Despite rainy weather, hundreds of people from across Long Island headed to downtown Port Jefferson July 4 to cheer on their families, friends and neighbors during the annual Port Jefferson Fire Department Independence Day Parade.
Fire departments from both the North Shore and South Shore brought in their fire trucks, ambulances and marching bands all sporting red, white and blue, while local dancers, Cub Scouts and business personnel marched alongside them down Main Street.
And while the weather held up for most of the event, a quick downpour didn’t stop spectators from watching the newest village officials get sworn in.
Port Jefferson village clerk Barbara Sakovich gave the oath on the steps of Village Hall to the village’s newest mayor, Lauren Sheprow, reelected trustee Stan Loucks, newly elected trustee Bob Juliano and newly appointed trustee Drew Biondo.
Sheprow was surrounded at the podium by family, including her grandchildren and father, former village Mayor Harold Sheprow.
“I could not have done this without you,” she said, looking out to him in the crowd.
She also thanked her supporters.
“I look at each one of your faces, and I know you supported this initiative,” she said. “I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.”
Lillian Clayman, the Democratic Party nominee for Town of Brookhaven supervisor. Photo courtesy Clayman
Following former Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant’s unexpected departure from the race, the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee has tapped Lillian Clayman to stand in this year’s election for Town of Brookhaven supervisor.
Incumbent town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) is running for Suffolk County executive this November, creating an open contest for his seat. The Brookhaven Republican Committee selected Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) to head the ticket.
Garant, opposing Panico on the Democratic line, suspended her campaign last week due to an “unforeseen health issue,” according to the BTDC.
In an exclusive interview, Clayman opened up about her professional experiences and plans for the town. The new Democratic nominee centered her platform around the Brookhaven Town landfill while offering various administrative reforms.
A Port Jefferson resident, Clayman is an adjunct professor of labor and industrial relations at SUNY Old Westbury. She worked as a political organizer for health care union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and spent a decade as a financial adviser/stockbroker at Manhattan-based global insurance corporation AIG.
Clayman served as mayor of Hamden, Connecticut, from 1991-97. She was chair of BTDC from 2016-20, and has run several political campaigns in Connecticut and on Long Island.
Clayman said she was approached last week by party leaders, who had asked to lead the ticket in Garant’s absence.
“Given the fact that I have government administrative experience as well as political experience, and given the truncated time frame, I said that I would be happy to do so,” she said.
The town landfill — located on Horseblock Road in Yaphank and scheduled to be closed to construction and demolition debris by December 2024 — is a centerpiece of Clayman’s campaign.
“We need to do something quickly about the Brookhaven landfill,” she said. “This is something that has been ignored while taxes have gone up [and] elected officials’ salaries have gone up.”
“The Brookhaven landfill and all of its impacts on the environment today and in the future has been ignored,” she added. “It’s been kicked down the road.”
Concerning intervention and remediation of the pending landfill closure, Clayman said, “The easy environmental fruit has been picked,” suggesting expediency has been advanced while root causes go neglected.
“It’s easy to be for open space,” she said. “It’s a lot harder to find a solution to something as complex as the Brookhaven landfill,” calling the facility “a Titanic headed for an iceberg.”
The Democratic candidate maintained that supervising the landfill closure — and the expected challenges precipitating from it — will require close collaboration with all interested parties.
“My plan and my approach is to bring in all of the players, all of the stakeholders in the community, so that we can make sure that we can protect our environment for real, not just with words,” Clayman said.
Along with the landfill, she proposed several administrative reforms, proposing to “bring good government” to Town Hall.
“Good government means putting contracts out to bid fairly, without regard to whether or not they contribute to your campaign,” she said. “It’s also an approach that [assesses] whether or not we actually need a service, so I do use a little bit of zero-based budgeting in my approach to providing services.”
In stating why she entered the race, Clayman indicated that the town government requires greater proactiveness and energy to serve its residents most effectively.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” she said. “There have been years of neglect and coasting, and I intend to get to work on day one.”
Drew Biondo. Photo courtesy the Village of Port Jefferson
In her first official act as Port Jefferson Village mayor, Lauren Sheprow has appointed Drew Biondo to fill her unexpired term as trustee, which ends in June 2024.
Biondo, a village resident since 1998, is director of communications at Suffolk County Community College with nearly 40 years of experience as a communications executive and administrator in both the public and private sectors.
Biondo was appointed to the Long Island Power Authority Board of Trustees in January 2018 and served for five years as a member of the Governance, Planning and Personnel Committee. His responsibilities included setting appropriate priorities and implementing best practices, among other tasks.
Before joining SCCC’s staff, Biondo served as director of communications and press secretary for former New York State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), working as the senator’s chief spokesperson and as a policy advisor.
“I’ve known and worked with Drew in a variety of capacities for more than 20 years,” Sheprow said. “I know him to be very strategic and purposeful in his approach. His time spent on the LIPA board, in higher education, as well as in Senator LaValle’s [office] has prepared him well to be able to serve the residents of Port Jefferson as a trustee.”
Biondo attended Marist College and is a graduate of LIU Post with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant during a Board of Trustees meeting June 5. File photo by Raymond Janis
Former Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant, the Democratic Party nominee in this year’s contest for Town of Brookhaven supervisor, has suspended her campaign.
Lillian Clayman, a resident of Port Jefferson and adjunct professor of labor and industrial relations at SUNY Old Westbury, will now lead the Democratic ticket.
Garant recently experienced “an unforeseen health issue,” prompting her to exit the race, according to a statement from the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee.
“This was not an easy decision,” Garant said. “Public service has been the honor of a lifetime, and my love for Port Jefferson and Brookhaven knows no bounds.” But, she added, “Right now, I need to put my health and my family first.”
Incumbent town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) announced his candidacy for Suffolk County executive in February, triggering an open contest to fill his seat. Garant and Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) had secured their respective party’s nominations that same month.
Panico responded to news of Garant’s departure. “I wish Margot the very best for a speedy and full recovery,” he said in a text to TBR News Media.
Anthony Portesy, chair of the town Democratic committee, confirmed Clayman, former BTDC chair from January 2016 to August 2020 and three-time mayor of Hamden, Connecticut, from 1991-97, has stepped forward to replace Garant as the party’s nominee.
“I wish my dear friend Margot Garant a speedy recovery,” Clayman said. “I am delighted to join a slate of Democratic candidates who are committed to making Brookhaven a forward-looking, honestly governed community.”
In a message published on social media, Portesy offered consolation to Garant, maintaining an optimistic tenor as the race continues.
“I want to take the time to thank my dear friend Margot Garant for stepping up to run this race, and I wish her a rapid recovery,” the committee chair said. “The battle marches on, but you remain in our hearts, our thoughts and our minds as we carry your vision forward into November.”
Garant served as mayor of Port Jefferson from 2009-23. She announced her plans to retire from the village government earlier this year and was succeeded by trustee Lauren Sheprow on July 3.
Pictured above, from left to right: Ronkonkoma Fire Department 3rd Assistant Chief Mike White; 2nd Assistant Chief Mike Hofmann; Councilman Neil Manzella; Firefighter Rocco Piscatello; Firefighter Ernie Tropeano; Supervisor Ed Romaine; 1st Assistant Chief Zoltan Kiss; and Chief of the Department Vincent T. Diaz. Photo courtesy the Brookhaven Public Information Office
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilman Neil Manzella (R-Selden) attended the Ronkonkoma Fire Department’s Annual Installation Inspection Dinner at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook on Saturday, June 24. During the event, the supervisor and councilman honored the company’s members for their service to the greater Ronkonkoma community.
In 1904, the Ronkonkoma Hook and Ladder Company was established in response to a fire at the Lake Front Hotel in 1903. This incident claimed one guest’s life, causing injury to many others. The company’s name was later changed to the Ronkonkoma Fire Department in 1933.
For more information about the Ronkonkoma Fire Department, visit www.ronkonkomafd.org, call 631-588-8204 or email [email protected].
Village board advances nonprofit rental rates, energy tracking program
Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden presides over the Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees business meeting on Monday, June 26. Photo by Raymond Janis
The Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees held the final business meeting of its term Monday afternoon, June 26, during which departing Mayor Margot Garant was absent due to illness.
In her absence, Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden presided over a meeting marked by several notable goodbyes. Garant, Snaden and village attorney Brian Egan will all leave the board next week when trustee Lauren Sheprow takes over as mayor.
Trustee Rebecca Kassay recognized Snaden, who lost to Sheprow in last week’s mayoral election. Snaden’s four-year tenure on the village board now ends.
“You put your heart and soul into it — and it shows,” Kassay told the departing deputy mayor. Following these remarks, Snaden was greeted with thunderous applause by the dozens in attendance.
Garant’s fiancée, Traci Donnelly, delivered a short address on the mayor’s behalf. Garant thanked colleagues and constituents.
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for the trust you’ve shown me over the past 14 years,” the statement said. “I hope and pray that the team of individuals who remain will continue working tirelessly to ensure the continued growth and success of our beloved village.”
Egan, who has served as village attorney since 2013, thanked the court clerks, village clerks, treasurers and professional staff with whom he had served over the last decade. In this final report, he paraphrased his favorite line from Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
“Lewis Carroll said it best when his advice to the white rabbit was — ‘Start at the beginning, then continue to the end; then stop.’”
Other business
The board agreed to extend the reduced rental rate for the Long Island Foundation for Education & Sports, a children and family services group which rents a room in the Village Center, until the end of the 2023-24 school year. The nonprofit will be charged $35 per hour during that period, a reduction from the pre-pandemic rate of $42 per hour.
The board also approved a resolution to track and publish energy usage data for village buildings. The initiative, Kassay explained, “moves us one step closer” toward receiving grant funds through the New York State Research and Development Authority’s Clean Energy Communities Program.
Kassay, liaison to the newly created village Tree Committee, announced the committee’s members had held their first meeting and established a set of objectives.
“Their first task is going to be exploring how to survey the existing canopy of trees” on village properties and public rights-of-way, the trustee said. The committee will also “examine the current tree code to see how it can be more effective and balanced.”
Sheprow and trustees-elect Loucks and Bob Juliano will be formally sworn into office this Tuesday, July 4, following the village’s annual Fourth of July parade. The reconfigured board will hold its reorganization meeting the following Monday, July 10, at 5 p.m.
One of over a dozen derelict buildings that remain on the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station. File photo by Raymond Janis
UPDATE: The June 29 community availability session at the Port Jefferson Village Center for the Lawrence Aviation Industries Site is postponed. DEC will notify the public once a new community meeting date is scheduled.
To ensure careful and thorough cleanup efforts at the former Lawrence Aviation Industries Superfund Site in Port Jefferson Station, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation scheduled a community availability session at the Port Jefferson Village Center, 101 East Broadway, tonight, June 29, from 6-8:30 p.m. This event has been postponed to a later date.
Experts from NYSDEC, the state Department of Health, NYSDEC-contracted engineering and demolition firms, the Suffolk County Landbank Corporation and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services will be available for one-on-one interactions with community members. Multiple stations will be set up at the Village Center, with representatives available to discuss specific areas of interest.
Participants can attend any time during the session.
The community availability session will present information about the planned demolition, cleanup activities and future use at the LAI Site. Handouts of the presentation materials will be made available during the session.
Eliminating possible exposure to site-related contamination in the local community will be a point of emphasis. The updates include the latest information regarding the planned demolition of derelict buildings and provide progress to address contaminated soils and groundwater on the property.
Lauren Sheprow, mayor-elect of the Village of Port Jefferson. File photo by Raymond Janis
The Village of Port Jefferson is undergoing its first mayoral transition in 14 years. Outgoing Mayor Margot Garant, who has held the village’s highest post since 2009, will officially leave the office early next week, handing the reins of power to trustee Lauren Sheprow.
Sheprow, a write-in candidate who campaigned as an agent of change, defeated Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden in last week’s village election [See story, “Write-in candidate Lauren Sheprow elected Port Jeff Village mayor,” The Port Times Record, June 22, also TBR News Media website]. Throughout her campaign, she proposed several initiatives, such as new staffing procedures, committees and communications channels.
In an exclusive interview, the mayor-elect opened up about the transition process, unveiling her expectations for the office and offering some reorganization plans.
“Fourteen years is a long time,” she told TBR News Media. “Mayor Garant did amazing things in Port Jefferson, and I never want to take anything away from her and what she’s done.”
“I’m just excited to start something new and fresh, and see what we can do to help bring Port Jefferson to the next chapter,” she added.
She offered that she is currently “working through sort of an organizational chart,” assessing where current staff members will fit within the organizational hierarchy and whether there are opportunities for change.
Through this chart, she is “trying to understand if everything makes sense the way it’s laid out,” she said. “Possibly it does, but that’s the evaluation process that I’m going through right now.”
With one year remaining in her unexpired term as trustee, one of Sheprow’s highest-profile vacancies is the one she will create by swearing in as mayor. New York Village Law empowers the mayor to “appoint individuals to fill vacancies in both elected and appointed offices when the vacancy occurs before the expiration of the official’s term of office,” with this type of mayoral appointment “not subject to board approval.”
Outside of village attorney Brian Egan, who announced his resignation this week, Sheprow declined to reveal any other major administrative changes or forecast upcoming mayoral appointments.
One of Sheprow’s central positions during her campaign was the formation of new resident task forces and committees to assist the board in local decision-making. Sheprow maintained her intent to move ahead with plans for committees on parking, budgets and the Port Jefferson Power Station, among others.
“I have three or four people that I can tap into immediately on the Audit and Budget Committee,” she said. “I’ve been talking to people about the Parking Committee, the LIPA Committee,” adding that the village government is exploring a portal for residents to enter their interests and alert the committee boards on which they would like to volunteer.
Expanding upon this initiative, Sheprow said she had contacted Kevin Wood, the village’s communications committee head, about overhauling the village’s municipal website, suggesting a website revamp would likely be a multimonth endeavor.
Sheprow also said she has been scrutinizing the village’s existing Code of Ethics, noting this “probably hasn’t been touched in all the years since it’s been established,” adding that a similar approach is underway for procurement and investment policies.
The mayor-elect described the transition process as “exciting,” noting a personal lack of anxiety in preparing for the mayor’s office.
“It’s just energizing, and I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “We have a great operating institution in the Village of Port Jefferson. The people in place are doing their jobs, and I hope to empower them to do their jobs even more.”
Sheprow will be sworn in as mayor outside Village Hall this Tuesday, July 4.
Due to its low-lying topography, the Port Jefferson Fire Department’s station is frequently inundated. Former Mayor Mike Lee suggests this location is inadequate for effectively servicing the public.
Downtown Port Jefferson is coping with longstanding flood concerns, which could intensify in coming years.
During an April 5 climate resilience forum at Village Hall, local architect Michael Schwarting reported that the village’s blend of low-lying topography, subsurface water bodies and rising tides will likely produce even greater flooding risks. [See story TBR News Media website, April 13.]
“Those three things interact with one another to cause the problems that we’ve been having in the past, are still having and will have in a worse way, according to predictions,” Schwarting said.
— Photos by Aidan Johnson
Mike Lee, former mayor of the Village of Port Jefferson, chronicles the past, present and future of Port Jeff’s water challenges.
Mike Lee, former mayor of Port Jefferson who served from 2005 to 2007, is now ringing the alarm over the village’s flooding problems. In an exclusive interview, Lee chronicled the area’s historic water challenges.
Drowned Meadow
Before the 19th century, nearly all of the existing downtown was a salt marsh. The tides would flood the marsh twice daily, giving the area its name, Drowned Meadow.
Lee considers the waters running in and around Port Jefferson an inherent feature of the area’s natural character. And while the land was eventually renamed Port Jefferson, its natural essence remains unaltered.
“It’s easy to change the name, but it’s hard to change the terrain,” Lee noted.
One of the few remaining patches of unfilled marshland in downtown Port Jefferson, above.
Infrastructure
An elaborate underground stormwater drainage network serves the area, Lee explained, describing the covert system built around the 1930s as “one big tunnel” channeling stormwater from all directions toward Port Jefferson Harbor.
The area’s patchwork of hills exacerbates the flooding problems downtown as the stormwater flows downward into the low-lying areas.
As downtown developed over time, the impermeable surface area multiplied exponentially. For a place originally named for its flooding issues, development slowly removed vital escape routes for floodwaters to discharge naturally.
“There’s too much restriction” now within the drainage system, Lee said. “So much of the area that would have the normal penetration of water has been [converted] to roofs, parking lots, driveways, roads.”
He added, “It doesn’t have the natural absorption.”
One central covert, seen above, channels the bulk of the area’s floodwaters into Old Mill Creek.
During major flood events, the stress on the stormwater network is most pronounced near Port Jeff’s fire station on Maple Avenue, one of the lowest elevations.
“This is what we’ve come to,” Lee said in the Port Jefferson Fire Department’s garage, pointing to an amphibious high-water rescue vehicle the department requires to leave its station. “I call it ‘The Drowned Meadow Express.’”
“If you’re going to serve the public, you have to be able to get through the puddle,” he added.
Coined ‘The Drowned Meadow Express,’ PJFD requires this high-water rescue vehicle to leave the fire station during flood events.
Possible solutions
Lee indicated that while the fire department has coped with the flooding challenges over time, its current headquarters building is becoming increasingly untenable.
During a May 1 public hearing on code possible changes for the Maryhaven Center of Hope property on Myrtle Avenue, multiple residents proposed relocating the fire station to higher ground.
Lee, an ex-chief of PJFD, concurred with this assessment. “As an emergency service, how can we not be capable of serving the public,” he said.
Lee suggests there are other ways to help resolve the water challenges. He proposed that developers “stop doing what you’re doing,” in terms of increasing impermeable surfaces.
Up the easterly hill at Port Jefferson Country Club, the village recently received a $3.75 million grant from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency in hazard mitigation funds to help stabilize the East Beach bluff.
Lee suggested policymakers explore similar grant opportunities to address flooding.
“I think if FEMA is going to put money into infrastructure, it should do it where it affects everybody,” the former mayor said.
Despite centuries of water troubles, Lee maintained the village could overcome some of its challenges with proper governmental initiative.
He encouraged officials to give flooding the appropriate attention, concluding that on the list of local priorities, “It should be right on the top.”
Mayor-elect Lauren Sheprow celebrates on Election Night. Photo by Aidan Johnson
By Raymond Janis & Aidan Johnson
In a historic upset, trustee Lauren Sheprow — a write-in candidate — was elected Village of Port Jefferson mayor Tuesday night, June 20, capping off a contentious season in the village.
In a contested race to succeed Mayor Margot Garant, who is running for Town of Brookhaven supervisor, Sheprow defeated Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden 956-796.
Incumbent trustee Stan Loucks and former village clerk Bob Juliano were elected with 935 and 1,244 votes, respectively, in an uncontested race. Voters also elected Tara Higgins as village justice with 1,381 votes.
Sheprow announced her bid for mayor in March, running on a platform of change and pledging to move the village in a new direction.
‘Our Village Hall is now open to all residents.’
— Lauren Sheprow
Her campaign hit an unexpected stumbling block on May 30, just three weeks before Election Day, when the Suffolk County Board of Elections removed her name from the ballot due to faults in her petitions after charges brought on by Snaden’s campaign.
Despite the unfavorable Suffolk BOE decision, Sheprow became a write-in candidate. In an interview, the mayor-elect commented on the race’s conclusion.
“It was an uphill climb all the way, but the determination of my supporters and the residents themselves made it possible to overcome every challenge,” she said. “I also want to congratulate Kathianne Snaden for a spirited race. I know we both want the best for Port Jefferson and its future.”
She added, “I’m humbled and honored by the unwavering support and the positive feedback I received from all the residents I met with throughout the village during this whole process.”
Before entering the board last year, Sheprow had worked as a media relations professional at Stony Brook University and Mather Hospital. Her father, Harold, had served as village mayor from 1977-85 and 1987-91.
Sheprow also congratulated the newly elected trustees and village justice, expressing optimism and pledging to follow the public will.
“I look forward to working with this board … to make positive change and a fresh start for Port Jefferson,” she said, adding, “Our Village Hall is now open to all residents. Whether you voted for me or not, I am listening.”
In a separate interview, Garant thanked the community for entrusting her throughout her 14 years at the helm. “I think I’ve done my job, and I’ve left this community in a good spot,” the outgoing mayor said. “I just hope for the base to know to keep it going forward.”
After four years of service on the Board of Trustees, Snaden’s tenure now ends as the deputy mayor had vacated her trustee seat to run for mayor. In the wake of the election result, Snaden released a statement expressing her gratitude for those who supported her campaign.
“While I may not have won this election, I am grateful for the opportunity to have shared my vision for the future of this village,” she said. “I believe that together, we can continue to make this village an even better place to live, work and raise a family.”
She added that she would remain involved, saying:
“To the Port Jefferson community, I want to say that I will continue to be a voice for positive change and progress. I will continue to work to ensure that this village remains a wonderful place to call home. I will continue to be an advocate for our community, and I will work to build bridges and bring people together.”
Incumbent trustee Stan Loucks, left, and former village clerk Bob Juliano were also elected to the village board Tuesday night. File photos by Raymond Janis
Loucks, who has been on the board since 2015, ran alongside Snaden on the Unity Party ticket. While thanking the community for its vote of confidence in him, he expressed sympathy for his running mate.
“I think the village lost a very valuable person with Kathianne Snaden,” he said. “But congratulations, I guess, to the opponent.”
Outside of the uncontested Higgins, Juliano received the highest vote count of any candidate. In a phone interview, the first-time elected official thanked the community for its strong support.
“I am humbled by the support and encouragement that I have been getting from everyone,” he said. “I promise to do my best and make Port Jefferson a better place for us all,” adding, “I’m looking forward to sitting down with all the new board members and discussing where we want to see Port Jefferson head.”
The current board will convene for one final meeting this Monday, June 26, at 3:30 p.m. The new mayor and trustees will swear into office outside Village Hall on July 4 following the annual parade.
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