A Personal Memory - Big Jim Ryan - First Responder

Big Jim Ryan – F.D.N.Y.

First Responder Went Quietly Into the Night Christmas Morning

Maureen Rossi

Click photo to enlarge - Jim Ryan on leftA dozen and half men were gathered in the gym of RJO in Kings Park, they ranged in age from their late 30’s to their late 40’s.  It was a fall night in 2001 and I was the only female present.  We were there to draft our teams for the Kings Park Youth (KPY) organization; it was basketball season.   They called out the names of coaches before the draft.   Rossi – Ryan.   I raised my hand and I looked around to see a big burly Irishman raise his.   Ryan did not look happy – he wasn’t a hard man to read at that exact moment in time.   He seemed less than enamored that he got stuck with the only broad in the room and on top of that, I was head coach.   I wasn’t worried; I knew the game – I had coached about ten different sports teams by the time I was 37 and could probably outshoot just about every guy in the room.

Our first practice didn’t go as smooth as practices I had hosted in the past.   I called the 4^th and 5^th grade boys into a circle, I introduced Mr. Ryan and myself; Coach Moe.   I told the boys we were going to work on fundamentals – dribbling, passing and shooting.   Ryan and I split the boys up and took them to separate courts.  I had his kid, he had mine.    I started passing drills with the boys and I looked over at Ryan he was trying to teach them plays.  What happened to working on fundamentals?  I knew this guy was going to be a hard one to break.  But break him I did.  The first thing on my side was my name, Maureen.  Turns out Ryan had a sister named Maureen.  I was from Queens, Ryan was from Queens.  Both of Irish decent, we were products of Catholic high school.   Ryan began to warm up to me – he even cracked an occasional smile, something I didn’t think I’d get from the pain in the butt all season. 

As the weeks went on Ryan and I got to know each other, it turned out Ryan was on the job – lingo for he was a member of F.D.N.Y.   Coming from a blue collar Irish neighborhood and family, most of the men I knew wore a uniform to work.  I knew a lot guys on the job.  It turns out Ryan was in a house in Bayside with a dear friend of the family – Keith Palumbo.  A neighborhood kid, he had a lot of problems at his house growing up and he was just one of many kids my mother took in.  Palumbo was like a brother me.  Palumbo was Ryan’s best friend.

When I look back at that basketball season and the friendship Ryan and I built immediately following 9/11, more and more is revealed to me.   Ryan never brought the job to our team although he always had a serious look on his face.   I could get him to smile by challenging him to a few shots, dribbling circles around him and then swishing three pointers.  He would look at me and grin.   I never spoke about my Sundays volunteering at the “pile” for the Salvation Army, slinging hash and serving coffee to his brothers on the job.  I never told Ryan that from the first day I went down to the pile in late September I would cough the whole way home to Kings Park.  I would cough, I would think and I would cry – nothing in my life had prepared me for what I saw down there.  I had nightmares for a year – bad ones.  Looking back, I should have sought help but I was a tough Irish mother and a reporter.  I had covered homicides, I had dined with made men, I was tough as nails, I thought.  

Ryan and I had a great time coaching our boys that year – neither one of us bought into the wishy washy parenting mode of many of our peers. Where every kid needs to feel great about every little thing they do and they always need to win.  We were kind and patient with the boys and praised them from time to time.  With each other we would joke that maybe our boys should be selling Girl Scout cookies instead of playing basketball –we got each other.  We spoke the same language; we were cut from the same jib.

It turns out Ryan spent a lot of time on that pile – he was the first guy I knew who got sick.   I ran into him at our boys’ high school track meet – he had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.  He was thin but looked okay and was getting treatment, he was optimistic.   We would sit together at the long uneventful track meets and just talk for hours.  He worshiped his beautiful wife, his two sons and little girl.  He was really a great family man.  We would also talk and joke about Palumbo – sometimes we would call him on the cell and talk to him together on speaker phone and break his chops unmercifully. 

My son befriended the oldest Ryan boy in high school, he knew his dad was sick and he saw the kid was getting picked on in the locker room.  My son was very small for his age, he was an academic but he was also popular.  It was highly unlike his character but he charged and threw the bully up against a locker and said ‘you leave Ryan alone; you never go near him again’.  The bully listened up and kept his distance from both boys.   Young Ryan shared the story with his dad; his father told him to stay close to the Rossi kid, those are the type of people you want in your life, people who have your back.   So when it was time for the Ryan boy to go to college, painfully thin and just weeks before he died, Ryan, his wife and three kids headed up to Cortland to let their son stay with my son (for a real college experience – Ryan’s wife and I agreed we didn’t want to know the details of the evening but we heard it was EPIC). 

It was Christmas morning 2009 and my husband children and I were headed west bound on the LIE when my son’s phone rang.  It was the Ryan boy – he called to say his father had passed away that morning.  It was a very quiet ride, with Christmas carols echoing the background, we all wept for the Ryan family.  I put on my happy Christmas face, because that’s what moms do but it was the saddest Christmas of my life.  The next morning I dropped my son at the Ryan home in Kings Park much to his protest.  “Mom what do I say, what do I do, this stuff makes me very uncomfortable Mom.”   I told him, you must go, he is your friend, I know it’s hard Bryan but death is a part of life and you must be there for your friend.  Take out the garbage, help Mrs. Ryan, answer the door, go to the store for them.  Just be there.  

The funeral was held at Abiding Presence in Fort Salonga. Because Ryan didn’t die on the job, he didn’t get a full-out F.D.N.Y funeral like the guys who died on 9/11.  However, the word went out to fire departments around the region and in addition to the trucks and men the F.D.N.Y. sent, there were dozens and dozens of trucks from fire houses all over Long Island, Westchester, Jersey.  Thousands of firefighters stood at attention, the pipes were playing and with my son holding me up, I cried a thousand tears for Ryan and his beautiful family.

The oldest Ryan boy ending up leaving Cortland after the first year of college and enlisted in the military.   He came to see me, we talked about his dad, I smoked a cigar with him – we laughed, we cried and I told him I was proud of him.   He is scheduled to deploy in the new year. 

(to thank the Ryan family for Jim Ryan’s service – go to his Facebook Page In Loving Memory of Jimmy Ryan and write them a message).

Primary Election Night Notes

By Maureen Rossi and Pat Biancaniello

Maureen Rossi -

Candidate Tom McCarthy was all smiles and jubilant – he greeted Smithtown Matters immediately and sat down with us.   He said it was a great night.”I am extremely proud of the good campaign we ran.  It was a grass roots campaign of residents, it’s their victory.  Patrick and I are going back to work for the people tomorrow and we’ll finish off the job in November.  I am very confident we’ll finish off the job in November.” 

The room at the Watermill was jubilant – John Kennedy and his wife Leslie were there – Assemblyman Fitzpatrick, Vecchio’s campaign manager, and Team Trotta which consisted of Mrs. Trotta, Linda Henninger and Mike Rosato.   Trotta was all smiles as everyone congratulated him.  He told me that surprisingly , he slept incredibly well last night.  Also – before heading to the Watermill, he picked up all his campaign signs.  Saying he hates when political signs are left up after a campaign (the true environmentalist that he is).   He was shocked but happy – very happy, very grateful and very humble.   Without any backing from any party organization – Rob Trotta turned out to be the BIG winner of the evening.   

Vecchio and McCarthy were in front of a computer screen watching results as they flowed in.  Vecchio was furious – “John Napoleon LaValle attempted to influence the voters of the town of Smithtown and he failed.  He’s a failure as a leader and he should resign.  Ed Walsh, Conservative Chairman is a bully and was the instigator of all this (referencing the major email snafu sent out with the wrong candidates name as party designees.” 

Vecchio’s campaign manager, Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick – “we took a couple of bruises along the way but you can expect that in a campaign. Pat has served this town admirably with distinction and the voters knew that.  They responded well to his long and successful service.  Bob was a good candidate – but he took on a long-standing incumbent.   Fitzpatrick said “Vecchio is a great man, a brilliant man and a fascinating man. At the end of the day you can’t do better than Pat Vecchio.”

Creighton Headquarters – the room was packed, standing room only.   Relatives, friends, Republicans and Conservatives – clergy and press.   There was an air of great excitement which began to wane as the polling numbers came out.   Small cloistered meetings with candidates/relatives and key players set the tone that the evening wasn’t looking good. Puleo, Hennings, Wehrheim and Malloy were on hand as was Judge Janine Barberi . 

Councilman Ed Wehrheim took the podium about 9:45pm.   “It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen tonight but I’ve never been more proud to be part of a campaign than I have for Bob Creighton, Kevin Malloy and Vinney Puleo.”   He said he was honored to run a campaign for Bob – people all stood up – even the elderly. “Bob and I will go back to Town Hall and get to work.  We’re all gentlemen about it.  The Voter’s have spoken.”

Bob Creighton took the podium and again a standing ovation which lasted a very very long time – he had to ask everyone to sit. 

Thank you very very very much.  We ran a very good campaign with our razzle dazzle highfalutin campaign manager.  We ran a fine campaign and did our best. We lost to a 35 year incumbent – Creighton thanked his wife and his family, particularly his daughter Denise who worked tirelessly.   Creighton went on to thank Kevin Malloy, Paul Hennings and Vincent Puleo.

“I’m very proud of the race we ran – thank you – thank you all.” said Creighton.

At Napper Tandy’s - Carol McGuire was on hand as well as Leg. John Kennedy’s aide – Ali Nazir.  The back room was full of Mattera friends and relatives.  Mattera was smiling when  I walked in.  We spoke – he was shocked, absolutely shocked at the results.  However, he has said all along that if he couldn’t win – that Trotta should win.  He couldn’t believe the margin – really the story of the night was the Trotta romp.  It took everyone by surprise, even Trotta.    Mario was gracious….Smithtown Matters was at the Watermill alongside Trotta when he rang Mattera to congratulate him on a good race and a thank him for a clean race.  

Mattera’s wife Linda was as gracious as she was beautiful.  She said it wasn’t God’s plan for them but she joked that she’s happy he ran because he took off 20 lbs this summer when he was out campaigning!    

Pat Biancaniello -

Smithtown Democrats gathered at Steve Snair’s campaign headquarters watching the primary results on several small computer screens. The atmosphere was relaxed. The sense among the thirty or so people was that a Vecchio win on the Republican line and a Creighton win on the Conservative line would level the playing field in November. Dems were pleased as the early results came in showing Vecchio with 55% of the vote. A lead he maintained throughout the night. 

Everyone was a bit surprised by the magnitude of Rob Trotta’s victory in the race for the Legislature. No one seemed surprised by the Vecchio win or that Lynne Nowick received the highest number of votes for Town Council.  

Steve Snair walked around the room chatting with supporters many of whom were young and somewhat new to politics. Floyd Sarisohn, not new to politics, commented on how ironic it was that the room was hoping for a Vecchio victory.  

In a released statement Steve Snair congratulated the candidates and said “I congratulate both Supervisor Vecchio and Councilman Creighton on tonight’s results. It’s great to see so many Smithtown residents participate in today’s primary elections. Now that the ballot in November is set, I look forward to continuing this campaign and having a lively debate with my opponents regarding our visions for the future of Smithtown. I am confident that over these next 8-weeks the voters will agree with my fresh and new ideas for Smithtown moving forward.” 

WRONG! Sloppy Or Deliberate? SC Republican Chair LaValle Sends Email Blast With Wrong Information

Suffolk County Republican Chairman John J. LaValle sent out an email blast asking people to vote for “designated candidates”. The problem with the email is that it is not correct and many Smithtown Republicans are angry.  

Patrick Vecchio is the Republican designee. LaValle’s email incorrectly identifies Councilman Creighton as the designee.  However, at the Town convention Patrick Vecchio was the candidate of choice. Also, mysteriously, Vecchio running mate Councilman McCarthy’s (a party designee) name was left out of the email. At the convention McCarthy and Malloy became the nominees. 

Smithtown Matters has received the following copy of the LaValle email and response. The LaValle email was sent to Smithtown Republicans.

(A call to SC Republican Headquarters was made but no one answered the call and there was no voice mail. A call was also placed to Smithtown Republican Headquarters for Chairman Bill Ellis and a message was left.)

Below please find an e-mail sent by Suffolk County Chairman John J. LaValle.  I can’t speak for the other towns on the lists, but as far as Smithtown is concerned, this is a total lie.  I am a Republican committeewoman in Smithtown and Supervisor Patrick Vecchio and Councilmen Thomas McCarthy and Kevin Malloy are the designees according to the vote at our annual convention.  He is deliberately omitting the names of Patrick Vecchio and Thomas McCarthy and misleading whomever this e-mail is addressed to.

At the very least, I believe Chairman LaValle should send out a retraction and an apology.  I also think he should be sanctioned for this outrageous offense.

Marlene Wolke

Committeeman, Smithtown E.D.78

Greetings!     Tomorrow is Republican Primary Day in Suffolk County and our designated candidates need your help.  I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these Primary elections come down to just a few votes - so your one vote could make the difference!   Polls will be open on Tuesday from 6am until 9pm and unless you were notified otherwise, you can vote in your regular polling place.     You can help keep our Committee strong by encouraging your friends, neighbors and family to vote in the Tuesday, September 10th Republican Primary for our Committee’s Designated Candidates, who are as follows:   Suffolk County District Attorney                                Thomas J Spota, III Sheriff                                                Vincent F De Marco   Town of Brookhaven  Town Council (2nd District)                        Jane Bonner   Town of Huntington  County Legislator (13th LD)                        Paul E Hennings Town Supervisor                                          Eugene Cook Town Council                                               Mark L Mayoka Town Council                                               Joshua C Price   Town of Riverhead  Town Council                                    Jodi Giglio Town Council                                    John Dunleavy   Town of Smithtown County Legislator (13th LD)                  Paul E Hennings Town Supervisor                                    Robert Creighton  Town Council                                         Kevin Malloy   With Primary Day on Tuesday, I hope that you will join me in supporting our Committee’s endorsed candidates.  Thank you in advance for your continued commitment to our Republican Party. Sincerely,

The Naked Truth - Good For You?

By Kia Edwards

The juice brand known as Naked has come under fire recently, which ultimately resulted in a fine.  I want to look at Naked’s nutrients and use that to figure out if it’s a healthy option, irrespective of their legal issues.  Is it really something worth drinking or are we falling for good marketing?  Let’s find out, shall we?

The Good

Overall, the juices taste pretty good, but I would expect them to given their success.  As far as nutrients go, they are low in saturated fat, with many containing no saturated fat.  For example, here are the Nutrition Facts for Cherry Pomegranate Power:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 8 oz (227 g)

Per Serving % Daily Value*

Calories 140 - Calories from Fat 0 - Total Fat 0.0g 0% Saturated Fat 0.0g 0Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 30mg 1% Carbohydrates 34.0g 11% Dietary Fiber 0.0g 0% Sugars 32.0g Protein 2.0g Vitamin A 2% · Vitamin C 100% Calcium 2% · Iron 3% 

It’s not terrible.  It’s low in salt, contains no cholesterol and it’s very high in Vitamin C.  It also has some protein, calcium and iron in it.  As an added bonus, it contains some B vitamins including riboflavin, niacin, and Vitamins B6 and B12.  B Vitamins help your body to make energy from the food you eat.  Deficiencies in B Vitamins can cause anemia.  Needless to say, they are important, so it’s a plus Naked juices contain them.

The Bad

No matter how they want to spin it, Naked juices are very high in sugar.  32 grams of sugar is 128 calories, which is a lot to add to your diet if you’re drinking a bottle of this with your meals.  Some of the other juices under this brand contain even more sugar.  In addition to adding a lot of calories to your diet, all of this sugar will cause your blood sugar to spike and then drop fairly quickly, so even if you just use this as a snack instead of drinking it with a meal, you will likely find yourself feeling hungry not long after.

The Verdict

While it’s not the worst drink in the world, you don’t need to make a habit out of drinking Naked juices.  Some people use it as a morning boost, which is perfectly fine.  The main thing to remember is that you’re better off getting your nutrients from unprocessed sources so real fruits are always a better option.  If you find that the juices are too sweet, or if you’re wary about the sugar (which, quite frankly, you should be), water the drinks down.  It’s better than soda, but eating fresh fruits and using water as your main source of hydration is still a pretty good bet.  

Click here to see NY Times article on benefits of fruit

Kia Edwards is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist who lives in New York City. She studied French and Economics at Colgate University, spent 15 years as a high-level competitive gymnast and 6 years as a gymnastics coach.  Her business, La Fortesse At Home Fitness Training, helps clients get healthy with simple at home exercises and nutrition counseling. www.LaFortesse.com   

Pre Primary Interview With Incumbent Patrick R. Vecchio

Supervisor Patrick Vecchio is being challanged by Councilman Robert Creighton for the Republican line for Town Supervisor in November. Below is the result of an interview I had with Mr. Vecchio a week ago. Pat

By Pat Biancaniello

In a world where people change jobs almost as frequently as they change cars, it is almost inconceivable to Patrick Vecchio at Kings Park St. Patrick’s Day Paradethink of being in the same position for thirty-six years. And yet after 36 years of being Smithtown Supervisor, Patrick Vecchio is seeking an additional four years. So my first question to long time Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio was, why do you want to do this again? Without hesitation he responded, “because it has been my life and I love what I do, helping people and attempting to improve our quality of life.” He then added, “I think it (quality of life) is the main issue in this campaign.”

Using quality of life as a measurement I asked him to give some examples of how he has improved the quality of life for Smithtown residents.  Once again, his response was immediate.  “From an environmental point of view, garbage used to be collected by private carters who contracted with citizens, service was haphazard. Today, collections are stabilized, residents do not deal with carters directly, carting is by contract and collections are overseen by the town with strict enforcement by the town.”  Mandating natural gas garbage trucks is another example Vecchio gave. He pointed out how the mandate has reduced carbon emissions in our local environment. He explained how the most recent natural gas contract, unanimously supported by the Town Board, is less costly saving residents a half-million dollars per year for seven years. Additionally, he mentioned a wind turbine, solar panels and LED lights all beneficial to the local environment and helping with the bottom line by eliminating costs borne by taxpayers.

He wasn’t through yet. He brought up the 22 parks, 3 beaches and train station parking that Smithtown makes available to town residents at no additional cost.  While some towns charge their residents for parking Smithtown does not and issues approximately 45,000 town stickers to residents. 

The most controversial issue in this campaign season is land use.  Stating that government protects the quality of life of residents by opposing intrusive development in residential areas, Vecchio gave three examples: “1-  Uplands (Kings Park), which he called a pseudo assisted living complex.  “In reality it is a four story apartment complex with only 28 beds set aside for assisted living and the remaining high price condominiums in the $800,000 range and apartments in $200,000 range. All this proposed in a 50 acre sensitive land area and I think if that were to happen it would surely disturb the quality of life for the people. 2. The winery (Whisper Vineyard On Edgewood in St. James), can you conceive of the weddings and bar mitzvas and parties in a tent in a residential neighborhood with all of the noise pollution. Government must oppose wrongheaded land uses. 3.  The proposed Whisper Assisted Living development (on 25a). I am not opposed to assisted living facilities, but they ought to be in areas that abut or are near areas of commercial use.  I think that government should be ensuring quality of life by opposing wrong minded land uses.”

I asked about Smithtown’s downtown area, isn’t that a quality of life issue? According to Vecchio, Yes. BUT, without sewers there is little that can be done. He claims Smithtown’s 6%  vacancy rate has been consistent over 25 years and feels that there is little that the town can do to increase occupancy rates. Taxes are still being paid on the vacant properties and there is a proposal for a CVS on Main Street in Smithtown. Explaining how restaurants have replaced the mom and pop operations he points to the speed at which Luso vacated its premises (Luso moved to the west end of Main Street Smithtown) and a new restaurant moved into the Luso site as an example of a functioning downtown. On this point Supervisor Vecchio is adamant -“Government can not be held responsible for everything. Fixing roads, that we must do. But finding tenants for vacant stores is not government’s responsibility.”

What about the claim that Smithtown is the land of “no” and that it takes too long to get things done. Calling it a political statement Vecchio denies that it is true.  He points to the fact that in the downtown area there are other levels of government that must sign off on projects, and what is blamed on the town is often a delay by other agencies that have jurisdiction.  

Another issue that impacts on the quality of life “taxes”. The budget is Vecchio’s passion. He wants to know every detail about the budget and couldn’t imagine delegating that responsibility to the town’s comptroller. ” I suspect that many town’s will do that, say to their comptroller do the budget. I would not be happy with that. I would have to have hands on to know what the budget contains and why it contains it.”said Vecchio.

Empire Center for Public Policy, Inc. just released a report “What They Make”  which has a breakdown of County and Municipal Payrolls in New York by average salary (2012-2013) by employer. According to data in the report Smithtown ranks second only to Huntington in Suffolk County for employee compensation. Are Smithtown’s employees overpaid?

Supervisor Vecchio: “I think not, all of us in Public office like to think that we did it all. If you don’t have a good employee force and a contented employee force than I think the quality of life will just deteriorate. And as you well know the Supervisor negotiates contracts and has to be fair to employee and taxpayer. And so I’ve always tried to get a balance. I think the employees are very happy and their happiness reflects in the quality of life. If the parks employees aren’t happy they will not do their job and the parks will suffer and impact on our quality of life.”

Patrick Vecchio is in a contest for the Republican line in the November general election. If he defeats Robert Creighton he will be on the November ballot. Should Robert Creighton win Patrick Vecchio’s term will end on December 31, 2013.

Tuesday, September 10th is the date of the Republican Primary. Get out and vote!