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Babylon marks nation’s 250th with commemorative photo

Babylon Town officials gathered with local, county, state and federal representatives in front of Old Town Hall in Babylon Village for a commemorative photo marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary this Fourth of July weekend, we were proud to commemorate this historic milestone while highlighting the strong partnerships that unite all levels of government, regardless of party affiliation, in service to our residents,” Town Supervisor Richard Schaffer said. Schaffer organized the event with Councilman Anthony Manetta.

The photo features Supervisor Richard Schaffer, Town Clerk Gerry Compitello, Councilmen Anthony Manetta, Terry McSweeney and Tony Martinez, who stood with a commemorative banner.

Also shown are Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine; Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy; Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr.; Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puleo; Suffolk County Chief Assistant District Attorney Allen Bode; Suffolk County Legisla-

tors R.J. Renna, Tom Donnelly and Jason Richberg; Assemblyman Michael Durso; state Sen. Monica Martinez; Suffolk County Police First Precinct Inspector Brendan Forte; Amityville Mayor Michael O’Neill and Trustee Owen E. Brooks Jr.; Lindenhurst Trustees Maryann Weckerle, Patrick M. Pichichero and David Collins; Babylon Village Mayor Mary Adams, Deputy Mayor Frank Siebert and Trustee Jeff Szabo; and community historians Joe Guidice of Amityville; Anna Jaeger and Marianne Guglieri of Lindenhurst and Wayne Horsley and Judy Skillen of Babylon. Members of local fire departments also attended, as did Babylon Town Historian Mary Cascone.

“We were honored to welcome an outstanding turnout of elected officials from across the Town of Babylon, including representatives from our villages, as well as county, state and federal government, fire departments, police and historical societies,” Manetta said. “Happy Independence Day, America, and best wishes to all the residents of the Town of Babylon,” he added.

Lawmakers okay tax credit increases for volunteer firefighters

By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com

The New York State Senate and Assembly have approved legislation aimed at strengthening recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers by significantly increasing the state income tax credit available to those unpaid first responders. The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Monica R. Martinez, (4 th SD), would raise the existing tax credit from $200 to $800 for eligible individual volunteers and from $400 to $1,600 for married couples filing jointly when both spouses qualify.

The measure passed both the Sen -

ate and Assembly during the 2025-26 legislative session and is eligible to be sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul for consideration. If signed into law, the legislation would provide one of the largest increases ever made to New York’s volunteer firefighter and ambulance worker tax credit program.

Supporters say the increase is long overdue. The current credit was established in 2007 and has remained unchanged for nearly two decades, reducing its value over time because of inflation. The legislation is intended to provide meaningful recognition for volunteers who dedicate their time to protecting their communities while helping local departments address ongoing staffing shortages.

“The service our volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers provide is invaluable, but the tax credit supporting them has not kept pace,” Martinez said. “The credit has remained unchanged for nearly 20 years, reducing its value over time. If New York is serious about recruiting and retaining volunteers, we must provide support that reflects the demands of their service.”

New York State Assemblyman Michael Durso, (9th District), who supported the measure said that while it provides some incentive, he and some other lawmakers would have liked to have seen an even greater incentive.

“There was a measure to pass along a $2,500 tax credit but that was voted down,” said Durso. “Eight hundred

Courtesy Steve Gravano, Town of Babylon

Lindenhurst students take major step

Lindenhurst High School announced that16 members of the graduating Class of 2026 officially committed this spring to continue their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level, as well as to serve their country through military service.

“As these students take their next steps into adulthood, these commitments are a result of the hard work and dedication of the students, as well as the support of their families, Lindenhurst coaching staff and educators,” said

The following Bulldogs have officially committed to their respective institutions and programs: Guinness Doyle – St. Joseph’s College; Anthony Severino – New York Military Acad -

emy; Jonathen Fraioli – Hartwick College; Vinny Aaron – St. Joseph’s College; William Steinmann – Suffolk Community College; Jacob Burmeister – Hartwick College; Alex Burmeister – SUNY Geneseo; Aaron Ross – The College of New Jersey; Manuel Coreas – United States Marine Corps; Cristian Suazo – Molloy University; Margaret Lauletta – LIU Post; Alaina Flint – Florida Southern College; Jaiden Rivera – Coastal Carolina University; Emma Burmeister – SUNY Cortland; Grace Healy – Franklin Pierce University and Ileen Moreira-Torres – Molloy University.

THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF BABYLON

Corner of Deer Park Avenue and James Street in the Village of Babylon, 631-661-5151

Website: babylonumc.org

Pastor: The Rev. Melissa Boyer

SUNDAY SERVICES

9:30am - Worship in the Church Online at Website - 9:30am Home of the James Street Players and the UMC Nursery School Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

Measure vital to maintain volunteers

dollars is good but $2,500 would have been better.”

According to the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, the number of volunteer firefighters statewide has declined by roughly onethird over the past 20 years. The cost to taxpayers statewide to adopt a paid service model to replace these essential services would exceed $4.7 billion.

Ambulance services have faced similar challenges, with some communities reporting longer response times because of a lack of volunteers. Supporters argue that strengthening the tax credit could encourage more residents to join and remain active in volunteer emergency service organizations.

Amityville Fire Chief Robert Macomber said fire officials encourage the Governor to sign the measure.

“We all face declining membership and the members we do have, have less time to volunteer because they are often working two jobs and their spouses are working as well,” he said.

“Anything the state can do to put a little more coin in the pockets of volun -

teers means more time they can spending serving and responding to calls for assistance from their communities.”

Massapequa Fire Chief Ryan Zimmerman concurred. “Our volunteers dedicate a lot of time to serving their communities, which means they have less time working and earning money for their families,” he said. “Whatever the state can do to make it easier for them to join and stay in the volunteer fire service is well worth it.”

Efforts to get the measure passed were made by the New York Fire Chiefs Association. According to the association’s past president. Anthony LaFerrara, the organization formed a lobbying committee to help get the tax credit measure—and about four other laws—passed during the 2025-26 legislative session.

“We recognized this as a vital piece of legislation not only for attracting volunteers but also for retention,” said LaFerrara. “And while we recognize this is a cost to the state, it is vital to maintaining volunteer fire departments and emergency service units throughout the state.”

Herald file photos

NYS Sen. Monica Martinez, author of the tax credit bill in the Senate, left, and NYS Assemblyman Michael Durso (9th District), right, who supported iti n the Assembly.

Memorial bench plaque brings families linked by loss together

By CHRISTIE LEIGH BABIRAD cbabirad@liherald.com

What began as a routine walk at Fred Shore Beach Club in Babylon turned into an unexpected act of kindness for Patricia Hults.

While walking along the beach, Hults spotted a wooden bench plaque that had washed ashore and been left against a wall. When she turned it over, she found an inscription memorializing Billy Nickerson II, a man she had never met.

Something told her she couldn’t simply leave it there.

“I called every funeral home in the area and then decided to drive up to Boyd’s (Claude R. Boyd-Spencer Funeral Home) and speak with Charlie Spencer,” Hults said.

Hults said Spencer referred her to his daughter, attorney Laura Spencer Brennan, who was able to identify Nickerson’s family and locate contact information.

Spencer Brennan said she was glad to help reconnect the family with the memorial.

“It does restore my faith in humanity, and that she took the interest and put in a lot of effort to put the pieces together again to find the family—that just reassures me that there’s still good people around,” Spencer Brennan said of Hults.

When Hults contacted Nickerson’s mother and sister, she said, they were overwhelmed.

“They were so happy,” Hults said, adding that they later brought her flowers.

Nickerson, the son of Beverley and Bill Nickerson, died in 2001 at age 23 after being struck by a drunk driver.

His sister, Michele Pittoni, said she was

surprised when she received Hults’ call.

“We hadn’t been down to the beach in a while because of the bad weather and it was overwhelming in a good way to receive that call,” Pittoni said.

What made the discovery even more puzzling was the plaque’s location. Although it washed up at Fred Shore Beach Club, the memorial bench is located at the West Islip Marina.

“It was originally at the West Islip Marina,” Pittoni said. “It’s weird to go from West Islip to Babylon.”

Pittoni described her brother as an avid fisherman who spent nearly every day on the water after work, even during the winter months. She said she believes the plaque’s journey was more than coincidence.

“It wasn’t just a coincidence,” she said. “All the other benches at the beach were fine—nothing was tampered with and that whole top board was solidly on there.”

As the families became acquainted, they discovered another unexpected connection.

Hults lost her son, Jeffrey Frank Hults, in a car accident in 2007. He was 29 years old, not much older than Nickerson when he died.

“It’s weird, it was like it was meant for Patricia to find it,” Pittoni said. “It’s amazing—I’m so grateful for her and it was so kind that she tracked us down because I know it wasn’t easy on her end—the whole story and hearing that she had lost a son too— it was a touching moment, it really was.”

The plaque has since been returned to the bench at the West Islip Marina.

“I wasn’t going to give up,” Hults said. “It was meant to be found— that’s how I feel.”

Former Suffolk DA appointed to leadership role at Nixon Peabody

By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com

Former Suffolk County District Attorney and Babylon Village resident Tim Sini will lead Nixon Peabody’s 400-member Litigation Department and join its management committee, effective Sept. 1. With an office in Melville, the law firm has 15 locations across the U.S., as well as Hong Kong and London.

Currently a Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partner, Sini first joined the firm in 2022. Prior to his work as district attorney, he served as commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department and an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“Through his deep leadership experience, Tim has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor to public and private sector leaders and also among his colleagues,” Nixon Peabody CEO and Managing Partner Stephen Zubiago said in a news release about Sini’s appointment.

“I look forward to building upon the Litigation Department’s strong performance rooted in the strength of our people and continuing to elevate the way we serve our clients,” said Sini.” I’m looking forward to drawing on my background leading large, complex organizations to strategically recruit and empower talented colleagues and embrace new technology, including the appropriate use of AI, to empower the durable growth of our Litigation Department.”

Sini will succeed Anthony Barron as head of the Litigation Department. During Barron’s five-year tenure, department revenue increased annually, including doubledigit growth in each of the past two years, and attorney headcount grew by more than 20%, according to the firm.

Courtesy Nixon Peabody

Former S.C. District Attorney Tim Sini who was recently named to management committee at Nixon Peabody.

Courtesy Michele Pittoni

Billy Nickerson II

Courtesy Patricia Hults

Michele Pittoni and her mother Beverly Nickerson holding up the board that was found by Patricia Hults that honors brother and son-Billy Nickerson II.

Courtesy Michele Pittoni

The board has been placed back on the bench at the West Islip Marina.

CRIME WATCH

The following incidents have been reported by the Suffolk County Police Department’s 1st and 3rd precincts and other law enforcement and emergency service units:

PETIT LARCENY

Babylon: The owner of an ebike left the bike at the Babylon LIRR station June 19, only to return later to find that it had been stolen. The police report indicates the bike was not locked up at the time of the theft.

West Babylon: A resident attempted to sell a minibike online and was contacted by a prospective purchaser who went to the seller’s home and took the bike without paying for it. That incident occurred June 25 and was reported shortly before 7 p.m.

Copiague: Representatives from Target, 1149 Sunrise Highway, reported that someone stole approximately $90 in merchandise. That was reported shortly before 5 p.m., June 25.

North Amityville: An unknown individual stole a key fob from inside of a vehicle parked on 46th Street June 24. The subject started the vehicle but then left the scene on a bile, taking the fob with him/her.

Deer Park: A subject attempting to leave Home Depot with an assortment of items he did not pay for was stopped by employees of the store and forced to return the items. That occurred shortly after 4 p.m., June 24.

• Someone went into Dollar Tree in Deer Shore Square shortly after 11:30 a.m., June 23, and left the store with an assortment of electronic items without paying for them. Police did not indicate the total value of the items stolen in their report.

GRAND LARCENY

Amityville: A 2023 BMW was stolen from Albany Avenue June 24. The vehicle was later recovered. That incident was reported June 24 at 2:30 p.m. West Babylon: An assortment of cologne was stolen from Ulta on Montauk Highway June 20. The items totaled $2,500 in value. That theft was reported at 5 p.m.

Copiague: The representative for a business on Strong Avenue called police to report that several business checks for businesses expenses were intercepted in the mail. The amounts on the checks were changed, resulting in a loss of approximately $20,000 to the business.

Deer Park: A Deer Park resident, believing they were doing business with a legitimate car dealership online, transferred $4,000 to that illegitimate business and never received the vehicle he thought he was purchasing.

ARRESTS

Driving While Intoxicated/Impaired

John Rogers, 24 Mill St., Amityville; Tyler Montano, 19 of 126 Coats Ave., Holbrook; Maxwell Lourenco, 24, of 81 27th St., Copiague.

Petit Larceny

Scott Gallub, 45, of 134 Hale Rd., North Babylon; David Guidice, 40 of 912 Fire Island Ave., West Islip; Christopher Ryan, 44, of 311 W. Main St., Patchogue; James Wilson, 34, of 3553 Great Neck Rd., North Amityville; James Maxwell, 58, of 15 South 28 St., Wyandanch; Jacob Key, 29, of 52 State Ave., Wyandanch. Public Lewdness - Carter Craig, 59, of 140 Amsterdam Ave., West Babylon.

Grand Larceny

Danielle Lewis, 33, of 23 E. Avon Dr., North Amityville.

People named in Crime Watch items as having been arrested and charged with violations or crimes are only suspected of committing those acts of which they are accused. They are all presumed to be innocent of those charges until and unless found guilty in a court of law.

Conserving water starts with everyday choices

Officials at the Suffolk County Water Authority warn that water demand is approaching record levels due to a severe drought and forecasted high temperatures. The U.S. Drought Monitor currently classifies Long Island in a severe drought.

Reports indicate high water infrastructure demand during overnight and early morning hours from irrigation systems. Consequently, water storage tanks begin the day at low levels and require more time to refill. These tanks maintain required water pressure across the

distribution network. Low tank levels reduce system pressure, which can lower flow to homes and limit water availability for fire protection.

With production facilities operating at capacity, no additional infrastructure is available to meet this demand.

“It is exceptionally early in the summer season to experience severe drought and nearrecord water demand,” said SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz. “Without immediate reductions in water use, pressure drops will occur, compromising emergency fire response.”

“Our crews are working to maintain system pressure, but conservation is a shared responsibility,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo. “Unchecked demand risks pressure drops that affect public safety and firefighting capabilities.”

Weather forecasts project continued dry conditions, meaning demand will remain elevated without active conservation.

For details and water-saving methods, visit www.scwa.com/conservation

Here are five simple ways to conserve water:

Fix leaks promptly. Even a slowdripping faucet or a running toilet can waste hundreds of gallons of water over time. Regularly checking plumbing fixtures and making repairs as soon as a leak is noticed can prevent unnecessary water loss and lower utility bills.

Take shorter showers. Reducing shower time by just two or three minutes can save several gallons of water with each use. Installing a lowflow showerhead can help conserve

even more water without sacrificing water pressure.

Turn off the tap when it’s not needed. Water doesn›t need to run while brushing your teeth, shaving or scrubbing dishes. Turning off the faucet until it is time to rinse is a simple habit that can save thousands of gallons of water each year.

Choose water-efficient appliances. Modern washing machines, dishwashers, toilets and showerheads are designed to use significantly less water while providing the same level of performance. Replacing older fixtures can make a noticeable difference in household water use.

Water landscapes wisely. Lawns and gardens need less water than many people think. Watering early in the

morning or in the evening reduces evaporation, while using mulch, native plants and rain barrels helps keep soil moist and reduces the need for additional watering.

Water conservation doesn’t require major lifestyle changes. Small actions, practiced consistently by individuals, families and communities, can have a lasting impact. By using water wisely today, we help protect this essential resource for ourselves, our neighbors and future generations.

Sagtikos Manor program explores Revolutionary War loyalties on LI

Would you have been a loyalist or patriot?

By CAROLYN JAMES cjamesd@liherald.com

Visitors to Sagtikos Manor stepped back into the Revolutionary War as the Sagtikos Manor Historical Society presented “Loyalist or Spy? If Walls Could Talk,” an interactive program exploring the difficult choices Long Island colonists faced during the American Revolution. The event was held June 14.

The presentation centered on Judge Isaac Thompson, the original owner of the Thompson estate, now known as Sagtikos Manor. During the Revolutionary War, Thompson allowed British Commanderin-Chief Gen. Sir Henry Clinton and British forces to use the manor as temporary headquarters.

While many Long Island residents refused to swear loyalty to the British Crown and fled the island during the war, Thompson and his family remained at the estate.

According to the presentation, tensions between Great Britain and its American colonies escalated in 1775 when King George III called on colonists to sign declarations of loyalty to the Crown. The effort was intended to reaffirm allegiance to British rule and discourage rebellion. Many colonists ignored the request, and historians often view the period as a turning point in colonial attitudes toward British authority.

Judge Isaac Thompson, portrayed by Joseph Bentivegna, explained how Long Islanders were divided in their loyalties. Supporters of independence cited grievances including taxation without representation, the desire for self-government and economic concerns.

A discussion between Thompson and

Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, portrayed by Kurt Langer, examined those issues and the difficult decisions colonists faced. Audience members were then asked whether they would sign an oath of loyalty to the British Crown.

For many colonists, the choice carried significant consequences. Those who refused to take the oath while living under British occupation risked imprisonment, confiscation of property and, in some cases, execution.

The event also featured reenactments by the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, a historic and highly decorated British Army regiment established in 1689, along with demonstrations of colonial-era crafts and trades.

Throughout the day, visitors encountered opposing sides attempting to persuade them to either sign an oath of loyalty to the Crown or support the patriot cause by signing the Articles of Association. Reenactors staged skirmishes between the British 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers and local militia portraying the 23rd New York Regiment.

Colonial artisans demonstrated everyday trades, including hat making, weaving, candle making, broom making, pewter casting and period music, giving visitors a glimpse into 18th-century life.

“Today, many people do not know about the British occupation of Long Island during the American Revolution or the important role Isaac Thompson may have played at Sagtikos Manor,” said Phyllis Chan Carr, of the Sagtikos Manor Historical Society. “Events like these help educate and inspire people today.”

Sagtikos Manor is at 677 W. Montauk Highway in Bay Shore. For more information, visit sagtikosmanor.org.

historian

influential women from British

Danielle Little highlights influential women through embroidery

Embroidery historian Danielle Little presented “A History of the Five Marys,” an exhibit celebrating five notable British women whose accomplishments helped shape history:

Mary Linwood (1755–1845): An English needleworker known for exhibiting her worsted embroidery in London and operating a private school.

Mary Morris Knowles (1733–1807): An English Quaker, poet and abolitionist.

Mary Delany (1700–1788): An English artist, letter writer and member of the Bluestocking circle of educated and intellectual women.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797): An English writer and philosopher widely recognized for advocating women’s rights.

Mary Shelley (1797–1851): English novelist and author of the Gothic classic Frankenstein.

Sagtikos Manor is at 677 W. Montauk Highway in Bay Shore. For information, call (631) 885-4797 or visit sagtikosmanor.org.

Carolyn James/Herald

Geri Gendron and Laura Miller, of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Col. Josiah Smith Chapter in Patchogue.

Judge Isaac Thompson, portrayed by Joseph Bentivegna, tells visitors about the manor’s role during the Revolutionary War.

General Sir Henry Clinton, portrayed by Kurt Langer, welcomes visitors to Sagtikos Manor during the interactive Revolutionary War program.

Carolyn James/Herald

Embroidery

Danielle Little displays “A History of the Five Marys,” highlighting

history.

Inspirational drawings from our youngest readers

Ashly R. 6th G W. Babylon Junior High School

Keilani C. 5th G California Ave. School

Rubi 4th G California Ave. School

Jayden C. 2nd G California Ave. School

Anabelle D. 6th G W. Babylon Junior High School

Karol M. 4th G California Ave. School

Mila O. 4th G California Ave. School

Janelle H. 3rd G California Ave. School

Samantha P. 6th G W. Babylon Junior High School

Mia H. 6th G West Babylon Junior High School

Mia A. 6th G West Babylon Junior High School

Jocelyn C. 5th G California Ave. School

AMERICA

Inspirational drawings from our youngest readers

Anjali B. 5th G James Verron Elementary

Nathalie M. 4th G California Ave. School

Izan M. 4th G California Ave. School

Jackson R. 6th G West Babylon Jr. High

Jake M. 4th G California Ave. School

Jeisel C. 4th G California Ave. School

Joanna C. 4th G California Ave. School

Lilly L. 6th G West Babylon Jr. High Elif V. 6th G West

Babylon Jr. High

Ryan L. 7th G West Babylon Jr. High

Noelia A. 4th G California Ave. School

Zarah V. 7th G West Babylon Jr. High

AMERICA

By ANGELINA ZINGARIELLO azingariello@liherald.com

Between 1860 and 1942, agriculture remained a defining part of life on Long Island across Nassau and Suffolk counties. During the same period, transportation improvements and expanding connections to New York City began shaping economic changes that would influence Long Island’s future development.

According to the Long Island Farm Bureau, agriculture has been an important industry on Long Island since the earliest periods of Native American cultivation and European settlement.

Before European settlement, the 60,000-acre Hempstead Plains in Nassau — the largest natural prairie east of the Mississippi River — served Indigenous peoples as a vital landscape for hunting, gathering and managing natural resources. English colonists later used the expansive grasslands to graze livestock, establishing agriculture as one of the area’s earliest industries.

The organization reports that fertile soils, access to fresh water, and proximity to major markets helped make Long Island one of New York State’s most significant agricultural regions. The Farm Bureau notes that farmers produced a wide range of crops and agricultural products, including vegetables, potatoes, fruits, poultry, livestock and shellfish.

Historical records published by the Town of Brookhaven show that early residents were primarily engaged in farming, fishing and whaling. The town’s historical records further indicate that additional industries developed during the nineteenth century, but agriculture remained an important part of the local economy.

Transportation became an increasingly important factor in the region’s development. According to the Town of Brookhaven’s historical overview, the arrival of the Long Island Rail Road during the mid-19th century made travel and the movement of goods faster and easier. Historical records of Long Island transportation show that rail service reached the eastern end of

Farming fueled Long Island before suburbia

the island in 1844, creating stronger links between rural communities and larger markets.

By the late 19th century, however, parts of Nassau County’s rural landscape were undergoing dramatic change as wealthy industrialists purchased North Shore farmland to build lavish country estates, creating the famed Gold Coast.

Even as the North Shore evolved, farming remained a dominant force across central Long Island. Throughout the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century, the Island ranked among the nation’s leading potato-producing regions.

Throughout the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century, the Island ranked among the nation’s leading potatoproducing regions.

Farming remained a dominant force across central Long Island. Throughout the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th centu-

ry, the Island ranked among the nation’s leading potato-producing regions. Thousands of acres were planted with potatoes, supporting a thriving agricultural economy and supplying markets throughout the Northeast.

While much of eastern Suffolk County remained rural during this period, signs of long-term change were emerging. Historical information published by the Town of Brookhaven states that the 20th century witnessed the town’s expansion from an agrarian community into a more diversified economy.

The transition had not yet fully occurred between 1860 and 1942, but the transportation networks and market connections established during those years

helped shape the conditions under which later development would occur.

Manorville itself retained strong agricultural roots. Historical accounts of the hamlet describe it as a farming community for many years, reflecting the broader agricultural character that defined much of central and eastern Suffolk County during the late 19th and early 20 centuries.

That era began to fade after World War II. As returning veterans fueled an unprecedented demand for housing, farmland rapidly disappeared beneath subdivisions, highways and commercial development. The transformation was perhaps most evident in Levittown, where beginning in 1947 more than 4,000 acres of former potato fields were converted into what became the nation’s most iconic suburban development, symbolizing the shift from an agricultural landscape to the suburban Long Island recognized today.

Angelina Zingariello/Herald

While the landscape and industries of Long Island have changed over the years, the East End holds onto its farming roots. Every spring, the Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden in Manorville plants over a million tulips for the annual Tulip Festival.

AMERICA

ABy BRIAN KACHARABA, ALYSSA R. GRIFFIN & LAYLA EASON of the Herald

cross Long Island, history is not just preserved — it is built into the landmarks that still stand in its villages, harbors, downtowns, and shorelines, where centuries of American life are reflected in manor houses, churches, libraries, museums, crossroads, and memorials.

Together, these sites form a living timeline of the nation’s past, showing how Long Island evolved alongside the United States over more than 300 years.

One of the earliest stories begins in Bay Shore at Sagtikos Manor, one of Suffolk County’s oldest surviving structures. Built around 1697 by Stephanus Van Cortlandt, New York City’s first native-born mayor, the manor grew from a colonial estate into one of the region’s most enduring landmarks.

During the American Revolution, British forces occupied the property, placing it directly within the war’s contested landscape. In the early years of the republic, the manor is also associated with President George Washington, who stayed there for one night during his 1790 tour of Long Island, further linking the site to the nation’s founding era and its first presidential administration.

In Massapequa, Old Grace Church, established in 1844 on land donated by General Thomas Floyd-Jones, preserves nearly two centuries of community life and remains a lasting symbol of the area’s early settlement era. Nearby, the Elbert Floyd-Jones Servants Cottage,

1 2 3

Landmarks define Long Island’s history

built around 1870, survives as one of the few remnants of Massapequa’s grand estate period, offering a rare glimpse into daily life on Long Island’s 19th-century South Shore estates.

The Phillips House Museum in Rockville Centre, built in 1882 and once home to village founder James Phillips, reflects the community’s late-19th-century growth driven by commerce and transportation. Saved from demolition in the 1970s and restored during the Bicentennial era, it now stands as one of New York’s premier small historic museums.

Long Island’s rise to national prominence is reflected at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, built between 1884 and 1885 for Theodore Roosevelt. The Queen Annestyle home served as both his family residence and Summer White House, where policy and diplomacy shaped the Progressive Era. Today, it remains a National Historic Site and one of the country’s most significant presidential homes.

The growth of suburban Long Island is traced to Pearsall’s Corners, later Lynbrook, where a 19th-century crossroads centered on the Pearsall family store evolved into a stagecoach and railroad hub. With the arrival of the South Side Railroad, the community expanded rapidly and adopted the name Lynbrook in 1894, marking its transformation from rural hamlet to suburban village.

In Massapequa, the Delancey FloydJones Free Library, built in 1896, became the community’s first public library and remained its only one for more than 50 years. Now preserved within the Massapequa Historical Society Historic Complex, it reflects the rise

of civic institutions across Long Island.

On the South Shore, Long Beach reflects early 20th-century coastal planning. The home at 226 W. Penn Street, built in 1909 as part of William H. Reynolds’ resort vision, is one of the city’s earliest surviving structures. Now the Long Beach Historical Museum, it preserves the story of a barrier island community that grew from seasonal destination to year-round city.

The North Shore Historical Museum in Glen Cove occupies the former 1907 Justices Court Building, a State and National Register landmark that preserves the legacy of the Gold Coast era. In nearby Sea Cliff, the Village Museum—founded in 1979 and housed in a former Methodist church—continues that preservation effort through extensive archives of photographs, artifacts, and village records.

In Freeport, history spans multiple eras. A historic marker at Babylon Turnpike and Lakeview Avenue commemorates Washington’s passage through Long Island during his 1790 tour, linking the village to the nation’s earliest years. Nearby, the World War II memorial honors local service members who fought in the nation’s defining 20thcentury conflict, while the Vietnam War memorial stone at the Freeport Memorial Library stands as a tribute to those who gave their lives in service.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, these landmarks underscore a simple truth: history is not confined to textbooks. It continues to live in the buildings, streets, and communities that shaped Long Island — and helped

shape the nation itself.

Photo 1 - Sagtikos Manor in Bay Shore, built around 1697, stands as one of Suffolk County’s oldest surviving homes and a rare link to Long Island’s colonial, Revolutionary War, and early presidential history.

Brian Kacharaba/Herald

Photo 2 - The World War II memorial plaque in Freeport honors residents who served and sacrificed during the conflict.

Layla Eason/Herald

Photo 3 - Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, the longtime home of President Theodore Roosevelt, reflects Long Island’s role in American leadership history and served as his residence and “Summer White House” during his presidency.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Photo 4 - A historic marker at Babylon Turnpike and Lakeview Avenue in Freeport commemorates President George Washington’s passage through the area during his 1790 tour of Long Island.

Layla Eason/Herald

Photo 5 - The Old Grace Church in Massapequa traces its roots to 1844, where community members gathered to establish an Episcopal church closer to home rather than traveling to Hempstead for worship.

Alyssa R. Griffin/Herald

Photo 6 - Built in 1882, the Victorian home now housing the Phillips House Museum was once owned by sea captain and village founder James Phillips, whose family played a key role in the early development of Rockville Centre as a growing center of commerce and banking.

Alyssa R. Griffin/Herald

YBy JORDAN VALLONE jvallone@liherald.com

It is nearly impossible to discuss American literary history without mentioning Walt Whitman. Often called “America’s poet,” Whitman left a lasting mark as a writer, journalist and teacher, with a legacy deeply woven into both the nation’s history and Long Island’s own.

Born in what is now Huntington Station in 1819, Whitman came from a family whose Long Island roots stretched back to the 17th century. Though the family moved to Brooklyn when he was young, the island remained part of his foundation. His formal schooling ended at 11, but his education continued in print shops, newsrooms and city streets, where he developed a lifelong appetite for language, politics and the lives of ordinary people.

ou cannot really understand America... without ‘Leaves of Grass.’

MARY BERENsON

Art historian

As a teenager and young adult, Whitman worked as a printer, teacher and journalist across Long Island and New York City. When he returned to Huntington, he founded The Long-Islander, a local newspaper that is still being published.

His formative years placed Whitman in close contact with people from every corner of American life: laborers, commuters, families, readers, voters and strangers passing through the world around him. That broad human canvas helped shape the ideals that came to define his poetry — a sweeping appreciation for everyday Americans.

Whitman carried those influences into “Leaves of Grass,” the collection he first published in 1855 and continued revising until his death in 1892. What began as a slim, unconventional volume grew into a sweeping body of work that challenged literary traditions and helped redefine what American poetry could sound like.

Much of Whitman’s work opens a window onto everyday American life, but “Song of Myself” may be his most expansive expression of that vision. In it, the speaker stretches beyond the individual, seeing himself reflected in all people and all things — a voice that is deeply personal and collective.

The poem stands apart for its bold embrace of the body, its deep connection to the natural world and its insistence on elevating the ordinary individual.

“Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,”

AMERICA Long Island’s own Walt Whitman helped give America its voice

Courtesy Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection [LC-USZC2-4855]

Walt Whitman, one of America’s most renowned poets, taught at a summer school in Woodbury in 1840. The school building, erected in 1807, was acquired by Alexander M. White around 1927, who moved it to his estate in Oyster Bay Cove. The desk from the schoolhouse once used by Whitman is now at his birthplace, a historic site, in Huntington Station.

Whitman writes — a line that captures the layered, generational nature of belonging. It suggests how roots are formed not only through family, but through the places people claim as home. For Whitman, one of those places was Long Island.

Today, the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association maintains the New York state historic site Whitman was born in. Open to the public for tours, the home provides Long Islanders with insight into his early childhood, which influenced his work. Tours run daily in the summertime, and between Wednesdays and Sundays after Labor Day.

On the grounds of his original home is also an Interpretive Center, which opened in 1997, further allowing the birthplace association to build a tourist destination and regional hub for arts and literature, that offers unique, interdisciplinary programs.

“You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman, without ‘Leaves of Grass’…” art historian Mary Berenson once wrote of the work, according to Whitman’s profile on Goodreads, a networking site for readers. “He has expressed that civilization, ‘up to date,’ as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him.”

LeaH Ramai (HunteR)

By Leah Ramai (Hunter)

Sewanhaka High School freshman

AReader, three centuries is a long time.

ridiculous amount of possibilities could generally happen. Robots mating and artificial intelligence becoming the structure of everything.

America at 300. It’s long enough for your name to become dust. Long enough for every person you have ever loved to disappear. Long enough for your bedroom to become a room nobody remembers belonged to you. Long enough for the sound of your laughter to vanish from the earth entirely.

And perhaps, before you continue reading, I ask something of you. Look at your mother. Look at the shine in her eyes. The bliss, the warmth in her hugs. Look at your father. His tired eyes of making income and he doesn’t get a minute to himself. Not as parents. Not as permanent figures suspended safely in the background of your life. Look at them as people. As living things, imagine the lines of their faces softened by time until even memory struggles to hold them together.

Imagine the sound of their voices becoming some-

AMERICA America at its 300th anniversary

thing distant. Imagine reaching for a memory and discovering it has begun to fade. That it simply doesn’t exist anymore. Where do these memories go? Certainly not in the future. Horrifying, isn’t it? Yet this is not fantasy. This is not horror fiction. This is reality moving exactly as it always has, because time does not wait for anyone whatsoever.

When people speak of America 300 years from now, they speak of progress. They speak of technology, discovery, innovation, and futures polished bright enough to distract themselves from the darkness beneath them. The good and positives. Yet I find myself haunted by something far quieter. Far more patient. The casualties time leaves behind.

How many voices will history never bother to remember? How many political figures will be jacks of spades in newspapers and magazines. How many poets will spend entire lifetimes filling notebooks only for their words to disappear without ceremony?

How many artists will devote themselves to beauty only for time to consume their work without even acknowledging it existed? Somewhere tonight, a child is creating something absolutely extraordinary. Somewhere, a story capable of changing a life is being written for the very first time. And somewhere else, another story dies before it is ever born. Reader that should terrify you. Not because it is unlikely. Because it is ordinary for dreams to never be pursued.

That is what makes humanity sacred. Not permanence. Not survival. Not the illusion that anything was

ever promised forever. If life stretched endlessly before us, love would become weightless. If grief did not exist, devotion would mean nothing. If death never arrived, neither would urgency, nor wonder, nor the desperate and beautiful need to create something before time steals the opportunity away.

It isn’t the fear of leaving, but leaving behind something utterly unfathomable, Humanity. Edgar Allan Poe understood this. Mary Shelley understood this. Beneath every graveyard, every ghost, every monster stitched together from pieces of the dead, there lingers the same unbearable realization. Existence is precious because it ends.

America, 300 years from now, will not be measured by what it builds. It will be measured by what it remembers. By whether someone still believes stories matter. By whether a child still stays awake long after midnight scribbling poems in a notebook because their heart feels too large for silence, deeply madly in love. Love, will you still feel the same flutter in your heart.

It’s chronically insane, isn’t it reader? To have to ask if a feeling would still sit in your anatomy because of how the world can change. By whether humanity still possesses the courage to create despite knowing everything eventually disappears. Knowing you have a purpose, but genuinely? It will end one day. Because the greatest horror has never been death. It has always been reaching the end of a life without leaving behind proof that you were here at all.

Look into the future

Photo: Credit: Courtesy Sewanhaka High School

STEPPING OUT

Photos courtesy LICM

Young artists created colorful works during last summer’s ArtVentures. This year, the program is expanded into four categories and families can enjoy similar creative experiences.

Bright colors and creative techniques come together in the watercolor project, one of the hands-on activities Kids can experiment how colors react to elements, and other colors.

More than art

Cool off with an ‘Artventure’

By Stacy Driks

Long Island Children’s Museum invites families to put down the screens this summer, pick up a paintbrush and discover the many ways to create art.

With the launch of Summer ArtVentures [July 7], the museum expands its arts programming into a season-long celebration of imagination, hands-on learning and creative exploration four days a week.

Whether it’s experimenting with watercolor, building collages, sculpting with clay or creating artwork inspired by professionals, every visit offers something new.

The lineup grew from a pilot series the museum introduced last summer. After seeing children return week after week and hearing families ask for more opportunities to create, museum educators decided it was time to think bigger.

“We had such a positive reaction, people were asking if we could do them on other days and if we could offer more arts programming,” says Jeanmarie Walsh Mansﬁeld, the museum’s director of visual arts and community initiatives. ”We found families kept coming back, and kids were building on what they learned from one week to the next.”

That enthusiasm inspired a full calendar of art experiences running throughout July and August, with activities designed to appeal to toddlers, schoolage children, teens and even adults.

Unlike traditional art classes, participants aren’t divided by age. Instead, everyone creates together in the same space, allowing each person to work at a level that’s comfortable while learning from one another.

“It’s sort of like an old-school classroom,” Mansﬁeld says. “Kids of all ages learn with and from each other.”

Each Tuesday, the museum hosts Imagine That! Summer ArtVentures Workshops, where participants explore a different artistic medium or technique. One week may focus on collage, while another introduces mosaics, sculpture or animation. Before children begin creating, participants are introduced to artists whose work connects to that week’s project.

Some come from centuries ago, like Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, whose portraits famously transformed fruits, vegetables and other everyday objects into imaginative faces. Others are contemporary artists such as Octavio Ocampo, whose optical illusion paintings encourage viewers to look beyond ﬁrst impressions.

Fireworks with the South Shore Symphony

“I want kids to learn that art can be much more than they think art is,” Mansﬁeld says. “Art can be everywhere and made from anything. All you need is your creativity, your imagination and a willingness to experiment.”

Fridays offer Watercolor Wonder Pop-Ups, rotating through different galleries with new watercolor techniques and themes each week. One session explores the effects of salt on watercolor paint, while another teaches children how oil pastels and watercolor interact to create surprising results. Other activities draw inspiration from nature, encouraging families to experiment with ﬂowers, color and texture.

What program is best for you?

• Tuesday: Imagine That ArtVentures workshops run from July 7 to Aug. 25, 1-3 p.m. Fee: $4 for children three and up.

• Friday: Watercolor Pop-Up run from July 10 to Aug. 28, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free with museum admission.

• Saturday: Amethyst Playground Pop-Up runs from July 11 to Aug. 1, noon-2 p.m. Free with museum admission.

• Monday: Squish Studio runs from July 27 to July 31, 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. Free with museum admission.

Still craving more fireworks? Rockville Centre’s annual celebration is just the ticket! Head to Pette and Barasch Fields for a festive evening with the South Shore Symphony, capped off by a spectacular Grucci fireworks display. It’s a beloved summertime tradition that brings together everyone for a rousing spectacle. Music Director Adam Glaser passes the baton to conductor Eileen Murphy who leads the orchestra in a program of Broadway hits, movie themes, pop hits, and patriotic standards. Selections include American Salute by Morton Gould, Suite from Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, RimskyKorsakov’s Procession of Nobles, Sousa’s Washington Post March and John William’s Raiders March. The orchestra begins performing at 7:30 p.m., the fireworks begin at 9:15 and the orchestra continues after. Hosted by the Village of Rockville Centre and the Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts, this free event has been a favorite for more than 30 years. Admission is free and is open to everyone. Rain date is July 12.

Hope shows her art project inspired by Kelly Olshan’s “Amethyst Playground” exhibit.

On Saturdays, Amethyst Playground Pop-Up connects directly to the current Artists’ Corner exhibition by Kelly Olshan. Families transform leftover materials from the artist’s creative process into colorful magnets, demonstrating how everyday objects can become works of art.

For children who love getting their hands dirty, Squish Studio, running July 27 through 31, offers an entire week devoted to clay. Young artists can experiment with different tools, create personal sculptures and contribute to a collaborative creature that grows throughout the week.

Clay holds a special place for Mansﬁeld.

“I’ve been wanting to do clay-based workshops for a long time,” she says. “Kids really respond to it. It’s intuitive, it’s hands-on, and it helps develop ﬁne motor skills while encouraging creativity.”

But the aim is for visitors leave with more than artwork to hang on the refrigerator.

Creating art helps children build conﬁdence, develop criticalthinking skills and become more comfortable taking creative risks, Mansﬁeld explains. Working alongside others also teaches collaboration, communication and problem-solving.

“Art making reduces anxiety,” she says. “It can be meditative. We know screens can increase anxiety, but when children are creating with their hands, they’re engaged, they’re present and they’re learning.”

Perhaps most importantly, art teaches children that mistakes aren’t something to fear.

“You fail sometimes,” Mansﬁeld says. “You make something and it doesn’t come out the way you wanted. That’s an important life skill — mistakes are learning opportunities and that you can pivot and try something different.”

And the experience sparks curiosity. Rather than providing step-by-step instructions with one “correct” outcome, educators encourage children to ask questions, explore materials and decide for themselves what they want to create.

“There’s no wrong way to make art,” Mansﬁeld says. “I want kids to push their boundaries and realize they’re artists.”

And this is only the beginning.

Museum leadership plans to further expand programming beyond the summer, with additional workshops during school breaks and perhaps a future art festival that celebrates creativity throughout the museum.

Until then, paint, sculpt, squish and create all summer — one colorful adventure at a time. For schedules, admission and registration information, visit licm.org.

Saturday, July 11, 7 p.m. Pette and Barasch Fields, 244 S. Park Ave, Rockville Centre. For more information, visit.rvcny.us.

The Bronx Wanderers

What do you get when a father, his two sons, and two high school classmates come together to create a show? A wildly entertaining mix of hilarious personal stories, a powerhouse playlist spanning every genre and decade, and one unforgettable family’s journey through life and music. Meet The Bronx Wanderers — a high-energy musical experience that’s been bringing audiences to their feet for over 20 years. With a unique blend of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia, modern hits, and dynamic storytelling, this band has mastered the art of connecting with fans of all ages in one sweeping, musical tour de force. They’re still having the time of their lives — and by the end of the show, you will be too.

Sunday, July 12,7:30 p.m. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com

Your Neighborhood CALENDAR

Wendy Klemperer: Wrought Taxonomies

Vanderbilt Museum welcomes everyone to enjoy the exhibition of outdoor sculpture at the historic summer estate of William Kissam Vanderbilt II. Klemperer’s sculptures. a haunting assemblage of animal forms that span imaginary, endangered, familiar, and exotic species, celebrate natural history and the nonhuman world through evocative interactions with the surrounding environment. Using materials salvaged from scrapyards, she composes ecological narratives that respond to the history and collections of Suffolk County’s first public park and museum. Her brilliant use of gestural lines captures the spectator’s attention and invites museum-goers to reflect on the relationship between an interest in animal life and the incessant push of human industry. Visitors are encouraged to picnic on the grounds.

• Where: 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport

• Time: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Contact: vanderbiltmuseum. org or call (631) 854-5579

‘Everybody

Loves Raymond:

Celebrating 30 Years’

Visit the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame for an immersive exhibit (designed by LIMEHOF Creative Director, renowned designer Kevin O’Callaghan). It features the 70-foot-wide set from the show’s recent 30th anniversary TV special on CBS, never before on display. Visitors can walk into the world of the Barone family and explore their home through original studio sets, which include the living room, the kitchen and other areas of the house. Also see a variety of iconic items, including original clothing, the famous fork and spoon, and the Christmas toaster, among other classic items from the series. Multimedia clips, including behind the scenes and rare out-takes and a range of related videos play in LIMEHOF’s surround sound theater.

• Where: 97 Main St., Stony Brook

• Time: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

• Contact: limusichalloffame. org or (631) 689-5888

Summer tunes

The Town of Babylon Summer Concert Series continues with The Men of Soul. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and

Wild Child

Church. Drive into the parking lot behind the church and a meal will be hand-delivered to you.

• Where: 576 Deer Park Ave., Babylon

• Time: 4-5 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 987-2896

Kid Zone

jul

15

Children in grades Pre-K-5 are invited to First Presbyterian Church’s Kid Zone, weekly. Included is dinner, a Bible story, as well as crafts and games.

• Where: 79 E. Main St., Babylon

• Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 587-5838

Wednesdays on Wellwood

Take part in Lindenhurst’s Summer Street Festival. With over 100 vendors, fun for the whole family, live music and food.

• Where: Lindenhurst Town Square and Gazebo, 116 N. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst

• Time: 4-9 p.m.

• Where: The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington

• Time: 8 p.m.

This is not a typical tribute or pretend concert act. Wild Child relies on recapturing the original: sound, feel, mood, dynamics and delivery of the Doors music. In true Doors fashion there are no: wigs, props, costumes, or phony banter between songs. It’s about the music and its delivery. Wild Child lead singer Dave Brock’s Doors tribute debuted with a triple sellout at the Whisky a-Go-Go. Since the band debuted, the act has been touring and playing at sold out national act venues and festivals around the world. Wild Child became the mold that “tribute bands” aspired to become, as they flooded the market in the 1990s with good and bad impersonations of famous artists. In 2010 Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors, invited Dave to tour with them as their vocalist on their concert engagements. This was perhaps the best compliment Dave has ever received from anyone for his work. Being selected by these two Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame musicians was a huge honor; the ultimate compliment of his talents and speaks volumes for his credibility as a Doors style frontman and vocalist. Fans and critics alike praise Wild Child performances as the closest thing to a real 1960s Doors concert and live Doors experience.

enjoy a night of entertainment for the whole family.

• Where: 500 Mount Ave., West Babylon

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 957-3000

Summer sounds

The Village of Lindenhurst concert series continues with Mike Taylor, performing classic rock.

• Where: Village Square Park, corner of North Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst.

• Time: 7:30-10 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 957-7500

Summertime tunes

The concert series continues with Somethin’ Fresh. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy a night of entertainment for the whole family.

• Where: Tanner Park, 400 Baylawn Ave., Copiague

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 957-3000

‘The Tempest’ Vanderbilt Museum’s Shakespeare in the Courtyard

series returns with the Bard’s dramatic tale, a story of shipwreck and magic, It’s performed by the Carriage House Players in the Mansion’s beautiful Spanish Revival courtyard. $20, $15 seniors and students.

• Where: 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport

• Time: 8 p.m.: also July 12 and July 15

• Contact: vanderbiltmuseum. org or call (631) 854-5579

Rock on The Village of Lindenhurst concert series continues with The Gypsy Felons, performing classic rock.

• Contact: ticketmaster.com or paramountny.com

• Time: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

• Contact: longislandfarmer smkts@gmail.com

Concert time

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame welcomes Bleeding Egos. The fourpiece rock band writes and performs music with an emphasis on melody and harmony influenced by REM, the Beatles and Tom Petty, among others.

• Where: 97 Main St., Stony Brook

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: limusichalloffame.org or (631) 689-5888

• Contact: (631) 226-4641, lindenhurstchamber.org/ event-details/wednesdays-onwellwood-2026-07-15-16-00

Summer grooves

The Town of Babylon Concert Series continues with Forever Donna, the Ultimate Donna Summer Tribute by Rainere Martin. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy a night of entertainment for the whole family.

• Where: Tanner Park, 400 Baylawn Ave., Copiague

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 957-3000

Nourish Babylon SitDown Dinner

• Where: Village Square Park, corner of North Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst

• Time: 7:30-10 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 957-7500 jul

• Where: Village of Babylon Gazebo, 244 W. Main St., Babylon. jul

Farmers Market Stop by for fresh produce and to shop various vendors, every Sunday into October.

Every Monday Nourish Babylon holds a sitdown dinner at Christ Episcopal Church. All are welcome to attend.

• Where: 12 Prospect St., Babylon

• Time: 5-6:30 p.m.

• Contact: (631) 661-5757

Grab-and-Go Free Dinners

Every Tuesday, Graband-Go free dinners are available at Cross of Christ Lutheran

Having an event?

Items on the Calendar page are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest. All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number. Submissions can be emailed to kbloom@ liherald.com.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT

COUNTY OF SUFFOLK

Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee for Soundview Home Loan Trust 2006-WF1, Asset- Backed Certificates, Series 2006WF1, Plaintiff AGAINST

Orlando Stokes; et al., Defendant(s)

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered May 1, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the Babylon Townhall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on August 6, 2026, at 1:00PM, premises known as 25 Mount Avenue, Wyandanch, NY 11798. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Wyandanch, Town of Babylon, in the State of New York, District: 0100 Section: 055.00 Block: 03.00 Lot: 028.001. Approximate amount of judgment $272,076.06 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 601871/2024.

Darrin Berger, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP

Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792

Dated: May 27, 2026 26-354. 7/2, 9, 16, 23

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 63 HOMEWOOD LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/17/26. Office Location Suffolk County. SSNY designated as

agent upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to: 63 Homewood LLC at 3000 Marcus Ave., Ste 1W5, Lake Success, NY 110421009. Reg. Agent: eResidentAgent, Inc.1 Rockefeller Plaza Ste 1204, NY, NY 10020. The principal business address of the LLC is 3000 Marcus Ave., Ste 1W5, Lake Success, NY 110421009. Purpose: any lawful activity.

26-314. 6/4, 11, 18, 25, 7/2, 9

Notice of formation of CGP Realty LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/06/2024

Office location, County of Suffolk SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a process served to:

The LLC, 375 W Main Street, Ste 130, Huntington NY 11743 Purpose: any lawful act.

26-311. 6/4, 11, 18, 25, 7/2, 9

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF CKSP LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/26/26. Office Location Suffolk County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to: CKSP LLC at 812 Park Ave #5/6D, NY, NY 10021. Reg. Agent: eResidentAgent, Inc.1 Rockefeller Plaza Ste 1204, NY, NY 10020. The

principal business address of the LLC is 812 Park Ave #5/6D, NY, NY

10021. Purpose: any lawful activity.

26-313. 6/4, 11, 18, 25, 7/2, 9.

Notice of formation of 7173 Cleveland LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/16/2025

Office location, County of Suffolk SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a process served to:

The LLC, 375 W Main Street, Ste 130, Huntington NY 11743

Purpose: any lawful act.

26-310. 6/4, 11, 18, 25, 7/2, 9

Notice of formation of Connie Alexa Collective, LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SS Y) on 06/02/2026

Office location, County of Suffolk

SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a process served to:

The LLC, 428 N Putnam Ave, Lindenhurst, NY 11757

Purpose: any lawful act.

26-326 - 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9, 16, 23

Notice of formation of Everbloom Society LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of

Public Notices

New York (SS Y) on 03/06/2026 Office

location, County of Suffolk SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a process served to: Everbloom Society LLC, 654 Bermuda Rd, West Babylon NY 11704

Purpose: Any Lawful Act.

26-361 - 7/2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 8/6

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF SUFFOLK NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC, Plaintiff AGAINST MARC DONDERO, JANET KRAUS, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered May 9, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on August 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM, premises known as 109 Buena Vista Boulevard, Lindenhurst, NY 11757. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being at Copiague, Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, District 100 Section 190 Block 4 Lot 31. Approximate amount of judgment $396,482.24 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #600480/2023. William J. Garry, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 22-003977 90251 26-370. 7/9., 16, 23, 30

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF SUFFOLK

U.S. Bank Trust National Association, Not In Its Individual Capacity But Solely As Owner Trustee For RCAF Acquisition Trust, Plaintiff AGAINST Karen Pemberton a/k/a Karen Nyitray a/k/a Karen Parsons; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered June 8, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at Babylon Townhall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on August 13, 2026, at 3:00PM, premises known as 450 Great Neck Road, Copiague, NY 11726. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Copiague, in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, District 0100 Section 193.00 Block 02.00 Lot 039.001. Approximate amount of judgment $474,929.18 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 631202/2023.

Robert T. Fuchs, Esq., Referee

LOGS Legal Group LLP

Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792

Dated: June 16, 2026 26=366. 7/9, 16, 23, 30

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF SUFFOLK- BABYLON. NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING,

Plaintiff - againstTARA LANG A/K/A TARA CLOSE, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated May 26, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, known and designated as District 0100 Section 112.00 Block 02.00 Lot 002.000. Said premises known as 509 LOMBARD STREET, NORTH BABYLON, NY 11703 Approximate amount of lien $146,856.98 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 615864/2025.

JOY E. JORGENSEN, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 For sale information, please visit www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2832. DLG# 39749 26-368. 7/9. 16, 23, 30

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF Suffolk, AJAX Mortgage Loan Trust 2023-B, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Series 2023-B, by U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Indenture Trustee, Plaintiff, vs. Kamona Ayres a/k/a Ramona Ayres, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on March 4, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public

auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, North Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on August 7, 2026 at 11:30 a.m., premises known as 71 Ronald Drive North a/k/a North Ronald Drive, Amityville, NY 11701. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Amityville, in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, District 0100, Section 165.00, Block 02.00 and Lot 003.000. Approximate amount of judgment is $762,116.69 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 610279/2022.

William J. Garry, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Firm File No.: 212836-1 26-365. 7/9, 16, 23, 30

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF Suffolk, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee for Home Loan Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-1, Plaintiff, vs. William Van Manen a/k/a William J. Van manen a/k/a william vanmanen, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on May 26, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, North Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on August 13, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., premises known as 347 South 6th Street, Lindenhurst, NY 11757. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the build-

ings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in Lindenhurst, Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, District 0103, Section 013.00, Block 06.00 and Lot 041.000. Approximate amount of judgment is $346,121.21 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #625705/2023.

Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee

Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., Attn: Jackie Halpern Weinstein, Esq., One Battery Park Plaza, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10004, Tel: 212.825.0365, Attorneys for Plaintiff 26-364 7/9, 16, 23, 30

The Town of Babylon Rental Review Board will hold a Public Hearing at The Town of Babylon 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, New York (East Wing Board Room) on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 6:00pm NEW APPLICATION

1. DAB Development LLC 54 Tiber Ave. Deer Park NY 11729

SCTM NO: 010093-1-158

2. Dhruba Biswas 39 Arcadia Ave. Dix Hills NY 11746

SCTM NO: 010019-2-12

RENEWALS

1. Shannen Caldone 158 Park Ave. Deer Park NY 11729

SCTM NO: 010087-2-83

2. Frances & Anthony Dalisa 210 Silver St. West Babylon NY 11704

SCTM NO: 0100141-1-56 26-371 7/9

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF SUFFOLK HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR ACE SECURITIES CORP. HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2006-OP2, -againstTREVOR BUSH AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE TO THE ESTATE OF LYANNE BUSH, ET AL. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Suffolk on October 28, 2019, wherein HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR ACE SECURITIES CORP. HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2006-OP2 is the Plaintiff and TREVOR BUSH AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE TO THE ESTATE OF LYANNE BUSH, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the BABYLON TOWN HALL, 200 EAST SUNRISE HIGHWAY, NORTH LINDENHURST, NY 11757, on July 16, 2026 at 1:00PM, premises known as 11 WILLOW STREET, WHEATLEY HEIGHTS, NY 11798; and the following tax map identification: 0100-014.00-01.00062.000.

ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING IN THE TOWN OF BABYLON, COUNTY OF SUFFOLK AND STATE OF NEW

YORK

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No.: 606775/2015. Francesco P. Tini, Esq. - Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES. 26-333. 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9

REFEREE'S NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF SUFFOLK

U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST, Plaintiffagainst - NIKOLAOS LIMBERATOS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on April 23, 2026. I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on the 16th day of July, 2026 at 1:00 PM. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being at Deer Park, Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York.

Premises known as 25 Wellington Avenue, Deer Park, NY 11729. (District: 0100, Section: 020.00, Block: 03.00, Lot: 027.000)

Approximate amount of lien $663,206.80 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

Index No. 629648/2023. Danielle Coysh, Esq., Referee. McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff

420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 840 New York, NY 10170

Tel. 347/286-7409

Dated: May 5, 2026

During the COVID-19 health emergency, bidders are required to comply with all governmental health requirements in effect at the time of sale including but not limited to, wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing (at least 6-feet apart) during the auction, while tendering deposit and at any subsequent closing. Bidders are also required to comply with the Foreclosure Auction Rules and COVID-19 Health Emergency Rules issued by the Supreme Court of this County in addition to the conditions set forth in the Terms of Sale. Auction Locations are subject to change.

26-334. 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF Suffolk, CITIBANK, N.A., NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE OF THE NEW RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2019-2, Plaintiff, vs. HOLLY CASEY, if living, and if she be dead, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this

Public Notices

action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through, or under them and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-atlaw, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff, ET AL., Defendant (s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on April 28, 2026 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Town of Babylon, Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on July 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM, premises known as 54 OAK BEACH AVENUE A/K/A 54 OAK BEACH ROAD, BABYLON, NY 11702. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying, and being in the town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York District: 0100, Section: 243.00, Block: 01.00, Lot: 024.000. Approximate amount of judgment is $568,126.75 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 624949/2024. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale

shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Mortgagee's attorney, or the Referee.

For Sale information, please visit Auction. com at www.Auction. com or call (800) 2802832

JOHN MARANO, Esq., Referee Halliday, Watkins & Mann, P.C., 6851 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 185, Syosset, New York 11791, Attorneys for Plaintiff

26-341 6/25, 7/2, 9, 16

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY.

(LB Field Hockey) Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York, (SSNY) on 02__/_02_/_2026_. NY Office location: Suffolk County. SSNY has been designated as an agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to: _26 Trask Lane Babylon NY 11561

Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

26-332. 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9, 16, 23

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF SUFFOLK Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Plaintiff AGAINST Jose Mejia, Lorena D. Ramirez Mejia, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered April 16, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY

11757 on July 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM, premises known as 16 South 21st Street, Wyandanch, NY 11798. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being at Wyandanch, in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk, and State of New York, District 0100 Section 055.00 Block 02.00 Lot 070.000. Approximate amount of judgment $413,795.99 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #625989/2025. For sale information, please visit Auction. com at www.Auction. com or call (800) 2802832. Robert Fuchs, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 24-001864 90195 26-342 6/25, 7/2, 9, 16

SUFFOLK COUNTY NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURTSTATE OF NEWYORK-COUNTY OF SUFFOLK BETTER PROPERTY ENTERPRISES LLC., Plaintiff, -AGAINSTALBANY AMITYVILLE LLC, 510 AMITYVILLE LLC, et al., Defendants. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on August 8, 2025, the court appointed Referee, will sell at public auction at the Town of Babylon, Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Hwy, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on July 28, 2026, at 1:00 pm.

Premises known as 51o Albany Avenue, Amityville, NY 11701. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the County of Suffolk,

State of New York. Section 173.00 Block 01.00 and Lots 13.00. Approximate amount of judgement: $294,688.93 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgement, Index No.: 630800/2023 Referee: Laurie Gatto, Esq. Plaintiff Attorney: Solomon Herrera McCormick, PLLC - 40 Marcus Drive, Suite 202, Melville, New Yori< 11747

Please take notice that this foreclosure auction shall be conducted in compliance with the Foreclosure Auction Rules for Suffoll< County and the COVID 19 Health Emergency Rules, including proper use of masks and social distancing.

26-355. 7/2, 9, 16, 23

Notice of formation of RJV Compliance & Analytics LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/10/2026. Office location, County of Suffolk. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a process served to: The LLC, 1525 10th Street, West Babylon, NY 11704. Purpose: any lawful act.

26-336. 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9, 16, 23

Notice of formation of GAEA HOLDINGS LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York on 03/30/2026

SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a process served to: GAEA HOLDINGS

LLC, 324 Deauville Pkwy, Lindenhurst, NY 11757

For any lawful purpose.

26-346. 6/25, 7/2, 9, 16, 23, 30

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT SUFFOLK COUNTY PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLC, Plaintiff against STEPHANIE JONES A/K/A STEPHANIE Y. JONES, et al Defendant(s) Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Knuckles & Manfro, LLP, 120 White Plains Road, Suite 215, Tarrytown, NY 10591. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered March 3, 2026, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Babylon Townhall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on July 30, 2026 at 9:30AM. Premises known as 99 Cedar Road, Amityville, NY 11701. District 0100 Sec 122.00 Block 02.00 Lot 014.003. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being at North Amityville, Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $477,699.30 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 616373/2024. Cash will not be accepted at the sale.The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 10th Judicial District's Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing.

Richard Lavorata, Jr., Esq., Referee File # 2231-001202 26-340 6/26, 7/.2, 9, 16

July 9, 2026

REFEREE'S NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

SUPREME COURT

- COUNTY OF SUFFOLK

U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCAF ACQUISITION TRUST, Plaintiff - against - BRONX RIVER STRATEGIES, LLC, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on November 3, 2025. I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on the 16th day of July, 2026 at 9:30 AM. All that tract or parcel of land, situate in Babylon, County of Suffolk, State of New York. Premises known as 22 East Booker Avenue, Wyandanch, (Town of Babylon) NY 11798.

(DSBL#: 0100-080.0003.00-088.00)

Approximate amount of lien $171,374.71 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

Index No. 203657/2022. William R. Garbarino, Esq., Referee. Davidson Fink LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 400 Meridian Centre Blvd, Ste 200 Rochester, NY 14618 Tel. 585/760-8218

Dated: May 26, 2026

deposit and at any subsequent closing. Bidders are also required to comply with the Foreclosure Auction Rules and COVID-19 Health Emergency Rules issued by the Supreme Court of this County in addition to the conditions set forth in the Terms of Sale. Auction Locations are subject to change.

26-329. 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT

COUNTY OF SUFFOLK

Deutsche Bank National Trust Company as Trustee for the Holders of New Century Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2005-A, Asset Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Plaintiff AGAINST

Mark Guerreri; Denise Guerreri; et al., Defendant(s)

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered February 25, 2020, and Amended November 27, 2023, and Amended October 2, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 July 20, 2026, at 3:00PM, premises known as 41 Lenox Street, Lindenhurst, NY 11757. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in Lindenhurst, Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk, State of New York, District 0103

Section 002.00 Block 03.00 Lot 086.002. Approximate amount of judgment $374,847.57 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 610008/2017.

Scott Lockwood, Esq., Referee

LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff

175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792

Dated: January 28, 2026

For sale information, please visit www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2832

26-330. 6/18, 24, 7/2, 9

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT

COUNTY OF Suffolk, Avail 1 LLC, Plaintiff, vs. Unknown heirs at law of Antoinette Vaccaro, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to an Order Confirming Referee Report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on May 15, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, North Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on July 23, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., premises known as 43 Cambridge Drive West, Copiague, NY 11726. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, District 0100, Section 198.01, Block 01.00 and Lot 043.000. Approximate amount of judgment is $460,251.98 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #601511/2025. Billie Jean Miller, Esq., Referee Margolin, Weinreb & Nierer, LLP, 575 Underhill Boulevard, Suite 224, Syosset, New York 11791, Attorneys for Plaintiff 26-327. 6/18, 25, 7/2, 9

Public Notices

Probate Citation CITATION – File No. 2025-2103

SURROGATE’S COURT, SUFFOLK COUNTY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent Philip Penna; and The distributees, heirs at law and next of kin of Mark J. Soldinger, a/k/a Mark Soldinger, deceased, if any be living; and if any be dead, their respective distributees, heirs at law, next of kin, legatees, devisees, executors, administrators, assignees and successors in interest, all of whose names, whereabouts and addresses are unknown and cannot be ascertained with due diligence, being the persons interested in the estate of Mark J. Soldinger, a/k/a Mark Soldinger, deceased. A petition having been duly filed by Margaret Uettwiller who is domiciled at 455 North Erie Avenue, Lindenhurst, New York 11757

YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Suffolk County, at 320 Center Drive, Riverhead, New York, on August 18, 2026 at 9:30 o’clock in the fore noon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of Mark J. Soldinger, a/k/a Mark Soldinger lately domiciled at 110 Burlington Avenue, Deer Park, New York 11729, United States admitting to probate a Will dated May 4, 2013, a copy of which is attached, as

the Will of Mark J. Soldinger, deceased, relating to real and personal property, and directing that:

[X] Letters Testamentary issue to: Margaret Uettwiller

[ ] Letters Trusteeship issue to:

[ ] Letters of Administration c.t.a. issue to:

[X] Further relief requested (if any): To dispense with the filing of a bond as directed pursuant to Article FIFTH of the Will.

Dated, Attested and Sealed, June 12, 2026 HON. VINCENT J. MESSINA, JR., Surrogate

Doreen A. Quinn, Chief Clerk Name of Attorney: Mark J. Brosnan Firm Name: Brosnan & Associates, LLP Address: 1301 Franklin Avenue, Suite 300, Garden City, NY 11530 Telephone: 516-7391462

mark.brosnan@ brosnanlaw.com

NOTE: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney appear for you.

26-344 6/25, 7/2, 9, 16

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF SUFFOLK PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Plaintiff AGAINST PATRICIA ANN GERALD INDIVIDUALLY AND AS SURVIVING SPOUSE OF JAMES V. GERALD, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered June 10,

2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757 on August 6, 2026 at 1:30 PM, premises known as 40 Chestnut Street, Wyandanch, NY 11798. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being at Wyandanch in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, District 0100 Section 083.00 Block 01.00 Lot 020.000. Approximate amount of judgment $285,970.16 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #201474/2022. Robert A. Macedonio, Esq, Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 21-001114 90334 26-369. 7/9, 16, 23, 30

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF SUFFOLK BABYLON. PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Plaintiff against LEROY R. HAMILTON AS HEIR OF THE ESTATE OF BEATRICE HAMILTON, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 15, 2025 and entered on October 20, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the front steps of the Babylon Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, North Lindenhurst, NY on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Town of Babylon, County of Suffolk and State of New York, known and designated as DSBL# 0100 054.00 02.00 001.000. Said premises known

as 79 S. 32ND STREET, WYANDANCH, NY 11798

Approximate amount of lien $116,688.55 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 628335/2023.

FRANCESCO P. TINI, ESQ., Referee Pincus & Tarab Attorney(s) for Plaintiff

425 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556 26-367. 7/9, 16, 23, 30

LEGAL NOTICE INCORPORATED

VILLAGE OF BABYLON SUFFOLK COUNTY, TOWN OF BABYLON STATE OF NEW YORK

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Trustees of the Inc. Village of Babylon will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at 7:00pm at Village Hall, 153 West

Main Street, Babylon, New York 11702, to consider the following: •An application for a Special Use Permit to open and operate a restaurant, with off-street parking, and outside dining (if requested) to be located at 375 Deer Park Avenue, Village of Babylon, New York 11702.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that at said hearings all interested parties will be given an opportunity to be heard on said proposed application at the place and time aforesaid. Copies of the proposed application will be available at the Village Hall at least five (5) days before the public hearing and may be seen during the regular business hours.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

VILLAGE OF BABYLON

Jean Marie Parker Village Clerk Dated: Babylon, New York June 29, 2026 36-372 7/9

INDEX NO.:

033838/2007

Date Filed: 06/15/2026

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS WITH NOTICE MORTGAGED

PREMISES: 55 Irving Avenue, Wyandanch, New York 11798

DSBL #: 0100-058.0001.00-051.000

Plaintiff designates SUFFOLK County as the place of trial; venue is based upon the county in which the mortgaged premises is situate.

STATE OF NEW YORK

SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF SUFFOLK

JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association

Plaintiff, vs. Public Administrator of Suffolk County, as Administrator of the Estate of Della Gause aka Della L. Gause; Denise Gauze Hill, as Heir to the Estate of Della Gause a/k/a Della L. Gause, if living and if she be dead, her heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees, and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants; and all heirs-at-law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees, and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated; Darryl McNair aka Darryl E. McNair, as Heir of the Estate of Della Gause a/k/a Della L. Gause; Desiveno Gause a/k/a Desireno B. Gause a/k/a Desi Gause, as Heir of the Estate of Della Gause a/k/a Della L. Gause;

Dwayne Gauze a/k/a Dwayne Gause, as Heir of the Estate of Della Gause a/k/a Della L. Gause; Clerk of Suffolk County Court o/b/o The People of the State of New York; Clerk of the Suffolk County District Court; Clerk of the Suffolk County Traffic & Parking Violations Agency; Town Supervisor, Town of Babylon o/b/o People of the State of New York; New Yok State Department of Taxation and Finance; United States of America o/b/o Internal Revenue Service; Unknown Heirs of The Estate of Della Gause a/k/a Della L. Gause and all the heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated and Unknown Heirs of the Estate of Estate of Eldarius Dino Gause a/k/a Eldarius D. Gause, and all the heirs at law, next of; kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom

and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated; John Doe #1 through #6, and Jane Doe #1 through #6, the last twelve names being fictitious, it being the intention of Plaintiff to designate any and all occupants, tenants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises being foreclosed herein TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the attorneys for the Plaintiff within 20 days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after service is complete if this Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York). In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Amended Complaint.

NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE MORTGAGE COMPANY WHO FILED THIS FORECLOSURE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT, A DEFAULT JUDGMENT MAY BE ENTERED AND YOU CAN LOSE YOUR HOME.

SPEAK TO AN AT-

Public Notices

TORNEY OR GO TO THE COURT WHERE YOUR CASE IS PENDING FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON HOW TO ANSWER THE SUMMONS AND PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY. SENDING PAYMENT TO YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY WILL NOT STOP THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure $126,350.00 and interest, recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Suffolk on September 15, 1998, in Liber 19397, Page 331, covering premises known as 55 Irving Avenue, Wyandanch, New York 11798, DSBL #: 0100058.00-01.00-051.000

The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. The Plaintiff also seeks a deficiency judgment against the Defendants and for any debt secured by said Mortgage which is not satisfied by the proceeds of the sale of said premises.

TO the Defendants

Denise Gauze Hill, as Heir to the Estate of Della Gause a/k/a Della L. Gause, if living and if she be dead, her heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees, and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants; and all

heirs-at-law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees, and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated, the foregoing Supplemental Summons with Notice is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Christopher Modelewski, J.S.C. of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Suffolk, dated June 4, 2026 and filed June 5, 2026.

Dated: June 18, 2026 /s/ Deborah M. Gallo Deborah M. Gallo, Esq.

McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLP 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 840 New York, New York 10170

Phone: 347.286.7409

Fax: 347-286-7414

Attorneys for Plaintiff, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE NEW YORK STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE SEND YOU THIS NOTICE ABOUT THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.

SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT

YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME. IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND TO THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR HOME. PLEASE READ THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT

CAREFULLY. YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CONTACT AN ATTORNEY OR YOUR LOCAL LEGAL AID OFFICE TO OBTAIN ADVICE ON HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE. The State encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from an attorney or legal aid office, there are government agencies and non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about possible options, including trying to work with your lender during this process.

To locate an entity near you, you may call the toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Banking Department of Financial Services at 1-800-342-3736 or visit the Department's website at www.dfs. ny.gov.

FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS Be careful of people who approach you with offers to "save" your home. There are individuals who watch for notices of foreclosure actions in order to unfairly profit from a homeowner's distress. You should be extremely careful about any such promises and any suggestions that you pay them a fee or sign over your deed. State law requires anyone offering such services for profit to enter into a contract which fully describes the services they will perform and fees they will charge, and which prohibits them from taking any money from you until they have completed all such promised services. 26-353. 7/2, 9, 16, 23

PUBLIC NOTICE

BOARD OF APPEALS

VILLAGE OF BABYLON PURSUANT to the provisions of Article VII of the Building Zone Ordinance of the Village of Babylon, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Appeals of the Village of Babylon will hold a public hearing at 7:30 P.M. on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in the Municipal Building, at 153 West Main Street, Babylon, New York to consider the following applications:

• Application of Robert Ruggieri, 103 Cooper Street LLC, 103 Cooper Street, Babylon, NY, for permission to maintain a special use variance to operate business offices at the premises located at 103 Cooper Street, Babylon, NY. Property located in the Residence O District, Suffolk County Real Property Tax Map District 0102, Section 11, Block 1, Lot 6. Application made in accordance with Sections 365-17 and 365-35.

• Application of Chris Zarcone, 76 Sunlight Walk, Holbrook, NY 11741, agent for owner Marc Howard, 207-9 LENR, LLC, 155 Peninsula Drive, Babylon, NY, for permission to maintain a special use variance to operate a boxing gym on the premise located at 207 Little East Neck Road, Babylon, NY. Property located in Residence O District. Suffolk County Real Property Tax Map District 0102, Section 5, Block 1, Lot 51.1. Application made in accordance with Sections 365-17 and 365-35.

• Application of Long Island Integrative Health Medical Wellness, 1613 Merrick Road, Merrick, NY 11566, agent for owner, Louvin Cos LLC, 4403 Oak Beach Association, Oak Beach, NY 11702, for a special use variance to operate a holistic pain management and wellness services within the Fitness Incentive Spa on the premises located at 157 Deer Park Avenue, Babylon, NY. Property located in the Retail Business District, Suffolk County Real Property Tax Map District 0102, Section 10, Block 4, Lot 3. Application made in accordance with Sections 365-20 and 365-35.

APPLICANTS OR THEIR DULY APPOINTED REPRESENTATIVES MUST APPEAR IN PERSON AT THE ABOVE HEARING.

BRUCE HUMENIK, CHAIRMAN JEFFREY C. WEBER, SECRETARY 26-356. 7/2, 9

• Application of 101 Peninsula LLC, c/o Catapano Engineering & Architecture PC, 175 Broadhollow Road, Suite 225, Melville, NY 11747, agent for owner 101 Peninsula, LLC, Kristopher Amplo, 148 Wyandanch Avenue, Babylon, NY, for permission to construct a pool house on the premises located at 101 Peninsula Drive, Babylon, NY requiring a variance to reduce the total side yard setback from 15 feet required to 10 feet proposed. Property located in the Residence A-11 District, Suffolk County Real Property Tax Map District 0102, Section 15, Block 3, Lot 27. Application made in accordance with Sections 365-13 and 365-35.

July 9, 2026

Public Notices

NOTICE OF PUBLIC AND/OR INFORMATIONAL HEARINGS BY THE TOWN OF BABYLON PLANNING BOARD

Pursuant to Chapter 186, Site Plan Review, and Chapter 213, Zoning, of the Babylon Town Code and Section 276 of the Town Law, notice is hereby given that the Town of Babylon Planning Board will hold public and/or informational hearings(s) at the Babylon Town Hall, Town Board Room, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, New York, on the Monday, July 13, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. prevailing time or as soon thereafter as can be heard to consider the following application(s):

PUBLIC HEARING/ MINOR SUBDIVISION

JOB# PLAN-26-17; MR Property Builders

LLC: SCTM# 0100152.00-01.00-108.000 and 0100-152.0001.00-109.000: Zone – C Residence: SEQRA – Unlisted Action, Uncoordinated Review: The applicant is proposing to subdivide and reconfigure two parcels totaling 19,717sf into one 9,667sf parcel (Lot 1) and one 10,050sf parcel (Lot 2) in order to construct two (2) new, two-story, single-family dwellings.: Property is located on Northeast corner of Deer Park Avenue and Whalen Street, North Babylon, Suffolk County, Town of Babylon, New York

PUBLIC HEARING/ SITE PLAN REVIEW

JOB# HPLN-17 (2452A); Sunrise Dealer d/b/a Sunrise Kia:

SCTM# 0100-175.0001.00-069.004, 0100175.00-01.00-069.005, 0100-175.00-01.00069.006, 0100-175.0001.00-069.007 and 0100-175.00-01.00-

071.001: Zone – EB Business: SEQRA –Unlisted Action, Uncoordinated Review: The applicant is proposing to demolish an existing residential structure in order to construct a parking lot and expand outdoor storage of vehicles at an existing car dealership and service center, along with associated site improvements.: Property is located on the north side of Sunrise Highway, 420’ east of Bayview Avenue, Copiague, Suffolk County, Town of Babylon, New York

All interested persons should appear at the above time and place by order of Patrick Halpin, Chairperson of the Planning Board, Town of Babylon, North Lindenhurst, Suffolk County, New York PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS

Babylon Beacon: 07/09/2026

26-373 7/9

Notice of Formation of Rising Tide Wrestling Club

LLCArticles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 05/11/2026.Office location: Suffolk County.SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process served to:Rising Tide Wrestling Club LLC, 10 Bluebell Lane North Babylon, NY 11703. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity for which a limited liability company may be organized under the laws of the State of New York.

26-362 - 7/9, 16, 23, 30, 8/6, 13

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BY THE TOWN OF BABYLON ACCESSORY APARTMENT

REVIEW BOARD

Pursuant to provisions of Local Law # 9 of the Babylon Town Code, notice is hereby given that the Town of Babylon Accessory Apartment Review Board will hold a public hearing in the Town Board Meeting Room in the East Wing of Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, New York on Tuesday eve, July 14th, 2026. Public hearings begin 6:00pm.

NEW APPLICATIONS:

•Mavis Douglas & Elaine WatsonMcGhee (HAPT6283) 51 Poplar Rd North Amityville, NY 11701

SCTM#0100•Eric Schwarz (APMT-26-18) 99 South Bay Drive Babylon, NY 11702

SCTM#0100•Ankit Narula (APMT-26-44) 253 15th Street Deer Park, NY 11729

SCTM#0100-87-339 Printing Instructions: RENEWALS BY AFFIDAVIT APPLICANTS, ARE NOT REQUIRED TO APPEAR. ALL NEW CASES WILL BE HEARD IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARE ADVERTISED. All interested persons should appear at the above time and place by order of Sandra Thomas, Chairperson, Accessory Apartment Review Board, Town of Babylon, North Lindenhurst, Suffolk County, New York.

Babylon Beacon: Thursday, July 9th, 2026 26-363. 7/9

Babylon Memorial Grade School students Faelynn Rodriguez, from

Pergamo,

and Matilda Alberti took part in the regional Brookhaven National Laboratory Elementary Science Fair after their standout performances at the school’s annual science fair.

Local

students

take Part in

Brookhaven National Lab Regional Fair

After a standout performance at the annual Babylon Memorial Grade School Science Fair this spring, four young scientists had the opportunity to represent their school at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Elementary Science Fair, a highly competitive regional competition that draws hundreds of participants from across Suffolk County.

Faelynn Rodriguez, a third-grade student, along with fourth-grader James Pergamo, fifth-grader Raina Zitofsky and sixth-grader Matilda Alberti, secured their places at the laboratory following their winning performances in Babylon Memorial’s own school-level science fair. The competition rubric at the school- level mirrored the standards employed by Brookhaven National Laboratory for its annual

event, ensuring that these students were evaluated against criteria consistent with the regional competition.

The Brookhaven National Laboratory Elementary Science Fair is specifically designed for kindergarten through sixthgrade students. Sponsored by Brookhaven Science Associates on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, the event brings together first-place winners from over 100 Suffolk County schools, with more than 500 students competing across all grade levels.

The competition took place on May 16 at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. On that day, all four Babylon students presented their projects to a panel of judges composed of both laboratory staff and educators who evaluated each entry based on scientific methodology, creativity and presentation.

Wyandanch junior selected for prestigious internship

Wyandanch Memorial High School junior Andy Polanco Tejada, a member of the school’s P-Tech program, was recently selected for the prestigious Ellen Brenner Memorial Internship. This opportunity offers a stipend to high school students to work on a mentored summer project at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library and Archives. Experienced science informationists, librarians and archivists at the lab will serve as mentors to the Brenner interns. The P-Tech program is one of several innovative STEM initiatives within the WySTAR (Wyandanch Science, Technology and Research) program at Wyandanch Memorial High School.

Courtesy Babylon school district

left James

Raina Zitofsky,

Courtesy Wyandanch school district

Wyandanch Memorial High School junior Andy Polanco Tejada with WySTAR advisers David Milch and Karl Spielmann.

EMPLOYMENT

Help Wanted

DRIVERS WANTED

Full Time and Part Time

Positions Available!

Busy Print Shop in Garden City is Hiring Immediately for Full Time and Part Time Drivers. Must Have a Clean License and BoxTruck Driving Experience.

Hours Vary, Salary Ranges from $17 per hour to $21 per hour Night Availability is a Must. Please Email Resume to careers@liherald.com or Call (516)569-4000 x239

EDITOR/REPORTER

Part Time & Full Time. The award-winning Herald Community Newspapers group, covering Nassau County's North and South Shores with hard-hitting news stories and gracefully written features, seeks a motivated, energetic and creative editor/reporter to join our dynamic (and awesome) team! This education and general assignment reporting position offers a unique experience to learn from some of the best in the business. Historically, reporters who have launched their careers with us have gone on to The New York Times, Newsweek, Newsday, the New York Daily News, New York Post, CNN, BBC, NBC News and The Daily Mail, among many others. We look for excellent writers who are eager to learn, enhance their skills, and become well-established and respected journalists in our industry. Salary range is from $20K to $45K To apply: Send a brief summary in the form of a cover letter describing your career goals and what strengths you can bring to our newsroom, along with a resume and three writing samples to jbessen@liherald.com

MAILROOM/ WAREHOUSE HELP

Long Island Herald has IMMEDIATE openings for a FULL-TIME & PART-TIME mailroom/warehouse helper in Garden City. We are a busy print shop looking for motivated and reliable individuals to assist in various duties in the shop. Forklift experience is a plus and heavy lifting is required. Hours vary, so flexibility is key. Salary Ranges from $17 per hour to $20 per hour. Email resumes or contact info to careers@liherald.com

MULTI MEDIA ACCOUNT DEVELOPMENT

Inside Sales Looking for an aggressive self starter who is great at making and maintaining relationships and loves to help businesses grow by marketing them on many different advertising platforms. You will source new sales opportunities through inbound lead follow-up and outbound cold calls. Must have the ability to understand customer needs and requirements and turn them in to positive advertising solutions. We are looking for a talented and competitive Inside Sales Representative that thrives in a quick sales cycle environment. Compensation ranges from $35,360 + commissions and bonuses to over $100,000 including commission and bonuses. We also offer health benefits, 401K and paid time off. Please send cover letter and resume with salary requirements to ereynolds@liherald.com Call 516-569-4000 X286

OUTSIDE SALES

Richner Communications, One of the Fastest Growing Media, Event and Communications Companies on Long Island is Seeking a Sales/Marketing Candidate to Sell our Print Media Products and our Digital, Events, Sponsorships. Earning potential ranges from $35,360 plus commission and bonuses to over $100,000 including commissions and bonuses. Compensation is based on Full Time hours Eligible for Health Benefits, 401k and Paid Time Off. Please Send Cover Letter and Resume with Salary Requirements to rglickman@liherald.com or Call 516-569-4000 X250

PRINTING PRESS OPERATORS FT & PT. Long Island Herald has IMMEDIATE openings for Printing Press Operators in Garden City. We are a busy print shop looking for motivated and reliable individuals to assist in various duties in the shop. Hours vary, so flexibility

Contemporary Coastal Living

Cemetery Plots

Pinelawn Memorial Park

WE BUY HOUSES for Cash AS IS! No repairs. No fuss. Any condition. Easy three step process: Call, get cash offer and get paid. Get your fair cash offer today by calling Liz Buys Houses: 1-888-704-5670

2 Cemetery Plots For Sale Plot M Grave 222 Range 26, Block 6, Section 40 $2,500.00 Each Total Real Value $8,000 615-444-3175 or 615-609-0332 Harrywatkins@yahoo.com

Stunning new construction. Experience modern luxury in this beautifully designed 5-bedroom, 5

What to do about cracking concrete

Q. We have large cracks in our concrete driveway and garage floor, and want to make sure they are repaired correctly, since they appear to be recently done, possibly within a year before we purchased the house. In particular, there is a nearly round hole that turned to gravel, kind of, and we want to know why it happened and avoid having it happen again. What can you tell us?

A. Concrete reacts to extreme weather changes. That is a given to designers of concrete structures, even though most people think concrete is the “immovable object.”

Nature moves mountains, so your driveway was no challenge for the forces of nature.

Extreme cold causes concrete to contract, push in on itself, while the heat has the effect of stretching this fairly rigid material to its limits. In the heat of summer, as you may have heard, the beautifully engineered Autobahn in Germany just buckled in various places. I’ve seen cars going nearly 200 miles per hour on that roadway, but with a buckled road, sections were shut down.

The key to any material selection is understanding its reaction to two major factors in nature, namely, water and movement. Throw in other factors, like chemical reaction and deterioration rates, and you realize that concrete is vulnerable. You have to work with its basic properties to have it adapt and cooperate with your intended use.

All that being said, the hole is basically like a zit, a buildup of pressure in a weaker place across the surface. Concrete develops strength as a chemical reaction to the specific combination of materials it is made from. With too much water in the mix, it will be weaker, especially in a particular spot. If it has no way to expand over a large area, as a thin sheet, only 4 to 6 inches thick over 10 to 20 feet, its strength is reduced because of a strengthto-distance ratio. So, to relieve the intensity of the expansion or contraction, separations, or “joints,” are made so the slabs can spread the forces of shrinking or expanding, a little.

Concrete is known to be very strong in compression, meaning you can press it together, to an extreme, before it crushes. On the other hand, it has very little ability to resist being stretched or pulled apart. To counteract the problem, steel, which is very elastic (stretchable) is spaced within formed concrete to increase the resistance to cracking apart. The combination of steel, in the right ratio and strength, and expansion joints, to let the concrete separate without unsightly cracks, makes the concrete more stable. Even just a depressed joint, not through and through, helps, by basically letting the concrete crack in a controlled way, where the crack runs in a straight depression instead of looking like a big rip.

I recommend having a professional make the repairs, with caution. You want an experienced company that works from a calculated solution, not just a quick fix. More next week. Good luck!

Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

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Miscellaneous For Sale

ARTWORK BY LI PAINTER/ SCULPTOR

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BOAT OARS, ALUMINUM. 8.5' $50. Extra large and medium life vests $20 each. Text 516-647-1999.

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OpInIOns

The administration just won’t let up on deportation

There was an especially poignant happening on Long Island recently, amid the Trump administration’s campaign against immigrants, when honor student Sara Lopez Garcia returned — virtually — for graduation ceremonies at Suffolk County Community College and gave a video presentation.

A year earlier, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had raided Garcia’s home in Mastic and arrested her.

As Bart Jones reported in Newsday, Garcia, who had a 3.9 GPA, “told the crowd … that while she joined in celebrating their new degrees, including hers, the day was bittersweet, as she was forced to watch from 2,500 miles away in South America.”

“This day brings really difficult memories for me,” Garcia, dressed in graduation regalia, said from Colombia. Of her arrest, she added, “It was one of the moments of my life when I felt fear. I was so scared, and everything was uncertain. I didn’t know what would happen to me, to my family, to my future.”

She was sent to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. She had been brought to the United States by her mother, who was also arrested, and has no criminal record.

Jones wrote that SCCC English Professor Cynthia Eaton had nominated Garcia to speak at graduation because “she was a model of determination in the face of adversity.” Said Eaton: “She is a good thinker. She’s a good learner. She’s a good person … Everybody on our campus knew Sara’s smile. They all loved Sara. She was like a magnet … upbeat, positive.”

followed by laws enacted by New York state that prohibit “local governments, state and local police, and state and local corrections” from entering into “agreements with the federal government that allow for state and local enforcement personnel and facilities to be used for civil immigration enforcement purposes” — and that also ban “state, local and federal officers from wearing face covering while interacting with the public.”

A former Border Patrol chief talks of deporting over 100 million people.

Jim Morgo, ex-chief deputy Suffolk County executive, a former vice chair of the college’s board of trustees and a teacher, said that Garcia “is the perfect example of everything that’s wrong with mass deportation. There’s no distinguishing the honor students from the rapist.”

On Long Island, as is the case in the rest of the nation, there’s opposition to President Trump’s deportation program. For months there have been protests. The Town of East Hampton and, before that, East Hampton Village passed laws blocking their participation with ICE.

The town and village actions were

IBut Tom Homan, the exdirector of ICE who was given the title of “border czar” by Trump, has vowed that if New York passed “this ridiculous legislation,” ICE would “flood the zone. You’re going to see more ICE agents than you ever seen before.”

And in a party-line vote in the U.S. Senate, Republicans passed $70 billion in new funding for ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol, in addition to $150 billion the agencies received last year.

Meanwhile, Greg Bovino, the former Border Patrol chief who was removed in January after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, has announced that he is running for president, and said, “My one and only priority is deporting the 106 million illegal

immigrants who are here.”

The website Mediaite commented that this is one-third of the nation’s population, and “the true number of illegal immigrants peaked at 14 million in 2023, according to Pew [Research Center].”

Back to earth and Long Island, the Bridgehampton Museum recently held an exhibition titled, “What We Carry: Memory & Migration.” “Rooted in themes central to the East End and beyond, What We Carry underscores how migration stories are embedded in local history while resonating on a global scale,” the museum wrote, and was co-curated by Jeremy Dennis, a Shinnecock Native American; Mark Wilson, who has roots in Australia; and Darius Yektai, who has an Iranian and Greek background.

The exhibition was scheduled to be followed by presentations by East Hampton attorney Lenny Ackerman, the author of “Leibisch’s Journey,” a book about his father’s escape from the horrors of the Russian Revolution through Europe to the U.S., and Tara Rider, a Stony Brook University professor of history, to speak about her book “Journey of Hope: The Irish in New York.”

Karl Grossman has been an investigative reporter in a variety of media for more than 50 years. He is a professor of journalism at the State University of New York at Old Westbury.

Staying ahead of microplastics

f you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve probably seen headlines about microplastics — tiny plastic fragments and fibers showing up in the human body. It’s a topic that understandably raises questions, and as the CEO of the Suffolk County Water Authority, which serves more than 1.2 million people on Long Island, I’m focused on addressing this issue proactively and making sure our customers know where things stand.

Microplastics are everywhere in the modern environment. They’ve been found in oceans, in rain, in the food we eat and in some water supplies. The health effects are not yet fully understood, and the science is still developing.

There are currently no federal regulatory limits for microplastics in drinking water. But the concern is real enough that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering requiring public water systems to test for them

under the upcoming Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule — a program the EPA uses every five years to study emerging threats before setting any standards. That’s a significant signal that the federal government is taking this seriously, and so are we.

OSCWA didn’t wait to be told to act. At the end of 2025, we completed one of the first voluntary microplastics assessments of a groundwater-based public water system in the United States. We tested source water, treatment effluents and finished drinking water across a wide range of wells and treatment locations — including some of our shallowest wells, which would be the most vulnerable to surface contamination.

of 325 plastic particles per liter in bottled water. Long Island tap water, drawn from a protected underground aquifer, performed dramatically better.

ur customers deserve accurate information about their drinking water.

We also applied strict quality-control procedures throughout the testing to confirm that our sampling and analysis process itself wasn’t introducing contamination. Those controls showed zero or near-zero particle counts, validating the accuracy of our findings. Sixty percent of our analyzed samples showed equal or fewer microplastics per liter than the blanks themselves.

study microplastics in the aquifer and examine how they might enter our groundwater system, including through stormwater recharge basins. That kind of regional, scientific collaboration is exactly what this issue calls for.

The results were reassuring. The vast majority of samples showed no detectable microplastics. Where particles were found, levels were extremely low: typically, just one to five particles per sample, with no pattern suggesting widespread presence in the aquifer or any introduction through our treatment process. Our average was just 3.6 particles per liter. To put that in perspective, a peer-reviewed study found an average

We didn’t do this study because a regulation required it. We did it because our customers deserve clear and accurate information about their drinking water, and because staying ahead of emerging issues is what responsible water management looks like. Waiting for mandates is the easy path. Understanding the science before you’re told to is how you actually protect people.

We’re not alone in that commitment. The Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection has partnered with the United States Geological Survey to

And that brings me to a broader point. Microplastics are not solely a drinking water problem. Just as we’ve seen with PFAS — so-called “forever chemicals” — and other contaminants in recent years, drinking water is one of several possible exposure pathways — not the only one. Food packaging, synthetic textiles, household dust and consumer products are all sources. A serious, evidence-based response to microplastics must account for all these vectors, not single out one source while ignoring the others.

SCWA will continue to monitor the science, follow developments in regulatory guidance, and evaluate whether additional or expanded testing is appropriate as analytical methods improve. What I can tell you today is this: The water coming from your tap has been tested, the levels of microplastics found are extremely low, and we are not waiting for a crisis to take the issue seriously.

Jeff Szabo is chief executive officer of the Suffolk County Water Authority.

BaBylon

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Investing in libraries pays dividends all year

Summer has a way of reminding us about the simple pleasures in life. For many, that means relaxing on the beach with a good book, spending time with family or finding fun ways to stay cool during the hottest days of the year.

HERALD

But while a great novel may be the perfect beach companion, the local public library offers so much more than books. It is one of the smartest and most valuable investments any community can make.

Libraries have evolved far beyond quiet reading rooms lined with shelves full of books. They are vibrant community centers that welcome residents of every age and every background. They’re places where curiosity is encouraged, lifelong learning is celebrated and neighbors come together at author readings, musical performances and movie screenings.

Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for libraries. Children who might otherwise lose valuable academic skills during the school break can take part in summer reading programs intended to keep their minds engaged while making learning fun.

Teens can explore new interests through workshops, volunteer opportunities and technology programs. Adults can attend lectures, careerdevelopment seminars, financial-literacy classes and cultural events. Seniors can take part in social gatherings, edu-

letterS

Scott’s column should be required college reading

To the Editor:

Re Robert A. Scott’s column, “What it means to be a college graduate,” in the June 24-30 issue: At a time when some are questioning the value of a college education, Dr. Scott offers a thoughtful perspective on this important issue. Drawing on his own experiences at Bucknell University as well as research that demonstrates the many positive outcomes of college, he makes a strong case for post-secondary education. At its best, Scott notes, college can not only improve students’ writing and speaking skills and boost graduates’ earning power, but also foster personal growth and enhance one’s outlook on the world. “College is, or should be,” he writes, “as much about character development and active citizenship as it is about preparation for careers and advancement in commerce.”

cational presentations and wellness activities that help combat isolation while strengthening community connections.

Libraries are free public spaces open to everyone. They provide safe, air-conditioned environments in which families can spend time together, students can study, remote workers can focus and anyone can simply enjoy a quiet place to read, learn or reflect.

These services don’t disappear when summer ends. Throughout the year, libraries host civic meetings, support groups, educational workshops, cultural performances, technology training, tax-preparation assistance, job search resources and countless other programs that strengthen the social fabric of our communities. They serve as gathering places where ideas are exchanged, friendships are formed and local organizations find a home.

Elected officials deserve recognition when they prioritize funding for public libraries. Public investments often bring to mind roads, bridges or major construction projects, and those investments certainly matter. But investments in libraries produce returns that cannot always be measured in dollars. Whether funding is for the renovation of a community room to expand programs and services or a much larger capital project that overhauls the entire building, libraries aim to improve educational outcomes, encour-

age civic engagement, reduce social isolation, create stronger, more connected communities, and make their facilities more welcoming, accessible and functional for everyone who walks through their doors.

These projects also reflect a broader truth: Investments in libraries are investments in people. Every renovated classroom, meeting space or children’s area creates opportunities for learning, connection and growth that extend well beyond the life of the construction project itself.

At a time when many people worry about loneliness, educational gaps and divisions in society, libraries quietly address each of those challenges every day. They remain one of the few places where everyone is welcome, regardless of age, income or background, and where the only requirement for entry is a willingness to learn.

As summer unfolds, residents should take full advantage of everything their local libraries have to offer. Borrow that next beach read. Sign a child up for a reading challenge. Attend a lecture, explore a new hobby, join a community group or simply spend an afternoon discovering something new.

Every library card opened, every book borrowed and every program attended is a reminder that one of the greatest investments we can make is in institutions that educate, inspire and bring us together.

opinions

Biofuels can help decarbonize L.I.’s school bus fleet

as the deadline for school districts to begin purchasing zero-emission school buses loomed, state lawmakers rightfully hit the brakes by delaying the mandate for five years.

The reasons are as clear as they are daunting: the electric grid isn’t ready, charging infrastructure remains scarce compared with ambitious state targets, and the upfront cost of a single electric bus can be triple that of a traditional one.

For Long Island school districts already grappling with a high tax burden and unique costof-living challenges, this represents yet another significant financial strain that would fall squarely on local taxpayers. State leaders should be lauded for recognizing these realities. But as officials continue to debate these and other changes to the state’s climate law, we can’t fall into an either-or trap, just as we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Letters

new york already has a solution that has been in use for decades, and is easily deployed: renewable liquid fuels.

Transitioning the existing school bus fleets to renewable diesel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 86 percent immediately. Unlike electric buses, which require specialized chargers and rely on our dangerously thin electric grid, renewable diesel works in the engines we already own. It requires no costly equipment overhauls, no new infrastructure, and performs reliably in cold new york winters.

rfrom entering our air annually. officials aim to complete the conversion of all city-owned vehicles this summer.

new york became the first state in the northeast to offer the fuel to state agencies, authorities, schools, municipalities and nonprofits in 26 counties, including nassau and Suffolk. Still, too few are availing themselves of this resource.

e newable diesel fuel works in the school bus engines we already own.

While the state waits years for the grid to catch up, municipal leaders are already proving that renewable liquid fuels — biodegradable fuel manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal fats and recycled restaurant grease — can deliver significantly carbon reduction today without breaking the bank.

new york City is leading the way, having transitioned its fleet of garbage trucks, emergency vehicles and other heavy-duty machines to renewable diesel in 2024, a move expected to prevent 162 million pounds of carbon dioxide

Scott’s column should be required reading for every new college student, especially those entering with the misguided notion that college is little more than a quick ticket to a job. While finding a career that’s a good fit should certainly be part of everyone’s college years, students should also use this time to learn about themselves, to engage ideas, to come to grips with life’s complexities, and to develop a deeper understanding of the world that’s waiting for them after graduation.

Colleges themselves would also do well to pay attention to Scott’s advice. Too many schools present themselves as career factories, highlighting their programs’ “real world” skill development while paying only minimal attention to the transformative experiences that a college education can (and should) provide. Graduating thoughtful, knowledgeable and insightful human beings — people capable of seeing life’s big picture and acting on behalf of the greater good — should be a primary goal of higher education.

Given the cost of college, as well as our collective anxiety about the future of America’s workforce, I can understand many students’ wish to choose a major that will help them make their way. But preparing for a career needn’t preclude being open to activities and experiences, both in and out of the classroom, that will invite students to stretch intellectually, socially and emotionally. There are indeed many valuable lessons to be learned here; students should not miss out on them.

And while much of today’s conversation centers on delays in transportation electrification, concerns about the pace and practicality of electrification are also growing in the homes and buildings sectors, as well as budget-strapped public facilities — especially our schools.

Consider a high school in Brooklyn where administrators recently replaced traditional heating oil with the renewable fuel alternative, making it the first school in new york City to convert to a heating system running entirely on biofuels. This historic transition to cleaner renewable fuels proves that giving schools and other institutions the flexibility they need to adopt a range of clean-energy solutions — not just electrification — is how the

Framework by Tim Baker

state can continue to make meaningful climate progress while keeping energy reliable and at a manageable price point.

This common-sense approach is what new yorkers are demanding as they navigate a punishing economy. With affordability continuing to be top of mind and the state grid operator warning of a razor-thin reliability margin that leaves Long Island particularly vulnerable to blackouts, a pragmatic, costeffective approach to making environmental progress today is the smart approach for the region’s school districts and the taxpayers and families who support them.

The debate in Albany often presents a false choice between a costly mandate and a climate delay. But a true all-of-theabove approach to energy options being advanced by Gov. Kathy hochul and some legislators can find an effective middle ground when the right tools are brought into the mix.

The grid will catch up eventually, but our environment and hardworking Long Islanders can’t afford to wait. It’s time to choose the solutions that work today.

Rocco J. Lacertosa is CEO of the Hauppauge-based New York State Energy Coalition.

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