When Sandpiper Ice Cream closed its doors last October, some fans of the Greenport shop held out hope it would eventually reopen for the season.

But the family that’s owned the business for the past 40 years is making it official: Sandpiper has served its last cone. 

“We didn’t really have an announcement to say we were closing … apparently some people caught on pretty quickly when the Jernick’s trucks were coming and cleaning out the building,” said Alley Adair Nilsen-Diaz, whose stepfather, Paris Stachtiaris, opened the business with his father, Achilles, in 1979.

Ms. Nilsen-Diaz worked the counter at the shop for a decade, beginning when she was 14 years old. She said the decision to close was strictly financial and that her mother, Jessica Nilsen, and stepfather have plans to retire to Florida while she focuses on growing her own pet-sitting business.

The most difficult part of closing the shop, she said, is losing the connection to Greenport Village.

“People would come back year after year and we would see families grow,” she said. “We would see little kids come in with parents and then, 10 years later, they’d have kids of their own. Everyone comes back.”

Known for its traditional flavors like chocolate, peanut butter and strawberry, the ice cream spot could at times see lines out the door during the high season.

“There were lines of people around the corner sometimes during maritime festivals and things like that,” Ms. Nilsen-Diaz said. “We got a lot of foot traffic during those days.”

Marc LaMaina, who owns the neighboring Lucharitos restaurant, said his sister worked at the business roughly 30 years ago, so they’ve known the family for a while.

“It’s the end of an ice cream era,” he said. “It’s always a shame to see a local business go.”

Ms. Nilsen-Diaz said that although they say they’re retiring, she could picture her parents get back in the business down south.

“I think they’re going to get bored, because they’re still young,” she said. “It’s just a feeling I have. They say they’re done … but I know my parents.”

knalepinski@timesreview.com

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Renee Ann Carragher-Phelps of Southold died peacefully Sunday, March 24. She was 60 years old.

Renee was born April 17, 1958, to Catherine (Hutchenson) and Eugene Ryder in Southampton, N.Y.

She was a longtime school crossing guard, as well as an active member of the Southold Fire Department for the past 25 years.

Renee is survived by her children Donald Laskey III, Tracey Carragher and Danielle Carragher; her sister Lynn Ryder; and grandchildren Joshua, Lillian and Zoe.

Visitors will be received Friday, March 29, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold. Southold Fire Department Firematic Services will be held at 7:30 p.m. during the evening visitation.

This is a paid notice.

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Bill Sawicki passed away March 24, 2019, at 61 years of age.

He was born Sept. 12, 1957, in Greenport, N.Y.

Bill is survived by his wife, Cynthia (Bohn) Sawicki; his mother, Connie (Raynor) Sawicki; his brother, Joseph Sawicki Jr. (MaryAnn); his sister, Lisa Sawicki Reinking (John); his daughter, Ashley Sawicki Blados (Danno), and stepdaughters, Brooke Anne Bohn and Ajsia Bohn Turner; his stepson, Anthony Bohn; and his two nephews, Jamie and Joseph III. He was predeceased by his father, Joseph Sawicki Sr. Bill’s canine companion, Xenia, also survives.

Bill leaves behind his extended and loving families in the Southold Fire Department, where he served for 44 years as an active firefighter, chief of department and commissioner, and in the Southold Police Department, where he served for 36 years as an officer, sergeant and lieutenant.

Visitors will be received at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home on Main Road in Southold Wednesday, March 27, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m., with his Firematic Service at 7:30 p.m.

A funeral Mass will take place Thursday, March 28, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Ostrabama R.C. Church in Cutchogue, followed by interment at St. Patrick’s Cemetery on Main Bayview Road in Southold.

Donations in Bill’s memory may be made to East End Hospice Kanas Center for Hospice Care or the Southold Fire Department.

This is a paid notice.

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Robert J. Rosnack of Mattituck died March 25. He was 63 years old.He was born June 22, 1955, in Plainview, N.Y., to Mary (Mayer) and Edward Rosnack.

On Aug. 22, 1987, he married the love of his life, Constance M. “Connie” (née Kennedy) Rosnack.

Robert was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck. He also loved boats, gardening and taking care of his home.

Predeceased by his father, he is survived by his wife; his mother; his children, Kathryn Rosnack, Michelle Rosnack, Steven Falco and Jodi Falco-Norce and her husband, Chris; his sister, Mary Ellen Szwejkowski and her husband, Tom; and his grandchildren, Fiona and Priscilla.

Visitors will be received Thursday, March 28, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, March 29, at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck, Monsignor Joseph W. Staudt officiating. Interment will follow at Sacred Heart R.C. Cemetery in Cutchogue.

Memorial donations may be made to Mattituck Fire Department Rescue Squad.

This is a paid notice.

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Home is where the track is.

The Southold/Greenport boys and girls track and field teams love their new track. It’s the right track for them, and that’s how they started their seasons Tuesday — on the right track.

Both teams felt right at home as they opened with one-sided wins over Shelter Island in League VIII meets held concurrently at Southold High School’s new track. The Southold boys won, 106-32, and the girls romped, 110-14, in the first meet Southold has ever hosted.

Shelter Island is the smallest track school in Suffolk County. Southold is the third smallest.

“It was special,” said Southold junior Jorge Torrento, who won in the 100 meters (11.7 seconds), 200 (24.7) and joined Adam Hubbard, Dante Tramontana and Kenny Latham on a first-place 4×100 relay team (38.81). “Everyone just came out and supported us. We never really had this experience. It just felt nice.”

Southold senior Miguel Torres has been on the team since he was an eighth-grader, but had never known what a home meet was like — until Tuesday. “It was awesome,” he said. “You felt the energy from the crowd and from the team all day.”

Torres took first in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 1:06.8 and ran on the winning 4×400 relay team that included Reese Costello, Isaiah Mraz and Jackson Rung-Wile. They won in 4:12.7.

Karl Himmelmann, the coach of Southold’s boys and girls teams, said his athletes appreciated the historical significance of the meet. “Throughout the day I had a number of athletes who came up to me and just said how psyched they were,” he said. “I think the word they used was ‘lit’ to have a home meet. They definitely felt the energy of having the crowd here and being on their home turf, or track.”

Rung-Wile, who was first in the long jump at 19 feet, 1 1/2 inches, said: “This was a great way to start it off. I think we did a lot better than we thought we would. I think we kind of surprised ourselves.”

Shelter Island had star long-distance runner Kal Lewis, but Southold had the numbers. The First Settlers were without the services of their standout sprinter, Max Pasko, who didn’t run because of hamstring trouble.

No matter. Others filled in.

“The nice thing is … we have depth,” said Himmelmann.

Kevin Azama brought Southold first in both the high jump (5-6) and triple jump (40-1/2). Teammate Emmett Moloney was a double winner as well, throwing the discus 83-11 and the shot put 34-7 1/2. Southold’s Sean McHugh pole vaulted 8-0 to win that event. Latham took top honors in the 110-meter high hurdles in 17.7. Southold’s 4×800 relay team of Connor Kilcommons, McHugh, James Hoyt and Jaxan Swann won in 9:46.41.

On the girls side, senior Marie Mullen had a fabulous day with victories in the 100 high hurdles (17.5) and 100 (14.0), both personal records. “You just go out and work your hardest, and the results come,” said Mullen, who also led off the winning 4×100 relay team. Courtney Cocheo, Briann Suskevich and Haley Skrezec also ran for that team, which clocked 57.6.

The Southold girls had three other double winners: Kathryn Kilcommons (1:15.4 in the 400 hurdles and 29.6 in the 200), Olivia Lynch (5:33.2 in the 1,500 and 12:20.8 in the 3,000) and Emily Russell (14-6 in the long jump and 4-11 in the high jump).

The other Southold winners were Emiliann Palermo in the 1,500 walk (11:57.4), Cocheo in the triple jump (31-2 1/4), Andrea Mena-Ochoa in the discus (67-5), Gabby Touissant in the shot put (22-6 1/2) and the 4×400 relay team (5:01.5). Kilcommons, Lynch, Sydney Heidtmann and Russell teamed up for the relay victory.

“When you’re doing a meet for the first time, you don’t know what to expect,” Mullen said. “… Everyone really came through.”

After the meet, Southold athletic director Steve Flanagan applauded the First Settlers and then congratulated them. Himmelmann then addressed his athletes, telling them “I am beyond proud of what you did today.”

Then, in light-hearted fashion, he told the individual event winners that they all hold track records now.

“It’s really just an amazing experience,” Mullen said. “I’ve never had [a] crowd like this. It just feels like home and it feels great to run here.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Southold/Greenport’s Kevin Azama cleared 5 feet, 6 inches to finish first in the high jump. He also won in the triple jump at 40-1/2. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

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The soccer relationship between Chris Golden and his daughter, Jillian, has been a complex one. Chris is not only Jillian’s father, but he is also her coach and athletic director.

Wearing three hats at once can be tricky for the Southold/Greenport girls soccer coach and Greenport athletic director, but he seems to have navigated it well.

“Sometimes it could be a little unsettling,” he said, “but overall, I always respected that, A, she’s my daughter, and I’ve always had a lot of respect for her as a player, her knowledge of the game.”

Jillian’s knowledge and skills are taking the high-scoring forward to the next level. It’s the same with another Greenport High School senior, defensive midfielder Mateo Arias Roldan. Both signed on with NCAA Division III teams at a signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the school — Golden with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Roldan with SUNY/Purchase.

Both players have been six-year varsity players (and starters for five of them) for their high school teams.

Jillian, an All-State first-team player in 2017, amassed 54 goals and 24 assists over her high school career, playing in four county finals, two regional finals and a state semifinal.

“There was a lot of pressure on her to score and she handled that very, very well,” Chris said. “So, I was always appreciative of that. She gave a hundred and 10 percent every time she was on the field.”

John Jay (appropriately nicknamed the Bloodhounds), which is located in upper Manhattan, was a natural choice for Jillian, who will major in forensic science.

“I picked John Jay because I thought that it would be the perfect school for me,” she said. “It’s in the city, so there’s a lot of sights and sounds and things to do.”

Roldan, a versatile All-County player who can play any field position, bagged 13 goals and 15 assists in his time with the Porters.

Roldan, whose pre-calculus class attended the signing ceremony and took photos, said he selected Purchase because it has a “nice campus, it was close to home and I got the chance to play soccer there. I’m pretty excited just to experience a whole new level of school and sports.”

Chris Golden said: “Mateo can play anywhere, but he was used more in midfield and more in that holding midfield role. Really, things revolved around Mateo, the flow of the game, the pace of the game. His technical ability is as good as anyone I’ve seen come out of Greenport. He’s extremely proficient with the ball. His decision-making, relative to where he is on the field, is excellent. He’s able to slow the game down when it needs to be. He’s able to speed it up when it needs to be.”

Following the ceremony, Jillian Golden said she felt relief. “Finally, the college process is over because it’s stressful and everything else, but I’m just super excited and super happy and I don’t regret my decision at all,” she said. “This is where I want to go and play the next four years and I know that I’m going to be really happy.”

Oh, and she had one final parting thought: “I think John Jay’s going to be the team to beat next year, that’s all I can say.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Greenport senior soccer players Jillian Golden (John Jay) and Mateo Arias Roldan (SUNY/Purchase) have signed with NCAA Division III teams. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

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Before he ever owned a vineyard on the North Fork, Michael Lynne was a successful film executive who transformed New Line Cinema from a small player in Hollywood to a box office power.

In an even earlier life, Mr. Lynne, who died at age 77 Sunday, was an attorney in his native Brooklyn.

Despite his many successes and varying interests, those who worked with him at Bedell Cellars and the Tap Room at Corey Creek, both of which he purchased about two decades ago, described him as a champion of Long Island wine.

“He was a big believer that great wines could be made on Long Island,” said winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich, who joined the wineries’ staff a decade ago. “We’re all very sad about [his death]. He was so dedicated, so passionate and so believed in the region.”

Mr. Lynne, a part-time resident of Sag Harbor, made his initial investment in the wine region when he purchased the Corey Creek property and tasting room in Southold in 1999. One year later, he purchased Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue from Kip and Susan Bedell, with the former staying on as winemaker for five years after the then-record $5 million sale.

Despite his penchant for business, Mr. Lynne’s focus was on making great wine right from the start. In a 2000 interview with The Suffolk Times, he said his goal was to work with Mr. Bedell to take the winery to the “next level.”

Looking back on their time together, Mr. Bedell said this week that Mr. Lynne’s promise to make quality the focus of his leadership at Bedell is what sealed the deal for the sale.

“He was a man of his word,” said Mr. Bedell, who would end up staying involved with the business for 17 years following the sale. “It felt more like a partnership … and he continued to have this drive to make the best wine he could, no matter the cost.”

Mr. Olsen-Harbich said that focus never wavered and Mr. Lynne was proud of the winery’s many accomplishments, including Bedell’s inclusion on the wine list at former President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013 and the vineyard’s recent recognition from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation for its sustainability practices.

“One of the last interactions I had with him was an email he sent just the other day about the award we received,” Mr. Olsen-Harbich said. “He told us how proud he was and how proud we all should be.”

Charles Massoud, the founder of Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue, said Mr. Lynne “provided leadership not so much through advocacy but through his actions. He lifted Bedell to new heights and by doing so brought visibility to all of us. He was taken away from us a little too soon.”

Mr. Lynne’s investment in the Long Island wine industry, which includes the purchase of a preserved 22-acre vineyard in Peconic, came around the same time as his greatest success as a film executive. The former co-chairman of New Line, along with friend and longtime business partner Bob Shaye, is often credited with the idea to convince filmmaker Peter Jackson to develop “Lord of the Rings” as a trilogy instead of a single film. That decision earned the studio nearly $3 billion in worldwide box office and 11 Academy Awards in 2004, including best picture for the final installment in the franchise.

Mr. Lynne, who served on the board of directors for Imax, was also a noted art collector. Many of the pieces he had acquired could be found on display in the Cutchogue tasting room.

Mr. Olsen-Harbich said Mr. Lynne enjoyed working with creative people and it made for a pleasurable work experience.

“I never had a bad day working with Michael,” he said.

Bedell Cellars CEO Trent Preszler echoed that sentiment.

“I’ll be forever grateful to Michael for hiring me out of grad school and entrusting me to run his business and carry out his vision for making quality wines,” he said. “I’ve worked for him since 2003 and was promoted to CEO in 2010. After my own father died from cancer in 2014, Michael became kind of a surrogate father figure to me. He was always a hundred percent supportive. I’ve never met a more noble or erudite man. I will miss him terribly.”

Mr. Lynne was predeceased by his son, Jonathan, last month. He is survived by his wife, Ninah, and his daughter, Elizabeth. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 28, at Temple Emanu-El in New York City.

Caption: Michael Lynne at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue. (Credit: Bedell Cellars courtesy photo)

gparpan@timesreview.com

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A turf field will no longer be included in Greenport Union Free School District’s proposed Capital Improvement Project. 

Eliminating the turf field further reduces the highest possible cost for the project to $23.8 million. The change came after consideration of community feedback, district officials said.

About 60 people attended the third of four public hearings on the project Monday night, when Superintendent David Gamberg revealed the latest price reduction on a project first proposed in February as costing as much as $29.8 million. The district outlined less costly options that excluded athletic improvements, such as the turf field, at follow-up meetings.

It’s likely, Mr. Gamberg said Wednesday, that the plan will have two separate ballot items for voters. One voting piece would approve the bulk of the interior changes, totaling $21.2 million. The second option, which would include upgrades to the tennis courts and track, would add on an additional $2.6 million to the project. Mr. Gamberg said the $2.6 million cannot be approved without voters first approving the $21.2 million.

Mr. Gamberg said officials have been taking community comments into consideration since the Feb. 5 meeting at which the project was first outlined.

“And it’s much more than new bathrooms and new lockers,” he said. “It’s connected to the community, it’s connected to who we are.”

School board president Babette Cornine said the board will vote on the final project proposal the week of April 8. A final public hearing will be held before the board’s vote. Residents would then vote whether to approve the project in June, in a vote separate from the regular May budget vote.

An updated breakdown of projected tax increases to cover the cost of the bonds was not provided.

Ms. Cornine said the district has received bids to repair one of the damaged men’s bathrooms in the school, which plans to be renovated this summer.

Bill Wisbauer of Tetra Tech Architects and Engineers, which is partnering with the district, explained that bids for the project are determined by the lowest responsible bidder and are unrelated to the location of the bidders.

William Swiskey, who has expressed his frustration with the bond project at previous meetings, suggested the district push back the dates on the bond project and tackle only the damaged bathrooms over the summer. He said the district can delay the date of the bond project.

“You’re acting like you don’t have options — and you do,” he said.

But Mr. Wisbauer said because the plan needs to be approved by the state before voter authorization, the project cannot be delayed.

Greenport High School senior Colin Rossetti, who runs the district’s historical society club, provided community members with the historical context of the building. He’s immersed himself in the history of Greenport, he said.

“Nearly 90 years have gone by since the construction began on our current school building,” he said. “Many things have changed in that time. What has not changed is the importance of a safe and modern school facility.”

Village Trustee Doug Roberts said: “Can you help us understand how good we have it on our taxes now compared to the buildings around us? Help us understand the relative way in which are taxes are not brought up over the years … Can you help us quantify this?”

Mr. Gamberg said the district is working to find the historical increment of taxes, but it’s difficult to nail down a comparison between other communities.

“There is a general sense that in the 1990s, before there was a tax cap, that there were a series of budgets that were either at $0, I believe in the early 2000s there was a negative budget,” he said. “Tax base does differ in one community versus another … and is based on years and years of change.”

In response to Mr. Roberts’ statement, Mr. Swiskey said if the project is approved, it might frustrate older Greenport community members who are struggling financially.

Mr. Gamberg said if the project is not passed by voters, the buildings and grounds committee will consider alternative options.

“The plan is to go back to the drawing board, and try to consider input and get the right amount for the right amount of work that needs to happen,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article states upgrades to the tennis courts had been removed from the proposal. Those upgrades are still included.

knalepinski@timesreview.com

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William A. Smith of Mattituck died Tuesday, March 26. He was 92.

Visitors will be received Thursday, March 28, from 3 to 7 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, March 29, at 10 a.m. at Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Riverhead officiated by Pastor Bohdan Hadz.

Interment with military honors will follow at Sacred Heart R.C. Cemetery in Cutchogue.

The post William A. Smith appeared first on Suffolk Times.

The mental game is as much a part of tennis as the physical aspect. Dealing with adversity and overcoming setbacks is all part of it.

When Southold/Greenport’s first doubles team of Cole Brigham and Devin Quinones found themselves in a daunting 5-2 hole in a first-set tiebreaker Wednesday, they responded like the champions they are.

Brigham and Quinones not only rallied to win the tiebreaker, 9-7, but after dropping the second set to Miller Place’s Landon Agic and Matt Molinaro, 6-3, they closed things out with a 6-1 victory in the third set at Southold High School.

“You can’t ever think it’s over,” Quinones said. “You just got to keep your head up and just keep playing, and good things happen.”

Miller Place, however, won the non-league contest, 4-3, when senior third singles player Tyler Cohen prevailed over sophomore James Hayes, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0, in the decisive, final match of the day, with all eyes on them.

Brigham and Quinones were paired together as a doubles team for the first time halfway through last season. They bonded well, found success, went on to claim the Suffolk County Division IV doubles championship and finished with an 11-2 record together.

The pair wants to defend their title. Wednesday was their second match together this season, their first being a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Sachem’s Tanay Karnik and Tommy Syron.

Brigham, a junior, and Quinones, a senior, have both improved their games since last year. And they both understand the importance of buckling down when the pressure is on, such as they did by winning that vital tiebreaker.

“That was so big because we lost that second set, so if we didn’t win that tiebreaker in the first set, we would have lost the match there,” said Brigham, who made a remarkable, lightning-quick return at the net of a blast by Agic that prompted “oohs” from his teammates.

“Phenomenal reflexes,” Southold coach Andrew Sadowski remarked after that dazzling return was brought up.

After their intense match ended, Quinones blasted a ball that stuck into fencing surrounding the courts. Call it an exclamation mark.

“I feel like it was all about our mental strength throughout,” Brigham said. “The nice thing about tennis is you can just keep climbing yourself back and back, one point at a time. Even if you’re down by a lot, if you just keep on winning points and keep on working at it, you can work your way back.”

Quinones, with his powerful groundstrokes and crushing overhand, has made tremendous strides since last year. This past summer he spent a month at a camp in Spain, playing five hours a day, every day, he said. And this past winter he played twice a week indoors.

The results of all that work are readily apparent. Quinones has emerged as the best player on the team, even beating twins Xavier and Jacob Kahn, who played first and second singles, respectively, for the First Settlers (3-2) Wednesday.

Quinones said there’s a “huge, huge difference” in his game since last season. “Last year I could barely compete with Xavier and Jacob Kahn, and this year I beat them both,” he said.

The Kahns both won in two-setters Wednesday. Xavier defeated Anthony Rastelli, 6-4, 6-2, and Jacob beat Christian Plunkett, 6-2, 6-0.

Other matches went Miller Place’s way. Wade Tucker topped Calvin Karsten in fourth singles, 6-4, 6-2. In second doubles, Michael DiPersio and Zach Guasto were 6-2, 6-2 winners over Ryan Fulda and Van Karsten. The third doubles duo of Colin Brennan and Tyler Gray triumphed over Matt Messana and Ethan Vandenburgh, 6-2, 6-4.

Miller Place is 6-1.

Southold’s only other loss was also by a 4-3 score to another strong team, Westhampton Beach.

“They’re doing well,” Sadowski said of his players. “We need to play with a little more intensity at the right time in matches so we can rise above opponents. With tennis, you lose one point, the game’s not over. It’s not over, and I think that’s one thing the boys have to deal with and believe in.”

Brigham and Quinones have shown they are believers.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Devin Quinones, one half of Southold/Greenport’s first doubles team, has improved his game through offseason work. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

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Listings prepared for Times Review Media Group by Suffolk Research Service, dated Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2019.

Brought to you by:

AQUEBOGUE (11931)

• MTGLQ Investors LP to Luce, George, 171 Crystal Dr (600-67-2-16.17), (R), $355,000

CALVERTON (11933)

• Pepe, B by Referee to Majestic Farms LLC, 1340 Edwards Ave (600-61-1-3.87), (R), $360,000

• Delgado, R & L by Referee to HSBC Bank USA, NA, 16 Edwards Ave (600-137-3-2), (R), $570,994

CUTCHOGUE (11935)

• Meltzer, I to Winters, Timothy, 1345 Bridle Ln (1000-102-8-21), (R), $580,000

FLANDERS (11901)

• Fisher Organization to Paredes, Ivan, 52 & 56 Priscilla Ave (900-120-3-2.3), (R), $335,000

• Maldonado-Molina, E to 72 Flanders Road LLC, 747 Flanders Rd (900-144-1-7), (C), $80,000

• Van Arsdale, D & A to Maldonado, Mario, 16 Huntington Ln (900-146-1-14.1), (R), $546,875

• Long Family Trust to Divello, Joseph, 53 Lakeview Dr (900-163-2-24), (R), $175,000

JAMESPORT (11947)

• Moore, L & Kuplins, V to Hine, William, 874 Peconic Bay Blvd (600-88-1-16.1), (R), $750,000

ORIENT (11957)

• Mendoza, A to QJSG Properties LLC, 38015 Route 25 (1000-15-2-15.7), (R), $4,900,000

• Mendoza, A to Luckyfront LLC, 38015 Route 25 (1000-15-2-15.8), (R), $4,900,000

• Lomaglio, K & B to Owen, Conrad, 1880 Plum Island Ln (1000-15-6-7), (V), $275,000

• Utz, S to Fisher, Richard, 295 Youngs Rd (1000-18-1-12), (R), $530,000

RIVERHEAD (11901)

• Salice, K to Meagher, Margaret, 13 Tall Tree Circle (600-2.1-2-13), (R), $680,000

• Benitez, J & T to Pizzo, Gail, 103 Linda Ln W (600-16-2-10), (R), $495,000

SHELTER ISLAND (11964)

• Randolph, P & K to Kennedy, Shaun, 8 Crescent Way (700-1-1-86), (R), $1,255,000

• Deutsche Bank Nat to JAG Properties Management, 42 N Midway Rd (700-14-4-23.3), (R), $478,529

SOUTH JAMESPORT (11970)

• McHugh, K & E to Pav, George, 45 Willow St (600-92-3-47), (R), $400,000

SOUTHOLD (11971)

• Grigonis, Haman, et al to 316 Main Street LLC, p/o 4402 Old North Rd (1000-55-2-8.14), (V), $314,000

• Brodsky, J & Hirsch, H to Feingold, Deborah, 255 Founders Path (1000-64-2-32), (R), $730,000

• Darling, S by Executor to Portillo, Anthony, 48920 Route 25 (1000-70-7-9), (R), $359,000

• Pettit, Schoch, et al to May Group, The, 1280 Cedar Point Dr E (1000-90-2-22), (R), $496,000

• Pazzanese, G to Budetti Jr, Louis, 400 Richmond Rd E (1000-135-3-8), (R), $815,000

WADING RIVER (11792)

• Coutinho, J & M to Dundas, Timothy, 32 Forest Ln (600-25-1-2), (R), $685,000

• Lule, J & Conlin, M to Van Orden, Melissa, 24 Locust Rd (600-27-3-60), (R), $278,000

• Crouzilhat, J & G to Albano, Michael, 85 Fire Ln (600-58-2-5), (R), $117,500

(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.)

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A seemingly innocuous application to raise a home that sits in a flood zone turned into a debate last Thursday about frequently submerged cesspools located in that area and the harm they may be doing to the aquifer.

The case involves a wetlands permit application from Stephen Bull and Terese Svoboda, who are seeking to raise their home on Sandy Beach Road so it doesn’t flood as often.

Mr. Bull said at a public hearing in February that the house has been flooded repeatedly by various storms, and that it’s very old. He said he wants to raise the structure by three feet to protect against future storms. Greenport Village code requires all wetlands permits to be reviewed by the village Conservation Advisory Council, which must file a report with the Village Board on each application.

That report basically says the board would be comfortable with the application so long as the county health department gives its approval to the home’s septic system, which is often underwater.

Mr. Bull’s home is not the only one on Sandy Beach Road in this situation, according to CAC member John Saladino.

“We allow 26 homes to defecate into the bay and into the creek on a daily basis,” Mr. Saladino said at last Thursday’s Village Board meeting. “How do we turn a blind eye to that?”

He said the village is spending in money in other areas, such as collecting runoff at road ends and building storm drains, to protect the quality of the surface water.

The Village Board plans to vote on a resolution Thursday, March 28 to declare that the wetlands application “will not have a significant negative impact on the environment.”

Mayor George Hubbard Jr. also suggested the board take the CAC’s advice.

At last Thursday’s meeting, village attorney Joe Prokop and village administrator Paul Pallas debated whether the village is required to send the application to the county health department.

Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said that if the board is going to make Mr. Bull go before the county, it should make all of the Sandy Beach homeowners go as well.

“I wouldn’t object to that,” Trustee Julia Robins said. She backed the CAC recommendation to require that the application get county approval. She said she has no objection to the applicants’ plan to raise the house, but added, “I have questions about all of the houses down there with their sewers emptying into the creek.”

Mr. Bull, who attended last week’s Village Board meeting on another matter, didn’t speak on the issue of his application.

But at a Feb. 28 public hearing on the application, he objected to the provision to make him go before the county health department.

“We’re just raising the house,” he said. “We’re not increasing the square footage of the house; we’re not flushing the toilet more often.”

He said he’s never had to pump out the cesspool. But he acknowledged during the hearing that he doesn’t believe he could get approval from the county for his existing system.

Mr. Saladino said that in a prior application from Mr. Bull, the he county already told the village the application is a “matter for local determination,” meaning that the county will leave the ruling up to the village.

Greenport has considered extending its sewer district to the Sandy Beach area, although cost has been an issue, since homeowners there would be hit with large tax increases because there are so few homes.

tgannon@timesreview.com

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A picturesque corner popular for outdoor concerts could see upgrades in 2020.

The Southold Town Board Tuesday authorized a Downtown Revitalization Grant application for improvements to Silversmith’s Corner in Southold. 

“We’ve done two projects with this [grant] money in Mattituck,” said director of public works Jeff Standish, citing projects at the Pike Street and Ray Dean parking lots. “It’d be nice to spread the money to other hamlets.”

The project would add a ramp and platform to make the existing gazebo handicapped-accessible, replace a brick walkway with concrete, repair sidewalks within and around the park and ensure appropriate pedestrian access from Silversmth’s Corner park to the Town Hall annex parking lot on Youngs Avenue.

An early estimate for the project came in at $97,954. Government liaison officer Denis Noncarrow explained that the grant would be for a 2020 project and the town would be subject to a 50 percent match.

“It really fits into the downtown revitalization part of the hamlet,” Mr. Noncarrow said.

The project would also build on ongoing efforts to improve the park. Last year, an Eagle Scout installed new benches there as part of his project.

Town engineer Jamie Richter said the cost could be cut if electrical and streetlight upgrades are not needed. Expressing his support, Councilman Bill Ruland said it would be money well spent.

“Given the amount of use that it gets as a community asset, I think we can put a lot of money into it,” Mr. Ruland said.

tsmith@timesreview.com

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The most viable option for improving traffic flow and safety at the Love Lane intersection in Mattituck is a roundabout, similar to the one on Sag Harbor’s Main Street, according to town engineer Jamie Richter. 

“I believe it will work,” he said Monday at a meeting of the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association.

The MCLA held a Mattituck Hamlet Traffic Improvement Round Table in April 2016 that resulted in a Traffic Calming Project Report. The report laid out three options for addressing traffic problems at the intersection of Love Lane, Old Sound Avenue and Main Road.

“We were looking for ways to not stop traffic, but slow it down,” MLCA member and architect Meryl Kramer said Monday.

Once the solutions were submitted to the town, engineers began reviewing each option point by point. From traffic control lights to allowable left and right turns, a roundabout was deemed the best option. MCLA board member John Carter said the group was not all that interested in pursuing a roundabout, as per its 2016 report, due to cost and time factors.

Mr. Richter said that, as currently proposed, the Love Lane roundabout would be 10 feet wider than the one in Sag Harbor — giving tractor-trailers ample space to make turns.

A draft traffic study commissioned by the town, conducted late last year by engineering firm AKRF, was introduced at Monday’s meeting, outlining the options that were considered as they relate to the Love Lane intersection and highlighting relevant statistics. It has not yet been officially released.

“Right now, it’s short and sweet … It’s pretty much going back over all of the ideas that you people generated and gave to us in the first place — and the best, most practicable solution was the roundabout,” Mr. Richter said. “We met with the Department of Transportation, [Councilman] Bill Ruland was there, the supervisor was there, we met with our consultant … what we were hoping for walking out of that meeting was that we just didn’t get an impossible ‘No, this is never going to happen.’ We didn’t get that.”

Mr. Richter said the proposed design was sent to the DOT’s roundabout division in Albany and is currently under review. When the town hears back from the DOT, it can schedule a public meeting to share updates on a potential redesign and as an open forum for feedback. Securing grants and/or private funding will still be up to the town, according to Mr. Ruland.

MLCA members expressed mixed reactions. Their main concern was fitting the roundabout into the available space.

Mr. Richter said acquiring additional property would not be necessary.

Mr. Ruland clarified further by saying that the term “roundabout” is a misnomer because “it doesn’t have to be a perfect circle.”

“The cars coming eastbound will be able to turn the corner, go around the roundabout and go into Love Lane, go into Sound Avenue, or end up going in the other direction,” Mr. Richter said. He also mentioned that the Town Board is looking into expanding the scope of the traffic study beyond the intersection at Love Lane due to other issues that have arisen nearby.

Additional concerns from Monday’s meeting centered on increasing the police presence on Love Lane and the fact that cars are often parked so far out from the curb that maneuvering along the narrow roadway becomes nearly impossible. Mr. Ruland said he’s been speaking with the police chief about possibly adding a traffic control officer to the area and developing a system whereby those who park farther than 18 inches from the curb will receive a warning and perhaps be ticketed for a second offense. That plan is still under discussion and all mentioned advancements are pending DOT approval.

Mr. Richter mentioned, too, that the town is considering adding bulb-outs, or curb extensions, at certain intersections to help control the length of crosswalks and minimize the distance pedestrians must travel to cross the street, as well as potential bike lane provisions.

He estimated that construction of a roundabout would take 18 months, since as it will be built from scratch, and said the cost depends entirely on if and which parts of the current plan receive DOT approval.

“It’s not a couple hundred thousand dollars to do this,” Mr. Richter said. “ I would estimate $5 million or more.”

An update on proposed changes to Mattituck’s Raymond Dean Municipal Parking Lot in Mattituck was also announced Monday. The overflowing lot’s lack of space and inadequate snow cleanup — often a result of improperly parked vehicles and nonexistent enforcement — have long been sources of strife within the community. Since October 2018, when Suffolk County awarded MLCA $56,300 to redesign and rebuild the lot, a significant portion of the lot’s drainage problem has been addressed, Mr. Richter said. The number of additional parking spaces has been increased from the initially estimated 30 spaces to 80. The town owns 57 of those spaces and has planned for three designated handicapped-only spots.

“To maximize the grant, we’re trying to maximize the parking spaces,” Mr. Ruland said. “We’re going to manage the spots we have and we have to make that stick.” This may require timed parking and/or the issuing of tickets by a traffic control officer.

Some MLCA members questioned whether this lot would be part of the town’s downtown beautification initiative, highlighting the need for trees in or around the space. Though the MCLA’s county grant does not cover trees, Mr. Ruland said, the town is in talks with its parks committee to see what can be done.

Trash cans and garbage bins will no longer be allowed in the lot, opening up roughly half a dozen parking spaces.

“It can’t be a Band-Aid today and we hope it’s going to be better tomorrow,” Mr. Ruland, who has lived in Mattituck for 70 years, said of the improvements. “We need to enforce this.”

mkhan@timesreview.com

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Times Review Media Group executive editor Steve Wick and content director Grant Parpan discuss the lobbying efforts of parents whose daughters were involved in the 2015 limo crash in Cutchogue.

We’ll also hear from two of the parents looking to see New York State pass stricter limo regulations.

Click here to read our reporting from earlier this week.

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The New York State Attorney General’s office said Thursday it has expanded a lawsuit previously filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court against the makers of opioid narcotics to include members of the Sackler family, whose company, Purdue Pharma, manufactures Oxycontin. 

The amended lawsuit was announced by Attorney General Letitia James, and was hailed by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone as a necessary step to hold the Sackler family and its company “accountable for their role in connection with the opioid crisis.”

“It is our hope that our lawsuit, and ones like it, will bear fruit that forever changes the way destructive — but profitable — drugs are marketed and sold across the nation,” Mr. Bellone said in a statement.

According to the lawsuit, the AG is seeking an outright ban on the sale of opioids in the state unless certain unspecified safeguards are met. Ms. James characterized the Sackler family as “masterminds” of the crisis who cared more about profits than they did the impact of the drug on hundreds of addicts, victims and victims’ families.

At a press conference in Manhattan, Ms. James said the amended lawsuit was filed in Suffolk because the county is among the hardest hit in the state. There have been more than 400 opioid overdose deaths yearly in Suffolk County, with more than 600 in 2017, according to Newsday. Across Long Island in the past eight years there have been more than 3,500 opioid deaths, Newsday reported.

There have been dozens of opioid overdose deaths on the more rural East End. The Suffolk County Department of Health does not keep separate overdose figures by township or hamlet.

News accounts this week show that Purdue Pharma settled a lawsuit in Oklahoma for $270 million. With a 2017 lawsuit, Suffolk was the second county in the country and the first in New York State to sue opioid manufacturers.

swick@timesreview.com

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Ralph Solecki was 14 years old in 1931, when his father bought a house on a hilltop in Cutchogue that the locals called Manor Hill. 

South of the house lay farmland bracketed by woods and salt creeks, where the curious teenager searched for arrowheads left behind by the Indians who had lived on the same land for thousands of years.

Moving to that property changed the boy’s life and propelled him toward a career as a celebrated archaeologist and Columbia University professor who made headlines in the 1950s, when he and a team unearthed the bones of eight adult and two infant Neanderthals in a cave in northern Iraq.

But it was his youth in Cutchogue, and his digging along the edge of Downs Creek, just east of his father’s house, that helped shape the history of Southold Town and also make an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of the contact period when Europeans first arrived on Long Island and encountered a whole new people.

Mr. Solecki died March 20 at a hospital near the home he shared with his wife, Rose, in South Orange, N.J. He was 102.

The site on the west side of Downs Creek, Fort Corchaug, is now preserved by Southold Town and is a National Historic Landmark. Appropriately, the little bungalow on the site is called the Ralph Solecki Visitors Center in recognition of his pioneering work there — first as a curious teenager looking for spear points and arrowheads and later for his master’s dissertation from Columbia University.

Jim Grathwohl, a former president of the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, helped get the property landmarked in 1999. He said the land at and around the site “was very special to Ralph. It was his baby.

“He did so much of his work there as a young man,” Mr. Grathwohl added. “He felt very strongly that the site was tremendously significant and should be preserved.”

The sun sets on Downs Creek, the area of some of Mr. Solecki’s earliest expeditions. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

Mr. Solecki’s son William said his father’s parents were Polish immigrants. His father’s father, Casimir Solecki, purchased the Cutchogue property. It was a summer house at first, then became the family’s full-time residence.

“Those fields and woods were where some of my dad’s friends were finding flint pieces and arrowheads,” William Solecki said. “They did a lot of looking around and exploring as young, amateur archaeologists.”

Those familiar with the site have speculated that the local lore when Mr. Solecki was growing up was that something important was hidden in the woods and fields on the west side of Downs Creek, where there were visible berms in a somewhat rectangular fashion. Ralph Solecki returned when he was in graduate school at Columbia in the 1950s and, through careful excavation, discovered that the berms were part of the support structures of a 17th-century log fort.

It wasn’t an Indian fort built for protection by the Corchaug people, who had lived on the North Fork for thousands of years before losing it all to the newly arrived English colonists, but was more likely a trading post.

“The word ‘pioneer’ for Ralph is certainly accurate,” said John Strong, a retired history professor at Southampton College and an expert on Long Island Indian history. “There had been a discussion on whether this was a fort or a place where the Indians made wampum and traded with the Dutch.

“Ralph advanced the idea of the role of Fort Corchaug as a trading post,” he said. “The evidence was that the Dutch, the English and Indian people from the other side of the Sound came to exchange goods.”

Gaynell Stone, director of the Suffolk County Archaeological Association, characterized Mr. Solecki’s work as “hugely important. He was a very bright and curious kid and there were men out on the North Fork who were excavating all the time, finding things.

“People knew there was something there, and it was Ralph who found the corners of the ramparts,” she added. She said there were other so-called Indian forts, some of which have been found, but few preserved the way Fort Corchaug has been.

“He was a pioneer, no doubt of that,” she said.

Joel Klein, a retired archaeologist living in Mattituck, characterized the Fort Corchaug site as “clearly one of the most important contact period sites ever found.” He said Mr. Solecki advanced the idea that the period of European-Indian contact was momentous in terms of understanding our history.

“The whole thing about the contact period he passed on to others was the analogy that here were two cultures who had no knowledge of the other,” Mr. Klein said. “They were so different and suddenly they were in contact with each other.”

A comparison, he said, would be if and when we come in contact with extraterrestrials from another world. “It was that momentous,” he said.

William Solecki said his father’s work in Iraq helped revise  what was known about Neanderthal lives and burial practices. He described his father as a curious and learned man — a Columbia University student in the late 1940s, then on to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., then back to Columbia for graduate work.

He taught at Columbia from 1959 to 1988, then moved to Texas with Rose — also a Ph.D.-educated archeologist — to take a faculty position at  Texas A&M University. After 10 years there,  the couple moved to South Orange to be closer to William and his brother, John.

“If you find something that you love to do, and you can make money at it, you don’t ever work a day in your life,” William Solecki said. “He lived that for sure … As a kid he was used to scurrying around and going out into fields and kicked up stones. It sparked an interest that became his profession.”

For our history on the North Fork, for our understanding of the Indian people and how they lived and what became of them after contact with Europeans, we owe Mr. Solecki a huge debt of gratitude.

Top Caption: Ralph Solecki during a visit to his home in New Jersey by officials from Soran University in Kurdistan. (Credit: Soran University Press Release)

swick@timesreview.com

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Downtown Greenport has been transported into a film set for an upcoming NBC television pilot “Emergence.” 

Crew members said they were setting up Friday morning for a driving scene to be filmed in the afternoon and evening. A film permit covers filming from 3 to 11 p.m., according to Village Trustee Mary Bess Phillips, who posted about the shoot on social media.

No roads are closed for filming, but cones and a bucket truck were set up outside Bruce & Son on Main Street. The north end of the municipal lot at Main and Front streets is also blocked off to parking this morning.

Crew members weren’t allowed to say much as they set up for the day’s shoot Friday morning. One said no actors were expected to be on set and that the show takes place on Long Island. Another crew member described the pilot as a “supernatural cop show.”

Greenport has served as a backdrop for several high profile film and television shoots in the past, including HBO’s “Girls” and the Brad Pitt/Harrison Ford drama “The Devil’s Own.”

The Netflix film “Lost Girls” about one of the apparent victims in the Gilgo Beach murders filmed in Southold last fall.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post referred to the show at “Emergency” and said it was being filmed for ABC. Multiple press reports on pilot season suggest the show is being filmed for NBC. We have updated this post accordingly.

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Lindsay Leyble of Center Moriches was arrested on Case Road in Cutchogue Sunday around 3 a.m. for driving while intoxicated, according to Southold Town police. 

Ms. Leyble was stopped by police for a vehicle and traffic violation. She was given sobriety tests and then arrested for DWI, police said.

• A Cutchogue resident reported Sunday at 4 p.m. that an unknown person entered his unlocked 2015 GMC Sierra outside his home on Bridge Lane and stole $80. A suspect has not been found.

• On Sunday, police received a call reporting a white 2002 Toyota Camry traveling westbound in the eastbound lane on Route 25 in Cutchogue near Cox Lane. Police were unable to locate the vehicle.

• Police are investigating a report of larceny that occurred in Greenport last Tuesday around 2 p.m., reports said.

A Greenport woman told police her daughter stole a BP Gas card, sunglasses valued at $50 and a cell phone charger from her Second Street home after staying with her for a few days. The daughter allegedly left behind a credit card.

• Police are investigating a report of trespassing that occurred last Monday morning. A Mattituck homeowner told police an unknown individual was seen on his Holbrook Lane property via security camera.

By the time police reached the scene, the suspect was gone.

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.

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One year after asking voters to pierce the tax increase cap for the third time, the Greenport School District has announced a proposed budget for 2019-20 that will stay under the cap. 

In May 2012, Greenport became the first local school district to propose piercing the tax cap. Earlier this month, however, the district unveiled a roughly $19.4 million budget for the upcoming school year that maintains both programs and staff.

The proposed tax levy is $15.3 million, an increase of 2.85 percent over a year ago. The allowable tax levy increase is also 2.85 percent, compared to last year’s 2.6 percent.

Greenport Superintendent David Gamberg said the main objective in preparing next year’s budget was to stay under the tax levy maximum.

“We had to do everything we could in order to make sure that any increases would be kept low, and that we preserved the programs,” he said Monday at a school board meeting.

The budget is driven by employee salaries, which total $9.1 million, and employee benefits, which total $5.5 million.

Mr. Gamberg said the district has added staff since he came to the district and he aims to maintain them next year.

The district will see increases in all spending areas: transportation costs will rise by 1.03 percent, BOCES costs by 15.7 percent, debt service by 2.35 percent, special education costs by a half-percent and equipment costs by 7.65 percent. Other expenses, which total $1.8 million, will increase by 1.58 percent compared to last year.

A minor increase in state aid is anticipated, bringing in $1.5 million for the district, which amounts to a boost of only .38 percent. Foundation Aid from the state will rise by $2,960 and federal aid will remain at $5,000.

Income from tuition — funding paid by the Oysterponds School District for its students who move on to Greenport — will reach $1.4 million next year, and services shared between Greenport and the Southold school districts will save $225,000 for Greenport. Cumulative savings for shared services total $1.3 million thus far, district officials said.

Additional income, fund balances and use of funds from the Capital Reserve will provide the district with $19 million in revenue to offset the cost of the budget.

The district has asked voters to pierce the property tax cap three times since it was enacted in 2011. In 2016, voters approved an 8.52 percent increase in the levy, amounting to about a $1 million increase.

Greenport community members will vote on the budget Tuesday, May 21, from 2 to 8 p.m. in the district gymnasium.

knalepinski@timesreview.com

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