Five Cents Can Go A Long Way

Half Hollow Hills High School East senior Janna Zilka collects and redeems bottles and donates the proceeds to charity.

By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com 

In an effort to save the planet while helping an organization that is close to her heart, Janna Zilkha started Bottles for Buddies six years ago.

The Half Hollow Hills High School East senior has redeemed over 60,000 bottles since she began, collecting more than $3,000 to donate to the New York Friendship Circle (FCNY), a program that aids special needs children by putting them in groups and pairing them up with teens who participate in fun activities with them.

Zilkha has a personal connection to the organization through her cousin, Roi, who has special needs and moved in with her family in 2011, after natural disasters hit his home in Japan. That’s when they learned about FCNY from their synagogue, the ChaiCenter in Dix Hills.

“We went to the Friendship Circle and they were so good for him and for our family,” Zilkha said. “I learned a lot through the Friendship Circle about kids with special needs.”

The group has little funding aside from donations and after Zilkha’s experience with them, she wanted to help. In elementary school, Zilkha participated in a club called “Earth Savers” that went to classrooms, collecting recyclables and redeeming the bottles. The club would use the money to plant a garden at the school, but was discontinued when she went to middle school. This is when Zilkha decided to continue this work herself and donate to FCNY.

In her six years of running the program, Zilkha has been able to sponsor a program of her own, “A Teen Scene”, along with others. Last year, she invited friends who were in her music classes to play and sing for the kids and have them guess the song.

“With my donations, their program has been able to grow more and have better experiences for the kids,” Zilkha said. “It’s amazing to see how much it’s grown in the last six years.”

Her donations have also impacted FCNY by helping to fund the pay of those who help run the program. With the small amount funding the group has, it means a lot.

“The ultimate goal is to raise enough money so that most of the programs are free,” Zilkha said. “It’s a very long journey to get there, but it’s definitely improved since I started this program.”

Zilkha takes every opportunity to talk about her efforts with community groups like the Chai Center congregation here.

Zilkha accepts bottle donations throughout the year, with many friends and family keeping an eye out for recyclables to bring to her. She also stays after football games to pick up discarded bottles. Anyone who has bottles to donate can get in touch with Zilkha through the Bottles for Buddies Facebook page to organize a drop off.

“My program would be nothing if it weren’t for the community,” Zilkha said. “In my own home we don’t use as much plastic as other families, we try not to use plastic water bottles or anything of that kind so if it were just my family we wouldn’t have much at all.”

Another way Zilkha is hoping to increase her returns is by partnering with the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County who will aid her in collecting bottles in the near future.

“Once it’s up and running it will make a huge impact and grow my program even more,” Zilkha said.

Zilkha is hoping to top her previous years collections with a goal of redeeming 35,000 bottles. Last year, she had a goal of 20,000 and collected over 31,000.

“Whether it’s actually going to me and the Friendship Circle, although I really would appreciate the donations to the Friendship Circle, one big part about this program to me, is educating people about recycling and how it helps the environment,” Zilkha said.

The Bottles for Buddies Facebook page is filled with posts, articles and videos about the benefits of recycling. Zilkha has also spoken about her recycling program to groups as a way to further educate people.

“It’s more than just them bringing me bottles, it’s them knowing about recycling and the detriments of plastic,” Zilkha said. “Some people have been bringing us less, because they’ve been using less plastic which of course is amazing.”

As a senior in high school, Zilkha is hoping to go away for college but does not want her program to stop in her absence.

“Right now, I am trying to find people who are going to be willing to take up my program and make it their own so the Friendship Circle can continue getting the funding,” Zilkha said.

Zilkha hopes a Girl Scout troop will be willing to carry on her program and accept the responsibility of redeeming the bottles.

“What people don’t realize is that it’s actually a lot of work,” Zilkha said. “It’s not just collecting, you need to have the time to take thousands of bottles to a supermarket and put in each bottle individually.”

‘Supermajority’ OK’s Platt’s Plan

By a 4-0 vote the town board approved plans for a 10,000-square-foot commercial building at Park Avenue and Main Street in Huntington.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The Huntington Town Board voted last week to rezone a historic property on the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue in Huntington where a developer wants to build a 10,064-square-foot commercial building.

The zone change application was submitted earlier this year by developer Dominick Mavellia to allow for a commercial building “with space intended to be used for medical offices” to be constructed on the 1.06-acre property at 400 Park Avenue.

The property is the former site of the Platt’s Tavern, where it’s said George Washington once dined, and is currently occupied by what has been described by residents as an eyesore, a food pantry that’s painted in bright green, red, blue and yellow colors.

Mavellia’s plans for the property closely mirror his original 2014 plans for the site, which stalled before a prior town board administration in November 2016 when the board did not vote on the zone change application before deadline.

“We are excited to move forward and clean up this corner that’s been a plight on the community for many years,” Mavellia said in an interview Monday. “This is one of the good projects… It should have been approved three years ago when I went in front of the old board.”

The application to change the property, which is located within the Old Huntington Green historic district, from a R-15 residential to C-1 commercial zone was approved by the required supermajority vote of 4-1. Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, who sponsored the resolution, and Councilmen Eugene Cook, Mark Cuthbertson and Ed Smyth supported the zone change, while Councilwoman Joan Cergol voted against it.

“What I see is a building that simply does not comport with the scale of the surrounding historic district, not at 10,000 square-feet or 8,000 square-feet,” Cergol said during last Thursday’s meeting.

Cergol added that she suggested that Mavellia construct two smaller professional buildings on the site.

Paul Warburgh, a neighbor whose home is also in the Old Huntington Green Historic District, who had previously opposed Mavellia’s plan because of the size and architecture of the proposed building, also suggested that there be two smaller buildings of “no more than 6,000 square-feet” on the property instead of one 10,064-square-foot building. Warburg was one of several neighbors and historic preservationists to oppose the project at a public hearing last month.

Mavellia said he worked with three different architects to make sure that the proposed building “fits the style of the other historic buildings in the area.”

“I believed in it three years ago, and I believe in it now,” Mavellia said. “I commend this town board for doing the right thing.”

Lupinacci said the zone change approval is just the first step in the approval process for any construction of the corner.

“Right now this corner is an ugly abandoned gas station, and this is the first step in beautifying that area,” Lupinacci said.

Smyth added that the town board would have another opportunity to vote on Mavellia’s plan before construction can take place.

“This property is in the historic district, so this has to come back before the town board for a second approval just to issue the building permit,” Smyth said. “Whatever is being proposed next time this thing comes around before the building permit is issued… many of the concerns that Mr. Warburgh and others had can be addressed at that time.”

Mavellia said his current plans do not require any variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals, and that the next step is to go before the Huntington Planning Board for site plan review.

Field Dedicated To Chris Raguso's Memory

Elwood boys soccer coach Lou Hanner speaks of Raguso’s legacy as a John Glenn player and war hero. Long Islander photo/Sophia Ricco

By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com

Hero, father, teammate, and friend, Master Sergeant Christopher Raguso’s legacy of service and dedication to his country will live on at the John Glenn high school soccer fields.

Raguso, who was killed in a helicopter crash on the Iraq-Syria border in March, was a former member of the school’s soccer team. He was honored with a memorial ceremony on September 22 with family, friends, and players of past and present in attendance. The ceremony began with a procession by the Northport Pipe and Drum band and was filled with heartfelt speeches from soccer coach, Lou Hanner, Athletic Director David Shanahan, former teammate, Peter Finelli, his brother, Mark Raguso, and his father, John Raguso.

“You got to pay your respects to people who fight for your freedom and Chris was exactly that, he was a hero,” Dave Maryles, a friend of Raguso’s said. “He was just a great person, great father, and great friend and dearly missed.”

Organized by the John Glenn boys soccer team and Finelli, and funded through a GoFundMe appeal, the memorial saw an outpouring of support from the community. With an initial goal of $6,000, the appeal raised over $8,500, with excess proceeds donated to the Raguso family.

A flag pole was placed next to the scoreboard that waves flags for Raguso, as well as a monument below that reads, “These things we do that others may live.” A motto the Master Sergeant lived by during his time on earth.

“Chris began defending the turf right here behind you, this is where he went to battle for his first days,” Hanner said. “We feel honored and privileged to have his legacy last and live on this field forever.”

Following Raguso’s death, the soccer team met with the family and proposed ideas of how they could honor Raguso at the school. Once they decided he would be honored at his former turf, more of the soccer community got involved, including alumni.

It’s important “for my son, Casey, and my nephew, Luke, to be here to see what Chris is all about and to just watch how someone who has dedicated a life to service affects everyone around him - the community and the country,” Finelli said.

Master Sergeant Christopher Raguso

The ceremony followed a John Glenn boys varsity soccer game and was attended by soccer teams at the school.

“I think it’s very important for the young kids today to realize that there are a lot of people that sacrifice for them to allow us to come out and kick a ball around every day and play a game,” Hanner said. “Life’s much bigger than a game but when you’re a young kid you don’t realize what goes on. Everything that Chris did for us and did for his family and America.”

“I, myself am painfully reminded, like we all are, that freedom can come at an unbelievable price,” Raguso’s brother, Mark, said. “He was a great American, great patriot, father, husband, son, cousin, friend, and competitor,” Mark said. “But most of all, he was someone you could happily look up to when all was said and done. Now when we all need to look for inspiration, we don’t need to look far, cause he’s here on this field with us and with the John Glenn Knights forever.”

Raguso also served 13 years with the New York City Fire Department and was a volunteer firefighter in Commack.

“Chris’ legacy is that of an ultimate teammate,” Hanner said during his speech. “The torch he carried in the name of sacrifice and service will burn eternally in the hearts and minds of those that knew him.”