By Alix Glasser
Harvey was taken from a Suffolk County home, where he was being kept illegally, in the mid-1980s. He then became a resident of the middle school, under the care of Brian Kerr, a technology teacher and the head of the school's Sci-Tech and archery clubs.
"It is illegal and inappropriate," Kerr said, to raise alligators in one's home.
Kerr, who is registered with the state's Department of Environmental Conservation and a licensed zookeeper, has been diligently monitoring Harvey for the past 20 years. An alligator, which can live in captivity as long as a human, he explains, requires quite a bit of looking after. Harvey eats a six- to eight-pound chicken every 10 days, and grows about a foot a year. He lives in the middle school's basement, which used to be a storage facility, in a domain designed specifically for his needs, which includes a large sandy area to relax in and a tank for a pool.
Harvey isn't the first animal Kerr has been responsible for. He has made homes in the middle school for boa constrictors, pythons, iguanas, lizards, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, and even goats. With the help of the Sci-Tech Club, Kerr has been happy to oblige these animals' needs.
Kerr plans to retire in the next two years. With his planned retirement came the need to find homes for the animals that have depended on him. Most of the smaller animals were donated to Tanglewood Preserve in Rockville Centre. Harvey, however, posed a larger problem - literally.
After researching facilities that would accommodate Harvey, Kerr chose Gatorland in Florida. The facility has provided reptile-related services for 50 years, and has an impressive history. "I'm real happy with their track record." Kerr said. "They are the ideal place for transfer."
Flavio Morrissiey and Babs Steorts of Gatorland came to the middle school to transport Harvey to Florida. After covering his eyes (for his own safety) and wrapping him in blankets like a reptilian taco, Morrissiey and Steorts, along with Jeff Blasi, a college student who assists Kerr, Kerr and members of the maintenance staff carried Harvey out to a minivan set up for his departure.
Superintendent Dr. William H. Johnson, Assistant Superintendent Robert Bartels, assistant principals Rose Cammarata and Vito D'Elia, Tony Coppola and the maintenance staff, and several members of the faculty were on hand to say good-bye.
Morrissiey and Steorts planned to drive Harvey to Florida, where he will be welcomed into a new and improved home. He will have, Morrissiey said, "some grass on his belly and some sun on his head."
Although it seemed like a sad day for Kerr and the middle school, he saw it as a positive step forward. "It was time," Kerr said. "It was on my terms."
Having Harvey at the middle school for all these years was an experience that both students and faculty will long remember.
