Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Local Police To Hold Casualty Surge Drill This Sunday

Long Island Morning Edition

Median teacher salaries have risen beyond $130,000 annually in more than 20 school districts across Long Island, while the median in most systems regionwide is up to $120,000, a Newsday analysis found. John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert report on Newsday.com that the numbers show the region maintains its long standing as one of the highest paying for teachers, not only in the state but in the nation. Teacher representatives say the pay reflects the region's high cost of living. Ten districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the lower Hudson region have the highest concentrations of well-compensated teachers in New York, according to Newsday's review. Rankings are based on state-computed median figures — that is, midpoints on the salary scale. Scarsdale in Westchester County is No. 1 among districts statewide, with median annual pay of $152,543. Carmel in Putnam County and Cold Spring Harbor in Suffolk rank second and third, at $148,461 and $148,402, respectively. Other high-paying systems include Byram Hills in Westchester at $147,563; Syosset in Nassau at $144,123, and Jericho, also in Nassau, at $143,392.

Educators' pay and staffing levels are topics frequently mentioned at local school board meetings these days as districts finalize budget proposals for public voting on May 21. Salaries represent the biggest cost for districts, and school taxes account for more than 60% of property owners' tax bills.

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Riverhead Central School District’s non-instructional employees, whose union employment agreement expires in June, rallied at Tuesday’s school board meeting to ask for more pay and to underscore to trustees their importance to the district’s operations. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that more than 40 employees gathered in the Riverhead High School auditorium to support representatives of the union, who made the case to the school board that they should receive a raise in pay to reflect their loyalty to, and work for, the school district.

“Our members are a vital part of the day-to-day, to make sure school runs smoothly for all,” said Sonya Johnson, the unit president of the school district’s Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). “Behind me are the very dedicated employees of the district here to represent their departments, which entails approximately 375 plus essential workers. They have been with me throughout and stand today to reflect what is happening on the ground.”

Employees are bargaining for increased wages and the implementation of a step rate-compensation structure, which would provide incremental pay raises over time, Johnson said in an interview.

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Stony Brook Southampton Hospital will participate in a full-scale mass casualty surge exercise with local police, fire and emergency medical services departments this coming Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.

The exercise is a drill and will not disrupt hospital services. Staff, patients and visitors will have unrestricted access. Area residents will also have access to and from their properties during the training.

Participating emergency vehicles will be on-site as well as patient actors.

Road closures are anticipated to take place, include Meeting House Lane between Lewis Street and Old Town Road; Lewis Street between Meeting House Lane and Herrick Road; Herrick Road between Lewis Street and Old Town Road; Old Town Road between Rogers Avenue and Wickapogue Road, and Wickapogue Road between Old Town Road and Narrow Lane.

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The Southampton Town Board’s Traffic Mitigation and Safety Task Force, created in February to address a chronic and worsening situation, held the first of six planned meetings on April 10 at Town Hall.

“This committee needs to focus on two things: the long-term solution, and can we institute short-term solutions, so people aren’t so frustrated,” summarized Charlie McArdle, Southampton Town’s superintendent of highways. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that in February, the Town Board voted to create the group tasked with identifying and studying heavily trafficked corridors, collecting information from the public and traffic professionals regarding solutions and mitigation, and creating and issuing a report with findings and recommendations to be presented to the Southampton Town Board.

In addition to McArdle and his co-chairman, Tom Neely, a former traffic safety director for the town who now serves as a consultant, task force members in attendance were Supervisor Maria Moore and Councilman Michael Iasilli; Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker; Charles Bartha, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works; Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.; Tom Houghton, the town engineer; Town Police Chief James Kiernan; Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger; Steven D’Angelo, owner of North Sea Hardware; and Jason Korte, a former member of the Southampton Fire Department.

The task force is working concurrently with a Suffolk-led study of County Road 39, the most oft-mentioned roadway at its initial meeting.

The public has been invited to weigh in, and can submit comments to the task force at [e-mail]. The group set May 1 at 6 p.m. as the tentative date and time of its next meeting.

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Median teacher salaries have risen beyond $120,000 annually in most Long Island school districts, a Newsday analysis finds. The analysis shows the region maintains its long standing as one of the highest paying in the nation for teachers. Teacher representatives say the pay reflects the region's high cost of living. Some education analysts question whether the relatively high salaries paid in the state result in commensurate academic achievement. On Long Island, teacher representatives say income levels reflect a combination of socioeconomic factors, including parents' expectations that their children's instructors will be highly trained and skilled.

Kevin Coyne, president of the region's largest teachers union, in Brentwood, who also serves on the executive board of New York State United Teachers, an influential statewide union group, said that a shortage of experienced teachers in key areas such as advanced math and science has touched off a bidding war of sorts among districts.

Educators' pay and staffing levels are topics frequently mentioned at local school board meetings these days as districts finalize budget proposals for public voting on May 21. Salaries represent the biggest cost for districts, and school taxes account for more than 60% of property owners' tax bills.

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This coming Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. is the annual Dandelion Festival at KK & Ira’s Farm in Southold.

The mission of the Dandelion Festival is to allow people to become aware of the benefits of the Dandelion leaf, flower and root. Dandelion is the symbol of spring and early food for the bees and other pollinators. Therefore, Dandelion Festival folk encourage us to stop spraying harmful chemicals on them, the earth and all living beings. This will help in the reduction of toxic chemicals entering our soil, aquifer, estuaries and bays. The mission of KK’s Farm is to demonstrate that high quality food can be grown using biodynamic and organic methods without any harmful chemicals. The Dandelion Festival will be held rain or shine! KK’s Farm is at 59945 Main Road, Southold, New York. Please park on Bay Home Road, not the Main Road. No pets, please.

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The developers behind a 165-unit apartment complex planned for downtown Riverhead won more than $3.2 million in tax breaks from the town’s Industrial Development Agency. Tara Smith reports on Newsday.com that Commack developer Heatherwood Luxury Rentals wants to build 52 studios, 80 one-bedroom and 33 two-bedroom apartments on the site of a former Sears store on East Main Street in Riverhead. Rents would range from $2,400 for studio apartments to $3,600 for two-bedroom units and there would be shops on the first floor, executives said.

The Riverhead IDA voted 4-0 on April 8 to approve the benefits for the $82 million project, saying it aligns with ongoing revitalization efforts downtown. But school and fire district officials oppose the abatements, which they said disrupts their funding.

The incentives consist of nearly $2.9 million in sales tax on the purchase of construction materials and furnishings, a $357,656 mortgage recording tax exemption on their $47 million mortgage and 16-year property tax abatement.

Taxes on the 1.4-acre lot will remain at $22,558 for two years during construction and then gradually rise from $23,009 to $270,000 until 2040, according to a schedule of payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT.

For developers, PILOT arrangements are less expensive than paying the full tax bill.

Riverhead IDA chairman Jim Farley said the project was “crucial” and praised developers for complying with design guidelines in the town’s pattern book and including retail and dining.

Under the PILOT agreement, taxes will be reduced for the town, county, school district and fire district, which generated criticism at a February public hearing.

Riverhead Board of Education president Colin Palmer asked the IDA to consider exempting the school district from tax abatements that put “significant pressure” on school budgets.

The hearing also drew support from housing and construction advocates who cited an “exponential” need for more apartments.

“If these developments were burdened with the full tax value, there would not be enough return on investment,” said Mike Florio, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute. “These projects would not get built.”

“After seven long years, this was a meaningful step in the entitlement process,” said Sean Sallie, director of planning and development for Heatherwood. “Obviously, we have some more work to do to get a shovel in the ground, and we are hopeful that we can get there.”