The Times of Smithtown - October 27, 2022

Area doctors urge caution amid viral triple threat this fall and winter

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

This fall and winter, several infections have their sights set on your lungs.

Amid threats from diseases that affect other organ systems, three of them — COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus — can and often do attack the lungs.

While the current strain of COVID isn’t as lethal as the original, the virus continues to mutate, leading to new strains and, potentially, to different strains later this fall.

At the same time, the flu and RSV have been waiting for an opening after COVID protections like masks also kept them at bay during 2020 and 2021.

“How bad is the winter going to be?” asked Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. “It will be based on more [COVID] variants coming through, with a strong flu season, which is never something you want to see.”

The number of cases of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu has been lower in the last few years. The lack of exposure to those viruses, however, may give them an opening for a stronger return in the population.

These viruses “didn’t paddle along for a while,” Nachman said. “Now, they are paddling furiously. Everyone is seeing them.”

People’s immune systems may not be prepared for the threat from these recurring viruses.

When people arrive at the hospital, health care officials often see the same symptoms, with coughing and sneezing.

“It could be one, two or three” causes at the same time, Nachman said.

The combination of contracting more than one

virus at the same time could lead to prolonged and painful illnesses.

COVID reality

Much as people would like to return to a prepandemic reality, the SARS-CoV2 virus not only continues to infect people, but it also remains something of an evasive target, with mutations leading to new variants.

While area hospitals don’t test for the specific COVID strain when patients are sick, doctors expect that some of the people who have contracted the disease have the modern variants.

“Undoubtedly, many cases that are coming to our Emergency Department are due to the new Omicron sub-variants,” said Dr. Sunil Dhuper, chief medical officer at Port Jefferson’s St. Charles Hospital.

“Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that Omicron BA.5 cases are trending downwards and the cases due to the sub-variants are on the rise.”

Symptoms of the newer variants are similar to others, with fever, chills, cough, runny nose, fatigue, muscle or body aches, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste, sore throat, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea, Dhuper explained.

Doctors said it was difficult to gauge how effective the new bivalent COVID vaccines are against the latest strains.

The latest booster may “not be active against all the coming variants,” explained Dr. Phillip Nizza, attending infectious disease physician at St. Charles Hospital.

The new booster was designed to enhance the reaction to the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

“We don’t have enough data” to determine the effectiveness of the booster against current and future threats, Nachman said. “How effective it will be depends” on differences between the booster and the strain someone contracts.

Still, the vaccine is likely to provide some benefits, doctors said.

“The purpose of the vaccine is to attenuate the symptoms from the virus and reduce the severity of illness, hospitalizations and/or death,” Dhuper wrote. “And I think the vaccines would be very successful in accomplishing that objective.”

Even for people who have been infected recently with COVID, Nachman urged people to get a booster.

The combination of an infection and a booster “Is always better than not getting a vaccine,” Nachman said. “You should get a vaccine. The timing is tricky” and could involve getting a dose two weeks after contracting the virus or waiting.

The viral threat during the December holidays, in particular, is higher, so Nachman

urges being as immunized as possible before then.

With people not wearing masks and not even testing for the virus even when they get sick, Nachman suggested that it’s “highly likely” the country will see new variants by the spring.

Nachman urged people to take steps to protect themselves, which includes eating well, exercising, receiving the latest vaccination and limiting exposure, particularly for those who might be vulnerable.

“Take care of yourself,” Nachman urged.

At Stony Brook University Hospital, the wards are busy, with a steady stream of patients coming in, receiving treatment and getting discharged, Nachman said.

“We’re seeing a lot of other viral illnesses,” she added.

She sees a ramp-up in RSV, which she doesn’t expect to peak until Thanksgiving.

Dhuper remains concerned about viral threats this fall and winter.

“We do anticipate a worse flu season this year as the herd immunity is at a lower level,” he wrote. “People should get their flu shots sooner rather than later as that is the only primary protection we have to offer. People with comorbidities should particularly be concerned as the likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization and even death could be higher without the protection from the vaccine.”

While Nizza hasn’t seen any major spike in the flu yet, he suggested in an email that “now would be a good time to get vaccinated.”

Got all that? Good, now, when you’re outside, far from other people and you want to give your lungs a break, take a deep, cleansing breath. Other times? Protect your health and the health of your family and community.

‘The purpose of the vaccine is to attenuate the symptoms from the virus and reduce the severity of illness, hospitalizations and/or death.’

— Dr. Sunil Dhuper

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

Celebrates

Hometown

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

New leaders on campus: SBU trio shares their hopes and perspective

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Stony Brook University has welcomed a trio of new leaders to its campus over the last several months. Provost Carl Lejuez, Vice President for Marketing and Communications William Warren, and Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Jed Shivers recently shared their goals for Stony Brook and their excitement at joining a flagship university for the State University of New York educational system.

Provost Lejuez

As provost, Carl Lejuez is responsible for the faculty, staff and students at Stony Brook University.

Lejuez, who has asked that people call him by his first name instead of trying to pronounce his last name — which, by the way, is Lejh way— makes a concerted effort to forge connections on campus.

“Whenever I introduce myself, I don’t say, ‘Provost,’” he said. “I say, ‘Professor in the Department of Psychology.’ I don’t believe I can be a credible leader of the faculty if there’s not a sense of sitting in their shoes and understanding the implications of the strategic and practical decisions we make.”

Lejuez, who grew up in Secaucus, New Jersey, earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Emory University and his Master of Arts and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of West Virginia.

As a first-generation college student, Lejuez feels inspired by the opportunity for students to come through a place with world-class research in an environment that cares about student success.

For first-generation students, in particular, he recognizes the need to forge connections with professors.

These close bonds help “take what’s happening in the classroom, which may be esoteric knowledge, and turn it into a passion and understanding,” providing students with the opportunity to see how what they’re learning in a textbook applies to the world.

He wants to expand the scope and reach of these hands-on experiences for students, while recognizing “how much goes into it from faculty and staff,” he said.

Lejuez believes the ability of professors to conduct extraordinary and groundbreaking research should dovetail with their commitment to being accomplished educators.

“We are setting the expectation from the start,” he said. “When you are tenured here, when you are progressing and doing well, you are excellent in both research and teaching.”

Stony Brook has a Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching that provides support for professors who may need polishing or improvement in inspiring and educating students.

Stony Brook looks closely at student evaluations, while also examining other data in assessing its teachers.

Lejuez, who recently served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Connecticut, supports strong and growing areas for the university, including clinical psychology, quantum information systems, and climate science, among others.

“These are areas that Stony Brook has a real opportunity to develop and part of my role has been thinking about how do we identify incredibly strong areas and areas that are able to emerge that way and fuse it with growing fields,” he said.

Lejuez believes in academic excellence and in diversity and equity.

He hopes to broaden the range of countries and regions from which the university is recruiting students and faculty.

Lejuez describes Stony Brook as “one of the best kept secrets of public universities,” ranking first in the state in public schools, according to the 2022-2023 US News and World Report ranking.

“Our goal is now to remove the best kept secret part,” Lejuez said.

Raising SB’s profile

This is where William Warren, vice president for Marketing and Communications, comes in.

Warren has worked in numerous corporate and academic jobs, including most recently as the chief marketing and communications officer at the University of Utah.

Warren hopes to raise “the profile of Stony Brook and really claim the sort of credit and attention this institution deserves,” he said.

Previously at Coca Cola, among others, Warren welcomes the opportunity to support Stony Brook.

“You want a challenge that’s exciting and doable,” he said. “That means having a fabulous thing to market that is possibly undervalued.”

Warren divides marketing into earned and paid media. For the former, he hopes to do the hard work of building relationships with national reporters, who can spread the word about the achievements and experts available at Stony Brook.

Warren plans to continue to work with regional and local reporters, while engaging in an ongoing effort to share the Stony Brook story, including publicizing initiatives such as the Simons Stem Scholars Program that supports minority students entering the scientific fields.

As for the paid piece, Warren sees opportunities in several dimensions.

“The great thing about the paid marketing campaign is that it’s adaptable to all kinds of purposes,” he said. “Student recruitment can use the campaign to get the right students. We can use the campaign to help us recruit great faculty.” It can also be adapted to “attract more donor support.”

Any marketing effort, however, needs to remain grounded in truth.

“You want to go out there with a message that resonates and that faculty will see and say, ‘That’s what we offer,’” Warren said. “We are not blowing smoke.”

A marketing campaign includes a host of elements, such as the best execution and photography that supports the message.

An evolved campaign could include a new slogan for the school.

The “Coke is it” campaign reinforces the idea of authenticity, as consumers can be sure it is “exactly what you think it is,” Warren said. “It never disappoints. It’s always consistent and is part of the American culture.”

In developing a slogan for Stony Brook, which Warren said is less important than the message behind it, he wants to hone in on the handful of characteristics that capture the personality of the university.

In reflecting on the differences between commercial and academic marketing, Warren noticed that academics tend to be more skeptical.

“You have to work to make them allies,” he said.

Outside of his marketing role, Warren, who had initially pursued a PhD in history at Rice University, shared an interest in teaching. At the University of Utah, he taught an American economic history class and, at some point, would also consider teaching at Stony Brook.

Since arriving on Long Island, Warren has enjoyed kayaking. He is also a former violinist and enjoys the opportunity to relax with music.

A return to the Northeast

After over four years as vice president for finance and operations/ chief operating officer at the University of North Dakota, Jed Shivers is returning to the Northeast, which is similar to the cultural and environmental feel of his childhood home in Storrs, Connecticut.

Shivers, who is senior vice president for finance and administration at Stony Brook, enjoys walking through the quad and in wooded areas around campus.

After living in the plains, which has “its own beauty,” Shivers appreciates the SB campus, which has “more trees,” and includes a view of the fall foliage outside his office window in the Administration Building.

Ready to embrace the opportunities and challenges of his job, Shivers said the university community is preparing a strategic plan for the next five years or so, which he will follow with a campus master plan.

In preparing for that plan, he is working with a firm that will survey all research space on campus and determine its current functional use, occupants and intensity of use.

He is also focusing on facilities that assist with the delivery of education and is hoping to conduct a similar survey of educational spaces.

To provide managers and executives with actionable financial information, the university is also engaged in a process to improve its business systems in human resources, budgeting, accounting and financial management.

With a “ high rate of system failures around campus” creating a “significant problem” for the university, the building and infrastructure at Stony Brook are all aging at the same time, Shivers said.

Campus Planning, Design and Construction and Campus Operations and Maintenance work constantly to deal with these issues and fix problems as quickly as they can, Shivers added.

The immediate need for deferred maintenance issues is over $1.5 billion, which dwarfs any campus close to comparable size in the SUNY system.

The SUNY Construction Fund and SUNY leadership has provided funds to alleviate a small but substantial part of those critical issues, he said. The university is also engaged in conversations with the Construction Fund and the Division of Budget on ways to use funds for optimal results.

Shivers was delighted for the chance to “get into a place where president [Maurie Mcinnis] was forming her team,” he said. He saw this opportunity as a chance to be a part of leadership “on a ground floor-ish kind of a way.”

He embraces the challenge of working through the SUNY system.

Consistent with mandates from McInnis since her arrival, Shivers would like to create a consolidated financial statement for Stony Brook and all its affiliated entities.

In addition to enjoying his strolls through the quad, Shivers has appreciated the opportunity to join other sports and school enthusiasts in supporting college teams and cultural life on campus. He and his wife Sandee have been married for almost 30 years.

Outside of work, Shivers said he does “everything badly,” but is enthusiastic about it. That includes golf, tennis, skiing and bike riding. To get in shape for the 100-mile North Fork ride, which he’s never done, he has started riding his indoor bike close to five days per week.

Carl Lejuez, William Warren and Jed Shivers recently joined the Stony Brook University team. Warren’s photo from Stony Brook University marketing; others from SBU

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Town of Smithtown lands statewide tournament

BY STEVEN ZAITZ DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

In what could be a boon to both the St. James/Smithtown Little League and the Town of Smithtown, the New York State Softball Championship Tournament will be held here in July of 2023 and possibly beyond.

Richard Tomitz, president of SJSLL, and Peter Russo, vice president, have been working closely with New York State little league officials, Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) and Little League District 35 (Western Suffolk) President

Bill Sukow to make this possible.

Girls in the 10 and Under, 11 and Under, and 12 and Under divisions will battle for NY state supremacy, and the games will be held at newly renovated facilities at Gaynor Park and Veterans Memorial Park, which are both in St. James, and Brady Park, which is in Smithtown.

Tomitz and Russo, whose daughters Nadia and Isabella were on the winning 11 and Under team in 2022, are both excited to have this event come to town. It had been played in Rochester for the past several years.

“This is a huge opportunity for Smithtown and our league to showcase where we live and our new fields,“ Tomitz said. “We plan to make it a great family weekend experience for not just the kids, but the adults, too, and I think it will be very beneficial for local businesses.”

SJSLL is renowned for its gala opening and closing parades and ceremonies every spring, and now that the deal has been signed off, Tomitz and the SJSLL board of directors will begin planning logistics, game schedules and events.

“We are going to have Movie Night in the outfield, a carnival with bouncy houses, face painting — the whole nine yards,” Tomitz said.

This is a developing story. Look for more details on tbrnewsmedia.com and in The Times of Smithtown.

Above, the 11 and Under softball team and their coaches, above, hold the New York State 9-11 softball champions banner at a summer practice. Nadia Tomitz, below, of the 9-11 Smithtown Softball club. Photos by Steven Zaitz.

LETTERS

upstate fracking. That will drag us backward.

public

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.

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

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 middleclass 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

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

•Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act: no

•Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022: no •Freedom to Vote: John R Lewis Act: no •Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: no •Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021: no •Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment: no •Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021: no

•Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021: no •George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021: no

A resounding ‘no’ vote

I have recently been inundated with political ads courting my vote, from both political parties. One candidate is Republican Lee Zeldin. In his bid for the New York State governor’s office, Congressman Zeldin seeks my “yes” vote.

Here is how he voted on issues that are important to me:

•Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022: no •Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022: no •Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022: no

And how ironic that Zeldin voted “yes” for reaffirming the House of Representatives’ commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power called for in the Constitution and introduced in the House on Sept. 29, 2020, which passed with 397 “yes” votes. We now know how he changed his position a short time later.

Therefore, Zeldin, you have earned my vote but it is a resounding “no.”

Sue Parker Stony Brook

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

to the editor

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 downballot 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 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 non-woke 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-yearold mother of three, was allegedly murdered by her estranged husband in Buffalo. The grieving family reported she was wearing a bulletproof vest

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.

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 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 zero-tolerance ploy that ignores the causes and does nothing for

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.