Women's History Month SCPD Commissioner Geraldine Hart Goes To Commack HS

photo credit Brenda LentschWomen’s History Month means different things to people. The world for women in 2019 is very different from the world of fifty years ago. Unfortunately, there are still glass ceilings that women are fighting to break but the ceilings are fewer. Earlier this week at Commack High School, sixteen female students had the opportunity to see history for themselves.  On Monday, March 25th, nineteen students all leaders met with Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart, the first female police commissioner in Suffolk County history.

The nineteen attendees were Erin Sass (11th),Crystal Curcio (11th), DaVaughna Tulloch (12th), Jenna Theodorellis (12th), Kim Liao (11th), Kristina Parkas (11th), Amy Pasquale (11th), Brianna Michel (11th), Paige Robinson (11th), Jenna Cicalo (11th), Samantha Silverman (10th), Alyssa Braxton (11th), Emily Hartman (10th), Cathleen Deutsch (12th), Noa Mizrachi (12th), Jackie Dweck (12th), Stephanie Schneider (12th), Carly Sukiel (12th), Jackie Cianci (12th).

Commack School District Clerk Debbie Virga, who also holds the title of Director of Community Relations, was the organizer of the Women’s History Event. Commack HS Principal Leslie Boritz was the proud host. The students came with interest and questions. Accolades to the students for coming up with insightful and provocative questions. Accolades to Commissioner Hart who answered every question. 

Police Commissioner Hart center with Commack HS Principal Leslie Boritz (L) and District Clerk Debbie Virga (R)Commissioner Hart is a Long Island native who grew up in Northport and graduated from Northport High School. She developed her passion for the FBI while on a fifth grade field trip to FBI Headquarters in D.C. She determined that becoming an agent would be her career choice and focused on making it a reality.

FBI agents are required to have an undergrad degree, an advanced degree or three years work experience. Hart went to St. John’s University Law School upon graduation she encountered a hiring freeze at the FBI. When the freeze was lifted Hart was notified of her acceptance. Her excitement was short lived. She received a letter rescinding her acceptance. There was a problem with her background check. 

Devastated but keeping her eyes on the prize; Hart was determined to find out what was discovered in the background check. Not an easy thing to do as the information is not provided to the applicant. This lady wasn’t about to give up on her life dream. Knowing that she made choices in her life that would ensure FBI acceptance, she turned all her attention on the problem and discovered the holdup was a report of an unpaid school loan which was a grant not requiring payment. Problem solved.

Following training she was sent to NY and worked on health care cases. A health care murder case she worked on successfully led to her reassignment  to organized crime and gangs. She now worked on the Lucchese organized crime and the Kubecka and Barstow murder case which involved a Northport carting company.

A promotion put her in management, another promotion and she was head of FBI LI region. she worked on MS13 cases and investigated Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke. Under Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini a collaborative relationship developed between the FBI and the SCPD.

Although she never planned to leave the FB, when the Police Commisioner’s job became available in April 2018 she took it and hasn’t looked back. “That door is closed” is how she answered a question about returning to the FBI.

So what’s it like being the first female Suffolk County Police Commissioner? The FBI and the SCPD are similar in that they are predominantly male (11 percent female in FBI and 9 percent in SCPD), but the pace and breadth of work is different. Everyday there is something new happening and new to learn. Acknowledging that there are things she had no experience with she explained to the students the importance of being aware of what she doesn’t know and to learn from those who have knowledge she doesn’t. She is quick to say that the SCPD is very professional and those she works with have been supportive. The intense media attention is something she didn’t experience in the FBI. This, she pointed out, has nothing to do with gender but the nature of the position.

Her advice to the students was, “Be authentic, be yourself. Don’t try to be something you are not. Don’t try to act like a man in a man’s world.” Policing is changing and she would like to see more women consider joining the force. Women, she says, bring a lot to the table. In 2019 policing has a guardian mentality not a warrior mentality. This new way of thinking is a good fit for women who often are good at multitasking and collaboration.  Hart emphasized the variety of opportunities in the SCPD including marine, canine, tech and information.

Careers rise and fall on reputation. According to Hart, having the respect of your peers is important. This is especially true for women who tend to be unwilling to self promote, your colleagues will be your verifiers.

A question about being the first female led to an anecdote about a visit to the police quartermaster. Touring with females, a police officer handed her a pair of pants and asked “can you get behind the counter I need my pants changed.” Uncomfortable for the officer, she said ” The situation can go two ways and she chose to laugh about it.”

What is most important to Commissioner Hart is her family. She trys to find a balance in her home and work life. “My kids are always the priority. and I make that known.” There are times that according to Hart “I give a little bit.”  The FBI had flexibility in scheduling and allowed people to work part time with a reduction in pay. She did this when her children were young. This allowed her to both continue her service and be there for her kids, a choice that many women confront. 

Jenna Theodorellis presents SCPD Commissioner Hart with Commack memorabiliaThe choices Hart made changed her life for the better. She advised the students to “keep your mind and options open to things you may never have imagined.” Too many women feel they must know everything there is before taking a position.  I’m not ready is a common phrase. Hart’s advice “of course you are ready.” Throwing out a statistic that women feel the need to know ninety percent and men only fifty percent she encouraged the students to grab opportunities. “If you want something there is nothing that will stand in the way… perseverance. Set your sites on it whatever makes you happy. If you love what you do it’s never work.”

Summing up Commisioner Hart’s presentation is easy, own your mistakes, slow down be more deliberative. The tempo might call for quick decision, but take a moment to look at the big picture and facts will come into focus. Mentor, be collaborative, be a good listener, no ego, find a good balance in family and work life. Remember to give and take. 

Sage advice from the first female Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Bellone - Kennedy 2019

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Facing each other in the top election race this year in Suffolk County—for county executive—are the incumbent, Steve Bellone, seeking a third four-year term, and County Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr. who has served in various positions in Suffolk government for 33 years.

A big advantage for Democrat Bellone is already having a campaign fund of $2 million. Republican Kennedy has a fraction of that.

Mr. Kennedy is a former Suffolk County legislator who has also held posts in the offices of county executive and county clerk. He has been highly critical of Mr. Bellone notably of Mr. Bellone’s handling of county financial matters about which Mr. Kennedy opened his campaign.

Mr. Bellone, a lawyer, was a member of the Babylon Town Board and that town’s supervisor before his election as county executive. He got off to a bumpy start. “Suffolk Exec’s First Year, Out Of The Office,” was the front-page banner headline of Newsday in 2013. The article began: “Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone was absent from the office for days at a time or longer during his first year on the job and often was difficult to reach, said four high-level sources with direct knowledge of his schedule.” He “would spend hours at a time during workdays at restaurants, and aides who were searching for him even monitored twitter uses for reported sightings.”  The piece quoted one source as saying: “He would not return phone calls, sometimes for five days; it was very challenging.”

Instead of being in his office in the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge, “Bellone spent hours at a time during the week at restaurants, primarily Panera Bread in North Babylon, not far from his home, all of the sources said.” During this period the county faced a “projected three-year deficit of as much as $530 million.”

Mr. Bellone was quoted in the article as saying he felt “very isolated and the public doesn’t come in” to the Dennison Building. The piece went on that following Suffolk being hit by superstorm Sandy, he “has been far more engaged in daily operations.” In recent times, Mr. Bellone has been quite active generating news.

He has promoted diversity most recently calling for the Suffolk Police Department to be “more diverse….The world around us is changing,” he said in a presentation this month. On the  On the environmental front, he had the county challenge the lawsuit brought by the Long Island Pine Barrens Society that would have crippled the nationally-renown Suffolk County Farmland Preservation Program. Big priorities have been development in Suffolk—such as the “Ronkonkoma Hub” project—to ostensibly provide an economic shot, and also sewering.

Mr. Kennedy of Nesconset worked at nearby Kings Park Psychiatric Center while attending Stony Brook University where he received a B.A. in psychology. After graduation, he became a counselor and administrator at a New York State Office of Mental Health outpatient program. He went on to law school and in addition to being an attorney has a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in capital budgeting.

He starting working for Suffolk County government in 1986, under County Executive Peter F. Cohalan, a GOPer, in the executive’s Office for the Aging. Mr. Kennedy then served a succession of county executives, two Republicans and Democrat Patrick Halpin, and in 1995 held a high position in the county clerk’s office. He was elected to the Suffolk Legislature in 2003 and was its Republican minority leader between 2012 and 2014 when he was first elected Suffolk comptroller, the county’s chief financial officer and fiscal watchdog.

His online biography stresses his advocacy as a county legislator of measures “preserving local open space, groundwater and ecosystems.” In recent weeks, he, too, has hit a bumpy stretch, for sending out federal 1099 tax forms to Suffolk homeowners who have entered the county’s Residential Septic Incentive Program. It provides $10,000 to $20,000 grants toward installation of “advanced” wastewater treatment systems that substantially reduce nitrogen discharges which have caused serious pollution to bays and other water bodies. Homeowners fearing they may be liable for thousands of dollars in taxes have complained and so has the Bellone administration which says this would be contrary to a legal opinion it has received.

Mr. Kennedy was re-elected last year. As comptroller he has charged Mr. Bellone with “a complete absence of leadership” causing Suffolk to be “on the precipice of financial crisis.” He announced his candidacy for county executive in front of the Dennison Building last month declaring that Mr. Bellone “deserves an F” for repeated Wall Street downgrades of county bonds. “We’re saying enough is enough,” he said. “We will stop the hemorrhaging. We will stop the bleeding. We will cut up the credit cards. We will start to pay our debts….We will save Suffolk.”

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 - 'A Gentleman's Guide To Love & Murder'

Theater Review – ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder’

Produced by Engeman Theater – Northport

                          Reviewed by Jeb Ladouceur 

  ‘A Gentleman’s Guide…’ is unlike any other play you are likely to see this season or … for that matter … ever! Similarly, the musical version of a 1907 novel by Roy Horniman titled ‘Israel Rank - The Autobiography of a Criminal’ is quite possibly a reviewer’s worst nightmare, because no fewer than eight (count ‘em) eight of the dozen major roles are played over a 150-minute span by a single actor (Danny Gardner)!

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  If the madcap goings on … about conniving heir Monty Navarro (played by Sean Yves Lessard) who is ninth in succession to inherit the family fortune … were not so convincingly conceived by writer Robert L. Freedman (he adapted the farce for the stage), and cleverly choreographed by Vincent Ortega (a comic genius if ever there was one), it might be impossible closely to follow the proceedings that tumble across the John W. Engeman proscenium in a torrent of hilarity.

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  But the sly Navarro rivets our attention by figuring out novel ways to knock off those relatives who stand between him and the jackpot he covets. These dastardly devices include everything from death by bee sting, to decapitation while weightlifting. It’s all very farcical stuff, but this critic has seldom had as much fun in the theater.

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  Highlight of the evening is a vaudeville-style song and dance routine featuring two males that once might have been thought a bit naughty, but in our so-called ‘progressive’ age, has to be considered rather tame. It’s titled ‘Better With a Man’ and that said, one need not go into further detail to describe its content. Suffice it to say, hoofers Lessard and Gardner steal the play with their show-stopping routine. It’s very funny … superbly polished material.

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 Without question, in this musical the supremely talented Danny Gardner has been handed one of the most complex theatrical assignments imaginable. If you thought any actor taking on the dual roles of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had his hands full, you ain’t seen nuthin’ until you’ve watched (and heard) Gardner act, sing, and dance his way through eight juicy parts (of both sexes, yet) as if he were absolutely born to each role.

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  But while everyone is good in this show … the workmanlike dressers who see to Gardner’s numerous costume changes, though they are never seen onstage, deserve a special nod of appreciation. Some of these unheralded staffers work their miracles in a matter of 15 or 20 seconds … and that often includes applying and removing the star’s makeup as well as his clothing. Geez! We should have a special category for acknowledging the expertise of such professionals.

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  Meanwhile, perhaps it will serve to give the plaudits to ‘A Gentleman’s Guide…’ Director, Trey Compton. He will know how the kudos should be distributed. This musical could not possibly work without the diligence of its dressers.

 

Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of a dozen novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. His recent hit, THE GHOSTWRITERS, explores the bizarre relationship between the late Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Ladouceur’s newly completed thriller, THE SOUTHWICK INCIDENT, was introduced at the Smithtown Library on May 21st. The book involves a radicalized Yale student and his CIA pursuers. Mr. Ladouceur’s revealing website is www.JebsBooks.com 

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SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Environment, Public Health And Plastic Policy

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

The good news is that the distribution of plastic—that petrochemical product that has polluted the planet—is being challenged worldwide. The European Parliament last month banned single-use plastic products—plastic bags, straws, plates, cups and so forth. In the United States, the Maryland State Senate this month approved a measure to ban polystyrene foam food containers and cups—it would become the first state to take such action.

And Suffolk County, which has led the U.S. in many environmental initiatives, is preparing to take action on a set of bills that, among other things, would ban polystyrene (often called Styrofoam) food containers, plates and cups and also plastic straws and stirrers. Several towns and villages in Suffolk—including Southampton and East Hampton Towns and the Villages of Patchogue—have been taking on plastic products including limiting the distribution by stores of single-use plastic bags. This was followed by Suffolk County last year passing its own law on single-use plastic bags.

Meanwhile, a number of stores have moved on plastics. Trader Joe’s has declared that it has “stopped offering single-use plastic carryout bags in all stores” and “replaced any remaining Styrofoam trays in our produce section with bio-based compostable trays.”

The bad news is that the petrochemical industry is still pushing plastic—and pushing hard. “A major push is underway and attracting hundreds of billions in investment, both foreign and domestic, to move in the opposite direction and produce more plastics and other petrochemicals,” declared an extensive article this month on the www.desmog.com website. “The goal? To create new demand from industry from raw materials produced by fracked shale wells.” Fracking, the breaking apart of underground shale deposits for gas and oil, a highly polluting process using 600 chemicals, many cancer-causing, and contaminating water supplies, is causing the U.S. to this year become the world’s top producer of petroleum, exceeding Saudi Arabia. The petrochemical industry is promoting more use of plastic which is made with oil.

“Today,” declared Suffolk Legislator Kara Hahn last month, “we announce policies that will come to define our county’s environmental legacy for generations to come. The vast and growing scale of the worldwide plastics problem has become a growing threat to human health. We as a county have worked, in some cases decades, to address the challenges posed by these dangerous pollutants.  Now, with the backing of science and evolving public awareness, support for policies limiting and banning substances that threaten human health and our environment has reached a turning point. It’s time to take a stand against this growing threat.” 

“How do you conquer a world-wide crisis?” asked Legislator Hahn of Setauket. “One local county at a time if necessary. An island, like Long Island, surrounded by the ocean and the Sound with water so intricately tied to our life and our identity, should be at the forefront of this issue, not wait to be last in line.” 

With Ms. Hahn were members of the county’s Single-Use Plastic Reduction Task Force which she chairs and developed the proposed restrictions on plastic products. Also with her was Legislator William Spencer of Centerport, a medical doctor, who commented: “The negative impacts to our environment and public health, due to plastic pollution, is a problem that will continue to worsen with time. Taking action now is imperative if we are going to effectively reverse the growing crisis.”

As the proposed law on plastic straws and stirrers begins, the Suffolk Legislature “hereby finds and determines that the County of Suffolk is a national leader in environmental protection, as it strives to protect the natural resources and beauty of Long Island.” It notes the enactment of restrictions on single-use plastic bags. “The Legislature further finds that plastic straws are ubiquitous, often served automatically when a drink is ordered at a restaurant. Americans collectively use 500 million plastic straws per day…This is enough straws to wrap around the earth’s circumference 2.5 times every day.” Under the measure, plastic straws would only be available “by request” in Suffolk.

As for polystyrene food containers, the bill banning them explains that “polystyrene foam is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer” and “styrene has been classified as a potential human carcinogen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.” Further, the EPA “has determined that the polystyrene manufacturing process is the fifth largest creator of hazardous waste in the United States.” And, “There exists no practical method to recycle polystyrene and incineration of polystyrene releases toxic fumes.”

“This Legislature further determines that alternative biodegradable food service items are readily available to meet the vast majority of food service needs” and “the use of biodegradable and/or compostable food service products will reduce the waste stream in Suffolk County…”

All these plastic products—unnecessary other than to profit the petrochemical industry.

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. 

Who Is Going To Pay? Comptroller Kennedy Says Homeowners

Who is going to be taxed for the nitrogen-reducing septic systems installed under Suffolk County’s grant program? County Comptroller John Kennedy believes homeowners are liable. The comptroller issued tax forms to homeowners who participated in the county’s grant program and installed nitrogen-reducing septic systems. If the comptroller’s position is correct the homeowners could face a tax liability in the thousands of dollars.  The Bellone administration is asking the comptroller to rescind the tax notices immediately. Kennedy, in a Newsday article said he is seeking an opinion from the IRS.

The County Septic Improvement Program is the first of its kind in New York State.  Suffolk County grants are provided to homeowners who choose to replace their cesspool or septic system with new nitrogen reducing septic systems. The program, established in 2017, was approved by voters in a 2014 referendum.

The county’s program, supported by Governor Cuomo, was awarded nearly 70 percent of the $15 million awarded statewide under the first year of the State’s Septic System Replacement Fund. Bellone’s statement claims that the “Comptroller’s Action Would Jeopardize Cuomo Administration’s $10 Million Award to Fund County Drinking Water Program”.

Yesterday, Water Quality Czar Peter A. Scully requested the tax forms sent to homeowners be rescinded saying, “Suffolk County taxpayers are already facing a difficult income tax season as a result of Washington’s federal tax code changes that limit deductions of local property taxes. The last thing they need is for the County Comptroller’s actions to expose them to additional tax liability.”

The statement issued by Mr. Scully states, “In early 2018, the County Comptroller’s office sent the 1099 forms for individual system installations to both homeowners, designers and installers, for the same installations. In early 2019, the Comptroller’s office sent 1099s for installations completed in 2018 to homeowners only, and sent “corrected” forms for 2017 to companies which had received disbursements of funds from the County, stating that they hadn’t received any. In an article in today’s Newsday, the Comptroller indicated for the first time that he plans to seek a letter ruling from the IRS on the issue.”

A full copy of the letter can be found below:

Dear Comptroller Kennedy,

As Suffolk’s Water Quality Czar, I write now with a sense of urgency in an effort to limit any further impacts to Suffolk County taxpayers resulting from the unilateral decision of your office to issue 1099 forms which could make grants under the Septic Improvement Program taxable for homeowners.

As you are aware, the program was carefully designed to make the grant process easy and affordable for homeowners. One important aspect of that effort was structuring the program to ensure that homeowners never receive disbursements of funds. Instead, grant funds are disbursed to companies which install nitrogen reducing septic systems, so that IRS reporting requirements should be met through the issuance of 1099-MISC forms to those companies, and not to homeowners. That aspect of the program was made clear at its inception, and all involved companies submitted required W-9 forms expecting to receive the 1099-MISC forms as planned.

In January 2018, however, without prior discussion, and without explanation, your office demanded that the Department of Health Services obtain a W-9 form from a homeowner who had participated in the program. Staff in the Department of Health Services subsequently learned that your office had issued 1099s for the 2017 tax year to both installers and homeowners for the same system installs. The reason why this double reporting occurred has not been explained.

In the wake of that action by your office, the County sought and obtained a legal opinion on the tax reporting issue from its tax counsel, which concluded and advised that 1099 G forms should not be issued to homeowners, and that 1099-MISC forms should be issued to companies receiving funds under the program, consistent with established program guidelines.

Over the past several weeks, the Department of Health Services has been made aware that your office had directed staff to issue 1099 G forms to individual homeowners who completed installations during the 2018 tax year, exposing those homeowners to potential tax liabilities. More recently, you have been quoted in the media as having indicated that you plan to request a letter ruling from the IRS on the matter.

Assuming that this report is accurate, it makes no sense to threaten homeowners with tax liability unless and until the IRS has indicated that issuing 1099s to homeowners is appropriate. For that reason, the purpose of this letter is to formally request that your office rescind the 1099s issued to homeowners pending receipt of the letter ruling you have indicated that you will seek from the IRS.

Given that the April 15, 2019 deadline for filing of 2018 income taxes is looming for Suffolk County taxpayers, who are already reeling from the impacts that changes to the federal tax code limiting deductions of property taxes are having on their personal finances, I would ask that your office take immediate steps to rescind the 1099s issued to homeowners, and to advise homeowners that such action is being taken.

Please confirm that such action will be taken on a priority basis. A careful and deliberate approach to the issue is important given the potential implications for the statewide $75 million New York State Septic System Replacement Program established by the State under the leadership of Governor Cuomo.

I look forward to working with you to ensure that Suffolk County taxpayers are protected against additional tax liability.

Respectfully,

PETER A. SCULLY

Deputy County Executive