Week in Review: Fallen Firefighter to be Honored

The Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island is applauding the recent decision by the Brookhaven Town Board to ammend their local laws that prohibit smoking in town parks to include beaches in the ban.

“This amendment not only protects the health of community members but also protects the environment and sets a healthy example for children,” PJ Tedeschi, Suffolk's coordinator of the coalition said in a release.

The tobacco free beaches owned and operated by the town include West Meadow Beach and Stony Brook Beach.

Stephan DePascale said he's been building things with his hands since the age of 8 – a passion that has served him well as the owner of a woodworking shop located in East Setauket.

But DePascale, 56, had to give up working in his shop about 1-1/2 years ago, after he started having trouble with his hands; he couldn't life a hammer over his head. Then came the diagnosis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. A disease for which there is no cure.

"I said, 'I'll keep the business going with my brain and my heart,'" he said. "The part of this disease I have has affected my arms and my hands. It's not a good thing if you're a cabinet maker."

Since his death in November, the name Joseph DiBernardo Jr. – "Joey D" – is one that lives in the minds and hearts of his family and friends in the Setauket and Miller Place communities. Now, it's a name that will also be memorialized on the FDNY's "Wall of Honor," a place of honor for New York City firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

The FDNY announced Monday that Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano made the decision to add DiBernardo's name to the Wall of Honor based on an in-depth review of DiBernardo's medical history.

In the Town of Brookhaven, the populations of the First and Third Council Districts have declined, while in the Second and Fourth Council Districts, the population has grown.

That's according to the town's newly formed bipartisan redistricting committee, which is tasked with coming up with a way to redraw the lines of the town's council districts to reflect those population changes and ensure the people of Brookhaven have appropriate representation.

The committee met publicly for the first time on Monday, seeking input from residents to develop the criteria by which it will suggest ways to redraw those lines. It was attended by seven people.