SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - NYS Comptroller's LI Economic Snapshot

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is just out with a report that describes itself as an “economic snapshot” of this area. Some of the information we know of but a lot we don’t.

Who, for example, is familiar with the fact that the village with the smallest population in New York State is “the tiny village of Dering Harbor [on Shelter Island] with 11 residents.” Or who knew that Hempstead “with nearly 56,000” is the state’s “most populated village?” 

I knew property taxes in neighboring Nassau County were high but the report terms the “median property tax bill in Nassau…particularly high: $14,872” in contrast with the “state median tax bill of $8,081.” Meanwhile, the median property tax bill in Suffolk is $8,556.

Why is the Nassau tax bill sky-high? Some 70% of property taxes go for schools, but the number of schoolchildren all over Long Island has declined. Does it have to do with corruption in Nassau government as exemplified by the recent convictions of ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, his wife, his former top aide, and other Nassau officials?

Exacerbating the tax bite now is the big cut in deductibility of local and state taxes on federal tax returns. “Long Islanders face some of the highest tax burdens in the state. The recent federal tax law caps the deductibility of state and local taxes, making the burden even higher for many taxpayers,” the report notes. 

Then there’s the “fiscal stress” for governments. “Long Island has higher levels of fiscal stress compared with other regions in the state. Both Nassau and Suffolk Counties are in significant fiscal stress,” it says. The term “significant fiscal stress” is the most extreme level given by the comptroller for governments and school districts in financial difficulty.

A main issue in the contest for county executive this year in Suffolk between incumbent Steve Bellone and County Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr. is the charge leveled by Mr. Kennedy that Mr. Bellone is guilty of fiscal mismanagement which Bellone spokespeople deny.

As for Suffolk’s population, the African-American percentage is reported as 8% and the Latino population is now very substantial, 19%, which is “equal to the state percentage.” 

“Long Island is generally prosperous,” says the report, with the “median household income in 2017” $105,744 in Nassau and $92,838 in Suffolk, “both significantly higher than the state median of $62,765.” But “disparity of income is fairly wide” with “the villages of Hempstead and Greenport having median incomes below $60,000.”

The “median value” of a home in Suffolk is $379,400 compared to $293,000 for the state. In the Town of East Hampton, it’s a whopping $807,500, “highest for any of Long Island’s towns.” Despite the high cost of housing, the “homeownership rate” for Nassau and Suffolk is 72%, “much higher than the 48% statewide rate.” It’s further noted that the “high home prices can prove a source of financial strain.” Oh, yes. 

Despite development in the population boom of the last several decades that has given “much of the region…urban and suburban characteristics, agriculture remains an important part of Long Island’s economy and its culture. In fact, Suffolk County has the highest value for agricultural crops of any county in New York State…with production centered on nursery, greenhouse and sod products; vegetables; fruits; poultry and eggs and aquaculture, e.g., fish, clams. Since its start in 1973, Long Island’s wine industry has grown dramatically.”

“Health care is the largest private sector employer on Long Island,” says the report, “accounting for nearly 17% of private-sector jobs, 193,000.” Treating illness has become Long Island’s biggest industry. What does this signify?

There are issues regarding the “network of aquifers beneath the island”—its sole source of potable water. “Concerns have been raised about their recharge rates and contamination from pollution sources” says the report about the aquifers. Instead of treating and then recharging wastewater back into them to replenish the underground water table, most wastewater is sent (all of it in Nassau) through outfall pipes out to bays, the Long Island Sound and Atlantic Ocean.

The drive for development is continuing. The report cites “the Ronkonkoma Hub” project in which “1,450 apartments and 545,000 square feet of retail space” is to be built. There are also plans for a project “nearby…in the Town of Islip” to feature “a 7,500-seat arena and 6,000-seat soccer stadium as part of a $1.1 billion development” which will also include “offices, a convention center and medical facilities.” Although these projects “and many others may add to Long Island’s economic opportunities, they could also contribute to heavy traffic congestion and may put more pressure on already high housing costs.”

The report concludes: “Despite these challenges, Long Island continues to be a desirable place to live, work and raise a family…”

Comptroller DiNapoli, a Long Islander from the village of Great Neck Plaza, comments that the report is “meant to provide useful information.” This it does.

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.   

Theater Review – by Jeb Ladouceur – “Angel’s Mice and Men”

 Theater Review – by Jeb Ladouceur – “Angel’s Mice and Men”

The following interview took place in Smithtown, L.I. on June 30, 2019: 
_____________________________________________________ 

Jeb L:  First of all, Cindi, congratulations on the forthcoming debut of your new one-act play, ”Angel’s Mice and Men.” You must be excited. 

Ms. Braff:  I am beyond excited.  We have a great cast and crew, and they are really bringing this play to life. There is nothing more thrilling for a playwright than to watch your words on paper transform into staged performance. 

Jeb L:  I’m intrigued by your title. Why the allusion to “Of Mice and Men”? Are you a Steinbeck fan? 

Ms. Braff:  Loneliness is one of the primary themes in Steinbeck’s classic novella. I remember reading it in high school and being deeply affected by the characters and their lonely lives. 

Jeb L:  So the theme of Loneliness has stayed with you through the years, and finally you’ve found the characters who embody it. That must have been a powerful impression. 

Ms. Braff:  In “Angel’s Mice and Men,” every character in the play is dealing with loneliness. In one scene Angel, the protagonist, who is a young widow, says, “…I haven’t felt this alone, I don’t know, I guess ever.” Steele, the romantic interest, responds, “For me, loneliness comes as regularly as the full moon, or as irregularly as the rain.” Mrs. Bloom, widowed twice, is an aging Jewish grandmother, who is estranged from her children and grandchildren and suffering greatly from the loss of her loved ones.  Gina, Angel’s younger sister, is trying to put her loneliness to an end by placing a classified ad in the personals in hopes of finding a mate. 

Jeb L:  Does your play result in any sort of solution to the loneliness experienced by Angel and the others? 

Ms. Braff:  Yes. Just as “Of Mice and Men,” has a theme of companionship and how necessary that is for people’s survival, the four diverse characters in my play also find comfort and camaraderie in each other. Additionally, in Steinbeck’s work the mouse serves as a powerful metaphor for what will happen to George and Lennie’s dream, and is a foreshadowing device for a future event. In my play, the mouse is a metaphor for fear as well. Steinbeck took the name of his novella from the lines, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…” from the poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns, meaning that though we may make plans, life has an agenda of its own for us. This is a theme in my play as well, so the name just seemed to fit.  

Jeb L:  When did you first come up with the idea for a full-length, one-act play, and what prompted the format? 

Ms. Braff:  I originally wrote the play between 1992 and 1994 but spent last summer revamping it from a two-act play into a long one-act, which seems to be the preferred 21^st century structure. I wrote it in response to a New York Times article astutely stating that so much of modern theatre was just about four people sitting around a room being rude to each other, and I thought, how about writing a play about four people being good to each other?  

Jeb L:  You’ve chosen the marvelous TracyLynn Conner as your protagonist. The great Jeffrey Sanzel of Theatre Three has called her a director’s dream. Do you concur? 

Ms. Braff:  By all means, though in a sense, one actually doesn’t have to direct TracyLynn at all. She is a natural-born actress who does her homework well. When I do give her an occasional suggestion, she always responds with, “Thank you for that.” TracyLynn is an absolute pleasure to work with. She is professional, hardworking, committed to her craft, and a team player. 

Jeb L:  Tell us something about the venue where your play will be staged. 

Ms. Braff:  The venue was selected by NYSUMMERFEST Theater Festival, and it is the perfect hall for this play. It’s a 99-seat theater, and the view of the stage from any seat is amazing. The intimate venue allows the audience to feel the full impact of live theater, because they really are up close and personal with the characters. The acoustics are great as well. This allows the actors to perform without microphones, once again, making the whole experience very real. This creates a superb emotional impact for not only the audience, but for the actors as well. I must tell you, it was after reading Tennessee William’s Glass Menagerie as a junior at Calhoun High School in Merrick  that I decided I wanted to be a playwright when I grew up. I was thrilled to learn that in 1979, one of Williams’ new works at the time, “Greve Coeur,” was produced at the Hudson Guild Theater. What an honor to grace the same space Tennessee Williams once set foot upon!

 Jeb L:  Your husband TJ is a literary fellow; to what extent, if any, is he involved in the creation and staging of “Angel’s Mice and Men”? 

Ms. Braff:  He read the play … loved it … and insisted that it get produced, always being more than generous with both his emotional and financial support. TJ is really gracious and he allows our home to become a rehearsal space every Monday and Wednesday evening. Furthermore, he’s our self-appointed caterer, making sure there’s food and beverages for the entire cast and crew. 

Jeb L:  What’s next from the pen of playwright Cindi Sansone-Braff? Are there any more self-help books on the horizon? 

Ms. Braff:  I am finishing up the last of my Long Island trilogy of plays, which includes “Angel’s Mice and Men,” “Phantom Pain,” and “The Karma Bums.”  “The Karma Bums” is a comedy that addresses all things spiritual and metaphysical. It’s set in Northport in “The House of Karma,” a New Age mini-mart, a phenomenal place where the here and hereafter meet, mingle, and merge on an everyday basis. As for my next non-fiction book, it is a memoir titled: “Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic.”

Jeb L:  Sounds interesting. We look forward to your newest production at New York’s Hudson Guild Theatre on July 30, July 31, and August 3. Break a leg, my friend. 

Ms. Braff:  Thank you, Jeb. I think E.B. White must have had you in mind when he wrote, “It’s rare that someone comes along who is a true friend and a fine writer.” For sure, you’re both!
  ________________________________________________________________
CINDI SANSONE-BRAFF has a BFA in theatre from UCONN. She is an award-winning playwright / director, and the author of two spiritual self-help books, “Grant Me a Higher Love,” and “Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships.” Her full-length music drama, “Beethoven’s Promethean Concerto in C Minor,” was produced in 2017 at the BACCA Arts Center. Ms. Braff lives in Patchogue with her author husband TJ Clemente. TRACYLYNN CONNER (Angel Ventura) TracyLynn Conner is thrilled to be starring in the lead role of Angel in this original play. She has recently been featured in “Bridges of Madison County” (Francesca), “The Addams Family” (Morticia), “Nine” (Claudia), and “Curtains” (Georgia). Other favorite roles include: “Amadeus” (Constanze), “West Side Story” (Maria), “The Children’s Hour” (Karen), and the Annual Festival of One-Act Plays at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson. 

JEB LADOUCEUR is a syndicated theater and book reviewer. His critiques appear regularly in a number of leading Long Island newspapers and online publications. He is the author of 12 published novels in the thriller genre.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - LaValle's Defeat "Localized Issue" Or Anti Trump Sentiment

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

 Does the defeat of former Suffolk County Republican Chairman John Jay LaValle last week in a race for Port Jefferson mayor—in which Mr. LaValle’s close linkage with President Trump was a main issue—mean trouble for Mr. Trump in 2020 in running in Suffolk? Does it also mean trouble for another staunch backer of Mr. Trump, U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin, running for re-election this year?

Mr. LaValle left as Suffolk GOP leader in March. As Newsday described him recently, he has “been President Donald Trump’s prime local cheerleader for the past three years.” Mr. LaValle regularly appeared on television as a surrogate supporting Mr. Trump. A former Brookhaven Town supervisor and cousin of long-time State Senator Kenneth LaValle of Port Jefferson, he held the GOP chairmanship for a decade.

He indicated when he stepped down that he was interested in being “out there advancing the president and if I end up in a formal role, that would be O.K., too.”

But he decided to run for mayor of Port Jefferson against five-term incumbent Margot Garant, a lawyer who not only had the strength of incumbency but also the incumbency of her mother, herself a former Port Jefferson mayor.

And the LaValle-Trump tie became very important. As one Port Jefferson voter, Arnold (Arnie) Tropper was quoted on the website Greater Port Jefferson as saying: “No way can I support LaValle. My biggest issue is that he is a huge Trump supporter and it’s one of the few anti-Trump statements I can make that actually has some results. My vote is more of an anti-Trump vote, even though I think she’s done a good job.”

Ms. Garant defeated Mr. LaValle 1,454 to 992.

Mr. LaValle told Newsday after losing: “The mayor ran an effective campaign making this a referendum on Donald Trump. That was the result.”

What will this mean for Mr. Trump who in 2016 carried Suffolk with 328,403 votes to Hillary Clinton’s 276,953? That was a hefty 8 percent margin in a county which Barack Obama carried with a nearly 4 percent margin in 2012 and 6 percent in 2008.

And what will it mean for Republican Zeldin of Shirley who is running this year for his third term representing the lst Congressional District which includes all of Brookhaven Town—in which Patchogue is located—along with most of Smithtown, a slice of Islip and all five East End towns: Southampton, East Hampton, Southold, Riverhead and Shelter Island?

“I would hope it is a trend,” commented Southampton Town Democratic Chairman Gordon Herr last week. “We’ll see.”

Mr. LaValle’s successor as Suffolk GOP chairman, Jesse Garcia, told me he regarded Mr. LaValle’s defeat as a “localized issue.” As for Mr. Zeldin encountering trouble this year for his support of Mr. Trump, Mr. Garcia said “Lee Zeldin stands on his own and he has a wide breadth of support for his actions on Long Island issues.” And regarding President Trump, Mr. Garcia said “our polling has shown he’s strong in Suffolk County and in Brookhaven Town [Mr. Garcia has also remained Brookhaven GOP leader.] His detractors may go after his candor, approach and outspokenness, but middle-class Suffolk taxpayers are responding to his policies and his stand on national security issues which I think will carry him—and we want to extend that 8% margin in 2016 even further in 2020.” 

Former Suffolk County Legislator Jim Morgo, who has been Suffolk County chief deputy county executive, like fellow Democrat Herr would “like to think” that the LaValle defeat with his Trump allegiance playing a major part “portends the future.”

The question, said Mr. Morgo, is whether what happened in Port Jefferson, among Brookhaven communities including Patchogue and Stony Brook that are places of Democratic strength in the largely GOP town, the most populated in Suffolk, will carry over to much of the rest of Brookhaven and Suffolk. He believes broad opposition to Mr. Trump, his behavior and actions, will do this. Mr. Morgo of Bayport is active in the group Taking Action Suffolk County (TASC) started along with many similar organizations around the nation after Mr. Trump’s election to challenge him. 

The founder of TASC, Bryan Erwin of Mattituck, said in an email blast last week: “We did it. Margot Garant was re-elected Port Jefferson Village mayor. TASC is proud to have helped see Mayor Garant awarded another term. But aside from Margot clearly being the better candidate, TASC was drawn to action by her opponent, John Jay LaValle….LaValle represents the hateful rhetoric and disgraceful cronyism that should have no place in our political system.”

The big political change these days in Suffolk, once heavily Republican, is that enrolled Democrats now outnumber Republicans—358,296 to 329,689. And there are 281,489 voters in the “blank” category, enrolled in no party, enabling political surprises to easily happen here.

 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.   

The Nissequogue River State Park In Kings Park To Get A Master Plan

On Wednesday, June 19th, Senator John J. Flanagan (2^nd Senate District) announced that state legislation he sponsored (s2854b.pdf ) requiring NYS Office of Parks to prepare a master plan for the Nissequogue River State Park has passed both the Senate and the Assembly.  Senator Flanagan ensured the master plan under the legislation would include 365-acres of property formerly known as Kings Park Psychiatric Center, which was subsequently transferred to NYS Parks in 2006. 

According to Senator Flanagan’s statement State Parks would develop, adopt and implement a master plan for the full 520-acres in cooperation with Nissequogue River State Park Foundation, other interested parties and critical input from the general public.  The plan would present a series of preferred alternatives for the future development and use of the Nissequogue River State Park, but only after conducting public meetings to gather useful information and input, and also considering important factors, such as the historic, natural and recreational resources of the park.

The Nissequogue River State Park Foundation(NRSPF) was established in March 2008. Its mission is to help enhance and beautify the park. For over a decade the NRSPF board has advocated for a master plan. 

“We are very excited about the legislation that was sponsored by Senator Flanagan and passed the Senate yesterday.   This legislation accomplishes two major goals;  First, it clarifies that both segments of the property that was designated as parkland (the original 155 acres and the subsequent addition of 365 acres) to be part of Nisseqougue River State Park.   Historically there have been concerns in some quarters that the designation of the 365 acres was at risk of being developed.  Although the Foundation has always supported the law indicating that parcel was designated as part of the original park, it is now codified by this legislation.

Secondly, the bill requires the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to establish a “master plan” for the entire park that takes into consideration the historic natural and recreational resources of the park as well as the protection of the resources of the park facilities and principles of sustainability.  It will include short and long-term agendas to guide future development of park facilities.  This plan will be done with community input as part of the OPRHP master planning process.  A related and welcome feature of the bill names both the Town of Smithtown and the NRSP Foundation as “interested parties” and states that the plan will be developed in cooperation with these parties.  

These are important and welcome developments and we look forward to working closely with the OPRHP in developing a comprehensive plan that meets the needs of the entire community. ” John McQuaid, President NRSP Foundation

This is not the first time Senator Flanagan has intervened on behalf of the park; in 2006 Senator John J. Flanagan (2nd Senate District) announced that he had secured $25 million in state funding for the environmental cleanup of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center site. Most of that money was spent removing buildings from the site. 

The foundation hosts numerous fundraisers benefiting the park including an annual Turkey Trot and most recently a Sunset Run held in May. The NRSP Foundation Youth Board is hosting its annual Regatta on July 13th.

The legislation is  awaiting Governor Cuomo’s signature.

The Nissequogue River State Park is located at 799 Saint Johnland Road, Kings Park, NY, 11754. To learn more about the NRSP Foundation and the work it does to support the park click here.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - After A Decade Dr. Stanley And Dr.McKay Are Leaving

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

The two top figures in higher education in Suffolk County—Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., president of Stony Brook University and Dr. Shaun McKay, president of Suffolk County Community College—are leaving.

Dr. Stanley was for a decade at the helm at Stony Brook, one of SUNY’s four university centers (the others are at Albany, Buffalo and Binghamton) with 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Stanley will on August 1 be taking a post as president of Michigan State University in Lansing. It has 50,000 students and its president resigned last year after a sex-abuse scandal involving the campus doctor Larry Nassar’s molestation of female university athletes for which he was convicted and sentenced to from 40 to (a whopping) 175 years in prison.

Dr. McKay, at the top of Suffolk County Community College also for a decade, tendered his resignation in May. Suffolk Community has three campuses (in Selden, Riverhead and Brentwood) and 26,000 full and part-time students. On its website, it describes itself as the “largest community college in the State University of New York system. SCCC is a comprehensive publicly-supported, two-year, open enrollment institution.” Dr. McKay and the college are not revealing his reasons for leaving but, it was learned, they involve personal issues.

Dr. Stanley in his tenure picked up on the early focus of Stony Brook presidents having the school stress science and research, although the state’s original plan under then Governor Nelson Rockefeller—a pivotal figure in developing the SUNY system—was for Stony Brook to be “the Berkeley of the East.” It was to become a counterpart of the University of California, Berkeley, a well-rounded university center. 

But under its early presidents, Dr. John S. Toll, a nuclear physicist; his successor, acting president T. Alexander Pond, also a nuclear physicist; and then Dr. John H. Marburger, III, a theoretical physicist, the overwhelming emphasis was on science and research. 

Stony Brook ended up looking in many respects more like Caltech — the private California Institute of Technology — rather than a well-rounded institution like Berkeley.

A humanities-focused period came when Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny was Stony Brook’s president. Starting out as an English professor, she became chair of the English department, then provost of the University of Maryland’s College of Arts & Humanities, and then president of Queens College. During her tenure at Stony Brook from 1994 to 2009, Dr. Kenny tried to change Stony Brook’s culture and have it emphasize far more teaching and the needs of students. She had no choice. She told me that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education threatened to lift Stony Brook’s accreditation unless it paid greater attention to teaching and students rather than its activities dominated by research.

Dr. Kenny was succeeded by Dr. Stanley, who had been vice chancellor for research at Washington University in St. Louis. An M.D. long involved in research, he returned Stony Brook to focusing on science and research. 

A most destructive act by Dr. Stanley, one of his first actions when he became president of Stony Brook, was ordering the virtual closing of the Stony Brook Southampton campus, founded as a teaching institution emphasizing the environment and sustainability. 

In recent years under Dr. Stanley, Stony Brook suspended student admissions into its theatre arts, comparative literature and cinema arts departments, part of a series of cuts in liberal arts. In 2017, hundreds of students joined in a demonstration on campus — a “March for the Humanities” — that culminated with a sit-in. 

Meanwhile, there has been, slowly, some more use made of the Stony Brook Southampton campus and plans are underway for the now Stony Brook-affiliated Southampton Hospital to move to the campus with linked health sciences programs.

Stony Brook University was established in 1962.

Suffolk County Community College was established in 1959. At the start of 2019, the trustees of the college directed Dr. McKay to take a paid leave of absence from his post. This came after Dr. McKay spent 77 days on medical leave in 2018 and when he returned sought a 10-year contract extension. In announcing Dr. McKay’s “voluntary resignation” as president, Suffolk Community in a statement quoted Theresa Sanders, chair of its board of trustees, as saying “there were no findings of wrongdoing, incapacity, or misconduct on the part of Dr. McKay.”

According to Newsday, “potential successors” to Dr. McKay include former Congressman Tim Bishop of Southampton who since losing a re-election bid became a professor and is now also the head of the Center for Community Solutions at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, and State Senator Kenneth LaValle of Port Jefferson. Mr. LaValle, an educator who subsequently received a law degree, was first elected to the Senate in 1976 to represent a district that encompasses most of eastern Suffolk. When Republicans controlled the Senate, he was chairman of its Higher Education Committee.

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.