other Long Island residents through the taxes on these greatly overassessed properties to start “imagining a future in which those subsidies no longer exist.” These entities should certainly seek state aid to ease this transition, but that is not a long-term solution.

There could be other uses for these sites that are robustly connected to the grid, such as for landing power cables from offshore wind farms, or massive batteries to store electrical energy during times of low renewable generation.

Bruce Miller, former Port Jefferson Village trustee, suggested two possibilities for continued onsite electrical generation. One would be continuing to burn natural gas, while adding equipment to capture the resulting carbon dioxide. This possibility ignores the known substantial leakage of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas — at the well, and all the way to the generating plant. Such carbon dioxide removal equipment does not now exist at scale, and would be rather expensive.

He also suggests burning hydrogen to produce electricity when renewable generation cannot meet demand. Such “green” hydrogen would be produced during the summer from water using renewably generated electricity, stored in large quantities, transported here by pipelines that could not leak even small amounts of climate-changing hydrogen, and burned to produce electricity. The main combustion product would be harmless water. However, the oxides of nitrogen and other polluting combustion products would have to be removed before being released, adding to the cost of the electricity generated.

There are no certain answers to continued use of these sites for electrical purposes to replace lost tax revenues. Just the opposite is true: The higher the taxes on any new facilities, the more expensive will be their operation and less likely they would be built here.

Peter Gollon Huntington

Editor’s note: The writer was a LIPA trustee from 2016-21. See also story, “Carbon-free technologies explored for local power stations,” page A10.

Words matter in immigration dialogue

One of the most beautiful elements of America is diversity. The immigrants who live in our communities contribute to our economy, our culture and our public life. We are a better nation for it.

We have seen a vilification of those seeking asylum at our southern border. This past Sunday, local, state, and federal Suffolk County Republicans held a press conference, announcing a plan to hire legal counsel to block asylum seekers from entering Suffolk County.

Though seeking asylum is legal, county Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey [R-Lindenhurst] said, “We don’t know who’s coming over.” In doing so, McCaffrey implies that asylum seekers are a danger to us.

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota [R-NY1] differentiated between documented and undocumented immigrants. Both ignore a basic truth: Asylum seekers are fleeing their countries because of climate change, poverty and political violence. They are not seeking to do us harm. Our federal government must provide assistance and address these root causes in our foreign policy. That is the direction we must take, rather than demonizing and “othering” asylum seekers.

Today’s asylum seekers remind me of my paternal grandfather. As a teenager, he fled Odessa [now in Ukraine] after his father, a practicing rabbi, was murdered in Siberia. My grandfather didn’t consider paperwork — he fled to survive. My grandfather may have had a different religion and skin color than the migrants at the border, but their stories and their humanity are quite similar. As a Jew who has had branches of my family tree cut off by political violence, I know that “Never Again” applies to every one of us, including asylum seekers.

Words matter. When our politicians use xenophobic rhetoric like the county Republicans are, it makes all of us less safe. Will the base they have riled up distinguish between which of their neighbors are documented or undocumented? Did the teenager who murdered Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue in 2008 check his immigration status before ending his life? Rather than learning from our history, the county Republicans seem intent on repeating that harm, all in the name of firing up their base for the November elections.

We cannot accept this in Suffolk. We must seek solutions that bring us all together, rather than divide us up. We must expect more from our elected leaders. If they cannot deliver, we must vote them out and replace them with moral leaders who can.

Shoshana Hershkowitz South Setauket

What we can and can’t blame on the pandemic

While for now, the pandemic is officially in the rearview mirror, according to the World Health Organization, it’s worth considering what we can and can’t blame on COVID-19. For starters, here are a few things that aren’t the fault of the pandemic.

— A favorite sports team’s defeat. Every team had to deal with COVID-19. The pandemic didn’t affect my team’s best athletes any more than any other team’s stars.

appealing. A would-be romantic goes out into the world with a proverbial heart filled with affection and admiration. Cupid hits that person with an arrow, creating a wellspring of dedication and devotion toward someone who doesn’t return the favor. The pandemic might have made it harder to know where we stood with each other, but unrequited love will continue to cause problems and lead to sad-butrelatable romantic comedies.

getting anything done or compromising. The words under the Washington DC license plate shouldn’t read “taxation without representation,” which refers to the fact that residents pay taxes but don’t have federal representation. Instead, it should read: “Grrrrrrrrrrr!”

continues to get deeper.

— Educational gaps. Students will never get back those days and the lessons they missed during the pandemic. Classes condensed their syllabi, lowering requirements and expectations for each class and for graduation. Students of all ages missed lessons and assignments that might have inspired them and that would have helped them reach previous educational requirements.

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF

— The weather. It’s going to rain, and it’s going to be too hot and too cold. That happened before the pandemic, and it’s going to happen afterward. Global warming, if anything, might have slowed slightly as more people stayed home each day.

— Unrequited love. Authors throughout history have found this topic particularly

— Bad grades. We all have moments when we don’t study enough, the right way, or even the right material. The pandemic might have made it harder to focus or to care about theorems or memorizing dates, but it’s not the fault of the virus. It might have been tougher to concentrate in those early days, with dogs barking, parents yelling into Zoom calls, and people dropping off food at our front door.

— Anger in Washington. This is one of the easiest to dispel. Did you pay any attention to the vitriol coming out of the nation’s capital before 2019? It’s not as if the parties suddenly decided fighting each other was more valuable than

— Biased journalism. As a member of the media, I understand the frustration with the written and spoken words on TV and in print. The left hates Trump; the right hates Biden and ne’er the ‘twain shall meet. The pandemic didn’t pour gasoline on that dumpster fire. Media organizations staked out their territory prior to the pandemic and have remained more faithful to their talking points than many people do to their own marriage vows.

Okay, now, what about the things we can blame on the pandemic.

— Mental health strain. While the pandemic may be gone, we haven’t wrapped our arms around the mental health impact. We spent way too much time on our phones, making us feel simultaneously connected and disconnected while the pool of frustration

— Social graces. A first-grade teacher recently told me that their school still can’t bring all the first-grade classes together. When they do, the students argue about resources and space. Prior to the pandemic, students from several classes could easily play together. Hopefully, that will change as the students age and fill in gaps in their ability to interact.

Even as we hope to move past the pandemic, we can’t ignore the difficult reality, forcing parents, teachers, children and members of society to relearn lessons about acting and interacting. No, we can’t take cues from Washington, but maybe we can overcome deficiencies exacerbated by the pandemic.

Between you and me

BY LEAH S. DUNAIEF

This past weekend was both fabulous and exhausting. We drove nine hours down to Virginia to celebrate with my granddaughter as she graduated from college, and with my son and daughter-in-law, her parents, who helped make it happen. Both sides of the family were represented, and we were all in, cheering, laughing, eating, strolling and talking, talking, talking for two days straight, not counting our travel days. We were certainly not alone enjoying this milestone. I never saw so much traffic on the roads between here and Virginia, both going and coming, and we theorized it was all those families and all those graduates driving the highways on this college graduation weekend in May.

The joy of a graduation from college spans

generations. Those who seemed to feel the accomplishment most, perhaps, were the families of first-generation graduates, whose members would often boast to anyone listening, “She’s the first to graduate.” We all cheered, clapped, and if we could, whistled during those 30 seconds when our loved one crossed the stage, was handed the diploma, smiled for the camera, then returned to his or her seat.

Predictably, we heard lots of speeches. Those who received honorary doctorates, the president of the college, the chancellor, the student representative, the keynote speaker, all addressed the graduating class and their guests with words of wisdom that, as I recall from my graduation, were promptly ignored. For us then, the tone, however, was hopeful and positive.

This time, though, there were two differences that I heard. The first was a recognition that the world for these young people had changed, both physically and societally. The country was sadly divided, and climate change was altering the globe. People were not listening to each other. That they might enjoy better lives than their parents because

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their future was bright was never mentioned.

These graduates had their lives and their studies interrupted by the pandemic and were captive of their computers for part of their learning. The message was that they had lost out in their four years, lost the easy camaraderie of uninterrupted campus life and the person-to-person contact with their classmates and professors. There was some reference to overcoming challenges and resilience, but on the whole, there was none of the usual comments as to how this next generation was going to make the world a better place. It seemed the goal was just to cope.

The other difference from the educators was, to me, defensive. Stressed was the need and importance of education. Of course, they were preaching to the choir. But still, the comment rang out, “When you have forgotten all [the facts] that you have learned, what you will have left is education.” More than once, the reference was to having learned how to think analytically as being the major benefit of their college years.

I did get a kick out of one dean, who referred in her talk to the various world events that had

occurred during the past four years. We listened attentively because we all experienced them. And when she was concluding, she confessed that almost the whole speech had been written by ChatGPT. We laughed but not without a tinge of concern for future college students.

As always, at graduations, it is a happy and also a sad time for the graduates. There is a lot of “goodbye.” They are leaving behind those they had come to know and places that had become as familiar to them as their dorm rooms: where they shopped for food, where they retreated to study, where they played volleyball, where they enjoyed their “midnight snacks” that were probably well beyond midnight.

Our granddaughter keenly felt the yin and yang of moving on. She tried to spend time with us even as she was drawn to the gatherings and parties on campus of her friends and roommates. I wanted to tell her that this time was a beginning, more than an end, and that she would be taking the best with her into the next chapter.

But I didn’t. She had already heard enough speeches.

REPORTER

Daniel Febrizio

Johnson COPY EDITORS

John Broven

Ernestine Franco ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Gobos

Larry Stahl

Katherine Yamaguchi

Meg Malangone

MANAGER Courtney Biondo

Graduation messages have changed with time and generations.

A BEST PLACE TO LIVE. A BEST HOSPITAL TO MATCH.

At Huntington Hospital, we deliver the advanced care you need, right in the town you love. That’s what it takes to be rated one of the best hospitals in the New York metro area by U.S. News & World Report.

From leading-edge robotic surgery to expert cancer care, we’re raising health every day. Because we don’t just want to be the best — we want what’s best for our community, too.

Northwell.edu/RegionsBest