Pete Caldera will perform at The Jazz Loft on May 4, 5 and 6.
Frank Sinatra once said, “I think my real ambition is to pass on to others what I know. It took me a long, long time to learn what I now know, and I don’t want that to die with me.”
Enter vocalist Pete Caldera to grab the “Sinatra baton” with his perfectly nuanced interpretations of Frank’s catalog. Caldera will head to The Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., Stony Brook for three shows filled with Sinatra classics, called “Strictly Sinatra,” on May 4, 5 and 6, with all shows starting at 7 p.m. Caldera will be joined by the Jazz Loft’s 17-piece big band directed by Jazz Loft founder Tom Manuel.
“Sinatra was one of the most important entertainers of the 20th Century,” said Manuel. “Just as Frank never did anything in a small way, we will be devoting three nights to Ol’ Blue Eyes, with Pete Caldera.”
This is Caldera’s second year performing at The Jazz Loft’s tributes to Frank Sinatra. Away from performing, Caldera is a reporter for the Bergen Record and the USA Today network, covering the Yankees. He is a past chairman of the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for the Bergen Record and the USA Today network, covering the Yankees.
Tickets are $40 adults, $35 seniors, $30 students, $25 children at www.thejazzloft.org or at the door. For more information, call 631-751-1895.
On May 1, Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) kicked off her annual countywide “A Park a Day in May” campaign designed to encourage Suffolk residents to visit, enjoy and help promote and protect Suffolk County’s hundreds of parks. This year, she invited her fellow legislators to participate by choosing a favorite park in each of their districts to highlight together.
In addition, in a separate but related initiative, Hahn is also partnering with the Association for Mental Health and Wellness (AMHW) to bring attention to May being Mental Health Awareness month and the tangible role parks can play in helping to minimize the impact of stress on our daily lives.
For several years, Hahn has highlighted a park a day each day for 31 days during May using social media to spread the word. She challenges county residents to visit each of the parks highlighted sometime during the spring or summer; take and post a “selfie” that identifies which park they are visiting, and include the hashtag #aparkaday with their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. “We have a remarkable park system in Suffolk County and across Long Island that provides our residents with nearly limitless recreational opportunities to get out in nature at very little cost,” said Hahn. “Not only does the ‘A Park a Day in May’ Challenge give people a roadmap for exploring our majestic natural landscape, but it also gives them the opportunity to celebrate that journey of exploration with their family and friends.”
Each day in May, Hahn will highlight another park, more than half chosen by her fellow legislators. From Inlet Pond Park on the North Fork to Laurel Valley Park on the South Fork, Sagtikos Manor on the South Shore and West Hills on the North Shore, the legislators are joining with Hahn in highlighting favorite parks across the county. In 2016, Hahn began her challenge focusing on parks within District Five, the legislative district she serves. “Residents of my district really took up the challenge, and each year since we have expanded our reach and I am excited and hopeful that across Long Island, families are going to get into the spirit of the idea of ‘A Park a Day in May,’” said Hahn.
Through the “A Park a Day in May” campaign, Hahn has enlisted scores of Suffolk residents in raising awareness about Suffolk’s parks. “Whether along a waterfront or deep in a forest, our parks and beaches are the natural resources that define our quality of life and make Suffolk and all of Long Island unique, and we must do everything we can to keep them clean, safe and accessible to local residents,” said Hahn.
Hahn chaired Suffolk’s Parks & Recreation Committee for five years beginning in 2017 and has focused on protecting the County’s more than 50,000 acres of parkland from illegal dumping and misuse, while also finding innovative ways to increase public access and enjoyment of these parks. That year, Hahn led an effort to expose illegal dumping in some county parks and provide stiffer penalties for such abuse. Hahn has also created a volunteer Parks Stewardship program for County parks and has also created a fifth-district Parks Passport for kids and is working with the County Parks Department on a countywide version as well.
Legislator Hahn is accepting recommendations for parks to highlight during the 2023 “A Park a Day in May,” and is asking residents to take a photo of themselves in their favorite park and e-mail it to [email protected] along with the reason why that park is their favorite.
Miller Place midfielder Hayden Young looks for a cutter. Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers score. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Sophia Ingenito fires at the cage. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior goalie Natalia Altebrando with a save. Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers score. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Olivia Coffey takes flight. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Angie Efstathiou breaks down the sideline. Photo by Bill Landon
Panthers score. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Olivia Coffey gets double teamed. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place sophomore Mirabella Altebrando fires at the cage. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Angie Efstathiou looks for a cutter. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Angie Efstathiou pushes past a defender. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Sophia Ingenito wins the draw. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place defender Madison Hall splits a pair of defenders. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Sophia Ingenito pushes upfield. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West attack Ashlyn Renkowski looks for a cutter. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophia Ingenito battles Ashley Mennella at draw. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place defender Madison Hall powers her way upfield. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West midfielder Ashley Mennella passes. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior goalie Natalia Altebrando clears the ball for the Panthers. Photo by Bill Landon
Abigail Lonigro and Jolie Schiavo battle for a loose ball. Photo by Bill Landon
It was all Miller Place on a rainy Saturday afternoon, April 29, when the Panthers hosted the Smithtown West Bulls in a Div. II matchup.
Miller Place had secured a 7-2 lead by the halftime break. Smithtown West’s struggles continued in the second half, with Miller Place controlling the pace the rest of the way. The Panthers put the game away 15-4.
Mirabella Altebrando led the way for the Panthers with six assists. Olivia Coffey netted four goals while teammates Isabella Luisa and Hayden Young each scored three goals apiece. Natalia Altebrando had eight saves on the day.
Smithtown West’s Jolie Schiavo scored twice for the Bulls, and Ashley Mennella and teammate Laura Luikart both scored.
The win lifts Miller Place to 6-5 in their division, while the Bulls dropped to 5-6 with three games remaining before postseason play begins.
Both teams are back in action Wednesday, May 3, when Miller Place hosts Eastport-South Manor, and Smithtown West hits the road for an away game against Greenport-Southold-Mattituck. Both games begin at 4:00 p.m.
Above, Maasai tribe leaders during a visit to Port Jefferson on Saturday, April 22. Left to right: Chief Joseph Ole Tipanko, Cecilia Tipanko and John Kilenyi Ole Parsitau. Photos by Raymond Janis
Following a multiyear delay due to COVID-19, representatives of Port Jefferson’s sister village visited last weekend.
On Saturday, April 22, the chief of the Maasai tribe in Kenya returned to the Port Jefferson Village Center with two fellow members of the tribe. The Maasai delegation presented on local developments in Kenya since its last visit, as the shadow of the pandemic and environmental degradation have diminished their way of life.
In Maasai villages, there is no running water or electricity, they explained. The women construct huts made of sticks and mud. Men protect the community from the numerous dangerous animals that cohabitate in their territory. In this agricultural society, a Maasai family’s worth is determined by the number of cattle it owns.
‘For any American, it’s very beneficial to know about other cultures and other parts of the world.’
— Virginia Armstrong
In recent years, the Maasai have been ravaged by severe drought, killing off much of their cattle and endangering their very existence.
The chief, Joseph Ole Tipanko, oversees approximately 7,000 people in Kenya. His wife, Cecilia, and John Kilenyi Ole Parsitau were with him.
During their presentations, the Maasai people had an opportunity to share their culture with Port Jeff, highlighting the many similarities and differences between the two.
Virginia Armstrong is a local resident and partner of the Maasai organization, helping arrange their events while they are visiting the United States.
She said that through the year, the leaders and community members of the two villages, though separated by 10,000 miles, have forged close ties.
“Mayor [Margot] Garant has been here several times, and she calls them her sister village,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong also stressed the unique opportunities that this bond creates, emphasizing how cultural exchanges between the two villages mutually enrich one another.
“We benefit each other,” she said. “We bring some cultural awareness to Port Jeff and then, in exchange, we are supported by the village here.”
She added, “For any American, it’s very beneficial to know about other cultures and other parts of the world.”
‘Whenever we come here, we feel so connected.’
— Chief Joseph Ole Tipanko
During the presentations, the chief explored some of the challenges that the Maasai people face today, including severe droughts, environmental degradation and the ill effects of climate change.
The chief said there are numerous attributes that Port Jeff village residents should take away from the Maasai way of life. “People need to be bonded together by love and unity,” he said. “It’s also good that they know that they should conserve.”
Tipanko stressed that in much of the undeveloped world, including the Maasai villages, access to food is often limited. He reminded Americans that they should not take food for granted.
“They should appreciate what they have here in this country,” he said.
He has also observed in the U.S. a tendency toward excess, with many Americans consuming well beyond their basic needs. He commented that this mode of thinking could lead to a grasping, materialistic outlook and culture, impeding one’s connection to others and enjoyment of life.
American children “need much, but in Africa, even getting a sweet — a candy — is something big,” he said. “Getting a pair of shoes is something that’s big because some of the kids are barefoot.”
He added that Americans “should be thankful for what they have because they have running water in their houses, bathrooms and electricity. To me, I think they are very lucky.”
Upon returning to Port Jeff, the chief highlighted the importance of sharing that message.
“Whenever we come here, we feel so connected,” he said, adding that this unique forum “teaches the students to come and appreciate the diverse cultures of the world. And in that, when I understand their culture and they understand my culture, we are able to live peacefully as brothers and sisters for a peaceful global world.”
Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, center, swears in Ira Costell, right, and Carolyn Sagliocca as president and vice president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association.
Photo by Raymond Janis
The newly reconfigured executive board of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association went straight to work Tuesday night during the body’s general meeting April 25.
Nearly six dozen people turned out as former civic president Ed Garboski and vice president Sal Pitti left their posts, transitioning leadership authority to Ira Costell and Carolyn Sagliocca, respectively.
Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and representatives of state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) were all in attendance.
Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) officiated over a formal swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected civic officers. He thanked the departing civic leaders and congratulated their successors.
“There’s an energy in this community that we haven’t felt in years,” he said. “It’s a whole new optimism, and in large part, that’s because of the drive out of this civic organization.”
To Garboski and Pitti, the councilmember added, “You two are fantastic civic leaders, and I have every confidence that the new board will continue to focus and do the work that you’ve done.”
The newly reconfigured executive board of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association during a general meeting on Tuesday, April 25. Photo by Raymond Janis
Land use
Costell quickly got moving, announcing the creation of a land use committee headed by Sagliocca, which will monitor development and related land use activities within the hamlet.
Further expanding on this theme, Costell articulated his vision for overseeing the redevelopment of the area, narrowing his focus around the projected $100 million proposed investment into Jefferson Plaza, owned by Staller Associates.
“The Staller project is the keystone, if you will, about the entire development of our little hamlet,” he said.
Between the Jefferson Plaza proposal, several planned retirement communities throughout the hamlet and significant residential development in Upper Port, Costell described PJS/T as looking at challenges associated with population density.
“I think it’s incumbent upon us as an organization to register our desire and intention to seek new planning overall, to bring a traffic study and some of the impacts of all of these things cumulatively,” the civic president said.
He added, “I’d like to go in front of the [Brookhaven] Town Board and express our concern that our little hamlet needs some attention, that we’ve gotten a whole lot of multifamily activity here that we welcome but want done in a fashion and manner that’s going to ameliorate the impacts on existing residents and invite new people in.”
Kornreich concurred with this assessment in part, stating that overdevelopment represents a danger to the quality of life in the area.
“I agree with you that overdevelopment is one of the gravest threats that we face in the destruction of the suburbs, both in respect to our way of life and from an environmental standpoint,” the councilmember said.
Town natural gas program
Kornreich informed the body on a cost-savings strategy for consumers of natural gas.
Recently, the town launched its Community Choice Aggregation program, partnering with Manhattan-based Good Energy to deliver a fixed rate on natural gas at 69 cents per therm. [See story, “Community Choice Aggregation: Town of Brookhaven joins energy revolution,” March 9, TBR News Media website.]
The councilmember said ratepayers could potentially save hundreds of dollars per year by strategically opting in and out of the CCA program based on the gas price from National Grid.
“Essentially, you can opt in and out at any time as many times as you want for free,” he said.
To save money, he encouraged residents to closely monitor National Grid’s service rates, published at the beginning of every month. “When that price is lower than 69 cents, you stay on National Grid,” he said. “When it goes over, you switch over.”
Based on a model he had conducted for his bill measuring the CCA against the National Grid price, Kornreich projected he would have saved approximately $250 last year.
“This month, in the month of April, National Grid’s price is 35 cents a therm,” he said, adding, “It’s half the price of the CCA … so I’m opting out.”
Reports
A Suffolk County Police Department officer delivered a report on public safety, noting that the phenomenon of catalytic converter theft within the area remains ongoing. The 6th Precinct also observed a slight increase in petit larcenies from this time last year.
He remarked on the new speed cameras installed on the Long Island Expressway. [See story, “New York implements new work-zone enforcement program.”] . The officer reported that during testing, the cameras generated roughly 6,500 summons within a 45-minute window.
“Please be careful when you get on the LIE,” he said, adding jokingly, “That’s not a county thing. That’s a state thing, so please don’t call us and complain.”
Comsewogue High School students Kylie and Max updated the civic on various developments within the school district. The Spanish Honor Society at the high school recently held a fundraiser to buy Progresso soup donated to the Pax Christi Hospitality Center in Port Jefferson.
Andrea Malchiodi, assistant director of Comsewogue Public Library, announced that the library is conducting a raffle for all cardholders as part of National Library Week. “We’re doing a huge raffle basket, so anybody who is a library card holder can go and put in a raffle to win this fun basket,” she said.
The library is also collecting pet food for a collection drive through Long Island Cares.
PJSTCA corresponding secretary, Charlie McAteer, reported that the town would be holding a Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 29, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Train Car Park in Port Jefferson Station.
McAteer also said that the Friends of the Greenway would conduct their next cleanup on Saturday, May 13, at 9 a.m. at the Port Jefferson Station trailhead. This cleanup will coincide with this year’s iteration of the Great Brookhaven Cleanup.
PJSTCA will meet again on Tuesday, May 23, at 7 p.m. at Comsewogue Public Library.
Ed Garboski, right, and Sal Pitti, former president and vice president, respectively, of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association.
Photo by Raymond Janis
Two prominent local figures of the Port Jefferson/Terryville area are departing from the community.
Ed Garboski and Sal Pitti, former president and vice president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, respectively, recently sold their homes, both headed for permanent relocation to the warmer climes of Texas and Florida. The two civic leaders formally transitioned their posts Tuesday, April 25, handing the reins to newly installed civic president Ira Costell and vice president Carolyn Sagliocca.
The departing officers caught up with TBR News Media in an exclusive interview, during which they reflected on the area’s projected growth, improvements in the standard of living and the vital role of PJSTCA.
Community planning
Garboski emphasized the 2014 Port Jefferson Station Commercial Hub Study as a critical component for the area’s long-term planning.
The study makes several recommendations for reconfiguring the commercial corridor along Route 112, including rezoning much of the area from J-2 local business zoning to J-6 Main Street zoning.
The plan also aims to “improve the physical environment, reestablish the hamlet’s historic character and augment the natural environment” to create a Main Street Business District in Port Jefferson Station.
While planning stalled for some time following the adoption of the hub study, Garboski expressed optimism that its recommendations would soon be ratified. “I was kind of hoping we’d have shovels in the ground before I left,” he said. “But it’s moving.”
The outgoing civic president also reflected upon the ongoing work to clean up the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site, with plans in the works to convert the existing space into a multipurpose community hub and recreational park space.
Much of these local aspirations, Garboski contended, will require assistance from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has yet to commit to electrifying the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road despite generations of residents and officials calling for the project.
“Once you electrify that line, then everything will fall into place,” he said. “You can move the train station to the other side of [Route 112] to eliminate the railroad crossing, put the storage at Lawrence Aviation, a solar field and open space.” He added, “I couldn’t think of a better thing to do with that.”
Public safety
During his tenure, Pitti said he had observed gradual improvements in the standard of living and public safety within the hamlet. His community involvement began with a local neighborhood watch program on his block, which soon expanded across the hamlet.
Pitti’s local crime program later merged with the civic association, where he integrated public safety forums into civic meetings.
“The civic became crime information and construction information,” he said, adding that over time, this approach helped “clean up the neighborhood.”
Civic’s role
Reflecting on his community work, Pitti regarded openness to new ideas and perspectives, along with a willingness to enter a dialogue, as necessary ingredients for effective community leadership. For these traits, he said the civic has amassed greater credibility with residents and government officials.
“We just built a good reputation for being willing to work with people,” he said. “We always said at meetings that you have to meet people in the middle. You can’t have it one way or the other, and I don’t care who you are.”
‘That’s the kind of community we have — when their back is to the wall, they will show up.’
— Ed Garboski
He added, “You have to always try to find that happy medium to make the majority of people happy because, unfortunately, not everyone will always be happy.”
Garboski said the civic body requires continual community mobilization to represent resident interests. He maintained that the success of future advocacy efforts rests upon “strength in numbers.”
“That’s the kind of community we have — when their back is to the wall, they will show up,” he said. “They will fight. You have to have the right people leading them, you have to be willing to negotiate and stand your ground.”
Both leaders thanked the members of the civic and the greater community for their support and for entrusting them as leaders over the years. Though bittersweet, they expressed optimism for the community and civic to stay on their current upward track.
“For the bulk of it, I think we did a good job,” Garboski said. “And we had good people to work with, very good people to work with.”
The new state program will use photo enforcement technologies to monitor speeding in work-zones. Following a 30-day grace period, violators will receive a fine by mail. Photo from Wikimedia Commons
New York State has introduced its Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program.
The system clocks vehicles traveling above the speed limit in specified work zones. A registered owner of a vehicle will be ticketed by mail if the posted work-zone speed limit is exceeded by more than 10 miles per hour, according to the legislation signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in September, 2021.
The law states that the “owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a penalty” when that “vehicle was traveling at a speed of more than 10 miles per hour above the posted speed limit in effect within such highway construction or maintenance work area, and such violation is evidenced by information obtained from a photo speed violation monitoring system.”
The ny.gov website indicates that this new program will be “located in construction or maintenance zones on New York State controlled access highways and parkways.” It also indicates that signs leading up to the enforcement areas will make it clear that a driver is entering one.
In a phone interview, Stephen Canzoneri, a spokesman for Region 10 of the state Department of Transportation, said that there will be “two signs posted in advance of the camera.” He added that these cameras are “only being placed in active work zones where there are boots on the ground.”
During the first 30 days of the program —which began Monday, April 17, according to Canzoneri — New York State will issue warnings by mail instead of actual fines. After this initial warning period, drivers violating the posted work-zone speed limits in the enforcement areas will receive a $50 fine by mail.
For a second violation, a violator will receive $75 fine, so long as this violation is within an 18-month period of the first violation. Any third or subsequent violations will result in a $100 fine if, once again, these are within 18 months of the first violation.
The website also states that “there will be 30 work-zone speed units … that will be moved around to work zones throughout the state.” To see an up-to-date listing of where the speed cameras are currently being utilized, go to www.ny.gov/work-zone-safety-awareness/automated-work-zone-speed-enforcement-program and scroll down to “Locations” on the left-hand side. The cameras are “being placed on the limited access highways, such as the Long Island Expressway, Northern State Parkway, a portion of Sunrise [Highway] in central Suffolk,” Canzoneri said.
The ny.gov website clarifies that drivers will not receive points on their licenses for violations in these zones and that these penalties are strictly “civil in nature, with no criminal implications.”
In 2021, there were 378 “work-zone intrusions” and that more than 50 of these intrusions resulted in injury for either a highway worker or a vehicle occupant. “A work-zone intrusion is defined as an incident where a motor vehicle has entered a portion of the roadway that is closed due to construction or maintenance activity,” the ny.gov website states.
“We are seeing an increase in work-zone intrusions throughout the Island,” Canzoneri said. “More people are back on the roads after the COVID shutdowns. And traffic patterns are returning to what they were. And unfortunately, it means that there’s more danger for our workers on the road.”
In a phone interview, Jaime Franchi, Long Island Contractors’ Association director of communications and government relations, said, “Anything that is a deterrent that makes people pause while they’re driving in a zone where our highway workers are vulnerable is something that we would absolutely advocate for.”
Franchi added that LICA has been advocating for highway safety for many years, particularly on winding stretches of the Southern State Parkway. “They deserve to get home to their families,” Franchi said about highway workers.
Canzoneri agreed. “We want everybody to go home at the end of the day to be with their families,” he said.
The ny.gov website indicates that this five-year program is a joint effort by the state Department of Transportation and the state Thruway Authority.
Village attorney Brian Egan, above, during a Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees work session on Tuesday, April 25. Photo by Raymond Janis
Conversations on the Maryhaven Center of Hope property at Myrtle Avenue picked up on Tuesday, April 25, to be followed by a public hearing scheduled for next week on Monday, May 1.
During a work session of the Port Jefferson Village Board of Trustees, the Maryhaven debate evolved into a game of tradeoffs and compromises, the board working to encourage the preservation and adaptive reuse of the historic building on-site through incentives.
Among the agreed-upon incentives package to preserve the structure, the board settled upon allowing for additional stories and height. The board, primarily at the direction of trustee Rebecca Kassay, remained unwilling to allow for further clearing of woodlands on the property.
The building “has a lot of meaning to the community, the Maryhaven complex,” said Mayor Margot Garant in an interview. She added the board’s current direction represents “an effort to give incentives so that the Planning Board can do their job with the applicant while preserving a historic building.”
The board is working on revising Section 250-15 of the Village Code. Village attorney Brian Egan clarified the proposed code changes. While Maryhaven is currently zoned as a Professional Office P-O District, the existing zoning code enables applicants within the P-O district to apply for rezoning for Moderate-Density Residence R-M District development through a special-use permit.
The proposed new section of the code aims to encourage applicants to preserve historic buildings and structures on their properties.
The Maryhaven “building is pretty special with the red and the views and the copper — it’s a special place,” Egan said. “But developers don’t care about that. Developers don’t care about special, so how do you give them an idea to motivate them to be special?”
To do that, the village attorney proposed a modification to the zoning code that covers the conditions of the special-use permit for parcels that contribute to the architectural or aesthetic character of the village.
“It’s kind of giving a tradeoff,” he said. “We say that if you have a contributing, architecturally and aesthetically important parcel or building … then you can have a proposed loosening of some of the standards that would normally apply in R-M.”
The loosening of those standards went under scrutiny during the meeting, with board members going back and forth over which incentives are permissible.
“If we don’t provide enough of an incentive, they’re just going to take this building down,” Garant said. “And if not this applicant, the next one.”
Going through each of the zoning parameters under the code, the board fixed its attention on clearing permits in particular.
Throughout the exchanges, the trustees wrestled with establishing a coherent policy that accounts for the competing values of preserving historic structures, limiting clearing and making such redevelopment initiatives cost-effective for developers.
The current P-O limit for clearing is 65%. Noting some of the general trends on clearing allowances as well as the recent village history, Kassay remained firm on not granting developers any additional allowances on clearing.
“This is something that we’ve seen our community get very upset over,” the trustee said, expressing zero tolerance for additional clearing “because we are offering these other incentives.”
Those perks would be an extra story and added height on the property, a tradeoff of density for environmental conservation and historic preservation. The board agreed to change the maximum number of stories to four and the maximum height of the structure to 47 feet.
Following the meeting, Garant summarized the conclusions of the work session. “We did not permit additional clearing” under the new incentives package, the mayor said. “If you can’t give more clearing and you want to have something built there, another tradeoff instead of sprawling it is making it more dense, giving it height.”
The mayor added that the incentives allow for “something that conforms to the preexisting building.”
The board will continue this conversation in just days with a scheduled public hearing on the matter on Monday, May 1. The general meeting of the board will begin at 6 p.m.
TVGC President Karin Ryon with Giovanna Maffetone, SCCC scholarship recipient on April 11. Photo courtesy of Three Village Garden Club
Representatives from Suffolk County Community College attended the Three Village Garden Club meeting at the Setauket Neighborhood House on April 11to present the Three Village Garden Club Scholarship to Giovanna Maffetone. This scholarship is offered to Suffolk County Community College students enrolled in the Environmental Science/Forestry program, specifically targeting students planning to transfer to a four year SUNY ESF program.
Chris Williams from the Suffolk Community College Foundation presented a $5000 scholarship check to Giovanna. Also in attendance was Vladimir Jurukovski, Academic Chair of Biology at the SCCC Ammerman campus.
The Three Village Garden Club is happy to support young people who are pursuing careers in horticultural science, wildlife science, ecology, environmental science, landscaping, forestry, and plant science. Additional scholarships are awarded to students from Ward Melville High School and SUNY Farmingdale.
Volunteers gathered at the eastern trailhead of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway on Saturday, April 22. Photo by Gretchen Mones
At the eastern trailhead of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway trail, a group of volunteers and community members met on Earth Day, April 22, kicking off the first cleanup of the season.
The Friends of the Greenway, a subsidiary of the Three Village Community Trust, hosted the event, which featured volunteers from various community groups, including the Stony Brook-based Avalon Nature Preserve. The cleanup coincided with Earth Day, a global holiday that recognizes the achievements of the environmental movement and the need for sustainable planning.
Greenway: an environmental triumph
“We schedule this [cleanup] in April for Earth Day to celebrate the Earth,” Herb Mones, TVCT president, said during the event.
Mones first became involved with the trail in 1999, when former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) asked him to head a task force for its planning. The task force included educational programming and active community collaboration, followed by a planning phase, which took 10 years.
The concept of a multipurpose trail was revolutionary for its time, Mones suggested.
“In Suffolk County in particular, there are very, very few greenways that are multimodality paths — paved paths for residents, pedestrians and bicyclists,” he said. “It was a process of getting people to understand what a bike path would look like.”
The task force’s vision was soon enacted, and the Greenway has been servicing locals since 2009. Mones described the trail as in “pretty good condition,” though regular pockets of litter have tended to stick around. The Friends of the Greenway organization targets those areas once per month, keeping its community trail tidy and clean.
Celebrating Mother Earth
Volunteer cleanup initiatives are putting the themes of Earth Day into practice at the community level.
Englebright, for whom the trail was renamed in 2022, was present during the cleanup. For him, the convergence of local cleanup efforts with Earth Day reflect the environmental movement’s local and global momentum.
“The volunteerism was very heartening and very rewarding to me,” he said. “When people are volunteering their time and focusing their energies on Earth Day, it’s just a positive vibration and it speaks well for the role of the trail in the maturation of our communities.”
Throughout his time in public life, Englebright has been a vocal advocate for the environment, one of the earliest voices to ring the alarm on overdevelopment and sprawl, open space preservation and water quality protection in Suffolk County.
Over time, however, the former assemblyman said he had observed even greater attention for sustainability and environmental consciousness.
“I’m greatly encouraged to see people of all ages — there were people with white hair and people at various grade levels of our public schools — all working together with their enthusiasm reinforcing one another, reinforcing the premise that Earth Day should be special,” he said.
In Port Jefferson Station, there are several new development proposals, most notably at Jefferson Plaza, just a block from the trailhead. [See story, “Developers pitch plans for Jefferson Plaza,” June 24, TBR News Media website.]
While Mones accepts new development projects as “inevitable,” he said those projects should be grounded by sound community plans, considering the interests of all concerned parties.
“Development and the environment can work together, but it takes kind of a synergy between town planners, the developer and the community to work together to do a plan that works for everybody,” he said.
Englebright said the redevelopment plans for Jefferson Plaza and other projects have been, up to this point, guided by such concepts. He expressed optimism that the Port Jeff Station/Terryville community could hash out a workable compromise.
“When you say redevelopment, it’s also reinvestment into a community,” he said. “I hope that we can bring those projects forward that are being planned for the redevelopment of Port Jefferson Station in a way that lifts all of the boats in the harbor at the same time.”
The North Shore Rail Trail, which connects Mount Sinai to Wading River, was formally opened last summer. The two trailheads at Port Jefferson Station and Mount Sinai are about a mile apart. Englebright remains optimistic that the two may soon intersect, enabling a continuous bike ride from Setauket to Wading River.
“They should be linked up,” he said. “Look, if the Appalachian Trail can go the length of the Appalachians from Maine to Georgia, and they can link that together, then we can link our trails together here on Long Island.”
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