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Long Island

liGOODNEWS

Beth Whitehouse

The mother-daughter duo&nbsp;of actress Julie Andrews and creative writing teacher&nbsp;Emma Walton Hamilton&nbsp;have written their 33rd children’s book — a picture book about a family of ducks — and they’ll launch it on April 28 at a Q&amp;A event for adults at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. 
They might read an excerpt from “Waiting in the Wings” (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99), which is based on a true story that happened at the&nbsp;theater while Hamilton, who was one of the theater’s founders, was at the helm. But primarily they will be interviewed by theater executive director Tracy Mitchell about how they write together, and presigned copies will be available. 
Andrews and Hamilton, both of whom live in the Hamptons,&nbsp;spoke with Newsday's Beth Whitehouse about the new story, their families and what questions Andrews invariably gets asked at their book events. 
What’s the true story behind the “Waiting in the Wings&quot;? 
Hamilton: It was so charming when it happened. These ducks did nest in the planter in the courtyard, and we protected them from the audiences that came through. But when they started hatching … they were spilling out of this flower box into the courtyard and heading straight for the road and the oncoming traffic. We mobilized the entire company at Bay Street, and we all ran outside and formed this sort of human barricade or protective force, and we shepherded them all the way down the wharf. 
Were you there, Julie? 
Andrews: No, but Emma told me about it right after. She said, “You won’t believe what happened.” She was so filled with joy and wonder, and it was such a sweet story. 
How did you adapt the story for the book? 
Hamilton: While Mrs. Puddleduck is warming the eggs, Mr. Puddleduck sneaks inside the theater and watches rehearsals and is completely enchanted by the lights and the scenery and the costumes and the music. But he actually ends up learning that theater is more than just how to put on a show, because when the chicks begin hatching, he’s got all these newly acquired theater skills that come to the rescue and help him get them to safety. 
The ducks didn’t actually enter the theater, did they? 
Hamilton: They did not. But you can’t write a book about ducks nesting next to a theater for children and not have at least one duck come inside. 
Andrews: One duck had to be curious. 
How do you work together? Sit in the same room? Send versions back and forth? 
Andrews: Everything really. We try to be together as much as possible. First of all, it’s a wonderful sandbox to play in and when writing together we really don’t think about much else, do we, darling? 
Hamilton: We basically write out loud. We brainstorm an outline together and then we start just finishing each other’s sentences … 
Andrews: … and what resonates for either one of us. The best idea wins. 
Hamilton: I’m the scribe. I take dictation while we think out loud. 
Andrews: Emma is very, very much the nuts and bolts. 
Hamilton: Mom’s the idea person. 
Andrews: I’m not the idea person! I certainly love to do the initial character development. 
Hamilton: We might hammer out an outline in a week but the story itself usually takes several months to get right and to revise so we feel like the right words are in the right places. 
Andrews: It became such a joy to write together that I can’t write anything without Emma now. 
Emma, you now teach creative writing at Stony Brook University. Julie, would you have written children’s books without Emma’s influence? 
Hamilton: She did it before me. She wrote two middle-grade novels before we started writing together. 
Andrews: I fell into it because when Blake [Edwards] and I married, I inherited two stepchildren and had my own Emma and then Blake and I adopted two children. So, we had a big family. One day we were actually playing some kind of a game and I lost the first round. 
Hamilton: She had to pay a penalty and my stepsister said, “Write me a story.” 
Andrews: And out of that came my first book, “Mandy.” [Published in 1971 under the name Julie Edwards.] Everything about it was serendipity. I became aware just how thrilling it was to develop the stories and read to them as they were great audiences, thank God, my kids were. I don’t know if you remember any of this. 
Hamilton: Sure. 
How many children and grandchildren do you each have? 
Hamilton: I have two young adult kids. 
Andrews: I have five children, 10 grandchildren and … three great grandchildren. 
Julie, do you get questions about your acting experiences at book events? 
Andrews: I get lots. It depends what era, with whom I’m speaking. Lots of questions about “The Sound of Music,” lots about “Mary Poppins.” And these days, it’s “The Princess Diaries.”

Entertainment

Books

ETFAST240421

Julie Andrews, daughter Emma Walton Hamilton share Long Island connection behind new book

How an LI theater and a group of ducks inspired Julie Andrews, daughter to write new book

ETJULIE240419_photos

Laura Albanese

In the darkest stretch of this young Mets season, a neon light of hope emerged. 
The day was April 4, and the Mets had yet to manage a victory. It was the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, and they’d gone 1-for-24 without a run scored. For a certain subset of Mets fans – that is to say, almost all of them – it was a sign: The season was over. 
And then, like Oscar the Grouch’s happier, more psychedelic cousin, another type of fan made himself known. 
Sporting a mint green faux fur coat, eyewear that could be mistaken for cataract glasses, two gigantic Mets-themed medallions, and what appeared to be a long shirt decorated with rabid, technicolored wolves, Max Wiener grooved to the sound of his own music. His dancing was showcased on both the Mets and Tigers broadcasts, and put on Citi Field’s gigantic screen. 
Then the Mets hit two home runs. They won their first game and nine of the next 12. 
A mop-topped legend was born. 
<div data-oembed-url="https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1780265397746380832"> 
 <blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet"> 
 The legend is growing… <a href="https://t.co/CfEiiPMtV5">pic.twitter.com/CfEiiPMtV5</a> — SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) 
 <a href="https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1780265397746380832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a>
 </blockquote> 
</div> 
And it turns out the only thing that rivals the size of his massive head of curls is his love for the orange and blue. 
“It’s just so fun because I’m just a regular Mets fan who wears what he normally wears,” said Wiener, 24, who’s a comedian from Manhattan. “It’s fun to have people recognize it and have people be like, you know what? Maybe he’s good for the team because I’ve seen some doldrum years for the Mets and to see things finally look up, it’s fun. It’s a good time.” 
Shortly after, Wiener, cheery and affable, and wearing a fuchsia and teal tracksuit at Tuesday's game, was contacted by AthleteLogos’ Dan Abrams – the Commack-based graphic designer whose fan designs often go viral – and Wiener was christened &quot;The Rally Pimp.&quot; 
There are T-shirts. 
“The Twitter fans were on Max as soon as SNY showed him before Pete [Alonso]’s home run” during that double header, Abrams said. “I was probably tagged 10 times by people asking to make a shirt design of him. People love something unique and fun and Max is both of them.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Max Wiener before a game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02/_AR34602.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Max Wiener before a game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday. </a> 
Wiener is a lifelong Mets fan whose parents have a 20-pack of season tickets. He has six ostentatiously colored fur coats, buys his clothes at thrift stores, and has been dressing like this since about sophomore year of college, he said. His goal is to radiate positivity, and hopefully experience a championship in his lifetime. His style icons are David Bowie, Rick James and Elton John. The last time he was shown on the scoreboard, Alonso hit another home run. 
His favorite coat is the mint green one, but he has&nbsp;a burgundy, purple and yellow one that he wants to wear when it gets colder again. 
It was close to 70 degrees on Tuesday, though, “so it’s more of a tracksuit situation,” he said. 
“People are like, 'What is this fella going to do in July?' and I’m wondering the same thing,” he said. “Do I have a heat stroke for a little notoriety or am I [comfortably]&nbsp;warm and invisible?” 
As for the name – “Call me whatever you want, as long as we win games,” he said. 
“It’s so, so funny,” he added. “The other day, a kid came up to me and was like, ‘Mr. Rally Pimp, can I get a picture?’…And I was like, sure, but for the future, it’s Dr. Rally Pimp. I’m trying to banter with a 6-year-old.” 
As he’s talking, a fan stops by and asks for a photo, and Wiener happily obliges. 
“I’m here for it,” he said. “We’re here to have a good time.”

Sports

Baseball

New York Mets

spRALLY240418

Meet Max Wiener, the Mets fan basking in wild fashion and good-luck home runs

Meet the Mets fan bringing wild fashion and good luck to Citi Field

spMETS240417

At Huntington&#39;s Project Prom, students got to pick out&nbsp;free dresses, suits, ties and shoes to help cut costs.&nbsp;Newsday family writer Beth Whitehouse reports.&nbsp;

Things to Do

Fashion and Shopping

FAFREE240415_video

Teens snag free prom dresses, suits at Huntington event

Huntington

Garden City

Brentwood

Peconic

Elmont

Newsday

'There's so many to choose from'

FAFREE240415_photos

KIBILLY240407_photos

Arlene Gross

Every two weeks, Ernest Sparacino heads to Plainview Hospital for blood transfusions. And when he gets there, he knows he can count on Kathleen Matullo in Admitting to greet him. 
“Kathie goes out of her way to make sure all the paperwork is in order and get me to the right area for my treatments,” said the 79-year-old Massapequa Park resident, who has a blood cell disorder known as myelodysplastic syndrome. “On the way, her friendly conversation is very comforting — like we are just friends going for coffee. I always look forward to seeing her when I come in.” 
Matullo, 81, of Plainview, has the distinction of being the longest-serving current employee at Northwell Health, which had been known as the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System after a merger in 1997 between North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. For 57 years, the admissions registrar has been a reassuring presence at Plainview Hospital, offering a kind word or sharing a laugh with patients as they arrive. 
Beyond her work, the hospital has also been a place of great personal tragedy, but also joy: It’s where her mother and son were treated when they were ill, where her husband spent his last days in hospice and where one of her daughters was born. 
“I love the hospital, I really do,” said Matullo. “This is my hospital.” 
<h3>‘MAMA MATULLO’</h3> 
Matullo’s calming presence caught the attention of Kerri Anne Scanlon, Plainview Hospital’s new executive director, on her first visit to the hospital. 
“She was one of the first people I met,” said Scanlon, who also helms Syosset and Glen Cove hospitals. “When patients come in and they’re having surgery, that’s who you’re meeting. And the first people you meet make all the difference in the world. It reduces the anxiety.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kerri Anne Scanlon, left, with Matullo and Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling at a recent hospital town hall." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6/a2COV240414b.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kerri Anne Scanlon, left, with Matullo and Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling at a recent hospital town hall.</a> 
Over the years, Matullo has earned the nickname “Mama Matullo” among staffers. First coined by Kathy Efinger Scott, a neighbor of Matullo’s who later came to work as a ward clerk at the hospital, it gradually caught on with other employees, many of whom Matullo said feel more like friends and family than coworkers. 
“The Northwell family is really my second family,” Matullo said. “They treat me with such respect.” 
On her 80th birthday last year, Matullo arrived, as she typically does, at 6:30 a.m., and found the door to the Admitting Office closed, which was quite unusual, she said. Opening the door, she was greeted by all her coworkers, who showered her with gifts, flowers and cards amid an office festooned with colorful crepe paper and balloons. 
“A young coworker, Shivani Peters, who was off that day, was here at 6 a.m. to celebrate,” Matullo said, of the 27-year-old. “Imagine a young person getting up so early, on her day off, to celebrate my special day!” 
In his tribute to her for that birthday celebration, William Harrington, director of admitting and Matullo’s supervisor, pointed out that when she first worked in the registrar (now admissions) for Central General Hospital (renamed Plainview Hospital in 1994), work was done on a typewriter. 
“Kathie has been part of every technological advancement in patient access over the next 55 years,” Harrington wrote. 
<h3>VISITING NURSE’S WORDS</h3> 
Matullo’s remarkably long stint at the hospital happened by chance. 
After her mother underwent hip surgery, Matullo said she took her in for five months while she recovered. A visiting nurse who paid weekly visits to Matullo’s home taught her how to wash her mother’s hair and care for her in her convalescence. 
At the end of the five months, Matullo said the woman told her, “ ‘I don’t believe that your mother doesn’t have a bedsore. I never saw anybody so clean in this situation.’ She said, ‘You would do great in a hospital.’ ” 
At the time, Matullo was a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom caring for two children, Robert, 4, and Lauren, 2, as well as her mother and two dogs. 
Encouraged by the nurse’s suggestion, Matullo began working weekends and holidays in the registrar at Central General Hospital and filled in for employees out sick or on vacation. Soon, she said, she was working there full time. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Undated photo of Matullo at work. " data-attr-credit="Handout" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0/A2COV240416.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Undated photo of Matullo at work. </a> 
On a typical day, Matullo’s duties include registering patients for procedures like colonoscopies and endoscopies, lab work and presurgical and other tests. 
“We have to verify all the info,” Matullo said. “Make sure everything’s correct, the insurance, get the signatures.” 
But Matullo goes above and beyond, accompanying patients on the elevator and escorting them to various departments throughout the hospital for radiology, endoscopies, vascular studies, MRIs, oncology treatments, as well as to the lab. 
“We have such a nice conversation,” Matullo said. “I always talk to them and laugh sometimes. People are really having a tough time.” 
Recently, Matullo pointed out to a patient how her shoe had gotten soaked from a heavy rain. 
“To make him laugh, I said, ‘You notice how I’m walking. My shoe is stretched out.’ I said, ‘I have a piece of toilet paper in the toe.’ It just broke the ice,” she said. 
Matullo can empathize with the patients, as she has had an intimate experience with sickness herself. She cared for her father before he died of colon cancer and then her mother, who, suffering from chronic illnesses, lived with her for 25 years. Her son, Robert, who had a long history of medical issues, died on June 21, 2022, after contracting COVID post-surgery, Matullo said. 
“This is why, when it comes to people, when I see what they’re going through I always try to talk to them,” she said. 
Matullo’s caring influence has extended to her daughter, Janice Curry, who recalled countless hours at the hospital visiting her mom at work or family members who were ill. 
“Just being in this environment and seeing people who are ill, and just how you can make such a huge difference in people’s lives and people’s families definitely influenced me to work in health care,” said Curry, 48, of Hauppauge, who is a maternity nurse at Huntington Hospital. 
And Matullo’s granddaughter, who said she always knew she wanted to be in health care, works as an ultrasound technician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. 
“I grew up (with) my grandma always talking about her job and how much she loves it, all her friends here,” said Jessica Ciejka, 29, who lives in Port Jefferson Station. “I wanted to be that person to intervene in somebody’s part of their life where they’re going through something really difficult and be somebody that is a part of giving them help.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kathleen Matullo gets a surprise visit from her daughter, Janice Curry, left, and granddaughter Jessica Ciejka." data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3/A2COV240424.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kathleen Matullo gets a surprise visit from her daughter, Janice Curry, left, and granddaughter Jessica Ciejka.</a> 
<h3>INSPIRES COWORKERS</h3> 
Working in admissions for the past 20 years, Ronald Tan, 56, who lives in Levittown, said Matullo has “always been an inspiration. Her dedication is bar none.” 
Calling her “a great lady,” Evelyn Von Eschen, 63, of North Babylon, said Matullo has taught her a lot. Though she’s worked in the Plainview Hospital’s admitting department for the past 14 years, Von Eschen said she still hears Matullo’s voice in her head when she’s working. 
“ ‘Make sure they have this; make sure they have that. If it’s this, you have to do that,’ ” Von Eschen said. 
A nurse in case management at Plainview Hospital, Margaret Vincent, 63, of Huntington, said, “Kathie is always very calm, and she just has handled everything personally and professionally with grace and class. That defines Kathie: grace and class.” 
For Matullo, the Golden Rule applies to her life and work. 
“I like to treat people the way I want to be treated,” she said. “I want to treat your father the way I wanted my father treated.” &nbsp; 
<h3>LOTS OF HUGS</h3> 
A big part of her day is putting patients at ease. 
“That’s why I love the job,” Matullo said. “It allows me to help those in need and make a difference in someone’s life. Making someone laugh, listening to them share — every day, that’s what I do.” 
Some patients are so grateful they give her tokens of their appreciation. 
A 96-year-old veteran who came in for blood transfusions made her a laminated card expressing his gratitude, while another patient, who was undergoing chemotherapy, made a small lace-covered angel for her. 
“She said, ‘I want you to keep it and always think of me.’ And I have it in my china closet. It’s my treasure,” Matullo said. 
Stephen Mahoney, of Arthur F. White Funeral Home in Farmingdale and Bethpage, whose work sometimes brings him to the hospital, always greets Matullo affectionately. 
“I mean, who gets a hug and a kiss from a funeral director?” Matullo said. 
As Matullo walks through the hospital, she seems to know just about everybody. She gets daily hugs from Alicia Jenkins, the mail clerk, and Paulette Allwood, the hospital’s cashier. When Matullo’s son died, she said Jamie Idrovo, who works in patient registration, brought her a bouquet of flowers and a card. “He said he was only a hug away,” she said. “Every day that I see him, I get a hug.” 
Asked whether she would ever consider retiring, Matullo demurs. Working, she said, is “very rewarding to me. I just love it. 
“As long as I can get up at 4 a.m., do the job that I love, I have no plans,” she said. “They say when it’s time, you will know.”

LI Life

A2COV240414

Kathleen Matullo, Northwell Health's longest-serving current employee, has worked at Plainview Hospital for 57 years

For 57 years, 'Mama Matullo' has been a reassuring presence for patients

a2cov240414_photos

Andrew Gross

The Islanders signed a Long Islander. 
Defenseman Marshall Warren, 22, of Laurel Hollow, agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract that begins in 2024-25, the Islanders announced on Tuesday. Warren recently completed a fifth season of NCAA eligibility as a graduate student at Michigan after four seasons at Boston College. 
The 6-foot, 195-pound Warren had four goals and 14 assists in 41 games for Michigan while serving as the alternate captain. He compiled 20 goals and 37 assists in 130 games at Boston College, serving as the program’s first Black captain in 2022-23. 
“It was cool for kids that look like me, they could see someone and be like, ‘Wow, I could do that when I’m older,’ especially hockey players,” Warren told The Michigan Daily last month. “At BC, I kind of stuck out just being Black, so I think being a leader on a team like that was really important just for people to look at me, watch our games, see me on TV, just to be inspired and want to play hockey or even just do something with their life.” 
The Michigan Daily also reported Warren has been very active donating his time to the Ice Hockey in Harlem program. 
Warren also spent two seasons with the U.S. National Development Program from 2017-19, winning a bronze medal at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 World Junior Championships. 
Warren was a sixth-round pick of the Wild in 2019 but never came to terms on a contract with that organization.

Hockey

New York Islanders

SPISIDE240417

Islanders sign Long Island's Marshall Warren

Isles look local in signing Warren

NCAA Boston College Michigan Hockey

Michael R. Ebert

A Bellmore teen is flying high after collecting more than 3,000 used balloons to help protect the environment. 
Ashley Felsberg, a senior at Wellington C. Mepham High School, recently accumulated 3,090 balloons — about a dozen large garbage bags’ worth — from local florists and party planning businesses. Many of the balloons were left over from Valentine’s Day, she said. 
The balloons were then picked up by representatives of Balloon Mission, a Merrick-based organization that finds “good end-of-use solutions for them,” according to its website. 
“I was very shocked, because I didn’t even realize I had collected that much,” said Felsberg, 17, who pursued the project as part of the community service requirement for her school’s Science Honor Society. 
“It was great to take as many balloons as I could and put them toward a good cause, instead of having them get into the ocean or into the sky.” 
Balloons, which are made of materials like mylar and latex, pose a danger to animals that become entangled in the strings or eat pieces of the balloons, which can harm or even kill them, according to the U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife Service. 
The balloons collected by Felsberg will be repurposed by Balloon Mission in several ways, including as environmental art in workshops with the Long Island Children’s Museum. Other balloon materials go to companies like TerraCycle, where they are melted down into plastic pellets and turned into industrial flooring or pallets, the organization said. 
Balloon Mission’s founder and executive director, Cynthia Seibold, called Felsberg’s collection “an astonishing amount” for an individual. She also commended Felsberg for her idea to work with florists and party planners to keep balloons out of the environment. 
“Ashley has pioneered a new environmental path . . . ensuring that these balloons are properly disposed of, saving animals from this harmful litter,” Seibold said. “We hope to continue the relationships she has forged.” 
Felsberg’s efforts were also praised by Heather Bizewski, the science chairwoman for the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. 
“She truly has embraced the Balloon Mission initiative, and we couldn’t be prouder of her work and the positive impact it is having on our community,” Bizewski said.

LFHERO240414

Hometown Hero: Ashley Felsberg of Bellmore collected 3,000 balloons to protect environment

Hometown Hero: LI teen collected 3,000 balloons to protect environment

Five Long Island teams are advancing to the national level after taking top awards at this year’s Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, held last month at Hofstra University in Hempstead. 
To participate, teams of students ages 14-18 designed and built robots using a kit of parts that included motors, control systems and game components. They then competed in an alliance-style double-elimination tournament under the theme of “Crescendo,” which challenged teams to score by getting foam rings into goals and then move their robots to trusses and climb on metal chains to earn additional points. 
Mineola High School’s Wild Reds team bested 48 others to win the Regional FIRST Impact Award, which recognized the team that best represented a model for other competitors to emulate. (FIRST Stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”) 
The winning alliance was Syosset High School’s Supersonics and the POBots from Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School. Bethpage High School’s Regal Eagles and Cold Spring Harbor High School’s CyberHawks won the Regional Engineering Inspiration and Wildcard awards, respectively. 
The five teams will now compete in the national robotics championship, to be held in Houston from April 17-20. 
“The entire Mineola school community is proud of our robotics team,” said Interim Principal Edward Escobar. “This achievement is evidence of the dedication and commitment of the students and their coaches in working collaboratively to design, build and code robots.” 
<h2>MANHASSET</h2> 
<h3>New podcast</h3> 
Manhasset High School junior Rashida Poonawala has launched the school’s first podcast using equipment donated by the Tower Foundation of Manhasset, which strives to enrich the district’s educational experience. 
The podcast, titled “The Career Spotlight,” posts new episodes every other month on a YouTube channel, @manhassetbroadcast. Episodes so far have included interviews with Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and Carson Daly, a co-host on NBC’s “Today” show. 
“The reason I chose a career spotlight was because there are a lot of kids, especially in high school, who are trying to figure out what they want to pursue in college and as a career,” Poonawala said. 
<h2>SMITHTOWN</h2> 
<h3>New principal</h3> 
William Holl has been appointed principal of Smithtown High School West, effective July 1. He will replace John Coady, who is retiring. 
Holl has served as principal of East Moriches Middle School since 2020, and before that was an assistant principal at Seneca Middle School in Holbrook. He began his career in education as a physics teacher at Sachem High School North in Lake Ronkonkoma. 
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to have been given the opportunity to serve the Smithtown community as the new principal of Smithtown High School West,” Holl said. 
<h2>ISLANDWIDE</h2> 
<h3>Poetry finalists</h3> 
Four Long Island students — Ryan Karis of Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick; James Masson of Syosset High School; Kaitlyn Rams of Herricks High School in New Hyde Park; and Isabelle Scherl of Shoreham-Wading River High School — were among 18 state finalists at this year’s Poetry Out Loud competition in Manhattan, which was held in March. 
To reach the state level, the students first competed at regional semifinals in February. At both the semifinals and finals, participants recited works from classic and contemporary poets and were scored by a panel of judges that included poets and educators. 
The state competition was coordinated by the Teachers &amp; Writers Collaborative in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts.

LFSHESKL240414

Making the Grade: 5 LI teams heading to national robotics contest

LFSHESKL240414_photos

Marie Elena Martinez

Parents are getting a little extra help stressing the importance of reading from an unexpected source&nbsp;— a pizzeria.&nbsp;Kids can earn a free&nbsp;pie for their family at Fini Pizza in Amagansett (and Williamsburg, Brooklyn) through its&nbsp;new reading program. 
“You Read, We Feed, Fini Books,” is the tagline on the shop’s Instagram page, which promises that students who read three books a month will earn a free pie. Just show staffers the titles along with a two-sentence description of each book. 
The popular Williamsburg pizzeria, which opened an East End offshoot in Amagansett last June, is owned by Sean Feeney, and Will Unseld. Feeney, a father of three, has advocated for supporting the families of his staff at his restaurants. His own kids, aka the “Pasta Patrol,” are featured on his social media accounts&nbsp;through glimpses of his daily life as a restaurateur. 
With a $5.50 per slice price tag — pies start at $32 —&nbsp;Fini tops pizzas&nbsp;with less-expected ingredients such as&nbsp;lemon, shallots and herbed Italian breadcrumbs, creating modern takes on old classics. Their&nbsp;white pizza, with a mix of mozzarella, Parmesan, and creamy Fontina — side of lemon wedge — is the standout. But if you’re a red sauce fan, go for the tomato slice that's topped with breadcrumbs and Calabrian chili oil. Purists fill find pepperoni slices and plain slices, alongside a Caesar salad for the carb-less, plus ices and gelatos for dessert. 
So, what will your child choose for their free pie? The possibilities are endless, just like summer reading. 
Fini Pizza, 237 Main St., Amagansett, 631-394-5654, <a href="https://finipizza.com">finipizza.com</a>; Open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.

FeedMe

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Fini Pizza's reading program earns kids free family pizzas

LI pizzeria launches kids reading program

Craig Schneider

&nbsp;Watching the moon slowly devour the sun was fun Monday, and now that the episode has passed, numerous Long Islanders are collecting eclipse glasses to donate to underserved&nbsp;places around the world so&nbsp;others can safely enjoy these&nbsp;celestial events. 
John Motchkavitz, a robotics teacher at Great Neck South High School, said the idea to collect and donate the cardboard safety&nbsp;glasses emerged just after the eclipse. His 100-student robotics team jumped into action,&nbsp;he said. 
&quot;We were all joking around,&nbsp;'When's the next time we'll use them?' &quot; said Motchkavitz, 56, who regularly gets the team involved in community efforts to collect books and feed the needy.&nbsp;&quot;We said, 'Let's work on collecting these and donating them.' &quot; 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Teacher John Motchkavitz, top left, and robotics students&nbsp;Sophia Chen, Beatrice Malfi&nbsp;and Trevor Boshnack are among those collecting&nbsp;eclipse glasses at Great Neck South High School." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/e17fe4eb-c522-4506-b5fb-863eb1d5c327" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/e17fe4eb-c522-4506-b5fb-863eb1d5c327', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/e17fe4eb-c522-4506-b5fb-863eb1d5c327"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/e17fe4eb-c522-4506-b5fb-863eb1d5c327/0A2A0174.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Teacher John Motchkavitz, top left, and robotics students&nbsp;Sophia Chen, Beatrice Malfi&nbsp;and Trevor Boshnack are among those collecting&nbsp;eclipse glasses at Great Neck South High School.</a> 
Beatrice Malfi, a senior and member of the robotics team, posted&nbsp;notices on Instagram and hit&nbsp;up family members and classmates to add their glasses to the collection bin set up at the school.&nbsp; 
Malfi, 17, said she wanted to share the feeling she experienced watching the moon sweep in front of the sun. 
&quot;The eclipse was bigger than the human race and humanity. It puts in perspective our own lives,&quot; she said. 
Several Islanders collecting the glasses said they've yet to work out the logistics to deliver them, while others are working with the nonprofit advocacy group Astronomers Without Borders. 
The California-based group has been collecting the glasses since the 2017 eclipse in North America, when it amassed&nbsp;3&nbsp;million pairs. About 300,000 of them met safety standards and were shipped to schools and municipalities in Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Afghanistan and some small villages in Ethiopia, said communication manager Andrew Fazekas. 
&quot;These eclipses are very inspiring to young people, but many don't have the luxury of having protective eyewear,&quot; he said. &quot;It's a great way to unlock a science educational opportunity.&quot; 
This time around,&nbsp;Astronomers Without Borders has set up 300 collection sites around the country, and &quot;in the last 24 hours we received 1,200 inquires for more collection sites,&quot; he said Wednesday. The sites can be found on the group's website,&nbsp;<a href="https://astronomerswithoutborders.org/home">astronomerswithoutborders.org</a>. 
Meanwhile, collection bins are popping up on Long Island.&nbsp; 
The staff at Harborfields Public Library in Greenlawn has set up a collection box, said assistant director Linda Meglio. They're coordinating with Astronomers Without Borders. 
Jeff O'Neill, a volunteer EMT at the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, said he saw the collection idea online and decided to run with it. He said people can drop off glasses&nbsp;at the squad at 2 Railroad St., Huntington Station. 
&quot;These things would end up in a landfill,&quot; O'Neill said. &quot;Maybe somebody could use them.&quot; 
Lori Badanes, owner of the toy store Einstein's Attic, said her Island stores in Northport and Huntington will collect the glasses this weekend. 
&quot;We can repurpose them so children who might not normally have them can view eclipses,&quot; she said. 
Eclipses occur about every six months around the world, and North America will see its next full eclipse in August 2045, Fazekas said. The southern tip of South America will see one Oct. 2, and the northwest part of Africa will see a partial eclipse in 2025,&nbsp;he said. 
With a pair of safety glasses, children there will be able to safely view, as&nbsp;Fazekas said, the moon take a bite out of the sun.

Education

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With an eye on future eclipses, Long Islanders donate their glasses 

With an eye on future eclipses, LIers donate their glasses

Some Long Islanders are collecting solar eclipse glasses to send&nbsp;to children in South America&nbsp;for when they get their full solar eclipse in October.&nbsp;

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LIers collect solar eclipse glasses for children in South America

Great Neck

Great Neck Estates

Great Neck Plaza

Collection bins for eclipse glasses on LI 

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Tom Cutinella, a&nbsp;Shoreham-Wading River football player who died after a traumatic brain injury in 2014, was honored by St. Charles Hospital on Friday for donating his organs.

Suffolk

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Honoring LI football player who donated organs

Port Jefferson

Shoreham

HS football player who donated organs honored by St. Charles Hospital

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A Commack school monitor is being heralded as a hero for her quick thinking when a student started choking during lunchtime. 
Francesca Augello, who works at Wood Park Primary School, sprang into action when she noticed that second-grader Grayson Molina, 8, was in distress while eating pizza in the school’s cafeteria. Within seconds, Augello employed the Heimlich maneuver on the struggling boy and ultimately saved his life, his family said. 
Augello, 37, is to be honored for her heroic efforts with a proclamation during a general meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature May 7. 
“Francesca did exactly what she would’ve done for her own children. She saved our son’s life and there’s really not enough words to express our full gratitude,” Grayson’s mother, Alexa, said. “Going through an experience like this … it really hits home — you really see that they’re not just staff members or teachers, they’re more like family.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Grayson Molina" data-attr-credit="Commack School District" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/90db5493-1627-4353-b163-0f6b5666a7ae" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/90db5493-1627-4353-b163-0f6b5666a7ae', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/90db5493-1627-4353-b163-0f6b5666a7ae"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/90db5493-1627-4353-b163-0f6b5666a7ae/LFHERO240407.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Grayson Molina</a> 
The incident, which occurred at about 1 p.m. on March 8, happened while Grayson was finishing his pizza as he waited for a line of students to dwindle so he could buy a snack, according to his father, Paul. He then locked eyes with Augello, who noticed the boy was “just staring at her and wasn’t moving,” he said. 
“That’s not like him, because he’s usually talking and stuff,” said his father. “So, she went up to him and said, “Grayson, are you OK?’ But he didn’t answer her.” 
Augello asked the boy a second time if he was OK, before he opened his mouth and she could see that he was choking, the Molinas said. She then swiftly stood him up from his seat and began performing the Heimlich maneuver, which is an abdominal thrust technique used to treat upper-airway obstructions. 
It was the first time that Augello had used the first-aid procedure in her six years on the job, according to school officials. 
“I’m a mom of three, and my instincts just kicked in,” said Augello, a resident of Smithtown. “I’m just happy everything worked out. You just have to pay attention and be aware what’s going on in the cafeteria.” 
Paul Molina added, “I told her, ‘Because of you, I still have my son. I can still enjoy him and see him grow up.’ ” 
Augello was also praised for her actions by Commack schools Superintendent Jordan Cox. 
“Heroes are ordinary people who make extraordinary decisions in critical moments, and Francesca exemplified this by performing the Heimlich maneuver,” Cox said. “We are incredibly grateful to have Francesca as a staff member.”

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Cafeteria monitor Francesca Augello's Heimlich saves student

Hometown Hero: Cafeteria monitor's Heimlich saves student

Rachel Weiss

White shingle siding. A screened-in porch. Perfectly trimmed bushes surrounding the perimeter. 
This is what Kate Avallone-Serra remembers of her childhood home in Baldwin. After her mother died two years ago, she and her four siblings also had to say goodbye to the house where they grew up. 
So Avallone-Serra turned to an artist — who also happened to be a family friend — Michael White. She wanted him to capture the snapshot of the house that still burned bright in her mind: the way she remembered it as a child. 
&quot;He worked from a photo I found, because of course, over the years there were lots of renovations and changes to the exterior,&quot; said Avallone-Serra, 58, now working for the Albany Public Library.&nbsp; 
&quot;Mike worked with me on recreating the house the way it looked when I was a kid, and he was absolutely determined to get it right, because it was meaningful for him, as well as for us.&quot; 
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White actually does this for a living. He's created dozens of house portraits for Long Islanders, starting with ink and then going in with watercolor to bring each home to life on paper. 
White grew up in Baldwin and lived in Garden City for several years, but has since relocated to Red Bank, New Jersey. Most of his requests for artwork come from Long Islanders — so he still has quite a connection to his roots. 
&quot;It started out with me doing drawings of houses I found the most compelling,&quot; said White, 54. While biking or driving in his car, if he spotted some interesting architecture or if the light was hitting a home just right, he'd stop, take a photo and use it while&nbsp;sketching. Then White started posting the finished products on Facebook. 
&quot;When people saw those, they'd reach out to me and say, 'Can you do one of my home?' &quot; he said. 
It takes White between 16 and 20 hours to complete a 12-by-16-inch portrait. Those cost $750, while smaller drawings can range between $200 and $300. 
&quot;I've done all kinds of houses, from tiny Capes to Tudor Revival manors,&quot; he said. &quot;Recently I've been doing several pieces in Northport, which are very beautiful homes. I've gotten commissions from people in Baldwin, and those are very interesting to me because I know that town in my bones.&quot; 
White has created the most portraits based on houses in Garden City — a community with which he's also intimately familiar. Both sets of his grandparents owned homes there as he grew up, and his own family lived there for seven years, after relocating from New York City. 
&quot;I knew a lot of the houses and landmarks,&quot; said White, &quot;so while I was there, it was almost like living my childhood again, but I had a new appreciation for all this incredible architecture.&quot; 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="White has painted homes in Manhasset, top, his native Baldwin, left, and West Hempstead.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/5b45187d-5ee8-449a-b60c-6504f98109d7" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/5b45187d-5ee8-449a-b60c-6504f98109d7', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/5b45187d-5ee8-449a-b60c-6504f98109d7"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/5b45187d-5ee8-449a-b60c-6504f98109d7/e20f3437b5f7159997d27d63c9066b19bb6c85c3.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />White has painted homes in Manhasset, top, his native Baldwin, left, and West Hempstead. </a> 
The stonework and irregular masonry of Tudor Revivals, or the unusual proportions of a Queen Anne Victorian, make for artistic challenges in texture and depiction — and White is more than happy to rise to the occasion. 
&quot;It seems to me like every house has poetic potential, even really small ones or new ones,&quot; he said. &quot;You can look for ways to bring it out by focusing on its setting or the angle or the sunlight. I'm interested in creating an overall effect; I don't just do a house with blank white space around it.&quot; 
When Avallone-Serra first saw the artwork White created for her and her siblings, she said she cried tears of joy. He got it all right: The house, beaming in dapples of sunlight.&nbsp;Just as she remembered it. 
The painting hangs in her home in Albany, over a fireplace. It is the first thing visitors see when walking through the front door. 
&quot;The house was a huge focal point for my mom,&quot; said Avallone-Serra, who had prints of the painting made for her siblings. &quot;She kept it up, and she was a real homemaker.&quot; 
A family with a young child has since moved in, she said — a homecoming that was both bittersweet and exciting for Avallone-Serra's family to witness. 
&quot;I think Mike's work found me at the right time,&quot;&nbsp;she said. &quot;Because we were closing that chapter in our family's life, it just seemed like the natural way to put a bow on it.&quot; 
This is why White does what he does — there's a particular pride and a sentimentality that comes with growing up in a Long Island home, and his goal is to commemorate that. 
&quot;In a way, it's sort of a family portrait,&quot; White said of his work. &quot;But rather than being one moment in time, it's a family symbol, across lots of time.&quot;

Real Estate

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Artist, Baldwin native Michael White paints custom watercolors of houses

Baldwin native paints LIers' houses in 20 hours or less (no, not like that)

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James Kindall

TJ Savino reached for a fork in his garage workshop and began bending the tines back and forth. Some utensils break easily, he explained, while others are more flexible — allowing him to transform them into a gleaming tiger, a couple embracing or a fly fisherman casting a thin metal line into space. 
Five years ago, Savino was at a breaking point himself, saddled with depression so severe he said he tried to take his life. 
“I felt absolutely worthless,” he said about that dark time. “I didn’t have anything to look forward to, and (I believed) that I had been an abject failure for years.” 
But at one of the lowest points in his life, he found a way forward. Introduced to art therapy during his recovery, he said he discovered a passion for creating. Initially just a hobby, he has now found success as a sculptor in an unlikely medium: knives, forks and other humble kitchen utensils. 
In his workshop, he gestured at the metal bric-a-brac around him that became his salvation. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="TJ Savino works on his latest piece in his garage workspace in Bay Shore on March 21." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ba13fc9e-60df-4344-aa68-7810bf293edc" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ba13fc9e-60df-4344-aa68-7810bf293edc', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ba13fc9e-60df-4344-aa68-7810bf293edc"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ba13fc9e-60df-4344-aa68-7810bf293edc/LFCOV240407-2.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />TJ Savino works on his latest piece in his garage workspace in Bay Shore on March 21.</a> 
“Once I started doing this, I couldn’t stop,” he said. 
Eric Wong, a Manhattan curator who met Savino a year ago at an art show, hopes he doesn’t. 
“I wouldn’t be surprised if five or 10 years from now you see his works in museums all over the world,” Wong said. “I’ve never seen any other creations like his.” 
<h2>Emerging from darkness</h2> 
How all this began is a tale with an extended grim period and a surprisingly happy ending. 
A 36-year-old Bay Shore native, Savino said he never felt as if he fit in, either in high school or at Hofstra University, where he earned a physics degree in 2010. After graduation, rather than pursue a career in his field, he said he worked a series of jobs ranging from construction to waiter to dog-walker. 
At a trade school in Dayton, Ohio, he said he learned welding and tried that field for awhile. Other unsatisfying occupations followed, as well as a failed personal relationship while he was living in Virginia that he said left him emotionally drained and filled with self-doubt. 
One day in March 2019, it all seemed too much. 
During a lunch break at his job, he said he left a note on his desk that he was going to end it all, then went home to asphyxiate himself. 
But someone had spotted the note and called the police, who rescued him. He said he was taken to a psychiatric hospital, where he was exposed to art therapy. Savino had always been interested in art and said he began experimenting with painting, origami and other mediums. 
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said he moved back in with his parents on Long Island, where he kept trying different forms of creativity. Then about a year ago, Savino said he switched on his welding machine, picked up an old set of flatware and spread them on a table, contorting them into various shapes looking for inspiration. 
“I thought, well, that kind of looks like a head. And those sort of look like arms,” he recalled. 
At first rudimentary, Savino said his human figures gradually became more sophisticated and he advanced to more elaborate designs. The first piece he made for someone else was a phoenix that his sister asked him to create for an acquaintance who had recovered from a series of strokes and heart failure. He found the concept of a mythical creature that rises from its own ashes an appealing theme. 
“It resonated with me, too, especially since I hit rock bottom,” he said. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="TJ Savino's work, clockwise from top left: A tiger built from leftover and damaged components from his previous work; swing dancers; &quot;Date Night&quot; at The Firefly Artists in Northport; a sturgeon sculpture on display at the Inn at Little Washington" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/0dfca1b8-899c-431b-bcc6-12dc182ed814" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/0dfca1b8-899c-431b-bcc6-12dc182ed814', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/0dfca1b8-899c-431b-bcc6-12dc182ed814"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/0dfca1b8-899c-431b-bcc6-12dc182ed814/matik%20(2).png?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />TJ Savino's work, clockwise from top left: A tiger built from leftover and damaged components from his previous work; swing dancers; &quot;Date Night&quot; at The Firefly Artists in Northport; a sturgeon sculpture on display at the Inn at Little Washington</a> 
Friends began urging Savino to start selling his work. Then, he said his brother-in-law, an experimental and retail designer who was working with the Petrossian caviar boutique in Manhattan, set him up with a couple of commissions. One was a sculpture of a sturgeon, the species that produces the fish egg specialty. The other was a chandelier set with schools of fish made with spoons and forks. 
Faced with such a large project, he said, he gulped and began. 
A month later, the chandelier was up and the 4&frac12;-foot-long sturgeon was on display in the boutique’s front window. It became an immediate attraction. 
Everyone stops to take pictures of it, said the store’s manager, Ines Rodriguez. Then, they come inside to photograph the chandelier, she said. 
“Sometimes it feels like a museum in here,” she said. 
Meanwhile, Savino said he kept creating, producing pieces like a red-stained “bleeding heart” pierced by skewers, a dragon with spiky fork scales and dancers suspended in a graceful maneuver — whatever leaped into his head. 
“My mind is all over the place and this is a place to put it,” he said. 
His <a href="https://www.tjsavino.com/">work </a>draws “oohs and aahs” from shoppers at The Firefly Artists, a gallery in Northport, said Katheryn Laible, a managing partner. She thinks “Date Night,” which shows a man holding flowers behind his back and sneaking up behind a woman who is eating an ice cream cone, is “very sweet.” 
“He has a degree in physics and an artistic sensibility, and he somehow brings those two things together,” she said. “The tenderness with which he bends metal is breathtaking. I say to people, have you ever seen someone who gets so much emotion out of a spoon?” 
Several of Savino’s pieces are of couples performing dance moves, which is reflective of another major change from his former bleak days. 
When he was in college, Savino said friends dragged him to a swing dance contest and he liked it. But he stopped after he broke his collarbone playing rugby. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="TJ Savino dances to music by The Haymakers with friends from the Long Island Syndicate at Twisted Cow Distillery on Friday, March 15, 2024." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/c060b7c2-f869-4bb1-aac1-9e1449279904" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/c060b7c2-f869-4bb1-aac1-9e1449279904', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/c060b7c2-f869-4bb1-aac1-9e1449279904"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/c060b7c2-f869-4bb1-aac1-9e1449279904/LIFLIFESAVINO-0436.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />TJ Savino dances to music by The Haymakers with friends from the Long Island Syndicate at Twisted Cow Distillery on Friday, March 15, 2024.</a> 
About a year ago, Savino said he decided to try dance again. Since he doesn’t like to drink alcohol, he thought it would be a good way to socialize without going out to a bar. 
After watching several swing dancing competitions, Savino said he decided to practice enough to compete and now spends his free time taking classes and attending gatherings at cities up and down the East Coast. 
“It’s very healing for me,” he said. “Every time I go to a dance convention, I think this is the best time in my life.” 
<h2>Dazzled by his work</h2> 
When Wong first met Savino, he said he was impressed with the metal flowers and the tiger he brought to an exhibition. Wong was surprised to learn that Savino had no formal art training and later was dazzled seeing some of his other pieces, such as the chandelier he made for the caviar firm. 
“He works with dissimilar metals, which takes a lot of technical skill,” Wong said. “I’m an engineer myself, and when I saw what he was doing it blew my mind.” 
This variation in metals is one of his particular challenges, Savino said during a recent interview in his workshop. 
With his short, dark beard and shoulder-length hair, people say he looks a bit like Keanu Reeves. At 6-foot-5, he has no problem reaching the top shelves for his materials — a combination of garage sale finds, store-bought purchases and contributions from friends and family. 
Looking his collection over, he explained that utensils often contain different ratios of elements like iron, chromium and nickel. He said he never quite knows what he is going to get with his materials, but he has to find a way to make it work. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="&quot;Shoaling Chandelier&quot; displayed at the Petrossian caviar boutique in Manhattan. This custom spiral chandelier features overlapping monofilament threads that cause the shoal to &quot;swim&quot; as a single unit." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/f8c0f9c3-8290-4e0a-b77c-86a3a1647643" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/f8c0f9c3-8290-4e0a-b77c-86a3a1647643', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/f8c0f9c3-8290-4e0a-b77c-86a3a1647643"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/f8c0f9c3-8290-4e0a-b77c-86a3a1647643/PXL_20230810.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />&quot;Shoaling Chandelier&quot; displayed at the Petrossian caviar boutique in Manhattan. This custom spiral chandelier features overlapping monofilament threads that cause the shoal to &quot;swim&quot; as a single unit.</a> 
“Some are more brittle and their molten puddles don’t combine right,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to make the metal behave like I want it to.” 
Perhaps the most difficult project he has worked on so far was the chandelier, he said. 
The first step was finding a set of polished, high-quality metal spoons and forks. The next was creating 72 metal fish, Savino said. After that, he tied each one to a heavy fishing line, then positioned them in a descending order to make them look as if they were in a coordinated school. The end result took him more than 120 hours to complete and install, he said. 
The chandelier and the sturgeon are “amazing,” said Christophe Jadot, American sales director and master caviarologist for Petrossian, founded a century ago in Paris. 
The sturgeon in particular was so admired that Jadot, who grades caviar sold to restaurants, said Petrossian commissioned Savino to make another as a gift for one of its clients, an award-winning chef who owns a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Washington, Virginia. 
Savino was paid $8,000 for the sturgeon. His smaller works generally sell for several hundred dollars, he said. 
One of the secrets to Savino’s work is maintaining a certain flexibility himself. The tiger, for example, was made of remnants from other projects. He said he decided to use them anyway, which allowed him to give it a “raw and dirty look,” he said. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Left, a sketch shows two concepts for fishermen sculptures. Right, the finished product." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/9d2497ca-0647-4ba3-ae7f-0c961bde07ec" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/9d2497ca-0647-4ba3-ae7f-0c961bde07ec', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/9d2497ca-0647-4ba3-ae7f-0c961bde07ec"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/9d2497ca-0647-4ba3-ae7f-0c961bde07ec/6fe2197db13ed1c6fe9ce7cf57fea8f094698996.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Left, a sketch shows two concepts for fishermen sculptures. Right, the finished product.</a> 
The artist’s latest effort is also his largest — a breaching 7-foot-long orca. 
He plans to display it at the Artexpo New York Art Fair, the world’s largest art fair trade show, which is being held this weekend. It contains more than 1,200 pieces, 1,000 of which are dessert forks fused together to make 500 fish, which in turn form the shape of the orca. Savino said it is priced at $27,000. 
Speaking last month, he was still trying to figure out how to mimic the orca’s color patterns. How he was going to put it all together was still a puzzle. But that’s part of the fun. 
“I like to put some whimsy in my work,” he said. “I want to see people light up when they see it.” 
This life — of art exhibitions, high-profile commissions and work he is passionate about — is very different from the one Savino was living not so long ago. Gone are the mornings when he said he felt so dejected he had trouble getting out of bed to face the day. 
“It’s been a weird kind of reset in a way,” he said of his former life. “I’m a different person than I was even a year ago. I’ve gotten to the point where I always have something to look forward to.” 
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

LFCOV240407

TJ Savino of Bay Shore finds success as a sculptor after dark period

'I felt absolutely worthless': After dark period, LIer finds new purpose in art

LFCOV240407_photos

TJ Savino, from Bay Shore, fought depression and found a new purpose through dance and his art &mdash; sculpting utensils.

LFCOV240407_video

He found himself through his art after battling depression

'It keeps me sane, it keeps me active, it keeps me social'

03212024_Matt_LFCOV240407_TJ_Savino_artist_Daddona.00_00_40_05.Still004.jpg

Gregorys Coffee, which launched in 2006 on 24th and Park Ave. in Manhattan, has&nbsp;added&nbsp;Roosevelt Field to its growing list of Long Island locations. The brand opened a lush, garden-themed coffee kiosk at the Uniondale mall on Friday, with founder Gregory Zamfotis, the man behind the logo, serving as a temporary barista. 
This is the&nbsp;third Gregorys Coffee location on Long Island — the <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/food-and-drink/gregorys-coffee-melville-v91441">Melville and Deer Park shops&nbsp;opened in 2021</a> — and the chain's first in a mall setting. 
“It’s a whole different thing,” Zamfotis explained, adding that his father owned a food business in a New Jersey mall when Zamfotis was a kid. “That’s where I, sort of, cut my teeth on food. When I was in high school, I was making sandwiches at his shop in the Freehold Raceway Mall. This feels&nbsp;something like a throwback to that. It’s really cool.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Gregory Zamfotis of Gregorys Coffee, now open in Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City. " data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/eda938b0-ae29-4489-8ba5-d1dbbf2ca46e" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/eda938b0-ae29-4489-8ba5-d1dbbf2ca46e', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/eda938b0-ae29-4489-8ba5-d1dbbf2ca46e"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/eda938b0-ae29-4489-8ba5-d1dbbf2ca46e/IMG_4577.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Gregory Zamfotis of Gregorys Coffee, now open in Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City. </a> 
Having spent part of his childhood in Smithtown, Zamfotis was aware of Roosevelt Field’s draw. “This is such an iconic mall. If you’re in the tristate area, there’s two or three different malls that everyone knows about, and this is one of them, so we’re super proud to be here.” 
Coffee drinks, from house drips ($3.45) to lattes ($5.05) to cold brews ($4.65), are complemented by fruity refreshers ($5.65) in flavors like strawberry hibiscus and mango chili. Something a little different: Honey Badger iced coffee made with almond milk and honey, or the Fall Oat Boy, an espresso-based hot drink&nbsp;with cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, hazelnut and oat milk.&nbsp; 
Gregorys is known for keeping its coffee fresh — made every 30 minutes —&nbsp;its pastries are baked in-house and&nbsp;its menu includes plant-based meals like vegan burritos and avocado toast. 
The new location is on the first floor of the mall, in the wing anchored by J.C. Penny’s, in a large, center kiosk across from American Eagle. 
Gregorys Coffee at Roosevelt Field Mall, 630 Old Country Rd., Uniondale, 516-917-383-0636, <a href="https://gregoryscoffee.com">gregoryscoffee.com</a>; Open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

FDGREGRS240407

Gregorys Coffee opens in Roosevelt Field

NYC coffee chain opens new LI location

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Girls are frequently encouraged to tell themselves “I am smart” and “I am strong.” But in programs run by the not-for-profit organization Girls Inc., girls look behind the affirmations. 
They question why. 
Why do they have to repeatedly remind themselves they’re smart and strong in the first place? What experiences in their lives led them to believe they’re not? Being able to talk about such ideas during the “Shadow Work” exercise has been one of 16-year-old Tamiya Houston’s favorite parts of being a member of Girls Inc. of Long Island&nbsp;through Brentwood High School. 
“We get to open up about our lives and what we think and ask questions we are too afraid to ask anyone else,” says fellow member Maria Salgado, 16. 
Girls Inc. started in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1864, toward the end of the Civil War. This year it celebrates its 160th year with 75 affiliate chapters. The Long Island affiliate, based&nbsp;in Deer Park,&nbsp;reaches an average of 850 to 1,000 girls annually through after-school, summer and community-based programs.&nbsp;Girls Inc. of Long Island serves fifth- through 12th-graders in 24 school-based programs&nbsp;in Nassau and Suffolk counties, with four of the largest districts being Uniondale, Valley Stream, Brentwood and Patchogue, says Bryanna Haywood, Girls Inc. of Long Island program coordinator. Participation is free for the after-school programs.&nbsp;Summer program costs are subsidized to make them more affordable; community-based programs are open to all girls. The chapter’s yearly Spring Empowerment Conference, held April 13 at Nassau Community College, was&nbsp;expected to draw 100 girls. &nbsp; 
<h2>HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kaylee Perea,15, of Valley Stream, With Nakayla Gumbs, 16, of Valley Stream, attend the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/d3437de6-71a0-4e77-838b-ae9390b9e3b3" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/d3437de6-71a0-4e77-838b-ae9390b9e3b3', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/d3437de6-71a0-4e77-838b-ae9390b9e3b3"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/d3437de6-71a0-4e77-838b-ae9390b9e3b3/KIGIRLS240320_30.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kaylee Perea,15, of Valley Stream, With Nakayla Gumbs, 16, of Valley Stream, attend the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City.</a> 
At weekly after-school meetings&nbsp;at the school buildings, the girls talk about networking, college, toxic friendships and love relationships, the female body and mental health. Field trips have included visiting a law firm to meet female attorneys who talked about their careers and going to the movies to see “Mean Girls.” They do community service; during March they helped pack hygiene kits for women in shelters. 
Activities are often hands-on. One session might involve talking about handling stress while the girls make their own stress balls. Another might talk about hair and skin care while the girls make their own lip scrubs. 
“Affiliates focus on delivering programming&nbsp;that helps girls access resources and tools to reach their potential and foster a new generation of leaders,” says Renee Flagler, executive director of Girls Inc. of Long Island. “We target communities that are under-resourced, socioeconomically under-resourced.” Funding comes from corporate sponsors, individual donors, foundations and fundraising events, she says.&nbsp;Through May, Yoplait Yogurt is featuring Girls Inc. on its&nbsp;packaging, TV ads&nbsp;and social media marketing. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Ashwini Singh, 12, of Valley Stream, and Jaelah Reid ,11, of Uniondale, with catapults they made at the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/37af6b87-f892-4c7e-b63f-f055133b1178" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/37af6b87-f892-4c7e-b63f-f055133b1178', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/37af6b87-f892-4c7e-b63f-f055133b1178"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/37af6b87-f892-4c7e-b63f-f055133b1178/KIGIRLS240320_13.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Ashwini Singh, 12, of Valley Stream, and Jaelah Reid ,11, of Uniondale, with catapults they made at the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City. </a> 
The main difference between Girls Inc. and other programs focusing on girls is the emphasis on advocacy, Flagler says. For example, the group teaches financial literacy, which includes how to invest and save as well as how, when they eventually get jobs, to appropriately negotiate to get the salaries they deserve, she says. 
<h2>‘HOW CAN I BE BOLD?’</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Summia Day, 16, of Uniondale, and Carrie-Ann White, 16, of Uniondale, at the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ba1d72d6-b672-4606-a936-84293f21e8ad" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ba1d72d6-b672-4606-a936-84293f21e8ad', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ba1d72d6-b672-4606-a936-84293f21e8ad"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ba1d72d6-b672-4606-a936-84293f21e8ad/KIGIRLS240320-2_12.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Summia Day, 16, of Uniondale, and Carrie-Ann White, 16, of Uniondale, at the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City. </a> 
Chanelle McKenzie, now a college junior, attended Girls Inc. meetings after school every Friday from her sophomore year at Patchogue-Medford High School through graduation in 2020, and she was awarded outstanding alumna by the Long Island group&nbsp;in 2023. “It was really what helped me develop my self-worth, my self-esteem, and turned me into the person I am today,” says McKenzie, who is studying math and computer science as well as language and culture in Spanish at SUNY Purchase. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="In the Self Esteem workshop, Rahma Balde, Mandy Astiaville, and Maggie Stegmaier, at the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/1547a33b-2db2-4d36-84f4-b27c62397dde" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/1547a33b-2db2-4d36-84f4-b27c62397dde', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/1547a33b-2db2-4d36-84f4-b27c62397dde"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/1547a33b-2db2-4d36-84f4-b27c62397dde/KIGIRLS240320-2_01.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />In the Self Esteem workshop, Rahma Balde, Mandy Astiaville, and Maggie Stegmaier, at the annual Spring Empowerment Conference that draws girls from all over Long Island on April 13 in Garden City. </a> 
She says she thinks of the Girls Inc. motto “strong, smart and bold,” when pursuing opportunities. For example, when filling out an application to go on a school-sponsored journey to Colombia, she asks&nbsp;herself, “How can I be bold enough that they’ll pick me?” she says. And if she doesn’t get selected, she’ll pursue other options; it’s smart to have backup plans, she says. “For every one rejection, I have three other backups. I always remind myself, ‘You are strong,’” she says. 
Saraf Salim, 26, is another program alumna; she attended Central Islip High School, graduated from Boston University with an undergraduate degree in biology and a graduate degree in public health&nbsp;and is now assistant director of the Harvard University Institutional Review Board, which approves research at the university. 
Salim attended a summer tennis and wellness program held at the high school after her sophomore year, where she connected with mentors who asked her if she would like to be a peer mentor at their summer STEM program at Brookhaven National Lab. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Girls use catapults they made using popsicle sticks to hit a target: Gabrielle Campbell ,12, of Uniondale, Leslie Mendoza ,11, of Hempstead, Zulena Bagley ,11, of Uniondale, at the Spring Empowerment Conference April 13 in Garden City." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/1c5e4b07-0ba5-4d38-b5db-1367a0c0ed33" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/1c5e4b07-0ba5-4d38-b5db-1367a0c0ed33', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/1c5e4b07-0ba5-4d38-b5db-1367a0c0ed33"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/1c5e4b07-0ba5-4d38-b5db-1367a0c0ed33/KIGIRLS240320-2_11.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Girls use catapults they made using popsicle sticks to hit a target: Gabrielle Campbell ,12, of Uniondale, Leslie Mendoza ,11, of Hempstead, Zulena Bagley ,11, of Uniondale, at the Spring Empowerment Conference April 13 in Garden City.</a> 
That’s where she learned about scientific research. “I had no concept of what research was or where it could take me,” she says.&nbsp;While at Boston University, Salim launched an undergraduate organization for women and STEM. She says it was the skills she learned through Girls Inc. that enabled her to advocate for such a program: “It really does go back to my experience with Girls Inc., and how foundational that was for me.” 
Jaeda Qui&ntilde;ones, 16, a junior at Brentwood High School, says she can see how the program is also already helping her since she joined at the beginning of this school year. 
“For me, one of the biggest things is the opportunities I wouldn’t even have known about if I hadn’t joined Girls Inc.,” Qui&ntilde;ones says. For instance, she attended a fair introducing students to historic Black colleges and universities. “I may not have sought that out for myself,” she says. “There’s no such thing in Girls Inc. as ‘Your dream is too big.’ It’s just how can we make that happen, step by step.”

Family

KIGIRLS240320

Girls Inc.: How Long Island after-school program strives to empower girls

After-school program aims to help young women become independent leaders

KIGIRLS240320_photos

Matt Caputo

Last year, Long Island teens&nbsp;Charlie Dubofsky and Sydney Hassenbein bonded over an unimaginable loss: the death of a family member. 
In February 2023, Dubofsky’s father, Ned, died in a car crash. Then in May, Hassenbein’s 14-year-old brother, Drew, an elite tennis player, was one of two Roslyn teens killed when an alleged drunken driver crashed his pickup truck into the car they were riding in. Also killed was Ethan Falkowitz, another young tennis player. Their deaths sent shock waves through the Roslyn community and worldwide, with condolences pouring in from competitors as far away as Poland and Ukraine. 
After Drew’s death, Dubofsky, 16, who attends&nbsp;Jericho High School, said she reached out to Hassenbein to offer her support. The two connected over their shared grief. 
“It’s nice to talk to a teenager, and when I reached out to Sydney, I understood how she felt because it’s very comforting to talk to someone close to my age after going through something this devastating and tragic,” Dubofsky said. 
Now, at perhaps the darkest time in their young lives, Dubofsky and Hassenbein have found an opportunity to be a light for other teenagers who have also lost a parent or sibling. 
<h2>THE HERO PROJECT</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Sydney Hassenbein and Charlie Dubofsky at a recent meeting of the HERO Project." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/9f217717-3982-44f1-8f33-6734545baf8d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/9f217717-3982-44f1-8f33-6734545baf8d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/9f217717-3982-44f1-8f33-6734545baf8d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/9f217717-3982-44f1-8f33-6734545baf8d/D81A7074.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Sydney Hassenbein and Charlie Dubofsky at a recent meeting of the HERO Project.</a> 
Earlier this year, the two girls created the HERO Project, a “for teens, by teens” support group for middle and high school students who have experienced the death of a family member or friend. Once a month, the group meets at Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills, offering what the girls hope is a place where their peers can express and learn to better understand their feelings and how to navigate loss. 
“We wanted something local for people to come to,” Hassenbein, 16, said. “We also don’t want it to feel like your typical support group. We wanted it to feel like more of a safe and open space where you could talk.” 
<h2>GRIEF’S SIDE EFFECTS</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Charlie Dubofsky poses with her father Ned Dubofsky, who died in a car crash; Sydney Hassenbein poses with her brother Drew at the Americana Manhasset, He was killed by an alleged drunk driver." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ec39bfa9-bf39-44d7-9c1c-33785b76bc33" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ec39bfa9-bf39-44d7-9c1c-33785b76bc33', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ec39bfa9-bf39-44d7-9c1c-33785b76bc33"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ec39bfa9-bf39-44d7-9c1c-33785b76bc33/bad7ab602c49a394395ef3b6f6e2a3be468511a3.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Charlie Dubofsky poses with her father Ned Dubofsky, who died in a car crash; Sydney Hassenbein poses with her brother Drew at the Americana Manhasset, He was killed by an alleged drunk driver.</a> 
According to a 2023 report by Judi’s House/JAG Institute, which offers support to grieving families and children, one in 12 children in the United States will experience the death of a sibling or parent by the age of 18. 
“Childhood bereavement is a critical issue and an increasingly important national priority,” the report, created in partnership with New York Life Foundation, states. “The death of a parent, sibling or other important person in a child’s life is one of the most frequently reported disruptive childhood experiences and without appropriate support can lead to adverse health and welfare outcomes.” 
Those negative outcomes can include poor academic performance and mental health issues, the report said. 
“I’m so grateful because I have a very supportive family and a ton of friends, so I have a great support system,” said Dubofsky. “I also have a therapist, but I know a lot of people don’t have that.” 
Paul Rubin, founder and executive director of Camp Good Mourning!, which offers children’s bereavement camps on Long Island, said that kids who don’t have a way of expressing their feelings run the risk of turning to unhealthy coping strategies. Programs like Camp Good Mourning! and the HERO Project help children who have lost a loved one build connections they can only make with other kids who have had the same experience, he said. 
“The fact that Charlie and Sydney are having group meetings is wonderful because kids and teenagers don’t generally have an outlet for this,” said Rubin, 62, of Dix Hills. “It’s great if kids are going to therapy. That’s one type of support, but kids will relate better to other kids.” &nbsp; 
<h2>PROFESSIONAL OVERSIGHT</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Sydney Hassenbein hugs a participant after a recent session." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ce8af58e-6755-4786-832d-0e5cd2078472" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ce8af58e-6755-4786-832d-0e5cd2078472', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ce8af58e-6755-4786-832d-0e5cd2078472"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ce8af58e-6755-4786-832d-0e5cd2078472/D81A6985.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Sydney Hassenbein hugs a participant after a recent session.</a> 
As they navigated their grief together, the girls discovered there were few local options for young people coping with loss. 
“We realized there were not that many teen bereavement groups,” Dubofsky said. “After a couple of months, I proposed the idea of creating something to help people.” 
What they came up with was the HERO Project. The acronym stands for “Honor their heroes, Empathize with others, Remember special times shared and live Onward for their heroes.” 
Amanda Foglietta, director of Sid Jacobson JCC’s Sandler Family Kehilla Center, said she and her colleagues immediately recognized the significance of the initiative. 
“When Charlie and Sydney approached us with the Hero Project, we knew we had to jump on it,” she said. “There is nothing out there like this. It’s a really specific model that is well thought out.” 
Foglietta, 31, a licensed clinical social worker who lives on the South Shore, meets with Dubofsky and Hassenbein to review their materials before the group arrives. But the girls mostly run the meetings independently, guiding participants in discussions, group exercises and songs. 
“I think the teens who have been showing up appreciate the program’s comfortability, and I think they really look up to Sydney and Charlie,” Foglietta said. “Some of them say they have their own therapist but really wanted a way of talking to other teens.” &nbsp; 
<h2>INSTAGRAM AND BEYOND</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Charlie Dubofsky and Sydney Hassenbein talk to participants at the end of a session." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7963165a-8682-4311-97df-de0bb193d949" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7963165a-8682-4311-97df-de0bb193d949', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7963165a-8682-4311-97df-de0bb193d949"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7963165a-8682-4311-97df-de0bb193d949/A05A0049.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Charlie Dubofsky and Sydney Hassenbein talk to participants at the end of a session.</a> 
To bring people together for their first group meeting in January, the duo said they combined word-of-mouth networking with social media outreach, including utilizing accounts for the Drew Hassenbein Foundation, a nonprofit that the family started to introduce low-income kids to tennis, sponsor elite juniors and help aspiring pros. 
“The group we want to reach are teenagers. Obviously, we’re all on social media, so we went right to Instagram,” Hassenbein said. “We also reached out to our school guidance counselors and asked them to invite anyone that they knew of who was grieving.” 
So far, the group has met three times. At a meeting in March, 15 teens snacked on bagels and minimuffins as Dubofsky and Hassenbein led conversations and exercises focused on the healing process. 
They got the meeting started by talking about the difference between “moving on” and “moving forward” as it relates to grieving. 
“When you lose someone, you don’t want to move on from that because you want to remember the good times,” Hassenbein said. “Moving on almost sounds negative; the goal is to ‘move forward’ while holding onto those memories.” 
Dubofsky, speaking before the group, asked, “Is grief getting in the way of you reaching your goals? Grieving the loss of a loved one or a close friend can be actively preventing us sometimes.” &nbsp; 
<h2>REMEMBERING GOOD TIMES</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Participants were asked to write down memories of their lost heroes." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7fbeed0b-556e-481d-9b84-f960dba72cc9" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7fbeed0b-556e-481d-9b84-f960dba72cc9', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7fbeed0b-556e-481d-9b84-f960dba72cc9"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7fbeed0b-556e-481d-9b84-f960dba72cc9/A05A9946.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Participants were asked to write down memories of their lost heroes.</a> 
During a writing exercise, participants were given the opportunity to share a cherished memory of someone they had lost. Dubofsky remembered her father’s passion for boating, while Hassenbein recalled a funny instance when Drew gave her a tennis lesson. 
At about the midway point of the meeting, the fire alarm at Sid Jacobson JCC went off, forcing all programming to a halt and those visiting the building to head to the exits in an orderly fashion. 
Once everyone was safely back inside, Dubofsky and Hassenbein didn’t let the false alarm, or even a glitch in the extensive PowerPoint presentation they prepare for each meeting, interrupt them from relaying an important message of empathy and optimism. 
“Essentially, the main idea of this group is to keep the memory of our heroes alive. …Our message is that you want to keep talking about them,” Hassenbein said. 
Dubofsky and Hassenbein believe the teenagers who have come to the gatherings are finding empowerment in learning to process grief among a group of their peers. With their unique community taking shape, the girls hope to inspire the creation of similar groups beyond Long Island, where other young people can find solace and the tools they need to cope with their loss. 
Said Hassenbein, “Our goal is to grieve and grow together as a group; that’s what we came here to do.” 
Charlie Dubofsky attends Jericho High School. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the name of her school. 
<h3></h3>

LFCOV240331

Roslyn, Jericho High students start HERO Project grief support group for teens

After teens' dad, brother killed in LI crashes, they start grief support group

lfcov240331_photos

High School

Boys Lacrosse

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Newsday's top 100 Long Island boys lacrosse players for 2024

Top 100 boys lacrosse players on LI this season

spTOPBLAX2024-1

Neil Best

The coolest cat in New York sports is mostly blind, deaf and half the weight he was in his prime. But as he gets set to turn 21&frac12;&nbsp;on April 10, his famous owner and friend is helping him stay as happy and healthy as circumstances allow. 
“I am going to try to keep him going,” SNY analyst Keith Hernandez told Newsday about his cat, Hadji. “As long as he’s eating and wanting to live, I’m going to give him every possible thing to help him along.” 
Normally, the well-being of an elderly cat is not news beyond its immediate circle. But Hadji in recent years has become a celebrity through exposure on SNY, on social media and throughout Mets fandom. 
The Bengal cat was a fixture in Hernandez’s early activity on the site then known as Twitter, notably in a star-making 2018 appearance in which Hernandez took him along to pick up the morning newspapers in his driveway. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/11660eaa-0fb5-4314-8502-f2448b787805" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/11660eaa-0fb5-4314-8502-f2448b787805', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/11660eaa-0fb5-4314-8502-f2448b787805">STORYWIDGET: spHADJIblurb</a> 
Soon fans were waving pictures of Hadji at games, and his face was on T-shirts. 
Hernandez has joked about making Hadji the most famous cat since Garfield, and later fretted that his head was getting too big from stardom. 
But those days are mostly over now. Hadji does not climb around Hernandez’s homes in Sag Harbor and Florida the way he used to. His weight is down from a peak of 15 pounds to about 7. 
He spends most of his time in the master bathroom, where the tile floor is heated and his litter box is kept. “If I let him roam the house, he gets lost, and he’s apt to make a mistake,” Hernandez said. 
Once a week, Hadji gets hydration fluids to help his renal system keep up, and once a month he gets an injection to help him with his arthritis. He also takes special vitamins with his food twice a day. 
“My vet in Southampton basically said, in human years, he's approaching 100 years of age,” Hernandez said. “So he's an old cat. But he's tough as nails.” 
Hernandez got Hadji as a kitten in 2002. He is named after a character on the mid-1960s animated television show &quot;Jonny Quest.&quot; 
When Hernandez and his second wife split in 2011, she got the dog and he got Hadji, because a cat is a better fit for a traveling sports announcer’s lifestyle. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Hadji, Keith Hernandez's Bengal cat, turns 21 1/2 on April 10.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/06577248-0053-4ea6-9f2b-a52db462beed" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/06577248-0053-4ea6-9f2b-a52db462beed', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/06577248-0053-4ea6-9f2b-a52db462beed"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/06577248-0053-4ea6-9f2b-a52db462beed/matik%20(4).png?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Hadji, Keith Hernandez's Bengal cat, turns 21 1/2 on April 10. </a> 
A neighbor who has known Hadji since he was a kitten feeds him when Hernandez is on the road with the Mets. 
“He has a voracious appetite, which is a good sign,” Hernandez said. “As long as he’s eating, he wants to still be kickin’.” 
Hernandez knows that he is blessed to have had Hadji this long and has accepted that there will come a time when he no longer does. 
“I am fine with it,” he said. “He's happy. I wake up in the morning, I pick him up and put him in bed and he likes to lay on my chest and I give him a little TLC and he purrs. I take him out when I can and hold him. He’s still active. 
“I’m holding up all right. The inevitable is going to happen sooner or later. But I think he's going to make it through the season. I think he's going to get another offseason down in Florida in the warmth.” 
Hernandez, 70, is a lifelong pet-lover. In his youth, he had a dog and a cat, but once he began his pro career in 1972, pets no longer were an option. 
When he later was settled in St. Louis, he got his children a golden retriever to introduce them to pet ownership. Then came his late-in-life friendship with Hadji. 
Last October, Hernandez held Hadji during an SNY video in which he thanked fans for well wishes on Hadji’s 21st birthday on Oct. 10 and Hernandez’s 70th birthday on Oct. 20. 
The cat has his own social media accounts under the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/keithpurrnandez">@KeithPurrnandez</a>. 
Hernandez’s fans, friends and colleagues know how much Hadji means to him and have joined in on the fun of following the cat’s exploits. 
When Hernandez got a call in the SNY booth during an April 2021 Mets game and said there was “a slight emergency at home,” play-by-play man Gary Cohen immediately knew what that could mean, saying, “Is Hadji OK?” 
He was, mostly, but the cat-sitter had jammed her key in Hernandez’s door and was unable to get in. 
While it was not the original intent, Hernandez believes Hadji’s stardom has helped to humanize him in contrast to his larger-than-life persona in Mets lore. 
“People think of [sports stars]&nbsp;as not having normal lives sometimes,” he said. “I go to the grocery store. I go to the dry cleaners. But they think that we have a life that's not the normal life. 
“I think [fans]&nbsp;like the fact that I love animals, and I certainly love Hadji.”

Media

SPHADJI240404

Keith Hernandez's beloved cat, Hadji, at 21½: Still 'tough as nails'

Amazin'! Keith Hernandez's cat, Hadji, turning 21½

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Kevin J. Redding

Melanie Callaghan and William Boccasini found their fairy tale Disney romance at work. 
In 2019, Boccasini and Callaghan were working at a school for children with disabilities in Smithtown — Boccasini as a teaching assistant and Callaghan as an educator of students on the autism spectrum. Boccasini said he was in awe of her passion. 
“She’s the most amazing teacher I ever met,” Boccasini, 28, said. 
The two bonded over their favorite TV shows and talked constantly. One day, Boccasini stayed late to help Callaghan make table centerpieces for her parents’ anniversary party, which is when she said she knew he was more than “just a coworker.” 
She said she asked him out for the first time in December 2019. 
“We were both low-key broke, so we’d hang out at Avalon Nature Preserve and Blydenburgh County Park twice a week and just talk about everything,” Callaghan, 28, said. “Everything I said, he fully listened. And I didn’t have that in the past.” 
The two went on low-cost weekend trips to Walt Disney World every chance they could. While there in January 2023, Boccasini said he proposed in a secluded nook next to their favorite ride, Splash Mountain, against the backdrop of the nighttime fireworks show. 
“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Callaghan said. 
As a couple that “doesn’t like being the center of attention,” they said a traditional, expensive wedding was never going to be their style. Instead, they chose an unconventional setting for their celebration: the Bowlero bowling alley in Melville. 
On March 23, “Married Life” from Disney-Pixar’s “Up” serenaded the pair as they walked to the lanes, where their wedding ceremony was held. And in lieu of a first dance, Callaghan and Boccasini shared a “first bowl” before 61 guests, who were then free to partake themselves on nine open lanes. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="The couple take their first bowl." data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3e2318c2-e041-4fa9-9c6a-4b394f401820" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3e2318c2-e041-4fa9-9c6a-4b394f401820', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3e2318c2-e041-4fa9-9c6a-4b394f401820"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3e2318c2-e041-4fa9-9c6a-4b394f401820/LFWEDDING240337.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />The couple take their first bowl.</a> 
“We’re really happy with it, and I was so excited to just finally marry her and be able to call her my wife,” Boccasini said. “I’ve been waiting for that for a very long time.” 
Callaghan, for her part, said she hoped their nuptials could be an example for other couples planning their big day: “I hope people start having fun with it and do different things because no matter what happens, at the end of the day, you’re still marrying your best friend.”

LFWEDDING240331

I Do!: William Boccasini and Melanie Callaghan

This LI couple didn't want a traditional wedding. Instead, they married at a bowling alley

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Billy Boccasini and Melanie Callaghan tied the knot on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Bowlero in Melville. NewsdayTV&#39;s Drew Scott reports.

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Having a ball! Wantagh couple gets married at bowling alley

Melville

Merrick

'That sounds like a really fun way to get married'

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Matt Lindsay

Despite being more than 1,000 miles away from its campus, the Missouri softball team had a loud support section at Hofstra University. 
It was a homecoming for East Meadow’s Jenna Laird, Port Washington’s Maddie Gallagher and Hauppauge’s Stefania Abruscato when Missouri played a doubleheader against Fordham and Hofstra on Tuesday afternoon. 
For seniors Laird and Gallagher, it was their first time playing a game on Long Island since their high school days. Friends, family and several local high school softball teams filled the stands at Bill Edwards Stadium. 
&quot;I haven’t had the chance to play in front of a lot of my family and neither has Jenna. I knew this would be one that I would mark my calendar for,” Gallagher said. “Even the [Port Washington] high school team coming out, it was just awesome to have that huge cheering section.” 
“I live two minutes away, literally right down the road,” added Laird. “It’s amazing to play in front of my home crowd.” 
Laird went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs, Gallagher went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs and Abruscato went 2-for-4 with two runs in Missouri’s 20-0 win over Fordham in five innings early in the afternoon. 
Missouri (29-7), ranked No. 12 in the country by the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, went into extra innings against Hofstra in the nightcap. Abruscato, Newsday’s High School Player of the Year in 2023, looped a two-out single to centerfield to bring in the winning run in the top of the ninth of the Tigers’ 2-1 win. Gallagher drove in the first run in the third inning. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Stefania Abruscato of Missouri smiles as she stands on second base during an NCAA Division I softball game against Fordham at Hofstra on Tuesday." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/1addcf66-79ec-4602-a01f-d8c0abab1cf0" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/1addcf66-79ec-4602-a01f-d8c0abab1cf0', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/1addcf66-79ec-4602-a01f-d8c0abab1cf0"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/1addcf66-79ec-4602-a01f-d8c0abab1cf0/240326_01_je_02_Z6ii_9455.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Stefania Abruscato of Missouri smiles as she stands on second base during an NCAA Division I softball game against Fordham at Hofstra on Tuesday.</a> 
“Jenna and Maddie have been big-time role models for me,” said Abruscato, a catcher/outfielder who went deep on Saturday in a win&nbsp;against Villanova for her first collegiate home run. “I look up to both of them so much. If anything’s wrong, they’re always there for me and even on the field, they’re always there to pick me up.” 
Missouri coach Larissa Anderson was also returning to a familiar place. She spent 17 years coaching at Hofstra, including the final four seasons as the Pride’s head coach. Laird was originally committed to Hofstra, with the vision of playing in her hometown. 
“When Coach Anderson left, I decided to open my options up and go through the recruiting process again,” Laird said. “I said, ‘If I’m gonna go somewhere 1,000 miles away, it might as well be with someone I know and trust.’” 
Laird is batting .374&nbsp;with a .938&nbsp;OPS, 39&nbsp;runs and 20&nbsp;RBIs as Missouri’s leadoff hitter this season. The shortstop was named the SEC freshman of the year in 2021 and has been named to the All-SEC second team for two straight years. Gallagher spent her first two years at the University of South Carolina before transferring to Missouri&nbsp;before her junior season. The second baseman is batting .319&nbsp;with a .943&nbsp;OPS, 24&nbsp;runs and 24&nbsp;RBIs. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Alanna Morse, Hofstra shortstop, plays during a NCAA Division I softball game against Missouri at Hofstra on Tuesday." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/1cdf2520-711d-4293-9da8-d39db887be9e" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/1cdf2520-711d-4293-9da8-d39db887be9e', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/1cdf2520-711d-4293-9da8-d39db887be9e"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/1cdf2520-711d-4293-9da8-d39db887be9e/240326_02_je_04_D4S_9734.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Alanna Morse, Hofstra shortstop, plays during a NCAA Division I softball game against Missouri at Hofstra on Tuesday.</a> 
As Laird and Gallagher were greeting family members outside the team bus, Hofstra sophomore Alanna Morse walked over and gave each of them a hug. Morse, a Mepham product, is Hofstra’s starting shortstop. She primarily played third bast last season, when she hit .284 with 24 RBIs and was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. Morse was Newsday’s Nassau Player of the Year in 2021 when she led Mepham to a Long Island Class A title. 
“It was such a great atmosphere,” Morse said. “It was great to see Jenna and Maddie, knowing them growing up. It was a really fun and competitive game, I’m glad to be out here.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kate McGuire, Fordham shortstop, plays during a NCAA Division I softball game against Missouri at Hofstra on Tuesday." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/66a59b37-ae73-4c2e-adc9-be28f90b42e4" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/66a59b37-ae73-4c2e-adc9-be28f90b42e4', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/66a59b37-ae73-4c2e-adc9-be28f90b42e4"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/66a59b37-ae73-4c2e-adc9-be28f90b42e4/240326_01_je_04_Z6ii_9262.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kate McGuire, Fordham shortstop, plays during a NCAA Division I softball game against Missouri at Hofstra on Tuesday.</a> 
Tuesday’s early game also featured Bayport-Blue Point’s Kate McGuire. Fordham’s starting shortstop is batting .321&nbsp;with 22&nbsp;runs and three stolen bases. On Saturday, the sophomore hit her first college home run in a win over George Mason. 
When Fordham’s only LI representative is at the plate, the Rams’ dugout cheers, “Kate Long Island.” 
“It goes to show that Long Island is not just about lacrosse, it’s about every sport,” McGuire said. “It’s really special to be able to watch and share the same field with the girls that I grew up playing with and against.”

College

Hofstra

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LI to Missouri, former high school softball stars take over for a day at Hofstra

Home run! Former LI softball stars have field day in return

spHOF2403027

Anthony Rieber

Dwight Gooden was at Citi Field on Monday for a walk-through of the ceremony that will take place on April 14, when the Mets will retire his No. 16. 
“Getting goosebumps,” Gooden told Newsday in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “But good goosebumps. I’m soaking it all in.” 
In advance of the ceremony and a “Doc-umentary” about his life and career that premiered on Thursday on SNY, the Glen Cove resident has been stepping up his charitable appearances. 
He’s bringing to schools, hospitals and other venues an open and honest message of past glory on the field amid his daily struggle of dealing with addiction. 
What Gooden calls “the mess that I made” has been well-chronicled since he burst onto the Shea Stadium scene as a 19-year-old NL Rookie of the Year in 1984. 
But when Mets owner Steve Cohen called Gooden last year to tell him his number was one of two being retired this season (Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 will be retired in a June 1 ceremony), Gooden realized it was time to embrace his past and bring his experiences into the present. 
“With the number being retired, obviously it’s a great thing,” he said. “But I think with that comes a bigger responsibility to try to represent the organization to the best of my ability. 
“Also for myself, being in recovery, I have to be careful when things are going real good or real bad that I stay even-keeled. I figured it would be the best time. It’s something I had been doing in the past, but I’m stepping up more, speaking more at schools and hospitals. Just telling my story, trying to help those in need, the next guy who’s struggling or a family member that may be struggling. 
“If I can touch one person, I think I’ve done my job. If I can get to one person, then that person can talk to someone else, maybe help them see the light. Sometimes the best reward for me is when somebody comes up to me afterward and says, ‘Man, thank you for sharing that. I’m going through a similar situation,’ or ‘I can relate,’ or ‘I have a family member that’s going through the same things.’ That’s what it’s all about. That’s just as good a feeling as when I’m pitching and getting a win.” 
Gooden won 157 regular-season games in 11 seasons with the Mets and was a World Series champion in 1986. He threw a no-hitter in 1996 for the Yankees and was part of the 1996 and 2000 Yankees World Series championship teams. He finished his 16-year career across five teams with a 194-112 record, a 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts. But his heart and identity will always be in Flushing. 
Gooden was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010, but with Cohen increasing the celebration of the team’s history, long-overdue number retirement ceremonies have been picking up in recent seasons. 
Gooden said he hadn’t been sure if and when his jersey would head up to the Citi Field rafters. 
“Oh, man,” he said. “It was a great deal because you think that it may happen, but you’re not sure. Obviously, I feel like what I did on the field could have been enough, but that’s up to the team. But the problems I had off the field, so many times, so many relapses, you think you did too much damage and it may not happen. When I got the call, when Steve started talking to me, I thought, ‘This can’t be real.’ ” 
It is, and the way Gooden looks at it, this is the right time in his life. 
“For the first time, I can really enjoy this and be proud of what I am today at this stage of my life,” Gooden said. “I’m healthy, I have a great relationship with my kids and grandkids, and I can enjoy it now with a clear mind. During my career, even the best years I had, even winning the World Series, I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I enjoyed it for a long time. I enjoyed it at the moment, I enjoyed it for a week or during the parade, but longterm I hadn’t enjoyed it.” 
Along with his hospital and school appearances — most of which are not publicized — Gooden is scheduled on April 9 to appear with veteran baseball journalist Ed Randall at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City for a meet-and-greet that will benefit the museum. Tickets are available at www.cradleofaviation.org. 
Gooden said when he meets Mets fans, the talk isn’t always about baseball. 
“It’s 50-50,” he said. “I get baseball questions — ‘Oh, man, it was great watching you play, you brought a lot of joy to my family’ — and the other half is, ‘Hey, how are you doing? How’s everything? How’s your health? How’s your recovery going?’ That’s a great feeling.” 
Gooden said that when he visits a school or a children’s hospital, the kids may not know who “Dr. K” is other than a former baseball player. 
“The counselors and some of the teachers and the principal may know,” Gooden said. “But what I do normally is I start out talking about baseball to get their attention and then I’ll switch it to life issues. Talk about mental health, obviously talk about addiction. To let them know it’s real, it’s very serious. Make them aware.” 
Gooden and Strawberry will always be linked, both because of their Mets and Yankees careers and the struggles that plagued them. 
Last August, in a statement, Cohen said: “I’m thrilled that two iconic members of the 1986 championship club will have their numbers retired in 2024. Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden each had an enormous impact on our franchise and it’s my honor to continue our commitment to celebrating our wonderful history.” 
Strawberry, 62, will not be able to attend Gooden’s ceremony as he is recovering in his St. Louis-area home from a heart attack he suffered on March 11. 
Strawberry’s current path as a traveling preacher is similar to what Gooden is trying to build with his giving-back appearances. 
“We had similar careers,” Gooden said. “I’m very proud of the man he’s become, the lives he touches, doing what he’s doing.” 
Reminiscing about Mets glory days will be part of the speech Gooden is going to make on April 14. He’s practicing now and is trying to keep the “goosebumps” at bay. 
The most important thing he wants to say on that day? 
“I want to get in front of the fans one more time,” Gooden said. “To let them know what they mean to me.”

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Dwight Gooden says he's happy and finally can enjoy life fully as Mets number retirement nears

Happy and enjoying life, Gooden wants to thank fans at Mets jersey retirement

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David J. Criblez

Murray Liss travels on the Wantagh Parkway every day to take care of his elderly aunt in Long Beach. A bird watcher at heart, the Lindenhurst resident tends to keep his eyes up on the trees and telephone poles. On a recent drive, Liss&nbsp;was so shocked at what he saw, it caused him to pull over. 
“I couldn't believe it. I’ve never seen a bald eagle in this area&nbsp;and I’ve lived here my entire life,” says Liss, 68. “I stared at him for a half-hour, totally in awe.” 
The national bird of the United States of America can be found in various hidden sites throughout Nassau and Suffolk, if you know where to look. 
“They choose a location based on available food source and safety. Plus, they make sure they are not in another bald eagle’s territory as every nest has a 5-mile radius,” says Robert Schwartz, founder and the administrator of the Bald Eagles of Centerport organization, who has monitored a bald eagle’s nest 24/7 in Centerport for seven years with a livestream camera on YouTube. “Long Island has all these natural resources and inlets that offer a tremendous amount of easy, secure fishing. It’s not like they have to go in the middle of the ocean to catch a fish. For them it’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Long Islanders are heading out for walks to search for bald eagles spotted in Massapequa.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/b0b55d62-c563-4fdc-8ea5-70ec831a9592" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/b0b55d62-c563-4fdc-8ea5-70ec831a9592', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/b0b55d62-c563-4fdc-8ea5-70ec831a9592"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/b0b55d62-c563-4fdc-8ea5-70ec831a9592/Eagles%236.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Long Islanders are heading out for walks to search for bald eagles spotted in Massapequa. </a> 
A current Facebook group that’s gaining popularity is BEAM — Bald Eagles at&nbsp;Massapequa. Here more than 4,300 members are focusing on a pair of eagles nesting on Mary’s Island in the center of Massapequa Lake off Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue in Massapequa. 
“You’d think you would have to go out west into the mountains or down south to see bald eagles. But they are right here in Massapequa,” says photographer Steve Pires, 67, of Wantagh. “Here I am 5 miles away from my house taking shots of an animal I’d never thought I’d get the opportunity to photograph. It’s very gratifying.” 
<h2>SOUTH SHORE NESTING</h2> 
Two years ago, Dan Fliller, 69, of Bethpage, was in his waders fishing for largemouth bass in Massapequa Lake when he spotted a bald eagle flying overhead with a 6-foot wingspan. 
“He was carrying a stick to help build a nest. We watched the construction go on for weeks,” says Fliller. “Nobody can get to the nest as no boats are allowed in the lake. They picked a nice spot.” 
The nest runs over 6 feet wide and several feet deep atop a tree 100 feet in the air where a male and female bald eagle reside. 
“If the eagles are sitting out on a branch you can see them or else you need binoculars. Whoever lifts their head up from the nest, you can catch a glimpse for a quick second,” says Steven Kelly, 60, of Farmingdale, who walks to the area daily with his boxer, Brutus. “The female sits in the nest, then the male will take his turn. One is always guarding the nest while the other will disappear for hours returning with food.” 
<h2>FINDING FOOD</h2> 
Eagles are scavengers who will eat everything from squirrels and rabbits to ducks and fish. 
“They are lazy and go for whatever is easiest,” says Schwartz, whose group of more than 35,000 members has raised over $100,000 for wildlife rescue. “Eagles would rather find something dead than use energy to kill it. But that’s never stopped them from grabbing a fish.”&nbsp;They are not a threat to small pets, Schwartz adds. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="A bald eagle feeds on fish in Massapequa. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/cf211c8c-8c3e-426a-a139-857a232bb92b" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/cf211c8c-8c3e-426a-a139-857a232bb92b', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/cf211c8c-8c3e-426a-a139-857a232bb92b"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/cf211c8c-8c3e-426a-a139-857a232bb92b/Eagle%231.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />A bald eagle feeds on fish in Massapequa. </a> 
Watching the bald eagles fish is one of the most desired actions to witness or capture with a camera. 
“They circle around in the air watching the water, waiting until the fish is near the surface. Then they rapidly dive in to grab it with their talons. It’s really amazing to watch,” says photographer Patricia Rossetti, 50, of Farmingdale. “I got a shot of an eagle flying out of the water with the fish. But there’s a lot of waiting time and they move so quickly.” 
<h2>CLICK AWAY</h2> 
Residents have been monitoring their actions by taking photos and videos from along the shoreline and posting them in the BEAM Facebook group daily. 
“Their activity is completely random. Sometimes you can be there for hours and not get a single picture,” says photographer Johnny Langton, 24, of Massapequa, who goes to the location twice a week, bringing his Canon camera with a long telephoto lens. “That’s the thing with wildlife, you never know what they are going to do, which is what I love about it. Every day is different.” 
Recently, the&nbsp;BEAM Facebook site has been buzzing as some eaglets hatched from their eggs. 
Nancy Viscardi-Ricigliano, of Massapequa, grabbed some snaps of the mother tending to the two fuzzy-headed eaglets. 
“This little guy is very active,” she says in a recent post singling out the aggressive one. “We know who the trouble maker is going to be.” 
Using a telephoto lens, local resident Donald Nedbalsky was able to capture two eaglets in the nest sparking all kinds of comments on the site from Long Islanders. 
Schwartz, who has photographed and witnessed the process 13 times in Centerport, says, “The male takes over the parenting role. He teaches them how to scavenge and fish as well as protect themselves so they can start their life. They stick around the nest for the first few months, then the parents see them off and they find other eagles to congregate with.” 
The eaglets sport different aesthetics from the parents. They don’t have the traditional white head or white tail yet. Plus, their beaks are black not yellow. 
Fliller once had a close encounter with a baby eagle that was a mere 20 feet away. 
“One of the babies left the nest and crash-landed into a tree right next to&nbsp;me. He sat there for 40 minutes then got up and flew away,” says Fliller. “They are resilient, awesome creatures.”

XLEAGLES240308

Bald eagles land in Massapequa, attracting thousands of followers 

Eaglets hatch in Massapequa after bald eagles attract thousands of fans

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Tara Smith

It’s early March, and the 75 acres of grapevines at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue lie dormant. 
While the vines take a winter respite, the cellar throbs&nbsp;with activity. On the bottling line, Marin Brennan watches as pastel pink Old Vines rosé fills slim bottles, a harbinger of summer fun ahead. 
Brennan, who often dons&nbsp;a pair of neon pink rain boots that she finds &quot;empowering,&quot; feels most at home in the cellar where she has trained alongside winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich since 2011. 
Now, the student has become the master. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="The tasting room at Bedell Cellars. Marin Brennan first caught the wine bug as a tasting room employee at Bedell." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3ad438e6-9075-4346-b13a-af500e514165" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3ad438e6-9075-4346-b13a-af500e514165', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3ad438e6-9075-4346-b13a-af500e514165"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3ad438e6-9075-4346-b13a-af500e514165/toWINE240317-0014.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />The tasting room at Bedell Cellars. Marin Brennan first caught the wine bug as a tasting room employee at Bedell.</a> 
Brennan, 34, was named winemaker last month, a milestone for the Miller Place native who caught the wine bug as a tasting room employee at Bedell in 2010. She’s the second woman to lead the winery in its 44-year history, following in the footsteps of pioneers in what still largely is a male-dominated industry. 
“It became a calling and then a career for me,” Brennan said.&nbsp; 
In a matter of weeks, the vines will awaken for another growing season — Brennan’s first as winemaker. “It will have a certain distinction for me,” she said, her eyes lighting up.&nbsp;As winemaker, Brennan will oversee the production process, from growing and harvesting to decisions made as the fruit is crushed and pressed.&nbsp;The cellar&nbsp;produces 10,000 to 12,000 cases a year. 
Olsen-Harbich, 63, will stay on as director of winemaking, a broader role with oversight of the vineyard, sales and tasting room. 
“At this point in my career and with Marin’s talents being what they are, it was the right time,” he said recently.&nbsp;“She has embraced what it takes to make great wines.” 
<h2>Mastering the craft</h2> 
Brennan was finishing a hospitality degree at Johnson &amp; Wales University in Rhode Island when she took a summer job at Bedell. 
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“I was learning more about regions like France and Italy and Spain, not really realizing what was in my own backyard in Suffolk County,”&nbsp;Brennan said. 
Vineyard founder Kip Bedell recalled the soft-spoken Brennan asking for a behind-the-scenes look at the harvest in 2011. 
“At harvest&nbsp;we’re always looking for an extra hand because it’s such a busy time,” Bedell, 79, said.&nbsp;He noticed Brennan had a knack and passion for the process. 
“Some people think you’re born an expert, but tasting and diagnosing wines for problems and flaws is an art that is learned,” Bedell said. 
Life as a cellar hand&nbsp;was more scrubbing tanks and cleaning gaskets than swirling and sipping wine, but Brennan wasn’t deterred by the long hours and grueling labor.&nbsp; 
Soon, she learned how to run analysis of sugar levels&nbsp;during fermentation, was promoted to assistant winemaker in 2016&nbsp;and completed her winemaking certification through Washington State University in 2019. 
“I liked seeing everything and having that connection to our land,” Brennan said. Bedell is an estate winery, meaning all their grapes are grown on site. 
“She was completely entranced by what was happening in the cellar,” Olsen-Harbich said. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="The barrel and tank room at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue on March 10. The winery is among more than 50 wine producers on Long Island.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/ed80ea5c-ebb0-48bd-b7da-8d3634757db6" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/ed80ea5c-ebb0-48bd-b7da-8d3634757db6', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/ed80ea5c-ebb0-48bd-b7da-8d3634757db6"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/ed80ea5c-ebb0-48bd-b7da-8d3634757db6/toWINE240317-0018.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />The barrel and tank room at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue on March 10. The winery is among more than 50 wine producers on Long Island. </a> 
<h2>Tap room playground</h2> 
Since 2019, Brennan has led winemaking for Corey Creek Tap Room, the sister brand of Bedell’s, located about a mile&nbsp;down Main Road. 
That’s how she honed her experimental style, making small-batch wines that flip the script on tradition, from a rosé fermented with lavender or a chardonnay aged on foraged seashells to blending a rosé of gewürztraminer and malbec in neutral oak that results in textured, spicy and floral notes. 
Gewürztraminer, with its pungent aromas, can be a “polarizing” grape, she said, adding it's her&nbsp;&quot;little way of pushing the envelope and getting people to expand their palates a little bit.” 
Olsen-Harbich, an industry veteran with 42 harvests under his belt, describes Brennan’s style as joyful and creative. 
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“Bedell is more like classical music and Corey Creek is a little more indie rock,” he said. “We’re still working with the same varieties, but she’s playing them differently.” 
<h2>Women in wine</h2> 
There are more than 50 wine producers on Long Island, and a growing number of them are led by women. 
Of the 35 members of the Long Island Wine Country industry group, five have women winemakers, according to marketing director Kelly Tuthill. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/4e23b43c-8a6d-4ca9-b641-228334ecff01" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/4e23b43c-8a6d-4ca9-b641-228334ecff01', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/4e23b43c-8a6d-4ca9-b641-228334ecff01">STORYWIDGET: TOWINERY240324_chart</a> 
Statewide, the New York Wine &amp; Grape Foundation counts 31 women winemakers throughout the state, which has more than 450 wineries. 
Those numbers portend positive changes in the industry, said Valerie Venezia-Ross, director of programs&nbsp;and marketing for the organization. 
“Women are the backbone of New York wines,” she said. “Your ability shines first, and your passion. Those are the folks that are rising to the top.” 
A 2021 report by Zippia, a career website, found just under 18% of winemakers in the United States are women. 
Showcasing women producers is essential, said Louisa Hargrave, who planted the region’s first vines in 1973. 
“Women are certainly up to the task;&nbsp;it’s just not that easy to push past those barriers,” she said, recalling her own experience juggling raising children with the hectic schedule of a winemaker and business owner. 
Hargrave, 76, applauded Brennan for her tenacity. 
“There's a time of year when you don’t have a life of your own. You have to be willing to work all night if it takes it — you can’t just phone it in,” she said. 
Brennan credits&nbsp;longtime vineyard manager Donna Rudolph, who grew grapes at Bedell for more than 25 years before she died&nbsp;last year, as well as current manager Deb Stroup, for inspiring her to pursue this path and enroll in a viticulture program through Washington State to make her &quot;a more well-rounded&quot; winemaker. 
<h2>Testing her limits</h2> 
Last year, Long Islanders raised a glass to 50 years of wine growing on the East End. 
The region has about 3,000 acres of planted vineyards and produces 1.2 million gallons each year. That amounts to&nbsp;$113.6 million in revenue, according to Long Island Wine Country. 
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As she steps into the new role, Brennan looks to the future with optimism: testing the limits of what can grow in North Fork vineyards, honoring the history, and carrying Olsen-Harbich’s winemaking philosophy forward. 
One unique tradition Brennan will continue is Bedell’s indigenous yeast ceremony that kicks off the harvest each year by filling a demijohn jug with flowers, seashells, leaves, bay and sound water, and other natural materials to encourage wild fermentation. 
“It does bring a unique characteristic to our wines,” Brennan said. 
She said she’s grateful for Olsen-Harbich’s guidance. 
“I pretty much won the lottery as far as mentors,” she said. “He did the legwork for our region.” Olsen-Harbich helped establish the North Fork as a federally recognized American Viticultural Area in 1986. 
He&nbsp;had two pieces&nbsp;of advice for Brennan. 
“Be yourself. Don’t think you have to do the same things I’ve done, or in the way that I did them,”&nbsp;Olsen-Harbich said.

Towns

TOWINE240317

Marin Brennan promoted to winemaker at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue

From cellar hand to winemaker at Cutchogue's Bedell

toWINE240317_photos

Marin Brennan, who started out in the tasting room at Bedell Cellars, is now the winemaker there. NewsdayTV&rsquo;s Steve Langford reports.

toWINE240317_video

LI woman named winemaker in North Fork

Cutchogue

'North Fork terroir is important'

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Ellen Yan

The Lawrence sisters know they have a “built-in support system” when they take college classes together to become nurses — all six of them. 
“We all like nursing,” says Dominique, the eldest, “and through this journey, thank God, we see why we like nursing. We like the science. We like helping people.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Danielle, Dominique, Alecsandria, Lauren, Nathalia and Gabriella Lawrence in a nursing class together at Adelphi University in Garden City on March 6.
" data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/022b4c56-5171-4c4b-9f38-062d2aaedd38" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/022b4c56-5171-4c4b-9f38-062d2aaedd38', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/022b4c56-5171-4c4b-9f38-062d2aaedd38"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/022b4c56-5171-4c4b-9f38-062d2aaedd38/8B2A3596.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Danielle, Dominique, Alecsandria, Lauren, Nathalia and Gabriella Lawrence in a nursing class together at Adelphi University in Garden City on March 6. </a> 
The band of sisters —&nbsp;Dominique, Lauren, Danielle, Gabriella, Alecsandria&nbsp;and&nbsp;Nathalia&nbsp;— are in their first semester of nursing school at Adelphi University in Garden City. Last summer, each received a bachelor’s degree in public health from SUNY Old Westbury, and in May, they expect to graduate with a master’s in public health from SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, where they are still enrolled in classes. The sisters are earning 14 credits at Adelphi and 15 at SUNY this semester.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Each received scholarships that lowered the cost from about $47,000 annually to $10,000 under Adelphi’s Transfer Tuition Guarantee program, which requires at least a 3.5 GPA. To cover the cost of the remaining tuition, they rely on loans and apply for other scholarships. 
In attaining good grades, there’s strength not just in their numbers, the sisters say. For example, sisters good in math will mentor the others through mathematical tough spots. 
“We’ll play off each other’s strengths,” notes Nathalia, the youngest of the six. “Sometimes we spread out in the classroom to see what other students are doing and then we reconvene, and we’re like ‘OK, we can learn this from that person’ and ‘we can collaborate with that person.’ ” 
Six siblings together in college may be a record at Adelphi, says Kristen Capezza, the university’s vice president of enrollment management and communications. 
“It’s been really exciting for us to see them feeding off of each other’s energy and motivation,” Capezza says. “Their energy is contagious.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Left: Baby photo of Lauren Lawrence. Top: Family photo of Dominique, Danielle and Lauren Lawrence. Bottom: Family photo of Family photo of Danielle, Dominique, Alecsandria, Lauren, Nathalia and Gabriella Lawrence.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/5e5efe6c-4caa-4281-b4e0-f12419cf4633" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/5e5efe6c-4caa-4281-b4e0-f12419cf4633', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/5e5efe6c-4caa-4281-b4e0-f12419cf4633"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/5e5efe6c-4caa-4281-b4e0-f12419cf4633/0aa7dcb9d526a9d54d1577bba0965df63e01bbbc.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Left: Baby photo of Lauren Lawrence. Top: Family photo of Dominique, Danielle and Lauren Lawrence. Bottom: Family photo of Family photo of Danielle, Dominique, Alecsandria, Lauren, Nathalia and Gabriella Lawrence. </a> 
The sisters range in age from 18 to 26, so it may not be immediately obvious to fellow students that these classmates are related, especially when some of the sisters like to sit in the front more than others. 
“Sometimes it takes our classmates a minute or two to understand that we are full-blooded sisters and not nuns or sorority sisters,” Danielle says, “but when they do realize, we get plenty of questions.” 
To make it to this point studying as nurses together, the sisters have overcome homelessness and the worries of housing insecurity.&nbsp;In 2012, their father, David Lawrence, a minor league baseball player at the time, lost the family home to a relative and has been in court ever since to get it back. 
The sisters had their lives on pause as they were home-schooled and studied to get GEDs while living in their Escalade SUV or temporarily in relatives’ homes.&nbsp; 
For a time, they squatted in foreclosures, the memories still vivid for them. The floors had mold. The yards were full of trash. 
Even where they live now in Brooklyn, the sisters say, they remain only at the pleasure of their host, also a relative. Their mother is also currently staying at the residence.&nbsp; 
It was their father who found Adelphi’s nursing college and benefits after poring over programs at SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Centers, geared toward New York’s underserved.&nbsp;They also have a seventh sister, Sarah, 17, who's enrolled in a GED program at York College in Jamaica. 
“I said, ‘You’ve got to get a degree that’s worth something,’ ” Lawrence, now a freelance baseball coach, &nbsp;recalls telling his daughters. “I didn’t want my life bubbling over to them and that’s what happened.” 
Despite a long day in school, the band of sisters brims with enthusiasm over future possibilities. Their goal is to pursue&nbsp;further education and&nbsp;open a medical practice together. 
“When I was younger, I used to have this little imaginary hospital I made that I called The Nursing Lawrence and I would take care of all my sisters wounds and everything,”&nbsp;Nathalia says. 
But they’re not stopping at nursing. Lauren dreams about a Lawrence softball team. Alecsandria wants to learn everything about hair and nails. Daniella thinks about being a doctor. 
“I hope we can do a clothing line together,” Gabriella says. “I’m the family stylist, so I would head that.” 
When they talk about plans, the words that often follow are “God willing.” The siblings pray and read the Bible daily, saying they’re focused not so much on the future but living the current journey that God has put them on. 
“It’s a very good experience,” Nathalia says. “I enjoy it, thank God,&nbsp;at school with my sisters.” 
With Shari&nbsp;Einhorn

KISISTERS240328

Meet the Lawrence sisters: 6 study nursing together at Adelphi University

6 sisters study nursing together at Adelphi

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Meet the Lawrence sisters. Six&nbsp;of them are studying nursing together at Adelphi. NewsdayTV&#39;s Shari Einhorn reports.

KISISTERS240328_video

6 sisters study nursing together

'When they call attendance, we already know what's going to happen'

Jim Merritt

Get ready for a bloomin’ good time&nbsp;this spring.&nbsp;Enjoy the annual spring awakening at farms boasting newborn goats, at a new rain garden buzzing with honeybees, and on Jones Beach’s breezy boardwalk and highflying zip line. While March 19 marked the official first day of spring, keep your calendars handy: April 1 is the traditional reopening day for many Long Island attractions.&nbsp; 
<h2>See the new kids (and piglets) on the block</h2> 
Long Island Game Farm, 489 Chapman Blvd., Manorville 
Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County Farm and Education Center, 350 Yaphank Ave., Yaphank 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Intern Wyatt Skopov-Normane bottle feeds a baby goat in the goat nursery area at the Long Island Game Farm, June 2023.
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The spring baby boom is in full swing in the busy barnyards at Suffolk County’s agricultural attractions. 
“In our nursery, we have mother goats that are going to be giving birth in April or May,” says Long Island Game Farm president Melinda Novak. The farm, founded in 1970, has plans for&nbsp;Memorial Day weekend relaunches of its renovated 300-plus-seat theater and its now “universally accessible” nature trail, improvements funded by a $500,000-plus Suffolk County grant, Novak says. Until then, the farm&nbsp;is open for weekend spring visits.&nbsp; 
Visitors to Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County Farm and Education Center can see baby goats and piglets outside with their mothers, weather permitting, says administrator Vicki Fleming. There are also opportunities to hand-feed goats and sheep at this working farm, where children can experience their first encounters with farm animals, Fleming adds. 
MORE INFO Long Island&nbsp;Game Farm:&nbsp;631-878-6644, <a href="https://www.longislandgamefarm.com/">longislandgamefarm.com</a>; $26.95, $19.95 ages 3 to 12; open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends through March 30, then Thursday to Sunday beginning April 1. 
Suffolk County Farm: 631-852-4602, <a href="https://ccesuffolk.org/suffolk-county-farm">ccesuffolk.org/suffolk-county-farm</a>, open daily, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., free. Baby Animal Day is May 11,&nbsp;9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
<h2>Explore a trendy new rain garden</h2> 
Robert F. Ench Teaching Gardens, Farmingdale State College,&nbsp;2350 Broadhollow Rd. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="The Robert F. Ench Teaching Gardens will reopen for the season at Farmingdale State College. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/2a92271a-7cd4-4d13-be5d-7b2186817761" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/2a92271a-7cd4-4d13-be5d-7b2186817761', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/2a92271a-7cd4-4d13-be5d-7b2186817761"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/2a92271a-7cd4-4d13-be5d-7b2186817761/XLSPRING240327_2.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />The Robert F. Ench Teaching Gardens will reopen for the season at Farmingdale State College. </a> 
Stroll through an iron gateway to walkways bordering themed gardens abloom with woodland wildflowers, flowering trees and bulbs — the latter including varieties of white, yellow and orange daffodils. Then make a beeline to the new rain garden on a patch of the sprawling 4 acres maintained by horticulture students and faculty.&nbsp;Rain gardens offer “an eco-friendly way of collecting runoff from rainfall to prevent flooding,” says Jonathan Lehrer, chairman of the college’s Department of Urban Horticulture and Design. 
In the rain garden hives have been strategically relocated so the honey bees can forage nearby native Long Island pollinator plants. Visitors can learn what native plants thrive in home gardens and get the buzz on “concepts and techniques that a homeowner could utilize to mitigate environmental problems,” says Lehrer. 
MORE INFO&nbsp;934-420-2711, <a href="https://www.farmingdale.edu/business/hor/teaching-gardens.shtml">farmingdale.edu/business/hor/teaching-gardens.shtml</a>, Reopens April 1,&nbsp;8 a.m. to dusk daily.&nbsp;Annual plant sale is May 7-9,&nbsp;9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
<h2>Take a spring boat trip on the bay</h2> 
The Captree Fleet, 3500 E. Ocean Pkwy., Babylon 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="The Captree Fleet is almost ready to hit the water.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/4da2381a-5344-4bd9-93fb-13134cb0e529" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/4da2381a-5344-4bd9-93fb-13134cb0e529', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/4da2381a-5344-4bd9-93fb-13134cb0e529"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/4da2381a-5344-4bd9-93fb-13134cb0e529/XLSPRING240327_44.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />The Captree Fleet is almost ready to hit the water. </a> 
Captree’s fleet of 15 charter and open boats welcomes a new vessel this spring, specializing in Great South Bay pleasure cruises. Joseph Feliccia of the Captree Boatman’s Association says&nbsp;the full fleet “is usually at the dock and ready to sail on May 1,” with boats leaving on the hour for fluke, striped bass, porgies&nbsp;and other sport fish. Day trips resume in April, when the&nbsp;Captree Fuel, Bait and Tackle shop also&nbsp;reopens, selling bait and renting fishing rods a few steps from the Captree pier.&nbsp; 
MORE INFO 631-669-6464, <a href="https://captreefleet.com/">Captreefleet.com</a>; prices vary. 
<h2>Take a historic house and garden tour</h2> 
Old Westbury Gardens, 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Amos and Aesil Lee, of Roslyn Heights, enjoy a picnic lunch with their children Chloe and Jude on the grounds of Old Westbury Gardens, April 2021. 
" data-attr-credit=" " data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/e9799028-3852-4c8c-ae35-3645f0375aa2" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/e9799028-3852-4c8c-ae35-3645f0375aa2', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/e9799028-3852-4c8c-ae35-3645f0375aa2"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/e9799028-3852-4c8c-ae35-3645f0375aa2/XLSPRING240327_25.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Amos and Aesil Lee, of Roslyn Heights, enjoy a picnic lunch with their children Chloe and Jude on the grounds of Old Westbury Gardens, April 2021. </a> 
One of the nation’s grandest historic attractions resumes tours of the Charles II-style mansion amid 200 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes starting April 1. 
Outside, “trilliums, mayapple, andromeda and crocus will be blooming in April and dogwoods late April/early May,” says Paul Hunchak, director of visitor services and public programs. Inside, a “Secrets of the Service Wing” house tour reveals the lives of those who once worked in the mansion built in 1906. The Caf&eacute; in the Woods, a shady dining spot on the grounds, opens April 13. 
MORE INFO 516-333-0048, <a href="https://www.oldwestburygardens.org/">oldwestburygardens.org</a>, $8-$15. House and garden tours daily, except Tuesday and Saturday, starting April 1. 
<h2>Stroll around the world via a greenhouse</h2> 
Hicks Nurseries, 100 Jericho Tpke., Westbury 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Hicks Nurseries in Westbury is hosting its 34th annual Flower and Garden Show from March 7-31. " data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/44f59469-01bd-4cd1-9cf6-1b5be191f33d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/44f59469-01bd-4cd1-9cf6-1b5be191f33d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/44f59469-01bd-4cd1-9cf6-1b5be191f33d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/44f59469-01bd-4cd1-9cf6-1b5be191f33d/HES_8489.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Hicks Nurseries in Westbury is hosting its 34th annual Flower and Garden Show from March 7-31. </a> 
At <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/long-island-events/hicks-nurseries-flower-andgarden-show-westbury-k0ekz493">this year's Flower and Garden Show</a> at Hicks Nurseries, themed “Celebrations Around the World,” visitors can explore a variety of colorfully designed displays inspired by yearly celebrations in Brazil, China, Mexico, India and the United States.&nbsp;The show serves as a kickoff to spring. “The Flower and Garden Show acts like a bridge to the season,” says Eleni Roselli, Hicks’ director of marketing. “People can witness garden displays in full bloom. This gives them inspiration for their own garden.” 
MORE INFO 516-334-0066, <a href="https://hicksnurseries.com/">hicksnurseries.com</a>; free; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through March 31. 
<h2>Get a jump on beach season</h2> 
Jones Beach State Park, 2400 Ocean Pkwy., Wantagh 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Beachgoers play volleyball near sundown at Jones Beach in Wantagh, June 2023.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/2cfc3927-5cb5-48cb-9a01-5561b3a8d477" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/2cfc3927-5cb5-48cb-9a01-5561b3a8d477', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/2cfc3927-5cb5-48cb-9a01-5561b3a8d477"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/2cfc3927-5cb5-48cb-9a01-5561b3a8d477/XLSPRING240327_36.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Beachgoers play volleyball near sundown at Jones Beach in Wantagh, June 2023. </a> 
Stroll, play and dine in the annual wave of early spring reopenings at the 2,400-acre maritime park. Power your boardwalk stroll with a snack at the Field 6 concession, which opens for the season on April 1. Get some exercise at the Boardwalk’s East and West games areas, open weekends, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting April 6. Or ride a zip line through the spring air at WildPlay Jones Beach, which resumes its wild rides on April 19&nbsp;($19.99). 
MORE INFO&nbsp;516-785-1600, <a href="https://parks.ny.gov/parks/jonesbeach/">parks.ny.gov/parks/jonesbeach</a>, free parking through April 5, then $8 on weekends.

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