Riverhead, September 4, 2012 – Pointing to his track record as someone who knows how to create jobs, and his stand against the sale of the John J. Foley Nursing Home by Suffolk County, the 6,500-member and 1,800-retiree Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees (AME) has unanimously endorsed Randy Altschuler in his 1st Congressional District race against incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop.
Following the Independence Party endorsement, this marks the second time Altschuler has won backing from a key group in 2012 that supported Bishop during his razor-thin win in 2010.
“Randy’s willingness to stand up and speak out against the county’s raw deal on the nursing home sale was critical to our membership,” said AME President Dan Farrell. “Beyond that, Randy’s proven track record as an outside-the-beltway job creator makes him uniquely suited to reach across party lines in Washington to fix our economy. At the end of the day, this election is about creating jobs for working families on Long Island and we believe that Randy is the best candidate to make that happen.”
Altschuler said the endorsement was critically important to his campaign, and he deeply appreciated the support shown by AME.
“I am honored to have received this endorsement. If I am fortunate enough to win in November, I will work with common sense people in both parties to revitalize our economy and bring good jobs back to Long Island,” said Altschuler.
The 1960s may have been decades ago, but many who grew up in our town remember those days like they were yesterday.
A young child in the 60s, long-time Commack resident Doreen Murphy fondly remembers the blue collar neighborhood she grew up in. She said many residents left behind their families in the boroughs of New York City in order to find new and affordable housing. Murphy’s parents and neighbors would work together and help each other out to plant trees and develop the neighborhood.
While Murphy was too young to go to the local hangouts, she would wish she were older so she could go to places like Carmela’s for pizza with the teenagers. Murphy said Carmella’s was at the spot where Emilio’s Restaurant is now located on Jericho Turnpike. After pizza many of the kids would head down the road to the bowling alley which still stands today.
photo courtesy of Kings Park Heritage MuseumAnother popular spot was the Long Island Arena located where we now find the King Kullen Plaza. Murphy said as a child she attended a rodeo, circus and wrestling match at the arena that was home to the then Long Island Ducks hockey team.
“It was such a fun place to be and on Friday nights they had ice skating when the Long Island Ducks played hockey there. All the youth of Commack went there for the weekend events. We loved it,” said Murphy.
In the Hauppauge section of Smithtown, Ronald Sage was a teenager living right off of Brooksite Drive during the 1960s. When he attended high school, he was in the building that we now know as Hauppauge Middle School. The Hauppauge High School building wasn’t built until 1968.
Sage remembers when he could walk down Route 111 and would barely see a store except for Robert Hall. The clothing store once stood where Branchinelli’s is today near Townline Road. Back then after school the teenagers would grab pizza and a soda at an Italian restaurant called Caligiuri’s Triangle located at the intersection of Routes 111 and 347.
The long-time Smithtown resident said many times during his school days he and his friends would leave the building for lunch and go to the general store that was next to Hauppauge United Methodist Church. Here the butcher would cut meat for fresh sandwiches, and Sage would buy penny candy. If he and his friends had some extra time, they would take a brisk walk to the intersection of 347 and 454 to get hamburgers at Hubie’s. The establishment was where Chemex Pool Supply is today, and for 25 cents Sage and his friends could get two hamburgers for lunch.
In the summer, Long Beach or Little Africa, now Otto Schubert Beach, was the place to be. Sage remembers the bus that would run along Brooksite Drive during the summer and stop at each of the lanes. The Smithtown bus would start about 8:00 a.m. to pick up kids to go for swimming lessons and would return about noon. The bus would then pick up people for the beach around 1:00 p.m. and would leave around 4:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. giving everyone a few hours of beach time.
Kenny Rogers grew up in the 60s on Brook Lane down the street from Sage and remembers running around Smithtown playing sports and hanging out as a kid. Rogers said, “I was never home.”
In the warmer weather Rogers, his brother and a couple of friends would head over to the fields by Sweetbriar Elementary School and play baseball. The Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle is located on this spot today.
Maple Avenue Park, which is now Brady Park, was a favorite spot of Rogers to play basketball and softball. He said one day he was playing ball with another local guy, and Rogers couldn’t hit one ball that he pitched. That child, John Curtis, left Smithtown to play professional baseball in the 70s and early 80s.
Living on one of the dead end streets off of Brooksite Drive meant Rogers had easy access to the Weld family property which is now Blydenburgh Park. He and his friends could spend the whole day there swimming in Stump Pond and throwing stones across the body of water. He still remembers one friend throwing a stone from the Smithtown side of the pond to the Hauppauge side.
A playground in the winter time for Rogers and his friends was Miller’s Pond where they would ice skate all day. The former Smithtown resident said he would go in the morning, walk back home for lunch and then go back and skate a few hours more before dinner. He said the pond in the winter would be rock solid, and he doesn’t remember anyone ever falling into the ice.
When it came to grabbing a bite to eat with friends, Flo’s Diner was a favorite spot for hamburgers, fries and ice cream sundaes. Rogers described the diner that was once located on the corner of Main Street and Brooksite Drive as a “neat place”. Sometimes the kids would also head over to the Howard Johnson’s that once stood where we now find Capital One Bank in the Branch Shopping Center.
Rogers who now lives in Florida with his wife Nancy said they talk about growing up on Long Island often. He sums up his younger years “as a blessing from God to be a kid on Long Island.”
Paul Micciche also has great memories of the 60s. An elementary school and then junior high school student in the decade, he grew up on Harvard Avenue surrounded by relatives who lived on the same street. Each year the area that his parents would let him wander in Smithtown expanded until he could walk between New York Avenue and Maple Avenue. He was even able to head up to Main Street as long as he stayed on the south side between the two streets.
While that may have been a small area of town, Micciche said, “We had everything we needed.”
Maple Avenue Park and Miller’s Pond were in easy walking distance for Micciche and his cousins. Every night in the summer they would play baseball or softball in the park and in the winter they would ice skate on the pond.
According to Micciche, on Main Street near the corner of New York Avenue there was the Town Hall Deli where he and his friends would buy a pack of baseball cards for five cents. Next to the deli they would visit Brown’s Music Store where instruments were sold, and Micciche said while he and his friends never bought one, they would admire them and dream of one day becoming a musician.
Slightly east of Maple Avenue on Main Street was Blue Jay Supermarket. He said for the longest time it was photo credit - Smithtown Historical Societythe place to go to buy groceries in Smithtown. In the late 60s when the Branch Shopping Center and Smith Haven Mall came along, the store fronts on the west end of Main Street began to empty out.
In the late 60s Micciche was attending junior high school in the building on New York Avenue and Main Street where the Smithtown school district’s administrative offices are today. He said at the time the local draft board was located on the southeast corner of Main Street and New York Avenue.
The draft board represented the reality of the late 60s where young men were being drafted for the Vietnam War. On his way to school in the morning Micciche would see boys lined up to sign up for the draft.
He said, “I remember mothers crying in the morning.”
But despite the realities of life, Smithtown still possessed so many great times for Micciche. He discovered his love for fishing going to Stump Pond on the Weld family’s estate. He also would bring his fishing rod over to Friede’s Riverside Inn where Paul T. Given Park is today. One day the restaurant’s chef began to yell at him and his friend as they were fishing in little streams by the river. They were surprised to find out they were catching the chef’s pet carp and goldfish.
There was also the Smithtown Drive-In which was once located on Middle County Road near the corner of photo - Smithtown Historical SocietyRoute 347. Micciche would go with his family to see a movie and remembers sitting on the hood of the car, leaning back on the windshield and enjoying the movie in the fresh air.
Micciche said, “The 60s were a good time to grow up.”
The memories of Micciche, Rogers, Sage and Murphy are only a sampling of the good times in Smithtown in the 1960s. If you were fortunate to grow up in our town during that time, leave your favorite memories in the comment section below.
Heavy equipment, yellow tape, fencing and piles of debris are an indication that something is happening at the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP). “The scheduled demolition of structures has begun and is going well. National Salvage & Service Corporation has been very responsible in the way they are handling the demolition.” Stated NRSP Director, Sean Cruickshank.
Sean explained that the demolition is going smoothly but there is a lot of work to do. In addition to the demolition, some of the buildings contain asbestos, which needs to be removed prior to the building being demolished. The smoke Stack, the train columns, fuel tanks and underground tunnels all present different challenges.
For the most part the structures being removed were condemned by the state due to their deteriorated condition. Many have roofs that have been collapsed for several years and in some cases a decade. Building 122, built in the early 1900’s, is a multilevel building with damage at all levels creating an unstable and dangerous environment. Building 123, which housed a kitchen and dining area, has its entrance blocked by the collapse of the roof and part of the structure itself.
The $6.4 million dollar project is being funded with a $25 million dollar appropriation secured by Senator John Flanagan in 2006. Senator Flanagan stated on April 13, 2006 – “Open space preservation is vital to our entire region and this funding will allow more of our land to be left for parkland and community use. This is a great win for the Kings Park community, a great win for the Town of Smithtown and a great day for the State of New York…Due to the efforts of the community, the future of this site will be the future that the people of Kings Park and Long Island deserve.”
If there is one message that Sean wants people to know it is that the area is a work site. “At the beginning of the demolition people showed up to see what was happening. That has slowed down some, which is a good thing when there is so much happening. People need to be aware that the site, even though it is fenced and there are barriers and warnings, is a construction site and that alone can be dangerous.” Said Sean.
It is almost unanimous that the demolition is going to vastly improve the NRSP. But not everyone is sure. Native born Kings Park resident, Larry Flynn, is not very happy with the proposed demolition of the boathouse. “That building holds Kings Park’s history of boating. We have the funding to save the boathouse and have it moved. We just can’t get anyone at the state to listen to us.” The boathouse is scheduled to be removed as part of the demolition and may have some structural problems. According to Sean, “the boathouse is not as structurally sound as some may think. The selection of the structures for demolition was done with consideration to the viability of the buildings as well as the vision for the park’s future.” For now, the boathouse is sitting where it has sat for the past hundred years, overlooking the marina.
Office of Congressional Ethics, U.S. House of Representatives, P.O. Box 895, Washington, DC 20515-0895
Delivered via certified mail, Delivered via email to oce@house.gov
Dear Board Members & Staff:
My names is Robert J. Creighton and my contact information can be found at the end of this letter, as well as a sworn statement from me acknowledging that the False Statement Act applies to the information I am providing today.
By way of background, I am currently an elected Councilman in the Town of Smithtown, New York, the former Police Commissioner for the Suffolk County, New York Police Department, and former Chief Investigator for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
I am writing today to respectfully ask that you review very serious allegations of misconduct by United States Representative Timothy H. Bishop from New York’s 1st Congressional District in the wake of an investigative report that originally appeared in POLITICO and subsequently in numerous other print and online publications. I have attached the story for your review.
The POLITICO story uses emails obtained and interviews conducted by investigative reporter John Bresnahan detailing how Representative Bishop and/or his campaign staff solicited a sizable campaign donation from a local resident named Mr. Eric Semler, in exchange for securing the expedited approval of permits for a private fireworks show that Mr. Semler was seeking to host at his private residence in Southampton, New York.
Based on the POLITICO story, here is a brief synopsis of the facts as described:
May 21, 2012
Southampton resident Eric Semler needed government permits to put on a private fireworks display for his son’s bar mitzvah on or about May 26, 2012. Mr. Semler contacted Congressman Tim Bishop and his office seeking help getting those permits expedited. Representative Bishop agreed to intercede on his behalf.
May 23, 2012
Mr. Semler received an email form Representative Bishop’s campaign staff directly soliciting him for a contribution of up to $10,000 to Bishop’s reelection campaign.
May 24-26, 2012
The fireworks permits are approved and the private fireworks display is held at Mr. Semler’s residence in Southampton.
May 29, 2012
Mr. Semler sent an email to the employees of the Grucci Fireworks Company claiming that Representative Bishop “didn’t hesitate to solicit me in the heat of battle” and called the request for $10,000 in campaign contributions “really gross.”
June 26, 2012
The Bishop Campaign reports receiving a combined $5,000 from Mr. Semler and his wife. It was the firs-ever contribution from Mr. Semler or his wife to Representative Bishop.
According to the POLITICO story, the House Ethics Manual states that “a solicitation for campaign or political contributions may not be linked with an official action taken or to be taken by a House Member or employee, and a Member may not accept any contribution that is linked with an action that the Member has taken or is being asked to take.”
This prohibition includes campaign contributions offered to a lawmaker by a supporter, especially when a request for official action is pending or has occurred, which was clearly the case in this instance.
The manual adds: “In a similar vein, a Member or employee may not accept any contribution that the donor links to any official action that the Member or employee has taken, or is being asked to take.”
Based on the documents obtained by POLITICO, it seems clear that Representative Bishop and/or his staff clearly violated House Ethics rules and may very well have violated criminal bribery and illegal gratuities statutes.
I trust that you will take this matter seriously, review all the facts in a timely manner, and open a full investigation into Representative Bishop as a result. Thank you for your consideration.
The document is signed: Respectfully Robert J. Creighton
Culinary Staycation – Tasting the World in Your Backyard
Destination: A little bit of Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Peru the Caribbean and Thailand too!
Perfecto Mundo’s Managerial StaffWhere can one experience all of this under one roof within the Town of Smithtown? At Liz Keschl’s Perfecto Mundo Latin Fusion Bistro. It is here where you will find the perfect world of ingredients from foreign lands accenting your favorite and familiar dishes in a warm and welcoming surrounding.
For the past two years this hard to find establishment has delighted neighbors with its fine fare and accommodating menu. I use the word neighbor instead of customer because that is how you are made to feel here; like a neighbor, in your good neighbor’s home. In speaking with owner Liz Keschl, I found she mentions the word neighbor many times during our conversation. When asked how the menu concept was created, she replied, “There wasn’t anything like it in the neighborhood. We wanted to provide something unique.” And when discussing Perfecto Mundo’s ultra-accommodating menu, she replies, “We always look to meet the needs of our neighbors.” So like a good neighbor, Perfecto Mundo is there with its 85% gluten free menu and a Healthy Choice Menu which accommodates the Weight Watchers’ clientele located next door! In addition Perfecto Mundo offers Daily Deals such as “Taco Tuesdays with 2fer Margaritas” and “Wild Wing Wednesday with Happy Hour All Night”.
Liz Keschl’s insouciant female energy is a major contributing ingredient for the front of the house success of Chef Alex Cantuthis bistro. In the back of the house (kitchen) you will find many additional delightful ingredients. Together with Chef Alex Cantu, Ms. Keschl (a chef and Culinary Institute of America graduate) designed the New Dinner Menu with items sure to please most every palate.
For starters a familiar dish, ROASTED CORN-MAINE LOBSTER CHOWDER is flavored with jalapeño bacon and finished with white truffle oil and smoked paprika Corn-Maine Lobster Chowdercroutons. The BLACK BEAN SOUP contains chorizo and lime-cumin crema. SHRIMP ON A STICK is wrapped in smoky poblano bacon and glazed with a mixture of dark rum and brown sugar. BLACK TIGER SHRIMP FLAT BREAD is served with pecan-cilantro and red pepper pesto and cotija cheese. FLASH-FRIED ANCHO CHILE CALAMARI and DOS EQUIS BEER STEAMED P.E.I. MUSSELS with grilled chorizo and sofrito speak for themselves. Getting the picture? – A familiar dish presented with a little Latin flare. Kind of like Melanie Griffith on the arm of Antonio Banderas before he became big in the U.S. But I digress. Let us move on to the main course.
SOFRITO MARINATED OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST is presented with vegetable risotto, roasted red pepper, and baby arugula with cilantro oil. GRILLED MARINATED ARGENTINIAN SKIRT STEAK sizzles with Latin fried rice, chimichurri sauce and topped with a sunny egg. CORIANDER CRUSTED PORK TENDERLOIN is dished up with grilled linguica (sausage), roasted corn and jack cheese massa cake in spicy coconut broth with hot house tomato and sweet coconut salad. OUR OWN SEAFOOD PAELLA features jumbo shrimp, P.E.I. mussels, clams, calamari, saffron risotto, chorizo, sweet peas, roasted corn and green onion. There is more; much more. Click onto Perfecto Mundo in Smithtown Matters’ Restaurant and Food Guide to access their full menus.
Tres Leche CakeFor those of you who are dessert fans I will tell you this…I am not. I am usually too full and really not big on the sugar thing. I find that most sweets I do try are entirely not calorie worthy. There are however calorie worthy exceptions at Perfecto Mundo. Usually there is chocolate involved but much to my surprise - Perfecto Mundo’s Coconut Crème Brule is worth an extra spin class as is their Tres Leche Cake.
Just go. You will not be disappointed. Great food, great value, great staff. It may very well become your favorite neighborhood joint!
Perfecto Mundo is available for private parties Saturday and Sunday afternoons and will open on Monday nights for fundraisers, special events or meetings. Live music is part of a great dining experience every Friday and Saturday night. Performers are announced on Perfecto Mundo’s website under EVENTS and also on their Facebook page which can be accessed through Smithtown Matters’ Restaurant and Food Guide for those of you who are not Facebook members.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 12:50AM ;)
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