Siding Companies in Babylon, NY

Babylon native becomes first in company history to hold both top roles.

BABYLON, NY — Babylon resident Al Altieri has been named president of WindowRama Enterprises, making him the first person in the company’s history to hold the dual title of president and chief executive officer, the Edgewood-based window and door supplier announced Wednesday.

Altieri, who joined WindowRama in 1980 to help launch its first location in Amityville, has spent more than four decades helping expand the company from a single warehouse to a regional operation with over 20 retail locations across the tri-state area.

“I offer my sincere best wishes to Al as he steps into this role, and I am confident that the company is in excellent hands under his leadership,” said WindowRama owner Marc Axinn.

Over the years, Altieri has served as Director of Distribution, Chief Operating Officer, and CEO. He also oversaw WindowRama’s 2002 relocation to its current 60,000-square-foot headquarters on Industry Court in Deer Park and helped steer the company through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under his leadership, WindowRama has strengthened its leadership team, improved operations, and sold more than $1 billion in Andersen Windows and Doors products, company officials said.

“Al’s dedication to his customers and commitment to excellence within the window industry is truly inspiring,” said Kris Edwards, vice president of sales at Andersen Corporation. “His professionalism, experience, and deep knowledge of the business consistently elevates those around him.”

Altieri said he plans to focus on expanding the company once the home improvement market improves — including through new store openings, online sales, and potential acquisitions.

WindowRama, headquartered in Edgewood, is one of the Northeast’s leading suppliers of windows and doors.

East Neck Nursing & Rehab will host a holiday fundraiser to support the Berry family as their 17-month-old son undergoes cancer treatment.

Jackson smiles while resting in a hospital bed during one of his inpatient stays as doctors work toward clearing his leukemia ahead of a future bone marrow transplant. (Courtesy Jenna Berry)

(Courtesy Jenna Berry)

Jenna and Shaun Berry of West Babylon pose with their son, Jackson, during a family gathering earlier this year. Jackson was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia just weeks after his first birthday. (Courtesy Jenna Berry)

Jackson Berry, now 17 months old, sleeps at home in West Babylon during the holiday season as he continues treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. (Courtesy Jenna Berry)

WEST BABYLON, NY — For lifelong West Babylon resident Jenna Berry, 36, time stopped around Labor Day weekend. Since late August, her days have blurred into hospital rooms, IV lines, chemotherapy schedules, and long conversations with doctors about her 1-year-old son, Jackson, now 17 months old, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) just weeks after his first birthday.

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, East Neck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in West Babylon plans to host a holiday fundraiser for the Berry family from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., an event organizers say is meant to bring the community together while helping the family shoulder the costs and strain associated with long-term pediatric cancer treatment, including travel, medical expenses, and time away from work.

“Everything has changed,” Berry told Patch, describing the shock of pivoting from a normal routine with a healthy toddler to living around appointments. “Now I’m a full-time stay-at-home mom, just to care for him — 24/7. … Going from taking care of a normal, healthy child to living in the hospital or going to doctor’s appointments — it’s just a complete turn. It’s difficult adjusting.”

Jackson’s leukemia diagnosis came suddenly, after what initially appeared to be a routine childhood illness.

In late August, Berry noticed her son wasn’t eating solid foods and seemed unusually lethargic — a sharp contrast to his normal behavior. “As soon as this kid opens his eyes in the morning, he’s running,” she said. “So when he wasn’t, I knew something was off.”

A pediatrician visit pointed to teething and a possible viral illness, but Berry’s instincts told her something more serious was happening. When Jackson stopped drinking from a bottle, she began feeding him formula and water by syringe. Shortly after, she drove him to Stony Brook University Hospital’s emergency room.

“They took us right into the ER and said he had no blood,” she recalled. “I started laughing — not because I thought it was funny — but because I didn’t understand. I was like, ‘Where’s the vampire? What do you mean he has no blood?’ I didn’t even know how that worked.”

Doctors soon confirmed her son had AML, and Jackson was transferred to the intensive care unit, where he received multiple blood transfusions before starting chemotherapy almost immediately.

“They mentioned the word leukemia, but I didn’t even realize it was cancer until we were upstairs in the ICU,” Berry said. “They were prepping him for transfusions, and then they started saying cancer. My husband left work and came straight to the hospital. We were just like, ‘How is this happening?’”

Before Jackson’s diagnosis, Berry worked full-time as an administrative assistant at an HVAC company. Since that day in August, her life has shifted entirely.

“I went from working full-time to being a stay-at-home mom overnight,” she said. “Everything changed. Going from taking care of a normal, healthy child to living in the hospital, going to doctors’ appointments constantly — it’s a complete turn. It’s just hard.”

Paid family leave and Family and Medical Leave Act protections quickly ran out, and Berry said returning to full-time work may not be possible for the foreseeable future.

“Even after the transplant, we’ll be going back and forth between Columbia [University Irving Medical Center] and Stony Brook [University Medical Center] for months,” she said. “One day I’ll be driving an hour west, another day 40 minutes east. There’s bloodwork, follow-ups, testing — there’s no timeline. It could be six months. It could be a year.”

Doctors are working toward a bone marrow transplant once Jackson’s leukemia is fully cleared, a process that has required multiple rounds of chemotherapy and constant monitoring.

Her husband, Shaun Berry, works for the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department and has continued working while supporting his family through the ordeal.

“There’s no real preparation for any of this,” Jenna Berry said. “You just wake up and go into survival mode. What does he need today? What do we have to do for him? You don’t really have a choice.”

Courtney Webb, who works at East Neck Nursing & Rehab, said she has known Berry since childhood. The Holiday Cheer Pie Grab & Go fundraiser will include a Chinese auction, photos with Santa, letters to Santa, kids’ activities, and Christmas carolers — whom Webb noted are also West Babylon alumni. The goal, she said, is to create a welcoming holiday atmosphere while raising money that will go directly to the family.

“All money that will be raised will be going directly to that family while they’re going through this trying time,” Webb said.

Berry said she was first approached by Webb — someone she has known since elementary school — before the event was publicly announced. Knowing that people, including some she has never met, are coming together for her son has been deeply emotional.

“It’s a lot, not in a bad way,” Berry said. “Everything is overwhelming already, and then you see people trying to help, donating, saying kind things. It’s really nice to see people being people again. We’re very grateful, my husband and I. It’s overwhelming in a good way, but I’m still processing it all.”

For Berry, community support doesn’t always need to be grand gestures. She said simply showing up for families going through childhood cancer can make a real difference. Asked what keeps her hopeful, Berry didn’t hesitate.

“Jackson,” she said. “I look at him, and I’ll make sure nothing ever happens to him. Obviously, this is out of my hands — I couldn’t prevent leukemia — but I’ll make damn sure he gets every treatment he needs, and everything goes according to plan as best as it can.”

Event details and how to help

What: Holiday Cheer Pie Grab & Go Fundraiser (benefiting the Berry family)When: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Where: East Neck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, West BabylonHighlights: Chinese auction, photos with Santa, letters to Santa, kids’ activities, Christmas carolers, and more.More info/donations: Courtney Webb — (631) 316-5884 or cwebb@cassenacare.com

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WEST BABYLON, New York (WABC) -- Some students on Long Island took a trip back in time Thursday morning to open open a time capsule from 1995.

West Babylon Junior High School opened the blast from the past that was buried 30 years ago, and they unearthed the "artifacts" live in the school's auditorium.

Back in June 1995, the New Jersey Devils won their first Stanley Cup, Disney's "Pocahontas" premiered in theaters and Bill Clinton was in the White House.

The capsule was originally slated to be opened in 2020, or 25 years after it was buried, but because of the pandemic, they held off.

But finally on Thursday, the two five-gallon containers finally saw the light of day.

There was a calendar page from the day the capsule was closed back in 1995, photographs of students and teachers, two actual books and, of course, things that were confiscated: like a Motorola cellphone along with something many people now remember quite fondly, a pager.

"In our day we used to text with numbers, right, so 07734 when you turn it around it says hello," said Principal Dr. Carlos Falcon.

But perhaps the most touching item was a letter from the class of 1995 to the class of 2020, urging them to be all that they can be.

Everything will be displayed in the school's gym so that students can get a really good look.

Now the students are working on their own time capsule to be opened in 2050.

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NEW YORK, NY — In the wake of his overwhelming election win that signalled a dramatic political shift in the United States, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was reportedly horrified to wake up this morning and discover that he now had a job.

The Ugandan-born socialist won a landslide victory on Tuesday over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and common sense, only to come to the stunning realization that he would now have to work.

"I didn't think this through," Mamdani reportedly told one of his aides. "I was all excited about the campaign and wanted to win, but I got so caught up in the competition that I didn't stop to think that I would end up, you know, having a job. This is terrible."

Promising handouts and government-provided living necessities built a tremendous following for Mamdani, though he now found himself in the unenviable position of not being able to just sit at home and do nothing like his supporters. "I didn't know I would have to like… do stuff," he complained to his staff. "I figured being mayor was more like an honorary title, like getting the key to the city. Speaking of, since I'm mayor now, are there actual keys to the city? Like, can I get into any place I want now? That would be cool. But, yeah, I really don't want to actually do any work."

At publishing time, Democratic Party officials assured Mamdani that if he were to ever be elected to the U.S. Congress, he could finally have a position where he would never have to work.

What happens when a politically divided family sit down for a "peaceful" dinner?