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North Country Peace Group calls for a Gaza ceasefire

by Samantha Rutt - January 11, 2024

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Local residents gathered Dec. 29 in front of Port Jefferson Harbor to participate in a ceasefire vigil organized by the North Country Peace Group. The event, held amid the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict, aimed to raise awareness and call for an immediate end to the violence in Gaza.

As the clock struck noon, participants displayed signs bearing messages of peace and hope. Speakers from the peace group shared their thoughts on the conflict, urging those present to advocate for diplomatic solutions and humanitarian aid.

“We need to be visible, we need to let people know what our community stands for,” Port Jefferson resident Myrna Gordon said. “We need to let them know that we want a ceasefire, that we want to end these atrocious killings. It’s important for our community to see that we’re here, that we’re not going to go away, and what’s happening now.”

Attendees shared stories of hope, emphasizing the cost of the ongoing conflict.

“We’ve been doing this for over 50 years,” Gordon said. “You do get tired, and you do get worn down by the bureaucracy. But with support like this in our communities, we’re very fortunate to have a very solid community of peace activists, people who are simply working for justice. We just have to stay the course.”

Despite the somber mood, the vigil was also a testament to the enduring human spirit. The shared grief and the collective call for peace created a powerful sense of solidarity among those present.

The ceasefire vigil is just one of many similar events taking place around the world. As the conflict continues, the call for peace grows louder, urging leaders to find a way to end the suffering and bring about a lasting peace.

The Fifth Season’s dynamic duo

by TBR Staff - December 28, 2023

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How John and Deborah Urbinati spread comfort through food

Deborah and John Urbinati accept an appreciation certificate from the Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2017. Photo courtesy Deborah and John Urbinati

By Sofia Levorchick

Since they were teenagers, John and Deborah Urbinati have been immersed in the culinary world, sharing a passion for the restaurant business. However, it was when they met in a restaurant in Colorado that they decided to pursue their culinary journeys together.

After they married, the Urbinatis traveled across the United States, gaining knowledge about food, cocktails and wines. Once they moved back to New York, their love and passion for the industry propelled them to want to work in a restaurant together.

They partnered with the original owners of The Fifth Season in Greenport, then relocated and reopened the restaurant in Port Jeff.

As owners of The Fifth Season for almost 16 years, the couple found that they wanted to pair their shared passion for food with their desire to give back to the community.

“We’ve always known that food is a great connection with the community because it allows us to provide sustenance and comfort to people,” Deborah Urbinati said.

“Plus, we’ve always had a very strong sense of service to our community,” John Urbinati added.

Giving back

Almost a decade ago, the Urbinatis came across the Ronald McDonald House Charities nonprofit organization, established at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room offers a welcoming and comforting environment within the hospital, providing patients and their families with nourishing food.

John and Deborah were initially asked to deliver a meal here and there, but their activity eventually evolved into a more extensive commitment between their restaurant and the foundation.

“The last thing these families think about is food in such a stressful setting,” John noted.

Deborah added, “Hearing the struggles that people are going through with their children, it makes it easy to want to do more.”

“And because we felt so good about being able to provide a service for people that are really in need, we realized we could do this every week,” John said.

Every Wednesday, the Urbinatis and their staff pack meals to be delivered to the Ronald McDonald Family Room. Beforehand, they take the time to brainstorm what meals to cook and send out, sometimes making the dishes personable.

Deborah recounted the time they had a patient from the hospital come into the restaurant because she had eaten their food at the Ronald McDonald Family Room. “She loved the chicken fingers, and when she unfortunately went back to the hospital, we ensured that chicken fingers would be specially delivered to her every week,” she explained.

Striking a balance between managing a restaurant and volunteering could seem to be a challenging feat, but the Urbinatis have made it a routine, motivated by the rewarding aspect of giving back while doing what they love.

“A lot of it is just a mindset,” John said. “You make it part of your daily routine. Once you make the commitment and decision to do it, you figure out a way to make it work,” adding, “It’s not just us doing the work, too. We have a tremendous team here.”

Collaboration among the Urbinatis and their Fifth Season staff has contributed much to the success of the overall philanthropic effort. Whether cooking chicken, packing up boxes or writing what’s on the box, the restaurant staff plays a crucial role in helping the Urbinatis in the Ronald McDonald House organization.

“All of the support staff we have here all step in and take a piece of the puzzle, and we’ll all put it together in the end,” John stated.

Sometimes, they even see volunteers from the Ronald McDonald Family Room come in for dinner. “It’s almost a full circle moment — we support them, so they support us,” Deborah said.

They have received an overwhelmingly positive response from families who are reaching out with emails, phone calls, letters and personal visits to showcase their gratitude for what the Urbinatis have done for the Ronald McDonald House organization.

“We go in doing it not looking for anything in return,” Deborah indicated. “But in return, we do end up feeling grateful that we’re able to help, and it makes us beyond happy to see that our efforts are fostering positive change.”

TBR News Media recognizes John and Deborah Urbinati as 2023 People of the Year for using their talents to improve our community.

The holiday season prevails Down Port

by Bill Landon - December 24, 2023

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Downtown Port Jefferson was ready for Santa as the shops and businesses of the village continued a popular tradition this holiday season.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Accounting practices spur deep dive into Port Jeff Village finances

by Lynn Hallarman - December 15, 2023

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Village board hires financial firm to untangle information gaps in capital fund record keeping

By Lynn Hallarman

Concerns were raised by newly-appointed village treasurer Stephen Gaffga about the bookkeeping practices that track the village’s capital project fund, prompting a call for a full accounting of the fund’s financial records going back at least seven years.

Gaffga was recently the treasurer for the Village of Greenport. He was hired this past summer by Port Jefferson Village, replacing Denise Mordente who served as treasurer for the previous administration.

During the Nov. 20 meeting of the Port Jefferson Village Board of Trustees, Gaffga described the capital fund’s bookkeeping as having a “severe information gap” in the fund’s ledger. Standard financial procedures “were not followed as best practice,” according to Gaffga.

“I came into Port Jefferson in September, and I saw a negative balance with the capital fund,” the treasurer said. “I tried to figure out how that came to be.”

Gaffga explained at the meeting that capital projects were approved and money was spent, but all these expenses were recorded as a “running tally on the ledger.” This accounting method makes it seem like there is a negative balance for all these projects.

“That’s not the case — we borrowed money, got grant funding, transferred money from the general fund, but the trail is very difficult to follow,” he said.

Gaffga recommended the board hire an outside specialized CPA firm, PKF O’Connor Davies of Hauppauge, to receive assistance in analyzing the record keeping of the capital fund going back in time. As stated at the trustees meeting, the cost of the lookback should not exceed $4,500 per year analyzed. The goal of the analysis is to uncover the financial history of each capital project and “establish a clean slate,” Gaffga said.

“It is entirely possible that everything is OK dollarwise, and it is just a mess on the books,” he told TBR News Media.

Former village Mayor Margot Garant, objected to Gaffga’s characterization of the records. “We did a lot in 14 years, and we used our money very carefully,” she said in an interview, adding, “The documents in place are pretty easy to follow. I don’t know what their issue is.”

The New York State Office of the State Comptroller requires municipalities to undergo an annual audit of financial records. According to the 2022 audit done by the independent accounting firm Cullen & Danowski of Port Jefferson Station, the village had areas for improvement.

Firstly, the village neglected to properly inventory its capital “hard” assets, according to Chris Reino, who represented the auditor at the August trustees business meeting.

The village has no running list of assets like trucks, buildings, computer equipment and furniture, for example, since “at least 2014,” Reino said.

As a consequence, if something goes missing or “there is a catastrophe, it will be hard [for the village] to make a claim to an insurance company to replace it,” Mayor Lauren Sheprow noted.

Secondly, the report indicated that the “village did not maintain adequate accounting records” of the capital project fund.

Cullen & Danowski did not respond to email and phone requests for comment for this story.

Capital project fund

The capital project fund financed a range of projects over time for the village, such as restoring the East Beach bluff, repaving walkways at Harborfront Park, creating the Barnum Street parking lot, building bathrooms at Rocketship Park, digitizing records and more.

The trail of money for a project should be easy to follow by a citizen, according to the state Comptroller’s Office. Bookkeeping for the capital fund should tell the complete story of how taxpayer dollars are appropriated and spent for each project to prevent overspending or leaving financial holes in the funding for essential village improvements.

“I want this board to be educated about this process, so we are all aware of where the money’s coming from and how it’s being spent,” the mayor said at the November board meeting.

Financial transparency

At the August board meeting, Sheprow complained that members of the previous board “never saw the 2022 audit.”

“I don’t recall specifically, but I know I had a discussion with [the trustees] and the treasurer that [the audit report] was in, and I believe that was January,” Garant told TBR News Media.

While financial audits should be posted, along with other yearly financial records on the village website after the Board of Trustees reviews them according to OSC best practice, the 2022 audit submitted to the village administration in January this year was not posted to the village website until this past week, shortly after TBR News Media requested to review the audit report (see portjeff.com/fiscalyear2022auditdocuments).

Mordente did not respond to requests for comment for this story about the village’s 2022 auditing process.

Moving forward, Sheprow said she wants to remedy this perceived gap in transparency.

Gaffga said at the November board meeting the village wants to establish a clean slate so there are no “skeletons bookkeeping-wise that could hold the village back.”

Miller Place Panthers girls basketball bests Port Jeff Royals

by Bill Landon - December 14, 2023

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Being one of the smallest schools in Suffolk County, when the Lady Royals of Port Jeff play an early season nonleague game, they always face a team from a larger school district. This was the case Friday afternoon with a home game against Miller Place.

Having lost perennial scoring threats to graduation, Port Jeff’s roster features only one senior as the Lady Royals had their hands full, falling to the Panthers 47-22 in the Dec. 8 matchup.

Returning starter Ava Zicchinelli for Miller Place was the offensive spark for the Panthers, leading her team with 14 points followed by Brooke Callaghan, who banked nine. Sophia Ingenito netted seven.

Rose Meliker-Hammock scored three from the floor and three from the free throw line for nine points for the Royals.

Port Jeff (0-2) retakes the court with another nonleague matchup Saturday, Dec. 16, with a road game against West Islip. Game time is scheduled for 10 a.m.

The Panthers (2-4) face one more nonleague matchup at home to Pierson/Bridgehampton Dec. 20 before league play begins with a home game against Harborfields Thursday, Jan. 4, with tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

Huzzah! The 27th annual Dickens Festival rings in the holiday spirit

by Julianne Mosher - December 9, 2023

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Nearing three decades, the village of Port Jefferson turned once again into a Dickensian storyland for the annual Charles Dickens Festival.

Kickstarted by a parade down East Main Street on Saturday, Dec. 2, dozens of people dressed to the nines in their best Victorian-era suits and gowns joined characters from Dickens’ books like “Oliver Twist” and “A Christmas Carol” to march to

the Village Center.

“This really is the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season,” Mayor Lauren Sheprow said. “Walking through the Village Center is literally like a movie set, and what the arts council has done in such a short period of time, I’m overwhelmed and amazed by it.”

Spearheaded by the Village of Port Jefferson and the Greater Port Jefferson-Northern Brookhaven Arts Council, there were plenty of things to do and see.

Different dance troupes performed throughout the day in different locations, while a blacksmith was melting iron in front of the Frigate store. For the first time ever, the arts council created Santa Claus Central, located inside the Methodist Church.

Sheprow said she was looking most forward to watching her nephew perform at the Presbyterian Church with his school’s orchestra, “and see how residents and visitors really appreciate this event.”

And it wouldn’t have been a Dickens Festival without sporadic performances from “Oliver Twist” and “A Christmas Carol” scheduled throughout the day on Main Street.

Other fun events that followed into Sunday, Dec. 3, despite the wet weather, included ice skating, checking out the festival of trees inside the Village Center, a magic show, horse and carriage rides and performances from all levels of the Port Jefferson school district choirs and orchestras.

Port Jeff village board walks through revised ethics code during work session

by Raymond Janis - December 9, 2023

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Conversations over ethics are ramping up in Port Jefferson, where the village board of trustees is nearing sweeping changes to its Code of Ethics.

A public hearing on the code changes took place on Nov. 20, with the village’s ethics counsel, Steven Leventhal, presenting a draft code that would repeal and replace the existing ethics standards within the Village Code. The proposed code changes include three main categories: a code of conduct, disclosure requirements and administration. [See story, “Port Jeff village board, residents mull over ethics code revamp,” Nov. 25, TBR News Media.]

The board reconvened Tuesday night, Dec. 5, for a work session spanning over four hours.

“The primary purpose of tonight’s meeting is to give you, the board, the opportunity to address any questions that you might have to me and to have a discussion and deliberation on any points that need to be resolved,” Leventhal said.

Leventhal and the trustees walked through the code line by line, clarifying and amending various sections of text along the way.

The board will meet again Monday, Dec. 11, for its monthly general meeting. Leventhal pledged to supply the board with a revised version of the draft code, along with a redline version of the text, before the meeting begins.

Residents can continue submitting written testimony to the village clerk until Thursday, Dec. 7.

To view the entire work session, see the above video.

Santa comes to town in Port Jeff

by Julianne Mosher - December 2, 2023

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You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, want to know why?

Santa Claus made his way for another year to Port Jefferson last weekend, ringing in holiday cheer and the start of the Christmas season.

Who else joined the parade with the man in red, whose sled was attached to a horse-drawn carriage? Other visitors included business owners and elected officials who took the time to show some spirit with costumes, floats and dancing.

Local Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts dressed in their favorite holiday hats Sunday, Nov. 26, along with Shine Dance Studio and Backstage Studio of Dance who had their students twirl up and down Main Street. Special guests showed up including Disney princesses, Donald Duck and Goofy. The parade was finished with a march of characters from the upcoming Dickens Festival scheduled for next weekend.

“I’m grateful to the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce for giving first responders, business owners, elected officials, Scout troops, community groups and performing artists an opportunity to sync up and help usher in the joy of the holiday season for the young and young-at-heart,” said Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay, who is currently running for New York’s 4th Assembly District. “May the weather be just as cooperative and the spirits just as jolly for the Dickens Festival this coming weekend,” she added.

— Photos by Julianne Mosher

Joyful jamboree in Port Jeff: Santa sparkles at BID’s 2nd annual tree lighting

by TBR Staff - December 2, 2023

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By Michael Scro

Port Jefferson Business Improvement District held its 2nd annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at the intersection of Broadway and East Broadway, where a crowd of resident families gathered to enjoy live music, dancing and a visit from Santa Claus, who joined in with the tree lighting.

The crowd was treated to dance routines from the Shine Dance Company, based in East Setauket, live holiday music from Erik McCormack, who played the famous tunes on his acoustic guitar, and hot chocolate to keep everyone warm.

The evening culminated in the arrival of Santa Claus, who sat in a large upright chair beside the tree before its official lighting.

Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow led a countdown to the tree’s lighting and thanked everyone in attendance.

“This is a truly special event the village looks forward to every year,” she said.

Santa then greeted the children and handed out candy canes while the tree shined brightly for the rest of the evening.

— Photos by Michael Scro/Media Origin

Obituary: Remembering Barry Warren

by TBR Staff - December 1, 2023

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Prepared by David Warren

Barry L. Warren, age 79, of Port Jefferson, former village attorney, passed away on Friday, Nov. 17.

Barry was born in Brooklyn and grew up in a close-knit, loving and gossipy family with a flair for melodrama that both adored and annoyed him. He was a die-hard New York Yankees fan as a kid and worshiped the dirt that Mickey Mantle kicked up with his cleats.

He was voted “Most Sophisticated” during his senior year of high school and claimed to have been on every other page of his yearbook (unverified as of this writing).

Barry came into his own during his college and law school days at Dickinson College, where he met the closest and longest standing friends he would have in his life. Most importantly, it is where he met his wife of 54 years, Laura, with whom he traveled the world, ate their way through the Zagat’s guide, golfed (she was better), shopped for antiques and spent hours in the garden finding new and innovative ways to kill thousands of innocent plants. He completely adored her.

He practiced law at his namesake firm, Cohen & Warren, for over 40 years, served as president of the Suffolk County Bar Association, was a member of the Ethics Committee, taught classes at Touro Law Center, was a member of the Port Jefferson Royal Educational Foundation, served as village attorney and was a former president of the Port Jefferson Historical Society (sometimes referred to as the Hysterical Society).

He is survived by two children, one brilliant, one good-looking, David (married to Beth) and Abigail (married to David Gutierrez). He was a very much adored grandfather — “Pop” — to two granddaughters, Shelby and Adelaide. He was also the cherished brother of Linda Grodin (late husband Jay) and brother-in-law of Marty VanderLind.

Memorial services were held Nov. 21, at O.B. Davis Funeral Home. Donations may be made in Barry’s memory to the Port Jefferson Historical Society, 115 Prospect Street, Port Jefferson, NY 11777.

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