Week in Review: Debates Continue Over Illegal Housing, School Budget

In its latest step towards improving the quality of life for Stony Brook residents who feel they are victimized by landlords violating town housing codes, the Town of Brookhaven announced plans to increase fines levied against those who violate them. Supervisor Ed Romaine on Monday said fines would go from $2,000 up to $5,000 for landlords convicted of a first offense; for a second offense, fines would go from $3,000 up to $10,000.

The debate over college boarding houses in Three Village has often been one-sided, as few landlords have stepped up to publicly tell the other side of the story. At least one of those property owners has now come forward. Kai Li, who owns three local houses that he rents to college students, said he believes the town's actions against the landlords who don't follow the rules are victimizing those who do comply with town codes.

Three Village Recovers More Than $900K in School Aid

The announcement was met with applause from community members on Thursday night: Following the state's adoption of a budget, Three Village school officials said the district will be receiving about $928,000 more in state funding than initially projected, and will be the recipient of a special $100,000 legislative grant secured by local state lawmakers. The district's budget gap now falls around $7 million, instead of $8.02 million, which the district will still have to make up for in cuts to staffing and programs. The administration is now recommending cutting 60.4 full-time equivalent teachers, instead of 65.1 – and significantly less than the 81 layoffs the district initially said could take place as a worst-case scenario.

Following the release of finalized state funding totals on Thursday, the Three Village Central School District administration discussed its latest budget recommendation, which includes laying off 60.4 full-time teaching positions instead of 65.1.

Car Careens Into Setauket Harbor; Driver Uninjured

A driver lost control of his vehicle at the curve on Shore Road in Setauket on Wednesday afternoon, jumping the curb and landing in Setauket Harbor at 12:32 p.m. According to Suffolk police, the driver was uninjured. Suffolk County police responded and towed the vehicle out of the water; the Brookhaven Town harbormaster also responded to the scene.

3D Technology Gets Musical Results at Ward Melville High School

It's a project that senior Maria Scutari said she has been working on since last summer. The Ward Melville HS senior has created a pendant ocarina, a music instrument in the vessel flute family, using a three-dimensional printer, a mathematical formula, and her own creativity combined with design assistance from physics and technology teachers at the high school as well as a scientist from Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Junior High Science Olympiad Teams Dominate at Regional Competition

Science Olympiad teams from both Murphy JHS and Gelinas JHS will be competing at the state competition in April, following their dominant performances at the Eastern Long Island Regional Tournament earlier this month. Gelinas placed teams in first place, third place, fourth place, fifth place and sixth place, while Murphy placed teams in second place, seventh place, and tenth place.