Town of Smithtown Embraces Household Hazardous Waste Collection

On Saturday April 30, 2011 the Town of Smithtown opened its municipal services facility to residents for the collection of household hazardous waste.  The event was declared successful with two hundred and ninety-three families participating. The town collected 22,750 pounds (11.5 tons) of hazardous material.  The materials collected included oil based paint, gasoline, paint thinners, corrosives, pesticides, herbicides and miscellaneous toxic liquids and solids.  

The Town of Smithtown held its first Household Hazardous Waste Event in 2009. In April of ’09, Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment presented Supervisor Vecchio and the Town Board with petitions containing 3,000 signatures from Smithtown residents calling for a hazardous waste collection program. In addition to the petitions approximately 1,500 letters were sent to Supervisor Vecchio and council members. The letters were from residents requesting a program to allow for the safe disposal of hazardous items stored in basements, garages and too often being disposed illegally.

The Town has been hosting waste collection events since 2009.  The April event was conducted by Radiac Environmental Services of Brooklyn, New York. The firm won the contract through a competitive bid process. The cost to the Town of Smithtown was $19,010.00. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will reimburse the Town $6,390.00 of the cost.

“The household hazardous waste collection event was a real success. We had great participation. Smithtown residents want to do the right thing. Participating in a household hazardous waste collection event allows people to safely dispose of old chemicals. It also heightens awareness that not everything offered for sale is a good thing to have and use around the house and our families. We should all try to minimize or avoid buying toxic products in the first place,” said Smithtown Town Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio. (TOS Website)

The Town is scheduled to host another hazardous waste collection event in the fall.  

Sisters Struck By Vehicle on Main Street

Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that injured two Central Islip sisters that were walking on a Smithtown street.  

Mabel Burgos, 13, and Melody Burgos, 9, were crossing northbound in the crosswalk on East Main Street at Lawrence Avenue, when they were struck by a 2010 Lexus SUV traveling westbound on East Main Street at 5:30 p.m.  

Both sisters were transported to Stony Brook University Medical Center.   Melody was listed in guarded condition and Mabel is being held overnight for observation.   The driver of the Lexus, Maria Kolahifar, 66, of Fort Salonga, was not injured.  

The vehicle was impounded for a safety check and the investigation is continuing. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.

"I have listened, and now it is time to lead" - Steve Bellone

Steve Bellone listening to Kings Park residents Harold Laware and Richard MacellaroWednesday, April 27, 2011 – Completing a world wind six-week listening tour across Suffolk County, including two stops in the town of Smithtown during the month of April, Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone made his candidacy official.  “Listening is the first step on the path of leadership.  I have listened, and now it is time to lead.  And that is why I am proud to announce tonight that it is my intention to become the next Suffolk County Executive.”

Surrounded by family, friends, and supporters, and standing across the street from North Babylon High School from which he graduated, Bellone spoke about his working class background.  He spoke about the people he met while traveling across the county and the hardships people are enduring.  He also spoke of his accomplishments as Supervisor of Babylon.

“I listened to our residents (Babylon) who said they want lower taxes and more efficient and effective government, which we have delivered in the form of a 5% tax cut, a 15% reduction in debt and a government that is now nearly 50% smaller than when I started here.”

Steve Bellone is expected to receive a resounding endorsement from the Suffolk County Democrats at their convention. His pledge, “As a working class kid from a working class town, I believe in the inclusive goal of economic prosperity for all of our families. I will work to build a new, better Suffolk County government that follows a successful model - delivering services for less, rooting out inefficiency, running more efficiently, and always going to the taxpayer last.”

Bellone understands that quality of life issues will play an important role in this election.  He believes he is the candidate who can best lead Suffolk County through the difficult challenges ahead and he’s promising to never stop listening.

John Carbone and Caroline Seo - Hauppauge High School Students Helping Japan's Relief Effort

Hauppauge HS Students Caroline Seo and John CarboneJohn Carbone and Caroline Seo are two Hauppauge High School students who were quick to react to the tragic earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.  The two students wanted to do something that would get both students and community members involved with the Japan relief effort.  They came up with the idea for a benefit concert, which they organized with the help of Hauppauge High School Assistant Principal, Joy Ferrara.

$4,200 was raised through ticket sales, plant sales and raffle sales.  Tickets were priced at an affordable $4 per ticket, which was reduced to $2 if you brought a new pair of socks to the event.  Three Hauppauge elementary schools collected 1500 pairs of socks before the concert began “ When we heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we knew we had to do something to help.  Everyone appreciates a fresh, clean pair of socks.  The people of Japan will know that we are thinking of them from far away.” Said Caroline Seo a senior at Hauppauge High School and co- organizer.

A total of 2,500 pairs of socks were collected.  Each pair sealed in a plastic bag, which included a note from the donor.  Pines Elementary student Lindsey Cowden said, “I wrote a note of concern and translated it into Japanese. I gathered a dozen zip lock bags, and placed a pair of socks and a note in each bag.  I feel better knowing that I’ve done something to help.”

John Carbone, a junior at Hauppauge High School and  co-organizer was pleased that the event helped to bring awareness to the devastation occurring in Japan.

The funds were donated to the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund. The memories the students gained from participating in this event will stay with them forever. 

DEC - Long Island Sound Should Be A No Discharge Zone

(New York, N.Y. – April 25, 2011)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tentatively determined that there are adequate facilities for boats in Long Island Sound to pump out their sewage and that a proposal by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) to establish a “No Discharge Zone” for the waters of the New York State Long Island Sound can go forward. A no-discharge zone means that boats are completely banned from discharging sewage into the water. Boaters must instead dispose of their sewage at specially designated pump-out stations.  This action is part of a joint EPA/New York State strategy to eliminate the discharge of sewage from boats into the state’s waterways.  Discharges of sewage from boats can contain harmful levels of pathogens and chemicals such as formaldehyde, phenols, and chlorine, which have a negative impact on water quality, pose a risk to people’s health, and impair marine life. EPA is taking public comment on its proposed approval until May 11, 2011.

New York State has proposed to establish a No-Discharge Zone for the Long Island Sound that encompasses approximately 760 square miles, and includes the open waters, harbors, bays and navigable tributaries of the Sound and a portion of the East River, from the Hell Gate Bridge in the west to the northern bounds of Block Island Sound in the east. The waters of Mamaroneck Harbor, Huntington-Northport Bay Complex, Port Jefferson Complex, Hempstead Harbor and Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Complex have been previously designated as No Discharge Zones.  Upon a final affirmative determination from EPA, pumping out boat sewage into any New York waters within Long Island Sound will be banned.

For more information about no discharge zones and to view a copy of EPA’s proposed approval of the Long Island Sound no discharge zone, visithttp://www.epa.gov/region02/water/ndz/index.html.