Longtime Southold resident Robert Maus died April 23. He was 92. 

The son of Elizabeth (Hellthaler) and Christian Maus, Mr. Maus was born July 20, 1923, in the Bronx. He graduated in 1941 from DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City.

On June 20, 1948, he married Gurly (Osterberg) in Queens.

Mr. Maus served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945, achieving the rank of Aero M2C. He worked as a flight dispatcher for Air France at Kennedy Airport for 25 years.

In 2003, Mr. Maus received The Suffolk Times Person of the Year Reward as a member of the Regina Maris Crew.

Family members said he enjoyed fishing, woodworking, sailing, camping and traveling.

Predeceased by his wife in 2015, he is survived by his sons, James, of Jupiter, Fla., Paul, of Cutchogue, Roy, of North Bellmore and Tom, of Massapequa Park, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The family will receive visitors Thursday, April 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue. A funeral service will take place Friday, April 29, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the funeral home. Interment will take place at Calverton National Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to San Simeon by the Sound Adult Day Care Program, 61700 County Road 48, Greenport, NY 11944.

North Fork children looking for a new bike will get a chance to trade up next month during the town’s annual Bike Swap and Bike Safety event.

The annual event — now in its third year and sponsored by the Southold Town Youth Bureau — features a “bike rodeo course” set up by the Southold Town Police Department.

A technician from Country Time Cycle of Mattituck will be on hand to check bikes for safety.

Residents will also get a chance to either swap their bike for a bigger model or donate an unwanted one to the Community Action Southold Town, a local nonprofit group that helps those in need.

The event is Saturday, May 21, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Southold Recreation Center.

Photo: (Credit: Paul Squire, file)

An alleged drunk driver crashed into a parked vehicle on First Street in Greenport last Thursday, slamming the car into a utility pole and a tree, according to a Southold Town police report.

Police said Ervin Ardon, 26, of Greenport was driving south on First Street about 9:55 p.m. when his 2003 Hyundai struck the driver’s side of a Volvo sedan parked on the street. The force of the collision pushed the car into a utility pole and then into a nearby tree, according to the accident report.

Police responded to the scene and found Mr. Ardon was intoxicated, despite the fact he refused to take a breath test, according to the report. He was arrested at the scene and charged with driving while intoxicated, unlicensed driving, and refusal to take a chemical sobriety test.

He was arraigned in Southold Town Justice Court and released on $2,000 bail, according to a Suffolk County jail clerk.

• A Mattituck man wanted on a Southampton arrest warrant was taken into custody while working in Orient last Thursday, police said.

Jesse Reynolds was arrested about 2 p.m. and taken to Riverhead, where Southampton Town police took custody of him, police said. Police did not disclose what alleged crime the warrant was for.

• Someone took a Greenport man’s debit card from his house and made $260 in various “fraudulent charges,” according to a police report filed by the victim last Wednesday. Fifty dollars in cash was also taken, the victim reported.

• Yoga equipment was taken from a Southold woman’s parked Ford C-Max hybrid earlier this month, police said. According to the victim, the items were stolen while the car was parked at the Feather Hill plaza on April 11 from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

• Since December, someone in New York City has been stealing money out of a Southold woman’s bank account and completely depleted it, according to a police report.

In a police report filed by the woman last Monday, the woman noticed her account’s balance was off. The woman contacted her credit union, who explained that someone, twice a week at two separate banks, had been filing transactions and pulling money out of her account.

The victim said the money had been stolen and filed a police report to notify local detectives.

• A Southold woman reported someone damaged a metal horse garden ornament Saturday morning — again.

According to a police report, the $10 ornament was damaged in front of her property on Main Road. The woman said this is an “ongoing problem” and asked to have the incident documented, police said.

• A man walking his dog on the beach got into an argument with a homeowner, who called the cops saying the dog walker was trespassing on his property.

The dispute began just before 5 p.m. last Monday, when the homeowner saw the man allegedly trespassing on his beach in Mattituck, according to the police report. After the dog walker left, the officer located the man and brought him back to the house so the two could work out their differences, police said.

Though the two men couldn’t “reach an agreement as to where the high tide mark was,” the dog walker said he’d avoid walking his dog on that beach in the future.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

Greenport Village’s power went down for about 15 minutes at around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning after the plant’s substation tripped offline, village administrator Paul Pallas said.

Mr. Pallas said he’s currently investigating the incident.

“From my understanding, we were off and then back on,” he said. “The substation tripped off. No damage.”

Mayor George Hubbard Jr. wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Trustee Doug Roberts posted a message on Facebook shortly after noon stating, “I am told by our team that there was a fault up at the PSEG construction site, but the problem has been fixed and PSEG reports that everything is stable.”

Wednesday’s incident comes after the village experienced a nearly two hour power outage on April 18 after a circuit breaker at PSEG Long Island’s Southold station tripped.

Greenport has its own power plant, but power is purchased through the New York Power Authority, which makes its way into the village through three separate switches the village shares with PSEG-LI.

Check back here for more information as it becomes available.

Photo: Outside the Greenport Village power plant Wednesday morning. (Credit: Nicole Smith)

Lights! Camera! Greenport!

…oh, and computer.

Thursday night’s Greenport Village Board of Trustees meeting will be the first Greenport Trustee meeting to be streamed live over the internet on the village’s web site, according to Village Clerk Sylvia Perrilo.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and the web address is www.villageofgreenport.org

Once you’re on the village web site, find the IQM2 portal on the left side of the home page and click it, Ms. Perrilo said.

A banner will then appear at the top of the page reading, “Live,” with the meeting date and time.

From there, click on the banner to get the video and the agenda for the meeting, which will feature public hearings on making Wiggins Street a two-way street, putting a new stop sign at the intersection of Wiggins Street and Third Street, and a wetlands permit for property on 49 Stirling Cove.

The board will also continue the public hearing on its proposed budget for 2016-17.

The village board is trying out the IQM2 system on a trial basis, and has been given a one-month free trial by the company, Ms. Perrilo said.

It would normally cost $357 per month, officials said. The village can discontinue the service after the trial period ends if officials are not satisfied.

Ms. Perrilo said IQM2 can also be used for webcasts of other village boards, such as the planning board or zoning board of appeals.

Village officials have been discussing a number of options for broadcasting and keeping minutes of meetings in recent months.

The towns of Southold, Southampton and Brookhaven use the IQM2 system.

tgannon@timesreview.com

Here is the Suffolk Times Service Directory for April 28, 2016. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Suffolk Times Service Directory: April 28, 2016

Here are the classifieds for April 28, 2016. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Times Review classifieds: April 28, 2016

Hello everyone! It’s that time of year again! I’m sitting here (a little early — explanation follows) to write my mom’s column for Mother’s Day.

This is my 22nd year doing this, which somehow seems astonishing! Let me start out by wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there — especially mine, and thanks for sharing your day with my birthday! Enjoy your day!

The next wishes must go out to my May 8 “birthday twin” Doris Morgan. This year, it’s my honor to wish Doris many blessings on her 100th birthday. I’m writing a bit earlier than usual so I can share her address and we can all send her cards to celebrate the event. You can reach her at: Doris Morgan, 610 Harmony Drive, Apt. 111, New Oxford, PA 17350. Doris, please have a special day and wishes for many more.

I’d also love to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to a couple of very new North Fork mommies. Three of my fellow classmates had babies in the last month: Eric Sepenoski and his wife, Brenna; Denise and Dean Karavas; and Andrew and Jessica Dzenkowski.

Henry Montgomery Sepenoski was born March 14 at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. His proud grandparents are Katie and Peter Sepenoski of East Marion, Chris and Gary Montgomery and Marc and Bonnie Leveille. Henry also has living great-grandparents on both mom’s and dad’s side: Rene and Leona Leveille, Marcia Jubinville, Kae and Bill Lieblein and Patricia Sepenoski. Henry is the first of his generation for the Sepenoskis and the Liebleins. Eric and Brenna are loving being parents and can’t wait to spend the summer on the farm with Henry.

Denise and Dean Karavas welcomed baby Ava March 22. Her grandparents are Donna and Dave Angevine of Greenport and former Greenport residents Gloria and Thomas Karavas. Everyone is very excited about her arrival!

Another Oysterponds kid also became a father when Andrew Dzenkowski and his wife, Jessica, welcomed son Tyler Rocco Dzenkowski April 14 at 10:17 p.m. at Southampton Hospital. Grandparents Kim and Betsy Dzenkowski of East Marion and Rocco and Jackie Tinebra of Oceanview, Del., are thrilled with his arrival, as are great-grandfather Bill Wysocki of Orient and great-grandmother Alice Dzenkowski of East Marion. I, for one, can’t wait to meet all of these new babies this summer!

If you can handle a move away from all the new-baby happiness, here are some community events that may interest our Oysterponds residents.

The Oysterponds PTA invites you — and everyone you know  — to join them Tuesday, May 3, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Oysterponds School to listen to well-known tick-borne disease expert Jerry Simons, PA-C. Free tick kits will be distributed that contain all you need to be prepared for tick bites: pointy tweezers, magnifier, first-aid supplies and Tick ID card — all packaged in a kit you can hang on your backpack or put in your pocket.

Another exciting event is set for Friday, May 6, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. when an Artists and Carafes wine glass-painting fundraiser will be held at San Simeon by the Sound. No experience is necessary and instruction will be provided. The cost is $40 a head in advance and $45 at the door. Seating is limited, so it’s first come, first served. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and chinese auction. Call 631-477-2110 for tickets and information.

Oysterponds extends sympathy to the Latham family on the passing of matriarch Kathleen Latham at 96 years young. She was a fixture in Orient and will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Orient wraps their arms around her children, David, Priscilla, James and Zoë, and all her grand- and great-grandchildren, especially Orient’s own Tom, Emily, Sarah and Mary.

Gearing up for Mother’s Day, Orient Congregational Church will hold a plant and homemade bake sale Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8. There will be beautiful hanging baskets and gorgeous container gardens, as well as gallon-size perennial plants and colorful annuals for the garden. Most of the plants are deer-resistant. It will take place rain or shine under the tents on church grounds, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday.

Before I go, I want to wish my other “birthday twin,” Dr. Stuart Rachlin, a happy birthday on May 8.

See you in a couple of months, Oysterponds!

If you live near the Southold Town border, in Peconic or Orient, you might notice more helicopter traffic this summer.

The Eastern Region Helicopter Council, a pilot advocacy group, has unveiled recommendations to distribute the volume of air traffic throughout the area — as opposed to just over Mattituck Inlet — by establishing a new passage for landings and two additional takeoff routes at East Hampton Airport.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said he opposes the plan, which is a recommendation pilots wouldn’t be mandated to follow, because he believes it will only lessen complaints on the western end of town and annoy more residents on the eastern side.

“They aren’t solving Southold’s problem,” he said. “They’re just spreading it out.”

During the Town Board’s April 19 work session, Mr. Russell launched a campaign to have the plan rejected. He posted the council’s map of the new routes on the town’s website with a message asking residents to voice their opposition by contacting the offices of Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Federal Aviation Administration representatives.

Mr. Russell also included contact information for each government official.

“Call, call, call,” the supervisor said of his campaign’s message. “It’s not just the people of Mattituck now. It’s people from the entire area.”

Currently, the council’s website contains no information about the proposal. When reached for comment, an Eastern Region Helicopter Council spokesperson said in an email that the group is working with elected officials and community leaders to address helicopter noise concerns.

“The proposed transition routes to and from the mandatory North Shore route have been carefully analyzed to attempt to significantly reduce noise impact for residents on the North Fork of Long Island,” the spokesperson said.

For single-engine planes exiting East Hampton Airport, the council recommends pilots use a route along the southern portion of Shelter Island and over Peconic hamlet. They also suggest that pilots flying in heavy-engine aircrafts who are taking off from the airport fly along the eastern side of Shelter Island and over the causeway in Orient.

Since these locations aren’t precise, Mr. Russell said residents in the neighboring hamlets of Southold, Cutchogue and East Marion will also be affected by the new routes.

As for incoming helicopters, the council is looking to do away with using Mattituck Inlet as the lone landmark pilots use to transition to the South Fork.

Instead, they think pilots should fly over rural areas where the federally mandated North Shore route over the Long Island Sound ends — which Mr. Russell believes is located around Pier Avenue in Riverhead.

“Anything from there is called ‘transitional,’ so there isn’t any requirement under the law to stay offshore,” the supervisor said.

An FAA rule approved in 2012 and commonly referred to as the mandated “North Shore route” requires helicopters to fly over the water across Long Island Sound — one mile offshore — and to go around Orient Point rather than fly over houses. But the rule allows pilots to deviate from the route when required for safety reasons, weather conditions or to transition. Local officials have said this only makes the situation worse in Southold Town, since it allows helicopters to cut across the North Fork on their way to East Hampton as they transition south.

Mr. Russell said Mr. Schumer’s office has confirmed that a proposal is on the table to extend the mandate, which expires later this year, for another two to four years.

The supervisor only supports a couple options to alleviate helicopter noise: scrap the North Shore route mandate and require pilots to travel along the South Shore, or expand the mandated passage over a few miles to the eastern side of Plum Island and over Gardiners Bay.

Ideally, Mr. Russell said he’d like Mr. Schumer to withdraw support for the North Shore route.

“He created the problem for the North Fork,” Mr. Russell said, referring to the senator’s proposal. “It’s not solving anything unless you live in Manhasset.”

Marisa Kaufman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Schumer’s office, said in a statement the senator is working with community leaders and the FAA to permanently decrease noise pollution in the area.

“This plan will not rid East End communities of the constant droning caused by helicopters during the summer,” Ms. Kaufman said of the council’s latest proposal. “Only an entirely over-water route — which Sen. Schumer continues to support and to fight for — will restore the tranquil environment residents seek on the East End.”

Whitney Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Ms. Gillibrand’s office, said the senator “has been following the issue of helicopter noise on the North Fork and is listening to the community’s concerns.”

“Sen. Gillibrand will continue to push the FAA to address the concerns of New Yorkers who are affected by excessive helicopter noise,” Ms. Mitchell said. “She introduced amendments to the FAA bill that would have phased out older helicopters that do not conform to the latest noise standards and would have required the FAA to set up a public process for establishing minimum altitudes for noisy helicopter routes.”

Mr. Zeldin’s office said the congressman issued a letter to the FAA stating that “all water approaches via the South Shore route ought to be the gold standard for helicopters destined for East Hampton Airport.”

Some members of Southold Town’s helicopter noise steering committee have different opinions about the council’s latest proposal.

Committee member Teresa McCaskie of Mattituck said she’s against the proposed routes because she believes they will only “inundate the North Fork with more air traffic.”

“It is unjust and unfair that we have to absorb all of this air traffic,” she said. “These routes are not going to help us. All it is doing is shift noise from one area to another. More flights need to fly over the southern route — that’s part of the solution.”

Not everyone has been quick to voice opposition to the council’s plan.

Fellow helicopter noise steering committee member Amy Greenberg of Mattituck said that while she would prefer having pilots fly above 2,500 feet — or go around the North Fork or along the South Shore — she believes the council’s proposed routes will provide some relief to the area from helicopter noise.

“They are going to try to spread out the traffic, so it’s not going over one route over and over again,” she said, describing the council’s latest plan as a temporary fix until new air traffic laws are established. “It’s going to get worse unless we get something done.”

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

Map illustration created by The Suffolk Times. (Source: Eastern Region Helicopter Council)

Greenport has one less seafood restaurant as Blue Canoe Oyster Bar & Grill will not reopen for 2016.

The popular Third Street seafood eatery quietly announced they were closed for good via their Facebook page on April 18.

“Dear valued guests, Blue Canoe will not be re-opening. Thank you for all your love and support over the last three years. Come visit us at Vine Street Cafe or our food truck on Shelter Island,” the post read.

Read more on northforker.com

Photo: Blue Canoe Oyster Bar & Grill. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

That the Environmental Protection Agency appears ready to allow dumping of materials dug up from dredging in Long Island Sound didn’t come as a surprise to environmentalist Adrienne Esposito.

But the lack of any long-term plan to abandon the practice — which critics claim could harm the health of the waterway — was a “bizarre” decision, she said.

“In a perfect world they would have crafted a plan that transitions from dumping in the sound to beneficial reuse,” said Ms. Esposito, the executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “They have taken the cheap easy route out and that’s really discouraging, because the EPA is purporting to be the protectors of Long Island Sound. Now we’re learning they’re the polluters of Long Island Sound.”

Ms. Esposito is just one of the Long Island advocates criticizing the EPA’s recent conclusion, released yesterday as part of the larger plan coordinated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue to dump the dredge materials in Long Island Sound. Dredging — which in this case has occurred mostly in Connecticut harbors and rivers — is used to deepen waterways that had become clogged with silt and sand, making it easier and safer for ships to pass.

According to the EPA, dumping some of the dredge material in one part of the eastern Long Island Sound about 1 1/2 miles northwest of Fishers Island concentrates “the effects, if any, of disposal practices to small, discrete areas that have already received dredged material, and avoid distributing any effects over a larger geographic area.” The EPA also said monitoring will alert authorities if the material begins to spread.

Two other areas in Niantic Bay and near Cornfield Shoals could also be used for dredge material dumping instead of, or in addition to, the eastern Long Island Sound site.

Opponents of the plan claim the materials dug up through dredging could be toxic and may be diffused throughout the sound if the dumping continues. They advocate for reusing the non-toxic sand for beach replenishment and putting more dangerous material in old mines to fill them up.

“There should be no dumping of that material in Long Island Sound,” said Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski. “That water comes through that area at such a high velocity. It mixes.”

Mr. Krupski, who has long opposed the deal, accused the EPA of being biased, saying the regional director once worked in Connecticut and is putting their needs first. The Suffolk County Legislature has tried to influence the plan by securing the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo, but so far he hasn’t weighed in on the plan.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said he hasn’t reviewed the latest EPA documents yet, but said the town would “stand in stark opposition” to dumping in Long Island Sound.

The EPA has scheduled two meetings on the North Fork on May 25 for public comment. The first will be held at the Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts Center on East Main Street in Riverhead from 1 to 3 p.m. A later meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Mattituck-Laurel Library in Mattituck.

Both Mr. Russell and Mr. Krupski said they plan to attend the meetings, and Ms. Esposito vowed to continue fighting the plan.

“We already testified on this ad nauseum,” she said. “Dumping in Long Island Sound is archaic and the damaging practice should be stopped. The EPA should know better.”

Photo Caption: A view of Long Island Sound from Greenport. (Credit: Grant Parpan, file)

psquire@timesreview.com

A Jamesport man was arrested Wednesday on a drunken driving charge in Mattituck, according to a police press release.

James Broderick, 64, was driving on Route 25 at around 11:15 a.m. when police pulled him over for a traffic violation, Southold Town police said.

Police determined Mr. Broderick was intoxicated and charged him with DWI, officials said.

His vehicle was impounded since he had a prior DWI conviction, officials said.

It was difficult to ascertain what was more impressive in Mattituck/Greenport/Southold’s 9-7 girls lacrosse victory over Westhampton Beach on Thursday morning. 

The Tuckers overcame a three-goal first-half deficit before staging a memorable comeback by outscoring the Hurricanes, 7-2, in the Division II game at Mattituck.

They also controlled the ball for virtually the final six minutes of the match, not an easy thing to accomplish in a sport that is so attack-minded.

Sophomore midfielder Jane DiGregorio snapped a 7-7 deadlock with her second goal with 11:04 remaining in the match and senior midfielder Audrey Hoeg added an insurance goal with 1:12 left for the Tuckers (7-3, 6-3 Division II).

It didn’t look very promising in the early going as the Hurricanes (7-5, 5-5) dominated the faceoffs and grabbed a 5-2 advantage with 13:12 to go in the first half on a hat trick by Isabell Smith and two free position goals by Caitlin Smith.

Slowly, but surely Mattituck worked its way back into the match. Riley Hoeg cut the lead to 5-3 with 7:59 remaining before Isabella Recchion tallied on yet another free position goal for Westhampton with 2:35 left. Senior Katie Hoeg, however, recorded the first of her four consecutive goals to slice the margin to 6-4 at the half.

Katie Hoeg continued her dominance by winning the first three faceoffs of the second half and scoring three times in the opening 4:14 to lift the Tuckers into a 7-6 lead.

Shelby Meduski equalized at 7-7 with 14:42 to go in the match before DiGregorio provided her scoring heroics.

After the team’s traded a few possessions, Katie Hoeg intercepted a pass at midfield to begin the Tuckers’ long possession.

Audrey Hoeg was awarded a free position with 2:31 left. She said she felt she did not have a good angle from which to shoot. So, she decided to pass it to a teammate. Finally, she found room and scored to give he Tuckers some much-needed breathing room just over a minute later.

Photo Caption: Mattituck senior Katie Hoeg, left, battles for possession against Westhampton’s Emilee Downs. (Credit: Garret Meade)

The previous meeting between the Bishop McGann-Mercy and Center Moriches high school softball teams was what ESPN would have labeled an instant classic. And Thursday’s rematch? Not so much.

In that memorable game on April 15, Mercy gave Center Moriches a scare before falling short, 7-6, in eight innings. Thursday’s game didn’t last a full five innings.

Center Moriches showed why it has won the last two Suffolk County League VII championships, breaking out for a nine-run rally in the fourth inning and running away to a 15-3 rout on its home field. The game ended when Cassy Smith’s run-scoring single with one out in the fifth satisfied the 12-run mercy rule. The whole business was over in 1 hour 33 minutes.

“It wasn’t our day,” said Mercy coach Jackie Zilnicki.

It wasn’t as if Mercy (9-5, 9-5) wasn’t hitting. But the Monarchs stranded two runners on base in each of the first four innings, during which they went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. They finished the game going 1 for 9 in those situations.

“We were getting hits,” third baseman Kate Wilkie said. “We just weren’t able to get hits at the right time.”

That wasn’t a problem for Center Moriches (14-1, 14-1), which is running neck and neck with Babylon (12-2, 12-2) for the league title chase. The Red Devils were coming off their first regular-season loss since April 2014 the day before. But even in Wednesday’s 14-12 defeat to Babylon, Center Moriches nearly came back after falling behind, 14-3.

It’s no secret that Center Moriches has a potent offense. “We hit one to nine, there’s no doubt about it,” said Center Moriches coach Rich Roberts.

Alex Andersen and Cassy Smith singled in runs for a 2-0 Center Moriches lead in the first.

Then came the fourth. Half of Center Moriches’ 16 hits were delivered that inning, the biggest being Cierra Smith’s two-run homer over the left-field fence as part of her three-hit day. The inning also featured a three-run double by Erin Copozzi.

“It was a lot different than last game,” Wilkie said. “I don’t know. There was just like a piece missing.”

That piece was sound defense. Mercy made two errors and missed cutoffs, the sort of stuff Center Moriches capitalizes on.

Yes, even for a team on the rise, playing Center Moriches can be a humbling experience sometimes.

And Mercy is on the rise. The Monarchs proved that they belong in the same conversation with Center Moriches and Babylon with their 3-2 triumph over Babylon on April 25.

“That was great,” said Mercy catcher Ali Hulse, who went 3 for 4 and knocked in a run Thursday. “That’s how we should be playing, but today we just didn’t execute in the field defensively. We didn’t play like we should have. It would feel better if we had won today.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Bishop McGann-Mercy, coming off a victory over Babylon, suffered a 15-3 loss in Center Moriches on Thursday. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

Listings prepared for Times/Review Newspapers by Suffolk Research Service, dated March 5-11, 2016.

BAITING HOLLOW (11933)
• Kessler, JC & C to Saad Jr, Peter, 82 Palane N (600-40-2-12.7), (R), $475,000

CUTCHOGUE (11935)
• Cardinale, A to Rodger, Sean, 2800 Wunneweta Rd (1000-111-7-14.1), (R), $770,000

FLANDERS (11901)
• Enterprise Zone Drive to 28 Enterprise Zone Drive, 28 Enterprise Zone Dr (900-141-1-9.6), (V), $580,000
• Jasinski Jr, L & D to 17 Cypress LLC, 17 Cypress Ave (900-142-3-10), (V), $30,000
• Jasinski, D to Fisher, Frank, 23 Cypress Ave (900-142-3-11), (R), $150,000

GREENPORT (11944)
• McCarthy, T to Becker, Daniel, 380 Washington Ave (1000-41-1-39), (R), $525,000

JAMESPORT (11947)
• Sullivan, J to 789 Manor Lane LLC, 789 Manor Ln (600-22-1-1.10), (R), $726,000
• Velocci, O to Chawla, Ajay, 1234 Peconic Bay Blvd (600-69-3-35.2), (R), $527,500

LAUREL (11948)
• Clifton, C to Rutkowski, Anthony, 5225 Peconic Bay Blvd (1000-128-1-12), (R), $380,000

MATTITUCK (11952)
• LaFrance, A & W to Adler, Jerome, 465 Harbor View Ave (1000-100-3-10.14), (R), $660,000

RIVERHEAD (11901)
• Beechwood Highlands to Main, Elizabeth, 567 Hartmann’s Farm Rd (600-18-2-5.8), (R), $572,180
• Schwartz, E & J to Betz, Robert, 21 Wake-Robin Ln (600-20-6-2), (R), $625,000
• Lynch, R to Neilsen, Christian, 3503 Amen Corner (600-64.2-1-45), (R), $350,000
• Stoneleigh Woods RH to Sclafani, Peter, 165 Stoneleigh Dr, #3303 (600-82.5-3-7), (R), $431,720

SOUTHOLD (11971)
• Gallo, L by Executors to Sepe, Nancy, 80 Garden Ct (1000-63-7-17.5), (R), $517,500
• Bayview Loan Servicing to Jemcap SDII LLC, 50 Wabasso St (1000-78-3-41.3), (R), $256,000
• Sostre, A & M by Referee to Bayview Loan Servicing, 50 Wabasso St (1000-78-3-41.3), (R), $653,350
• Caggiano, R&S by Referee to M&T Bank, 7410 Main Bayview Rd (1000-78-7-52), (R), $490,000
• Smith, R & A & Renna, FT & C to Caruso, Vincent, 9390 N Bayview Rd (1000-79-8-12.2), (R), $747,500
• Moore, D to Petrausch, Robert, 355 Midway Rd (1000-90-2-28), (R), $700,000

WADING RIVER (11792)
• Smith, T & C to Tepedino, Michael, 76 Gerald St (600-52-1-24), (R), $315,000
• Campo Brothers to Heyward, Brian, 98 Calverton Ct (600-115-1-10.36), (R), $520,350

(Key: Tax map numbers = District-Section-Block-Lot; (A) = agriculture; (R) = residential; (V) = vacant property; (C) = commercial; (R&E) = recreation & entertainment; (CS) = community services; (I) = industrial; (PS) = public service; (P) = park land; as determined from assessed values in the current tax rolls.)

One of the high points of Pat Feiler’s retirement is that she and her husband, Don, get to travel around the country at times of the year when the weather is not too friendly here on the North Fork.

This year, the Feilers headed south to visit family and friends and stopped in Plains, Ga., for a spell. While visiting an art gallery, one of Pat’s passions, a local told them about the preacher who speaks at a local church on Sundays. Excited, the Feilers wiggled their way into the church where President Jimmy Carter stood before the congregation and preached. Later on during the service, Pat and Don sat in front of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter and listened to them singing God’s praises in hymns. President Carter often stays after Sunday service to allow people to enjoy a photo op with him and Rosalynn and the Feilers jumped at the chance for a lasting memory. This is a trip they will not soon forget.

Congratulations to Missy Lechner, who was recently awarded her black belt in tae kwon do. She celebrated with family afterward at Friendly’s.

CAST will host a food drive Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers will be collecting donations outside the Southold IGA, Cutchogue King Kullen and Mattituck Marketplace (formerly Waldbaum’s).

April ends and May begins with birthday wishes for the following: Wally Bunker, Johnny Cushman, Erin Nardolillo, Cindy Pumillo, Jim Christy, Nicole Ann Krupski, Abby Pacholk, Owen Finnegan, Dennis and Donald Deerkoski, Sandy Gannon, James Burns, Devyn Ulmet, Michael Kar, Dorothy Sullivan, Jessica Boomer, Madeline Burlingame, Eamon Deegan, Sherri Kelly, Hannah Baglivi, Lainie Dubinsky, Fred Hansen, Denise Cheshire, Linda Diorio, Amanda Barney, Danny Motto, John Boucher, Sierra Roces, Mike Shanahan, Colleen Shanahan, Chris Rehm and Dennis Case. Happy birthday!

With upcoming school budget votes comes the important election of school board members. This year there are three vacancies and seven people are stepping up for a chance to serve our school and community. The Mattituck-Cutchogue PTSA and PTA will host a “Meet the Candidates Night” at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in the MHS auditorium. The following people have submitted signed petitions to run for BOE this year: Edward Hassildine, MaryLynn Hoeg, Brian Mealy, Barbara Talbot, George Haase, Tonya Kaiser-Witczak and incumbent William Gatz. Take this opportunity to meet and decide who deserves your vote May 17.

Welcome home to the eighth-graders who traveled to our nation’s capital last week. This annual excursion opens our students’ eyes to much of our country’s history and allows them to visit Washington, D.C., with their peers to make memories to last a lifetime. Special thanks to the nine chaperones who volunteered to leave their families for three days to enhance our students’ educational experience.

Contact Mattituck columnist Pat Arslanian at Pat5543782@aol.com or 298-8489.

Suffolk County voters could be asked in November to help fund water quality improvement initiatives through a surcharge on water usage.

Flanked by early supporters of his draft legislation, County Executive Steve Bellone announced the Water Quality Protection Fee at a press conference Monday in Yaphank. Amounting to a $1 surcharge for every 1,000 gallons of water used, the fee would cost the average household about $73 per year and generate nearly $75 million in annual revenue, county officials estimate.

The program would aim to reduce nitrogen pollution by using those funds to connect thousands of homes to otherwise costly active treatment systems each year, Mr. Bellone said. Nitrogen from human waste has been blamed for feeding algal blooms that have led to closed beaches and shellfishing areas in creeks and bays across the county.

“This referendum would literally turn the tide on Suffolk County’s water quality crisis,” the county executive announced.

Considerable work must be done before the fee becomes a reality. First, the county Legislature will review and revise the draft legislation before bringing it to a public hearing and vote. The state Legislature must also act to create a referendum on the November ballot. A majority portion of the more than half-million county voters expected to turn out for the presidential election must then approve the fee. It would not go into effect until 2018.

More than a dozen elected officials, planners, builders and environmentalists stood beside Mr. Bellone Monday to support the plan, urging taxpayers to do the same.

East End state Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) called the proposal “bold and unprecedented,” noting that it builds on the recent extension of the Community Preservation Fund, a 2 percent tax on real estate transfers in the five East End towns that was enacted in the late 1990s and now features a provision mandating that 20 percent of those monies be used toward water quality initiatives.

“It is this kind of collaboration that will put us on the path to restoring our waters,” Mr. Thiele said.

Mr. Bellone pointed to a recent report that showed nitrogen concentrations in one of Long Island’s three aquifers rose by 40 percent between 1987 and 2013, while levels in the island’s largest aquifer rose by 80 percent during that same time span. Nitrogen pollution has also been blamed for last year’s fish die-offs in the Peconic River.

Moving away from the use of cesspools and septic systems to state-of-the-art treatment systems that remove nitrogen pollution is among the recommendations in the county’s Comprehensive Water Resources Management Plan, which also recommends the creation of a Water Quality Improvement District.

Through that district, officials would advance three different types of wastewater projects depending on local needs: sewage treatment in areas where connection to a sewer plant is an option; smaller cluster systems for individual communities where feasible; and individual active treatment systems, Mr. Bellone said.

The proposal has been met with skepticism from some county, town and environmental leaders. In an interview with Newsday, which first reported the plan in a front-page story Sunday, Legislator Thomas Barraga (R-West Islip) called the fee “another burden on the average family, which they cannot afford.”

Locally, County Legislator Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) said he supports bringing the referendum to a public vote but not until a number of concerns he and other legislators have raised are addressed. Specifically, Mr. Krupski said it’s not yet clear if homeowners with private wells will be subject to the fees, a concern echoed by Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, who noted that a majority of residents in his town are hooked up to private wells.

Mr. Krupski also wants to further examine how farmers whose seasonal water usage is weather- and crop-dependant would be impacted by the proposal. Additionally, he would like to see a countywide drainage code and water conservation plan addressed in the proposal.

As for his colleagues in the Legislature who have already come out against the referendum, Mr. Krupski said something needs to be done.

“If we want to address water quality and we all are putting the impairments … in the ground than we all need to pay to make sure we protect our water for the next generation,” Mr. Krupski said.

At the town level, Mr. Russell called the plan premature, saying the county is taking action on an issue when it hasn’t yet “identified the scope, scale or causes of the problem or solutions.”

“[Additionally,] people who live in sewer districts are already paying a premium to pay for their septic waste,” the supervisor said. “They already have public water and the county is asking them to pay twice. All they’ve done is found a neat, new way of creating a new tax without calling it a tax.”

Bill Toedter, president of the nonprofit North Fork Environmental Council, agreed with those concerns, saying that adding fees only to public water ratepayers and not those on private wells “brings into question whether this is totally fair.”

He also noted concerns over how the monies will be managed, pointing to a previous flap in which $29 million from a sales tax aimed at improving water quality was used to balance the budget. Following a 2014 lawsuit from the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, the county was ordered to repay those funds to its Drinking Water Protection Program.

“Both the Suffolk County Water Authority and the county have shown in the past not to be the most trusted parties when it comes to getting in monies targeted only for water quality issues,” Mr. Toedter said.

Mr. Bellone said Monday that measures will be taken to assure the money can only be used for its intended purposes.

Group for the East End president Bob DeLuca, who attended Monday’s announcement, said there are always concerns about how the money earmarked for environmental issues is managed, but he believes the county understands the importance of using these funds for water quality initiatives this time around. He called the county executive’s proposal a “good and important first step” and expressed confidence in East End county legislators Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) and Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac) to look out for the best interests of their constituents as the bill moves forward.

“The Legislature will want to put its signature on this in some way and I know Al and Bridget are already looking at [nitrogen pollution] issues,” said Mr. DeLuca, who added that his group will spend much of the next six weeks reviewing the proposal.

Mr. DeLuca pointed to more regionally specific water quality improvement districts within the county, the creation of town-specific stormwater runoff plans and offering more affordable residential advanced wastewater treatment alternatives as future steps local governments can take to improve water quality within the region.

Pine Barrens Society executive director Richard Amper, who also stood by Mr. Bellone Monday, said he’s confident Suffolk voters will support the referendum should it appear on the ballot this year.

“Not fixing [the issue] is simply a failure that we cannot tolerate,” he said.

gparpan@timesreview.com

With Jen Nuzzo

Top photo: County Executive Steve Bellone announces his plan for a Water Quality Protection Fee at a press conference in Yaphank Monday. (Credit: Suffolk County, courtesy)

A quarter-cent sales tax already funds the Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program.

In the near future, 20 percent of all Community Preservation Funds generated from East End real estate transfers will also be set aside for water quality initiatives.

While it may seem like a lot of money is being designated to improve the overall health of our waterways, it’s simply not enough.

Human waste carrying nitrogen is finding its way into our bays and creeks, mostly through outdated cesspool and septic systems. The county estimates those systems account for about 70 percent of the nitrogen pollution in the county’s surface water. This issue could be dramatically improved if many of the estimated 360,000 homeowners in Suffolk County with outdated systems could afford to upgrade to modern alternative wastewater treatment systems.

Unfortunately, it’s unrealistic to believe that so many of the county’s hardworking residents can afford new systems, which can cost thousands of dollars to install and hundreds more in annual maintenance expenses.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s newly proposed Water Quality Protection Fee, while still being developed, appears at first glance to be a realistic way for the county to begin funding the connection of thousands of homes to these much-needed modern systems.

It’s disheartening to read that at least three members of the county Legislature — Thomas Barraga (R-West Islip), Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) and Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore) — have instantly dismissed the plan as just another tax.

“To ask our taxpayers to sacrifice any more money than they’re already sacrificing is ignorant of the challenges that our taxpayers face,” Mr. Cilmi told Newsday, an ironic statement that’s ignorant to another challenge we face in protecting our region’s most precious natural resource.

Others, such as Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell and North Fork Environmental Council president Bill Toedter, are right to question the fairness of the fee if it only has to be paid by public water users, as well as its effectiveness, if the many East End residents connected to well water don’t reap the benefits. Those and other local concerns should be considered and addressed by East End representatives Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) and Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac) as the bill makes its way through the Legislature and, hopefully, onto your ballot in November.

The public deserves to have its say on this important referendum.

Photo: Breakwater Beach in Mattituck on Wednesday. (Credit: Nicole Smith)

In an effort to reduce the amount of nitrogen getting into bays and other water bodies and to protect groundwater, Suffolk County Legislator Bill Lindsay (D-Holbrook) has introduced a measure aimed at reducing the application of fertilizer.

A moderate amount of fertilizer produces greener grass. But “over-fertilization can be harmful to both your lawn and the environment and it wastes money,” as Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) reports in its online fact-sheet titled “How Best To Fertilize Your Lawn,” which can be found on the CCE website.

Mr. Lindsay’s concern is the nitrogen component of fertilizer and how it contributes to the nitrogen discharges that have been raising havoc in waterways in Suffolk, causing brown and red tides and killing marine life.

Initially, the bill introduced by Mr. Lindsay was to bar the “application and sale” of fertilizer with more than 10 percent nitrogen and 5 percent water soluble nitrogen. Fertilizer with a lower percentage of nitrogen is commercially available, but so is fertilizer with 20, 30 and 40 percent nitrogen and more. (You can tell the nitrogen percentage by the first three numbers on a fertilizer bag. For example, if it says “10-10-10,” the fertilizer contains 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphate and 10 percent potash.)

However, at an April 12 Suffolk Legislature public hearing, a lineup of landscapers, nursery owners and representatives of fertilizer manufacturing companies complained about the limits proposed in the bill. Mr. Lindsay held follow-up discussions.

The county is now considering, Mr. Lindsay said last week, limiting to seven-tenths of a pound the amount of nitrogen contained in fertilizer spread in one application over 1,000 square feet of land. Also, there would be a “per season” limit of three pounds of nitrogen on 1,000 square feet. Implementation will focus, he said, on the “point of sale.” And the initiative will be accompanied by an “educational program.”

However, changes in the bill are still being worked on and are “not finalized.”

Mr. Lindsay said he regards his bill as an economic measure as well as an environmental one. Because of degradation of Suffolk waters, which marine scientists attribute largely to nitrogen loading, “We’re spending so much money trying to clean up our waterways,and a significant portion of our economy depends on them,” the legislator said. “This is about limiting the nitrogen being utilized.”

A resident of Oakdale, Mr. Lindsay points to how portions of Great South Bay in his legislative district have been impacted.

The proposed bill notes that Suffolk “has already taken action to reduce the excessive use of nitrogen based fertilizers by enacting a local law to prohibit the application of fertilizers between November 1 and April 1 every year.” But “more can be done,” it says.

The measure would not apply to “farm operations,” golf courses or athletic fields.

It would, however, cover not just homeowners but commercial fertilizer applicators.

As for Shelter Island and the rest of the East End, Kevin McDonald, chair of the Peconic Estuary Program Citizens Advisory Committee and an official with The Nature Conservancy said the Peconic Bay system has also been hurt badly by nitrogen discharges.

“While lawn care fertilizers are only one source of the negative impacts regarding water quality, everyone can change their property maintenance practices today and lessen these impacts immediately,” Mr. McDonald said. “Each of us as individuals, as well as industry, has to do a part. Limiting fertilizer use is the quickest, most immediate and least costly way to reduce nitrogen pollution to our groundwater and our beaches, bays and harbors in Suffolk. The huge amount of nitrogen pollution entering our groundwater and traveling through it into our surface waters is so much greater than these sensitive natural systems can bear. Reductions from all sources — no matter how small they might be — must be considered. The easiest and cheapest place to start is with residentially applied turf and garden fertilizers.”

Doug Wood, associate director of Grassroots Environmental Education, said: “Lawn fertilizer accounts for anywhere from 7 to 11 percent or more of our nitrogen problem.” Moreover, “We don’t have to wait for some expensive new technology; the solution to the problem is within our reach right now, today.”

Karl Grossman’s syndicated “Suffolk Closeup” column is printed in the Shelter Island Reporter, a Times Review Media Group publication.

Should Greenport Village charge the East End Seaport Museum rent for a location it gets for free?

That question, raised by two speakers at a recent Greenport Village budget hearing, was at the crux of a presentation Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation chairman Ian Wile made before the village board Thursday night. And his answer, in a nutshell, was no.

“This institution provides a huge service,” Mr. Wile said, indicating the the nonprofit, mostly volunteer foundation is required to operate the museum for the village.

A number of Seaport Museum supporters also attended the meeting although only one other one spoke.

The building in which the Seaport Museum operates, which was created out of an old Long Island Rail Road station in the early 1990s, is still owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which leases it to Suffolk County for no charge. The county, in turn, subleases it rent-free to the village, which has a management agreement with East End Seaport for one dollar to operate the museum, Mr. Wile said.

According to Mayor George Hubbard, the museum did repay the village for about $81,000 in village money that was spent on building the museum in the 1990s, but has not paid rent since then.

At a public hearing on the 2016-2017 budget, former Trustee David Corwin said “I don’t see any revenue for the East End Seaport Museum. I’ve got to tell you. That burns me up.”

Another resident, John Saladino, complained that the village was giving the building away, “basically for free,” while residents pay fees for yard sales and fences.

Mr. Wile said that in addition to living out its core mission, there are a number of specific things the EESM is charged with doing for the village.

“We are supposed to acquire artifacts, curate exhibits, create educational programming, promote tourism in Greenport and maintain the interior of the museum,” he said. “In that model, the idea that there’s an opportunity for rent is somewhat confusing, because as a foundation, we are operating the village’s museum.”

In 2015, he said, the EESM’s accomplishments included restoring the aging 750-gallon aquarium in the museum with the help of the Long Island Aquarium; they introduced a weekly lecture series; and they ran educational programs for kids, such as a Soundwaters sailing camp and visits to Captain Dave Berson’s solar-powered boat, “Glory.”

It also runs the annual Maritime Festival as a fundraiser for EESM and it sometimes hosts boats coming to the village, such as the schooner “America,” which will dock in Greenport on June 9 and 10 this year.

The EESM’s stated mission, he said, is “to act as a steward of the maritime heritage of the East End of Long Island. Celebrating a long and varied marine history through artifacts and exhibits, the Foundation operates Long Beach Bar ‘Bug’ Light at the entrance to Peconic Bay, and the Village Blacksmith.  Additionally, the Seaport Museum hosts a full calendar of educational and cultural events, making sure that the community’s connection to the water is not relegated to history.”

Trustee Julia Robins said the Museum doesn’t provide regular financial reports to the village.

Mr. Wile said the EESM could be more transparent and discuss its finances with the village more often. He said the organization’s finances, which are available to the public once they are filed, are like that of a seasonal business, in that they are “slightly in the red until May,” and then gradually improve over the summer months.

In 2013, tax records show, the organization lost about $25,000, while in 2014, it gained about $15,000.

Most of EESM’s revenues come from programs and activities it holds and from sponsorships, he said.

He said he’d like to see the EESM become less seasonal and begin to have year-round events, like boater safety courses or sailing instructions.

Trustee Doug Roberts asked if, in lieu of rent, the EESM would agree to a revenue sharing with the village of the Maritime Festival revenue.

“I’m guessing that festival is doing pretty well,” he said.

“I’d say that you’re asking for a piece of that, that is not your strongest play,” Mr. Wile said. The festival takes a year to pull off, he said, and because of the cost it takes to produce, is not their largest net revenue generator, reiterating that programs, activities and sponsorships are EESM’s top revenue generators.

Mr. Roberts also suggested the village and EESM could pursue grants together, something Mr. Wile agreed with.

“We will be in communications a lot more regularly than in the past,” Mr. Hubbard said.