(Syosset, NY) Realtor Mara Navaretta of Woodbury, NY and her agency, Homes By Mara Realty of Syosset, NY, is keeping the spirit of giving alive in the New Year, recently presenting the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF) with a $1,000.00 check resulting from commissions pooled by Navaretta and participating agents. This donation is the latest among several prior donations Homes By Mara has made to the nonprofit organization since January 2012. The ongoing contributions and support provided by Navaretta and her agency were born out of Navaretta’s inspiration for personal friend Fred Adlman and his wife, Bonnie, who tragically suffered the loss of their daughter Jill in 1990 due to a brain tumor.

Pictured from left to right during Homes By Mara Realty’s recent $1,000 check donation to Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation are: Homes By Mara CEO & General Counsel John F. Navaretta, Homes By Mara Licensed Salesperson Rosalinda Silver, Homes By Mara Licensed Broker Associate Meryl Feuer, Homes By Mara Licensed Salesperson Elisa Spada, Bonnie Adlman of Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation Board of Directors, Homes By Mara President Mara Navaretta and Licensed Salesperson Sarika Gera. This recent contribution stems from a pledge that Navaretta and her agency made to supporting the nonprofit organization back in January 2012.

“Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation is an important organization with a very important purpose, providing vital programs and advocacy for the many brave families and children whose lives are impacted by brain tumors,” explains Navaretta. “It is with great pride that Homes By Mara supports Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation as well as the many families and children who are courageously fighting this disease.”

Bonnie Adlman, who has become a children’s brain tumor advocate and is an active member of the CBTF Board of Directors since the loss of her daughter, graciously accepted Homes By Mara’s latest contribution. “Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation is touched by Mara and Homes By Mara’s unyielding support over the last two years,” comments Adlman. “Their ongoing help and contributions enable Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation to continue its mission in providing counsel and programs for our families. We hope other businesses will be inspired by Homes By Mara’s efforts, with more and more participating in charitable organizations and causes.”

Since establishing its 2012 reserve fund in which a portion of commissions are regularly designated to CBTF, Homes By Mara has contributed nearly $7,000 to the organization to date, an effort they plan to continue throughout this year and beyond. In addition to donations, Navaretta and her agents have also provided further aid to the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation through participation in CBTF’s various fundraising events.

About Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation
Founded by dedicated parents, physicians and friends in 1988, Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the treatment, quality of life and the long term outlook for children with brain and spinal cord tumors through research, support, education, and advocacy to families and survivors.

For more information about Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, please visit www.cbtf.org or call 866-228-4673

About Homes By Mara
Homes By Mara is a boutique real estate agency spearheaded by licensed broker and real estate veteran Mara Navaretta. Featuring a team of highly skilled and trained agents, Homes By Mara specializes in servicing North Shore’s residential market on both the selling and buying sectors. Located at 567 Jericho Turnpike in Syosset, NY, the agency offers convenience and a turnkey solution in accommodating all real estate needs by sharing its office space with the law firm, Navaretta & Howard LLP. Navaretta and Howard, LLP has a special focus in real estate law and provides counsel and representation for all Homes by Mara agents to assure the homeowner receives quick and accurate answers to legal questions that may arise in the course of today’s real estate transaction. Also available is a concierge service that consists of recommendations for every trade associated with the real estate industry including movers and contractors.

For more information about Homes By Mara, please call 516-364-2500 or visit www.homesbymara.com.

(Long Island, NY) The Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) is pleased to welcome Mary Ellen Kundrat, LMSW as EAP Specialist and Janine Friedman, MSILR, SPHR as Director of Training and Coaching for Open Arms. Ms. Kundrat and Ms. Friedman are joining LICADD’s Employee Assistance Program during a time of unprecedented growth and will be serving Open Arms’ over 80,000 clients in tandem. Ms. Kundrat will provide counseling services to employees and their families, while Ms. Friedman will offer workshops, trainings, and executive coaching to employers.

Ms. Kundrat has extensive experience working closely with both employers and employees, and most recently served as Director of Employee Services at Employee Support Network. She previously interned at Port Counseling and Services Now for Adult Persons.

Ms. Kundrat believes hardily in the importance of work-life balance, and she aims to help individuals and families manage life stressors so that they do not interfere with their work environments. Managers, supervisors, and co-workers alike have benefitted from her solution-focused workplace approach.

Ms. Kundrat received her Master’s degree from Adelphi University’s School of Social Work and has specialized training in Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing. Her deep dedication to her community is an ideal match for LICADD’s values and mission.

Ms. Friedman also joins Open Arms from Employee Support Network, where she spent almost four years overseeing the training and coaching department. During her tenure there, she designed, developed, implemented, and delivered training and educational programs specializing in leadership, management, customer service, team building, HR compliance, and life skills.

Ms. Friedman’s prior experience as a Vice President of Human Resources at Royal Alliance Associates has helped her understand clients’ expectations when working with an EAP. She is an enthusiastic and inspirational speaker who conducts training programs that are both educational and memorable.

Ms. Friedman holds a Masters of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University/Baruch College, along with a SPHR designation from the Human Resources Certification Institute, and is a certified graduate of Coach Training Alliance, an International Coaching Federation accredited training program.

Monica Wakely, Director of LICADD’s Open Arms Employee Assistance Program, stated the following about her two new colleagues: “As Open Arms continues its expansion, we will be seeking to stay abreast of the most effective and helpful workplace trends to impart to our members. I am elated to have both of these seasoned professionals on board during this exciting period of growth!”

To learn more about LICADD’s Open Arms Employee Assistance Program, please contact Mary Ellen Kundrat at mkundrat@licadd.org or Janine Friedman at jfriedman@licadd.org. The EAP Team can also be reached at 516.747.2606.

(Hauppauge, NY) Suffolk County recently received good news from the U. S. Department of Commerce regarding its’ Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). First, the County received approval of its application to restructure the Zone into the Alternative Site Framework.

“This is great news for Suffolk County and International Warehouse Group,” said US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “The new FTZ designation will encourage and equip more Suffolk businesses to better compete in the global economy. I will continue to use my seat on the President’s Export Council to ensure that Suffolk County grows its exports and sparks innovative ideas to jumpstart new businesses here where we need them the most.”

The Alternative Site Framework allows local companies to access the program and its’ benefits in a expedited timeframe and through a streamlined process while allowing the company to remain at its’ current location.

“I thank Senator Gillibrand for advocating on behalf of Suffolk County’s FTZ expansion application which affords Suffolk County businesses more opportunities and serves as an attraction for new businesses,” said County Executive Steve Bellone. “For the past 30 years, Suffolk County and the Town of Islip have administered this program with limited success due to its structure. We agree with the FTZ Board in that attracting businesses to a specific site in order to utilize the benefits of the FTZ is challenging, especially in these tough economic times. The Alternative Site Framework with its expedited review process and flexibility, offers Suffolk County an opportunity to maximize the potential of the FTZ program, enhancing the diversity and viability of our local economy.”

FTZ benefits allow for companies to receive an exemption or a delay on the Custom duties associated with eligible imported merchandise. Exemption of the duty is realized if the merchandise is re-exported. In addition, merchandise can be held indefinitely within the FTZ without any payment of the duties. Duty will be payable once the merchandise enters the domestic marketplace.

Approval was also received for the County’s application to include International Warehouse Group (IWG) as part of the County Foreign Trade Zone. IWG is a third party logistics company that distributes products for large manufacturers and retailers. The benefit will allow IWG to store product on behalf of their customers and delay the duty until the actual item is shipped. IWG occupies a 145,000s/f facility in Melville.

Jeff Heydt, CEO of International Warehouse Group added, “International Warehouse Group is very excited to be granted the designation of a Foreign Trade Zone facility for their Melville location. With the restructuring IWG can now offer our existing and new customer additional services with the hope of attracting both domestic and international companies to our site in Suffolk County. The FTZ is a great tool that can assist our customers to be competitive on a global scale.”

Suffolk County’s FTZ also includes the 52 acre site located adjacent to LI McArthur Airport and operated by Islip Town.

Legislator Schneiderman encouraged by strong early ridership numbers

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Legislature’s Deputy Presiding Officer Jay Schneiderman (I-Montauk) says Sunday bus service ridership numbers for the first month of service are encouraging.

On January 5, Sunday bus services were added on seven routes. These routes include the S1, S33, S40, S41, S58, S66, and 3D. The S54 bus route started the following Sunday on January 12. The S92 and 10C located on the East End were already operating on Sunday as a pilot program.

There were a total of 1,162 riders on the first day of the expanded service. January 19 marked the highest ridership number for January totaling 2,070 Sunday riders. Throughout the month of January there has been an average of 195 riders on each bus line with an average growth reaching 15%. Some routes have increased more than others with the S1 and S58 both growing over 60%. The best performing routes are the S1, S58, S66 and the S92 which have had over 200 passengers each day. The number of passengers on Sundays has been approximately half of the typical ridership numbers on Saturdays. Lower ridership on Sundays was expected according to Schneiderman.

“The extended bus service is off to a good start, said Legislator Schneiderman. “I’m pleased to see residents taking advantage of this very important and much needed service.” Public transportation provides people with mobility and access to employment, medical care, and other community resources across the county.” Legislator Schneiderman expects Sunday bus services to continue to grow.

Last year, Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman sponsored Introductory Resolution 366-2013 to expand bus service in Suffolk County to Sundays. The resolution made more than two million dollars in state and federal transportation assistance available for Suffolk Transit to expand bus services. Schneiderman hopes to expand Sunday service in the future to additional routes not currently served.

Below contains each Suffolk County bus route with its respective stops.

• S92– the S92 bus line runs from Orient Point to East Hampton, making stops in Sag Harbor, Water Mill, Southampton Village, Hampton Bays, Flanders and Riverhead.

• 10C– the 10C line connects East Hampton riders to the S92 route making stops in Montauk, Amagansett and East Hampton.

• S1– the S1 bus line runs from Amityville to Halesite making stops in Farmingdale, Melville, Huntington Station and Huntington.

• S33– the S33 bus line runs from the Sunrise Mall to Hauppauge making stops in Amityville, Copiague, North Lindenhurst, West Babylon, Wyandanch, Deer Park and Brentwood.

• S40– the S40 bus line runs from Babylon to Patchogue making stops in West Islip, Brightwaters, Islip, East Islip, Great River, Oakdale, West Sayville, Sayville, Bayport and Blue point.

• S41– the S41 bus line runs from Bay Shore to the Northport VA medical center making stops in Brentwood, Commack and East Northport.

• S58– the S58 bus line runs from East Northport to the Riverhead County Center making stops in Commack, Smithtown, St James, Centereach, Selden, Coram, Middle Island, Ridge, Calverton and Riverhead.

• S66– the S66 bus line runs from Patchogue to Riverhead making stops in East Patchogue, North Bellport, Brookhaven, Shirley, Mastic, Mastic Beach and Center Moriches.

• 3D– the 3D bus line runs from Brentwood RR to the Stony Brook RR making stops in Central Islip, East Brentwood, Islandia, Ronkonkoma and Stony Brook.

Attached is a link to the map of all Suffolk County Bus lines.

http://www.sct-bus.org/assets/sct_systemmap.pdf

For additional information you can visit the website at http://www.sct-bus.org/ or call Suffolk County Transit at 631-852-5200 between the hours of 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m., Monday through Friday or write to: Suffolk County Transit, 335 Yaphank Avenue, Yaphank, N.Y. 11980-9744.

Representing the South Fork, Deputy Presiding Officer Jay Schneiderman is the Suffolk County Legislator for the Second Legislative District. For more information, or to arrange an interview, please call (631) 852-8400.

(WANTAGH, N.Y.) This week marks the nationwide release of “L’Only Child,” an inspiring new memoir by author Edward V. Mirabella.

Born in 1943 to a deaf mother, Mirabella would spend his childhood and much of his adult life struggling with the demands placed upon him because of his ability to hear. As an only child, his life was a lonely existence filled only with a desire to escape. That single obsession would ultimately lead him down a path riddled with broken marriages and broken hearts. But the road he follows in “L’Only Child” ultimately leads to understanding, forgiveness and love.

Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book is available through bookstores nationwide, from the publisher at:

• www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, or by visiting
• barnesandnoble.com or
• amazon.com.

Mirabella concluded a 43-year career in banking in 2006. During the past seven years, he has provided consulting services for a small group of clients and promoted economic development in the Long Island region.

The communication skills that he developed as the son of a deaf woman would serve him well in his professional life. Now 70, he spends much of his time with his family while also fulfilling a life-long ambition to write.

For more information, please contact Michelle Whitman, publicist, at (877) 727-0697 or send an email to michelle@keymgc.com.

Charities And Fundraiser Fraudulently Solicited Funds For Victims Of Domestic Violence, The Hungry And Breast Cancer Research; Schneiderman: My Office Will Continue To Crack Down On Schemers Who Prey On The Generosity Of New Yorkers 

(NEW YORK) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office has reached a $500,000 settlement that includes permanently shuttering three Long Island-based charities: the Bi-County Helpline for Abuse Against Women and Children, Long Island Responds and Breast Cancer Funds for Research. The settlement also mandates the closure of professional fundraiser Mure Associates and bars accounting firm Portfolio Planners from providing services to New York-registered nonprofits. The settlement comes after an investigation by the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau showed that the charities were shell organizations run primarily for the benefit of the fundraiser and the charities’ officers, and that less than 4 percent of the money raised went to any charitable purpose.

The settlement will be paid by the heads of the charities, the owner of Mure Associates, Harriet Waldbaum, and the accounting firm. In addition, Waldbaum and charity heads Lynne Speciale, Yvonne Caraftis and Maryann Hanovic are permanently barred against any future service as an officer, director or fiduciary of any charitable organization registered in New York.

“Operators of sham charities like these prey on the generosity of New Yorkers and must be held accountable,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “Our Charities Bureau will continue to pursue organizations that violate New York’s not-for-profit laws and the fundraisers and advisors who assist them. This protects donors as well as the good name and reputation of the legitimate organizations in this vitally important sector.”

The settlement is subject to approval of the New York State Supreme Court for New York County, where the Attorney General’s lawsuit and the parties’ settlement stipulation was filed Monday.

As set forth in the Attorney General’s complaint, the Charities Bureau’s investigation found that the fundraiser, Mure Associates, was run by Harriet Waldbaum and the late Lillian Kleppe, who had close personal ties to the women who ran the three charities. Lynne Speciale, of Bi-County Helpline, was Ms. Kleppe’s sister; Yvonne Caraftis, of Long Island Responds, was Ms. Kleppe’s sister-in-law, and Maryann Hanovic, of Breast Cancer Funds for Research, was a former employee of Mure Associates.

Bi-County was operated out of Lynne Speciale’s Farmingville, N.Y., home. The other groups did not have offices and used only post office boxes. In addition, the investigation found that the charities had no functioning boards, failed to maintain accurate books and records, and allowed Mure Associates near-complete control over their finances.

Of the approximately $2.2 million that the three entities received in charitable donations since 2006, the investigation found, more than 80% went to Mure Associates, located at 1919 Middle Country Road, Centereach. Most of the remaining funds went to cover administrative costs generated by the phony charities to maintain the appearance of legitimacy. Funds also went to the principals of the charities, and some were used to cover personal expenses improperly charged by Ms. Speciale. She used donated funds to pay her cable and telephone bills, Macy’s credit card bills, and to make payments to family members.

The investigation was initiated after the Charities Bureau issued its December 2012 “Pennies for Charities” report, which showed that a tiny fraction of donations raised by these groups went to charitable causes. The Charities Bureau revoked the registration of all three charities last spring as the investigation developed.

The investigation found that the charities and their fundraiser falsely described the charities’ mission in their fundraising appeals. Bi-County Helpline, for example, promoted itself as a crisis helpline for victims of domestic violence, when in fact the organization had nothing more than a phone number that rang into Ms. Speciale’s home. No one at the home had any training or experience in assisting domestic violence victims. The organization had no records of having provided assistance to any victims of domestic violence.

Long Island Responds claimed it provided information and education regarding Long Island’s hungry and the food shelters that help them, and that it maintained an information hotline and provided financial support. Breast Cancer Funds for Research claimed to work to increase awareness of the high incidence of breast cancer on Long Island and fund research facilities on Long Island to find a cure for cancer.

Included in the Attorney General’s lawsuit and the settlement was Portfolio Planners, LLC, a Long Island accounting firm that provided services to the charities and to Mure. As set forth in the complaint, Portfolio Planners caused financial audits and reviews to be filed with the Charities Bureau that contained material misstatements and were prepared by its sole principal, Richard Thomas, who was not a licensed CPA and therefore not authorized to conduct audits and reviews. Under the terms of the settlement, Portfolio Planners will pay $10,000 and is prohibited from providing accounting services to any New York-registered not-for-profit corporation.

Under the settlement, the defendants have not admitted the allegations against them. A copy of the complaint filed in this matter is available here, and the settlement papers are available here.

The investigation was conducted by Assistant Attorney General Yael Fuchs, with the assistance of Charities Bureau Research Analyst Liam Arbetman and Legal Assistant Carolyn Fleishman, under the supervision of Senior Enforcement Counsel David E. Nachman and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice Alvin Bragg.

Program in collaboration with Stony Brook Medicine is the first of several planned Graduate Medical Education residency programs at Mather

(Port Jefferson, NY) John T. Mather Memorial Hospital will welcome its first medical residents in July for an Internal Medicine Residency Program that will help address the projected growing shortage of doctors and increased demand for primary care physicians.

The program will stress primary care and is the first of several planned medical residencies at Mather Hospital under the new Graduate Medical Education (GME) Program. Residencies also are planned in Family Practice Medicine, Psychiatry and Transitional Year.

Mather was notified on January 29, 2014 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education that the program received initial accreditation, the highest level of approval given to a new program. The residency is sponsored by Stony Brook Medicine. Frederick Schiavone, MD, Stony Brook’s Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education, worked closely with Mather leadership in developing the program. It is approved to accept up to 19 resident physicians for the first year of the three-year training program. A new group of residents will be accepted into the program each year.

“I’ve been confident that we would receive accreditation as expected due to the excellence of physicians, nurses, leadership and staff at Mather Hospital,” said Lucien Cardinal, MD, Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

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“We will be working with the new residents to improve collaboration, forming teams with nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and dietitians to bring the quality of care to the highest level,” said Michael Tofano, MD, Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program responsible for oversight in inpatient areas. Dr. Tofano also is Director of the Hospitalist Service at Mather.

“It has been such a great pleasure working with the entire team on this project. This is an exciting time for Mather,” said Joan Faro, MD, Mather’s Chief Medical Officer, who has been instrumental in establishing the GME Program. “Our program will provide a nurturing and learning environment for our resident physicians and will emphasize the importance of primary care in the creation of population health.” The Office of Medical Affairs will oversee the Internal Medicine Residency Program. The GME Program eventually will be housed on the second floor of the new Arthur & Linda Calace Family Pavilion, scheduled for completion in July 2015.

A recent study by the Healthcare Association of New York State found that more than 1,200 doctors are needed statewide, one third of them in primary care.

With the recent implementation of the Affordable Care Act, projections indicate that the number of New Yorkers who will be covered by health insurance will increase by 1.2 million people, significantly adding to the demand for primary care physicians. At the same time, large numbers of our community members are entering their retirement years, a time when healthcare utilization dramatically increases.

“We believe some doctors who completed their residencies at Mather will choose to stay and practice in our beautiful community and become the care providers for our families and neighbors,” said Mather President Kenneth Roberts.

For more information on the Internal Medicine Residency Program call 631-686-2517.

Mather Memorial Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high quality healthcare services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion and respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones.

For further information about Mather Hospital, visit www.matherhospital.org or “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/matherhospital.

(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R,C,WF,I-Huntington Station) recently visited the students of Countrywood Primary Center. During his visit, Lupinacci read My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco to the students and expressed the importance of reading.

Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci reads to students during his visit to Countrywood Primary Center.

“It was a pleasure to share my love of reading with the boys and girls of Countrywood Primary Center,” said Lupinacci. “Reading is important for so many reasons, especially for younger students in the early stages of learning. It not only helps children to be more successful in the classroom, but also teaches them about the many possibilities that await them.”

• As of now, PSEG Long Island is reporting 280 of its 1.1 million electric customers on Long Island and the Rockaways are without power. Restoration will continue throughout the morning
• The utility is monitoring the next wave of winter weather that will affect our area beginning this evening into Wednesday, with all available personnel ready to respond should outages occur.

To report downed wires or power outages, customers should call PSEG Long Island’s Customer Service line at 1-800-490-0075. PSEG Long Island uses an automated system to handle customer calls as efficiently as possible. Customers who get an automated response when calling PSEG Long Island are encouraged to use it, as it is designed to route their calls to the right destination. If you have specific information regarding damage to wires, transformers or poles, we ask that you stay on the line to speak with a representative to provide that information.

PSEG Long Island LLC was selected by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in Dec. 2011 to manage LIPA’s electric system. The 12-year contract includes commitments to improve customer satisfaction and provide safe, reliable service for LIPA customers. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of more than $10 billion.

• PSEG Long Island is reporting 140 scattered outages at this time. Restoration will continue throughout the morning. The utility serves 1.1 million electric customers on Long Island and the Rockaways.
• The utility is monitoring the next wave of winter weather that will affect our area beginning this evening into Wednesday, with all available personnel ready to respond should outages occur.
• Customers with a handheld device can also report power outages by texting “OUT” to PSEGLI (773454). You will receive confirmation that your outage has been submitted and will begin receiving ongoing updates as the status of your outage changes. This requires a one-time registration, to register, text REG to PSEGLI (773454).

PSEG Long Island LLC was selected by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in Dec. 2011 to manage LIPA’s electric system. The 12-year contract includes commitments to improve customer satisfaction and provide safe, reliable service for LIPA customers. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of more than $10 billion.