Hot Topics

news

Tourism July 13, 2020

As staycations soar, Jones Beach gets its game on

By GREGORY ZELLER // Let the games begin at Jones Beach State Park, where the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has officially completed a multimillion-dollar overhaul of the park’s outdoor West Games Area – the latest milestone in a nine-year, nine-digit upgrade of the historic beachfront. With concession stands at state parks officially reopening this week (under strict pandemic-induced guidelines), Jones Beach visitors have plenty of new options to work…

Voices July 10, 2020

As summer sizzles, East End farmers make their stand

By KATE FULLAM // July on the East End of Long Island is magical (aside from the traffic). Foodies marvel at the local bounty, which starts trending now toward its peak in August and September. This is the time of year when cooking by stove or oven is traded for a chopped local veggie and herb salad … just perfect. Soon we’ll see heirloom tomatoes and baseball bat-sized zucchinis on farm stands, like the stand…

Startups July 9, 2020

Applied DNA ups ante, again, with Clinical Labs spinoff

By GREGORY ZELLER // One of Long Island’s busiest biotechs has spun off another local startup, this time focused on testing its own potential breakthroughs. Stony Brook-based Applied DNA Sciences, which has quickly evolved from an upstart DNA-based supply-chain authenticator to a leader in unique DNA manufacturing, has launched Applied DNA Clinical Labs LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to the commercial development of two key verticals: Applied DNA’s virology tests, designed to quickly detect…

Artificial Intelligence July 8, 2020

Tomorrow’s turbines, today, on SBU supercomputers

By GREGORY ZELLER // Supercomputers, artificial intelligence and next-generation turbine controls will work together to design the offshore wind farms of the future – a key step for the burgeoning national industry, and for Long Island’s emergence as a national wind-power leader. Stony Brook University has landed a $1.1 million award from the National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium, earmarked for a College of Engineering and Applied Science study that will unite advanced technologies…

Tech July 7, 2020

At Janam, taking the marketplace’s temperature

By GREGORY ZELLER // A Long Island innovator known for its tough-as-nails tech is displaying a soft touch as workplaces reopen in the Age of Coronavirus. Actually, no touch – behold, the GT2, a new slate of “temperature-sensing kiosks” from Woodbury-based Janam Technologies, designed to provide remote assessments of a person’s body temperature (and check for facemasks) before permitting entry. The touchless technology uses advanced thermal imaging to detect body temperatures from as far as…

Coronavirus July 6, 2020

Phase Four arrives on LI, with bombs bursting in air

By GREGORY ZELLER // Strap yourselves in, Long Island, but keep strapping on those facemasks. And batten the hatches for some political fallout, too – Phase Four has arrived, with fireworks. Governor Andrew Cuomo, one of President Donald Trump’s more vocal critics, pulled no punches in Monday’s daily briefing, in which the governor announced strong COVID-19 numbers across the state, confirmed that indoor dining in New York City is on hold indefinitely and essentially accused…

Voices June 26, 2020

After perpetuating racism, marketing/PR must step up

By DAVID CHAUVIN // In the weeks following the brutal, inexplicable murder of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis by a man sworn to protect him, this country has faced a racial reckoning unlike any since the 1960s Civil Rights movement. For days on end, protestors, the vast majority of them peaceful, have taken to cites in every state, on every day, fighting for justice, equality and an end to police brutality. Now is…

Opinion June 25, 2020

A smarter approach to pandemic-era research funding

By MITCH MAIMAN // It’s heartening to see both the business and charitable investments going into COVID-19 research. I’m certain that the institutions and individuals making these investments want to see the money create the greatest impact possible. But is it? Those who want their funding to have the most useful result should make sure they are funding an area where there is a unique need. I see money flowing into research in problem areas…

Beverages June 23, 2020

The first-ever Crushies are, um, in the can

By GREGORY ZELLER // A little later than expected – but still fresh – the first national competition saluting the best in craft-beer marketing has announced its inaugural champions, including clever campaigns based on Long Island. The 2020 Craft Beer Marketing Awards – a.k.a. “The Crushies” – were presented live June 16 in a virtual ceremony on Facebook. Billed as “the first of [its] kind in the USA,” the competition began accepting entries from smaller…

Opinion June 19, 2020

Feedback should lift employees, not beat them down

By ELIZABETH UZZO // Constructive feedback is one of the most positive and productive things a manager can offer employees. Too often, feedback is perceived as intimidating or scary by both employees and managers. We frequently associate “feedback” with being “criticized,” which can make both giving and receiving it uncomfortable. It doesn’t need to be that way. Done correctly – with the right structure, support and attitude – quality feedback can be a gift, and…

Economic Development June 18, 2020

Report links LI pandemic recovery to racial equality

By GREGORY ZELLER // A new socioeconomic study ties Long Island’s post-pandemic economic recovery inexorably to race. Sensing an “unprecedented opportunity” in the confluence of the global COVID-19 pandemic and America’s resurgent interest in racial equality, the Long Island Regional Planning Council and the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency on Thursday released “Upskilled: Preparing the Long Island Workforce for the Future.” The comprehensive study – prepared by James Lima Planning + Development, a New York…

Environment June 16, 2020

From the SoMAS weather desk: Bad storms coming

By GREGORY ZELLER // From the Never Rains But It Pours file comes this grim long-range forecast, courtesy of Stony Brook University: It’s gonna rain, hard. Like, biblical hard. So says SBU’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, which has used global climate modeling to determine that future tropical cyclones – you know them as hurricanes – will produce more intense rains than ever before. The project, detailed in a scientific paper published last month…

Startups June 16, 2020

A pinch of extra personality for Hamptons meal maker

By GREGORY ZELLER // A celebrity chef with connections to Bobby Flay, Bloomingdale’s and President Donald Trump will spice up the menu of a Hamptons-based meal service. Honest Plate – launched in January by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Ashley and Diana Heather, along with well-known regional chefs Jon Albrecht and Nick Reisini – has recruited culinary king David Burke to cook up exclusive meals following the startup’s clean-eating mantra, which combines plant-forward and Whole30 models. As Hamptons-based…

Voices June 12, 2020

Sustainable land-use: A pandemic-recovery priority

By MICHAEL H. SAHN // We are at a pivotal moment in history. The unlikely but seismic convergence of a global pandemic, economic collapse and sudden, stark protest of social inequality have awakened us all to the need for change – our culture, our laws, our economy. This is a time to rethink how we live and work, and that especially includes how we manage our land and our environmental resources. From a global standpoint,…

Economic Development June 11, 2020

As 1-800-Flowers leaves, IDA fertilizes wilted site

By GREGORY ZELLER // With iconic 1-800-Flowers.com transplanting to Jericho Plaza, its current/soon-to-be former Carle Place home is being reseeded by the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. The IDA on Thursday announced preliminary approval of an application for economic-development benefits by DBD Realty Group, the Garden City-based LLC that purchased One Old Country Road – 1-800-Flowers.com’s home for the past 15 years – for $26.5 million in February. With the international e-retailer announcing its relocation…