The End is Near

 Smithtown - On Thursday, Congressman Tim Bishop and Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio observed the final phase of a long-awaited project to reconstruct Maple Avenue.  Congressman Bishop helped secure approximately $2.5 million in federal funds for the project, which was one of the first he discussed with Supervisor Vecchio upon taking office. 

The Maple Avenue reconstruction began in June, with paving currently taking place, and is scheduled to be complete in approximately 4-6 weeks.  The project has several components.  In addition to repaving over 1 mile of surface, the project also includes improving drainage, replacing corroded pipes, new sidewalks and curbs and measures to protect Miller’s Pond from road runoff, according to Mitchell Crowley, Director, Smithtown Traffic Safety Department.

“This project has been a long time in coming and without Congressman Bishop’s help, it would still be stuck in the bureaucracy,” Supervisor Vecchio said.  “I’m grateful as is the Town Board for the Congressman’s work to obtain funds to reconstruct Maple Avenue.”

 At the request of the Town, Congressman Bishop stepped in at various points with the Federal Highway Administration and the New York State Department of Transportation when some of the funds were held up by red tape.  Congressman Bishop and Supervisor Vecchio first discussed the need to reconstruct Maple Avenue shortly after Bishop took office.  Congressman Bishop was able to secure funding for the project in the SAFETEA-LU transportation bill.

 PHOTO CAPTION: Mitchell Crowley, Director, Smithtown Traffic Safety Department discusses road resurfacing with Supervisor Pat Vecchio (center) and Congressman Tim Bishop on Maple Avenue in Smithtown.

Update on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 10:56AM by .

(This is a reprint)

By Erica Jackson

Anyone who has attempted to drive down Maple Avenue in Smithtown recently, realized very quickly to avoid the road in the future:  The Town of Smithtown is in the process of not only resurfacing the street, but adding new crosswalks and sidewalks.  When complete, the thoroughfare will be revitalized with one glitch — the new sidewalks will feature oak trees and telephone poles smack in the middle of them.

“What mindless, middling, mid-management level bureaucratic planner decided to preserve the old, outdated, rotting wood telephone poles and maintain them smack-dab in the middle of the brand spanking new, masterfully graded and expertly installed sidewalks?” asked Kings Park resident and Democratic candidate for state assembly Richard Macellaro in a letter to SmithtownMatters.com. 

“These newly installed sidewalks are impassable and where necessary, must be ripped-up, redone and replaced. What a waste of scarce government resources while causing further and unexpected delays to the project’s overdue completion.”

To respond, Mitchell Crowley, director of traffic safety for the Town of Smithtown said, “It was something that we couldn’t avoid. It just wasn’t feasible to wait for the utility companies to relocate the poles.”  And “yes,” he said, “it doesn’t look the best,” but he said, “there will be sufficient access around the poles.”
That includes he said, the poles that have tether’s attached.  Those tie-downs, he said will be removed before the project is complete.  However, the poles will have to stay put for a while.  As will the numerous, large oak trees that line Maple Avenue.“The existing road has some unfortunate features that we can’t straighten out.  The oak trees are not in our budget to rip out and plant new ones. But, it will be easy to walk around them.”

Crowley noted that the sidewalks will be in line with American Disabilities Act guidelines which, according to Glen Donnelly, education coordinator for Suffolk County Handicapped Services, require a 36 inch clearance for wheel-chairs and scooters.  If there isn’t sufficient access, Donnelly said the sidewalks will have to be adjusted.

This all isn’t to say, said Councilman Ed Wehrheim, that the poles can’t be moved in the near future. He said, “The way the project was designed there were a couple issues with the utility poles. Rather than hold up the work, we decided to go around the poles. It is not a huge problem or expense to repair the sidewalk once the poles are moved.”
According to Crowley, the town contacted Verizon and the Long Island Power Authority, asking them to relocate their poles, but he said due to the companies’ time constraints, the poles would not be able to be moved in time for the commencement of Maple project.
LIPA, however, says it has determined after an inspection this week, that none of the poles belong to them.  Verizon representatives did not return phone calls as of press time. 

The $2 million Maple Avenue Project was made possible via a $1.2 Million grant from the Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) several years ago. Those funds were threatened to be taken away in 2008, unless the town got the project underway. At the time, Congressman Tim Bishop and Suffolk County Legislator John Kennedy worked with the FHWA to dissuade the agency from re-appropriating the monies.

Kennedy confirmed that there are strict time constraints when it comes to using the federal funding, but he said he was disappointed to learn that the poles were not able to be moved in time. He said, “I don’t understand why they [the town] did what they did. I am mystified.”
Kennedy said he plans to contact the town and find what happened.  “As I have with many other types of ventures, I will be happy to assist and work with the town to make this project beneficial and safe.”
Congressman Bishop did not return calls as of press time.

Once the funding was safe, Crowley said plans were drawn up and the town hired J. Anthony Enterprises of Bohemia via request for proposal process to expedite the project.  Rendered in the project plans are drainage upgrades; a drainage structure at Miller’s Pond to treat water before it enters the waterway; new concrete sidewalks; the repaving and re-grading of Maple Avenue; decorative crosswalks at Millers Pond; driveway aprons for all driveways on Maple Avenue, and curb repair.

The town has also, said Crowley, applied for additional grant monies to help ease the remaining 20 percent of the bill that the town must foot. He said the town is expected to receive at least 15 percent of the town’s share though a state Marchaselli grant.  The town is also working with the Suffolk County to “dress-up” Millers Pond, which it owns, with a concrete apron and some gravel so it looks “aesthetically better.”

Looking on the bright side,” Maple Avenue resident Helen Ammann said. “I appreciate that this is going to be nice and new when it is finished.” 

Phase II of Flooding Plan to Commence this Month

By Erica Jackson

Due to the rising water table, nearly 500 Smithtown home basements were damaged by water this past year. The problem, say officials, is worse than ever before.  That’s why they have taken action to remedy the problem.

Later this month, the Town of Smithtown is set to commence Phase II of a three, possibly four part strategy to lower the local water table by dredging the Nissequogue River.

“This is not going to solve everybody’s basement from flooding,” said Ted Sanford, head of the Town of Smithtown’s engineering department, “but it will decrease the severity and frequency.” He continued, “There still will be some people that will have to pump.”

According to Sanford, basement flooding has long been a problem for numerous residents, but the problem worsened this past winter and spring after Mother Nature whipped up four storms dumping 16 inches of rain and 3 inches of snow melt. That equated to much more H2O than the water table can handle.  The result: major flooding.

After receiving complaints from residents, Federal officials, as well as those from the town, county and state banned together to find funding to lower the water table by dredging four hundred linear feet of the Nissequogue River.

“We want to lower the river by 15 inches, which will bring the river back to the level it was in the 1950s,” said Sanford. 

To accomplish that, he said, 50 years of accumulated sentiment needs to be removed.  

To put that amount into perspective, Sanford said when complete, over 1,000 cubic yards of silt will have been removed. That’s enough sediment to fill more than 50 roll-off trucks.

To date, Sanford said the town, via hired contracting company, Terry Materials and Contracting of Riverhead, has already completed Phase I of the project. That portion of the project included the dredging of 1,200 linear feet of the river as it runs north of Route 347. The cost: $317,000.  

Phase II, however, said Sanford is expected to cost nearly a half-a-million dollars as it will include the dredging of 2,800 feet of the river as it runs south of Route 347.

To fund Phase I and II of the project, Sanford said the town has applied and is expected to receive for funding via Suffolk County’s water protection program.  Funding for that program is realized though the county’s 1/4 percent tax.

The program, explained Sanford funds projects that will improve water quality, which Sanford said the Nissequogue River dredging will do. He said, “by removing the silt we are lowering the water table so cesspools function.”  Also, he said, “We are also restoring the aquatic habitat of the river.”

It is expected, said Sanford, that work will begin on Phase II sometime after July 15 and be completed by a Department of Environmental Conservation deadline of October 1.  However, before work can commence, the town first needs to obtain a Department of Environmental Conservation permit to do the work.

That permit will be forthcoming, said Aphrodite Montalvo, spokeswoman for the DEC.  “We don’t anticipate there will be any problems with the permit,” she said.

Since dredging alone will not settle the entire flooding issue, Phase III will tackle the drainage piping that goes into the stream.  Using a $1.5 million matching grant obtained by Congressman Tim Bishop, town highway department workers will install a new piping system.   The current piping system, said Sanford was put in place in the 1960s and has long since rotted.  

“The money will go a lot further, if we use our own labor,” said Sanford, who noted that the town’s matching portion of the grant will be about $300,000.

Phase III will be designed this winter, and installed sometime in 2011, said Sanford.

In the meantime, the town is looking into obtaining Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to help homeowners fill-in their basements in severe flooding cases.  Currently, homeowners have access to small business administration loans, however, they would need to qualify and many do not.  

Additionally, the town’s assessor’s office is offering tax deductions to residents who can no longer utilize their basements due to flooding.  Sanford said, residents can file with the assessor's office though a tax grievance process.

To do its part, the county is looking to dredge Miller’s Pond on Maple Avenue, which will also help in lowering the water table.  

According to Legislator John Kennedy of Smithtown, who has been at the forefront of the issue, holding informational meetings for concerned residents, the county is exploring funding options for the project.  

While Millers Pond is a 110-year-old man-made body of water, Legislator Kennedy said it is part of the Nissequogue Waterway, which is the only river on Long Island that flows in a northerly direction.  

“We can’t say we will ever eliminate the flooding problem,” said Kennedy, but if we do routine maintenance, we will substantially improve the flooding and our ground water quality.”

Levy - Financial Disclosure Filing

Hauppauge, NY – A second leading state ethics authority today has concurred that Suffolk Executive Steve Levy satisfied the county’s local financial disclosure filing requirements by filing the New York State disclosure form – a form he is required by state law to file as a member of the Pine Barrens Commission.

According to Bruce Ginsberg, Executive Director and General Counsel of the New York State Public Integrity Commission:

Both General Municipal Law §§811((1)(b) and 812(1)(f) permit a local government official who is required by Public Officers Law §73-a to file an annual statement of financial disclosure with the Commission on Public Integrity  to satisfy a financial disclosure requirement imposed by a local government by timely filing the State financial disclosure form with the Commission and submitting a copy to the appropriate local government entity. 

Ginsberg echoed the opinion of Mark Davies, who served as Executive Director of the Temporary New York State Commission on Local Government Ethics at the time Suffolk adopted its local code that the county executive need only file a copy of his New York State financial disclosure report with the Suffolk County Board of Ethics. Levy is required by state law to file the state form as a sitting member of the Pine Barrens Commission, a state agency.

Good bye Fourth of July - Hello Summer!

      

Photos were taken at Sunken Meadow Beach at 7pm on July 5th.  The end of the three day, Fourth of July weekend.  There were hundreds of people walking the boardwalk, playing on the beach, flying kites, playing soccer and just enjoying the wonderful weather.

    

County Championships Embody Smithtown's Newly Formed Athletic Tradition

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS EMBODY SMITHTOWN’S NEWLY FORMED ATHLETIC TRADITION

Article and Photos by Lance Pauker

Smithtown is known for many things, historical splendor, excellent school systems, and…badminton?

Although many residents in the Town of Smithtown would be hard-pressed to explain the rules of this relatively obscure sport, badminton is quietly becoming one of the community’s sources of pride. The Town’s teams are an integral part of badminton at the interscholastic level, as Smithtown East, Smithtown West, and Commack are three of Suffolk County’s eight programs.

 Notably, Smithtown Badminton has cemented itself in immortality. In 2005, Smithtown High School defeated Miller Place High School, ending the Panthers astounding 504 game winning streak, a run which dated back to the program’s inception in 1973. The 22-year undefeated stretch is far and away the longest winning streak in sports history. 

In 2007, Smithtown continued the dismantling of the Panthers by earning its first ever league title, marking the first time Miller Place did not finish first in regular season play.

In 2008, the Smithtown West Girl’s team pushed the boundaries even further, displacing Miller Place from the Badminton throne when they earned the school’s first ever Badminton County Championship.  The Smithtown East Boys squad has since carried the torch, appearing in the county finals each of the past two years, highlighted by a 14-0 regular season in 2009.

On Wednesday May 26^th and Thursday May 27^th, Smithtown West hosted the annual individual county championships. With recent successes fresh in their minds, the players challenged themselves with the hope of winning individual awards.

With eight schools in attendance, a thriving concession stand, and a rather extroverted crowd, the scene in the Smithtown High School West Gymnasium was one of sheer enthusiasm, as fans darted between courts to observe multiple games being played simultaneously. After a rather lengthy first day of competition, each bracket (boy’s singles, boy’s doubles, girl’s singles, and girl’s doubles) was whittled down sixteen initial entries to only four.

Many consider Badminton a “backyard sport,” or an activity that can be lazily enjoyed at a summer barbeque, with participants pausing intermittently to snag a hot dog. Anyone who was in attendance for the boy’s singles championship would consider that assumption an insult to an extremely competitive sport.

After coasting through the season undefeated, Walt Whitman’s Matt Simone looked to cruise to the singles title. However, his road to county supremacy hit a major speed bump in the finals in the form of Smithtown West’s Justin Lin. Using a combination of rare power and incredible footwork, the sophomore  Lin outplayed Simone in the first round of the best-of-three  set, narrowly emerging victorious with a final score of 15-12.

As the match progressed however, the balmy gym seemed to gradually deflate Lin. After numerous water breaks, the thoroughly fatigued Lin was forced to temporarily pause the match due to cramping. Simone outlasted Lin and earned the boys singles crown. Despite losing after such a valiant effort, there is no doubt that the sophomore Lin will use this experience and have much success in the years to come.

On the doubles front, Smithtown proved their grit. After upsetting teammates Rich Ardizzone and Steve Kennedy in the earlier rounds of the tournament, the number two doubles squad headed by junior Derrick Ladeairous and junior Greg Mayer made an improbable run all the way to the championship. The closely contested championship match against Patchogue-Medford’s Andrew Quatrale and Chris Margolin went back and forth throughout, with the teams splitting the first two games. In the third game however, Ladeairous, the third year player, used his experience to take control of the game, hitting some beautifully placed shots to give the Bulls an early lead in the deciding match. Despite a rather furious late rally by Pat-Med, Ladeairous and Mayer were able to fend off the Raiders, en-route to capturing the Suffolk County Boys doubles championship crown.

On the female end, Commack’s doubles tandem of Carly Sadiker and Kelly Hall made it all the way to the finals, but were upended by a very talented Half Hallow Hills squad. Smithtown West senior Christina Fiore placed fourth in the Girls singles bracket, falling narrowly to Miller Place’s Liz Paturlaski.

In Boys singles, Smithtown East’s Eric Hirschfield placed fourth, losing to Miller Place’s Jesse Dietrichson by a score of 15-13, 15-3.