E. Setauket family gets 'Extreme Makeover' this week

Sitting in the first-row box usually reserved for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Kathleen Lutz and her three brothers knew something was up but were in the dark about the true reason they were invited to Yankee Stadium Sunday.

And when Ty Pennington, host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," jogged onto the infield and announced that the Lutz family of East Setauket is the recipient of a new home - to be built in full in five days - she appeared surprised as she and her brothers, each of whom has Down syndrome, were quickly surrounded by television cameramen.

"I had no idea," said Lutz, 39. "I was shocked. It's just amazing."

Lutz and brothers William, 25, Daniel, 22, and Timothy, 21, jogged onto the infield, just in front of the pitcher's mound, where they exchanged high-fives with the ABC show's staff and the dozens of Long Island contractors and construction workers who will take part in building them a new home.

Jack and Grace Lutz adopted Kathleen and 17 other children over the course of their marriage, including seven with Down syndrome. Kathleen said she and most of the children were adopted at birth.

When her parents died, Kathleen moved home to care for her siblings. Lutz was soon after diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor and underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

"This is all they know," she said of her siblings in a Newsday interview in 2002. "They would be devastated without their family. This is their life."

Timothy - who celebrated his birthday Sunday - grabbed the microphone to address the Subway Series crowd. "I just want to say I love my sister," he said. "She's like a mom to me. Thank you!"

On the way back to their seats, the Lutzes stopped to exchange greetings with Yankee manager Joe Girardi and outfielders Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. Someone handed Timothy a ball, which he tossed, lefthanded, to a squatting Girardi. William, meanwhile, exchanged fist-bumps with an animated Swisher.

William, wearing a Jason Giambi jersey, helped take the Yankee lineup card to the umpires before the game.

"Today was more than extreme," Pennington said. "It was bigger than big, to be able to do this in this stadium with this deserving family." Sunday night, standing in front of her six-bedroom soon-to-be-demolished home on Ringneck Lane, Kathleen Lutz said being chosen for a home makeover "still feels like a dream right now. It hasn't sunk in yet."

Lutz lives in the home with seven brothers and sisters, currently six of whom - ages 21 to 25 - have Down syndrome.

She said Sunday night the family will miss the memories of growing up in the home, but not its tight space and leaky basement.

By Monday morning, the Lutzes' life will be turned upside down. The show will move them to a Montauk hotel for the week while contractors level their 50-year-old ranch-style home and build a new one - in 4½ days.

"This is all about the love and faith of this family," said Sal Ferro, president and chief executive of Plainview-based Alure Home Improvements Inc., which is managing the project.

Ferro estimated the project's cost at "somewhere in the six figures," but said the actual cost is never calculated. More than 1,000 contractors and construction workers will play a part in the project, which Ferro said will run nonstop until Saturday afternoon, when Pennington will give the Lutzes the keys to their new home. This is not the first time the Lutz family has received generous support. In 2002, after a Newsday story about them, hundreds of Long Islanders opened their wallets and hearts. Then, the Lutzes received a new roof, siding and carpet, among other improvements.

The show featuring the Lutzes is due to air in September, according to an ABC spokeswoman. With Will Van Sant