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🐝 Extraordinary Way to Experience the Night Sky

🐝 Extraordinary Way to Experience the Night Sky

Mattituck's PFAS Fix, Bread & Butter, New Giant at Custer Observatory

Thomas Loncar
July 31, 2026

Together With Tim O’Keefe

Good Morning, North Fork! If you're wondering where July went, you're not alone.

In today’s North Fork Buzz:

Mattituck's PFAS Fix
Bread & Butter
New Giant at Custer Observatory

Ready, Set, Go!

The Lowdown

Mattituck's PFAS Fix 🚰

Sixty Mattituck homes with PFAS contaminated private wells could soon be connected to public water if the Suffolk County Water Authority secures a second shot at state funding.

SCWA is applying for a $1.68 million state grant to help pay for a new water main extension serving parts of Reeve and Westphalia avenues, Pike Street, New Suffolk Avenue and County Road 48. The same request was denied last year, but officials say they're optimistic and are also pursuing congressional funding.

Testing last year found widespread "forever chemical" contamination in the area, with more than half of the wells sampled exceeding New York's drinking water standard.

The proposal is separate from SCWA's larger North Fork pipeline project, though the growing number of residents switching from contaminated private wells to public water remains one of the authority's key arguments for expanding the system. ($)

Get the full story 👉 Suffolk Times

Bread & Butter 🥖

Bread & Butter may be the newest neighborhood market, but for the family behind it, the real goal was never just selling coffee and groceries.

After moving to the North Fork a few years ago, Diana Roesch DiMenna and her family were overwhelmed by the kindness they received from neighbors, especially after the community rallied to help search for their missing dog on Thanksgiving. That experience inspired them to create a place where people could gather, connect and support local businesses.

Housed inside the former Wegert's grocery on Sound Avenue, Bread & Butter offers house made pastries, breakfast sandwiches, grab and go meals, locally sourced groceries and, soon, a bottle shop highlighting a different North Fork winery each month.

Get the full story 👉 Greater East End

Photo of the Week

📸 submitted by Julia Towey

Tag @NorthForkBuzz or email us at [email protected] to get your photos in The Buzz!

Local Spotlight

New Giant at Custer Observatory 🔭

Soon, visitors to Custer Observatory will have an even more extraordinary way to experience the night sky thanks to a new arrival that's as rare as the celestial objects it will help reveal.

After months of restoration and preparation, Custer Observatory has welcomed a fully operational 20-inch Meade RCX 400 telescope. Standing more than seven feet tall and weighing hundreds of pounds, the massive instrument dates back to Meade's "golden era" and was once considered one of the most advanced telescopes built for observatories and serious astronomers.

Today, it's believed fewer than five working examples remain anywhere in the United States, making this a remarkable addition to the North Fork.

The observatory recently completed its first successful technical test, confirming the telescope is performing as designed both mechanically and electronically. The next step is preparing the observatory grounds for its permanent installation, bringing visitors one step closer to exploring the universe through a truly rare piece of astronomical history.

^{_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored}}

Foodie Friday 🍽

Some of the best restaurant recommendations don't come from critics.

They come from the friend who orders the exact same thing every single time because they've already done the research for you.

WE have been asking you to send us your favorite dishes from around the North Fork, and this week we're featuring our very first reader recommendation.

A huge thank you to Jodi Posner for kicking things off!

Jodi works for the James Beard Foundation, so it's fair to say she spends plenty of time around incredible food. Which is exactly why we loved what she had to say.

🍝 Jodi's Pick: The Bolognese at Touch of Venice

"I'm always in search of the best bolognese."

With what Jodi does for a living, she's fortunate enough to eat some truly exceptional meals. But what she shared was, that the simple classics aren't always on the menu.

That's why, when she's craving comfort food done right, she heads to Touch of Venice.

Her favorite is their bolognese.

According to Jodi, it's everything a great bolognese should be. The sauce is thick enough to cling to every strand of pasta without feeling heavy or overwhelming. It's rich, hearty and deeply satisfying, but somehow still feels like something you could happily order in the middle of July.

She especially loves that the tomatoes still shine through, adding just enough acidity and brightness to balance the richness of the meat. And unlike many versions, it isn't overly sweet, a detail she says makes all the difference.

In fact, she enjoys it so much that she skips the appetizers altogether.

"I order it on its own because I don't want to allocate any space in my stomach for anything else."

Honestly, that's about as strong of an endorsement as a pasta dish can get.

A special thank you to Jodi, who's been a loyal North Fork Buzz reader since the very beginning, for sharing her favorite dish with us and for being our very first Foodie Friday reader recommendation. We can't think of a better way to kick off this new series.

Now it's your turn.

What's the one dish on the North Fork you'll happily drive 20 minutes for? The sandwich you can't stop thinking about? The dessert you order before you've even finished dinner?

Email us at [email protected] with your recommendation. We'd love to feature you in an upcoming Foodie Friday.

Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored

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THANKS!

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Tom Loncar- Publisher
Nicole Loncar- Editor + Partnerships