The Village Times Herald - February 9, 2023

Library announces addition to pass program

SUBMITTED

BY EMMA

S. CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Dog lovers will be “paws-itively” thrilled — the AKC Museum of the Dog was recently added to Emma Clark library’s Museum Pass collection.

The AKC Museum of the Dog boasts a combination of fine art, high-tech interpretive displays, and according to their website, “rotating exhibits featuring objects from its 1,700-piece collection and 4,000-volume library.” Three Village residents may borrow a pass for free admission for two adults and two children (12 and under) to the canine museum, located at 101 Park Avenue in New York City. The museum lists regular admission prices on their website as adults at $15, student/youth/seniors/active military and veterans at $10, and children at $5. Those with a pass not only get the advantage of visiting the museum for free, but also receive a 10% discount to the museum gift shop. This pass is a “Print on Demand,” which means there is no need to pick up or return a physical pass to the

library. Users may print the pass from any computer, even from home. To reserve a pass, library cardholders may visit emmaclark.org/ museum-passes.

The Museum Pass program at Emma Clark library features over 30 museums, gardens, historic sites, family-friendly attractions, and cultural institutions on Long Island and in New York City.

Those who borrow passes through Emma Clark’s Museum Pass program are encouraged to share their adventures on social media with the hashtag #EmmaTakesMePlaces. Emma Clark library may be found on Facebook @emmaclarklibrary, Instagram @ emmaclarklibrary, or Twitter @ESCML.

The AKC Museum of the Dog preserves, interprets and celebrates the role of dogs in society and educates the public about the human-canine bond through its collection of art and exhibits that inspire engagement with dogs.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library is located at 120 Main St. in Setauket and on the web at www.emmaclark.org.

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Three Village Civic Association receives SBU updates

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Three Village Civic Association meeting attendees received news Feb. 6 on recent developments at Stony Brook University.

pedestrians don’t use because it’s further south on campus and, instead, cross the main intersection. The pedestrian bridge, with provision for cyclists, is currently in the process stage.

UNIVERSITY

Carl Mills, assistant vice president for government relations at SBU, was on hand for the meeting to provide university updates, answer questions and receive feedback from members.

Mills said it was important for the university to have a dialogue with the civic association, calling them “the voice of the community.”

He added, “From the president on down, it’s very important for us to be good neighbors and to really be a strong beacon for the community.”

Local improvements and developments

Mills informed the group that the federal government approved a grant for a pedestrian bridge that will be constructed over Nicholls Road. It would enable pedestrians to safely walk from the university’s main entrance to the hospital side and back again. Separate funds will also be used for safety and structural improvements for an existing underpass that Mills said many

In April, the new Stony Brook Medicine Lake Grove facility at the Smith Haven Mall will open. He said the facility will be similar to the 500 Commack Road location in Commack. After the current roadwork by the state along Route 347, traffic concerns are not anticipated.

He said legislation passed both houses in the state Legislature last year to make Flax Pond in Old Field an estuary, but Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) asked for revisions and Mills said the bill will have to pass both houses again. The Flax Pond Marine Laboratory is operated for research purposes by SBU’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. The laboratory building and the Flax Pond Tidal Wetland Area are owned by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Bill A10187, sponsored by former State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James), establishes the tidal wetland area as a sanctuary. Initially, the intent was to amend the navigation laws to prohibit the use of motorboats within

Flax Pond. Mills said with the revisions, motorboats up to 10 horsepower and certain hunting will be allowed. However, jet skiing will be prohibited as well as commercial fishing, hunting and trapping.

In conjunction with Englebright, university officials have been working to clean up and improve a parcel of land at the end of Dogwood Drive that SBU owns, near the house of 19th-century painter William Sidney Mount.

Within that parcel is 635 square feet of land that belongs to a woman, who until recently, didn’t realize she owned it. The land is a gravesite where it is believed slaves and Native Americans are buried. Two of the gravestones are at the Long Island Museum and grave markers stand in their place

Englebright, who was in attendance for the civic meeting, said one gravestone is significant as a fiddle is carved into it.

“It’s also unique to have an apparent slave given this much dignity,” he said.

Many of Mount’s paintings featured musicians, including those who were enslaved.

SBU is working to acquire the property with the gravestones and also contact homeowners who have encroached on the parcel. The hope, Mills said, is to produce a documentary or podcasts about the people buried at the site.

“We’re not going to exhume the bodies but make sure that they’re protected and dignified,” he said.

State matters

SBU is one of the State University of New York’s flagship schools, along with the

SBU/CIVIC CONTINUED ON A5

Three Village school district eyes school restructuring, seeks community input

BY MALLIE KIM DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

the ninth grade and finally the Princeton Plan, which calls for dividing elementary students into lower and upper grade schools.

athletics and advanced placement courses.

EDUCATION

Declining enrollment alongside a history of budget vote woes has Three Village Central School District eyeing structural changes, and the Board of Education is asking parents, students, staff and the community to weigh in by survey.

The request for community involvement, which comes after a series of public strategic planning meetings, is a step toward forming the 2023-24 district budget after last year’s budget proposal squeaked by with 66 votes and the 2021 budget failed to pass the vote at all, forcing a tighter contingency budget and no tax levy increase. The vote this spring will be the first under the leadership of new Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon.

Results of the survey will weigh heavily in upcoming budget and planning discussions, according to Scanlon. “The board and administration will only consider those options which receive the majority of support from each of the groups surveyed,” he wrote by email.

The survey, which opened Feb. 2 and will close Feb. 17, includes explanatory video messages from Scanlon and asks residents to rank the favorability of four restructuring options individually and then against each other. The options include maintaining the status quo, moving up ninth grade to high school and sixth grade to middle school, moving up only

According to district data, there’s been a 23% decrease in the student population since the 2012-13 school year, from just over 7,000 students enrolled a decade ago to about 5,500 this year in grades K-12. Maintaining the current structure of district schools may only be sustainable if enrollment increases, according to Scanlon. Proposed restructuring is an effort to prepare in case enrollment continues to decline along its current trajectory. In response to rumors among concerned parents, Scanlon has emphasized at strategic planning meetings and in the survey videos that no decisions have been made about closing or repurposing any of the five district elementary schools. Any such move “would not be considered by the administration until the budget process next year for the 202425 school year,” Scanlon wrote.

The options on the table this year, which have been explained and discussed publicly at the strategic planning meetings, have varying popularity among local families.

Creating sixth through eighth grade middle schools and a four-year high school would bring Three Village more in line with schools across New York state and the country, give sixth graders more course and extracurricular offerings and, according to figures provided by the board, save about $450,000 per year on transportation costs alone, for ninth graders traveling to Ward Melville High School for

The proposal to move ninth grade to the high school has received a lot of public support, due to the prevalence of four-year high schools in the United States and the fact that it would save the district money. Kim Moody, who has four children spread across all levels of district schools, agrees. “I really think it would benefit the ninth graders to be at the high school,” she said, pointing to the inefficient time management for those who bus to Ward Melville for extracurriculars and for the high schoolers who have to wait for those buses to arrive. “It is an ambiguous year that ninth graders can be part of JV sports teams, but they’re still housed separately from their teammates,” she added.

Detractors at strategic planning committees have raised hallway crowding and increased traffic around Ward Melville as primary reasons for pause.Moody is less firm in her opinion about moving sixth grade up to middle school. “I don’t think they can make a wrong decision around sixth grade, personally,” she said. Moody, who works with adolescents through the Christian organization Young Life, has noticed both in personal and professional experience that students tend to make a developmental leap around the middle of sixth grade. “As a parent, the first part of sixth grade I was glad they were in elementary school, but by the second half, I would think: ‘This kid could be in middle.’”

Some parents, including Moody, say if the

change goes through, the district should find ways to scaffold this variance in readiness among sixth graders during their first middle school semester and should also begin preparing fifth graders to switch classes — something district elementary schools are already piloting this year.

Option four in the survey, which would create primary schools for kindergarten through second grade and intermediate schools for third through fifth, has been widely panned at strategic planning subcommittee meetings and on social media. In the Princeton Plan, common in surrounding school districts on Long Island, classroom and special area teachers would specialize in a smaller range of grades while students in programs like the Intellectually Gifted classes would no longer have to bus to alternate schools. This option would also mean adding a school transition for students, splitting elementary-aged siblings and a lengthening commute time for some children, away from their neighborhood schools.

Data from the survey will be broken up into the four respondent groups: the community at large; parents of students currently enrolled in Three Village schools; secondary students and district staff and will be shared in the relevant committees before moving on to a formal presentation to the school board.

For more survey information, visit the district’s website www.threevillagecsd.org and click on School Restructuring Survey on the home page.

Carl Mills, assistant vice president for government relations at SBU, answers questions from members of the Three Village Civic Association. Photo by George Hoffman

Port Jeff Branch riders face potentially decades more electrification woes

BY RAYMOND JANIS EDITOR1@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

The decades-long proposal to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch line of the Long Island Rail Road is nearing yet another derailment.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, public owner of LIRR, is expected to unveil its 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment in October. Larry Penner, a transportation analyst and former director for Federal Transit Administration Region 2, considered that document pivotal for the project’s future advancement.

“If the project is not included in that 20-year document, then none of us are going to be alive to see electrification,” he said, adding pessimistically that electrification “is not on the radar screen” of senior MTA or state-level officials.

Requests for comment submitted to the press offices of the MTA, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) went unanswered.

A cry unheard

Generations of North Shore residents and community leaders have called upon the MTA to electrify the Port Jeff line to no avail.

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) has been among Long Island’s loudest and most prominent proponents of electrification in recent years. In an interview with TBR News Media last summer, he said public investment has shifted away from the Island.

“Our voice has not been raised,” he said. “There hasn’t been an investment in providing modern technology” to this region.

Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant voiced similar frustrations. According to her, a fully electrified rail would boost local and regional economies, expediting travel to Manhattan and between North Shore communities, namely transit to and from nearby powerhouse Stony Brook University.

The project “would incentivize people being able to take the train not only into Stony Brook but into the city in a really timely manner,” she said.

From an environmental perspective, former Port Jeff Village trustee Bruce Miller decried the existing railway infrastructure as “ludicrous.”

“It’s appalling that they’re using diesel in this day and age,” he said, adding, “Everyone is making every effort for green energy in all fields except for the MTA and the Long Island Rail Road.”

State legislators join the cause

Local leaders are not alone in their disappointment over the long delay. State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) condemned what he considered an imbalance between the state taxes Long Island spends and the infrastructure dollars it gets from Albany.

“Long Islanders already contribute greatly to the MTA and deserve better access to more reliable and dependable rail service,” he said in an email, referring to Port Jefferson Branch electrification as

a “critical project.”

At the western end of the branch, state Assemblyman Keith Brown (R-Northport), whose district includes travelers from Huntington, Greenlawn and Northport stations, expressed dismay over the state’s billowing budget yet few returns for North Shore residents.

He noted the apparent contradiction between Albany’s green energy priorities and the MTA’s continued use of diesel locomotives, which are due for replacement in the coming years.

Referencing the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which targets an 85% reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050, Brown regarded the continued dependence upon diesel technology as inconsistent with state law.

“They can’t really replace the existing fleet with diesel trains,” he said. “At the same time they’re calling to stop the use of gas in homes, the MTA and LIRR can’t be purchasing diesel locomotives.”

The Empire State Passenger Association is a transit advocacy group that aims for improvements in public transportation services throughout New York state. ESPA president Gary Prophet said the passenger association has endorsed Port Jefferson Branch electrification over the years, referring to the project as necessary and justifiable given the volume of commuters along the line.

“That is a heavily used branch of the Long Island Rail Road that should be electrified,” he said. “It probably should have been electrified in the past, but it just hasn’t happened for a variety of reasons.”

A history of inaction

The original concept of Port Jeff line electrification dates back over half a century. However, planning began in earnest in the early 1970s when electrification of the North Shore line extended up to Huntington.

Derek Stadler, associate professor and web services librarian at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, has closely followed historical developments along the Port Jeff Branch.

He attributes the failures to electrify the line to a combination of resistance from property owners near the tracks, engineering challenges, financial setbacks and bad luck.

“In the ‘80s, they had money set aside to start working on it though they hadn’t secured the funds to complete it,” he said. “Then in 1985, the president of the MTA postponed that indefinitely.” Stadler contends this was the closest the project ever was to moving forward.

In the ‘90s, the MTA launched a fleet of dualmode locomotives which are still in use today. Despite the good intentions, Stadler maintains that this fleet has not adequately substituted for electric service. Given the high costs to repair and replace outdated train cars, Stadler regarded this effort as a poor long-term investment.

“They have spent more money on that new fleet and repairing them than if they would have done the electrification way back in the ‘80s,” he said.

Prioritization problem

The current cost estimate of Port Jeff Branch electrification is $3.6 billion, though that figure will almost certainly climb. To secure these dollars, however, the North Shore is competing against other project proposals across Long Island and New York state.

Throughout LIRR’s history as a public railroad company, North Shore riders have lost out consistently to their inland counterparts traveling along the Ronkonkoma line. Richard Murdocco, adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at SBU, chronicled this pattern, saying the pursuit of Port Jeff Branch electrification continues running up against the hard realities of the MTA’s prioritization scheme.

“The question is: Is electrification really the priority on the North Shore, or should you electrify east of Ronkonkoma?” Murdocco said. Given

the spur of recent growth in Yaphank and new developments in the Town of Riverhead, he added, “If I’m the MTA, I’m electrifying the East End before I electrify the North Shore.”

Further hampering investment into the Port Jeff Branch is the topography along its route. Given the large hills and frequent bends, the flatter main line may win the day for its comparably simple engineering logistics.

Murdocco said the MTA could either electrify the Port Jeff Branch, which “meanders along the hilly terrain, or you get a straight shot through the Pine Barrens, where there’s already talk of them doing it, where they’re welcoming it and where there are no neighbors to disrupt.”

Political and financial distress

Penner claims the political and financial currents are also working against North Shore residents. Suffolk County’s state representatives

SBU/CIVIC

Continued from A3

University at Buffalo.

“We have felt we’ve been for a long time, but that designation has profound impacts on where we can go and really what we can bring back to the local community,” Mills said.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Colleges publication rated SBU as No. 77 nationally and No. 31 among public universities.

While SBU tuition has been flat since 2019, and it’s one of the lowest in the country, Mills said Hochul has proposed a 3% tuition increase in SUNY schools and then up to 6% for University at Albany, Binghamton University, Buffalo and SBU.

“But we look at that in the context of the fact that we have not gotten an increase in operating aid since 2012,” he said. “Since 2012, the state has funded us at the same amount to keep the lights on, to pay salaries, when all of those costs, as we all know, will increase each year.”

Last year, SBU received state capital funding due to being designated as a flagship. A new engineering building will be constructed from $100 million of funding and another $25 million will be used for a neuroAI facility that will be part of the engineering building.

“One of the big determinants of whether you’re successful as a higher education institution is how much federal research dollars you can bring in,” he said. “Stony Brook by

far has the most research dollars of any SUNY campus, even more so than Buffalo, but our facilities, many of them are very, very outdated.”

He gave the example of the 1960s chemistry building where specific lab/spaces in particular need to be brought up to best practices and codes.

He said Hochul’s affordable housing proposal, which includes increasing multihome developments by transit hubs, would affect the university the same as the community.

In her State of the State message in January, Hochul proposed a housing strategy calling for 800,000 new homes to be built in the state over the course of a decade to address the lack of affordable housing. Among the plan’s requirements would be municipalities with Metropolitan Transportation Authority railroad stations to rezone to make way for higherdensity residential development. All downstate cities, towns and villages served by the MTA would have a new home creation target over three years of 3%, compared to upstate counties that would need to build 1% more new homes over the same period.

“With Stony Brook train station there’s not a lot of room, but how that plays out, will be very important to the issues that you guys care about but also for us,” he said.

Concerns by local town supervisors of planning controls possibly being taken out of their hands were noted by the audience.

Mills added, “Off-campus housing is a challenge not just for the university faculty or for students, I’m sure for you in the community to find affordable housing as well.”

Kindergarten

The Town of Brookhaven Department of Housing and Community Development is

holding a

Fair Housing Forum

on ursday, February 16, 2023 at 6:00 pm at Brookhaven Town Hall

One Independence Hill Farmingville, NY 11738

AGENDA

What is Fair Housing?

Overview of the Brookhaven Fair Housing Plan

Online Fair Housing Survey will be Open February 1-28, 2023

Open forum for public comments and suggestions on fair housing matters in the Town of Brookhaven

Please join us to discuss fair and a ordable housing matters in the Town of Brookhaven. Public comments are welcome. If you cannot attend the Brookhaven Fair Housing Forum, written comments may be submitted to akarppi@brookhavenny.gov. Please visit the Town of Brookhaven’s website during the month of February 2023 for a link to the online Fair Housing Survey.

*If you require a reasonable accommodation or an interpreter, please contact the Town of Brookhaven Department of Housing and Community Development at 631-451-6600 at least three days prior to the forum.*

Registration for the 2023-2024 School Year

e ree Village Central School District o ers a full-day Kindergarten program for district residents. In order to be admitted to Kindergarten in September, a child must be ve years of age, on or before December 1st, during the school year in which they enter Kindergarten. A proof of residency (a lease, deed, tax bill or signed contract) must be provided, along with the child’s original birth certi cate, and a copy of their immunization records at the time of registration.

Children must be registered with the Registrar’s O ce at the North Country Administration Center prior to Kindergarten screening. e registration process has been moved online and can be started at the Student Registration page of the ree Village website (threevillagecsd.org). Choose Student Registration under the “District” drop down menu, or type the following address into a browser:

https://tinyurl.com/3VStudentRegistration

Additional information can be obtained by calling the Registrar’s o ce at 631–730–4555

is year’s Kindergarten Screening dates are:

ARROWHEAD: 5/11 - 5/12

MINNESAUKE: 5/15, 5/16, 5/18

MOUNT: 5/24 - 5/25

NASSAKEAG: 5/17 - 5/18

SETAUKET: 5/15 - 5/16

Kindergarten Screening information is located on the ree Village CSD website under Parents & Community menu.

The following incidents have been reported by Suffolk County Police:

Pedestrian killed in Farmingville crash

Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a pedestrian in Farmingville on Feb. 5. Steven Godden was driving a 2022 Mercedes-Benz northbound on North Ocean Avenue at Granny Road when he swerved in an attempt to avoid hitting Roland Degroff, who was running east across the roadway at the intersection against the direction of traffic control devices at 7:40 p.m. The Mercedes struck Degroff, who was then struck by a 2021 Hyundai Sonata being operated by Yair Pacheco. Degroff, 58, of Port Jefferson Station, was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue where he was pronounced dead. Neither Godden, 41, of Mount Sinai, or Pacheco, 44, of Coram, or two passengers in the Mercedes-Benz, were injured. The vehicles were both impounded for safety checks. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Sixth Squad at 631-854-8652.

Centereach man pleads to guilty to stabbing a police officer

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Feb. 6 the guilty plea of Jonathan Nunez, 27, of Centereach for stabbing and seriously injuring a Suffolk County Police Officer in 2021 after an attempted traffic stop.

According to court documents and the defendant’s statements at his guilty plea allocution, Suffolk County Police Officer Christopher Racioppo observed a vehicle being driven in an erratic manner and with its lights off, on South Ocean Avenue in Patchogue on April 10, 2021, at approximately 10:30 p.m. When Officer Racioppo activated his emergency lights in an attempt to pull the vehicle over, Nunez, the driver, sped away and the officer pursued him. Nunez subsequently crashed into another vehicle at a high rate of speed, totaling both vehicles and causing minor injury to the other driver.

Nunez then exited his vehicle and, despite directives from Officer Racioppo to stop, he fled on foot. Officer Racioppo chased Nunez into a backyard where Nunez stabbed Officer Racioppo in his upper left leg, severing his femoral artery. Witnesses and other responding officers at the scene were able to restrain Nunez and render lifesaving aid to Officer Racioppo.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate two men, including the man pictured above, who allegedly stole tool sets and other items from Lowes, located at 2150 Nesconset Highway in Stony Brook, on Jan. 21 at 2:15 p.m. They fled in a blue Ford F-150.

Nunez is due back in court on March 13, 2023, and is expected to be sentenced to 16 years in prison followed by five years of postrelease supervision.

Groceries stolen from Stop & Shop

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police

Sixth Precinct Crime

Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate two people who allegedly stole from Stop & Shop at 260 Pond Path in South Setauket in two separate incidents.

A man allegedly stole 37 packages of seafood on Dec. 20 at approximately 2 p.m. The merchandise was valued at approximately $990.

A woman allegedly stole assorted groceries on Jan. 24 at approximately 1:30 p.m. The merchandise was valued at $116.

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.

Wanted for Stony Brook petit larceny

Photos from SCPD

Do you recognize this man? Photo from SCPD

COMPILED BY HEIDI SUTTON

Jonathan Nunez

Patriots power past Clippers

BY BILL LANDON DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

The Patriots of Ward Melville (12-2) went on the attack Feb. 6 against Bellport, fueled by Julia Greek’s perimeter shooting in a Division II matchup. Tied for first place in the division, the Patriots powered their way past Bellport for the 75-55 win looking to bolster their postseason seeding.

Greek, no stranger to the top of the scoring chart, scored four triples, five field goals and three free throws for 25

points. Catie Edson followed with 15 points and Kyra Gianelli banked 13.

The win lifted the Patriots to first place in the division before their Feb. 8 away game against Newfield, the last game that remained before postseason play begins Feb. 14. (Results of the Feb. 8 game were not available by press time.)

Pictured clockwise from above, Ward Melville senior Catie Edson drives the baseline in a home game against Bellport; junior Kaitlyn Lawrence shoots for the Patriots; and senior Junior Greek scores for Ward Melville.

— Photos by Bill Landon

One-on-one with CouncilmemberJonathan Kornreich

BY RAYMOND JANIS EDITOR1@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

While plans to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch line have stalled for over half a century, nearly every level of government is coming together to support the development of the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station. [See story, “Schumer announces $450K to help demolish buildings at Lawrence Aviation,” Jan. 9, TBR News Media website.]

In an exclusive interview, Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) summarized the plans for the Lawrence Aviation property, connecting this local project to the decades-old struggle for branch electrification. The implications for both, he suggests, would be transformational for the community and greater region.

From a planning perspective, what is the overall vision for the Lawrence Aviation property?

Roughly a third of the site would be preserved as open space. Another third would be for industrial purposes, specifically a solar farm. And the last third would be, theoretically, set aside for the MTA rail yard to try to move [the existing] rail yard there and eliminate the grade crossing on Route 112.

Is the proposed rail yard intended to accommodate electric train cars or the

PORT JEFF BRANCH

Continued from A4

are increasingly in the legislative minority in Albany, leaving mere “crumbs on the table” for infrastructure improvements.

“Suffolk County does not have the political clout that it used to,” he said.

Even so, the MTA is encountering a systemwide economic crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic, with daily ridership hovering around 65% from pre-pandemic levels. Murdocco insists that many of the labor trends unleashed by COVID-19 will likely linger indefinitely.

“There’s no denying remote work is here to stay,” the SBU adjunct professor said, adding, “We don’t know how long the ramifications of the pandemic will last.”

Meanwhile, the MTA is facing even greater fiscal strife over looming labor negotiations. With recent inflation, Penner said the agency could lose potentially hundreds of millions from renegotiated union contracts.

“All of this plays into the bigger picture of MTA’s overall health,” Penner said, which he considered dismal based on state Comptroller

diesel-powered locomotives currently used on the Port Jefferson Branch?

I’d love to see it as an electrified rail yard. But even if it were to relocate the existing rail yard using the same 19th-century technology they’re using now to a better location, it would still be an improvement. How is your office coordinating with higher levels of government? Have they been open to your suggestions?

We haven’t interacted much on a federal level. We have had a couple of meetings with the MTA, with [former state] Assemblyman [Steve] Englebright [D-Setauket].

Much more of our interaction has been with Suffolk County. I did help negotiate a New York State contribution through Assemblyman Englebright’s office to get the buildings taken down.

When you’re dealing with some of these big state bureaucracies like the MTA, I feel like we tell them things, and they tell us things. But sometimes, I don’t know how responsive they really are.

This is a major priority for us, but I don’t know if it is for the MTA. My job, what I’ve been trying to do, is get meetings with them to keep those lines of conversation open. It’s to communicate to them how important this project is and what the regional impact of electrification would be.

Thomas DiNapoli’s (D) most recent analysis. “They’re barely staying afloat maintaining existing service, systems and repairs,” the former FTA official added.

Penner, Stadler and Murdocco expressed collective pessimism about Port Jefferson Branch electrification getting underway within the next decade. “As of right now, I do not see this project happening within 10 years because I do not see a fiscal way for anyone to pay for it, given the MTA’s current financial status,” Murdocco said.

Looking for answers

Given the hefty $3.6 billion price tag, Miller proposed exploring alternatives to electric service. He cited examples in Germany, where zero-emission hydrogen-powered train cars recently went online.

“Hydrogen technology is new but they’ve developed it, and it’s working in Germany,” the former village trustee said. “I don’t think they’re exploring enough options here.”

But implementing high-tech propulsion technologies may be out of reach for the MTA, which uses a late 19th-century fuel source to power the Port Jeff line. When asked about these potential innovations, Brown expressed skepticism.

Is there a disconnect between local

and state-level officials’ priorities, particularly with electrification?

Yes, and this is a common theme that we have seen. The centers of power in Albany seem to be well aware of the city’s concerns. To some extent, they’re concerned with upstate and rural communities. But I feel that sometimes there is a disconnect between state-level priorities and suburban concerns. What can local officials along the North Shore do to make their concerns heard by state-level officials in Albany?

This is the nexus between politics and government. We have to advocate for the needs of our communities — not for political reasons but from the standpoint that these are the concerns of the suburbs. These are concerns that these communities face, and we want state support in addressing the unique challenges that we face in the suburbs. Is it realistic that MTA-LIRR will commit to Port Jefferson Branch electrification within the next decade?

My parents moved out here in 1968, and my dad was working in the city at that time. The real estate agent who sold them the house said, ‘You are going to love getting into the city because the Long Island Rail

“As far as hydrogen is concerned, that’s all it is right now — experimental,” the state assemblyman said. Rather, he favored pursuing electrification in a piecemeal, station-by-station fashion, dispersing infrastructure funds for the project over several annual budgets.

Penner implored community members to adopt a policy of maximum pressure upon their elected representatives.

“I wouldn’t give a dime to any elected official unless, with your campaign contribution, there’s a little note in your check [that says] you have to promise me that electrification of Port Jefferson will be your number one transportation priority,” he said.

Stadler emphasized executive support, arguing that several system expansions during the administration of former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller (R) were made possible by the chief executive’s commitment to seeing them through.

“A lot of money has to be budgeted for it,” he said. “State leaders have to be involved in it, and pressure from the governor” can be a reliable instrument.

To make the electrification dream a reality, Garant said all levels of government should

Road is going to electrify that train.’ They were literally talking about this in the 1960s. So, is it realistic? I guess it could happen. Will it happen? I have no idea, but I’m going to fight like hell for it.

pool their energies around this cause. “It’s certainly going to be a long-term plan for the region,” she said. “You need partners on every level, from the federal and state levels to the town and county.”

Prophet said megaprojects, such as the $11 billion East Side Access extension into Grand Central Madison, have taken up much of the political and economic capital in New York state.

“I think there’s a lot of emphasis on large projects that make a big splash,” the passenger association president said. “Politicians need to spend a little more time on smaller projects that may not make a big splash but may help commuters and people looking to travel between cities.”

Setting the stakes, Penner returned to the 20-year capital needs assessment. He equated the North Shore’s present predicament to a baseball game.

“You’re in the ninth inning with two outs,” he said. “The last at-bat is the 2025-2044 20year capital needs assessment.” He concluded by saying, “If this project is not included in that document, then the ball game is over.”

Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich.

Photo from Brookhaven Town website

Brookhaven councilmember talks Lawrence Aviation, PJ Branch electrification

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Electrify our line

The decades-old plan to electrify the Port Jefferson Branch line of the Long Island Rail Road has transformational implications for our community, region and state. Yet for far too long, this critical infrastructure need has gone unmet, passed over repeatedly for other projects.

The MTA’s long pattern of negligence has condemned our commuters to ride in rickety train cars powered by diesel, an antiquated, environmentally hazardous fuel source. For a better ride, our residents often travel inland to Ronkonkoma, the MTA siphoning ridership to the main line and adding cars to our already congested roadways.

A fully electrified rail would provide the necessary recharge for downtowns still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. It would free up mobility for our residents, connecting them to every restaurant, bar and storefront along the North Shore within walking distance of a train station.

Electrification would give students and faculty at Stony Brook University swift access to Manhattan, producing even stronger ties between the southern flagship of our state university system and the global capital. This project would unlock the full commercial, environmental and educational potential of our region.

Throughout history, generations of New Yorkers have participated in engineering feats of great scope and vision. In the early 1800s, our citizens constructed the Erie Canal, bridging the world’s oceans to the American frontier. A century later, we built the state parkway system, laying thousands of miles of road, linking Montauk Point and Niagara Falls along a continuous stretch of pavement.

Generations have taken part in our state’s rich public works tradition, which has united New Yorkers around herculean aims, facilitated greater movement and improved the lives of ordinary people.

Yet, at every stage, the North Shore has been systematically shut out from any public investment of considerable scale. MTA has continually repurposed our tax dollars with no giveback to North Shore communities.

With our money, MTA recently opened its Grand Central Madison terminal ($11 billion), opened the 9.8 mile Third Track between Hicksville and Floral Park ($2.5 billion) and laid the groundwork for a proposed Interborough Express between Brooklyn and Queens ($5.5 billion estimated).

For us, Port Jefferson Branch electrification is our shared vision of change. This is our noble cause, our generational investment, our Erie Canal. The funds for the projected $3.6 billion Port Jeff electrification project are there if we can start getting them to come our way. And to do that, we must begin applying maximum pressure upon our elected officials.

From village and town boards to the county and state legislatures to the United States Congress, every public representative between Huntington and Port Jeff must be in alignment, letting out one common cry, “Electrify our line.”

We must treat electrification as the paramount infrastructure concern of our region, demanding our elected representatives and public railroad match our level of conviction. We should cast no vote nor contribute a single campaign dollar for any candidate without their unyielding support of this project.

This October, MTA will publish its 20-year capital needs assessment. Port Jefferson Branch electrification must be included within that document for it to have any shot to prevail over the next two decades.

Write to your congressman and state reps in Albany. Write to the MTA and LIRR. Tell them to electrify this line, lest there be consequences at the ballot box. With all our might, let us get this project underway once and for all.

An open letter to the 3V community

At the Setauket Fire Department’s Installation Dinner in January, I was surprised to be presented with a plaque declaring me to be an honorary member of the department. I write to express my deep appreciation for this honor.

Since entering elected office in 1984, I have had the good fortune to support and cooperate with the departments’ public service mission. At each installation dinner, I have witnessed the awards given annually to the brave men and women of this great fire department; they literally risk all to protect our community from fires, injuries and accidents. These individuals serve voluntarily and are the ultimate protectors of the historic, residential, business and other properties that we treasure, live in and utilize.

The Setauket Fire Department responders are heroes of the first order and it is humbling to have been named as an honorary member of this distinguished group. I would especially like to extend my thanks to Chief of Department Rich Leute, his Assistant Chiefs Tim Devine, Charles Regulinski and Justin Kinney, and the officers and members for this very meaningful recognition.

Steve Englebright Former state assemblyman Setauket

Sign of our times

It is a sign of our times that some people believe that it is entirely reasonable to have those with whom they do not agree to be banished from public discourse, or in the modern parlance, to be “canceled.” Such a person is John Hover, who, in a Feb. 2 letter to The Village Times Herald [“Flooding the zone”], recommended the banishment of Mark Sertoff for pointing out a few of the many shortcomings of electric vehicles, and of me, for suggesting that the transgressions of Rep. George Santos [R-NY3] may have been inspired

suggest that his meteoric rise may have been inspired by the successful disregard of the truth by politicians who preceded him, why is that not my prerogative?

If John Hover is so concerned about “veracity and honesty,” as he sanctimoniously claimed in his letter, he should take a look at the current occupant of the White House and leave the First Amendment alone.

George Altemose Setauket

A matter of human decency

by the successful mendacity of several prominent politicians, all of whom happen to be Democrats.

Sertoff’s fatal offense, according to Hover, is that he failed to state that electric vehicles are “dramatically more energy efficient than internal combustion engines.” The truth is that some EVs may be more efficient at some times and under some conditions than internal combustion engine vehicles, but this is not “dramatically” true in all cases.

And so, we are told that a writer needs to be canceled, not for something he wrote, but because he failed to promote the talking points of a group with which he does not agree. For those who are interested, the highly respected Anderson Economic Group recently published a report entitled “Gas-powered cars cheaper to fuel than electric in late 2022.” Maybe AEG needs to be canceled as well, along with Mark Sertoff.

After having terminated the writing career of Sertoff, I was next. My apparent sin was stating that Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA30] “repeatedly lied about having ‘smoking gun’ evidence proving that President Donald Trump [R] had colluded with Russian operatives to throw the 2016 election.” To prove me wrong, Hover claimed that Russian agents offered campaign dirt on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [D], and campaign manager Paul Manafort shared campaign polling data with the Russian ambassador.

One of Schiff’s most famous lies was that he himself was in personal possession of a “smoking gun,” although he never did share this alleged information with the public. When asked about it at a later date, Schiff declared that it had been “in plain sight” the whole time. This was only the tip of the Schiff iceberg, and we can thank House Speaker Kevin McCarthy [RCA20] for removing this bad apple from the tree of Congress.

With regard to Santos, if I choose to

This week MAGA members of Congress engaged in the glorification of the AR-15 rifle by wearing a pin of the aforementioned weapon on the lapel where most members would normally display an American flag. The pins were distributed by Rep. Andrew Clyde [R-GA9] who proclaimed that it was to “remind people of the Second Amendment of the Constitution and how important it is in preserving our liberties.”

Two freshman members of Congress explicitly stood out as those who chose to adorn themselves with this despicable display, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna [RFL13] and Long Island’s own George Santos [R-NY3]. Luna should be particularly ashamed of herself — as if Republicans can experience that emotion — since only days before she chose to accessorize with this unscrupulous trinket there was a mass shooting in the city of Lakeland in her home state. As for Santos, well there is no excuse, other than maybe he convinced himself it was a boutonnière, and rather than engaging in his congressional duties (as if), he was attending a winter formal at West Beverly High.

How must surviving victims and families feel when members of Congress have the audacity to revere the very weapon that has injured, maimed and killed so many people in this country? It is blatantly obvious that these representatives simply do not care and will continue to push their ignorant agenda no matter the cost to the sanctity of human life. I would include this in the “you can’t make this s**t up” category, but we are so past this point in our country of division that the actions of these Trump sycophants no longer rely on shock value to get their point across. This is not a Bill of Rights issue, it is a matter of human decency, something which surely requires personification by those who represent us at the highest level of government.

Stefanie Werner East Setauket

The opinions of columnists and letter writers are their own. They do not speak for the newspaper.

Former State Assemblyman Steve Englebright, third from right, received a plaque naming him an honorary member of the Setauket Fire Department at a January installation dinner.

A novel and free food stop sign on the way to a jelly donut

You don’t have to pay me. I’m not selling anything, and I don’t have any desire for you to provide testimonials.

prepared for something that might not be all that pleasing.

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF

Many of you have probably pledged to lose weight. It’s healthy, you’ll look and feel better, and you might increase your endurance, allowing you to walk, jog or engage in your exercise of choice for longer. Some of you may have gone to the gym for a week or even a month and are ready for a break or, maybe, a different way.

Before I proceed, I’d recommend that those with weak stomachs or who are eating one of their favorite meals not read this until you’ve happily digested your food and are now

No, I’m not going to suggest something harmful or particularly unhealthy. I’d like to suggest a few sensory images to keep in mind that will prevent you from eating too much of the wrong foods.

So, let’s say there’s a jelly donut at your office. Now, I want you to picture or imagine any of the following:

— You’re exercising at the gym (you don’t have to go to the gym. Just imagine yourself there). Maybe you’re on an elliptical machine. There, standing in front of you is a man who has a ring of hair above his ears and a bald spot on top of his head. He’s on the phone, with air pods in his ears, and he brings his index finger slowly to the bald part of his head. He starts digging his fingernail into that spot. Over and over and over again. You try to look away, but then, he’s still there, digging. Even with all the noise of other people grunting, sweating and

clearing the phlegm from the backs of their throats, you can hear the scratching as if it were broadcast directly into your ears. You want him to leave, but he’s planted in front of you. Yes, I know I may have turned you off the gym and food at the same time. Then again, were you really going to the gym or were you just looking for an excuse to cuddle up under the covers? And, yes, this did happen to me.

— Okay, next, you’re walking into a house filled with dogs after a rainstorm. The dogs are friendly enough and, in fact, want you to pet them, which is fairly unpleasant because their fur is covered with water. Soon, the smell of matted, wet, soggy dog fur overwhelms you. You can barely breathe as you search for an open window and fresh air. That donut might taste like wet fur at this moment, right?

— You don’t have to work out to imagine this one, either. Picture yourself in a gym locker room. You’ve changed into your work clothes and are ready to return to your desk.

Shame and honor…two lost words

Has anyone noticed that there seems to be a conspicuous lack of shame in our society? One could also point out, in the lacking department, the disappearance of honor. And to a great extent, of respect. Yes, and even civility, courtesy, apology and politeness.

not just another cranky, older person. No, I’m referring to something else, something more sinister in our present culture.

Now I am not accusing everyone here. Just saying that these qualities seem to be a lot less evident in today’s world. I guess if you never need to tell the truth, you never have to admit that you lost a tennis match ... or an election.

But, wait, the scent of body odor is so strong that you have to breathe shallowly through your mouth. You search for the exit, which seems to have moved, leaving you stuck in a foul-smelling maze. A jelly donut is the last thing on your mind.

— The heating system in your office suddenly goes on full blast, turning your office into a sauna. It’s so hot that sweat drips down your forehead and lands in a growing puddle on the floor. Your body sticks to the material on your seat. Even the saliva in your mouth feels too hot to swallow. Water is much more appealing and refreshing than food at this point.

Okay, so, if all you got out of that is that you now want a jelly donut, my apologies. Chances are, you wanted one anyway and maybe it’s time to find a gym that smells nice and where men aren’t scratching their scalps. If, however, those unappealing images work for you, consider this a free food stop sign.

BY LEAH S. DUNAIEF

Now I am not pointing a finger at any particular demographic, as in, “In my generation, we always stood up if we were seated, when introduced to an elderly lady,” or “Children shouldn’t talk to their teachers that way.” Members of older generations have traditionally found fault with those coming up after them, for being less ambitious, or mannerly or some such. But I would hope I am

That loss of good sportsmanship is troubling. I like to see, for example, when the other two participants in a nightly round of “Jeopardy!” turn and applaud the winner at the end of the contest. It makes me feel that we are all together as part of a community when the ball teams each form a line and shake hands with the opposing team members, however competitive the preceding game might have been.

George Santos (R-NY3), the newly elected Congressman from Queens, is a case in point. He is merely a product of our times, if an extreme one. While he now admits to falsifying the resume he campaigned on, he

seems to consider his behavior acceptable, exaggerating not lying. During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, he unabashedly sashayed around the room, sitting in one of the most visible seats, shaking hands with many senators and the president, even taking selfies. He clearly feels no shame about his actions and no sense of consequence. What sort of culture does he come from? The answer is: one in which the lack of all the above attributes rule. Santos is not the first such example, of course. I am reminded of the historic, “At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” question asked of Sen. Joseph McCarthy (RWI) by soft spoken American lawyer, Joseph Nye Welch, for the Army during the infamous Army-McCarthy hearings. Those hearings searched for Communist activities in the early 1950s on behalf of the Senate. McCarthy lied his way to power, but Welch’s immortal query, in effect, ended his career, as his Republican colleagues no longer accepted his erratic

antics, censured and ostracized him.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), before Biden’s speech and noting Santos’s actions, told him he “shouldn’t have been there,” meaning front and center in the House, and had no shame. But so far, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA20) — odd repetition of names — has not publicly challenged or denounced him.

“He shouldn’t be in Congress,” Romney said, when he was questioned by the press after Biden’s speech about the testy exchange with Santos . “If he had any shame at all, he wouldn’t be there.”

Far from shame, Santos tweeted Romney, “Hey @MittRomney, just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT!” Romney, of course, lost his presidential bid in 2012.

Perhaps in the culture of today, not only does one refrain from acknowledging wrongdoing but rather, when challenged, comes back fighting. How far we have come in our ethics evolution. Sounds a bit like Putin, doesn’t it?

D. None of the above

School News

Three Village Central School District

Year of the Rabbit

Across the Three Village Central School District, students and staff celebrated Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rabbit through events, activities and schoolwide displays.

Nassakeag Elementary School held a parade led by Anthony Prinzo’s sixth-grade class, above. Students created a large dragon puppet that they carried through the halls. In Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes good luck, strength and health. The sixth-graders marched along to the beat of drums and gongs, which are traditional instruments in Chinese New Year celebrations. After the parade, classes held their own festivities where families were invited to help students make crafts, bottom left. One class created rabbit puppets and wore red, a color to represent prosperity.

Ilene Kane’s kindergarten class at W.S. Mount Elementary School learned about Lunar

New Year traditions, top right. Students learned about the meaning of the color red and what the Year of the Rabbit symbolizes. They created a display for the school’s main hallway that reads “Gung Hey Fat Choy,” wishing everyone happiness and prosperity. Additionally, the kindergartners made smaller signs that say, “Xin Nian Kuai Le,” or “Happy New Year,” as well as paper lanterns. The class dedicated the display to the late Hui Jing Eggleston, who was a bilingual teacher assistant at Mount.

Arrowhead Elementary School students learned about Lunar New Year through the morning announcements. Two fifth-graders, Olivia and Vivian, pictured bottom right, celebrate the holiday and wrote an essay about its meaning and traditions. They read their essay aloud to the entire building.

Sports honor

The Suffolk Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance recognized two Three Village Central School District staff members as teachers of the year at a recent conference.

Congratulations to Jeanne LaLima who was named the Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year and to Kerry Diana, named the Elementary Health Teacher of the Year.

“Both Ms. LaLima and Ms. Diana are dedicated, motivated and extraordinary teachers who go above and beyond for our students, department and district,” said Kevin Finnerty, Three Village executive director of health, physical education, recreation and athletics.

During the award ceremony, LaLima and Diana were supported by their fellow colleagues and administrators from Nassakeag and Minnesauke elementary schools.

Scouts service

The Three Village Central School District Board of Education thanked Girl Scout Troop #1897 during its Jan. 25 meeting for its work in supporting the Three Village food pantry.

The troop worked with school social workers to organize a food drive for the pantry. Consequently, the students put together food baskets for local families in need.

The district congratulates LaLima and Diana for their outstanding work as educators in the health and physical education field.

Photos from Three Village Central School District

Photo from Three Village Central School District

Pictured, Jeanne LaLima (left) was recognized as the Suffolk Zone Elementary Physical Education Teacher

of the Year and Kerry Diana was named the Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year

— Photo from Three Village Central School District