Gilgo Beach and the Price of Truth: Justice Meets Forensics on L.I.
By Raheem Soto
For more than a decade, the Gilgo Beach murders have haunted Long Island. A lonely stretch of dunes and scrub pine became a cemetery for women discarded as if their lives held no more weight than driftwood washed ashore. The case, mired in false leads and bureaucratic inertia, became a symbol of delay and neglect. For many, it stood as a damning question: did the system care enough about the victims to ever deliver justice?
Now, with a suspect in custody and the courts preparing for trial, Suffolk County finds itself at a crossroads between justice delayed and justice delivered.
Continued on page 4
(Left to right)
Greg Kronred, the first life to be saved under the new EpiPen law & Legislator Dominick Thorne (Credit - Matt Meduri) Story on page 8
D.A. Tierney in Riverhead (Credit - Matt Meduri)
Thursday, September 11, 2025
FALL EVENTS
Port Jefferson
Summer Farmers Market at Harborfront Park
Every Saturday and Sunday, May 18-November 28 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Islip Farmers Market at Town Hall
Every Sunday June 7 - November 22 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Grooves on the Green in Ronkonkoma
Every other Wednesday until September 24 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Goatman’s Haunted House Museum in Manorville
Every Saturday and Sunday until November, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
11th Annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival
September 13, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Fireworks Spectacular and LI Ducks Game
September 13, Gates open at 5:35pm
County Fair at Setauket Village Greer
September 13, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Long Island’s Latino Conservation Day at Sunken Meadow State Park
September 13, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Car Show at Brookhaven Town Hall
September 14, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Dog ‘Dragon’ Costume Contest at Harborfront
September 13, 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM
San Gennaro Feast at Lenny Bruno Farms
September 20, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Wading River-Shoreham Chamber of Commerce Fall Festival
September 28, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Comedy Night at the Seaport Diner
September 28, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
PUBLISHER
Raheem Soto
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Matt Meduri
STAFF REPORTERS
Cait Crudden
ART PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Sergio A. Fabbri
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Colin Herr
CONTRIBUTORS
PJ Balzer
Ashley Pavlakis
Madison Warren
OFFICE MANAGER & ACCOUNTS
RECEIVABLE
Kim Revere
PROOFREADER
Giavanna Rudilosso
SOCIAL MEDIA
Madison Warren
Tim Walz
DELIVERY PERSONNEL
PJ Balzer
Joe Cuminale
By Matt Meduri
Candidate Spotlight
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Legislator Dominick Thorne
Candidate: Legislator Dominick Thorne Residence: Patchogue Office: Suffolk County Legislature, District Seven Elected: 2021, re-elected in 2023
Committees: Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services & Medical Preparedness (Chair); Seniors and Human Services (Vice Chair); Public Works, Transportation & Energy; Veterans; Budget & Finance Party Endorsements: Republican, Conservative Notable Endorsements: Association of Municipal Employees (AME), Long Island Law Enforcement Federation, Suffolk Community College Faculty, building and construction unions
In 2021, Dominick Thorne flipped a blue seat red, ousting then-Presiding Officer Rob Calarco (D-Patchogue). He was re-elected in 2023 by a ten-point margin, dispatching an opponent who received national campaign funds.
Legislator Thorne sat down with The Messenger for the purpose of this candidate spotlight interview.
Q: What is your professional background and how has it equipped you for the Legislature?
A: I worked for the Suffolk County Board of Elections for seven years. I have twenty-five years of experience in emergency medical services (EMS) and fire services. I also worked part-time in a mechanic shop. I also currently ride with South Country Ambulance as an EMT. I can’t stand here as the Chair of the FRES Committee and ask people to volunteer if I don’t do it myself. It would be hypocritical, so I joined the squad and ride whenever possible.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the Seventh District in the last two years?
A: Everything I promised I would do in my first two terms is done. Two years ago, we talked about preserving the Bianci-Weiss Property. That deal is done and it’s now a beautiful preserve with a nice walking path. It’s no longer a blighted property. We also talked about the Avery Property in East Patchogue. We’ve put $250,000 in new fencing and repairs on the structure, as well as $50,000 in a State grant to replace the barn roof. That’s currently in progress.
District-wide, I’ve secured almost 100 acres of open space, ten of them here in the Village of Patchogue. I also finished a meeting with Mayor Pontieri this month to look at the transportation network. There’s too many buses idling and too many people hanging out at the train station and bus stops. It’s right across from two schools and poses hazards to children and hardworking people. We took all the benches out so people can’t use the space for criminal activity. We’re looking to move the hub out of Patchogue and back to Ronkonkoma where it belongs.
In Blue Point, we put up a beautiful skate park that is now property of the Town. That park is busy every day of the week. In Canaan Lake, we’ve spent $50,000 on revitalizing the park with new swings and gates, we cut back all the weeds, and put in a canoe rental dock.
We’ve continued the concert series in Medford but we also have done a $100,000 sewer feasibility study there. The State Route 112 corridor makes the most sense. We’ve also obtained another $100,000 for the same study for Gordon Heights.
Speaking of Gordon Heights, I promised to revitalize the area, which has been difficult since they don’t have sewers. We have the study looking at Granny Road into the heart of the hamlet so we can put a business district there - mixed-use zoning with affordable housing on top and stores on the bottom. They have the highest fire district tax in the state. Since there’s no business district, the tax burden falls on the residents. Past administrations split Gordon Heights into three ZIP codes to dump unwanted things there, and then they wondered why the area wasn’t surviving. I’m rapidly trying to correct that.
In Coram, we’ve been monitoring drug activity. Recently, there were three overdoses in Coram, and within hours, the police took 20 grams of fentanyl, a firearm, and a bad guy off the streets. That’s Suffolk County at its best.
In Bellport, we’re replacing broken sidewalks on South Country Road (CR-36). We’re looking at replacing antiquated sewers there and rerouting one that drains into an active body of water. We’re also looking at crosswalks and streetscape improvements to make it safer for pedestrians.
In North Bellport, we’ve had some great results. We allocated $3.5 million worth of sewer money and I’m working on an economic development plan to bring more sewers in. We’ll be running a sewer line into Bellport Village down Station Road and along a bit of Montauk Highway. We can’t have supermarkets or restaurants in North Bellport without sewers. We’ve also identified some blighted properties in the Greater Bellport Area for open space but also
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to build affordable, single-family dwellings. It puts a family in a home and gets the vacant properties off the County tax rolls.
We’re also looking at expanding knowledge of resources for kids with special needs. We’re working on holding a health fair explicitly for that population. It was helpful in North Bellport and Gordon Heights with our “Give Back” days - all County resources in one spot.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the County at-large in the last two years?
A: I sponsored a bill that requires police vehicles to carry Epi-Pens. A life was saved just days after the law went on the books. I also sponsored a bill that requires developers seeking subsidies to section off units for first responders, particularly fire and EMS volunteers. We have 11,000 fire and EMS volunteers from Amityville to Montauk. There is a problem with recruitment and retention. We structured the bill to keep volunteers close to their home stations.
I also helped craft a bill to crack down on unscrupulous contractors soliciting people for fire board-up services. One fire in North Patchogue saw eleven different people approach the owner to the board-up. The law also stipulates that those contractors can’t be within 1,000 feet of a fire line. Some have even physically threatened our firefighters and investigation teams.
These bills passed with unanimous, bipartisan support.
I also helped lead an initiative to merge Suffolk’s Fire and Rescue with Emergency Services, as EMS was previously under the Health Department. Now, they all train together and respond together. It’s the Unified Command System and it’s wildly important. One team, one purpose.
I’m also working to inform the community that, amidst the immigration reforms - whether you’re for or against - is that some people are afraid to call the police because their immigration status might be checked. The County is not involved in that; that is a federal issue. If you call 911, you will be responded to and treated just like anyone else. And like anyone else, if you have a warrant, you’ll be arrested. But if you don’t have a warrant and need help, you will get help.
Q: Last year, you voted to sue the State over the even-year elections law. Explain your stance.
A: A coward dies a thousand deaths; what’s wrong is wrong and what’s right is right. And Governor Hochul (D) was wrong on this one. Local elections are where bread-and-butter issues are. It’s your police, fire, and EMS. I support term limits and it’s wildly important we protect them. You do not interfere with local elections. There’s a reason Suffolk County has a charter. Suffolk voters need to know what we’re doing. Fifty-plus people on the ballot will overwhelm the voters and some will only vote for president and leave the rest of the ballot blank.
Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: “Be the servant for all people all of the time.”
Q: How do you like to connect with and enjoy your community?
A: I grew up in a single-parent welfare home. It taught me the value of money, it taught me that not everyone eats every day. It taught me to be compassionate to those people but also to lift them up. I find the most joy in conversations when I know someone doesn’t support me. The more you promote conversations, the less arguments you’re going to have. The angriest customer is your best source of growth. There’s not one community I can’t have a conversation with, even if we disagree. It’s been a blessing to help change neighborhoods.
I have two young daughters and I spend time with them and my wife in my spare time. I was married for twenty-four years before my first wife suddenly passed. But what an amazing thing to be blessed twice in a lifetime.
The Messenger thanks Legislator Thorne for taking time for this interview
About the Seventh District
The Seventh District includes Bellport, Blue Point, East Patchogue, Gordon Heights, North Bellport, Patchogue, and parts of Coram, Holtsville, Middle Island, and the portions of Fire Island with the Town of Brookhaven.
Legislator Thorne faces Jawaan Sween (D), who is not actively campaigning.
The Brookhaven Messenger serves Centereach, Lake Grove, Selden, Coram, Farmingville, Rocky Point, Patchogue, Medford, Miller Place and Mt. Sinai 70 Years of Service to Our Community
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Suffolk Matters
September 11,
Gilgo Beach and the Price of Truth: Justice Meets Forensics on Long Island
The Man on Trial
At the center is Rex Heuermann, a 61-yearold Manhattan architect accused of murdering seven women whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway between 1993 and 2011. He has pleaded not guilty. His fate will be determined in court. But the trial is bigger than one man. It is a referendum on how law, science, and society respond when the vulnerable fall prey to the violent.
The DNA Revolution
The true breakthrough is not only in the charges but in the science. Suffolk County Judge Timothy Mazzei has allowed prosecutors to use cutting-edge forensic methods—whole genome sequencing and nuclear DNA analysis—on decades-old, rootless hair fragments.
It is the first time such techniques have been admitted in a New York courtroom. Traditional DNA testing requires intact roots; these samples had none. Without this technology, the case might have remained forever obscured, as hazy as the fog rolling off the Atlantic.
Prosecutors say the science now links Heuermann to six of the seven victims. Defense attorneys object, pointing to licensing disputes and jurisdictional technicalities. A hearing on September 23 will decide how much of this evidence survives. But the implications reach far beyond Suffolk: if accepted, New York could join the ranks of states where advanced DNA is legitimate courtroom proof, a precedent that may unlock hundreds of cold cases nationwide.
A Grisly Discovery at Jones Beach
Even as the courts weigh science, the ground itself continues to yield grim reminders. This month, workers near the East Bathhouse at Jones Beach unearthed a cache buried beneath two feet of sand: purses, rayon skirts, torn shirts, and a glove stained with blood.
The symbolism was stark. Jones Beach, built by Robert Moses as a shrine to leisure, now revealed artifacts of violence. Detectives noted burlap fencing near the site—eerily similar to the burlap sacks that once shrouded the victims along Ocean Parkway.
Whether these items tie directly to Heuermann or not, they deepen the case’s shadow and remind Long Islanders that the scope of this tragedy may stretch well beyond Gilgo Beach.
Who the Victims Were
Too often, the women lost to Gilgo are reduced to labels: “the Gilgo Four,” “sex workers,” “missing women.” But each had a name, a family, a life.
• Melissa Barthelemy, 24, disappeared in 2009.
• Megan Waterman, 22, vanished in 2010.
• Amber Costello, 27, went missing that same year.
• Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, last seen in 2007.
• Jessica Taylor, 20, murdered in 2003.
• Valerie Mack, 24, disappeared in 2000, identified years later.
• Karen Vergata, 34, missing since 1996, identified in 2023.
Their lives were cut short, their dignity often diminished by the circumstances of their disappearance. But their humanity—not the evidence bags or trial transcripts— must remain the anchor of this story. Without it, justice becomes sterile, stripped of the very reason it matters.
There are two trials unfolding. One asks: did Rex Heuermann commit these crimes, and can the state prove it? The other asks: can our system adapt to new science while upholding fairness?
Fingerprinting was once controversial. Blood typing was once untested. Today, they are routine. Whole genome sequencing may soon join them.
But there is a deeper reckoning. For years, the Gilgo case languished in part because the victims were poor, vulnerable, and stigmatized. Only when prestige science entered the scene did the system accelerate. That fact should unsettle us all. When violence touches the powerful, armies mobilize. When it touches the powerless, the response too often withers until evidence becomes impossible to ignore.
What Comes Next
On September 23, Judge Mazzei will rule on the defense challenges and decide whether the seven charges will be tried together. The trial itself may not begin until 2026, by which time the very technology in question may already be standard.
But the larger verdict cannot wait. Gilgo Beach is more than a crime scene. It is a mirror. It reflects a culture that too easily discounts the worth of the marginalized, and a bureaucracy that hesitates when urgency is most needed.
For too long, the facts were ignored. Now, science has dragged them into the light. Whether truth can prevail—and justice can follow—will test not only the courts, but the conscience of Long Island itself.
The Broader Lesson
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Photo by Matt Meduri
Melissa Cann, sister of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, speaks of her sister.
Photo by Matt Meduri
Unanimous Vote for Suffolk Working Waterfronts Program
Suffolk County Legislator Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead), of the First District, and her colleagues on the Suffolk County Legislature’s voted unanimously at the last General Meeting for creation of the Working Waterfronts Program.
This historic resolution (I.R.1520) establishes Chapter 26 of the Suffolk County Code to establish a framework to acquire conservation easements on working waterfront properties and help forever preserve Suffolk’s commercial fishing and waterfront heritage.
“I have long championed the preservation of farmland and open space in Suffolk County,” said Legislator Stark. “Now, Chapter 26 will give the county an invaluable tool to preserve and protect our important aquaculture and marine industries. With over 800 properties identified by a recent County study, this measure will benefit everyone from Greenport and Fishers Island all the way to Babylon and Huntington.”
She praised her colleagues who unanimously supported the measure at the legislature’s General Meeting today, Wednesday, September 3, 2025, in Hauppauge.
“For more than a year, I have worked with representatives from various environmental and aquaculture entities, as well as members of the Executive’s office, to clarify the critical details – the “fine print” if you will -- to ensure this program’s effectiveness and to encompass the many organizations and individuals in the aquaculture industry,” said Stark. “Long Island has had a long and proud marine history, and the overwhelming support for this effort demonstrates that my legislative colleagues and the County Executive are committed to protecting and preserving our working waterfronts for future generations.”
As one example of the strong support received from stakeholders in the maritime business, the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association (LICFA) said the resolution “represents a long-overdue commitment to safeguarding the essential infrastructure that sustains Suffolk County’s historic and economically vital commercial fishing industry.”
In a letter of support prior to its passage, LICFA Executive Director Bonnie Brady wrote: “The passage of this resolution would signal Suffolk County’s understanding that commercial fishing is not an expendable relic of the past but a living, productive, and necessary part of Long Island’s present and future trajectory. It’s not just about boats and nets, it’s about food security, local jobs, commercial fishing heritage, and economic diversity.”
When signed as promised by County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), the law will establish a Working Waterfront Committee, composed of representatives from each township, the County Executive, the County Legislature, and the maritime
sector. The chosen committee members must have some connection to aquaculture, fishing, marine industry, or related field to sit on the panel. This committee will oversee program administration, review applications from the waterfront property owners, conduct site visits, and advise on easement acquisitions and permitting. The county’s Department of Economic Development and Planning will assist the committee before recommendations are given to the legislature for approval.
The working waterfronts program will follow a process to identify and approve properties similar to the rigorous process already used by Suffolk’s successful Farmland Committee in its vigorous farmland preservation activities.
Working Waterfront Program
Introductory Resolution No. 1520-2025: This Legislature hereby finds and determines that, to implement the County’s policy of conserving, preserving, and protecting its environmental assets, natural and man-made resources, open spaces, agricultural and waterfront lands, and areas of historical or ecological significance, a process must be established to acquire waterfront conservation easements that support food supply, recreational access, coastal values, and sustainable economic growth.
Suffolk County is home to 2,949 maritime-related businesses employing approximately 38,419 people—6.1% of the County’s economy (NOAA, 2021). The commercial fishing and shellfish industries are heritage sectors offering economic and cultural value. According to NOAA, in 2023, New York State fisheries landed over 17 million pounds of fish valued at more than $28 million.
Legislator Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead) has represented the First District in the Suffolk County Legislature since 2023. The First District includes parts of Eastport and Manorville in Brookhaven Town, the hamlets of Eastport, Northampton, Remsenburg, Speonk, and Riverside, and parts of Flanders and Westhampton in Southampton Town, as well as the entire Townships of Riverhead, Southold, and Shelter Island.
Legislator Stark is the Vice Chair of the Public Works, Transportation, and Energy Committee and serves on the Committees on Economic Development, Planning, and Housing; Environment, Parks, and Agriculture; and Veterans.
The First District office is located at 423 Griffing Avenue, Suite 2, in Riverhead and can be reached at 631-852-3200.
Suffolk Hosts First ‘Missing & Unidentified Persons Day’ to Aid Families and Investigators
By Raheem Soto
On Saturday, September 6, 2025, the Brentwood Fire Department Headquarters became more than a civic space. It became a place of remembrance, resolve, and renewed hope as Suffolk County officials convened the county’s first Missing & Unidentified Persons Day.
The event, organized by District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) in partnership with the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Suffolk County Police Department, brought together law enforcement, forensic experts, family advocates. .
A Fusion of Science and Compassion
The day opened with keynote remarks from family advocates who shared their personal experiences of loss, uncertainty, and perseverance. Their stories framed the human cost of unsolved disappearances—reminding attendees that each case represents a loved one still missing from the dinner table, the classroom, or the community.
Forensic specialists delivered presentations on the latest techniques in identification, from advancements in DNA analysis to cutting-edge methods of facial reconstruction. These sessions were designed not just to inform, but also to demonstrate how evolving science can reopen cases once considered unsolvable.
Bridging Agencies, Building Trust
One of the central themes of the event was collaboration. Panel discussions featured representatives from law enforcement, forensic biology, and victim services, emphasizing the need for inter-agency communication in solving cold cases. Officials underscored how cooperation among county, state, and federal partners accelerates investigations that might otherwise stall in bureaucratic silos.
The event also featured a resource fair that included grief counselors, advocacy groups, and victim service providers. Families had the opportunity to connect with professionals offering both emotional support and practical assistance, underscoring the event’s holistic approach to justice.
DNA Collection for Families
In a powerful step forward, relatives of missing persons were offered the chance to provide voluntary DNA samples via buccal swabs. These samples will be catalogued and compared with unidentified remains currently held by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Officials stressed that participation was voluntary, private, and potentially life-changing for families still waiting for answers.
The initiative reflects a broader national trend of using family DNA databases to match long-unidentified remains with missing individuals. For Suffolk County, where numerous cases remain unresolved, the collection effort may prove to be one of the event’s most enduring legacies.
A Community Effort
Tables set up across the Brentwood Fire Department Headquarters created the atmosphere of a community fair—but with a solemn undertone. Alongside public safety demonstrations such as Operation Safe Child and the Medical Identification Card Program, advocacy organizations distributed informational materials, and counselors offered quiet spaces for conversation and comfort.
District Attorney Tierney called the event a “critical step in closing the gap between families and investigators,” noting that solving these cases requires both scientific rigor and community trust.
Looking Ahead
While the day was structured around education and resources, its larger purpose was hope: hope that science can provide answers, hope that collaboration can break through old barriers, and hope that families who have waited for years—or decades—may finally learn the fate of their loved ones.
For Suffolk County, Missing & Unidentified Persons Day may well become an annual fixture, blending the technical with the human, the investigative with the supportive. On a September morning in Brentwood, that combination offered a measure of solace to families still searching, and a renewed sense of urgency to those tasked with bringing the missing home.
State’s Latest Mascot Is Laughably Insulting
Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D) school cell phone ban initiative was one of the better features of this year’s otherwise bloated Executive Budget. Bipartisanly supported, The Messenger also feels it’s a good initiative to curb distractions, increase classroom participation and attention span, and help kids withdraw from the constant dopamine hits of social media.
But the State couldn’t help but get in its own way by unveiling a mascot to help bring the point home. Enter Frankie Focus.
Frankie Focus is a large, neon green Muppetlooking creature with big glasses and a toothy grin. Gothamist reported that the State’s job application for those looking to climb into the ridiculous suit says, “Frankie Focus embodies the energy of a 14-16 yearold boy. He’s fun, silly, a little chaotic, but his heart’s always in the right place. He hates seeing someone on their phone.”
Hochul’s rollout of the unnecessary mascot was nothing short of cringe-worthy, but given that the
People Need to Step In
The chilling murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarusla is unfortunately yet another episode in the overall saga of rampant crime, repeat offenders, and a porous justice system that seems as effective as it is involved - it’s not.
The security camera footage shows the twenty-three-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, resident taking her seat on the subway while looking at her phone, unaware that her life expectancy went from several decades to just several seconds.
Behind her, Decarlos Brown, Jr., 34, a repeat offender with a criminal history dating back to 2011, takes out a knife and stabs Zaruska multiple times in the neck. He walks away and paces around the train before walking up the car out of sight. Zaruska places her face in her hands shortly before falling over in her seat to the floor. Blood begins spilling out onto the floor of the car.
All of this occurs while fellow passengers are nonchalantly on their phones, even observing the murder.
But none of them jumped in to stop the attack or render aid immediately.
cellphone ban is more aimed at middle-school and high-school kids, it seems odd that the discount Sesame Street character is in the mix. To us, the character is insulting to the intelligence of teenagers who are likely already rebellious in a natural way.
What teenager is going to be convinced by Frankie Focus? Hochul’s initiative was already well-received. Why take the extra step in trying to be “relatable” and jovial and just coming off as condescending and downright annoying?
Why not try to level with teenagers on a realistic level about the importance of educational success, rather than shove a puppet in their face and chastise them by saying he “hates seeing someone on their phone?”
New York State seems fixated on not knowing to quit while they’re ahead. We have no hate for Frankie Focus himself - he seems like a very nice mascot - but he’s completely misplaced and unnecessary for the serious issue that is success in the classroom.
With how fatal stab wounds to the neck tend to be, it’s a question if Zaruska could have been saved with immediate attention. However, the overall point is that reactions were beleaguered and the public seems completely unmotivated to swarm an attacker and at least stop him from leaving.
Passengers did eventually tend to Zaruska, but clearly not in time.
While the backwards laws, progressive legislators and district attorneys, and judges who coddle criminals - all of whom should be held accountable for their dereliction of duty - all wreak havoc on the at-large quality of life in the United States, there’s one element to this that can be changed: public apathy.
What happened to the crowd who would swarm an attacker and beat him senseless if he tried to kill someone? What happened to the public who would tear off their own shirt to stop the victim’s bleeding? What happened to the citizenry that cared enough to drop what they were doing to intervene?
No doubt we have a judicial problem, but we have a much bigger problem: a public who doesn’t seem to care.
From the Publisher’s Desk: September 11 - Memory, Meaning, and Resolve
Every September, the calendar asks us to pause. For some dates, that pause is fleeting. But September 11 will always demand more. It is not just another page to turn. For Long Island—and especially here in Suffolk County—it is a reminder of loved ones we lost, neighbors who never came home, and first responders who ran toward danger when others fled.
On that morning in 2001, many Suffolk families sent someone off to work in the city, expecting to see them at dinner. For too many, that reunion never came. We know the names on our memorials are not distant—they are our neighbors, parishioners, Little League coaches, and classmates. The steel beams standing outside the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge, the names engraved at the Nesconset 9/11 Responders Remembered Park, the memorial gardens in Huntington, Islip, and Patchogue—all are daily reminders that Suffolk’s loss was personal.
It would be easy, 24 years later, to let the memories fade. A generation has now grown up who did not see the towers fall or smell the smoke that drifted across the Sound. For them, 9/11 risks being just another chapter in a history book. That is why we, who remember, must keep telling the story. Not just what happened, but what it meant—and still means.
Here in Suffolk, resilience was never abstract. It looked like Bellport firefighters signing up the very next week after losing mentors and friends. It looked like families in Smithtown and Huntington who turned grief into scholarships so students could pursue the dreams their loved ones never got to finish. It looked like communities across Brookhaven and Islip raising money to build permanent memorials so names would not be forgotten.
In the weeks after 9/11, American flags hung from porches on every block. People held doors for one another, spoke to strangers, and set aside small disagreements because we all knew we were part of something bigger. That unity did not last forever, but it showed us what we are capable of.
Today, our challenges may feel smaller by comparison—budget fights, school board debates, town policies that divide neighbors. But the truth is the same: unity and resilience are choices. If we could stand together after losing so much, then surely we can find ways to stand together now.
The temptation, especially as time passes, is to make September 11 only about ceremonies—vigils, speeches, moments of silence. Those are important. They remind us. But remembrance without responsibility is incomplete. What honors the fallen is how we live today: with seriousness, with gratitude, and with the resolve to protect and strengthen the community they were part of.
For Suffolk County, September 11 is both a scar and a standard. The scar reminds us of the loss we carry. The standard reminds us of the strength we found. Our task is to remember both—and to measure ourselves against them, not just once a year but in the everyday work of being a community.
This week, as we gather again at places like the Dennison Building or Nesconset Park, let us do more than recall the past. Let us commit ourselves to the same courage, unity, and resolve that carried us through then—and can carry us through now.
Sincerely, Raheem Soto
Publisher, Messenger Papers
Photo Credit: Office of Governor Hochul
By Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is responsible for supporting New York’s energy goals. Recently, the agency released a draft energy plan that looks ahead to 2040, but its public hearing schedule leaves out key regions of the state impacting millions of New Yorkers. With this plan impacting every single New Yorker, the New York State Assembly Minority Conference wants to give all our constituents a chance to voice the valid concerns they may have. In order to do so, we initiated a statewide media tour spearheaded by Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R-Corning), the ranking Minority Conference member on the Energy Committee, along with our colleagues in the Senate Minority Conference.
Earlier this week, Republican legislators joined together in Buffalo and Rochester to speak out against Democratic policies that will further burden families and communities already struggling with unsustainable tax and utility bills. We are calling for an extension of the public comment period for an additional 90 days, giving New Yorkers ample time to review the energy policies being advanced, ensuring everyone is on the same page going forward.
The response at our first two events was significant. Our Conference has called for greater accountability of the governor’s energy plan—dictated by the disastrous Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA)—since it was pitched to the public. We are now seeing more and more residents come to terms with the realities of this plan. People are frustrated with the lack of financial accountability coming from proponents of the state’s energy plan, and their concerns have only been exacerbated by the absence of clear answers about how much more our rates will go up and how reliable the grid will be without dramatic changes to the plan.
NYSERDA Public Comment Schedule Ignores Needs of Too Many New Yorkers A Step in the Right Direction
By Brianne Wakefield
Many are unaware of an injustice that has been happening in our state since 2019.
Did you know that if you did not like one or even all of the fifteen different vaccines on schedule for children and chose to skip it, that your child would not be able to attend school? Being leery or skeptical of any of them would mean you need to homeschool or move out of state.
In 2019, New York State ripped away the religious exemptions for schools (both public and private) and 26,000 kids were affected. I and many thousands of others have put up a good fight to restore and bring awareness to this, but we are still left with this burden. Parents who are skeptical about vaccine ingredients, whether due to concerns about autism, the use of fetal cell lines, mercury derivatives, or animal blood products, are left without options. Others worry about the long-term safety of vaccines, including potential effects on fertility, cancer risk, or genetic mutations, risks that, to this day, have not been part of standard pre-approval vaccine testing. The bottom line is that whatever the reason someone would feel uncomfortable giving their child a vaccine, it should be understood and accepted by school districts.
I bring this all up to talk about current news. There is a dedicated team working closely with D.C to help restore our religious exemptions in all states. The team consists of Rita Palma, Cait Corrigan, Mary Holland, Sujata Gibson, Michael Kane and John Gilmore. As of now there are only six states that do not have this right: New York, California, Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi and Virginia.
With the current administration showing renewed interest in protecting religious freedoms and promoting medical transparency, we have a better chance now than ever before to reverse these unfair policies. There was just a current court case this past Tuesday that was held at the Federal District Court in Central Islip, where people in support of religious exemptions and medical exemptions came out in the hundreds. In this case a young girl, Sarah Doe, 16, was fighting to be readmitted into the Oceanside School District after being denied her medical exemption. Six different physicians actually confirmed that the one dose of Hep B vaccine that she was missing, could do serious physical harm. Sarah
Making matters worse, NYSERDA’s public comment hearing schedule ignores major swaths of the state, and that means many New Yorkers will not be afforded a chance to publicly express to the administration how financially damaging these changes are. Giving residents a chance to show up in person to discuss their concerns is the least NYSERDA can do ahead of any potential hikes.
Sadly, there are no hearings scheduled for the Southern Tier, North Country, or anywhere in Central New York. This is unacceptable, and it seems like the state’s energy officials are content to ignore the very real concerns about these hikes rather than face them head on. There will be seven hearings in the coming month. The Assembly Minority Conference will continue to press for greater transparency—our members will be there to make sure the voices of New Yorkers are represented. We are calling on NYSERDA to do right by our Upstate communities and give them a chance to be heard. Until they do, we will continue to give frustrated New Yorkers an avenue to express their concerns about these changes, as we have seen so many do this week.
If you have any questions or comments on this or any other state issue, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list or receive my newsletter, please contact my office. My office can be reached by mail at 19 Canalview Mall, Fulton, NY 13069 and by email at barclay@nyassembly.gov. You may also find me, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, on Facebook or X at @WillBarclay. Assemblyman Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) is the Assembly Minority Leader and has represented the 120th Assembly District since 2003. The 120th District contains most of Oswego County and parts of Cayuga and Jefferson counties.
had previously suffered multiple adverse reactions and multiple hospitalizations from the vaccine. The Oceanside School District would not accept Sarah Doe’s medical exemption despite multiple types of doctors confirming it was dangerous.
Sarah was represented by excellent attorneys Sujata Gibson and Chad Davenport, who were provided by the Children’s Health Defense. I am happy to report that justice prevailed and Sarah won her case! No longer can schools triumph over a practicing physicians’ recommendation!
It was a beautiful day of victory, and I was very blessed to be a part of the huge crowd that was there in support. Before the court hearing even started, we all prayed in the courtroom and God surely heard our prayers and justice was served. There is still a lot of work to be done here in New York, but we must acknowledge this great victory as a step in the right direction. It gave us all a silver lining of hope to what full restoration of all our rights will hopefully be here in New York.
County News
Thursday, September 11, 2025
First Life Saved Under Thorne’s EpiPen Bill
By Matt Meduri
In 2022, Suffolk County Legislator Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue) sponsored a bill that was unanimously passed by the Legislature to allocate Epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) to Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) vehicles.
Thorne’s bill, called “Gio’s Law”, just went on the books last year, with full implementation occurring just weeks ago, and has already proven to be a lifesaving initiative.
Greg Kronred, 72, of Dix Hills, was working on Sunday in Wyandanch and was stung by a bee. He suddenly felt dizzy and managed to get inside the building and call his son, Kevin, who called 911. The police officers who arrived administered the EpiPen to Kronred’s leg, saving his life.
“What’s the value of a life?” asked Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) (pictured left). “Priceless.”
Romaine said that while the initiative cost about $25,000 - “not a huge amount” in the overall operating budget - it was “well worth” the investment for such a valuable tool.
The law is named for Giovanni Cipriano, a fourteen-year-old Lynbrook boy who passed away after experiencing an anaphylactic attack. Senator Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) (pictured below right) and Assemblyman Joe DeStefano (R-Medford) helped carry the bill in Albany to clarify that Nassau and Suffolk first responders were permitted to carry the devices.
“With the addition of our new police commissioner and our county executive, we implemented this law, and I’m so very thankful for them pushing for this,” said Legislator Thorne, joined by Legislators Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), Steve Flotteron (R-Brightwaters), Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), and Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport). “I made Georgina a promise that I would not let this go. To the rest of the State, pay attention to Suffolk County and do the same so we can all save lives.”
Giovanni’s mother, Georgina Cornago, thanked Legislator Thorne for “keeping his promise” to her that he would solve the problem.
“Allergic reactions can happen anywhere and at any time,” said Cornago. “This is the kind of forward thinking and action we need to see everywhere. I’m sure Giovanni is looking down right now saying, ‘thank you.’”
Senator Murray (pictured right) said that the bill’s passage through Albany was promulgated not just through bipartisanship, but by cooperation between legislators as far apart on the political spectrum as possible. The bill was carried by Senator Julia Salazar (D-Bushwick). As far as their differences, Murray said, “none of that mattered.”
“This is what happens when
government actually works the way it’s supposed to,” said Murray. “This is how it’s supposed to work. We hear about all the dysfunction, the partisanship and all of that, but when common sense, doing the right thing, and working together at all levels of government, regardless of party, it works out great.”
Kronred said that if the officers weren’t there with an EpiPen, he wouldn’t have survived.
“They did a fantastic job. If they weren’t there doing their job, I wouldn’t be here today. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Kronred.
The police body cam footage from the incident was played, showing officers’ quick use of the EpiPen to save Kronred’s life. The officers were commended with proclamations for their work.
“They say timing is everything, and in this case, timing saved a life,” said SCPD Deputy Commissioner Belinda AlvarezGroneman. “Twenty-five of our patrol cars were equipped with these lifesaving EpiPens on Thursday, and just a few days later, we were reminded of the critical need for these devices. Make no mistake, had this EpiPen not been at our disposal, the outcome could have been deadly. ”
One of the responding officers was Sara Feldman, a rookie who just completed her graduation in July. She told CBS News that the EpiPens had been stocked in her cruiser just two days before the incident in Wyandanch. Other responding officers included Ryan Belanger and Brandon Casco. The three were honored after the press conference at Hauppuage’s H. Lee Dennison Building on Tuesday afternoon.
State Legislators continue to lobby for an expanded version of the bill that would unlock $25 million in funding to proliferate EpiPens to police cruisers.
Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Congresswoman Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) have introduced a bipartisan federal version of “Gio’s Law”, which would establish a national grant program under the Department of Justice to provide access and training to police officers on the use of these life-saving tools.
“This is a prime example of the result when you fund your police department,” said Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Lou Civello (pictured above right). “What sets the Suffolk County Police Department apart is that these are not just police professionals; they’re also EMTs. More often than not, police are the first ones on the scene when someone is in medical distress.”
Civello said that the response is multi-faceted, wherein a department can have “all the training in the world”, but can fall short of saving lives without the proper tools.
This Week Today
Thursday, September 11, 2025
National, State, and Local Temperature Checks
By Matt Meduri
National
Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA (pictured right), has been pronounced dead after being shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University. He was speaking with students during a question-and-answer session when a gunman fired, striking him near the neck. Police locked down the campus and quickly arrested a suspect. The FBI is assisting in the investigation. CNN has reported that an elderly man taken into custody is not the suspect. The shooter remains at large.
Kirk’s death is not just the end of a young life but the silencing of a voice that had shaped much of the conservative youth movement in America. At 18, he launched Turning Point USA from a garage and built it into one of the largest campus organizations in the country. He hosted a nationally syndicated radio show, advised Republican leaders, and was a frequent guest on television. For his supporters, Kirk embodied energy and conviction; for his critics, he was polarizing. But none of that justifies violence.
Reactions poured in within hours from Republicans and Democrats alike, including Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA), Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), and countless involved in political media.
President Donald Trump (R-FL) confirmed Kirk’s death on Truth Social, calling Kirk “legendary.”
The real question is what his death says about the climate of free speech. When words can cost a life, debate becomes a battlefield. Charlie Kirk often said he wanted young people to speak boldly. His death is a chilling reminder of how costly boldness has become.
The dust settles after the Texas gerrymander came online last week. Entrenched incumbent Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D, TX-37) has chosen to retire ahead of the 2026 midterms rather than face a primary against Congressman Greg Casar (D, TX-35), who is seen as a rising star in the party.
The decision avoids what could have been a costly and dirty primary, as the new congressional map configured the San Antonio and Austin districts in such a way that would have required Doggett and Casar to compete.
Meanwhile, the campaign begins for California’s Proposition 50, which would approve a Democratic gerrymander of the state’s congressional maps to serve as a counterweight to Texas. Multiple polls, however, show an unclear barometer on whether California voters would approve the measure this autumn.
An August poll by the University of California, Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that 48% of likely voters are in favor of the ballot measure, with 32% opposed, and 20%
undecided, if the election were held that day. This poll specified that the map would be temporary and that the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC), approved by voters in 2008, would pick up the process again for regularlyscheduled redistricting after the 2030 Census.
The poll also found that 69% of Democrats support it, while 72% of Republicans oppose it. Of voters with no party preference, 44% showed support, 30% opposition, and 26% indecision.
The online poll samples 4,950 registered California voters.
However, the Politico/Citrin Center poll found that only 36 % of residents support returning map-making duties to the California Legislature. The state’s IRC also clocks in with a 64% approval rating among those surveyed. 72% of Independents are in favor of keeping the current map, while 66% of Republicans and 61% of Democrats agreed. Opposition to the gerrymander also scores high among all age demographics as well, the poll finds.
The poll was conducted of 1,445 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/-3.7%.
Meanwhile, the midterms on the Senate side continue to receive shakeups, as a long-shot flip for an Independent endangers another GOP-held seat.
Raheem Soto contributed to this section.
State
The five-way race for New York City Mayor just became a four-way race with the suspension of Jim Walden (D-Brooklyn Heights) from the race.
Walden served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1993 to 2002. Afterwards, he entered private practice as a corporate defense attorney for cases involving white-collar crime.
Walden has notably filed lawsuits against former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-Sutton Place), the New York City Department of Education, and the New York City Housing Authority. He has represented many clients pro bono, including Democratic and Republican petitioners requesting the delayed state and congressional primaries in 2022.
Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) has also praised Walden for his legal prowess.
Walden announced his candidacy for mayor in October 2024 as an Independent. Walden had been a registered Independent since leaving the Democratic Party in 2006. Walden had initially sought the Republican nomination, but ceased when the Trump Administration ordered the dismissal of charges against
incumbent NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn).
Walden had offered a proposal that he, Adams, Curtis Sliwa (R-Upper East Side), and Cuomo respect the results of an independent September poll and that the candidates found to be the weakest in the race drop out and unite around the runner-up to defeat the self-described socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Astoria).
In a July poll, half of New York City respondents reported that they did not know enough about Walden to vote for him, with 40% not considering backing him. Some polls have shown Walden garnering just 3% of the vote.
Last Tuesday, Walden dropped out of the race, continuing his proposition to unite behind one candidate to defeat Mamdani.
“For months I have been steadfast in my view that, unless there is a one-on-one race in November, a Trojan Horse will take control of City Hall. I cannot spend more public money in the futile hope I am the one called to battle,” Walden said in a statement. “For those still trailing in the polls by month’s end, I implore each to consider how history will judge them if they allow vanity or stubborn ambition to usher in Mr. Mamdani.”
Walden added that Mamdani is a “Trojan Horse taking over City Hall.” He urged the field to find momentum against him.
The New York Post has reported that White House officials have said that Adams’s position could be crafted to his liking and that Adams’ team is enthusiastic. However, Adams told reporters at a press conference that he intends to win re-election and finish the job as mayor.
Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro has denied that Adams was offered a position in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Local
The shorefront of Indian Island County Park has received the Best Restored Shore Award for 2025.
The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association’s (ASBPA) awarded the Riverhead park the distinction for its success to improve its ecology, culture, and community benefits. Improvements consist of protecting a Native American burial site, stabilizing eroding shoreline and bluffs, restoring native tidal marshes, increasing the stock of native plantings to improve ecological functions, and maintaining public access and recreational amenities at the park.
Walden received over $2 million in matching funds, making him the first Independent candidate in NYC history to do so. He will have to hand those funds back with only over $1 million in cash on hand.
While Walden was only registering a few percentage points in support per poll, that slim basket of votes could be enough to decide the election in a close race. The four-way race now rests on Adams - the incumbent with low approval ratings who did not seek his party’s nomination - Cuomo - the disgraced former governor who was upset by Mamdani in the Democratic Party and pivoted to an Independent campaign - and Sliwa - the founder of the Guardian Angels who is vying to be the Big Apple’s first Republican mayor in over a decade.
Rumors now circulate of a job for Adams in President Donald Trump’s (RFL) administration in hopes the race can become clearer to allow either Cuomo or Sliwa to defeat Mamdani.
“Having represented this area for many years, I know firsthand how important this project is for the protection of our coastline and habitat,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) (pictured left) in a statement. “This project combined pressing ecological and hydrological needs with the cultural sensitivities of the indigenous Native American population.”
The press release reads, “This project demonstrates how coastal resilience, habitat restoration, and heritage preservation can be successfully integrated into a replicable model, led by public agencies in collaboration with state and federal regulators, tribal representatives, and private partners. With an established framework for longterm stewardship, ongoing monitoring, and future contingency planning, its achievements stem from thoughtful design, inclusive planning, and a dedicated commitment to adaptive management.”
Suffolk County Legislator Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead) added, “Congratulations to everyone who worked together to make this project a reality. I remain deeply committed to pursuing shoreline restoration in the First District to protect our homes, livelihoods, and the recreational spaces we all cherish.”
D&B Engineers and Architects are credited with design of the project, with construction credited to Gavin Bros./ Madhue Contracting, JV.
By Matt Meduri
Candidate Spotlight
Legislator Jim Mazzarella
Candidate: Legislator Jim Mazzarella
Residence: Moriches
Office: Suffolk County Legislature, District Three
Elected: May 2021 Special Election, elected to full term November 2021, reelected in 2023.
Committees: Economic Development, Planning, and Housing (Chair); Labor and Consumer Affairs (Chair); Public Safety (Vice Chair); Education and Diversity (Vice Chair); Government Operations, Personnel, and Information Technology
Party Endorsements: Republican, Conservative
Notable Endorsements: Long Island Law Enforcement Coalition, Association of Municipal Employees (AME), Suffolk County Community College Faculty, building and trades unions
Legislator Jim Mazzarella is running for a third full term this November after his special election in May 2021, in which he defeated long-storied incumbent Kate Browning (D) who was eyeing a comeback to this seat. In 2023, Mazzarella was re-elected with almost 70% of the vote over Thad O’Neil (D-Brookhaven).
Legislator Mazzarella sat down with The Messenger for a one-onone interview for the purpose of this spotlight.
Q: What is your professional background before being elected to the Legislature and does it equip you for another term?
A: When I first bought a home in Moriches, I immediately got involved with the local civics association and quickly became a leader in the group. I became a member of the Shirley-Mastic Rotary Club as well as the Knights of Columbus. In addition to being a member of the Zoning Board for two years, I was also a board member for the Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Public Library for ten years, the last five of which I served as president.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the Third District in the last two years?
A: The largest project going on is the Forge River Sewer District; it’s almost completed. There’s pipes in the ground now and approximately 2,000 homes are set to be hooked up; 500 homes already are. Connections continue every day. We’re working on connecting the commercial properties on Montauk Highway that run from the border of Mastic and Moriches to the western part of Shirley. I expect those connections towards the end of the year. Businesses are anxiously waiting. Restaurants have said that pumping cesspools is costly and inconvenient. It’s definitely going to spur economic growth.
The new Smith Point bridge is on schedule to break ground next year. Bids will be sent out at the end of this year. A groundbreaking might be on the horizon for spring or early summer 2026. The construction phase will take about two years. Once there’s vehicular traffic, the demolition of the current drawbridge will take about a year. It will be a much taller suspension bridge, one lane each way, but a pedestrian and cycle path will be built on the east side of the bridge. We’re also looking to put some benches so people can enjoy the overlook of the Great South Bay. Since it won’t be a drawbridge, there will be a constant flow of traffic on the road and in the bay.
The County is also a partner on the infrastructure side of the Neighborhood Road Revitalization Area (NRRA). We’ve already provided some $20 million in grant funding towards the sewer plant that will be built there and get the pipes in the roads.
I also instituted the police foot patrol of that area that runs from around Memorial Day until the winter. That’s been successful in keeping order and preventing people from hanging out on street corners making others feel uncomfortable.
I’ve secured grant funding for the Pattersquash Creek Civic Association’s coastal resiliency project, wherein they replace invasive plants with indigenous plants. We’ve also appropriated funds for the Violet Cove area’s living shoreline. We’re hoping to build a pavilion for
educational uses, musical programs, and for people to enjoy the waterfront there.
I also helped negotiate 25% of the funding to help the Town of Brookhaven purchase Lufker Airport in East Moriches for open space preservation.
We’re also in the final stages of putting the disc golf course together at Southaven County Park.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the County atlarge in the last two years?
A: I sponsored a bill to increase fines for illegal ATVs being driven on public roadways and to make it easier for those vehicles to be confiscated. Our office sits right on Montauk Highway in Mastic and over the last year or so, we haven’t heard any of those vehicles. It’s an improvement. I also sponsored a bill to outlaw vaping devices camouflaged as school supplies. School districts already have a hard enough time keeping vaping out of the schools. Three school superintendents came to the press conference because they were so pleased with that legislation.
I’m currently working with the District Attorney’s office to further legislation towards illegal chemicals and substances being sold in smoke shops. One substance is called kratom that’s supposed to help people get off opioids, but kratom itself is very addictive and toxic.
I recently had a bill passed that increases penalties on unlicensed contractors. In addition to them being added to the “wall of shame”, the fines increased from $1,000 to $10,000. Unfortunately, many seniors are being scammed by these unscrupulous contractors who either do an incomplete job or just take the money and run. These contractors now have to add a lot more information when they register for a license.
Q: You voted to sue the State over the even-year elections law. Explain your position.
A: I don’t agree that it will save money, and our terms will be disrupted by the change. We’ll have a whole slew of special elections and resignations to make the new terms line up. The most important part of it, for me, is lumping us in with the state and federal elections. It’s hard enough now to get our message out, but it will never get out if that law is sustained on appeal. The ballot will also be five times as long as it is. What if a person doesn’t have the patience to go all the way through the ballot? Democrats say it will increase voter participation; I think it will backfire. You’ll have a less informed electorate and all people will want to talk about is what’s going on in Washington.
Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: I always live by “treat everyone with dignity,” and treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Everyone is owed that, and if you conduct yourself in that way, you can’t go wrong.
Q: How do you like to connect with and enjoy your community?
A: When I was a kid, I grew up by the airport and would ride my bike to Smith Point. I love the beach and being out on the water, especially while boating. If I’m not working for the community, you can find me out on Moriches Bay somewhere. I love regularly attending civic association and chamber of commerce meetings. The only way to find out the pulse of the people is to talk to the people.
The Messenger thanks Legislator Mazzarella for his time for this interview.
About the Third Legislative District
The Third District includes Center Moriches, East Moriches, Mastic, Mastic Beach, Moriches, the Poospatuck Reservation, Shirley, South Haven, and parts of Brookhaven hamlet, Eastport, Fire Island, and Manorville.
Mazzarella’s opponent this year is Beverly Theodore (D), who is not actively campaigning.
Suffolk’s Roadway Crisis: Lives at Risk on Every Commute
By Raheem Soto
The Messenger has spent months reporting on the surge in vehicular-related crime across Suffolk County. From late-night drag races on residential streets in Islip, to repeat drunk drivers in Brookhaven, to heartbreaking hit-and-runs in Smithtown, one fact has become clear: the dangers on our roads are not isolated events — they are part of a growing, troubling pattern.
Last week’s court advisory from District Attorney Ray Tierney’s (R) office made the crisis undeniable. Out of dozens of cases before Suffolk judges, eleven defendants face charges tied directly to vehicles. These aren’t minor tickets or careless lane changes. They are life-and-death offenses:
• Aggravated DWI with a child in the car
• Vehicular manslaughter
• Illegal speed contests
• Fleeing the scene of fatal accidents
Each charge on that list is a tragedy waiting to be told in human terms. Each case represents a neighbor whose safety was stolen, a family that will never feel whole, or a driver who made the reckless choice to put others in danger.
Beyond the Docket: Faces Behind the Numbers
Readers of this paper will remember our coverage of a young mother killed on Sunrise Highway by a drunk driver with multiple prior arrests. They will remember the outcry from parents in Islip after teens posted videos of drag races tearing through their neighborhoods. And they will recall the Smithtown grandfather who never came home
after being struck by a driver who fled the scene.
Those stories are not separate from the latest court docket — they are part of the same picture. When eleven new vehicular cases appear in just one week, it’s not a coincidence. It’s a reflection of what families across Suffolk already know: every trip to school, every commute home from work, carries risks that go far beyond potholes and traffic jams.
The Cost of Complacency
We often talk about the dangers of drunk driving or reckless speeding as if they are abstract problems.
But ask the children waiting at a bus stop when a car blows past at double the speed limit. Ask the mother who buckles her toddler into a car seat, praying that the driver swerving behind her isn’t impaired. Ask the first responders who arrive at a scene where twisted metal and flashing lights are the only evidence left of what started as an ordinary day.
Complacency is costly. Treating DWI arrests as routine means forgetting that each arrest represents a crash that could have happened but didn’t — this time. Treating a vehicular manslaughter charge as just another case number erases the human life it represents.
Accountability and Prevention
The laws already exist. New York’s vehicle and traffic statutes are not lacking. The question is whether enforcement, sentencing, and community standards are strong enough to keep pace with reality. When repeat offenders appear again and again in the docket, the
message is clear: the deterrent isn’t working. If drag racing events are advertised openly on social media, and residents fear driving down their own streets at night, then enforcement isn’t keeping up with the problem. If leaving the scene of a fatal accident is met with leniency, then accountability is being eroded where it matters most.
A Community Reckoning
The Messenger has covered this issue consistently because it cannot be treated as background noise. It is a crisis that affects every family, every commuter, every pedestrian.
The eleven vehicular cases on this week’s court list are not just statistics — they are warnings. If we do not demand stronger action, if we do not insist that public safety on our roads is a top priority, then next week’s list will look the same. And the week after. And the week after that.
A Final Word to Our Readers
Society reveals its priorities not by what it promises, but by what it tolerates. Suffolk County has tolerated too much behind the wheel. That must change.
This newspaper will continue to cover every crash, every reckless driver, every court case that reflects this crisis. But it is up to us, as a community, to demand better. Our children deserve safer bus stops. Our seniors deserve safer crosswalks. And every driver deserves the confidence that a trip to the grocery store won’t end in tragedy.
The court docket is a mirror. The reflection is unsettling. But it is not too late to change what we see.
‘March to the Sea’ Brings Memorial to Jones Beach
By Matt Meduri
ThethemeforthemonthofSeptember is substance abuse and mental health disorders and, more importantly, breaking the stigma around the reality faced by many.
The March to the Sea is a new, annual memorial meant to serve as a powerful reminder of those lost to addiction and overdose, especially by placing faces to the display in lieu of statistics. Family and friends mourning loved ones craft tombstoneswiththedepartedsimagesand place them at Jones Beach Field 5 on Fire Island.
Even the heavy rain and cold weather could not keep dozens away from the beach on Sunday afternoon, however, for thesecondannualdisplay.
“This is not only about coming together and gathering with families who have had their kids stolen from them from the evil that is addiction, but also to offer a healing component,” Lori Carbonaro, one of the event’s organizers told The Messenger. Carbonaro, of Selden, lost her son Nicholas eleven years ago at the age of twenty-two. Nicholas was “prescribed into his addiction”, according to Lori, highlighting another unsuspecting angle from which substance abuse disorders might emerge. She says that doctors of yesteryear were told “bold-faced lies” about the addictive nature of some painkillers.
“We couldn’t hold the doctors accountable then, but we can now, because we know more now,” said Carbonaro.
Carbonaro has been an active advocate for those
seeking treatment but also in tackling the problem at large. She has been involved for about a decade, starting with the Trail of Truth in Binghamton, followed by barnstorming Washington to rally for the cause. Seeing such action elsewhere, she resolved to bring it to Long Island.
In addition to complex problems, such as housing, Carbonaro reiterated basic tenets of the ideology required to solve the epidemic.
“Treat people with respect; be a human being,” said Carbonaro. “Have medically-assisted treatment (MAT) on demand.”
Carole Trottere, one of the organizers of the event, also helms the Purple Rock Project and has been barnstorming Suffolk with Narcan training and supplies,
from tables at Alive After Five to setting up free Narcan stations along various main street businesses.
“What’s more Long Island than the lighthouse and the beach?” Trottere told The Messenger when asked of the memorial’s location on Jones Beach. “We made it the ‘March to the Sea’ because every Long Islander can relate to the beach. Last year, we had many people passing by and we were able to educate and create awareness.”
Trottere, of Old Field, lost her son Alex to a fentanyl overdose in 2018. She speaks regularly of the indifference from some members of the public on the issue. Some have said that they are “good parents” - implying a slim-to-none chance that their child(ren) could fall victim to substance abuse, or that those suffering should just “be left to die.”
“It doesn’t surprise me, but it saddens me that people have such hate in their hearts and negativity about people with a legitimate health issue,” said Trottere. “I think a lot of the stigma and negativity comes from fear. It’s fear-based when people are nasty, and they think it won’t happen to their child because they’re a ‘wonderful parent.’”
Even so, Trottere and Carbonaro preach compassion.
“We never look down on anyone; everyone grieves differently,” said Trottere. “The art installation at Jones Beach might not be for everyone, but for some people, it resonates. When the statistics say that four hundred people [in Suffolk] died of overdoses last year, that means nothing. It’s the faces [on the tombstones] and the families who are affected that matter.”
Photo: Matt Meduri
Back to School
The Messenger Goes Back to School
Since Suffolk’s kids return to school this week for a brand-new year, we thought it would be appropriate to compile some advice, anecdotes, and observations from our staff.
Starting a new year always has that distinct type of anticipation. New supplies, fresh notebooks, crisp folders, and the blank canvas that is the unlimited potential for creativity and discovery.
MATT
The one thing I remember being told growing up was just how fast time flies. I remember thinking that that was an exaggeration at best or intentionally misleading at worst. To a child, a year seems like an eternity, especially when the same routine, same classrooms, same teachers, and same materials all make each day just blend into the next. Graduation seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel that would just never get any closer.
Until it did, and time began racing away at an all-too-uncomfortable pace.
Now, the high school days are far in the rearview mirror, while the elementary school days feel like a different lifetime - did it even happen?
It’s hard to process the value of time as a child, especially when you’re hit with a monotonous routine every day, only to do practically whatever you want with the rest of your time, all while the world continues, your parents work to support themselves and you, and history continues to be made.
But if there’s one piece of advice I can give to those starting a new year: live in the moment.
It might seem ridiculous to try to cherish moments in elementary school, especially when some kids are discovering the world at different paces than each other. In the same way, the high school years can be brutal. Even if you get along with everyone, it’s still a difficult time as you transition into adulthood.
But there’s one thing you can’t do anything about: school is your entire life for the first fifteen years or so, give or take.
I’ve been out of school for some time now, and I’m nowhere I thought I’d be when I was a senior in high school - for the better. I certainly don’t wish to go back to school, but the memories there are likely to stay with me my entire life. Yes, you have to study, participate, shuffle from class to class, and do homework.
But you can also make it as entertaining for yourself as possible. My friends and I would create characters out of thin air to pass the time and laugh, we would bet Wendy’s coupons in a solid game of BlackJack, and we would find the humor wherever we could.
You can’t make time go faster and you can’t do anything about your situation. But you can slow down and see some trees along the way.
Because before you know it, you’ll be in the real world, which is invariably better - albeit more stressful - than school will ever be.
Learn the most valuable skill in school: value time while you have it, because it starts to race away the second you graduate.
Matt Meduri Editor-in-Chief
Our Savior New American
School
However, with it comes that uncertainty and even ambivalence in some cases about the year ahead.
A year isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things, but a lot can happen in a year, often more than we think.
RAHEEM
September always feels like a fresh start. Hallways come alive, backpacks are packed, and families adjust to new routines. On behalf of The Messenger, I want to wish all of Suffolk’s students, teachers, and parents a wonderful year ahead.
As a homeschool dad, I know education doesn’t always look the same for every family. Some kids step onto the school bus each morning, while others gather around the kitchen table. Both paths take patience, dedication, and love. What matters most is that our children know we’re cheering them on as they grow in knowledge and character.
To the students—embrace the opportunities in front of you. To the parents—whether in public schools, private schools, or homeschool settings— your hard work makes all the difference.
Here’s to a year filled with learning, friendships, and new beginnings. Welcome back, Suffolk— we’re proud of you.
Raheem Soto Publisher Home School Dad
MADISON
Welcome back to a new school year! I have to admit that this was a time that I dreaded the most growing up. Now, I’d trade places in a heartbeat. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older, it’s this: don’t take these moments for granted.
The things you’re learning may feel pointless now — and maybe one day you’ll still think so — but the memories you’re making in school will last a lifetime. Give everything you have to what you’re doing: studying, homework, sports, friendships. My grandpa once told me during my senior year, “The time you are in right now will be some of the best times of your life.” Now, years later, I see he was right. The problems you face in school may feel huge, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re small stepping stones. That doesn’t mean they don’t matter — they do — but you have your whole life ahead of you to figure things out. In time, everything will fall into place exactly as it’s meant to.
Enjoy this school year, no matter what grade you’re entering. Listen to your teachers and parents, make new friends, do your homework, be nice to all your classmates, and don’t be afraid to try that sport or activity you’ve always wanted to — because now is the time to do it. You’ll never regret giving your best, and your future self will thank you for it.
Madison Warren Reporter and Social Media St. John the Baptist
Greetings and many blessings to everyone as you start a brand-new school year! I grew up in the Mastic Beach, Mastic, and Shirley community. I graduated from William Floyd High School in 1999 and went on to graduate from Hofstra University in 2005. Looking back in hindsight, if I was able to give my younger self some advice, it would be this.
Take school seriously, work diligently at it, and take advantage of programs and opportunities your specific school offers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you don’t think they’re important ones. Stay after for extra help and learn as much as possible from your teachers and counselors. That’s what they are there and are paid for. I was personally a B student and content with doing so. I was much more concerned with being cool than I was with trying harder. If I could do it again, I would have aimed much higher. Will you take my advice and aim higher for me?
Be kind intentionally to people who others are mean to. I was a kid who loved the lunchroom, hallways, gym and recess. But for the kids who aren’t popular and an easy target to pick on, these spaces in school are a nightmare. They leave kids open for bullying, name-calling, and ridicule. I’m sorry to say that I was a part of igniting many of those fires towards kids that were weaker and defenseless. Over the years, God has changed my heart radically and now has caused me to speak up and stand next to people who are an easy source of prey for the strong. Will you join me this school year in being mindful of others feelings, expressing kindness in action, and being a friend to one person that doesn’t have any?
A simple ball can take you places you’ve only dreamed of. I’ve witnessed kids use a sports ball to change their entire life’s trajectory, help their family out of generational poverty, and motivate many kids coming up behind them. Athletes, take your practices, workouts, off-season training, and games seriously. Spend your time wisely and cut away the dead leaves that are stopping you from fully flourishing into your full potential. I played basketball from elementary school right through the eleventh grade. I was a part of a Suffolk County championship team and had potential for a great senior year on a team that was set for a deep playoff run. Yet, I didn’t like something the coach said towards me going into my senior year and I quit a sport I loved. Instead of working harder and letting my work ethic, game, and character speak for me. Will you pick up where I put the ball down and carve out a promising future for yourself?
I pray that you each have a great school year. May it be safe, successful, fruitful and memorable.
PJ Balzer Writer, Sports,
and Deliveries
William Floyd High School, 1999
By Matt Meduri
Brookhaven Matters
3rd Annual Blood Drive Held in Honor of Nick Puzio
Almost three years ago, Nick Puzio, 25, of Farmingville, was tragically hit and killed by two separate motorists in the middle of the night in Medford. Neither stopped to render aid and Puzio later succumbed to his injuries at Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue.
Since then, his family, grappling with the loss, has turned the tragedy into an inspiration for change.
On Saturday, the Farmingville Fire Department hosted the third annual blood drive in Nick’s honor, while elected officials took time to discuss much-needed change on the State level.
Senator Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) (pictured right) has perennially sponsored S.3639, also known as “Nick’s Law”, which would increase penalties for drivers who flee the scene resulting in a fatality.
“It’s not an accident that you got behind the wheel impaired. It’s not an accident that you fled the scene. You chose to do that,” said Murray. In 2018, the number of fatal hit-and-run accidents in New York was 61, which Murray called “alarming in itself”, with a total of 54,000 hit-and-run accidents that year. In 2021, the State legalized the recreational use of marijuana, which was followed by 128 fatal hit-and-run accidents.
“You can’t tell me there isn’t a correlation,” said Murray.
Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) said the proposed legislation is a “common sense” change.
“What else does it take to get this piece of legislation passed? We’ll get together as long as it takes to get this bill passed,” said Caracappa.
A representative from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) shared that the foundation provides assistance to families in court, 100% free of charge.
Nick’s parents, Santo and Terry Puzio (pictured right), memorialized their son.
“Nick had so much to live for. Losing my son has been the singlemost unimaginable loss I could ever endure, and we’re all learning to try to live through this every day,” said Terry. Nick is also survived by his two siblings. “A parent should never have to see their child die.”
Terry added that while they can’t change what happened to Nick, they can change the laws in New York.
“This has become an epidemic on Long Island. New York needs harsher penalties and sentencing in fatal hit-and-run cases,” said Puzio. “This isn’t a partisan issue; this is a humanitarian issue. The two men that killed Nick got less than six months in jail and five years probation. Does that seem logical? Where is the justice in this?”
Alissa and John McMorris (pictured below) were also in attendance. The couple lost their son, Andrew, in 2018. While hiking with his Boy Scout troop, McMorris was hit and killed by a drunk driver. His surviving family has started the Andrew McMorris Foundation, which aims to create “opportunities for education, advocacy, and positive change,” according to their website.
“We have joined a club that no parents want to be a part of,” said Alissa McMorris. “Our vehicular crime laws in New York are inadequate. I’m speaking to the Legislators in Albany, when you’re looking at these bills and reading these words, I need you to see Nick’s face. These are not faceless crimes; there are human lives behind them. We believe victims
deserve justice and future tragedies must and can be prevented. We owe it to Andrew, to Nick, to every life lost.”
Present also were relatives of Angelica Nappi, a passenger in a car who was broadsided by a driver whose license had been revoked that very morning, as well as the mother of a volunteer firefighter who was hit and killed by a driver who then went to lengths to conceal her vehicle to escape justice.
“It’s frustrating doing these press conferences over and over again, but if we don’t give up, eventually we’re going to break through,” Murray told The Messenger, regarding the optimism of passage of Nick’s Law next session.
District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) said, “it’s not about rhetoric; it’s about results.”
“The Second Chance Act sounds great, but it’s like the ‘Fifteenth Chance Act.’ It’s all about rhetoric [in Albany], not results,” said Tierney. “They’re not looking at the statistics and what’s happening in the streets and applying that to common sense legislation.”
Tierney also calls Albany’s inaction “unbelievably frustrating”, particularly in closing loopholes in drugged driving penalties, wherein he and advocates are not “asking to increase penalties”, but to make the laws “more workable.”
“We’re in a state where we have people who want to coddle the criminals and make excuses for them,” said Murray.
McMorris said that the foundation runs a “choices and consequences” campaign in the schools, and offenders have even said that if they had not been arrested, they would be dead.
“They said that their arrest and rehabilitation was a wake-up call,” McMorris told The Messenger. “I am all for rehabilitation. I am a physician’s assistant; my job is to remove pain from people. But some people need that stern talking-to and that cold cell.”
Assemblyman Joe DeStefano (R-Medford) (pictured above right) added that some penalties would “never be enough” to replace the heartbreak that families face.
“Accountability is paramount, because the punishment will never fit the families’ expectations of what it would take to make their lives whole,” said DeStefano.
Assemblyman Doug Smith (R-Holbrook) (pictured middle right) lays the blame of the overall problem at the feet of New York City.
“A lot of our folks in the city seem to think that every time a law is broken, it’s society’s fault,” said Smith. “But look at why we’re here today; society didn’t do this. These are preventable deaths. We’ve legalized rideshare services. We’ve made it so easy that if someone cannot operate a motor vehicle, there is no reason they should be on the roadway.”
Smith sent a message to his Big Apple colleagues, “These people are not just out here in the suburbs; they’re your constituents too in many circumstances.”
Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow) (pictured bottom right) said that this issue should be just as important to the legislators as it is to the families, but posited that lack of proximity might be a deterrent to action.
“Unless something personal happens to one of the legislators, they don’t have the power to say, ‘this happened to me.’ It should be important to them now,” said Giglio.
The Necessary Standard for American Education
How Dueling Gerrymanders Can Affect an Election
By Matt Meduri
With the fundamentals of the House map now changed considerably after the Texas GOP passed their gerrymander, the question now remains if Democrats will be able to draw their way back to a virtual stalemate in the battle for the lower chamber next year. While Texas’ map must now face judicial scrutiny, it is the active map for the 2026 midterms in the Lone Star State.
California is, as of now, the most potent potential counterweight to the Texas redraw. However, the fate of that map rests on a ballot measure to be approved or rejected by Golden State voters this November. Polls currently indicate an unclear picture of whether or not Californians will approve it, meaning the floor of support for both parties hangs in the balance of that crucial referendum.
This column will seek to address the long-forgotten concept of civics and how it relates to American government in general, from the federal level to the local level. This column will explore Constitutional rights, the inner workings of government, the electoral process, and the obligations and privileges of citizens.
For the sake of what we know now and what could come online soon, we’ll look at how these maps affect the political calculus of the 2026 midterms.
Where the Majority Currently Stands
With no vacancies considered, the GOP has 220 seats in the House to the Democrats’ 215. A quorum of 218 seats is required for a party to seal a majority, meaning the GOP can only afford to lose a net two seats to hang onto their majority - a razor-thin margin of error.
We’ll put on our prognostication hats for this column, although we note that this is a preliminary forecast more than a year out from the midterms.
We currently identify four seats that seem ripe for Democrats to flip, three with incumbents we would describe as slight underdogs and one open seat. Democrats, we believe, are currently poised to flip the Harrisburg-based PA-10, the Davenport-based IA-01, and the suburban Denver-based CO-08 - all seats with incumbent Republicans. Democrats also seem poised to flip the Omaha-based NE-02, currently represented by Congressman Don Bacon (R), who is not running for re-election. Bacon survived the blue wave of 2018 and the 2020 and 2024 elections in which Democratic presidential candidates won the district and its sole electoral vote.
That estimate gives Democrats a net gain of four seats. Before the Texas redraw, we didn’t see any seats in which Republicans were poised to flip. If the Texas map remained as it was and no other seats changed party hands, the Democrats would recapture the House with a slim 219-seat majority.
With the Texas redraw, however, we estimate that the GOP should be hard favorites to flip the Dallas-Fort Worth-based TX32, the Houston-based TX-09, and the Austin-San Antonio-based TX-35. They’re also decently favored to flip the McAllen-based TX-34, currently held by a more conservative Democrat who could thread the needle and survive the midterms. The Laredobased TX-28 becomes more competitive than ever but remains Democrats’ best hope at retaining a Texas seat after the aggressive gerrymander was approved.
For the sake of the argument, we’ll assume that the Democrats flip the four aforementioned seats, none of which - at the moment - have been affected by mid-decade redistricting and currently don’t seem that they will be. We’ll also assume that Republicans flip all five Texas seats redrawn to be more favorable to them.
That gives the GOP a net gain of one seat. If nothing else changes, the GOP would grow their majority by one seat, resulting in a 221R-214D House.
The presidential party has lost House seats in thirty-eight of the last forty-one midterm elections. Only two exceptions stand out: 1998, when Democrats gained House seats in the wake of Republicans’ impeachment efforts of President Bill Clinton (DAR), and 2002, when President George W. Bush (R-TX) had historically high approval ratings in the wake of the September 11 Attacks.
In other words, Republicans defying the “midterm curse” would be nothing short of historic but owed demonstrably to the Texas redraw.
Map 1 (above) shows our aforementioned scenario in which the Democrats pick up four seats and the GOP picks up five from Texas, allowing the GOP to retain their majority. This is if no other seats change party hands and if the California redraw is not approved by voters.
Highlighted seats on the maps indicate flips for the respective parties.
What If the California Redraw Passes?
If California voters approve the redraw, it means that the raised floor the GOP has from Texas virtually disappears.
The California map is as aggressive as the Texas redraw, with three Republicans drawn into districts that would have backed former Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA). Incumbent Democrats in swing districts also get a boost, virtually taking their districts off the table next autumn.
For the sake of the argument, we’ll estimate that the Democrats flip four seats in California if the map is approved: CA-01, CA-03, CA-41, and CA-48. CA-01 is based in northeastern California and would go from a Trump +25 district to a Harris +12 district, a massive shift that makes for a near-untenable re-election bid for incumbent Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R). CA-03 is currently based around Lake Tahoe and stretches down to San Bernardino County, with Congressman Kevin Kiley (R) having won two competitive races thus far. That district would become much more compact around the deep-blue Tahoe and Sacramento areas - going from Trump +13 to Harris +10.
The Riverside-based CA-41, which was already a competitive seat that could very well flip in its current iteration, would become a more urban Los Angeles-based seat, going from a Trump +6 district to a Harris +14 one. Finally, the San Diego-based CA-48, represented by entrenched incumbent Congressman Darrell Issa (R), would go from a Trump +15 district to a Harris +3 one.
It’s conceivable that Issa hangs on, as he is an institution in Southern California, just as it’s entirely conceivable that Democrats retain TX-28. The Central Valley-based CA-22 becomes slightly less of a Trump-won seat, but Congressman David Valadao (R) has won in much more unfavorable circumstances. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for our argument this week.
four seats across Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania, while they net four from the California redraw. That is mirrored by a gain of five seats by the GOP in Texas. Again, this assumes both parties run the table in gerrymandered seats. The hypothetical end result is a net gain of three for the Democrats, giving Republicans the absolute bare-minimum majority of 218. In this case, Democrats would need to pick off one more seat in order to flip control of the chamber, and there are plenty of options available.
This shows that the California redraw is a pathway for Democrats to restore their floor ahead of the midterms, and if they can flip CA-22, they would find that fourth seat needed to flip the chamber to themselves.
What About Gerrymandering in Other States?
This is where Republicans have the upper hand. They’re already working on a redraw in Missouri, which would give them one more seat. Indiana and South Carolina are rumored to have redraws in the works; each of those states would net the GOP one seat. Ohio already had redistricting on the schedule, wherein Republicans could draw an aggressive gerrymander to knock out two or even three Democratic seats, while Utah’s map must be redrawn on a court order. The conventional wisdom, as of now, is that Salt Lake City might be contained in a heavily blue district, effectively giving the Democrats another seat without much leg work.
Republicans have more options to pad their runtime if California gerrymanders. But where do Democrats go?
There are talks of Maryland axing the red MD-01, the sole Republican-held seat in the Old Line State, as well as rumors of Washington state carving up the Spokane-based WA-05, but the party has contended both seats would be uphill battles in the eyes of the courts. Maryland Democrats tried to make MD-01 much bluer in 2021, but the map was overturned.
Other than that, it’s difficult to see where Democrats could further gerrymander their way into a majority.
Map 2 (below) shows how our estimates play out. Democrats flip
Map 3 (above) puts all of these moving parts into play, with the GOP netting the Gary-based IN-01, the Kansas Citybased MO-05, the Columbia-based SC-06, the Cincinnatibased OH-01, the Toledo-based OH-09, and the Akronbased OH-13. It also shows Democrats netting a hypothetical SLC-based UT-04, as well WA-05 and MD01 if those state legislatures were able to cook up more seats.
The end result is a 220R-215D House - exactly where the current quorum lies with vacancies not considered.
Disclaimer
This is a preliminary forecast and the national environment likely isn’t near what it will be next summer. There are plenty more seats that both parties could flip, but this shows what the current environment is more or less indicating.
Candidate Spotlight
Legislator Nick Caracappa
By Matt Meduri
Candidate: Legislator Nick Caracappa
Residence: Selden
Office: Suffolk County Legislature, District Four Committees: Veterans (Chair); Public Works, Transportation & Energy (Chair); Environment, Parks & Agriculture; Labor and Consumer Affairs; Economic Development, Planning, and Housing
First Elected: 2020 special, full term in 2021, re-elected in 2023
Party Endorsements: Conservative, Republican
Notable Endorsements: Long Island Law Enforcement Federation (LILEF), Association of Municipal Employees (AME), Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR), building and construction trades.
Legislator Nick Caracappa succeeded the late Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma) in 2020 by defeating Joseph Turdik (D) with 60% of the vote. He was re-elected for a full term in 2021 with 70% of the vote, and again in 2023 with 64% of the vote.
Legislator Caracappa sat down with The Messenger for an interview for the purpose of this candidate spotlight.
Q: What is your professional background before being elected to the Legislature and does it equip you for another term?
A: I was on the Suffolk County Water Authority for thirty-four years, and served as a union president for the last fourteen of those years. We did some incredible work there, including bringing our members up to par on wages and increasing workplace safety. I was also elected to the National Board of Utility Workers and I traveled all over the country advocating for workers’ rights, safety, and bargaining.
Growing up with a Democratic union labor father and a conservative Legislator mother, I got both sides of animated discussion and debate.
When my first child was born, I thought “what can I do to improve my children’s lives within this community?” Before politics, I was involved in the community. I was involved in the civics groups, I was a little league coach, I ran unopposed for four terms on the local school board. Through that activism, I was able to develop contacts. During my union leadership, we always endorsed and selected candidates from both sides of the aisle, based on who would do the best job. Being in community and union environments, people would call me if their blocks weren’t plowed, or if a tree was down, and I could call the correct people and departments.
Being sworn into the Legislature required no acclimation; I’ve been doing this for years, just in a different capacity.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the Fourth District in the last two years?
A: When the lines were redrawn, we picked up more of Coram, Port Jefferson Station, and Medford. That’s three more civics, three more historical societies, three more library districts. It’s been a blast getting to know everyone in those communities, getting them the grants they need for their cultural and historic projects. I love going to the concerts at Train Car Park in Terryville. The golden rule in our office is that constituents come first; everything else follows. I have a great staff too with Leah, Tabatha, and Ricky. When people call and get responses, that’s the most rewarding part of the job.
We’re still working on the sewers for Middle Country. I just met with County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) to try to change the dynamics of the subwatershed plan. The way it’s written right now is a disservice to what our residents are paying. Those monies should be for the sewer system and water quality infrastructure. The current board overseeing the plan are former members of the Steve Bellone (D-West Babylon) administration.
Protecting our aquifer and roadways is important, but Middle Country Road (State Route 25) has a lot of road runoff from rain. All the winter salt and oil slicks go into the cesspools and drain into the aquifer. We have to protect that. The other aspect is economic development. We’re trying to get State grants, but it’s hard getting anything from the State. We should not be overlooked.
Phase One is for Selden and Centereach, Phase Two will be for Farmingville, and Phase Three will be for Coram. A project of that magnitude takes years, and we haven’t received a nickel in infrastructure funding from Albany that was earmarked by the federal government. Governor Hochul (D) is withholding the funds because Nassau and Suffolk counties did not vote for her in 2022. Even our Democratic colleagues see the misrepresentation.
It’s a $430 million project that requires a sewage treatment plant and four pump stations to continue the flow. Businesses there are enthusiastic about it. We can get rid of the blight and attract major restaurants and nice things for the community.
Some residents were also upset about people speeding onto their road coming off Nicolls Highway. I contacted the police department and the next day, there was a speed zone sign put up.
Q: What are some of your accomplishments for the County at-large in the last two years?
A: We just passed I.R.1329, a bill I sponsored to give local municipalities more jurisdiction over these homes housing many people. Under NYS law, any voucher submitted for a valid person staying in a home has to be paid for, no questions asked. But these homes have twenty to thirty people in them and they’re putting up multiple walls, which is a maze that endangers our fire and rescue teams. Some of these LLCs have up to 200 homes in Suffolk. It’s a very lucrative business and Suffolk County taxpayers are bearing the load of these illegal homes and their quality of life diminishes. I have residents in Coram saying that they tell their kids to not look out the windows driving down 25. The residents weren’t being protected, but LLCs who house people who have no regard for how they conduct themselves; the drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes, and repeat offenders. I was proud to have unanimous support on this bill because it was long overdue.
We’re also working with AME to make sure they and their families are taken care of. We’re also filling positions in DSS, DPW, and the Parks Department that the past [Bellone] Administration created but never filled. Our taxpayers were getting duped and ripped off.
Last year, I sponsored a bill that was signed into law to require developers seeking IDA subsidies or hooking up to a sewer system to set aside a certain number of units capped at 80% area median income (AMI) for workforce housing. If we’re making an investment in community development, the developers should have to provide opportunities for our youth and seniors. I also sponsored a bill to prohibit smoking of marijuana in County Parks to keep them family-friendly.
I don’t believe in too much government, but just to step in where something’s lacking.
Q: Last year, you voted to sue the State over the even-year elections law. Explain your stance.
A: The ballots will be three feet long and local issues will be on the back. Any of our elected officials and referenda will be lost to the state and federal issues. Who wants to wait on line for hours to cast your ballot? It’s tough already during a presidential election, but now everyone running for office will be on the ballot? We prefer local control.
Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: My mother, Legislator Rose Caracappa, always said: “If you want to serve the people, you have to be one of the people.” If I fail your family, I fail my family, and that’s simply not an option.
Q: How do you like to connect with and enjoy your community?
A: One of my favorite things to do with the community is sponsor the outdoor concerts. Our last concert at the Bald Hill Amphitheatre had over 800 people. At the library, well over 1,000. Seeing the satisfied faces of our community makes everything worth it. I support our local restaurants, like Riley Fibbers and Texas Roadhouse.
We never pass the buck. If you’re having a problem with a State or Town road, we’ll make sure that concern goes to the right person.
The Messenger thanks Legislator Caracappa for taking time to sit down with us for this candidate spotlight.
About the Fourth Legislative District
Nestled in the heart of central Suffolk, the Fourth Legislative District includes the working-class neighborhoods of Coram, Medford, Farmingville, and Selden, as well as parts of Centereach, Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson Station, Terryville, and Holtsville.
Legislator Caracappa faces Nancy Silverio (D), who is not actively campaigning.
16 Local History
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Home Is Where the Heart Is
By Ellyn Okvist, B.Sc.
Maude Ewing Adams Kiskadden (November 11, 1872 –July 17, 1953), known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American actress and stage designer. She performed on stage from infancy until her retirement at age 60.
Maude Adams starred in over twenty-five plays on Broadway between 1888 and 1916. Her most famous role was “Peter” in J.M Barrie’s “Peter Pan” in 1905 at age 33. Adams’ personality appealed to a large audience which helped her become the most successful and highest-paid performer of her day, with a yearly income of more than $1 million during her peak.
Maude Adams’ secondary interest to the stage was that in her homes, of which she had three. New York was a narrow four-story brownstone English-basement house, a stone’s throw east of Bryant Park. The few visitors who had visited the house at 11 East 41st Street describe it as an “oasis of scholastic peace amid the roar of the busy metropolis.”
The furniture was scant and simple, but every piece smacked of romance, as she was an ardent collector of antiques and possessed some valuable specimens from her travels in Egypt. The prevailing color was dark green, her favorite tint, and this color and the old woods noticed in the reception room, appear again in the central hall, where a French sedan chair forms the telephone booth.
of Ronkonkoma, but the railroad regulations forbade this beneficence, but she asked permission to lay out some flower beds to add to its attractiveness. This pleasure was granted to her. A special train carried the star on her quest for rest. Sandy Garth, who she had gradually extended from an eighty-acre tract to one of two hundred acres, with the large groves of walnut trees. It has been estimated that they would be so valuable when they reached their maturity in about thirty years. Even if all Miss Adams’ other holdings were swept away, and were she to leave the stage, she could live palatially upon the profits yielded by her exceedingly profitable walnut groves.
Later in life, Adams took long sabbaticals in Catholic
The library, another small square room, whose four sides were lined from floor to ceiling with rare old books. Complete sets of all the English classics, and English and French plays of every period and the English philosophers, and her favorite author Herbert Spencer were in her possession. Opening from the library was the actress’ private suite. Under one roof were most of the souvenirs of her travels. The library was her favorite and contained the oldest play manuscript in the world, which she brought on her tour of the Holy Lands. Sixty books, chiefly in papyrus, she brought from her journeyings in Egypt and on the Sahara Desert, and keeps on locked shelves in her bookroom. Rare books and first editions were Maude Adams’ only form of extravagance.
Sandy Garth, home built by the Smith brothers in 1718, is referred to as her farm. She sought quaint, Elizabethan effects. Her farmhouse at Lake Ronkonkoma had a lower floor comparable to one which the heroes of Scotland would have entertained their kingly visitors. This simple room has four fireplaces. The upper floor of the half-brick, half-stone structure is given over to large, airy, sunny bed chambers. On the farm, Miss Adams kept her dogs. A halfdozen handsome ones tumble about the visitors in rollicking welcome. Near the house was a lake where Miss Adams took a morning swim. She kept a half-dozen horses and rode a great deal while at home. She set out a grove of walnut trees, declaring that it was every landholder’s duty to contribute to the arboreal beauty of the landscape, and she planted the trees with full knowledge that she would probably not live to see the maturity of their full-grown splendor.
She offered to donate a new station house to the village
convents, and in 1922 she donated her estates in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, to the Sisters of the Cenacle for use as a novitiate and retreat house.
Her favorite home was the “picturesque cottage” in the Catskills where she enjoyed the exhilaration of mountain air. One must be aware that Maude Adams’ dream house was in the historic Catskills, which she had custom-built in 1903. It was once home to the beloved stage actress who turned it into a gathering ground for art lovers and creative minds, taking advantage of the home’s proximity to the famed artist and writers’ retreat, Onteora Club. Adams named it “Caddam Hill” after a house in James Matthew Barrie’s The Little Minister, her first collaboration with the playwright. The elaborate craftsmanship of the entire home was understandable, as Adams’ personality called for perfection.
Caddam Hill is currently nestled on a 31-acre Catskills property and is a luxury retreat with a distinctly French, rustic feel, unlike anything we’ve seen recently — and it’s now up for grabs for $3,450,000. Adams purchased the entire estate of 150 acres. She loved the Catskills dearly. Her home on Caddam Hill located in Tannersville is still a majestic and beautiful escape emanating the feeling of seclusion.
Adams left Sandy Garth for long periods of time, always returning to her custom-built Caddam Hill. I strongly suggest you look into her Caddam Hill, which can be found on any computer hit of “Maude AdamsHouse for Sale Tannersville.” You will be shown the magnificent photos of this breathtaking home and property, and it will take your breath away. At this point, it will be much easier to follow her life in the Catskills as it was the crown jewel.
Miss Adams shared her life (1872-1953) with Louise Boynton (1868-1951), who was her secretary and lifelong partner since 1905. She retired in 1918 after a severe bout of influenza.
Her interests changed over the years, and one of the highlights of her life was in 1921, when Schaffer
Library at Union College granted its first degree to a woman, an honorary degree for “her splendid histrionic abilities” and “her work done in the development of lighting effects for motion pictures.”
During the 1920s, she worked with General Electric to patent and improve more powerful stage lighting (U.S. patent 1,884,957, U.S. patent 1,963,949, U.S. patent 2,006,820) and with the Eastman Company, to develop color photography. It has been suggested that her motivation for her association with these technology companies was that she wished to appear in a color film version of Peter Pan, and this would have required better lighting and techniques for color photography. Her electric lights ultimately became the industry standard in Hollywood with the advent of sound in motion pictures in the late 1920s. After 13 years away from the stage, she returned to acting, appearing occasionally in regional productions of Shakespeare plays, including as Portia in The Merchant of Venice in Ohio, in 1931, and as Maria in Twelfth Night in 1934 in Maine. She died at the age of 80 in her Caddam Hill and was laid to rest in the Sisters of the Cenacle Convent Cemetery in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.
American actress Maude Adams in some of her many portrayals.
Schaffer Library at Union College 1921 Honorary Degree
The Broken Ladder: How Leadership Failures and Job Loss Threaten AI’s Promise
By Mollie Barnett
The $40 Billion Leadership Gap
The ladder to AI success is broken—and workers are slipping off the rungs.
MIT’s latest research delivers a sobering verdict: despite $30–40 billion in enterprise AI spending, 95% of projects fail to deliver measurable results. At the same time, employees are watching automation roll out in a piecemeal fashion, often with layoffs attached.
The culprit isn’t the technology—it’s leadership.
While individual employees are using personal AI tools to boost productivity, formal company programs collapse. The result is a “shadow AI economy” thriving outside of management oversight. The tools work. Leadership doesn’t. And when leaders fumble adoption, workers pay the price.
The Divide Widens
The 5% of companies that do succeed aren’t just performing better— they’re transforming markets. Firms that weave AI into daily decision-making are reporting productivity gains above 20%. With those advantages, they’re now poised to acquire competitors left stuck in endless pilot projects.
That competitive edge often comes with workforce reshuffling. Companies chasing quick efficiency wins tend to replace people outright. Companies taking the slower, systematic approach tend to retrain and reposition staff, turning AI into a tool for empowerment rather than elimination.
Failures Across the Ladder
MIT’s study of 300 deployments highlights leadership breakdown at every level:
• Executives approve big budgets but rarely define what success looks like.
• Middle managers lack the authority or technical literacy to redesign workflows.
• Implementation teams are told to “make it work” with outdated systems and little training.
The result is predictable: flashy pilots that fizzle, vendor tools that provide only marginal gains, and frustrated teams stuck trying to retrofit new tools onto old processes. And when projects fail, the easiest “fix” too often is cutting jobs rather than fixing leadership.
Employees working independently with consumer AI apps succeed because they own the process end-to-end. They choose use cases, integrate them into their workflows, and adjust as they go. Inside formal organizations, that autonomy disappears—and adoption collapses.
The irony? Workers are proving AI can boost performance. It’s leadership failure that turns AI into a job threat instead of a job enhancer.
The Case for Systematic Development
Here’s where the path forward comes into focus. The organizations that succeed don’t chase “AI in a box.” They build discipline.
They move from small pilots to enterprise-wide rollouts systematically—validating each step, measuring outcomes, and capturing lessons. Over time, this creates institutional knowledge that makes each new deployment more sophisticated than the last.
Done right, this approach strengthens—not shrinks—the workforce. Done wrong, it accelerates what experts call “cognitive work displacement,” where jobs vanish without building lasting value.
Why This Matters on Long Island
Local companies face the same challenge. Many are experimenting with AI—adding it to customer service platforms, marketing campaigns, or logistics systems. But unless those efforts are paired with systematic development, they risk becoming just another costly pilot project—or worse, a round of job cuts with little to show for it.
The companies that will thrive here are the ones that treat AI adoption as organizational transformation: redesigning workflows, investing in training, and setting clear performance metrics. That’s how businesses protect both productivity and people.
The Survival Imperative
AI is no longer a futuristic add-on. It’s a test of leadership.
For Long Island businesses, the lesson is urgent: success will come not from buying tools, but from building the systems to make those tools matter. That means treating workers as partners in transformation, not casualties of it.
The technology is ready. The question is whether leadership is.
MOLLIE BARNETT is an AI Advisor for Business and Strategic Growth Architect on Long Island. Her team offers Secure AI, AI options, AI planning, integration, and education.
The Missed Lesson of the Shadow Economy
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 11, 2025
In New York City, It’s Class Warfare. If You Own Anything, Mamdani Wants to Take It.
By Betsy McCaughey | AMAC Outside Contributor
“Tenants are a majority, it’s time we had a mayor who acted like it,” says Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race.
When Mamdani says it, believe him. If he wins, tenants will be favored, and homeowners will be in his crosshairs.
They already are. Mamdani is vowing to fully enforce Local Law 97, a law that clobbers condo and co-op owners with costly mandates to reduce their buildings’ carbon emissions at their own expense.
If Mamdani wins, middle- and working-class people who saved and bought a co-op or condo in a high-rise complex will be facing huge cost increases. More than a million New Yorkers – cops, teachers, accountants, retirees – own the 832,000 units impacted by Local Law 97, and many will suddenly be faced with budget-breaking costs.
The law was passed by the New York City Council in 2019, but it sets a 2030 deadline to reduce carbon emissions by 40%, meaning buildings have to start the costly construction process now to convert from oil-burner heating and gas stoves to electric heat and stoves in the name of climate improvement.
Owners at Queensview, Inc., a complex of 14 buildings in Long Island City built in 1950, are told the conversion will cost them $62 million, which will boost their monthly maintenance by $1,155 for a one-bedroom apartment. That’s about double. Owners who can’t afford the increase may be forced to sell – at fire-sale prices since their neighbors will be struggling with the same cost hikes.
Mamdani vows to rigorously enforce this lunatic law, expressly opposing what he calls “loopholes,” like selling owners renewable energy credits or offering time extensions to comply. His website mentions assistance “for middle-income homeowners,” but he’s never followed up with any specifics.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa opposes Local Law 97, posting on X on June 7 that the law is “forcing longtime New Yorkers out of their apartments they’ve lived in for decades. The cost is just too high. Especially in a housing crisis …”
Candidate Andrew Cuomo has said he’s open to modifying the law. Of course, that would require the City Council going along – a big maybe. An alternative is for the next mayor to slow-walk enforcement. Unless it’s Mamdani.
Here’s the biggest outrage. Local Law 97 takes a million or more modest New York homeowners to the cleaners to pay the tab for a scheme that offers no demonstrable benefit to the city’s air quality or the health of its residents. Zero.
City Council members should have examined the facts before mandating these high-rise buildings to convert from oil-burning heat to electrical heat. It’s an example of legislative malpractice. Left-wing climate ideologues are happy to spend other people’s money without asking if the scheme makes sense.
A report from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine and School of Global Public Health, published in Frontiers, shows how scientifically farcical Local Law 97 is. The two authors, both climate activists, caution that the benefits of the law “may only materialize in future generations – and only if similarly ambitious policies are embraced worldwide.”
The authors add that there’s “scant literature” demonstrating any health benefits from Local Law 97.
Here’s the kicker. Although the co-ops and
condos are being forced to convert from fossil fuel heating to electrical heat, these buildings will then be buying their electricity from suppliers who still generate it using fossil fuels. The NYU scientists conclude “building electrification is unlikely to yield net benefit without a transition to renewable energy sources” citywide, something the city has not done.
Message to the condo and co-op owners: You are getting shafted. The climate ideologues pushing Local Law 97 didn’t bother to get the facts.
Mamdani is vowing to actualize “the vision of Local Law 97.” The condo and co-op owners facing financial stress and even the loss of their homes because of the law should go
The Association of Mature American Citizens represents Americans 50 plus. AMAC is centered on American values, freedom of the individual, free speech, and exercise of religion, equality of opportunity, sanctity of life, rule of law, and love of family, with benefits at all levels.
AMAC plays a vital role in helping build the services that will enrich the lives of America’s seniors. AMAC Action, a 501 (C)(4) advocates for issues important to AMAC’s membership on Capitol Hill and locally through grassroots activism. To Learn more, visit amac.us
to the polls this November and vote for anybody but Mamdani. They should also vote against any City Council members who supported the law.
These co-op and condo owners likely number more than 1 million voters. The issue is who will turn out: these homeowners or the 1.7 million tenants Mamdani is promising rent freezes. Middle-income co-op owners slamming Local Law 97 can turn this election, predicts Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.
Protecting the Earth against climate damage and preparing New York City for climate changes are worthy goals. But Mamdani and the extremists’ push to enforce Local Law 97 ignores the facts and treats New York City homeowners with utter disrespect.
20 Bits & Pieces
WORD OF THE Week
Etymology: mid 17th century (in the sense ‘bend (the knee’)): from ecclesiastical Latin genuflectere, from Latin genu ‘knee’ + flectere ‘to bend’.
GENUFLECT
verb
Pronounced: /jeh·nyoo·flekt/
Definition: lower one’s body briefly by bending one knee to the ground, typically in worship or as a sign of respect.
Example: “The mourners genuflected as a sign of respect to the fallen.”
Synonyms: kneel, stoop, bow
Antonyms: stand, disrespect, disobey
Source: Oxford Languages
WORD WHEEL
F S U E C R
See how many words you can create. Must have center letter in word and can use letters more than once. 4 letter word minimum.
September 11, 2025
See bottom of page for the answers (please don’t cheat!)
September 16, 1920:
The “Wall Street bombing” occurs at 12:01 pm when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York, killing 38 and injuring 143.
September 14, 1956: IBM introduces the RAMAC 305, the first commercial computer with a hard drive with magnetic disk storage, weighs over a ton.
First use of tanks in warfare, Britain’s Mark I “Little Willies” at the Battle of FlersCourcelette, part of the Battle of the Somme.
September 11, 1916:
First true self-service supermarket, Clarence Saunders’ “Piggly Wiggly,” opens in Memphis, Tennessee.
September 12, 1940:
Four teens follow their dog down a hole near Lascaux, France, and discover 17,000-year-old drawings now known as the Lascaux Cave Paintings.
September 17, 1683:
Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is the first to report the existence of bacteria.
Remnants of the damage from the 1920 bombing are still visible on 23 Wall Street.
Fall Sports Preview
It’s Friday Night and the Lights are On
By PJ Balzer
I wait all year for this, as do many high school sports enthusiasts all over the county and the island.
The Friday night lights are on for the first time this school year and two teams will be battling it out for the “W” right underneath them. The concession stands are open, the long sleeve jackets are out, and both bleachers are filling up. Let the long-awaited high school sports season kick off.
I’m writing this as I sit in Patchogue-Medford Raiders’ High School stadium. The boys’ Brentwood varsity soccer team is warming up on the visitor’s side and the Pat-Med Raiders are hosting tonight. Last year, these two teams had a war right on this very field and the fans joined in the momentum. Brentwood ended up coming out on top of that match and ultimately clenching their fourth straight League One title on this turf. If you think the Raiders don’t want redemption tonight, you’re sleeping on a team that has upset top tier teams before.
The Patchogue-Medford soccer team has been gaining both clout and reverence under Coach Tim Trava. Coach Trava is a Pat-Med graduate and a hall of fame athlete in his home town. Yet, lining up against Brentwood is never an easy task.
“Brentwood is Brentwood”; high school soccer fans know exactly what that means. They are loaded with speed, talent, maturity as a unit, and a fast touch approach to the game that’s hard to keep in pace with.
Brentwood scored two dazzling goals in the first half and another two in the second, on one a corner kick to a head ball connection, leaving the raiders with an empty scoreboard and one in the loss column.
Looking forward, Friday night football is going right into fifth gear this week. There are three games locally that certainly won’t disappoint as we kick off the Fall football season in Suffolk County.
In Division 1 we are starting off the opening week in what looks like a potential playoff schedule.
Ward Melville will be hosting Longwood at 7:00p.m., as the 2 seed in the division hosts the 3. Both teams always line up a tough squad and both had good seasons last year. Ward Melville returns their quarterback Hudson Philbrick who has a strong arm and can find the end zone with ease. Look out for their returning running back Joey Benedetto to muscle the ball up the field and give the Patriots the yards they’ll need this season.
Longwood lost their top tier running back Madison Murrell as he transferred to LuHi for his senior season. But if you honestly believe that Longwood doesn’t have talent on deck ready to step up and gain the Lions the yards they’ll need, you’re highly mistaken. The Lions also have one of the best, proven, and tried defensive backs in the county, Kaden Reid. He’ll undoubtedly give us a highlight film season; expect him to start off this Friday night.
Not far away will be another Friday night cooker as Sachem North at the 4 seed hosts the heavy weight 1 seed, the William Floyd Colonials. Floyd is coming off two consecutive county titles and is returning a running back that the entire county is zoomed in on. Ja’Quan Thomas was named the New York State Gatorade Player of the Year. Ja’Quan put together an amazing season in which he rushed for 2,594 yards and 37 touchdowns. Floyd’s line in Matthew Benjamin, Jeru Hall, Jayden Johnson, and captain Joseph Melecio has also stepped up in the office season to prove themselves ready to push around whoever stands in their way.
Sachem North always brings a work ethic and tough team that will stand up to the best without backing down. North returns an ultra athletic wide receiver Henry Sarro that does damage to the opposing defense every time his hands get stuck to the football. Jon Giraulo will lead Sachem on the defensive side of the ball. Expect some big stops from him as he faces off with Floyd under the lights this Friday.
Two south shore teams with rich football tradition and success behind them will face off also at 6:00p.m. this Friday evening. The Bellport Clippers will head west to visit the East Islip Redmen. East Islip knocked Bellport out of the playoffs last season in round one on the very same field. Expect Bellport to show up on a revenge tour, but East Islip to be as tough a team as they are each season. Bellport has a familiar last name heading their offense in Braydon Cipp. He can both throw and run the ball and will have to be successful at both to oust East Islip. The Redmen graduated their core last year but have some solid kids on the line and will look for underclassmen to step into roles this year.
CreditManny Estrada, Brentwood UFSD
22 Library News
WHERE TO FIND OUR PAPER
BELLPORT
Cafe Castello • South Country Deli
BROOKHAVEN
Anthony’s Pizza
CENTEREACH
Centereach Deli • Fratelli’s Pork Store
JeJoJos Bagels Inc.
CENTER MORICHES
King Kullen
CORAM La Bistro
EASTPORT
Pete’s Bagels • King Kullen
EAST SETAUKET
Bagel Express • CVS
Pumpernickels Delicatessen & Market
Rolling Pin Bakery • Se-port Deli • Starbucks
RONKONKOMA
718 Slice Pizzeria – (719 Hawkins Ave) Ronkonkoma Train Station
LAKE GROVE
Buffin Muffin / Hummus Fit
Lake Grove Diner • Lake Grove Village Hall
MILLER PLACE
Better on a Bagel • Bigger Bagel and Deli
Crazy Beans • CVS • Miller Place Bagel & Deli
Papa Juan’s • Playa Bowls • Starbucks Town & Country Market
MT. SINAI
Bagels Your Way • Heritage Diner Northside Deli
PATCHOGUE
California Diner • King Kullen • Shop Rite
Sugar Dream Bakery • Swan Bakery
PORT JEFFERSON
CVS • Southdown Coffee • Starbucks
PORT JEFFERSON STATION
Bagel Deli Gourmet • IHOP
Starbucks • Toast Coffe House • Wunderbar Deli
ROCKY POINT
Fresh & Hot Bagels (Kohl’s Plaza)
SELDEN
Cella Bagels • Joe’s Campus Heroes
SHIRLEY
Bagel Deli • Freshy Bagels
Laundry King • Stop & Shop
STONY BROOK
Long Island Bagel Cafe • Strathmore Bagels
NORTH SHORE:
Baby & Toddler Storytime - Sept 24, 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM
LONGWOOD:
Preschool Playtime - September 16, 9:45 AM to 10:45 AM
Autumn S’mores Trays for Teens - Sept 19, 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
PORT JEFFERSON:
Fall Lanterns - September 22, 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Button Making - September 25, 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
THREE VILLAGE:
Stony Brook Village Scarecrow BuildSeptember 16, 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Pre-School Storytime - September 23, 1:15 PM to 1:45 PM
CENTER MORICHES:
In Person Cardio Sculpt TrainingSeptember 12, 8:30 AM
Kidnastics - September 16, 9:45 AM
Teen Dungeons & Dragons In PersonSeptember 21, 12:30 PM
RIVERHEAD:
Pumpkin Felting - September 15, 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Teen Night - September 18, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Stamp Club - September 25, 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Dominick Marchitto: A Dual-Sport Athlete for Sachem East
By Ashley Pavlakis
The Sachem East Arrows have returned to the field this fall for the 2025 varsity soccer season. Amongst those donning an Arrows jersey is senior Dominick Marchitto (pictured right)
The Arrows are members of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and compete in League II. Sachem East is led by head coach Matthew Stallone, a Sachem alum who began coaching for his alma mater in 1998. Stallone enters his twenty-seventh season at the helm of the Arrows.
What do we love? Multi-sport athletes. Why? It showcases an athlete’s athletic abilities when they participate in a variety of sports, especially when the two sports are different from one another.
For Senior Dominick Marchitto he actively plays both soccer and lacrosse but also dabbles in football and track. The senior has played soccer at the varsity level for two years and lacrosse for four years.
On the soccer field, he plays in the center back position. The center back is similar to a quarterback in football. They’re a defensive stalwart who aims to stop the opposing team from scoring by occupying a position in front of the net. They’re the last line of defense before the ball makes it to the goalkeeper. Marchitto is known for his speed, versatility, and intelligent awareness of what’s happening on the field. A good quality that’s hard to find in athletes is to be a full-length player. Aside from playing defense, Marchitto has offensive capabilities that allow him to make plays and move the ball up the field. His name will show up on the scoresheet here and there, a reward for his efforts.
Wielding a lacrosse stick, Marchitto takes his place as a midfielder for the Arrows in the springtime. Similar to soccer, his midfield position allows him to be an offensive defenseman. Two-way players are a threat to opposing teams, serving as an advantage at both ends of the field. On his college recruiting profile, Marchitto describes himself as a self-determined player who is confident at any position on the field.
As mentioned earlier, he dabbles in the sport of football as a kicker for the Arrows. It’s quite common to see competitive high school soccer players make an appearance on the American football field as a kicker for the team. The art of kicking the ball is something they’re already good at; now they just have to do it for distance and kick a field goal.
Easy enough, right?
A common dominator between the sports? Speed. Marchitto is able to build and work at his speed when competing in track and field. He competes in multiple events: the 55-meter, 200-meter, 300-meeters, and the 4x400 relay. The first three are for speed rather than distance.
Dominick Marchitto has been nominated for Youth Athlete of the Year. The Holtsville native is currently in the quarterfinal round of the voting, which ends in ten days. The winner will be featured in Sports Illustrated in addition to winning a grand prize of $25k.
The multi-sport athlete will be on the field a lot this season for Sachem East. Whether you find him playing soccer or lacrosse, you can be sure to find him giving 100% dedication to the sport he’s playing.
NFL Roundup: New York Edition
By Ashley Pavlakis
Pre-season is always different; the play either translates to the games that actually matter, or it doesn’t.
The New York Jets, Giants, and Bills played this weekend in week one of NFL football and came away with one out of three wins.
Let’s start with the winner. “Da Bills” took the ‘W’ over the Baltimore Ravens in dramatic fashion, mounting a comeback to win the game 41-40. Josh Allen, the Bills’ veteran starting quarterback, has proven why he’s so good at his job yet again. The QB threw for 394 yards, completing 33 of 46 passes, and making it to the endzone twice for two touchdowns. The Bills scored seven touchdowns, and kicker Matt Prater went threefor-three in field goal attempts. A fourth quarter comeback commenced as they were down 34-19. Scoring four touchdowns and a field goal while limiting the Ravens to one TD earned them the victory.
“It took everybody out there, just proud of our team for staying in it. No one on the sideline blinked,” said Bills quarterback Josh Allen in a postgame press conference.
The New York Giants were away in Washington for their Sunday matchup with the Commanders. Having gone undefeated during pre-season, I think fans expected things to go a little differently. Unfortunately for New York, they struggled to find the endzone, losing 21-6. Longtime NFL veteran quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t have his best day, completing only 17 of his 37 passes and throwing for only 168 yards. The six points scored for the Big Blue came off two field goals made by kicker Graham Gano.
“Credit to Washington, they played a good game. I thought there were times we did good things, but obviously not enough. Offensively, six points is tough to win a game. I didn’t feel like we got into much of a rhythm,” said head coach Brian Daboll in a postgame press conference.
The Jets had the pleasure of opening their season at home in front of 83,000 fans at MetLife Stadium versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ironically enough, the Jets faced their former QB in Aaron Rodgers. He put on a better outing than he did as a Jet, scoring four touchdowns and completing 22 out of 30 of his passes while throwing for 244 yards.
The Jets put up a fight ,though, only losing by two points in a 3432 loss to the Steelers. New York started rookie quarterback Justin Fields in week one. The Ohio State graduate had a decent outing, scoring one touchdown and completing 16 of his 22 passes for 218 yards.
“As a team, I thought we were keeping each other in the fight,” said Jets head coach Aaron Glenn in a postgame press conference.
Everybody knows playing for a professional New York sports team isn’t easy. We get a glimmer of hope, only to have it yanked out from under us, only to repeat the cycle over and over again. But alas, football is football, and there are 18 weeks in a season for a reason. Week one proved to be a test and served as a way to get the jitters out. Next week, the Bills take on the Jets at MetLife on Sunday, while the Giants head to Dallas for their second straight road game, a rivalry matchup with the Cowboys.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET.