Goodbye Storm of 2010!

By Pat Biancaniello

Have we seen the end of the Storm of December 2010?  Smithtown Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen certainly hopes so.  Mr. Jorgensen, sounding very tired at noon on Monday, December 27th. was quite pleased with the way the Smithtown Highway Department handled the snowstorm. 

 The Smithtown Highway Department had roughly 100 of its vehicles and 40 private vehicles on the road from 10 a.m. Sunday, December 26th through 11p.m. in the evening.  The workers were then given a rest only to resume the work of clearing the snow from the streets at 3 a.m. on December 27th.  “The crews will remain on the roads until the job is completed”  Jorgensen said.   As of noon on the 27th all the main roads were clear and the workers were pretty much finished with courts, and dead end streets which are always the last to be completed.

All things considered, high winds, lightning, heavy snowfall (around 13 inches in some parts of Smithtown)  things went as planned.  The crews were successful in clearing streets reasonably well, but were back on some streets three hours later because of the high winds which blew the snow back on the roads and in some cases created high drifts. 

 Jorgenson said that schools being closed was a blessing and that there were not too many parked cars on the roads that needed to be plowed around.  Some breakdown’s in equipment, while annoying, were handled by crews working together to cover areas that were originally assigned to different crews. 

 Falling trees created some problems. A tree on Rte. 25 by Old Willets Path took down a pole and caused Rte. 25  to be closed from Old Willets Path to Meadow Rd.  near the bull.  

All in all, said Glenn Jorgenson, “The highway workers did everything they could to clear the roads of snow as quickly and as well as they could.”

Suffolk County - First In Arrests Made Under Leandra's Law

By Pat Biancaniello

Suffolk County is first in the State.  It has been one year since the Child Passenger Protection Act became law on December 18, 2009.  The law most commonly referred to as Leandra’s Law has resulted in 661 people across NYS being arrested and charged with a felony for driving while intoxicated or impaired with a child under the age of 16 in the car.  Of the 661 people arrested, 10% or 67 people, were arrested in Suffolk County thus giving Suffolk County the dubious distinction of having more arrests under Leandra’s Law than in any of the other 61 counties in New York State. 

The provisions of Leandra’s Law include: 1. First time offenders may be charged with a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in state prison.  2.  As of Aug. 15, 2010 Courts must order those convicted under Leandra’s Law to install and maintain an ignition interlock on any vehicle owned or operated by the driver for a minimum of six months in addition to the terms of sentence driver receives. 3.  The driver’s license is suspended pending prosecution. 4.  Intoxicated or impaired drivers who cause the death of a person under 16 years of age may be charged with a Class B Felony which is punishable by up to 25 years in state prison.  5. A driver who is intoxicated or impaired and causes serious physical injury to a child in the vehicle may be charged with a Class C felony and a punishment of up to 15 years in prison. 6. Lastly, if you are the parent, guardian, custodian or any other person legally responsible for a child and you are charged with driving while intoxicated or impaired by drugs while that child is in the vehicle, you will be reported to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment by the arresting agency. (NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services) 

The good news is the law seems to be working in Suffolk County.  According to the one year report completed by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services Suffolk County has had the highest number of arrests over the year with a total of 67,  Erie County second with 57, Westchester third with 45, Monroe County fourth with 41 and Nassau County was fifth highest with 40.   

The bad news is that in a one year period 67 people on the roadways of Suffolk County were arrested with a blood alcohol content higher than .08 with children in their car.  If you look at the numbers by gender, there were 39 males and 28 females driving while impaired with children in the car. 

The arrests were spread out throughout the county and throughout law enforcement departments across the county.  The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department was responsible for 8 arrests, Suffolk County Police Department made 33 arrests, Sag Harbor Village Police Dept. made 1 arrest as did the Northport Village Police Dept. (1), Westhampton Beach Village Police Dept. 1, East Hampton Town PD 2, Riverhead Town PD. 1, Southampton Town PD 5, Southhold Town PD 1, Suffolk County Park Police 1, NYSP Brentwood 13. 

Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick is concerned and acknowledged a certain frustration about this serious problem, “ I don’t get it.  We all have pressures and problems in our lives.  These people driving are adults, it’s scary to think that they are not more responsible. With the heightened awareness by the media and organizations such as MADD, and SADD, I don’t know what it will take to make people more responsible.” 

On December 7, 2010, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously adopted  Resolution 2013-2010 introduced by Legislator Lou D’Amaro (17th Legislative District) which establishes a higher standards for breath alcohol ignition interlock devices (BAIID). “These advanced BAIID features are absolutely pivotal to the County’s ongoing efforts to deter drunk driving.” “ My bill sets the highest possible standards for these potentially life-saving devices and will have no impact on the County budget or Suffolk taxpayers because the onus is on the offender to pick up all applicable costs.” said Legislator D’Amaro in a statement he released.

Governor David A. Paterson stated in his press release, “I commend members of the State’s law enforcement community for their enforcement of this important law because every passenger, and certainly every child, deserves a sober driver. All drivers should expect nothing less than sober drivers ahead of them, behind them, and in the oncoming lane of traffic. As we celebrate the holiday season, I urge all New York’s drivers to give their passengers – and their fellow drivers on the road – the gift of a designated driver every time they get behind the wheel.” 

Caroline Grove And Michelle White - Doing Their Part For Smithtown's Firefighters

(In the picture L-R, Chief Murphy, Chief Sisino, Chief Hansen, Michelle White, Caroline Grove, Chief Duffy)photo by Jeff BresslerThe Smithtown Fire Department honored Caroline Grove and Michelle White at their monthly meeting on Monday, December 13th.  

Both Caroline and Michelle have been involved in Girl Scouts for ten years and both are members of Troop 2626.  The girls were honored by the Smithtown Fire Department after they earned their Silver Award working on a project to help firefighters.  The girls created and donated reusable neck cooler packs to be used for firefighter rehabilitation at the scene of an incident.

The  Silver Award represents a girl’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community. It is also the highest award for girls in scouting between the ages of 11 and 14.  

Joanne T Grove, the mother of Caroline and Co-leader of troop 2626 was pleased with the recognition for the girls as well as their accomplishment. “ We’re very proud of their dedication to the Smithtown Community.”

Local Artist Arline Goldstein's Art On Display At The Frame Center

The Frame Center, 73 East Main Street, Smithtown, to be exact

Ms. Goldstein, a long time resident of Head of the Harbor has exhibited her extraordinary art work from SoHo to the East End for many years. Now her landscape and still life oil paintings can be seen in Smithtown, her home town.

Ms. Goldstein’s art career commenced after a long successful tenure of teaching Art and Gifted Children in the Longwood School District.

Painting and drawing, a passion of Ms. Goldstein’s since she was a child, continues to excite her to this day. She is particularly pleased with the exposure for her work through television, publications and exhibits. One of the highlights for her as a painter was when a collection of 13 paintings , inspired by her trip to Provence, France, was acquired by an entrepreneur for his hotel in Napa Valley, California.

Her work known and admired for their impressionistic style are joyful and evoke influences of Matisse and Duffy.They are in collections from Europe and across the United States. On Long Island her painting appears weekly in an ad for Bobby Van’s Restaurant in  Dan’s Papers.  

Here in Smithtown she has been an active volunteer and fund raiser, promoting the Arts and other non-profit organizations, as President of the Smithtown Township Arts Council and the Chairman of the house and garden tour, Cottages to Castles.

David Goldstein and Gary Woods, are delighted to exhibit Ms. Goldstein’s paintings In Smithtown Picture Frame on Main Street.  

For more information call The Frame Center at, 631-265–7667

Julie's In St James-Diversification Key to Increased Revenue

Julie Bergmann, Owner of Julie’s in St. James

By Pat Biancaniello

Part II

Three stores in St. James under the same roof. Each owned by Smithtown residents. Each banking on high quality and exceptional customer service to keep them in business.  

I recently visited three local shops; J. Michaels owned by Cheryl and Michael Jones, Geraci Condello Boutique owned by Madeline Grudens, and Julie’s owned by Julie Bergmann.   My question to them was how did Black Friday and Small Business Saturday affect their business?  They were unanimous in stating that there was no impact.  They all felt that people who shop on Black Friday are mall shoppers, looking for bargains and the ability to visit many stores in a single shopping day.  Their businesses are small and located on a main street in a small town, not the normal Black Friday venue.   All three businesses have developed strategies to cope with the tough economy.  Here are their stories…

If you ask Julie Bergmann, owner of Julie’s in St. James, how business is, she will tell you that she is holding her own.  It is a difficult environment for a small business that does not sell an item considered essential.  Along with the tough economy, Julie has stiff competition from stores like Home Goods.  So how does Julie expect to survive and grow her business? “Diversify”  says Julie.  Unwilling to compromise on quality and already providing the best customer service she can, Julie is branching out into home decorating to supplement the sales she makes in her shop. 

The first step for Julie is to change the image of her store.  Many believe Julie’s is an antique shop.  Julie’s does sell antiques but also sells contemporary items and wants to be known for what she is, a shop that specializes in accessories for homes and gardens.   Julie’s, located at 529 Lake Avenue, is a year round mainstream business.  

With beautiful holiday items and floral arrangements in the shop it seemed logical to Julie to branch out and to get involved in holiday home decorating.  She has been asked to decorate family Christmas trees and fireplace mantles for the holiday season.  This year she has been selected to decorate one of the six homes on the Three Village Christmas House Tour.  

Diversification does not stop with home decorating, Julie has branched out into weddings. She specializes in silk flowers and makes wedding floral arrangements, center pieces, flowers for brides and bridesmaids, church flowers and candles. Julie is hoping that this part of her business will increase as brides refer her to their family and friends.   

Another strategy Julie uses is making her shop as visible as possible.  She does this by keeping her windows attractively decorated.  This helps with the drive by customer who might not know the shop is there but sees the window and makes a stop and hopefully a purchase.

My visit with Julie occurred on Small Business Saturday.  I asked if Black Friday or Small Business Saturday had an impact on her business.  She felt that major shopping events such as those mentioned would not have an impact on her business.  In walked Angela Berner, a resident of Smithtown, who had a daughter taking a sewing lesson in St. James.  She saw the shop, new it was Small Business Saturday, and decided to browse.  Angela works in Huntington’s downtown and is very unhappy that there are so few shopping areas in Smithtown.  The choices of going to the mall or Huntington are not appealing to her.  Angela said, “Main Street in Smithtown is disgraceful and seems to be deteriorating more every day.  The former lumber yard on main street is an eyesore that should be removed.” Angela finished by saying, “ Having shops like Julie’s throughout the town would go a long way in making residents feel like they are part of a community.”

Julie Bergmann is relying on word of mouth to get the message out that there is a place in Smithtown where you can shop for quality items at a moderate cost and feel good about your purchase.  She hopes you agree that place is Julie’s.  

(Part III to follow)