News

Calarco, SCPD 5th Precinct, Village Public Safety Address Problems Connected with Growing Village Night Life

Dec
11
2012

Police Acting Aggressively to Stem Drunk and Disorderly Conduct

Patchogue, LI—Thursday, December 5: Legislator Rob Calarco met with the Commanding Officer of SCPD 5th Precinct, Director of Patchogue Village Public Safety James Berberich and Patchogue Village Attorney Brian T. Egan to discuss how law enforcement will continue to address problems that have arisen with the increase of bars, restaurants, and music venues throughout the downtown.

All law enforcement noted that the problems begin at 11 pm as people begin leaving the bars and flares back up again at 4 am after last-call and when there is a dearth of taxi cabs available to get them off the streets and ferry them home safely.

The SCPD 5th Precinct has increased police...| read more ››

Suffolk First on LI to Adopt County-Wide Complete Streets

Leg. Rob Calarco at the podium discusses passage of his bill, IR 2025, requiring county roadways to be designed to accommodate all users. (left to right) Legislators Wayne Horsley and Kara Hahn (a co-sponsor of the bill); Leg. Calarco, Will Stoner of the AARP; Leg. Ricardo Montano. (Rear left to right) Eric Alexander of Vision Long Island; Sal Russo, 2nd vice president of SCAME; and Leg. William (Doc) Spencer.
Dec
4
2012

Calarco’s Bill Will Take Region’s Roadways into the Future

Hauppauge, LI—Tuesday, December 4: Legislator Rob Calarco’s bill (IR 2025) establishing a Complete Streets Program for Suffolk County roadways passed unanimously at the General Meeting of the Legislature today. The bill, which directs the Department of Public Works to consider all modes of travel when designing a road project, requires the DPW to evaluate the feasibility of using a host of features to accommodate not only motorists, but also pedestrians, bicyclists, bus riders, senior citizens, people with disabilities etc.

The Complete Streets program is fully supported by the AARP/Livable Communities, Vision Long Island, and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Roadways designed as complete streets change everything—from the way people move about and...| read more ››

Rep. Bishop: Sandy shoreline fix should go beyond mere restoration

Rep. Tim Bishop
Dec
4
2012

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tim Bishop said Tuesday that it makes little sense to simply restore Long Island's shoreline to its condition before superstorm Sandy -- instead of fortifying it for future storms.

Take Tiana Beach, badly eroded by the storm. There's a federal-state effort to add sand, the Southampton Democrat said, but not to fix it to withstand another storm like Sandy.

"To restore it to pre-storm condition continues to leave it very vulnerable to a breach," Bishop said. "Aren't we then, in effect, just throwing good money after bad?"

But that's what two federal laws now require, Bishop said, adding he will try to change them by attaching a measure to the White House funding request for Sandy...| read more ››

Suffolk County Turns a Page

Nov
29
2012

Steve Bellone, the Suffolk County executive, signed an executive order on Nov. 14 requiring county agencies to translate essential public documents and forms into six languages besides English and to provide translation services for residents who don’t speak English well.

The goal is to make government more accessible to residents, especially in emergencies, and could be especially valuable to residents in Suffolk County, which covers central and eastern Long Island and is far more diverse than its bedroom-community stereotype suggests. The county has 1.5 million residents, 20 percent of whom speak languages other than English at home. The order applies to the top six: Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Polish, French Creole and Portuguese.

Mr. Bellone’s order is more than a common-sense...| read more ››

Editorial: Election will heat up the North Fork

Nov
29
2012

Thanksgiving is in the past and Christmas and Hanukkah are in the near future, so why are local politicos charged up these days?

It’s simple: There’s a one-of-a-kind election coming in January to fill the county Legislature seat Ed Romaine left following his election last month as Brookhaven’s new town supervisor.

The election is one-of-a-kind in more than just the unusual timing. It appears that Southold Democratic Councilman Al Krupski will go head to head with Riverhead Republican Supervisor Sean Walter. This may be the first time an elected official from one North Fork town has run against one from the other.

But even before the campaigning begins, there’s a dispute brewing over the election’s timing.

Democrats, who control the...| read more ››

Schneiderman Lauds Approved County Budget

Nov
27
2012

Jay Schneiderman, the Suffolk County legislator who represents the South Fork, is more than pleased with the final county budget, which was approved last week.

Schneiderman said the budget adopted Nov. 20 is good for the East End in many ways, namely because there is increased funding for dredging, equity in sales tax revenue distribution to East End police agencies and $218,500 designated for East End arts and culture. There is also additional funding provided for The Retreat and Cornell Cooperative Extension, and a $5 million emergency fund for Superstorm Sandy related repairs.
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Arts and culture funding comes from hotel tax revenue, to support museums, theaters and cultural centers that attract tourists to the area, including Guild...| read more ››

Islip town tax hike raises political ire

Islip Dem. Chairman Gerry Pallotta
Nov
27
2012

The leader of the Islip Town Democratic Committee says his group plans to examine "from top to bottom" the town's recently approved 2013 operating budget, which includes a 28-percent property tax increase and employee layoffs.

Gerry Pallotta, president of the committee, called the tax increase, which passed unanimously last week, "unprecedented," and said town taxpayers deserve a full accounting of what the Republican and Conservative party-dominated board cut from the budget.

"It shakes the trust of the taxpayers," Pallotta said.

At least 22 full-time employees are scheduled to lose their jobs, and at least another couple of dozen part-time guards at the town's marinas will be out of work, town officials have said, adding that they still are finalizing the...| read more ››

Calarco Prohibits Use of Hydrofracking Brine and Protects Waterways

Nov
20
2012

Bill Targets Use on County Property and Roadways

Hauppauge, LI—Legislator Rob Calarco’s bill (IR1939) prohibiting the use of hydraulic fracturing brine (fracking brine) commonly used to melt ice on roadways, will go up for a vote of the Legislature at the November 20 General Meeting. The measure is expected to pass with bi-partisan support.

Fracking brine is obtained through the highly controversial process of hydraulic fracturing mining which uses pressurized fluid to break rock formations in order to release natural gas. The gas is collected for use, but in the process, brine is produced as a toxic waste product, posing both a health and environmental concern. Specifically, some of the chemicals found in fracking brine have been linked to respiratory...| read more ››

Southold Dem Krupski deemed likely to seek county Leg. seat

Nov
18
2012

Southold Democratic town board member Al Krupski took an up-close and personal look at how the Suffolk County Legislature operated Friday by attending a meeting of its environment committee.

Krupski is the leading Democratic contender to run for the seat now held by GOP Legis. Edward Romaine, who was elected Brookhaven supervisor earlier this month and will take office once the vote is certified. Krupski has already met with Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, and Schaffer said Krupski -- from a well-established North Fork farming family -- is ready to make the run.

Meanwhile Riverhead’s Republican Supervisor Sean Walter has also expressed interest in Romaine’s seat. Walter, a Wading River lawyer, has been supervisor for three years. Walter’s father Michael...| read more ››