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Summer is over, school is back, and flannels will abound. Fall Time is here and families are no doubt looking forward to spending time for some fall activities. Long Island is doing much better than last year with the spread of the virus, as the vaccine has been effective to greatly reduce the risk for those who are fully vaccinated from getting seriously sick and spreading it to others. However there are many who remain unvaccinated, which contributes to extending the lifespan of this pandemic. As the virus mutates and new variants emerge, the vaccine has started to lose some effectiveness.

Because of this, we encourage families to still have some caution, especially when it comes to spending time in large crowds indoors. We also encourage all who haven’t done so yet, to get the vaccine and do your part in ending this global health crisis.

Eastern Long Island has always been a popular spot for the family during fall. The abundance of farms and vineyards present plenty of outdoor activities. Here are some ideas of places you can go during the fall in Suffolk County Long Island.

International Coastal Cleanup 2020

What better way to spend outside with your family than to teach your children about the importance of taking care of the environment. September 19 is a day dedicated to cleaning up some of the immense amount of debris plaguing our oceans. Join Group for the East End, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Hallock State Park as they participate in this year’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).

You can download the Marine Debris Tracker app to help record and track the trash you pick up. You must choose a time slot and come with a face mask. All tools will be provided and cleaned in between sessions. This is a free, socially distanced event.

Classic Wine Country Bike Tour

Starting at $98, this 13.5 mile bike tour takes you to exclusive farms and vineyards. After selecting your bike, a professional guide will tour you around the best of Long Island wine country. In addition to tasting award-winning wines, you will also sample fresh olive oils and vinegars and visit many local farm stands. You will also be able to enjoy live music and entertainment. This event is for people 21 and over.

Autumn Equinox Sunset Paddle on the Carmans River

The Carmans River in Brookhaven is a great place to go kayaking or canoeing. This guided tour allows you to rent a kayak or canoe (or bring your own if you have) to cruise down the Carmans River at sunset. A snack and drink are provided and you can reserve your tickets here.

Garden of Eve

At this organic farm on the East End, kids can interact with chickens, sheep, and other animals. Offering contactless checkout, advance tickets online (not required), and curbside pickup of pre-orders. Friendly farm hands often take animals out for kids to pet and help feed. Also, there is a large children’s play area with a wooden castle and a giant spider web. Many special events are hosted here, including children’s birthday parties, baby animal weekends, an annual tulip festival, and a Mother’s Day brunch. Be sure to stop by the organic market for delicious groceries. The farm is open through Halloween.

Hallockville Museum Farm

Although this year, the 19 historic buildings are not open to the public but guided, masked tours are available by appointment. Explore this original farmstead to learn what farming life was like 250 years ago. Visitors to the 19-building facility can experience cooking in the historic kitchen or even grinding corn to feed the resident animals. In addition, kids can interact with cows and chickens to learn about their importance to the farm.

Drive Safely With Your Family This Fall

Even though traffic is slightly better with the increased number of people working from home, Long Island traffic is pretty much back to normal on the weekend. If you and your family plan on getting to Riverhead, give yourself plenty of time to get out there. Don’t put yourself in a stressful situation by not taking into account the traffic. You may look at a GPS ahead of time to get a good idea of how long it will take. Keep in mind also that oftentimes there is traffic just before arriving, due to the parking lot being backed up. If you feel rushed, you are more likely to do something unsafe. Check the traffic conditions and leave early.

Remember Your Driving Fundamentals

While adhering to basic driving fundamentals is always important, it is especially important in heavy traffic situations to always let other drivers be aware of what your vehicle is doing. Long Islanders sometimes have a habit of turning on their directional after they have begun changing lanes. This is not helpful for anyone to anticipate what you are doing, and New York State law requires at least a 100 foot warning via turn signal before you turn, merge or change lanes.

Further, it is even more important to check your blind spot before changing lanes. Although it isn’t safe, many cars like to tailgate in heavy traffic so changing lanes can be especially hazardous and only do so if there is a safe amount of space. Avoid cutting people off, it saves you little to no time.

Parking Lot Safety

The parking at many of the Riverhead orchards and farms can be very hectic. Parking lots always have the potential of causing a car accident. More than 50000 car accidents occur in a parking lot every year. These parking lots may be more busy than most, so the cars will be coming in and out.

It is very important that you pay lots of attention to your surroundings. Look out for cars backing up, and be careful at intersections. A lot of the parking lots at farms and vineyards aren’t paved, so be really careful when parking, and give yourself and other cars adequate space. Anticipate the actions of other drivers and be prepared to use your horn if another car does not seem to see you, especially if they are backing up and getting too close. It is also important to drive slow as there are families walking all over the place. You do not want to be liable for a pedestrian accident

Additionally, do not use your phone while you are driving in a parking lot; you are still driving and it is still a distraction. This is important to mention because studies show that 66% of drivers nationwide said they would make phone calls while driving in a parking lot.

About the Author


Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.

His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.

Summer came and went and we are already back to the colder temperatures and school traffic. Although we are not at the end of the covid-19 pandemic, the consistently low infection rates on Long Island has allowed a sense of normalcy to return while maintaining social distancing. Aside from movie theaters, virtually everything else is open now with its own regulations in order to create a safe environment.

This doesn’t mean the virus shouldn’t be taken seriously anymore. Each one of us has to do our part to prevent any further spread of this virus. This means no matter where we go, it is up to us to follow the rules suggested to be safe. As we have seen in the summer months, the safest way to be socially distant outside of our homes is to be outside whenever possible. Airflow in the open air operates much different than inside a building. These next couple of months may be the last time we can take advantage of the weather and do things outside with the family. Eastern Long Island has always been a popular spot for the family during fall. The abundance of farms and vineyards present plenty of outdoor activities. Here are some ideas of places you can go during the fall in Eastern Long Island and Riverhead.

International Coastal Cleanup 2020

What better way to spend outside with your family than to teach your children about the importance of taking care of the environment. September 19 is a day dedicated to cleaning up some of the immense amount of debris plaguing our oceans. Join Group for the East End, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Hallock State Park as they participate in this year’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).

You can download the Marine Debris Tracker app to help record and track the trash you pick up. You must choose a time slot and come with a face mask. All tools will be provided and cleaned in between sessions. This is a free, socially distanced event.

Classic Wine Country Bike Tour

Starting at $98, this 13.5 mile bike tour takes you to exclusive farms and vineyards. After selecting your bike, a professional guide will tour you around the best of Long Island wine country. In addition to tasting award-winning wines, you will also sample fresh olive oils and vinegars and visit many local farm stands. You will also be able to enjoy live music and entertainment. This event is for people 21 and over.

Autumn Equinox Sunset Paddle on the Carmans River

The Carmans River in Brookhaven is a great place to go kayaking or canoeing. This guided tour allows you to rent a kayak or canoe (or bring your own if you have) to cruise down the Carmans River at sunset.

Garden of Eve

At this organic farm on the East End, kids can interact with chickens, sheep, and other animals. Offering contactless checkout, advance tickets online (not required), and curbside pickup of pre-orders. Friendly farm hands often take animals out for kids to pet and help feed. Also, there is a large children’s play area with a wooden castle and a giant spider web. Many special events are hosted here, including children’s birthday parties, baby animal weekends, an annual tulip festival, and a Mother’s Day brunch. Be sure to stop by the organic market for delicious groceries. The farm is open through Halloween

Hallockville Museum Farm

Although this year, the 19 historic buildings are not open to the public but guided, masked tours are available by appointment. Explore this original farmstead to learn what farming life was like 250 years ago. Visitors to the 19-building facility can experience cooking in the historic kitchen or even grinding corn to feed the resident animals. In addition, kids can interact with cows and chickens to learn about their importance to the farm.

Drive Safely With Your Family This Fall

Even though traffic is slightly better with the increased number of people working from home, Long Island traffic is pretty much back to normal on the weekend. If you and your family plan on getting to Riverhead, give yourself plenty of time to get out there. Don’t put yourself in a stressful situation by not taking into account the traffic. You may look at a GPS ahead of time to get a good idea of how long it will take. Keep in mind also that oftentimes there is traffic just before arriving, due to the parking lot being backed up. If you feel rushed, you are more likely to do something unsafe. Check the traffic conditions and leave early.

Remember Your Driving Fundamentals

While adhering to basic driving fundamentals is always important, it is especially important in heavy traffic situations to always let other drivers be aware of what your vehicle is doing. Long Islanders sometimes have a habit of turning on their directional after they have begun changing lanes. This is not helpful for anyone to anticipate what you are doing, and New York State law requires at least a 100 foot warning via turn signal before you turn, merge or change lanes.

Further, it is even more important to check your blind spot before changing lanes. Although it isn’t safe, many cars like to tailgate in heavy traffic so changing lanes can be especially hazardous and only do so if there is a safe amount of space. Avoid cutting people off, it saves you little to no time.

Parking Lot Safety

The parking at many of the Riverhead orchards and farms can be very hectic. Parking lots always have the potential of causing a car accident. More than 50000 car accidents occur in a parking lot every year. These parking lots may be more busy than most, so the cars will be coming in and out.

It is very important that you pay lots of attention to your surroundings. Look out for cars backing up, and be careful at intersections. A lot of the parking lots at farms and vineyards aren’t paved, so be really careful when parking, and give yourself and other cars adequate space. Anticipate the actions of other drivers and be prepared to use your horn if another car does not seem to see you, especially if they are backing up and getting too close. It is also important to drive slow as there are families walking all over the place. You do not want to be liable for a pedestrian accident.

Additionally, do not use your phone while you are driving in a parking lot; you are still driving and it is still a distraction . This is important to mention because studies show that 66% of drivers nationwide said they would make phone calls while driving in a parking lot.

Riverhead Orchards to Visit this Fall

Although driving can be hectic, going to an orchard in Riverhead can be a really enjoyable experience for the whole family. Here are a couple orchards out in eastern Long Island and what you can expect should you visit.

Harbes Orchard

Harbes is one of the most popular orchards in Riverhead. It has over 20 varieties of apples along with other fall activities like hayrides, pumpkin picking and a corn maze. They even do special events like the Spooky Maze around Halloween. They also have wine tastings and food concessions.

Lewin Farms

Located in Calverton, this farm is unique in that it offers a variety of produce you can pick from. In addition to apples, you can pick berries, peppers and eggplants just to name a few. They also have a corn maze and a farm stand.

Woodside Orchards

Parents love Woodside as it not only has apple picking, but they actually make their own hard cider and do weekly tastings. They host these tastings every Saturday and Sunday in both Aquebogue and Jamesport.

About the Author


Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.

His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.

Last week we discussed how you can properly assess the safety of your home and your motor vehicle to stay one step ahead entering the new year. In Part 2, we will look into how you can analyze your physical and financial health as well as stay up to date on your car insurance.

Physical Health

Out of everything, our physical health is the most important thing to take care of. Many take the New Year as an opportunity to make better health decisions, like losing weight or quitting smoking. Sadly, according to US News, 80% of Americans give up on their New Year’s resolution by the second week of February. If you are determined to stick to your resolution to improve your health, these tips can help you stick to better habits. Whether or not a resolution was made, all of us need to take care of our health. Many are reluctant to go to a Physician or a Dentist, but going to these doctors are extremely valuable to our general health. Getting your annual physical allows your doctor to assess and see if you potentially have very serious health concerns such as high blood pressure, lung disease, an over or underactive thyroid, and heart disease just to name a few. Often times, a blood and urine test are also taken to assess a plethora of functions in your body to ensure they are working well.

A dental exam will also ensure your oral health is adequate. In addition to doing an extensive cleaning on your teeth, a hygienist and dentist will check for signs of gingivitis, tooth decay and gum disease. They’ll also inform you on how you can best care for your teeth at home.

Financial Health

Living on Long Island can be especially difficult due to the high cost of living and high taxes. Therefore, it is really important to evaluate your financial health to see if your money is being used in the best way or if there are areas of improvement. Since it is tax season, many use this time of year to take an in depth look at their expenses. It’s always good to have financial goals in mind, whether its sticking to a budget or paying off a certain debt.

With the advance of technology, it is more and more convenient to keep track of your expenses and managing a budget. Apps such as Mint or EMoney break down all the charges and expenses to any savings, debit or credit accounts you have and can even break down how much you spend on certain categories of charges. The little things add up, and taking a closer look on just how much is being spent on things can really add up in the end.

When it comes to managing debt, the first priority should be any accumulated credit card debt. Interest rates on credit cards are huge, and average three to five times higher of an interest rate than a student loan. Work towards paying off those debts first, and then shave off other debts such as student loans.

Finally, you should take a look at your financial future. Do you have any 401k investments? If you changed jobs, do you have all the information to access any investments from previous jobs? If you have children, try to assess and see if you are able to save up for an education for them. As the circumstances in your life changes, you may need to update any beneficiaries to your accounts as well as update your living will. If you have aging parents, it is definitely a good idea to start preparing for any expenses that accrue for caring for them in their advanced age.

Car Insurance Policies

Finally, take a look at your auto insurance policies to see exactly what kind of coverage you are paying for. Sometimes in an attempt to minimize their car insurance bill, many people don’t realize the areas in which they are not covered by their car insurance.

The first thing you will want to check is your no fault insurance coverage. New York State is a “no-fault” state meaning that regardless of who is at fault, your insurance company is paying for any of your medical expenses and lost wages up to $50,000 as a minimum. Sometimes unfortunately, the expenses of an injury can far exceed that. Therefore, you may consider increasing your coverage so your expenses are cared for beyond that minimum coverage. Remember, in no fault states, even if someone else caused your injury, it is your insurance’s no fault coverage that is paying for your expenses.

The next thing you will want to check is your bodily injury liability coverage. In the case that you unfortunately, injured someone else in a motor vehicle accident, your bodily liability coverage will pay for those damages. This covers over all damages beyond what no-fault will cover. The amount of expenses that can accrue from an injury can reach really high numbers. If the expenses exceed what you are covered for, you could be in a really bad situation. As a rule of thumb, the more assets you have, the higher coverage you should pursue. Therefore, we recommend if possible coverage of at least $1 million. The difference in actual payment for this coverage is really not that big, but if you are in a worse case scenario situation this can really help you out.

Finally, you will want to check your Supplemental Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage. If you are injured in a car accident because of someone who has little or no insurance coverage, SUM/UM is where your insurance can provide additional payment since the opposing party is not able to provide payment. As a minimum, New York auto insurance requires $25,000 SUM for losses not covered by No-fault. But you can increase this and be compensated even more if necessary. It’s also important to note that SUM can compensate for pain and suffering while No-fault will not.

Finally, ask your insurance provider about all the discounts available for your insurance policy and see which one benefits you the most. Reaching a different age brackets and not having incidents for certain periods of time may open up opportunities to lower your bill, but you have to ask for them first!

We hope you benefit from these tips so that you can start the new decade on the right foot.

About the Author


Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.

His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.

Now that it is a new month, year, and decade, it’s always a good idea to evaluate different aspects of your life to make sure things are up to date and squared away. Today we will discuss how you can better monitor the safety of your home and your car in Part 1 of Starting 2020 on the right foot.

Evaluate Your Home Safety

Safety inside your home is always extremely important. But sometimes with how busy life can be, we forget the check up on vital things that make our home environment a safe one for us and our family.The first thing you will want to check is for fire safety. You should have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors generously throughout your house, and replace their batteries every year. Test them monthly and make sure your family is aware of what to do in the case of a fire, complete with an escape plan and meeting location. Additionally, have a strategically placed fire extinguisher, preferably having one on every floor and near the kitchen if possible.

Then you will want to double check things in your house that can cause a fire. Electrical wiring created heat, can be a major fire hazard if incorrectly present. Be careful of overloaded outlets, excessive use of extension cords, and for frayed wires. Be very mindful of where power cords are running, if they are under forwards or rugs, they could be dangerous. If you are unsure of how safe some of your electronics or outlets are, have it checked out by an electrician. The cost of an electrician is way cheaper than the cost of having your home catch on fire. Additionally, examine the heating in your house. If you have a wood burning stove, it’s very important to have your chimney inspected every year and the stove itself twice a month. If you have a water heater, make sure that is inspected annually. Really, any vents should be examined and insured that they are not obstructed.

Finally, home security is more and more important. Fortunately, it is also much easier now to have home security systems in your house. As a minimum, every door leading outside should have a deadbolt lock. However, you should consider going further with your security. Video surveillance is more and more available. Many people have installed a ring(ring.com) doorbell or something similar. This doorbell uses motion detection and records any activity going on near wherever it is installed. This information can be immediately sent to your phone. It also acts as a doorbell and will ‘ring’ you even if you are out of the house and can speak with whoever is at your door. Finally, whether or not you actually have a security system, it is a good defense against burglars to advertise that you have home security installed.

Evaluate Your Car Safety

Car safety is perhaps equally important. Although we don’t spend as much in our cars as our home, the risk of serious injury greatly increases. Here are vital things to check your car, so that you and your family are as safe as possible when you get inside your vehicle.

The first thing you will want to do is check the tires. Tires will get damaged as you drive along the road. With Long Island’s winters and unforgiving potholes, this can be especially true. Tires should have a clear pattern of “treads” which provide traction on the road. Over time, those treads can wear down and go “bald”, meaning the tires won’t grip the roads as well. This can be especially concerning to have during winter weather. You will also want to check the tire pressure.
Following that, examine your car’s lights. Turn the headlights on and check to see if they are cloudy or dim. Turn your blinkers on and see if they are blinking fast (indicating the light will soon go). Then have someone check the back of your car while you carefully turn on your brake lights.

From their you want to check your battery seasonally. The first sign of a wearing battery is when the car struggles to start. Another sign could be the windows lagging when trying to adjust them. If you look under the hood, try to notice if there is any corrosion on the battery. Making sure your battery is healthy will prevent the possibility of being stranded on the road.

Last but certainly not least, you’ll want to make sure to get your car inspected and have routine oil changes. A mechanic will be able to notice even further potential hazards and signs of wear and tear in your car. A more in-depth checklist can be found here.

In Part 2, we will discuss keeping up to date with your automobile insurance, your finances, and your physical health.

About the Author


Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.

His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.

Would you be willing to give up personal information in exchange for a chance of having lower rates? This is, essentially, what many car insurance companies are offering to drivers, when they offer “telematic devices” to their carriers. These tracking devices are meant to monitor how a person drives and rewards them for being safe and defensive drivers. Although we use insurance companies as a means to financial protection, at the end of they day their goal is to collect as much money as they can while at the same time paying out as little as possible in our behalf.

It is not unusual nowadays for corporations to collect copious amounts of data (I’m looking at you Google) from its users, so it is crucial to be aware of what kind of information these kind of tracking devices are collecting, and how these insurance companies plan on using them. So while these companies offer “safe” drivers to use these tracking devices to lower their rates, they’ll also take any chance they get to penalize a “bad driver”. Here are some important things to consider before putting a tracking device in your vehicle.

If you Drive Poorly, Your Rates Can Go Up

The incentive for these trackers is to lower rates for insurance carriers, proving to insurance companies that you are a safe driver. This kind of technology has actually been around since 1998, with Progressive Insurance being the first company to introduce telematics tracking. However in 2013, the company began to collect data with intent of penalizing drivers as well for poor driving maneuvers. Since then, other car insurance companies also offer these trackers to their carriers. Therefore, always consider the potential that if you drive in a way that the trackers deem unsafe, you could hurt your car insurance bill rather than help it.

It is Optional

It is important to get the facts about how your insurance companies handles these tracking devices with your rates. Some companies offer a lower rate right away for using it, while other insurance companies require you to use it for a few months before they do anything. It’s important to remember that, as of right now, using these telematic devices are optional. If you opt in to a tracking program but it doesn’t actually save you any money, you might be able to opt out without any problems. Progressive says that its program determines whether or not to offer rewards or discounts based on six months’ worth of tracker use. Other insurance companies consider discounts as long as the tracker’s being used, but if they’re notified that the tracker is disabled or disconnected, the driver will lose any discount they’ve earned.

How it Works

Although you might not realize it, if your car less than 25 years old, there is most likely a computer system (called OBD-II) built inside of it. To access the system, most cars have a port that allows you to get into the system to analyze data. In fact, you might notice mechanics using this port to run error logs to detect problems in your car. This same port is where the tracker goes and how it is able to analyze your driving habits.

What it Tracks

Not every insurance company discloses what information they are collecting, and ultimately it’s up to you to decide if those terms are acceptable for you. Regardless of what they choose to tell you, OBD-II computer software is able to find, store and transmit any data in the vehicle’s computer.

These trackers are trying to determine driving habits. Common information it will collect is how fast the driver tends to go, how hard they hit the brakes, and even tracks the GPS location of the vehicle. The internal GPS will help the telematics device determine your speed versus the speed limit in that area; as well as how often you drive at night and in areas of high crime risk. In newer vehicles, where safety features such as emergency braking and collision warnings are present, the tracker will record how often the driver needs to use these safety features.

Is It Worth It?

This is a question that each individual has to ask themselves. Some feel it is too invasive of their privacy, feeling that the GPS tracking is just too much information for the corporation to have on record. Some feel that eventually, with locations being recorded, that insurance companies could one day market that information to advertisers based on when and where their carriers are driving. Others fear that they will be penalized rather than discounted, and fear that those unexpected situations where you need to defensively brake hard will be used against them. Others still who did opt for the tracker and drove extremely carefully, reported that they still didn’t get a discount.

On the other hand, some companies give a discount right away for installing one, so it might be worth it to get a lower car insurance bill. No matter what you do or how you feel about these trackers, it’s good to understand just how the technology functions, and what that means to a car insurance company. And who knows, one day you might not have a choice and it could only be a matter of time before they become mandatory by car insurance companies for their carriers.

About the Author


Steven Palermo is the managing partner for Palermo Law, Long Island’s Personal Injury Law Firm. He has been helping people receive compensation for their injuries for over 21 years. He focuses on cases involving car accidents, truck accidents, construction accidents and slip and fall injuries.

His book The Ultimate Guide to Handling New York Car Accident Claims details the ins and outs of a car accident claim in a simple, easy-to-read manner.