Suffolk leg OKs $7.5M for East End chopper

Despite the county's fiscal woes, Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday appropriated $7.5 million to buy a new twin-engine med-evac helicopter that could be used to speed up emergency medical rescues on the East End.

In addition, lawmakers, after hearing from a parade of upset Manorville residents, approved changing a flashing light to a stop light at an intersection on County Road 111 where a highly publicized fatal accident occurred earlier this fall.

The legislature voted 16-2 in favor of the authorizing the new helicopter after Republican lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to table the measure.

Legis. John Kennedy (R-Nesconset), the minority leader, said the county already has a fleet of four workable helicopters that can all do rescue work and given the county's financial problems, this is something "that needs some earnest consideration."

Another Republican, Legis. Thomas Cilmi of Bay Shore, said, "I don't think it's prudent," adding that "$7.5 million could buy a lot of cops."

However, backers say the resolution will simply preserve funding already authorized in the 2011 capital budget rather than have the money disappear at year's end. They say that will give the new county executive and his not-yet-chosen police commissioner a chance to determine whether to move forward with the purchase. Without the legislative vote, backers say, the first time they could restore the project is in 2013, unless lawmakers could find $7.5 million in cuts elsewhere in next year's capital budget.

The police department's four helicopters are now split between Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. But the med-evac, which has greater range and can handle multiple victims, is based at MacArthur. The others are single-engine choppers that must be reconfigured for rescues. If the med-evac is needed for an East End rescue, police say, it adds 20 to 30 minutes to response time.

Legis. Vivian Viloria Fisher (D-Setauket) said a second med-evac is needed because East End residents deserve the same emergency resources as the rest of the county. "The medical people at Stony Brook tell me it takes too long to get the med-evac to the East End and fly back," she said. "It's a matter of public safety. It is also a matter of life and death and the ability of some to survive a serious accident."

Republican lawmaker Edward Romaine, who represents the North Fork, also backed the appropriation because, while he is concerned about finances, "I listen a lot more to the public safety argument."

The legislature also approved unanimously the stop light resolution for the intersection of County Road 111 and Halsey Manor Road. Fifteen Manorville residents pleaded with lawmakers to overrule public works officials who want more study before agreeing to upgrade the flashing light. In October, the intersection was the scene of a fatal accident in which Keri Trinca and her son Jason were killed and two other children injured while trying to cross the four-lane highway.

"The figure-eight track at Riverhead Raceway is safer than the intersection," said Louis Lipira, one Manorville resident.