A collection of articles published in The Long Island Herald, The Long Island Advocate, The Pioneer, The Columbia Paper, and an in-depth look into the spring 2020 edition of Pulse Magazine.
The Long Island Herald
Pandemic Hits Communities of Color Hard on Long Island
By Alexandra Whitbeck
June 29th, 2020
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While previous inequities between predominantly white and predominantly Latinx and Black communities have led to increased challenges during the coronavirus pandemic, Make the Road NY, MRNY, is trying to relieve and resolve economic, social and medical issues facing communities of color in Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Westchester
Black and Latino New Yorkers face the immediate and long-term risks of COVID-19 at a disproportionate rate compared to white and Asian communities, according to statistics from the Nassau County Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health.
Local villages with a minority-majority population, like Freeport, Valley Stream and Hempstead, had the highest rate of infection in Nassau.
Latinx and African-Americans also saw a significantly higher death rate
Supporting medical services and helping financially to seek medical aid has been a primary goal of Make the Road NY, all services which are difficult to access in the communities they serve.
At its core, Make the Road NY implements policy innovation, community organizing, education and legal services to provide safety, solidarity and support to those in need with a focus on Latinx communities.
“The immigrant communities continue to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19,” said Elina Fernandez, an activist and Lead Organizer for MRNY. I think that communities of color continue to suffer.”
Education Efforts
In an effort to close the gap of racial disparity amidst COVID-19 statistics, MRNY published a report on the impact of working-class immigrants, Black and Latinx New Yorkers called “Excluded from the Epidemic,” in April 2020. This report’s purpose is to highlight the challenges that these communities face that are not seen in nightly news statistics.
In taking responses from 244 people across the communities they aid, one third of which who are undocumented, it was found that 58 percent of participants have been sick themselves or have had a family member who was ill. This statistic is comparable with the 48 percent of participants who did not know where to turn for medical attention due to questions of immigration status, explained Eliana Fernandez. She said the driving factor was fear.
Not only is there fear about the uncertainty of the future, but parents are also afraid about how they are going to feed their children if they lose their job and do not qualify for governmental aid. There is also the fear being experienced by families who lost a loved one and are in need of mental health assistance.
MRNY is pushing to make these services available and accessible to everyone in downstate New York regardless of status.
In addition to spreading information about available resources, Make the Road NY works with other non-profit organizations and government entities to not only advance this spread, but also provide products in demand, such as groceries. The Office of Hispanic Affairs of Nassau County relays information about upcoming food banks for Make the Road NY to then spread to the people they serve.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network, NDLON, strives to improve the life of day laborers, migrants and low-wage workers. In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, NDLON focused at a national level by creating information and spreading education to their member organizations so that they could distribute to the day laborers because many times workers are isolated from sources of information, said Nadia Marin-Molina, co-executive director for NDLON.
The dedication of MRNY members to the public is seen in their continued efforts after recovering from the virus themselves. NDLON experienced their members coming into contact with coronavirus while working in local communities as well. One of MRNY’s offices is located in Brentwood, which experienced very high rates of positive tests for COVID-19 in comparison to other areas in Suffolk County. MRNY executives urge members to seek medical attention at the first sign of illness to protect themselves and their community regardless of their immigration status, and make efforts to provide resources to obtain these services. Fernandez has taken notice of many clinics and testing locations that have opened in the result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The goal to educate the community is seen in MRNY’s active support of those who do have an immigration status to go apply for Emergency Medicaid. This allows them to get medical care and even get tested for COVID-19 without being questioned about their immigration status.
MRNY also supports literacy programs to make medical aid more accessible when there is a language barrier that may prohibit care. Fernandez recognizes that there are translators in the hospital, but with the high influx of patients, they can only translate for so many at a time. In addition, family members who may be their loved one’s translator are no longer allowed into the hospital under COVID-19 precautions.
Undocumented workers left out
While unemployment benefits and other federal aid have become a cushion for those who lost their job, undocumented workers in New York are left without any financial help. Undocumneted workers are unable to apply for unemployment benefits and other financial aid such as food stamps, leaving them without federal or state help.
“Undocumented workers have contributed more than $1.4 billion per year to state and local funds, and then more directly to unemployment, [but] are absolutely unable to access those funds,” said Marin-Molina during the Hofstra University’s virtual towh hall on Systematic Racism and the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Communities of Color on Long Island on June 17.
In early April, stimulus checks from the government were given to tax filers with a Social Security number. This financial boost was denied to the over 11 million undocumented people who were living in the U.S. and anyone from a mixed immigration status family whose tax payer does not have a Social Security number, according to the according to the Migration Policy Institute and the IRS Economic Payment Information Center.
Marin-Molina said unemployment services and stimulus checks “were sort of the two key financial responses, and undocumented workers were exlcluded from both of those.”
A report by James A. Parrott and Lina Moe at the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs identified in “Excluded from the Epidemic,” by MRNY, found that “68% of job loss in New York City has been among people of color, with an especially high figure among Latinx New Yorkers,” and “192,000 undocumented workers in New York City have lost their jobs or been unable work since the crisis began.”
The Freeport Trailer, located on Bennington Avenue, has been a place for day laborers to connect with employers, eat breakfast, and take training and English as a Second Language classes for nearly 20 years. Marin-Molina said the Freeport Trailer adjusted to state regulations in lieu of the coronavirus pandemic and were adhering to social distancing requirements under the non-profit organization CoLoKi, Inc.
An eviction notice from the Village of Freeport gave people accessing the trailer 72 hours to leave.
“Within a couple of days, not even, they didn’t bother going through a court process, they came in, locked the trailer, shut it, and removed it from the premises,” Marin-Molina added.
Village Attorney Howard Colton claimed the village found various health hazards and stated, “it could have been a hotspot for COVID-19” in a May article published by the LI Herald.
Marin-Molina said that the trailer was shut down due to a lack of social distancing, which she claimed was not true.
The removal Freeport Trailer is under ongoing investigation by Nassau County officials, leaving day laborers and homeless people who depended on the services provided without this form of direct aid.
To ease financial burden, NDLON created a national fund in order to be able to provide some funds to the local organizations that they can distribute as cash support to day laborers.
Make the Road NY has developed a recovery plan which urges New York State to create a $3.5 billion Emergency Worker Fund to financially support workers that have lost their source of income found on social media as #Recovery4All.
“People who have been excluded and immigrants regardless of their status will be able to qualify for that fund,” Elina Fernandez said.
In addition to this financial relief plan, MRNY is urging Governor Cuomo to extend the rent moratorium past the August deadline and suspend mortgage payments. Fernandez has seen an immediate concern from the communities she works with about their ability to pay months of back rent and is pushing for more time to recover.
Fernandez is also working under the hashtag #FreeThemAll which pushes for the release of people held in detention centers
“I think it is impossible to maintain social distance when you are in a cell” said Fernandez, who has noticed exponential rates of COVID-19 among imprisoned populations.
Make the Road NY holds bi-weekly Zoom meetings to communicate with members in addition to a WhatsApp group for people without access to cellular service. They also spread information through flyers and Facebook Live sessions where community members are encouraged to participate.
For more information, visit https://maketheroadny.org, or https://ndlon.org to learn more about the work NDLON does in Long Island.
Can Flowers Live Through a Pandemic?
By Alexandra Whitbeck
July 10th, 2020
Flow
ers only last for so long after being cut…
The inventories of some local florists, including those in Baldwin, Freeport and Oceanside, were greatly affected when shops were forced to close in late March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Roses, lilies and daisies tend to live longer than hyacinths, tulips and lilacs, however, the maximum lifespan of cut flowers is still about a week with maximum care. Since Phase One of New York’s reopening plan began May 27, florists were able to open in a limited manner with hopes of restocking as much as possible. Face masks and a limited capacity were requirements made by New York State that Imperial Florist in Baldwin, Flowers by Mike in Oceanside and Duryea’s Flower Shop in Freeport are all following in order to continue peddling petals. Ann Marie Pierce at Imperial Florist in Baldwin has been operating her shop with only one in-store employee and one delivery driver since late May, accepting curbside and delivery orders. According to Pierce, for “at least six weeks we didn’t work at all.” Imperial Florist has recently opened its shop to customers with caution, putting up dividers, allowing one person inside at a time, requiring mandatory facial covers and accepting only credit cards. Similarly to Pierce, Susan Martin, whose family runs Duryea’s Flower Shop in Freeport, has taken precautions in the first few weeks after reopening. Martin wipes down everything in the store frequently, allows no one to enter the refrigeration unit and has employees “working limited hours.”Mike Graham, the owner of Flowers by Mike in Oceanside and East Rockaway, said one of the main challenges he faced was coming up with new marketing strategies to reach his customers who were only able place orders online and via phone. “We basically focused on just being able to provide flower arrangements for people through the Internet and the phones,” Graham said, adding that he worked with limited employees in the store and took state-mandated precautions. And customers were not the only scarcity for florists in the area. “The wholesalers did not have the product,” Pierce said. “It was a whole residual thing that happened in the floral industry starting with the growers and working their way right down to us . . . It’s still not as bad as it was, but it’s not great.” Unlike other businesses, florists work with a live stock of flowers that can last up to a few weeks with proper care before wilting. Rather than letting the petals fall inside their shops, Imperial Florist, Flowers by Mike and Duryea’s Flower Shop donated flowers to their communities. Pierce donated flowers to local churches and soup kitchens. “I really tried to give away almost everything that we had because I knew we were going to be closed down for a couple of weeks,” she said. Now that florists are able to welcome customers into their stores while social distancing protocols are practiced, the shops are seeing a variety of occasions being celebrated florally. Pierce has seen a large increase in sales for birthday-oriented flowers. “Birthdays, because people weren’t able to celebrate and they came up with all these different ideas . . . and flowers became very important,” said Pierce, who has also noticed a surge in sympathy flowers as “sympathy was another thing people wanted to convey.” As communities ease back into normalcy, Pierce said she has been treated with kindness and understanding from her customers during the past few trying months. “We had to tell people we’re sorry more times than not,” she added. “Overall people were kind, understanding.” Graham said he is looking forward to buying from local growers to benefit the community that has supported his businesses. In an effort to keep the focus on online marketing, “by the end of the summer we are launching a pretty amazing website.” “I think the future is bright,” Graham said.
Baldwin gyms Reopen with New Rules; ‘Rigorous’ protocol for gym reopening
By Alexandra Whitbeck
September, 3rd 2020
*Published in The Long Island Advocate & The Long Island Herald
As Baldwin reopens and the community eases back into pre-pandemic norms, local companies are taking precautions to ensure a safe start. Synergy Fitness and Blink Fitness in Baldwin have reconstructed their usual workout routines to assure gym-goers that their facilities align with state regulations.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Aug. 17 that gyms and fitness centers would be allowed to open starting Aug. 24 at 33 percent capacity while “following rigorous safety protocols, including wearing masks at all times.” Cuomo reminded the public that the Covid-19 pandemic was continuing, and urged New York gym owners to adhere to the guidelines in place, such as having sign-ins for contact purposes, maintaining social distancing and having ample disinfecting supplies available for clients.
Synergy Fitness reopened its Baldwin, Franklin Square, Long Beach and Merrick locations on Aug. 26 at 5 a.m. With a thermometer in hand at the door to check clients’ temperatures and screening questions ready, Synergy employees said they were feeling confident about reopening.
Rob Van Ness, manager of the Synergy Fitness on Atlantic Avenue in Baldwin, noted that he and his team are constantly sanitizing surfaces and updating their way of working to comply with state mandates. Every other piece of equipment is closed off, ample signage about social distancing is visible, and no more than 50 people at a time are permitted in the building.
“We now use this app where we have members reserve a time slot beforehand,” Van Ness said. Seventy-five-minute workout increments are allotted to members, with a full sanitization of surfaces in between scheduled slots.
Not only are state regulations being followed, but a Nassau County health inspector also deemed the gym safe to open. Additionally, the center’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units have been updated with new filtration systems.
“I definitely feel safe here,” said Van Ness, who has worked at Synergy Fitness for three years, and became a manager in January.
Blink Fitness in Baldwin, on Grand Avenue, is following a similar regimen. With a 70-person capacity, the fitness center has taken precautions to reassure clients. The “Blink Promise” is a five-pronged strategy to assure gym-goers that employees are equipped to handle the new regulations. It includes a certified staff that has been trained in cleaning procedures, social distancing and gym reorganization.
Robert Strommer began working at Blink Fitness in late December, and like many Long Islanders, was furloughed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I feel pretty good,” Strommer said. “This is my first day back . . . but I got to say, I think Blink is doing great.” He has been armed with a thermometer and tasked with screening customers as they enter the gym.
“Everyone has been respectful about it,” he continued, seeing the fifth aspect of the “Blink Promise” come to fruition. “No one has given an issue about having to wait outside.”
Sanitizing stations and constant cleanups are keeping Blink Fitness within state guidelines as it navigates reopening during a pandemic.
Officials Outline Local Summer Activities in Baldwin, Freeport
By Alexandra Whitbeck
July 17th, 2020
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State Senator John Brooks, whose district includes Baldwin, held the “Summer School & Activities” webinar on July 2 to inform the community about programs available this summer after Long Island entered Phase Three of reopening.
Guest speakers were welcomed from the Freeport School District, Wyandanch School District and the Freeport Memorial Library to introduce their summer activities and current operations. Multiple language options for the webinar were provided.
“I hope you’ll find this information very informative and maybe come up with a couple of ideas of things you and your family would like to do over the summer,” Brooks said.
In the Baldwin School District, virtual secondary summer school is offering credit bearing courses to high school students, a program for middle school students focusing on English language arts and math is also available, and elementary students have reading assignments and math practice to prevent any loss of learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Freeport School District is offering summer learning programs for Kindergarten through seventh grade and a middle school to high school algebra transition program. The Special Education Extended School Year Program for students in the district’s Individualized Education Program is available through an in-person, 30-day program for four hours a day.
Grab and go meals will also be provided for the rest of the summer months, as well as SCOPE childcare programs.
Glori Engel, district director of English Language Arts K-12 and Dr. Helen Kanellopoulos, director of Special Education and Pupil Personnel Services represented the Freeport School District at Brooks’ webinar and said teachers planned to keep their students on their toes throughout July.
“Everyday, from July 6 through the 30th, we will be posting math and ELA lessons that are grade specific from our Freeport teachers,” Engel said.
For more information about Freeport Public Schools summer programs visit freeportschools.org, or email Glori Engel at gloengel@freeportschools.org regarding the ELA programs and Dr. Helen Kanellopoulos for concerns about special education programs at hkanellopoulos@freeportschools.org.
While local school districts all have programs available for students, the Freeport Memorial Library is offering a variety of activities and events open to the community. Cindy Soto, Head of Youth Services Department at the Freeport Library spoke about upcoming online library programs for adults and children of all ages.
“Now that we are back in the building, we are going to start doing more programs,” Soto said.
Storytime events for all ages are available at freeportlibrary.info/ with no registration needed, but registration is required for craft related programs. Craft kits can be picked up prior to the program at the library.
STEM and trivia programs are provided for kids ages seven through 12.
“One of our biggest programs of the year is our Summer Reading Club,” Soto said. “Obviously this year it’s going to be a little different. We used to do everything where the children come in and they report the books to us, but now this year it’s online.”
Soto encouraged parents to participate in the adult summer reading program when registering their children.
For more information about summer programs and library hours or operations visit https://freeportlibrary.info/.
At the Roosevelt Union Free District summer school is offered to all students who need to meet graduation requirements. SCOPE services are available as well at https://www.scopeonline.us for children of emergency workers in the Roosevelt Union Free District.
Melody Yanza, the external relations associate for Brooks’s office, explained that parks, preserves, golf courses, driving ranges and tennis, paddleball, handball and bocce ball courts are all open in Nassau County. Playgrounds, dog parks and rifle ranges are also open.
At Nickerson Beach in Lido Beach, RV campgrounds and cabanas are open while following overarching state guidelines limiting 25 people or less. Yanza detailed that leisure passes and picnic passes are available at administration buildings located in parks, which are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with lifeguards on duty. There is a $15 parking fee, and seasonal permits are available.
In Nassau County, RV campgrounds at Battle Row in Old Bethpage, Summer Recreation programs in Wantagh and Cantiague, pools in Cantiague, Christopher Morley Park, Nickerson Beach and Wantagh Park are all open but only to Nassau County residents. For more updates about Nassau County parks visit https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/1767/Parks-Recreation-Museums.
The Long Island Advocate
Children and the Opioid Crisis
By Alexandra Whitbeck
February 19th, 2020
Children and the Opioid Crisis by Alexandra Whitbeck was awarded the Robert W. Greene Public Service Award, Small Market as apart of the series The Opioid Epidemic on Long Island by the Press Club of Long Island. This is the first time the Robert W. Green Public Service Award has been awarded to a student media outlet. The series also came in third for In-Depth Reporting by the Press Club of Long Island.
Editor’s note: Part four in a series. Certain names within this story have been changed to protect their identities.
James McHugh started using marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes with his older brother and friends when he was 12 years old, and at 26, he still has not given up these habits. Dropping out of school in 10th grade in 2009, he left his mother’s home at 15 to work odd jobs throughout his teenage years to support himself, and his drug use.
He wasn’t interested in school, and he wanted to earn money to buy his freedom. Experimenting with drugs was another alluring factor in his decision to drop out and leave home. His parents resisted his choice, but he was tenacious, and they knew he would do it, whether or not he was granted permission.
Information sourced from The Kaiser Family Foundation
Once on his own, McHugh began to dabble further in drugs, laughingly saying, “It’s easier to tell you what I haven’t done.” Among the drugs that he has abused are fentanyl, oxycodone and crack cocaine, with a smattering of other substances in between.
This map shows the number of opioid-related deaths in 2017 across the United States.
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Opioids like fentanyl and oxycodone have killed more than 700,000 people across the United States since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Opioid use in the U.S. surged over the past two decades owing to a push by pharmaceutical companies and physicians that began in the 1990s under the mistaken belief that the painkillers were not addictive.
It is now clear that opioids are highly addictive, and have a long-term impact on the academic and social life of children when they are exposed to substance use at a young age. “Addiction to prescription pain medications has had devastating effect on families,” wrote Dr. April Dirks, an associate professor of social work at Mount Mercy University in Iowa, in her article, “The Opioid Epidemic: Impact on Children and Families,” which appeared in the Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Disorders in 2018.
Children are forced to grow up in and learn from the environment they are given. If their home life is filled with drug use, the trajectory for their adult life may follow suit. People who are exposed to illicit familial drug use during adolescence are at an increased risk of drug use later in life and can develop pre-conceived concepts about the normality of drugs. The American Addiction Center states, “In homes where one or more adults abuse alcohol or drugs, children are approximately twice as likely to develop addictive disorders themselves.”
At 16, McHugh got his opioids from street dealers, or he stole bottles of pills from local supermarkets and his stepmother’s medicine cabinet. He met dealers through his brother and worked as a golf caddy and a shoe shiner, and was employed at a pizza shop, to obtain money to support his drug abuse.
Due to his close relationship with his brother, who introduced him to drugs, and the frequent use of pain relievers by his stepmother, drugs seemed normal to McHugh. He began using at a young age because drugs were prevalent in his life and accessible.
McHugh, who grew up in rural upstate New York, said he found life there boring. He joked about how there is nothing to do up there but drugs. The opioid crisis affects communities across the nation, particularly striking small towns like the one where McHugh grew up. Albany County saw a 71 percent rise in chronic drug use and overdoses from 2010 and 2015, according to the Addiction Center in Albany.
Long Island is experiencing high rates of opioid use, with CBS Local estimating that more than 45,000 people here were addicted to opioids in 2019. In Nassau County alone, 1,300 have died due to the opioid crisis since 2010.
The American Academy for Pediatrics projects that 8.7 million children under 18 in the U.S. have a parent who suffers from a substance abuse disorder. That’s roughly 12 percent of the 74 million children living in this country.
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What happens to the children who are separated from a parent who has a substance abuse disorder? More often than not they are relocated into state childcare systems. There is a correlation between rates of children in foster care and periods of high opioid deaths. The American Psychological Association identifies “the increase in demand for foster care comes at a time when opioid deaths have surged,” resulting in children being “indirect victims of the crisis.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a 2016 report that child placement in foster care systems is increasing due to parental opioid use.
Mothers are one of the biggest concerns in the opioid crisis. Women are becoming addicted to opioids more rapidly than men, according to Suzanne C. Brundage and Carol Levine in “The Ripple Effect: The Impact of the Opioid Epidemic on Children and Families.” Brundage and Levine discuss the effects on pregnant women, as “both SUD [substance abuse disorder] treatment facilities and women’s health providers are, in general, under-equipped to care for pregnant women and mothers with SUD’s.” The Children’s Defense Fund found that between 14 to 22 percent of pregnant women fill an opioid prescription nationwide.
Infants suffering from opioid withdrawal face a variety of medical issues, perhaps throughout their lives. Dirks discusses in her article the increasing number of babies born to opioid-addicted mothers. If during her pregnancy, the woman used prescription or non-prescription opioids, there is a potential for the baby to suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome, which can result in birth defects and withdrawal symptoms at birth. Depending on the severity of the mother’s opioid use, the infant may develop long-term delays and learning disabilities.
Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, president of the Family and Children’s Association in Mineola, said, “By virtue of having a parent who’s addicted, they’re exponentially more likely to develop an addiction over the course of their lifetime.” Reynolds identifies children between the ages of 5 and 12 who have addicted parents.
The FCA is tackling issues that face the children of Nassau County through treatment facilities, recovery centers and mental health programs at 10 locations. The programs are helping traumatized children cope with the opioid crisis and many other issues present in their lives.
Within the mental health programs offered, FCA reaches out to those affected by the opioid crisis through concerned family members, and the organization is active in the community and reachable.
Reynolds believes “the thing about the opioid crisis is it forces us to work together.” This is seen in the organization’s involvement with the North Shore Child Family Guidance in Roslyn and Central Nassau Counseling and Guidance Services in Hicksville. Organizations like these are collaborating on the best avenue of recovery, treatment and therapy.
FCA President Jeffery Reynolds
The FCA also operates shelters. A safe house in Wantagh called The Haven provides beds for abandoned and runaway children fleeing homes ravaged by opioids and unstable environments. The Haven houses up to 12 children, and typically has each room filled.
Reynolds and the FCA are currently conducting research into the siblings of opioid users. Reynolds is looking to focus on the child who may not be using, but is affected by the levels of attention given by parents to the child who is abusing drugs.
“I worry that the needs of these kids are going unidentified and unmet,” said Reynolds, who said children can be swept up in their siblings’ drug use, as McHugh was as a teenager.
The FCA has aided roughly 10,000 children in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, as “kids are the heart and soul of what we do,” Reynolds said.
The FCA also seeks to prevent drug use. Teaching children about the dangers of drug abuse is key.
The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District has informational programs that are intended to prevent drug abuse. From 2014 to 2017, the leading cause of death was overdose in people ages 18 to 35 years old, according to the Nassau County Health Assessment Report, so discussing the dangers of opioids is essential for schools.
The district works closely with Wendy Tepfer, director of the Community Parent Center, which is located in the BMCSHD’s main office in North Merrick. The organization teaches Bellmore-Merrick students in grades seven to 12 about drug use. It brings guest speakers into the classrooms to discuss the dangers of abusing opioids, among many other drugs.
The Parent Center is part of a coalition of local organizations working to stop drug abuse among young people, according to Eric Caballero, the director of physical education, athletics, driver education and health for the Central District. The coalition comprises school district staff, lawmakers, emergency service personnel and local residents, all working “to ensure that we are providing the type of information our community needs to be aware of,” Caballero said.
In making this information universal for all ages, he said, “Members of our component districts that also attend the coalition meetings are able to turnkey that.” Among the component districts are the Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick elementary districts.
BMCHSD staff are trained annually in administering Narcan, an opioid antagonist that can reverse the effects of an overdose; however, the district has never had to use it, officials said.
There is also a yearly Drug Take-back Day in October, sponsored by Nassau County, the BMCHSD and the Parent Center, at which unused medications and sharps are collected for proper disposal by Nassau County police.
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McHugh’s high school did not have such preventive programs, he said. He was navigating the newly introduced world of drugs at 16. He was using a variety of drugs at a steady rate until he was 19, and the severity of use kept increasing.
“If him and I didn’t start dating, he would be dead,” said his girlfriend of six years, Kelly. “He was really bad.”
McHugh was doing cocaine and taking painkillers, all while drinking.
“I think what woke him up was when we almost died,” Kelly said. James was 19 and drunk, driving 120 mph when he flipped his car. Kelly was a passenger in the car. She broke vertebrae in her back.
McHugh now lives with Kelly and her two daughter upstate. He is opioid-free, but not entirely drug-free.
Nassau villages, town file suit against chemical companies for clean water
By Alexandra Whitbeck
November 2nd, 2019
The villages of Mineola, Carle Place and Port Washington and the Town of Hempstead recently filed suit against consumer goods companies 3M and DuPont for having sold products with contaminants that, they allege, have polluted drinking water wells with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). The chemicals are linked to range of health issues such as cancer and can be found in any number of products, including floor polishes and firefighting foams.
The Town of Hempstead, whose board is seen above, is suing chemical manufacturers over widespread water contamination within the town. Photo: Town of Hempstead screenshot.
Nassau County is facing widespread PFOA and PFOS contamination in water sources. In their suits, the municipalities demand that the companies pay for the removal of the toxins. They claim that the companies knew about the potential risk of polluting drinking water when manufacturing these products.
Mineola’s case file states, “PFOA and PFOS have been detected in varying amounts at varying times in the village’s wells, including at levels that have compelled the village to take responsive actions. In addition, PFOA and PFOS’s high mobility and persistence in soil and groundwater means they will likely continue to spread and affect even more of the village’s wells in the future.”
Mineola passed a motion Oct. 2 to spend $499,999 to install and implement a new carbon filtration system at its well number seven to address the contamination. The Department of Public Works is initiating this “fast track approach [that] would allow us to implement a three-pronged strategy” to upgrade water treatment facilities to detect and remove these substances, Public Works Superintendent Thomas Rini said.
In response to the allegations, 3M representative Fanna Haile-Selassie told Newsday, “3M acted responsibly in connection with products containing PFAS and will vigorously defend its record of environmental stewardship.”
Dupont could not be reached for comment.
The largest town in America, the Town of Hempstead, is taking similar legal action against Dow Chemical Company, Ferro Corporation and Vulcan Materials Company for having “knowingly and willfully manufactured, promoted and/or sold products containing 1,4-dioxane… a highly toxic chemical… to local consumers,” according to an Oct. 15 town news release. 1, 4-dioxnae is commonly used as a solvent in the manufacturing of other chemicals, and traces can be found in certain cosmetics.
Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen stated in a news release that the town “has already begun taking action to ensure that this toxic chemical won’t harm our residents.”
The three companies in question all deny the claims. Vulcan materials said it would seek to have the lawsuit dismissed, according to Newsday.
“Rather than go after the companies on Long Island directly responsible for the contamination, the water suppliers brought this suit against Dow even though Dow did not conduct any operations on Long Island that are a source of contamination,” Ashley E. Mendoza of Dow Chemical recently told Newsday.
The health effects of PFOS, PFOA and 1,4-dioxane vary. When tested on lab rats, 1,4-dioxane resulted in tumors in the liver and kidneys, in addition to cancer, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The Department of Health and Human Services considers the chemical carcinogenic to humans, potentially resulting in cancer. A 2016 study by the federal Environmental Protection Agency concluded that PFOS and PFOA can be linked to thyroid disorders, pregnancy complications and a lessened response to vaccines.
In July, the New York State Department of Health released a recommendation urging a new water standard to be put in place, allowing only 10 parts per trillion for PFOS and PFOA in drinking water, compared to the current limit of 70 ppt. There is no standard for 1,4-dioxane, as it is considered an “emerging contaminant,” defined by the EPA as “a chemical or material that is characterized by a perceived, potential, or real threat to human health or the environment.” However, the newly proposed standards would halt 1,4-dioxane at 1 part per billion.
The Nassau County Department of Public Health verified that the new standards have not yet been enacted by the state, and they are not part of current allegations in the lawsuits. The companies are alleged to have violated current standards for these chemicals — over 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA, and the introduction of 1,4-dioxane.
As the towns work to implement treatment procedures for these contaminants, Gillen assured residents that the cost of cleaning up the contaminants will not be shouldered by taxpayers, but by the companies.
The Pioneer
The Pioneer is a biweekly newspaper published in Greene County, New York.
Honor a Veteran
By Alexandra Whitbeck
Upstate Foster Care
By Alexandra Whitbeck
The Columbia Paper
The Columbia Paper is a biweekly paper that covers Columbia County, New York.
Local agencies get busy now with feral kittens
By Alexandra Whitbeck
August 10th, 2019
HUDSON–As we swelter through this summer, the feral cat population of Columbia County is growing, with kitten season in full swing. Care facilities such as AnimalKind and the Columbia-Greene Humane Society are aiding the plight and striving to address the issues these colonies of felines face through vaccinations and community support.
Kitten season consists of the summer months as cats tend to give birth when the weather gets warmer. The boom of kittens increases the need for humane methods to regulate the populations of cats. While kitten season does not typically affect the operations of these care facilities, according to Katrin Hecker of AnimalKind, it warrants an increase of humane methods to keep the population at bay.
In 2018, AnimalKind rescued 1,004 animals, 992 cats and 12 dogs, according to data listed on the organization’s website; 2017 and 2016 recorded similar rates, making prospects for 2019 similar.
As a non-profit organization, donations from the community to AnimalKind go directly toward spay and neuter procedures, emergency rescues, food banks and rescue operations.
When a feral cat colony is located methods such as ‘trap, neuter, return’ or TNR, are used by AnimalKind in an effort to control the number of feral cats and reduce the spread of illnesses like rabies and distemper, a highly contagious parvovirus that affects the nervous, immune, and gastrointestinal tracts of cats. The method consists of humanely trapping the cats, spaying or neutering them, vaccinating and notching their ears for identification, followed by “back into their known environment” according to Hecker, the founder of Animal Kind.
This method began around 20 years ago and AnimalKind says it was is one of the first organizations to utilize the method in this area.
The process also calls for monitoring the colony afterward to supply food and implement TNR when new cats come in. Using humane methods to prevent disease is the primary focus of both AnimalKind and the Columbia-Greene Humane Society. During kitten season, TNR is used heavily by both AnimalKind and Columbia-Greene Humane Society (C-GHS).
Community members are able to bring feral or stray cats to the C-GHS and spay or neuter and vaccinate cats for a low cost. Ron Perez, president of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society, says this program has assisted over 25,000 cats in Albany, Columbia, Greene and Berkshire counties over the last 14 years. This has resulted in a “decline in the indiscriminate breeding of cats” in recent years, he says. The path these animals take is dependent on their status of feral or stray. A stray cat is defined as a cat that has been socialized with people, however has been separated from that contact.
Ms. Hecker defines a feral cast as a “cat that has been born outside in the world, never was exposed to human contact… therefore it is very skittish.” The release portion of TNR is used in regards to feral cats, while stray cats are hoped to be once again established with humans. She established AnimalKind with the mission to aid this plight in mind.
AnimalKind is the only organization in the area that will take in stray cats with the hope of adoption. Kittens tend to be placed in foster homes due to their weak immune systems and are infrequently in the facility except for treatment. This decreases the potential for a kitten to catch an illness from a rescued cat being brought into Ms. Hecker’s care.
Community members are able to assist these colonies of feral cats by contacting AnimalKind at 518- 822-8644, at www.animalkindny.org or AnimalKind on Facebook for further assistance or reach out to gain information on how to foster kittens.
The Columbia-Greene Humane Society accepts food donations and will provide pet food to anyone in need. For more information call 518-828-6044 or www.cghs.org.
AnimalKind is at 721 Warren Street, Hudson. Columbia-Greene Humane Society is at 111 Humane Society Road off state Route 66 just west of the intersection with Route 9H. Call for hours.
Both both organizations also actively use social media platforms as a way to reach the community.
Pulse Magazine Spring 2020: The Water Issue
In Spring 2020, I served as the managing editor for Pulse Magazine- a semiannual magazine that focuses on issues impacting Long Islanders. This issue of Pulse looked into our water use and how Long Island takes care of their limited water supply. As managing editor, I was tasked with assisting other staff members in creating their articles as well as two of my own. I edited the final pieces and aided in the construction of the layout for individual articles.
In my first article, Christopher Gobler: A Lifelong Dedication to Clean Water, I profiled a pioneer in clean water on Long Island. Christopher Gobler is director of the Center for Clean Water Technology out of Stony Brook University. Read about their Nitrogen Removing Bio-filters and more efforts to keep water clean on Long Island in this article:
Christopher Gobler: A Lifelong Dedication to Clean Water
By Alexandra Whitbeck
Published in the Spring 2021 Edition of Pulse Magazine
The bayman stood in front of 19-year-old Christopher Gobler and other members of Citizens Campaign for the Environment explaining how his generational family trade would be ending with him. He would not be able to teach his son how to harvest oysters and clams in the Great South Bay like his father and grandfather taught him years before. The bayman accused the brown tide for this break in custom.
The harrowing story made Gobler ask questions, not only as a biology major at the University of Delaware, but as a Long Island native with fond memories of sailing on the Long Island Sound and fishing on the East End with his father. He wondered what was causing the brown tide and its effects on Long Island both short and long term, but most importantly how to stop water degradation on the island he loves.
His trajectory instantly changed to studying the brown tide and saving the areas it affects. Working alongside Dr. Elizabeth Cosper for his graduate degree at Stony Brook University, Gobler’s interest in saving Long Island Water grew into a career.
Gobler is now a professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University and the director of the Center for Clean Water Technology. Both these paths allow him to continue to save the bays of Long Island.
“Wastewater is the biggest source of nitrogen from land to sea.”
-Chistopher Gobler
Long Island is plagued with harmful algal blooms which feed on nitrogen that seeps into the bays. Nitrogen rich water is commonly caused by fertilizer and faulty cesspools allowing wastewater to seep into larger water bodies.
Wastewater, or any water affected by human use, has become a leading issue on the island. Outdated or faulty household septic systems, or on-site sewage systems, are a leading cause of nitrogen in the water. Wastewater is very rich in nitrogen and when not properly treated within the septic system, can cause excess nitrogen into drinking water.
Once an algal bloom begins to grow, it absorbs all sunlight and suffocates all life beneath it. The shellfish native to Long Island Bays began depleting rapidly as nitrogen levels increased starting in the 1980’s and attracted algal blooms. Suffolk County is still facing these effects as Suffolk water bodies experienced the most algal blooms from 2012-2018 out of all NY counties according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
After human intervention to kill the bloom, the only trace left is a brown patch of decay where it covered the shellfish beds and plant life. This occurrence is known as the brown tide.
Without action to strip the water of excess nutrients, the decay of Long Island bays would continue at a rapid rate as more nitrogen seeps into the water. Gobler began to dedicate his career researching how to fix these problems plaguing his home and fighting for the baymen who yearned to continue their family trade.
“I spent the first decade, decade and a half, of my career documenting all the negative things that were going on in water bodies around Long Island, so the collapse of fisheries, harmful algal blooms, loss of seagrass, loss of salt marshes…” -Christopher Gobler
Coming together with similarly dedicated individuals allowed for there to be “enough information to begin to act and to begin to take actions that would start to reverse these trajectories” said Gobler. This resulted in a state and federally funded center that had the support of not only local non-profits but of Long Islanders working to stop water degradation.
Founded in 2015, the Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT)
…is tackling these issues that potentially could threaten the health of Long Islanders by introducing efficient technology. Under its director, Dr. Gobler and a team of dedicated industry specialists, the center developed an innovative way to strip the water of algal prone nutrients — Nitrogen Removing Biofilters (NRB). These biofilters are able to reduce the nitrogen in wastewater headed for the bays to below 10 milligrams per liter, making harmful algal blooms less likely. Not only are these biofilters capable of removing nitrogen, but they also can catch 1-4,dioxane as well. 1,4-dioxane is a chemical found in household cleaning supplies that has seeped into the drinking water supply and has been linked to causing cancer. The NRB’s were initially installed in 2016 in Massachusetts and in the following two years were installed on Long Island. Gobler and his team aim to make the biofilters available for consumer purchase and use. Implementing NRBs in homes and surrounding schools would reduce the chance of an algal bloom in local water bodies and aid the purity of drinking water as well. “It took decades for nitrogen to be so enriched in our groundwater that it may take decades to get out” says Gobler, however he remains optimistic, mentioning that even ten years ago this technology was undreamt of and tremendous strides are now being made to keep Long Island water clean. As of January 2020, the CCWT has installed eight NRB’s across Suffolk County as a part of the county’s to implement alternative on-site wastewater treatment systems according to the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan Newsletter. Gobler was recently awarded a grant from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to continue working to stop the problems faced by shellfish such as eradicating eukaryotic or single-celled species that poison oysters and clams. Long Island water is continually in danger. The Center for Clean Water Technology is aiming to better the quality of water and life for everyone on the island.
The Man Who Swims in Sludge
By Alexandra Whitbeck
‘Black mayonnaise’ lies at the bottom of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal detering most from swimming in the water. Festering at the canal floor, this sludge is the result of industrial coal companies dumping waste into the water for decades. The Environmental Protection Agency has been pushing to dredge up the mayonnaise and clean the waterway since 2017, yet few New Yorkers are willing to wade through the oil sitting on the water’s surface and join the fight.
Except Christopher Swain.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Swain
“The bottom of the Gowanus Canal is a 10 to 20 foot layer of what they call black mayonnaise.”
Swain is constantly moving, whether it be through bustling Brooklyn streets or highly polluted bodies of water. Being one of the few environmental activists to take to murky waters, he is the first to swim the distance of the Mohawk River, Lake Champlain, the Hudson River, the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, the Long Island Sound and many other waterways filled with toxins.
When first hearing about the man in the yellow suit who has swam the entire 315 miles of the Hudson River in 2004, people ask why. Why would anyone swim in the aftermath of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) riddled striper fish in the Hudson River? Swain swims to bring media attention to waterways that have been overlooked and face heavy pollution. In doing this, he is drawing attention to what the Clean Water Act has failed to do- clean up our water and push local and federal governments to act.
“This isn’t fair, we should be able to swim in clean water… that doesn’t seem like too much to ask,” Swain said.
In his early 30s, he became aware of the Clean Water Act that was proposed in the ‘70s during Nixon’s presidency. The Clean Water Act states that any navigable body of water must be clean enough to go swimming and fishing. It also regulated the release of pollutants into the nation’s surface water.
Photo Courtesy of Tommy Aquilina
Through his swimming, Swain wants to emphasize the necessity of cleaning polluted waterways by bringing media attention to these places that, by law, should be clean.
“If you were an American citizen, you had the right to have water that was clean enough to fish in, paddle in, swim in and drink if it were fresh water.”
When Swain went to start his swim at the Gowanus Canal in 2015, two NYPD officers approached him and threatened to arrest him if he entered the water. He responded that he had a federal right to do so, and the officers called him crazy as he started to swim through the canal’s toxic waters.
“What’s crazy is that there is a federal law that said this [body of water] would have been clean enough to swim in in 1985… I’m not crazy! It may seem crazy to you, but I’m just out here exercising my federal rights,” said Swain.
In the following years and throughout the numerous swims, Swain and law enforcement have developed a more understanding relationship.
His love for water as a child easily transitioned into his life’s work. Growing up in Massachusetts, his experiences with water were much less threatening than his current endeavors.
“I was a kid who liked the water…I loved to swim…I remember the sun dappling and all the ripples of sand underwater… and this is before I knew about it in this way,” said Swain.
He swapped his time splashing in chlorinated pools for wading in waste in order to bring media attention to these polluted waterways.
Swain’s swims have drawn the attention of multiple media outlets including The New York Times, CBS, the Wall Street Journal and News 12.
Each swim presents Swain with new challenges. Newtown Creek is not only the site of one of the largest continuous oil spills in America, but it also encounters raw sewage overflows from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant when it rains heavily.
“I swam through physical sewage… everything people flush down the toilet… trash from the streets and the oil, which burns,” said Swain.
Different precautions are taken for each swim including an exposure control plan consisting of three main concerns: what Swain will be exposed to, how concentrated the toxins in the water are and what the best approach is. His team not only considers the toxic chemicals, heavy metals and various bacteria but also wildlife, high ocean waves and even sunscreen.
“We break each swim down,” Swain said.
When tackling the Gowanus Canal, Swain’s team of experts’ primary goal was to shield him from the live cultures of gonorrhea and other dangerous toxins. They decided on a completely concealed, puncture resistant, bright yellow dry suit and boots with a heavy tread in case he encounters black mayonnaise. He then applied water resistant cream to all exposed skin, put on goggles and ear plugs and entered the canal.
“For years the Gowanus Canal has been a place where people have thrown everything from knives and guns after commiting crimes, to cars, to old boats, to washing machines, to hunks of concrete and rebar, you know body parts, everything…” said Swain. He frequently dodges shrapnel and floating trash all while watching the path of tug boats during his swim.
Swain’s swims are affected by all elements both in the water and in the surrounding environment. In the event of more than a 16th of an inch of rain, the sewage systems of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn become overwhelmed and the raw runoff is forced to go into the water making his swims much more dangerous or force him to reschedule.
Swain keeps his head above water when he swims in waterways and handles his busy life. While doing this, he channels his maternal grandmother who would smoke cigarettes and swim. Unable to duck beneath the surface without having to relight, she would keep her head above water.
The waters he swims in are considered such hazards that the EPA released a statement about his swims, which can be found on his website, swimwithswain.org:
“The United States Environmental Protection Agency—leader of the cleanup of the sludge at the bottom of the Canal—recognized Swain’s legal right to swim in the Canal, but has advised Swain against swimming in it at all. In a letter delivered to Swain on Wednesday, the Agency wrote: “EPA strongly advises against swimming in the Gowanus Canal. Swimming in the waters of the Gowanus Canal pose [sic] a risk from exposure to site related hazardous chemicals as well as pathogens associated with sewage discharge.”
“It’s volatile enough that if you took some of the mud and were able to remove some of the moisture, heat it to a high enough temperature, it would catch fire” said Swain. In case of contact with the water, Swain must gargle with hydrogen peroxide.
His swims bring attention to these waterways and make people come to a creek or canal they may have avoided before. Swain’s advocacy has brought increased attention and media attention to the Gowanus Canal as seen in The New York Times, CBS and PIX 11.
In January of 2020, the EPA introduced an initiative to clean up the bottom of the Gowanus Canal allocating $125 million to remove the sludge at the bottom. This is a 30 month effort to support the public health and environment of Brooklyn, according to a news release by the EPA.
In a challenging swim from Montauk to New York City, along the entire length of the Long Island Sound and the East River, Swain faced dangerous wildlife like sharks and jellyfish. To his advantage, whatever contaminant is in the Long Island Sound is more diluted due to the ocean setting and size of the waterway. However, it presents different concerns like shipping traffic.
When tackling the Long Island Sound, Swain took into consideration temperature and how to not get hit by a boat as they are not able to see him in the water. In this setting, he wears a swim cap and bright colors to indicate his presence with a kayak following closely behind. The Coast Guard is a big part of his endeavors.
“The idea with that swim was to make the connection from Montauk to New York City and all the way out through the narrow so you can teach it as one waterway,” said Swain in an effort to instill that the water from the Long Island Sound flows all the way into the East River.
Steve Goldman, past CEO of Petro Home Services who installs heating oil systems, lived on Long Island at the time of Swain’s Long Island Sound swim and wanted to get involved. On the weekends, the past CEO of the oil company would volunteer at beach cleanups with his family and was grateful someone was taking such a stark stance in the matter. Goldman reached out to make a donation to Swain’s cause, which turned out to be a controversial move in the eyes of his supporters.
Swain defended his choice and explained that local support from an oil company is still support nevertheless. He looks for “positive actors that are trying.” Petro Home Services later helped him with the initiative to bring clean water information into Long Island schools.
“What makes Long Island great is the water that surrounds it.”
In addition to in the water advocacy, Swain brings his message into schools and works with numerous organizations including March For The Kids. According to his website, Swain has made over 80,000 presentations to North American students about clean water. To reach a large and continuous audience, Swain is active on social media like Twitter and Instagram under the username @SwimWithSwain.
Swain doesn’t label his work as non-profit as he actively advocates for political change by pressuring the government to hold cleanups.
While he is usually seen in the water, Swain’s upcoming schedule remains on dry land.
“If any of the water ways I’ve worked on look like there is backsliding or there is a stalled clean up… you’ll see me go back in,” he said. “I’m going to keep jumping in there and that’s the norm.”