Society Members Step Up to Preserve Local History

ByRobertChartuk

Standing out among the homes and businesses of Long Island’s sprawling communities are gems of historic significance that serve as reminders of the area’s early settlers. Without the efforts of volunteers dedicated to keeping local history alive, many of these structures would be long gone.

Thankfully, the centuries-old Hawkins House on Montauk Highway in Moriches has such a devoted crew, the members of the Mastic Beach Peninsula Historical Society. They have adopted the centuries-old house and are working tirelessly toward its restoration.

Built in stages starting in the early 1800s, the home rests on nearly five acres at the headwaters of Ely Creek, a tributary of Forge River, and is part of the towndesignated historic district. “We had been keeping an eye on the property and when it came up for sale, we approached Suffolk County about acquiring it,” said Ed DeGennaro, president of the historical society. “They were able to secure grant money through the Clean Water Act since the property is the starting point of the creek.”

The nearby James Hawkins

Road should be named after Ezra Hawkins since he was the original family member who built the home and settled in the area, according to the society’s vice president, Gary Ollett. The family, originally from England, came to Long Island via Boston in the 1600s, and many generations of Hawkins can be traced to them. The historic by voters, would increase fire district taxes from $24.188 per $100 of assessed valuation to $35.212. This amounts to less than $6.50 per week for a typical home assessed at $3,000. It keeps the cost of fire and EMS services well below that of nearby districts in Brookhaven Town such as Coram ($43.945) Brookhaven/Shirley ($42.591), Middle Island ($41.167), and North Patchogue ($39.753), district officials pointed out. The $17.9 million bond would be supplemented with $500,000 in reserve funds, bringing the total project to $18.4 million.

Hawkins-Downs Cemetery on James Hawkins Road is the resting place of various family members, including those who fought in the Revolutionary War.

It was during the war that Zachary Hawkins took in the cattle of Col. William Tangier Smith when the Manor of St. George in Mastic was occupied by British troops, recounted the society’s secretary, Mike Lubrano.

Although wooded now, the land was farmed by the Hawkins family until the 1960s and still contains out buildings which the society is also looking to preserve as part of an early history museum including a loom room and cow pens, Lubrano said. A major crop was flax seed, which was used to make linseed oil. A Hawkins son, Zackary, ran a mill at Carman’s River.

Residents can vote on the referendum June 20 at the firehouse on Main Street between noon and 9:00 p.m. A community open house to discuss the plans will be hosted on June 15 starting at 7:00 p.m. at the firehouse.

The property was previously shared with an old school house which was moved further down Montauk Highway where it was used by the Center Moriches district. The historic site was purchased from the sisters of a man who had purchased it from an original Hawkins family member.

The Mastic Peninsula Historical Society was founded in 1999 by Rita Rech, a local dynamo who pushed for the preservation of the Petty House on Montauk Highway in Shirley. It is historically-minded individuals such as Rita Rech, Ed DeGennaro, Gary Olett, and Mike Lubrano who spend their time and energy to make sure these treasures are around for many years to come.

For more information or to make a donation, go to www. mphistorical.org

BY KARL GROSSMAN SUFFOLK

As the New York State Legislative Commission on the Future of the Long Island Power Authority “reset” its schedule for additional public hearings and issuance of its final report for later this year, Newsday last month revealed that “compensation packages for the top PSEG Long Island executives ranged from $442,000 to nearly $700,000.”

That, noted the Newsday article by Mark Harrington, “may provide fodder for some who say the publicprivate relationship…needs to be scrapped.”

This is what the commission is considering.

LIPA, established by the state in the 1980s, was originally envisioned as itself running Long Island’s electric grid. But that was altered and LIPA became “the only utility in the nation that is operated under a third-party management model” with a private contractor running Long Island’s grid, notes State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. of Sag Harbor, cochair of the legislative commission. He charges that “this model has repeatedly failed its customers. There has been a lack of transparency, oversight, and accountability.”

Currently, this “third party” is Newark, New Jersey-based PSEG (Public Service Enterprise Group). It has set up a branch, PSEG Long Island, to be a contractor for LIPA.

Newsday reported that PSEG