Winery Owner Donates $100,000 To Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital

Local business owner Randy Frankel donated $100,000 to the Eastern Long Island Hospital Foundation’s COVID-19 Action Fund to aid the Greenport hospital in its fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Frankel became enamored with the North Fork four years ago when he visited for the first time.

“I bought Shinn Estate Vineyards and Farmhouse the first day I was there; that’s how much I fell in love with the North Fork and the East End,” said Frankel, who owns property on both forks. “Once I heard of the first COVID-19 case and then a few other cases, I realized this was going to inundate the health care system out there. That’s when I realized that they were going to need my help.”

Growing up in New Jersey, Frankel was previously unfamiliar with the East End’s health care resources. It was a news article about the first positive case of COVID-19 on the North Fork that caught his attention.

Frankel has become a significant member of the North Fork business community, also owning Croteaux Vineyards in Southold and Schreiber Farm in Connecticut on top of the vineyard in Mattituck.

After working on Wall Street for many years, Frankel experienced the tragedy of September 11, 2001 firsthand and retired shortly thereafter. In 2004, he and his partners purchased the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team. A philanthropist at heart, he and his wife run the Randy and Barbara Frankel Foundation, which supports education for students at two different New Jersey academic institutions. They are also involved with Homeless Solutions of Morristown, NJ, and Camp Happy Times in Maplewood, which was founded by Frankel’s father.

In light of the pandemic, Frankel started researching and came across Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital’s website. Intrigued by the hospital’s unique history and its location in a community he has grown to love, he decided to make the donation.

“As the community knows, our patients are often our neighbors, our friends, our family members — it’s personal,” Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Paul J. Connor III said. “We are proud to call Mr. Frankel a member of our community, and we can’t thank him enough for this contribution that will provide tremendous support for our hospital.”

“I’ve met so many nice local people that have made a difference in my life and added value,” Frankel added. “I wanted to do something to help the community where I spend a lot of my time now.”

Frankel is also aiding Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City by donating 1000 bottles of wine to its frontline staff so they “can grab a bottle of wine, go home, have something to drink and just relax.”

“When I hear what the nurses and frontline doctors have to endure risking their lives and their families, I don’t know how they have the strength to get up daily and go right back in again,” Frankel said. “I just felt like there was something I had to do to help put them in a better position to cope with this.”

For more information about how to support Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital and its foundation, call 631-477-5164 or email elih_donations@stonybrookmedicine.edu. Visit here to contribute to the COVID-19 Action Fund.

For more information about Eastern Long Island Hospital’s efforts to combat COVID-19, visit Stony Brook Medicine.

desiree@indyeastend.com