(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Police arrested a man that fled from police officers who initiated a traffic stop in Central Islip on Wednesday, August 19.

Third Precinct police officers attempted to pull over a green 1998 Ford Escort near the intersection of Brightside Avenue and Carleton Avenue when the driver of the Ford, Adam Hunstein, drove away at 11:24 a.m. A short time later a police helicopter arrived overhead and took over tracking of the fleeing vehicle.

Suffolk County Police arrested Adam Hunstein, 26, of Bay Shore, who fled from police officers who initiated a traffic stop on Wednesday, August 19. Photo Credit: SCPD.

The Aviation Section officers were able to notify ground units when the suspect abandoned his car after turning onto Cherry Court in Central Islip, a dead end.

After a brief foot pursuit, Hunstein, 26, of Bay Shore, was arrested at 11:36 a.m. and charged him with DWI Drugs, Unlawfully Fleeing the Police, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 2nd Degree and Resisting Arrest.

Hunstein will be held at the Third Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on August 20.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Resident will receive an advanced onsite septic system as part of Suffolk County’s Septic Pilot Program and Reclaim Our Water Initiative

(Long Island, NY) County Executive Steve Bellone, Suffolk officials and Environmentalists will be on hand as Hydro-Action installs an advanced onsite septic system for one of the County’s Septic Lottery winners announced in December 2014. This system is one of the 19 systems that will be installed as part of the County’s Septic Pilot Program.

The Hydro-Action system being installed uses extended aeration activated sludge process in which microorganisms that treat wastewater remain in the treatment process for longer period of time (more than 24 hrs.).

The County launched a septic demonstration pilot program where 19 residents throughout Suffolk will be awarded these systems – which were donated free of cost by four national manufacturers – with free installation, monitoring and maintenance for five years.

At the end of the pilot program, Suffolk County will be in a position to provide guidelines and approve nitrogen-reducing systems for use in homes across the county.

Who:         

• County Executive Steve Bellone
• Legislator Leslie Kennedy
• Peter Scully, Suffolk County Water Quality Czar
• Sarah Lansdale, Suffolk County Director of Planning
• Walt Dawydiak, Suffolk County Director, Division of Environmental Quality, Health Services
• Boris Rukovets, Suffolk County Public Works Special Projects Supervisor
• Pete Sabo, Business Development Manager-Hydro Action
• Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment
• Chris Clapp, Marine Scientist, Nature Conservancy
• James and Donna Minet (homeowners)
• Mike Kaufman, Member of the Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

When:       

• August 20, 2015, 11:30am

Where: 

• 21 Laura Ct, Nesconset, NY

Visuals:

• Installation of the Hydro-Action System

(Long Island, NY) Frederick C. Braun III, chairman of the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency (IDA), announced that the Agency has accepted an application to assist with the rebuilding of The Grove Hotel on Fire Island, which was destroyed by a devastating fire in March.

The IDA accepted the application from the hotel’s owner at its Aug. 19 meeting. The hotel’s owner, Frank Ligouri’s Grove Realty Enterprises Inc., of Lindenhurst, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up the debris and barge it off Fire Island.

The 228-bed hotel, in business for more than 50 years, held most of Cherry Grove’s scarce number of overnight rooms. Now, Ligouri, who has owned the property since 2007, seeks to replace the two razed 5,000-square-foot buildings with two new buildings, each 6,800 square feet, at a cost of $3.56 million.

The hotel, which had eight full-time employees and 40 part-timers, expects to employ 10 full-time workers and 44 part-timers within two years of its re-opening, according to its application. Construction is expected to commence in the fall and be completed by May 2016, in time for next year’s tourist season.

The IDA will consider the application over the next few months, but first it must schedule and hold a public hearing.

“The Grove Hotel was vital to Fire Island’s tourist-driven economy for over 50 years before the fire,” said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. “We need to help them get back in business as quickly as possible and with the support of the IDA, this Cherry Grove landmark could be up and running again by next season.”

“The Brookhaven IDA is pleased to accept this application,” said Braun. “We are ready and willing to help this important tourist destination rebuild, allowing it again to contribute to the town’s economy.”

This year, the IDA has already assisted 9 commercial projects including Rail Realty, an apartment complex in upper Port Jefferson Village, Crestwood, a milk distributor, and Meadows at Yaphank Phase 1, a mixed-use development in Yaphank. The Brookhaven IDA has 11 additional projects under consideration with the potential to create and retain 2,000 jobs and result in $225 million in investment to the community.

About the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency
Since 1971, the mission of the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency has been to promote the economic welfare and prosperity of the Town of Brookhaven by assisting in the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and equipping of commercial and industrial facilities. The IDA has issued millions of dollars in tax-exempt or taxable bonds and provided assistance through straight lease deals to encourage companies to either locate or expand in the Town of Brookhaven. This assistance has been extended to companies both large and small, and has resulted in the direct creation of thousands of jobs for Brookhaven residents. The IDA has provided assistance to a wide range of companies, including Tate’s, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Precision International, LI Precast, Woodcrest, Uncle Wally’s, and Framerica. For more information visit BrookhavenIDA.org or call 631-451-6563.

(Long Island, NY) A Flanders man charged with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend, causing her to undergo an emergency delivery, will be arraigned on a grand jury indictment tomorrow (Thursday 8/20), Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Southampton Town police charged Mohammed Proctor, 38, with assault and criminal obstruction of breathing after the incident in his residence.

Mohammed Proctor, 38, of Flanders, was charged with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend and will be arraigned on Thursday, 8/20. Photo Credit: SCPD.

The mother, Tiffany Norris, approximately seven and one-half months pregnant, gave birth to a female infant who is receiving care at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Mark Cohen (fourth floor of the courthouse) will unseal Proctor’s indictment Thursday.

The court calendar begins at 9:30 am.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,C,I-Glen Head) proudly announces that last week legislation (A.1334) was signed into law to require tattoo and body piercing studios to use single-use needles and ink for all procedures done within their place of business. Montesano co-sponsored this bi-partisan supported bill.

Prior to this law, New York State has not required tattoo or piercing specialists to follow certain standards regarding the tools used to perform a tattoo or piercing on customers. The legislation now requires that specialists use single-use needles, which are kept in sterile sleeves, for all procedures. Additionally, tattoo artists and piercing specialists and recipients of the service will be required to sign a consent form which must be held in the establishment for a minimum of seven years.

“The passage of this new law is a common-sense measure to ensure a safer and more sterile environment for those interested in getting a tattoo or piercing,” said Montesano. “By enforcing that specialists use one-time-use packaged and sealed equipment, we are limiting the opportunity for individuals to contract dangerous diseases. I am proud to have sponsored this legislation with many of my colleagues, and am pleased that the governor recognized the importance of such regulations for New York’s tattoo and piercing industry.”

Schneiderman’s Investigation Will Return More Than $20.5 Million In Total Reimbursement To More Than 46,000 Overcharged Customers

(Long Island, NY) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that as a result of an interim agreement with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (CGMI), a subsidiary of Citigroup, more than 15,000 CGMI customers who were overcharged fees on their investment accounts will receive reimbursements totaling more than $4.5 million. Customers were overcharged when CGMI failed to rebate certain customers’ accounts after periods of inactivity when fees should not have been charged, but were. CGMI identified the overcharges as part of an internal review conducted in cooperation with the Attorney General’s investigation of CGMI fees. The investigation previously led to $16 million in principal and interest going back to 31,000 CGMI customers, and now thousands more customers are eligible to get money back.

“My office will work with any financial institution that identifies and wants to correct an error that harmed its customers. In this case, Citi’s cooperation with our investigation will result in $20.5 million being refunded to tens of thousands of Citi customers in New York and elsewhere,”Attorney General Schneiderman said. “I want to thank Citi for its continued cooperation with our investigation, which has ensured that Citi customers are getting back the money they deserve.”

For certain types of investment accounts, CGMI charges fees prospectively, for example, assessing fees at the beginning of a quarter for account management during the upcoming quarter. For a variety of reasons, a CGMI customer’s account may be ‘frozen’ during a particular period of inactivity. In some cases, customers should not be charged fees during that period. CGMI’s review revealed that if a customer requested a refund of prospectively paid fees that covered a period when the customer’s account was frozen, CGMI sometimes rebated the fees to the customer. However, CGMI’s review revealed that thousands of customers who were overcharged fees during frozen periods were not allocated rebates they should have received, either because they did not request a rebate, or because CGMI did not have policies and procedures in place to determine when rebates were appropriate. As a result, CGMI overcharged more than 15,000 accounts. CGMI will repay its customers for the overcharges, a total of more than $4.5 million in principal and interest. More than 2,700 New York customers are set to receive a total of approximately $657,000.

The Attorney General’s investigation of CGMI began in 2012 after a complaint from a Westchester resident led the Attorney General to investigate fee overcharge issues at CGMI. The investigation has proceeded with CGMI’s cooperation, and will result in the repayment of more than $20 million in principal and interest for fees CGMI overcharged its customers. Due to the Attorney General’s investigation, CGMI initially identified more than 31,000 customers who were charged higher advisory fees than they negotiated on so-called “TRAK” accounts. In an October 22, 2014 interim agreement between CGMI and the Attorney General, CGMI agreed to reimburse its customers for those overcharges. CGMI also agreed to continue to cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation and conduct a wider review of other types of accounts to ensure that any account holders who were overcharged would also be paid restitution. Citi has continued to cooperate since the October 2014 agreement, and its wider review of customer accounts identified the additional 15,430 Citi customer accounts that were overcharged fees during frozen periods.

As a result of the Attorney General’s investigation and Citi’s cooperation, more than $20.5 million will be repaid to more than 46,000 customers, including approximately $2 million to more than 5,600 customers in New York. The Attorney General will continue to oversee CGMI’s review and remediation efforts.

The investigation into Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. is led by Katherine Milgram, Deputy Chief of the Investor Protection Bureau, and Assistant Attorney General Dhawal Sharma.  Gary Brown, Assistant Attorney General-in-Charge of the Westchester Regional Office, has also contributed to the investigation. Karla G. Sanchez is the Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice. The Westchester Office is part of the Division of Regional Affairs led by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs Marty Mack.

(Long Island, NY) The Major Case Bureau reports the details of a Robbery which occurred on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 11:20 P.M. in Elmont.

According to Robbery Squad detectives, a male black in his twenties, 5’ 5” to 5’ 6” tall with a dark complexion, a round shaped face, thin mustache, medium build and brown eyes wearing a white bucket hat with white and green patch type print, a dark colored short sleeve t-shirt, light colored blue jeans and black and white sneakers entered the Citgo gas station located at 1338 Hempstead Turnpike, produced a black semi-automatic hand gun and demanded cash from the victim.

Nassau County Police reports the details of a Robbery which occurred on Tuesday, August 18 in Elmont. Photo Credit: Chris Boyle.

The victim, who was working alone at the time of the incident, complied giving the suspect and undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect fled on foot westbound towards Covert Avenue.

No injuries are reported at this time. No customers were present.

Detectives ask anyone with information regarding this crime to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

(Long Island, NY) The Second Squad reports the arrest of Michael P. Kaminer, 21, of Levittown, in connection with a Burglary on Monday, August 17, 2015 at 5:00 P.M. in Woodbury.

According to detectives, on Friday, September 26, 2014 at 1:30 A.M. Melody Dry Cleaners, located at 2050 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow had been entered by unknown persons. An undisclosed amount of cash, clothing, and two computers were removed from the store and a van was taken from the parking lot.

Nassau County Police reports the arrest of Michael P. Kaminer, 21, of Levittown, in connection with a Burglary on Monday, August 17 in Woodbury. Photo Credit: NCPD.

On the same date, at 6:30 A.M., Pampers Cleaners, located at 505 Plainview Road, Plainview had been entered through an exhaust duct. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the store and the suspects fled in an unknown direction. The van from the East Meadow incident was found at the scene of the Plainview incident.

An investigation revealed Rafael Sanchez, 24, was one of the suspects in this crime, along with Kaminer. Sanchez surrendered to Second Squad detectives at the Second Precinct and was arraigned on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at First District Court in Hempstead on two counts of Burglary 3rd degree, Grand Larceny 4th degree and Criminal Mischief 4th degree.

Kaminer was arrested on Monday, August 17, and is charged with two counts of Burglary 3rd degree, Grand Larceny 4th degree and Criminal Mischief 4th degree. He will be arraigned on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at First District Court in Hempstead.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(Long Island, NY) Women and men who have completed active treatment for breast cancer are invited to “A Legacy of Survivorship,” an educational and supportive program in which breast cancer survivors will share their coping styles in facing the next chapter in their recovery process. The event, which is co-sponsored by North Shore LIJ Cancer Institute and Adelphi Breast Cancer Program, will be held on DAY, September 9 from 6 to 7:30 pm at Monter Cancer Center Conference Room, 450 Lakeville Road in Lake Success.

The panel will be led by social worker Alida Rubenstein, the hotline/volunteer coordinator at the Adelphi Breast Cancer Program. On the panel are three breast cancer survivors who also are hotline volunteers: Chris Amatuli of Merrick, Roz Catena of Westbury, Diane Greene of Plainview and Marcia Partridge of Wantagh. The panelists will discuss how they moved forward in the transition from breast cancer patient to breast cancer survivor.

The event is free and pre-registration is required. To register, call Sandra Caparco, at 516-734-8744 or email scaparco@nshs.edu.

August 14-15

(Long Island, NY) The Bay Street Shakespeare Initiative and Hamptons Shakespeare Festival proudly presented TWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT YOU WILL by William Shakespeare last Friday and Saturday nights at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor, NY. The cast included Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs) who starred as Viola. Both readings were free and we well attended.

Shakespeare in Machashimuet Park. Photo Credit: Bay Street Theater.

“This is our second year of free outdoor readings of Shakespeare,” said Scott Schwartz, Bay Street’s Artistic Director, “and we are so pleased that so many attended. We were also very proud to join with the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival this year to present the outdoor readings.”

Robert Eli, Piper Perabo. Photo Credit: Bay Street Theater.

The event featured direction by Scott Schwartz, and original music and sound design by Hamptons Shakespeare Festival’s Artistic Director, David M. Brandenburg.

Neal Kelley, Kyle Barisich, Dan Amboyer, Josh Gladstone, Sean Dugan, Julia Motyka, Piper Perabo, Robert Eli, Nick Cearley, Lucas Hall, Kate Mueth, Austyn Myers. Photo Credit: Bay Street Theater.

In addition to Piper Perabo, Twelfth Night will also starred Dan Amboyer as Sebastian, Kyle Barisich as Antonio, Nick Cearley as Feste, Sean Dugan as Malvolio, Robert Eli as Duke Orsino, Julia Motyka as Olivia, Josh Gladstone as Sir Toby Belch, Lucas Hall as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Neal Kelley as Captain, Austyn Myers as Valentine, Nancy Johnston as Priest and Kate Mueth as Maria.

Dan Amboyer, Julia Motyka, Michael Chepiga. Photo Credit: Bay Street Theater.

Hamptons Shakespeare Festival, a nonprofit organization, has provided cultural and educational programs on the East End since 1996. Its free outdoor productions have been seen by tens of thousands of individuals and families. It has employed hundreds of actors, musicians, technicians, administrators, and others. And its educational programs have reached thousands of children from Montauk to Manhattan.

Austyn Myers, Neal Kelley, Kyle Barisich, Piper Perabo, Robert Eli, Julia Motyka, Dan Amboyer, Nick Cearley. Photo Credit: Bay Street Theater.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.