BLM Protest - Words Make A Difference

By Pat Biancaniello

It began with an online flyer inviting people outside of Smithtown to participate in a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest that would take place on Sunday, June 7 in Smithtown. The flyer, according to people who know the person who posted it online, was an attempt to raise awareness of the issues and injustices people of color deal with on a daily basis.    

The flyer was meant to connect with the anger minorities feel and to capitalize on the outrage expressed by protests around the nation since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. To many Smithtown residents who saw the  flyer and the message attached to its social media posting it was a call to repeat the worst of the BLM protests. They envisioned a protest that would include looting and the destruction of anything within reach of the protesters.

The stage was set.

Rumors about the intent of the protesters were rampant on social media and it seems that everyone had a reliable source confirming the BLM plans for the destruction of Smithtown.  23-year-old Dylan Rice, a Smithtown resident and a Democrat running for NYS Assembly, saw the social media posting and worked to locate its source and to better understand what was happening. He reached out to Caitlin, the event coordinator, and worked to bring a peaceful rally/march to Smithtown. Dylon believed a peaceful rally would reflect his and other residents’ support for the BLM movement which promotes equality and respect for life.

photo by Dylan RiceThe protest, scheduled for 2 pm was changed to 4pm but crowds started gathering at 2pm. It began with a rally at Stop And Shop located on W. Main Street. When asked by a speaker, “Who here is from Smithtown?” around half of the attendees raised their hands. The crowd grew from 150 people at 2 pm to approximately 750 at 4:30. Amazingly, almost every attendee wore a face mask although social distancing was not practiced. The rally at Stop And Shop included protest chants “Say their names”, “I can’t breathe”* etc.  and ended with the protesters kneeling for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time the Minneapolis police officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck causing him to die.   Protesters then began their march down towards Town Hall.

At this point the road was closed as marchers filled the streets.  Marchers chanted, “I can’t breathe”* and other chants, they were loud. When they reached the area near Katie’s on Main Street they encountered a small but also loud group of people with flags, a huge military style truck and at least one large Trump banner. The anti- BLM protesters (without masks) had positioned themselves to be visible, vocal and disruptive. The anti-BLM appears to have been comprised of mostly non-Smithtown people.

The scene became somewhat disruptive as disgusting insults, some racial some sexual were exchanged.

The march continued down Main Street turned around at Terry Road some participants continued to march to the statue of Whisper the Bull at the intersection of 25A and Rte. 25. SCPD officers were successful in keeping the marchers on the designated path and Smithtown’s Public Safety officers were effective in ensuring that there were no incidents involving damage to public property.

Smithtown’s Chief of Public Safety, Thomas Lohmann, in a phone interview expressed his satisfaction in a matter of fact manner, saying he was extremely pleased with the event and the way the SCPD, Fire Department and the Department of Public Safety coordinated their actions ensuring that people expressing their constitutional right to freedom of speech was protected. 

Many Smithtown residents have reached out to Smithtown Matters expressing support for the event. Some showed support by attending and marching others expressed frustration that the flyer made them fearful of participating. Many people are still isolated in their homes due to COVID-19 and could not participate. There seems to be unanimity in the belief that George Floyd’s death by police is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.  

At Monday’s press conference County Executive Bellone announced an investigation into an incident involving a protestor and an anti-BLM protestor. The incident is being investigated by Fourth Precinct Crime Section, Fourth Squad and Hate Crimes.

*Spell check correction.

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Suffolk Closeup - Covid-19 And Nuclear Power Plant Employees

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Suffolk County, indeed all of Long Island, is nuclear-free after the Shoreham nuclear power plant was stopped by strong public and local and state government opposition from going into operation, and the two nuclear reactors at Brookhaven National Laboratory that had been leaking radioactive tritium were closed. 

The proposed Shoreham plant, what was to be the first of from seven to 11 nuclear power plants the Long Island Lighting Company wanted to build in Suffolk, its nuclear innards removed, sits as a concrete hulk, and the BNL reactors have been abandoned, too. 

But this doesn’t mean that Suffolk is immune from a nuclear plant accident because just across the Long Island Sound in Connecticut are the two Millstone nuclear power plants, west of New London in Waterford. And the COVID-19 pandemic has cast further questions about them.

The daily newspaper in New London, The Day, has just run an article beginning; “Workers at Connecticut’s only nuclear power plant worry that managers are not taking enough precautions against the coronavirus after 750 temporary employees were brought in to help refuel one of the two active reactors. Ten employees of the Millstone Power Station in Waterford have tested positive for the virus, and the arrival of the temporary workers alarms some of the permanent employees.”

The piece says Jim Foley, vice president of the local chapter of the United Government Security Officers of America, “said security personnel have had to fight for personal protective equipment and for partisans at access points to separate staff from security.” It quoted Mr. Foley declaring” “Speaking specifically for the guard force, there’s a lot of frustration, there’s a lot of concern, and I would say there’s anger.”

The Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone on its www.mothballmillstone.org website has a post titled: “Pandemic Strikes Millstone.” It cites the report in The Day of the Millstone employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 and says it has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission “whether the corona-virus employees include control room operators. The NRC spokesman refused to answer the question.”

The organization declared: “Only a limited number of individuals are technically qualified as nuclear operators and their certifications are plant-specific. Should COVID-19 strike control room operators, the safety of the nuclear plant would be greatly jeopardized.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is, of course, having enormous impacts in the United States and around the world—but nuclear power plants are of special concern. 

“Workers at nuclear power plants, just like everywhere else, are falling ill with the highly contagious COVID-19,” begins an op-ed just published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna and Limerick power plants are among those that have so far identified infections among their staff, with incidences soaring at some plants. One might hope that, at a time of such crisis, the nuclear power industry and its regulators would take every possible step to ensure the health and safety of nuclear workers and their families, as well as the surrounding communities where they live.”

“Unfortunately, the opposite is happening,” says the piece by Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Oversight Project at Beyond Nuclear, an organization based in Takoma Park, Maryland, and Linda Pentz Gunter, its international specialist.

“Instead,” they say, “the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is relaxing nuclear power plant safety inspections and maintenance while allowing essential staff, including security forces and fire brigades, to work longer and exhausting shifts.” The “extended permitted hours,” they relate, are “up to 86-hour work weeks for two weeks straight.”

They state: “The prospect of a serious nuclear power accident under the current pandemic conditions would set up an impossible choice for entire communities surrounding the affected reactors…whether to evacuate with potentially tens of thousands of others, or stay, instead risking radiation exposure.”

The Millstone nuclear power plants have highly problematic histories. Scores of whistle-blowers charging safety issues have emerged from the plants since Millstone 2 started up in 1975 and Millstone 3 in 1986. There have been mishaps. (Millstone 1 was closed in 1998 after equipment failures.)

Environmentalists and officials from Suffolk have been involved in challenging the Millstone plants, including opposing a 20-year extension of the 40-year licenses for Millstone 2 and 3 granted by the NRC in 2005. Suffolk County’s Fishers Island is within the 10-mile federal “emergency preparedness” zone of the plants. Greenport is 20 miles away, East Hampton 25 and Smithtown 60. Likewise, in the early years of the fight against the Shoreham plant, environmentalists from Connecticut joined with those in Suffolk opposing Shoreham, 17 miles from Connecticut.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

Suffolk Closeup - Suffolk County Has A History And Some of It Is Scandalous

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

“Suffolk County Scandals Investigations: A Reminiscence” is the title of a recent book written by Warren Liburt, a 90-year former lawyer from Suffolk now retired in Maine who lived through the series of scandals that rocked this county through the 1950s in what was widely known as the “Suffolk Scandals”

When I started as a journalist in Suffolk in 1962 I heard many stories about the “Suffolk Scandals” of the prior decade. Many people in politics and the legal system whom I would meet, and county government itself, were affected by it. Reading Mr. Liburt’s eyewitness account was fascinating because many of the people he writes about I knew personally and many others I knew by name.

The “Suffolk Scandals” rocked the Suffolk Republican Party and led in 1960 to Democrats taking over the then county governing body, the Suffolk County Board of Supervisors, with reform-minded H. Lee Dennison, although an enrolled Republican, running on the Democratic ticket and becoming Suffolk’s first county executive. 

Mr. Liburt approaches the “Suffolk Scandals” from the perspective of the steadfast Suffolk Republican he was. He was president of the Young Republican Club in Huntington. He was law assistant in the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court from 1956 to 1959. And he ran for the Huntington Town Board on the GOP line, but lost, in 1959. 

Indeed, by 1959, GOP politicians in Suffolk were in the opposite position of where they had been in the early 1950s. “As for the Republican Party in Suffolk County,” Mr. Liburt writes, in 1950 “we held all the county-wide elected offices, the Congressional seat for the county and all the county’s seats in the state legislature. Of equal if not greater importance for the organization, we held seven out of the ten town supervisorships following the 1953 election.”

If you were a Republican, “if you were nominated, you would get elected.” 

“But then,” in the election of 1959, “we lost control of the Board of Supervisors for the first time since 1933, winning only four of the ten town supervisorships, and losing other town elective offices across the county. By the time the polls closed that Tuesday, we had lost control over a massive amount of patronage. A number of party stalwarts of long standing in elective and appointive offices would be out of jobs coming the first of January, 1960.”

The “genesis of the debacle,” he says, occurred when W. Averell Harriman, a Democrat, was elected New York’s governor in 1954. The problem for Democrats in the state was that “they could not increase their vote in New York City,” it being solidly Democratic. 

“The only way for them to survive and prosper was to reduce the Republican pluralities in upstate New York…and in the strongly Republican counties surrounding New York City”—among them Suffolk. The Democrats got the idea of how to do it, writes Mr. Liburt, “from the person who was totally in charge of the Republican Party of New York from 1943 to 1955”—Governor Thomas E. Dewey. 

Mr. Dewey, formerly Manhattan DA, “in his first term as governor, would furnish a notable example of the use of the criminal process as a weapon in political warfare,” says Mr. Liburt. He had a special state investigation launched into the Albany County “Democratic machine” of Daniel O’Connell. When Mr. Harriman became governor (which he believed, writes Mr. Liburt, to be a stepping stone to run for U.S. president) he appointed J. Irwin Shapiro, a former assistant DA from Queens who had become a New York City magistrate, to head the state Commission of Investigation. A special focus, says Mr. Liburt, was Suffolk County.

An early target was William S. Hart who had been assistant director of Suffolk’s Office of Civil Defense and sold the county through “intermediaries” thousands of dollars worth of furniture “for county offices.” Then came a state assemblyman from Suffolk, John A. Britting, former deputy county treasurer, charged by Mr. Shapiro’s office with having “participated in ‘fraudulent land deals’…which had cheated Suffolk County taxpayers out of millions of dollars in county-owned property.” The list of investigations and charges, month after month, year after year, is recounted in Mr. Liburt’s book. 

The New York Times would run an editorial the day after the election in 1959—Mr. Liburt quotes from it—that declared:  “The sordid history of corruption and malfeasance that has been undergoing a long process of exposure in Suffolk County, ancient stronghold of Republicanism, was sufficient reason for the voters of eastern Long Island to give control to the Democrats for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.”

I spoke to Mr. Liburt from his home in Augusta, Maine. He wrote the book, published by Outskirts Press, under the pen-name William Young. He said he enjoyed putting down on paper his reminiscences of a politically turbulent time in Suffolk. An earlier book he wrote was about Mr. Dewey.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

Suffolk Closeup - Suffolk County A Pandemic Sanctuary "Our Secret Is Out"

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Is Suffolk County to become a sanctuary for some New York City people because of the COVID-19 pandemic? There are indications that this is happening.

“It’s Time To Get Out Of Dodge” was the recent headline in The New York Times. “Cooped up and concerned about the post-Covid future, renters and owners are making moves to leave the city,” said the piece. It spoke of “a sense that in today’s era of social distancing, one-person-at-a-time elevator rides to get home and looping routes to avoid passers-by on city streets have fundamentally changed New York City.”

The article, the lead of the Times’ real estate section, continued to a full page which stated: “Although tracking regionwide relocations is difficult, existing data and anecdotal evidence suggest a clear Covid effect.” It spoke of city folks moving to Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island—with moves to the island between March 15 and April 28—“up 48 percent.”

Suffolk wasn’t singled out but the piece declared: “If people do head for greener pastures, residents and brokers suggest, it may be because the city can seem, at least for the time being, like a shell of its former self. Indeed, they say, activities people once took for granted, like strolling in parks….have become difficult or impossible.”

Of all areas neighboring New York City, Suffolk County is especially green.

The Express News Group newspapers also had a lead piece, in their “Residence” section, speaking of a “mass exodus from New York.” It spoke of how, “Across the East End, what were once seasonal neighborhoods are now bursting with life, evidence of a recent exodus out of New York City by second homeowners and renters desperate to live more comfortably and simultaneously escape the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis…” 

The continuation, also to a full page, noted that after the September 11 “terrorist attacks …[the influx] from New York to the Hamptons was urgent. Schools rapidly accepted new students. And the region was noticeably busier—until it wasn’t. Little by little, some families did trickle back to the city, while others established new homes for themselves. Whether the same will happen post-COVID-19 is impossible to say…”

This piece quoted East Hampton broker Diane Saatchi saying about the real estate scene now: “I keep feeling like I’m looking for a parking space in New York. If you look really carefully you could see somebody pulling out and be right there and get it. When a house becomes available, you have to be the person right behind it to get it.’

Sag Harbor Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy commented: “Just as we had families move out at 9/11, I think we’re gonna see a lot of people moving out here because they’re finding they can do their work from afar and they have a backyard and a nice life. Our secret is out.”

“At some point, life has to get back to normal,” said Jay Schneiderman, who was raised in Hauppauge and is now the Southampton Town supervisor, “and we’re gonna have a real challenging time economically, but maybe having the influx of capital that these people” will provide “will help our restaurants and retail businesses. It may be a positive thing to the local economy.” 

Suffolk County has since the late 19^th Century been a get-away place for New York City people. Historic centuries-old communities became, in part, also summer communities as the Long Island Rail Road extended eastward. 

Growing up in New York City, my family first came to Suffolk as an escape—from the summer heat in the city in the mid-1950s. Every summer we reserved a tent site at Wildwood State Park in Wading River. My father would come out on weekends. It’s where my brother and I became adept at swimming, in the Long Island Sound, and had our feet adjust to a shoreline of pebbles.

I ended up as a journalist in Suffolk in the early-1960s, and although there was the possibility of getting a TV journalism gig in the city as the years went by, and knowing I could live in the city, I’m glad it’s been Suffolk for more than a half-century. I appreciate what the folks seeking shelter here now want.

I vividly recall attorney Nancy Carley of Westhampton Beach telling me, when early-on I covered cops-and-courts, how she moved here from the city and never regretted it. Girlfriends had become judges and held other important positions in New York City, she related, but living and working in Suffolk had been “sweet and easy.”

Now not all city folks seeking sanctuary will settle in Suffolk. As the New York Post’s “Page Six” last week quoted a Corcoran realtor, Dana Koch, out of Palm Beach, Florida, saying: “People who were down for spring break have decided to stay here. Over the last 30 days there are a lot of New York license plates showing up here. We’ve had an influx of people trying to find the right situation.” And “Page Six” added: “We’re told one couple forwent traveling to their Hamptons house and instead booked a Palm Beach rental for an entire year.”

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

Kings Park Teen Sean Moran Uses Drone To Tell His Story

Writing Our Pandemic History

For generations to come history lessons will be taught about this exact moment in time when the entire planet paused. Like people all over the world – we step with great trepidation into a new frontier – into a world we have never been before.   

Kings Park Teen Tells His DRONE Story

Maureen Rossi

Sean MoranSean Moran is presently a junior at St. Anthony’s High School.  The 17-year-old used his drone to fly over and film his beloved town of Kings Park during the pandemic which still has us sheltering at home.

There are no words in the film – this young aspiring artist knew they were not necessary.  They would have been superfluous.

However, as his short film culminates, he simply writes: Our Hearts Go Out to All Those Affected by Covid-19.  Ended with:  We will Get Through This Together

I echo Moran’s sentiments as better words could have not been chosen.

Images of empty streets, schools and sports fields tell Moran’s pandemic story.  Haunting music – a ballad from The Nutcracker accompanies the images. 

There are fabulous vistas of the Nissequogue River State Park and the beautiful river it is named after. 

The short film flies over Moran’s parish church, St. Josephs.   Up up up the drone captures a breathtaking close-up of the cross that adorns the Catholic Church that has punctuated the Kings Park landscape for over a hundred years.  The close-up shots that linger well over the highest points of the church, over the cross are serene regardless of one’s religion or lack thereof.

Why did Moran use a drone to document his pandemic experience? 

“When I started flying the drone when the pandemic began, I saw the angles I could get with the drone I realized how beautiful it was”, he shared.

The link to his film is included below.  He says the entire project took about a week of flying and editing.  Film is a new passion for the St. Anthony’s junior.

Moran has been playing tennis since he was a small child; it is a great passion for him.  The teen is a member of St. Anthony’s Varsity team.  He has played on a Varsity level since the seventh grade.   

Why did he choose a ballad from The Nutcracker for his film? “I love the soundtrack –the Nutcracker is powerful, and I listen to a lot; it’s very dramatic,” he explained.

When asked about the words at the end of his film - We Will Get Through This Together – he said they come from his faith. 

“Faith will get us all through this,” he said firmly.  “Everyone is working so hard I see so many kind deeds, this pandemic brought out the good in so many people.” 

What are Moran’s thoughts for future? “Well I have a few different paths I’m thinking of either medical or business, you know stock market – finance,” he explained. But he added he is deeply torn between the two.

Like every other soul on Planet Earth - everything has changed in this Suffolk County teenager’s life.  He is missing his friends at school and his beloved tennis team as well as his teachers.

When asked about a favorite part of the film he mentioned the images of the cross atop St. Josephs. 

“I think the deeper meaning with the cross was that a deeper faith is needed at this time,” he lamented.  The teen says people need to pray more to God.   “God will get us through this – that symbolization of the cross was powerful that’s why I slowed it down a little bit when I went by,” he ended.

Moran has plans on going way to college after he graduates St. Anthony’s.   His hobbies also include Ham Radio Operation and ping pong.  

Sean’s Drone Video

Talk to me – Let us Write Our Pandemic History   Maureen Rossi – Maureen.l.rossi@gmail.com