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Above, participants during the conference. Photo courtesy the town’s public information office

On April 28, the Long Island Geographic Information Systems (LIGIS) Conference was held in the auditorium at Brookhaven Town Hall. A Geographic Information System is a computer-based tool to help visualize, analyze and understand patterns and relationships within data that has a geographic or spatial component.

In simpler terms, it’s like a high-tech, interactive map that can display different types of information, such as roads, buildings, weather patterns or even population distribution, all in one place.

GIS combines various types of data, including maps, charts, and spreadsheets, and layers them on top of each other to show a more comprehensive picture of a particular area or topic. This makes it easier for people to understand complex information and make informed decisions based on geography.

It can be used for a wide range of applications, from urban planning and environmental conservation to disaster management and public health.

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Alyson Bass, left, candidate for the Town of Brookhaven’s 3rd Council District, and Brookhaven Councilman-elect Neil Manzella. Left from Bass’ LinkedIn page; right courtesy Manzella

In the race to fill Brookhaven Town Clerk Kevin LaValle’s (R) seat on the Town Board, Neil Manzella (R-Selden) handily secured victory on Tuesday, April 25.

LaValle took over as town clerk in February, vacating the 3rd District and triggering a special election to complete his term, which ends in December. An unofficial tally from the Suffolk County Board of Elections indicates Manzella comfortably defeated his Democratic opponent, Alyson Bass, of Centereach, holding a 57-43% margin of victory.

The councilman-elect explained that there was little time to celebrate. The true test will be this November when he and Bass will be back on the ballot to compete again for a four-year term.

In exclusive post-election interviews with Manzella and Bass, the two CD3 candidates set the table for round two. Following resident feedback heard throughout the special election cycle, repaving the district’s roadways will be a primary focus.

“One of the biggest topics that I heard from the district [residents] themselves is the condition of the roads,” Manzella said. “One of my plans is to go and sit down with the Highway Department — the Superintendent of Highways [Dan Losquadro (R)] — and try to see if we get that taken care of during the summer months.”

Bass, too, heard from district residents about the disrepair of the roadways. To mitigate those concerns, she proposed enacting measures to promote transparency within the road prioritization process.

“You hear of roads being paved multiple times while other roads haven’t been paved in six or seven years,” she said. “How does that happen? There are definitely areas in our district that are neglected, and there are other districts that are not neglected at all.”

The two candidates also narrowed in on the other major overhanging issue for the area, commercial redevelopment. CD3 contains two prominent commercial corridors along Middle Country and Portion roads. The candidates departed in their approach to building up the many undeveloped parcels.

Bass approached the redevelopment issue with caution, noting the need to protect open spaces and restrain sprawl. 

“We’re looking at every piece of green land being sold with no inhibition,” the Democrat said. “You have shopping centers with less than 50 percent capacity, parking lots that are barely used, yet all of our green spaces are being sold.”

Manzella offered a different perspective on redevelopment, viewing the undeveloped lots as a potential tax base for the town while building upon the aesthetic character of the area.

“I see our district trying to thrive in the commercial region,” the councilman-elect said. “I want to push redevelopment of areas along our Middle Country and Portion roads. I want to push redevelopment that can help fill vacancies, empty lots, to make it a more aesthetic and more business-friendly [area].”

Ahead of this November, the closure of the Brookhaven Town landfill looms as one of the most pressing issues facing residents townwide, with regional implications as well. 

Manzella said his campaign has yet to focus on the landfill closure but expressed optimism toward working with his colleagues to remediate the issue.

“The plans for what happens when the landfill closes is not something that I would have even been a part of before now,” he said. “But now that I am in a role where I can contribute to it, I can’t wait to have that conversation.”

Bass said the Town Board staying proactive in the landfill closure would serve the best interest of the residents townwide. “I think pushing to have a plan in place so that we aren’t so affected by the closure of the town dump is huge,” she said in an earlier interview.

Residents of the 3rd Council District will decide upon these two candidates again in just over six months. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

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Richard Rosenberg, left, and Michael Dubb, attorney and principal respectively at the Jericho-based Beechwood Organization during a May 1 public hearing at Port Jefferson Village Hall. Photo by Raymond Janis

Ten minutes before 6 p.m., every chair in the house was already taken. Behind the gallery, some sat on tables, others on desks. A standing crowd began to form. Younger attendees yielded their seats to their elder counterparts. All were in for a long night.

The board room at Village Hall could not contain the audience gathered on Monday night, May 1, for the Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees public hearing on the Maryhaven Center of Hope property on Myrtle Avenue.

“It’s great to see a full room,” said Mayor Margot Garant. “That means this community is engaged.”

The village board is considering modifying the zoning code and proposing an incentives package to encourage the historic preservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and structures.

The Maryhaven property is currently zoned as a Professional Office P-O District. Under the existing zoning code, an applicant within the P-O District can request a special-use permit for Moderate-Density Residence R-M District development.

Village attorney Brian Egan explained the motivations guiding these potential code changes.

The Maryhaven “building is certainly worth keeping,” he told the sea of residents in attendance. 

Convincing the owners of that building to preserve it, however, represents a quandary for village officials. The existing zoning code lacks a mechanism to sway developers toward historic preservation.

“There is no obligation to save that building,” Egan said.

The proposed code amendment would create such a mechanism — a special permit application. Egan referred to this application process as “another layer of control” for the village board, enabling it to designate specific parcels that contribute to the village’s architectural or aesthetic character.

If a parcel meets these criteria, determined by the Board of Trustees, then the applicant would qualify for “slightly relaxed standards” under the R-M code, Egan stated. 

In the previous week’s work session, they agreed those relaxed standards would be allowances for additional height and stories but no additional clearing — a tradeoff of density for historical preservation and conservation.

Developers from the Jericho-based Beechwood Organization, the firm negotiating with Catholic Health to acquire the Maryhaven property, attended the public hearing. Michael Dubb, principal at Beechwood, stated his intention to preserve the historic building on-site.

“It would be easier for me as the developer to knock that building down … but that wouldn’t be the right thing to do,” he said.

Richard Rosenberg, an attorney for Beechwood, expanded upon the firm’s vision for the site.

“The intention is to keep the original part of the structure, which is around 40-45,000 square feet, demolish the rest,” he said. “There is asbestos, there is lead-based paint. We have to clean it up according to regulations.” He added, “It’s a big ticket item.”

Public input

Following the presentations by Egan and Beechwood, the board took comments from the public. During that period, community members expressed a recurring message:

“I think the big problem that many of us have is density,” resident Eric Sackstein told board members. This general sentiment echoed throughout the evening.

Former village trustee Virginia Capon, who had chaired the Comprehensive Plan Committee, expressed her appreciation for the board in its willingness to preserve the historic structure.

But she objected to the board’s proposed remedy to the problem, suggesting that the board consider the village in its entirety before changing the zoning code.

“That building is beautiful, but I don’t think this is the way to preserve it,” she said.

The former trustee added that numerous other factors weigh into the Maryhaven calculation, such as its nearby steep slopes, which can cause issues with flooding. Capon advised the board to explore options that do not incentivize greater density.

“If you can come up with a way of preserving this building that maybe doesn’t overdevelop the parcel, that would be my recommendation,” she said.

Several other differing proposals were offered for the adaptive reuse of the site. Michael Mart, citing the flooding concerns over the Port Jefferson Fire Department building on Maple Place, proposed relocating the fire station to the higher elevation at the Maryhaven property. 

Another resident, Steve Velazquez, proposed selling Village Hall and headquartering the village’s municipal operations at Maryhaven.

Discussions over Maryhaven remain ongoing as the board left the public comment period open for 21 days following Monday’s meeting.

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Legislator Bontempi addresses the attendees at last year’s Veteran’s Appreciation Breakfast.

Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (R-18th L.D.), along with her colleagues in government, Assemblymen Keith Brown (R-12th A.D.) and Steve Stern (D-10th A.D.), are gearing up for another Veterans Appreciation Breakfast in May.  Last year’s breakfast was a great success, with veterans from all points of Huntington and some surrounding communities.

“We can never do enough for our veterans,” said Bontempi.  “Having events like these where veterans can gather is tremendously valuable, as it stokes camaraderie while giving us a chance to show how much we appreciate them.”

This year’s installment of the annual breakfast is sure to attract an even bigger and more diverse crowd of veterans, not only because of its ever-growing notoriety, but also because of the new district lines associated with Assemblymen Brown and Stern.  For instance, the 10th Assembly District now includes part of Nassau County.  While the breakfast is more Huntington-centric in nature, Veterans from nearby areas are more than welcome to participate.

“Suffolk County is proud and very lucky to be home to the largest veteran population in New York State,” added Bontempi.  “These veterans are a constant source of inspiration to everyone, and I am very much looking forward to seeing them at the breakfast.”

The 2023 Veterans Appreciation Breakfast is taking place on May 19th, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM, at the American Legion Post 360, located at 1 Mill Dam Road in Huntington.  Veterans interested in attending need to pre-register with their contact information and number of guests (maximum of 2) via email at [email protected] or via phone at 631-854-4500.

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Members of Smithtown’s Town Board listened to concerns regarding the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement, Summer Nights event on Lake Avenue and the special exemption removal for assisted living facilities. Photo by Daniel Febrizio

At the May 2 Smithtown Town Board meeting, local residents came to speak, raising issues and concerns to the board members.

Comprehensive plan concerns

Local resident William Holst spoke, addressing his statement to a resolution passed on May 2 that read: “Town Board to accept as complete for purposes of SEQRA review the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the firm of H2M Architects & Engineers for the Town of Smithtown 2020 Comprehensive Plan, and to authorize the town clerk to advertise same with a public comment period to close at 5p.m. on Friday, June 23.”

“I do have questions as to whether or not people who aren’t comfortable making written comments are going to have an opportunity to speak regarding the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement,” Holst said. “I hope you give the chance for the public to make comments not necessarily in written form.”

He added, “We’re in a very different place the last time there was a comprehensive review of planning the future of Smithtown.” Because of this, he intends to make written comments after he gets a chance to look through the environmental impact statement. 

He concluded by saying, “I hope that when you review the comprehensive plan that foremost in your mind is what is good for the majority of residential homeowners in the Town of Smithtown.”

Summer Nights worries

The next speaker was Meg Shutka, representing Eddie’s Power Equipment, located at 553 Lake Ave., St. James. She expressed concerns with the Summer Nights event which is held once every month on Wednesday evenings in June, July and August. The event closes down Lake Avenue.

Shutka said their business commonly stays open until 7 p.m. on these nights, and that the shutting down of Lake Avenue negatively affects operation of their business. “Closing the road hinders people being able to pick up or drop off their equipment after their own work hours,” she said.

According to her, in the prior year the Town Board attempted to help in moving the event to a new location, but resistance came from the Community Association of Greater St. James — the Summer Nights organizers. A compromise was to move the start time back to 6 p.m. This year it is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

“All we are asking of the town is to require that the road closure occurs no earlier than 6 p.m. and that the event set up not occurs before 5 p.m.,” Shutka said. “I think that is more than reasonable.” 

Bull Run Farm confirmation

As the town meeting concluded, the subject was broached regarding the special exception removal for assisted living facilities in residential zoning areas. A resident wanted to know if it was official that there was no way that an assisted living facility could go up on the Bull Run Farm property located on Mills Pond Road.

Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) confirmed that “the local law has been adopted — that use will not be permitted on residential development properties.”

Holst queried whether the developer had withdrawn the application but the town attorney, Matthew Jakubowski, confirmed the application is “no longer a permitted use.”

The next Town Board meeting will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, at Smithtown Town Hall.

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METRO photo

By Lisa Scott

There is a presumed lack of engagement in civics of today’s youth: an inability to discern truth from hyperbole, ignorance of our nation’s history and disinterest in government. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court and 32 state supreme courts have explicitly stated that preparation for capable citizenship is a primary purpose of education, and programs in New York State and Suffolk County do bring together education and civics.

At a League of Women Voters’ program several weeks ago, a group of high school students from six western Suffolk districts participated in the League’s “Student Day at the Suffolk County Legislature.” This program, developed with the Suffolk County Legislature’s Presiding Officer, was initiated in 2015 but interrupted by COVID. Returning to Hauppauge this year, it was praised by the participants, teachers, and legislators. 

Students (selected by their schools) knew that they would be either supporting or opposing an “Introductory Resolution” (developed in advance): ”RESOLVED, that in order to make our Suffolk County schools as safe as possible, the Suffolk County Police Department is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to allow School Safety Officers and Suffolk County Police stationed at all Suffolk County schools to be armed, including concealed weapons, in order to protect our precious schoolchildren …” 

Upon arrival, they were greeted by representatives of the Legislature and the League, and then heard from elected officials about the responsibilities and role of a legislator. Three representatives of the Suffolk County Police Department with experience in the schools then educated the students about the role of school safety officers, procedures, etc. 

Students had numerous questions and the session was thorough and informative. They then caucused in their “pro” and “con” assigned groups to debate, exhort, and plan their words and actions for the Mock Legislature. They stated later that they needed much more time to fully explore and formulate their position(s). 

They finally convened in the legislative “horseshoe” chamber, with students taking on a variety of roles: 18 as legislators, and the remaining 13 representing the public and Suffolk County Legislature staff. The student acting as Presiding Officer had a herculean task managing the “legislators” and the “public” who vied for time to speak and convince. Finally there was a roll-call vote, and the Resolution was defeated. 

Students were insightful in their evaluations: “I learned that despite the different views of the public, a legislator has to look for a way to please both parties, which isn’t an easy job” and “In AP Gov’t I learned about the congressional/national level, but seeing the similarities and differences on a local/state level was interesting. I noticed how the debate was controlled similarly in Congress but one difference was that even if the moderator has his own side he did not use that against his opponents when choosing who would speak.”

Beyond this small group example of why we have faith and hope in our young people, there are other programs and collaborations such as the League’s “Students Inside Albany” held each May over 3 days. Also  the League has joined DemocracyReady NY— a statewide, nonpartisan, intergenerational coalition of organizations and individuals committed to preparing all students for civic participation. 

The League participated in a task force to create the New York State Education Department’s Seal of Civic Readiness which is a formal distinction on a high school transcript and diploma that a student has attained a high level of proficiency in terms of civic knowledge, civic skills, civic mindset, and civic experiences. In order to obtain the Seal of Civic Readiness, a student must complete all the requirements for a New York State local or Regents diploma and earn a total of six points with at least two points in Civic Knowledge and at least two points in Civic Participation. Students may also earn points by completing a middle school Capstone project or a high school Capstone project. Several hundred NYS schools are committed to this program in the coming school year. 

Lisa Scott is president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit https://my.lwv.org/new-york/suffolk-county or call 631-862-6860.

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Illustration by Kyle Horne: @kylehorneart • kylehorneart.com

Last week’s special election for the Town of Brookhaven’s 3rd Council District has both major political parties finding silver linings.

Former Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) vacated his seat in February following a January special election for town clerk. To fill the vacancy and complete LaValle’s unexpired term ending in December, Republican Neil Manzella — also of Selden — defeated Democrat Alyson Bass from Centereach on Tuesday, April 25, by a 57-43% margin, according to an unofficial tally by the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Manzella’s win reinforces his party’s stronghold on the town government. Republicans again hold a 6-1 majority on the Town Board and occupy nine of the 10 elected offices townwide. Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (Stony Brook) is the lone Democrat.

“While I wish that there were more people that did vote,” Manzella said, “I am very happy with the decent size turnout for a special election,” which was just over 2,800 ballots cast. “I think both sides did a great job of getting that vote out.”

To Bass, he added, “I think that she should be very proud. They held an incredibly respectable campaign.”

Since the establishment of councilmanic districts in 2002, a Democrat has never held the 3rd District. Despite their historical struggles, there are some positive takeaways for the losing side. 

LaValle won CD3 in 2019 by more than 30 points. Bass cut that margin by more than half.

“Given the fact that my campaign was more of a grassroots campaign, I feel very proud for the level of fundraising that we did and with the outcome,” Bass told TBR News Media. “We were way outspent, we were outmanned. And I think that our numbers were very strong.”

Two-part election

Manzella’s victory celebration will be short-lived as both CD3 candidates are already back on the campaign trail for the general election.

“While I did win now, I will be the acting councilman but only through [December],” Manzella said. “This doesn’t stop. This campaigning continues straight through November.”

Bass also had this understanding, indicating that when she accepted the nomination for the special election, she committed to running in November regardless of its outcome.

“The four-year term was always the goal,” she said, adding that her campaign will continue through November.

Heads of the ticket

The CD3 race provides an early measure of public moods ahead of the townwide elections later this year. As the focus shifts away from the 3rd District, all eyes are on the top of the ticket, where there is an open contest.

Incumbent Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) will not headline the ticket for the first time in over a decade, instead pursuing the county’s top office in the race to succeed Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D), who is term-limited. Romaine’s opponent will be Democratic nominee, Dave Calone.

Brookhaven Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) and Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, a Democrat, have each secured their party’s nod for town supervisor.

In separate interviews, both candidates reflected upon the outcome in Middle Country and its implications for their respective quests to succeed Romaine.

“I think Ms. Bass should be extremely proud of herself,” Garant said, referring to the 14% margin of victory. “That’s a pretty significant gain, especially in a special election where you only had about 3 percent voter turnout overall in that district.”

Despite her favored candidate coming up short, Garant said she and her party are “encouraged by that result, and we’re going to continue to work on the messaging and the issues as they exist and continue to make sure we’re knocking on doors, making people aware of what the existing conditions are.”

Panico sang a slightly different tune than his opponent, though also optimistic for November. The deputy supervisor referred to the outcome as “a very strong message for our team” as the party pivots to the general election.

Manzella’s win, Panico said, reflected the strength of the Republican committee’s efforts and the resonance of its platform with Brookhaven voters. He further regarded the outcome as a vote of confidence for the current Town Board.

“When you’re doing the right thing by the residents — and the residents are very aware — they take notice,” Panico said. “The members of the Town Board on my team, I expect, will be reelected as well” in November.

Six months out of the general election, Panico said he has already begun campaigning townwide, expressing confidence that his campaign is registering with Brookhaven residents and forecasting a favorable outcome.

“I expect to be victorious in November and plan on running a vigorous campaign on the issues that matter to the residents of Brookhaven Town,” he said.

Based on recent electoral history, Garant’s campaign faces certain obstacles this election cycle. Her party has not held the supervisor’s chair since 2012 when Mark Lesko resigned mid-term, to be replaced by Romaine. 

The Port Jeff mayor nonetheless remained hopeful about her prospects, viewing her platform as appealing to the centrist wing of the town — a faction she believes will determine the victor.

“We think that we have a good platform,” she said. “We’re going to do our best to make sure that it resonates with the people not on the extremes, but with the majority of people who live here, which are the more moderate voters.”

Assessing political strategies

Anthony Portesy is chair of the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee. Like Garant and Bass, he regarded the election result in CD3 as promising for the Democratic slate come November. The Brookhaven Town Republican Committee did not respond to requests for comment.

“I’m very, very encouraged” by last week’s outcome, Portesy said. “When you take out the conservative line, their margin of victory was a mere 73 votes. That is incredible for that district, and it shows the quality of the candidate that we put up in Alyson Bass.”

Panico viewed Manzella’s elevation to the Town Board as favorable for Republicans. Citing his party’s sizable majority in town government, he added why he believes Republicans are registering with the electorate.

“There’s no secret recipe,” the Republican supervisor candidate said. “There’s not one thing that I would point to with regard to the electoral edge. With regard to the political composition of the town representatives, it’s simply that the people who are elected do the job they were elected to do.”

He criticized the opposition party’s messaging, stating its recent electoral track record reflects an unpopular platform with voters.

“I think the state of the local Democratic Party is part and parcel of their platform,” he said. “As they embrace a platform that has been rejected by the vast majority of residents — regardless of political affiliation — in the Town of Brookhaven, I think that is going to continue to be a problem for their party, and it shows in their elections.”

Garant rejected this notion entirely, pointing to Bass’ narrowing of the gap in CD3 as a testament to her party’s upward trajectory. The mayor suggested that the current board has not adequately addressed Brookhaven’s multiplying quality-of-life concerns, which may begin cutting into its majority.

“I think there are a lot of people who are very concerned with the declining lifestyle and the declining quality of life and the conditions in their neighborhoods,” she said.

Portesy centered his focus around the town landfill, which constitutes a significant chunk of the town’s overall public revenue and is set to close in the coming years. 

The party leader contended that the current board is ill-prepared for the looming budgetary shortfall precipitating from the facility’s eventual closure.

“The town dropped the ball on replacing the revenue for the landfill,” the Democratic committee chair said. “They love to tell you about the AAA bond rating, but the AAA bond rating doesn’t go into discussing the fact that that’s based on their present finances, not after the landfill closes and we’re losing millions and millions of dollars.”

Still, Portesy committed to recalibrating his party’s messaging over the coming weeks, working on expanding the Democratic get-out-the-vote initiative through additional door-knocking volunteers and other measures to generate voter interest and boost turnout.

“We’re going to be retooling our message over the next couple of months, making sure that we’re hitting the doors that we have to hit and making sure we’re convincing voters that our path is the path forward for Brookhaven Town,” he said.

Though beaten in round one, Bass kept an upbeat attitude for round two. “There are enough Democrats in this district and in this town to make us victorious,” she said. “We need to come across with messaging that resonates, and I think there are some strategic things we need to work on as far as unity and approach.”

She added that the small sample size last week was unreflective of the public will overall, suggesting a larger turnout in November could work in her favor.

Manzella, a former member of the town Republican committee, attributes much of his success to the party operation.

“Getting out there and spreading the word about an election, and then spreading the word of the candidate, is the most crucial part of any campaign,” the councilman-elect said. “Our committee has a lot of volunteers, a lot of people who are passionate about this. It’s that strength, as a unified whole, that is able to get this message out to the voters.”

Portesy viewed Romaine’s run for county executive as a unique opening for town Democrats. Given the scope of the town supervisor’s powers, the party chair maintained that filling that seat with a Democrat would be the committee’s primary objective.

“The vision for the town always comes from the executive,” he said. “Making sure that we get Margot Garant elected in November is going to go a long way,” adding, “Our number one goal is to take back the town supervisor.”

Both parties have just over six months before voters hit the polls on Nov. 7.

Illustration by Kyle Horne

@kylehorneart • kylehorneart.com

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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.

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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.

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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.

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