Brookhaven intends on completing the North Country Road repaving, having recently come close to finishing a section in Miller Place. Photo by Kyle Barr
The Town of Brookhaven has come close tofinishing a single section of a much larger project along North Country Road.
This past weekend, Brookhaven finished paving and painting the lines along North Country Road in Miller Place from Honey Lane to the Miller Place Duck Pond, over to the entrance to the Laddie A. Decker School on Lower Rocky Point Road. The new resurfacing includes fixing the drainage along the side of the road and the installation of sidewalk and curbing. The new road and sidewalks pass in front of several area staples like the Town & Country Market, McNulty’s Ice Cream Parlor and the William Miller House.
According to the town Highway Department and Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R), the North Country Road Highway project is actually a combination of three separate capital improvement projects.
The New York State Department of Transportation grant received by the Highway Department funded 60% of the “complete streets” portion of this project, which is the new paving in Miller Place. The contractor responsible for this section of the project should complete their work within the next few weeks. This part of the project came now in order to finish before schools reopened in September.
The second section of this project was the sidewalk and curb installation on North Country Road that was completed in 2019 from the entrance to the Laddie Decker School to Echo Avenue. The Highway Department resurfaced that section of North Country Road Aug. 6.
The final section of this project is North Country Road from Washington Avenue to Route 25A in Sound Beach. Highway crews are completing the preparation work on this stretch of road this week, with the milling and resurfacing of this section to be completed within the next few weeks.
The Brookhaven Highway Department has included in its 2021 budget request to install a significant amount of drainage infrastructure on North Country Road from Pipe Stave Hollow Road to Honey Lane to remove the water from the roadway. Once the drainage work is complete, that final section of roadway will be resurfaced.
This will complete the paving of North Country Road from the Village of Port Jefferson border to Route 25A at the Rocky Point/Miller Place border.
In July, the town announced the finalized resurfacing of Lower Rocky Point Road from Woodhull Landing Road to Rocky Point Landing Road, as well as Hagerman Landing Road. The town is also currently active milling 37 roadways all over Sound Beach. Once milling is complete at a near future date, weather permitting, all roads will be resurfaced.
Final details about the North Country Road project, including the total cost, grant funding and photos will be available when the project comes to completion in the next few months.
Above, from left, RPSB Chamber Secretary Larry Hall; Christine Ludwig; staff member Jamie Longman; salon owner Nicole Villorente Esposito; Carmine Esposito; RPSB Chamber President Gary Pollakusky; and RPSB Membership Director Nichaldeep Parhar. Photo by Siobhan Becker
The Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration of NV Beauty Boutique, as well as the launching of a new NV Beauty product line, on Aug. 13.
From left, RPSB Chamber President Gary Pollakusky; Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr; and salon owner Nicole Villorente Esposito. Photo by Jeanine Pollakusky
The event was attended by members of the chamber, family, friends and customers as well as Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr. and representatives from Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo and Councilwoman Jane Bonner’s office who presented Certificates of Congratulations to owner Nicole Villorente Esposito and her staff.
Located at 14 Broadway, in the heart of Rocky Point’s downtown business district, NV Beauty Boutique specializes in balayage, highlights, and bridal styling. The salon opened its doors in late February of this year, but due to the COVID-19 mandated shutdown, they were not able celebrate their grand opening until now. The salon continued to cater to customers with curbside pickup of customized hair coloring kits and more. They reopened their doors on June 10.
From left, RPSB Treasurer Charles Todaro; RPSB Chamber Secretary Larry Hall; staff member Jamie Longman; salon owner Nicole Villorente Esposito; RPSB Chamber President Gary Pollakusky; RPSB Events Director Jeanine Pollakusky and RPSB Membership Director Nichaldeep Parhar. Photo from RPSB Chamber of Commerce
“The Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce is pleased to assist members like NV Beauty Boutique with ribbon cutting celebrations to recognize new businesses, relocations, expansions and other milestones. In a time where businesses need to get back on their feet, our chamber and ceremonies like these are a great way to garner recognition for our businesses,” said Gary Pollakusky, President and Executive Director of the RPSB Chamber of Commerce.
“Thank you to the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce for our beautiful grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony. We are truly overwhelmed by all of the love Rocky Point has shown us these last few months. We love being a part of this beautiful town and look forward to many successful years ahead,” said Villorente Esposito.
“NV Beauty Boutique is a shining example of resilience in this current business climate. We look forward to NV Beauty Boutique’s success and the future patrons the business will bring that will frequent our downtown Rocky Point business district,” added Pollakusky.
Port Jeff Bowl came back online Aug. 17 and is already planning multiple leagues. Photo by Kyle Barr
By Liam Cooper
Port Jeff Bowl is ready to see people inside hunting for strikes once again after a long hiatus.
Starting Aug. 17, bowling alleys all throughout New York were allowed to open at 50% their normal capacity. Port Jeff Bowl is now open at 50%.
The bowling alley has strict guidelines to follow in accordance with New York’s COVID-19 response plan. All patrons must wear masks at all times within the bowling alley and musttry to stay as socially distant as possible, as well.
“People have been coming in at a slower rate, so it’s easier to socially distance,” said Bob Suchan, the general manager at Port Jeff Bowl. “We put people in every other lane or further apart.”
As well as the bowling lanes, the vending machines, games, and snack bar are also open.
Before COVID, bowlers could come up to the snack bar to order food. Now, however, they must wait at their lanes and have a waiter or waitress come take their orders.
“People have to be served at the lanes,” Suchan said.
To remain safe, every bowling ball, shoe, vending machine, and game are sanitized. All balls are kept behind closed doors to better protect and sanitize them.
“Everything gets sanitized after every use,” Suchan said. “Any touchable surface is sanitized.”
The alley is also looking forward to restarting a few leagues, with competitive, mixed, ladies and kids leagues all starting in September. Port Jeff Bowl has published a list of league dates and times to its Facebook page.
Bowling alleys are just one form of recreational activity reopening in New York. Monday, Aug. 24 marked the day when city museums, aquariums, and other low-risk indoor cultural arts were able to reopen at 25% capacity.
University Says Students Who Violated Housing Health Policy Given Housing Suspension Pending Review
Maurie McInnis was named SBU's sixth president. Photo from SBU
Stony Brook University will not let the actions of some students derail the on-campus living and learning experience for the majority.
This past weekend, days before the start of an unusual fall semester Aug. 24 amid ongoing concerns about the pandemic, the university found a “small number of violations” of the university’s COVID-19 health policy. Several students have been put on interim housing suspension for violations pending the conclusion of a conduct case, Maurie McInnis, who became the sixth president of SBU in July, said in an interview. The students in question have not been suspended from their academic studies.
McInnis said the school would suspend other students “if that is necessary.” She added that it is “very important that we give the students who are acting responsibly the opportunity for the in-person residential experience that they are working hard to protect.”
The school’s disciplinary actions follow similar measures taken by other universities such as Syracuse University and the University of Connecticut, which are trying to provide students with an opportunity to benefit from an on-campus experience while protecting faculty, staff and students from the spread of COVID-19.
McInnis added she appreciated the chance to be a part of the excitement that comes from the first day of what is likely to be one of the most challenging in the school’s 63-year history.
“It feels so great to have students back on our campus,” she said. “While, yes, it is under circumstances that are different than we’re used to, the same energy and excitement is there.”
The new university president said she enjoyed meeting students and their families as they moved onto the campus prior to the first day of classes.
The new president, who is a cultural historian and author of “Slaves Waiting for Sale: Abolitionist Art and the American Slave Trade,” said she feels confident in the school’s ability to navigate through the challenges of on-campus living and learning.
Students “understand that the way we are all going to have a great semester” is to act “personally responsible, wearing our masks and being socially distant,” she said.
SBU has created a dashboard that will track the number of tests the school is conducting on campus and the number of positive cases, if there are any. So far, the school has only had negative tests.
The dashboard is available at: www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/irpe/covid-19.phpleadership. It shows that the hour in the week in which the number of students registered for in-person classes is the highest is Tuesday, between 11 a.m. and noon, when 2,721 students were registered for in-person classes. In that same hour in the fall of 2019, 13,836 students took in-person classes.
The university will monitor its dashboard closely and will alter its policies as necessary to protect the campus community.
McInnis said the school was preparing for a possible second wave of the pandemic in the fall, as well as the possibility of the coincident timing of an outbreak of the flu.
“We are watching and monitoring all that carefully,” she said, which includes having enough personal protective equipment and a plan in place for health care personnel, among other measures.
McInnis said it is “too soon to speculate on” what the university policy might be if and when researchers develop a vaccine for COVID-19.
“As a part of SUNY and a public institution, we would be working with state partners and the [New York] Department of Health in making any sort of decision” about a vaccination for students or faculty, she said.
McInnis, who shared a detailed and open letter with the community and the public about the university’s difficult financial condition, said the budget remains a “fluid situation.” She added that the university “needs to get to work straight away as a community” in an “open and collaborative fashion to bring the best ideas for collaborating and working together better for leveraging opportunities, for efficiencies on our campus” and to develop ways to generate new revenue.
Meanwhile, the university has spent the summer “significantly improving” the quality of the remote and distance learning for students engaged with the online platform, she said.
In addition to being the new university president, McInnis is also a parent of a college-age son. Her son’s school was going entirely nonresidential and remote, so he decided to take a gap year.
At Stony Brook, the total number of students registered is 26,130, which is about 200 fewer than last year, suggesting that deferrals haven’t affected the matriculation rate much this fall.
McInnis said she appreciated the ongoing support of the university and surrounding communities.
“What we have been hearing, again and again, is, ‘How can we help?’” she said. “It is so great as president to be part of the community that clearly has the devotion of so many people.”
This article has been updated Aug. 25 to give more info on the nature of students violations and their interim suspension.
Your vote is the most valuable treasure you own. Take good care of it, use it wisely, never sell it and demand a great return on your investment. I have spent years encouraging people to vote.This year is quickly becoming a time when we must protect and defend our right to vote! Below are a few suggestions some should be done now so you will be prepared:
1. Items 1a, 1b,and 1c require the assistance of the Suffolk County Board of Elections. It is suggested that you contact them by email so you spend time on a long phone hold:suffolkcountyny.gov/departments/BOE
1a. If you have moved in the past year, make sure you are registered. Contact the board of elections. Check online for their contact information.
1b. If someone in your family has or will turn 18 before Nov. 3, ask how they register and what documents must be provided.
1c. Request an Absentee Ballot. You can get the request form online, print it out, fill it out and mail it to the board of elections. Do this as soon as possible.
2. Your Ballot will be mailed to you, ask the BOE when they mail the ballots so you can watch for it. When it arrives, Vote and mail back right away. Do not wait until the middle of October as the mail might be delayed then.
3. If you plan to vote in person, make sure your polling place has not been moved. Wear a mask, gloves and carry hand sanitizer and most importantly, practice social distancing.
4. Try to avoid taking children to the polls. If you must, make sure they have well-fitting masks, keep them close, no wandering. Before getting back in the car everyone should sanitize their hands.
5. If you decide to vote in person bring proper identification: driver’s license, passport. There can always be a first time when you will have to show ID.
Live at polling places vs. total mail in ballots for Mount Sinai School District
In Mount Sinai, the voting data of this past year’s school budget vote showed a huge increase.
Vote Counts2014 – 2019based upon in person voting:
Lowest count was 962 while the highest was 1557. The average for those five years was 1352.8.
In 2020 ballots were mailed to all registered voters in the school district and could be mailed back or put in a drop box in the district office lobby.
The total number of votes cast was 2993. This number is 1641 more votes than the average of the past five years.
There is a fantastic website which is designed to answer voter questions and provide information, state specific, for voters. The site is presented by the National Association of Secretaries of State and it can be reached at canivote.org.
Vote as if your life depends upon it, because the American way of life does.
Lynn Jordan is a lifelong Long Island-based community advocate, stemming from her time as a volunteer district lobbyist to PTA Council President at the Comsewogue School District, which preceded her 19-year tenure as a nurse at Mount Sinai Middle School, following which she served 12 years on the Mount Sinai board of education.
A surprised rooster finds itself abandoned in the Heritage Park playground. Photo by Floridia
Four roosters, two adults and two young, were found abandoned in the Heritage Park playground Aug. 21. Town workers, police and animal rescue groups responded to take the animals away and give them sanctuary outside the town.
A Brookhaven town worker holds a fence up as animal rescuer Frankie Floridia takes them away. Photo from Floridia
Visitors to Heritage Park reported on social media finding the roosters Friday morning. Suffolk County Police were notified, and upon calling the North Shore-based Strong Island Rescue League around 10 a.m. a town worker was able to corral the animals into a corner of the playground while Frankie Floridia, the president of Strong Island, picked them up to put them in cages and transport them away.
Floridia said the animals will either go to an animal sanctuary, or to families who wish to take care of them in townships where it is legal to own roosters.
The animal rescuer said there is a major issue in the Town of Brookhaven with people illegally abandoning animals such as domestic ducks in local ponds, but especially roosters. Mail order chickens have become an increasingly popular business, though some do not specify whether the chickens are male or female. The animal rescuer said they have come to calls for several abandoned roosters in Brookhaven over the past few years.
“What the people do, rather than get a fine is they go ahead and dump them,” Florida said. “The problem is dumping them, they can’t survive on their own in the wild. They are easy prey for predators, they get hit by cars, they have no food source. It’s a slow torturous death for them.”
Some online questioned whether the animals were runaways from the small farm just around the corner from The Wedge, aka Heritage Park. The roosters indeed did not come from Niegocki Farms, off of Mount Sinai Coram Road, but that small little taste of agriculture life on the North Shore has had major issues with people dumping chickens onto their property.
Tricia Niegocki, of Niegocki Farms, said that they have had six occasions in the past few years where they found roosters dumped on their property. This includes an incident where an unknown individual dumped 26 hens over their fence “in the dead heat of summer” of about 95 degrees.
“Anyone who knows us knows if it’s in our capabilities to be able to take hens off someone’s hands or help where we can,” Niegocki said. “By dumping them it was a three day ordeal in trying to catch them and pen them up in a pen we had to rush to get ready for them.”
Though the farm is often asked personally to look after chickens, especially roosters, another major issue with dumping roosters is the risk of disease spreading amongst a flock. This is especially concerning for a farm, which depends on those chickens as part of their livelihood, though leaving them to fend for themselves would only invite
The farmer said the town code is partly to blame for the number of people who abandon these animals.
“A person’s dog can bark all day and night but a rooster is unacceptable? She said. “I think the laws need to change to be more accommodating. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, having the ability to feed your family is very important and chickens provide not only eggs but also a source of meat.”
Strong Island Animal Rescue can be contacted at [email protected] or through their Facebook page.
Stony Brook McDonald's is planned to be demolished and rebuilt to add a tandem drive through. Photo from Google Maps
McDonald’s was granted a change of zoning Thursday, Aug. 13, by the Brookhaven Town Board in order to raze one and restructure two other restaurants on the North Shore. Representatives of the fast-food chain said it was to add new tandem drive-throughs and make the buildings more Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.
The three McDonald’s locations include the ones in Rocky Point and Miller Place on Route 25A and the one in Stony Brook along Route 347. Stony Brook is set to be demolished and remade into a restaurant with a tandem drive-through. Engineers hired by McDonald’s said doing so will actually reduce the buildings’ overall footprint.
The ones in Rocky Point and Miller Place will have signage changed and some extra work done on the exteriors. The two buildings will also be adding new ADA compliant walkways to allow better access to the buildings from the parking lots and sidewalks along Route 25A.
All three were zoned J-2 Business, but a rules change in 2003 mandated all sites with a drive-through had to be zoned J-5 instead. To complete the renovations, McDonald’s needed to get approval of the zone change from the Town Board. All three were granted zoning change approval at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Brookhaven officials said they received letters from the Three Village, Miller Place and Rocky Point civics indicating they did not have issues with the development. Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) said during the meeting the Three Village civic did have some concerns when the project was originally proposed but those were resolved by the developer.
One resident of Strathmore Gate Drive in Stony Brook, a gated community, asked about trees buffering behind the local McDonald’s property. Developers said the site will have 7-foot evergreens as a way to block line of sight to the restaurant.
A large tree in front of Emma S. Clark Memorial Library was no match for Hurricane Isaias. Photo by Pam Botway
Politicians with long memories and short fuses demanded answers from PSEG and LIPA for the communications problems and the slow restoration of power after Tropical Storm Isaias, even as they lamented how this wasn’t supposed to happen again after the long recovery from Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D) said LIPA and PSEG were inconsiderate with their spoiled food policy. Photo by Kyle Barr
In a full-day hearing of the combined New York State Assembly and Senate, local politicians including Assemblymen Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and Doug Smith (R-Holbrook) and Senators James Gaughran (D) and Todd Kaminsky (D-Rockville Center) questioned everyone from the chairman of the Public Service Commission, John Rhodes, to the President of PSEG Long Island, Daniel Eichhorn, and the CEO of LIPA, Thomas Falcone.
“We were told after Superstorm Sandy that things would change, but they did not,” Kaminsky said. “Why do we pay some of the highest electric and internet bills in the country when we couldn’t reach a provider, when the information we got was inaccurate? Why is it so hard to receive a reimbursement? Who is funding those reimbursements?”
Indeed, Rhodes, of the Public Service Commission, said he wanted answers from numerous utilities throughout the state and that the commission was not going to leave “any tool on the table.”
That proved small consolation for politicians and their constituents, some of whom were without power for over a week and many of whom had to throw out the entire contents of their powerless refrigerators and freezers. That is an especially problematic proposition in the aftermath of the pandemic, when budgets are tight and the recession caused by the lockdown has cut jobs in numerous industries.
Englebright questioned why PSEG is reimbursing customers for food spoilage only if their power was out for at least 72 hours. The reimbursed amount totaled $150 if the customers didn’t have receipts and could be as high as $250 if they had receipts, photographs, a canceled check or a credit card bill.
Englebright suggested the timeframe should allow for food spoiled after about 48 hours and wondered why the utilities had not settled on a longer time frame. The Setauket assemblyman wondered whether PSEG believed food “spoils more slowly on Long Island than any other place.”
Eichhorn said the 72 hour threshold defined numerous factors in a storm and “aligns with some of our processes.” The three day time frame “triggers certain things.”
Falcone added that the 72 hours defined a major storm.
“That’s not a health definition,” Englebright countered, but, rather was a “storm definition. That doesn’t necessarily reflect what somebody’s suffering from if their refrigerator is out for perhaps even half of that length of time.”
PSEG’s Eichhorn acknowledged that the company’s response to the storm was “not in line with our expectations.” He said the company is conducting its own reports to figure out what went wrong and to make changes and improvements.
“I’m not here to make excuses,” Eichhorn said. “We own the experience our customers had and we are committed to fixing it.”
Kaminsky asked whether PSEG had tested its system prior to the storm. Eichhorn responded that the company did a simulation in June and that PSEG passed that test.
That passing grade, despite the performance a few months later, will be a focus of PSEG’s own review, as well as a review conducted by LIPA.
“The most relevant stress test was the storm and [the PSEG system] was obviously inadequate,” Falcone said. The systems were “not robust enough” to allow customers to report power failures to PSEG.
On behalf of their constituents, politicians also lamented the shifting timeline for restoring power. In several cases, representatives at the virtual meeting recounted how residents spoke with people in utility trucks or representatives from PSEG who told them their power was on when their constituents were still struggling through the ongoing outage.
In an interview, Gaughran expressed his frustration with the utility arrangement on Long Island, where LIPA oversees PSEG, while the Public Service Commission has no direct authority or recourse.
“The Public Service Commission cannot fine them or sanction them,” Gaughran said. “They’re totally out of the loop.”
Sen. James Gaughran and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory officials at an Aug. 18 press conference. He has called for additional oversight of both LIPA and PSEG Photo from Sen. Gaughran’s office
Reflecting the concerns of his fellow senators and assemblymen and assemblywomen, Gaughran wondered what the utilities would do to protect Long Islanders in the event that another storm, with potentially stronger winds and heavier rain, impacted the region.
Gaughran said he would like to ensure that PSEG and LIPA don’t tap into a storm reserve fund, which is a collection of money set aside with rate payers money.
“The language in that fund is clear: they can’t access that for any part of the cost” from mismanagement or inadequate storm response, Gaughran said. “If you have an out-of-town crew sitting at the side of the road for hours waiting for instructions … those extra costs are costs of incompetence.”
Gaughran introduced a bill that would give the Public Service Commission the authority to investigate and sanction and fine the company and force them to take corrective action.
To prevent this kind of communication failure from happening again, Eichhorn said the company was conducting reviews of its computer system, which includes its outage management system and the telephone and digital experiences.
“We have made interim changes during and since the storm,” Eichhorn said. “We are continuing to do an after-action review to identify additional short and long term changes to ensure we’re ready for the next storm.”
Falcone added that LIPA would “go back and see why the system failed. We are hiring independent people to redo the stress test.”
Assemblyman Smith asked whether PSEG knew that National Grid employees weren’t a part of the storm response crews, even though people with experience were on Long Island.
“National Grid [employees] were not used during the storm,” Eichhorn said. “That will be included in the review.”
As University Stares Down Barrel of $109 Million Financial Hole, Local Community and Businesses Could See Economic Hurt
Stony Brook University is facing a huge financial hole in 2020, including a loss of students and likely faculty. This could mean many challenges for local industries and businesses who rely on that influx of people. Photo by Kyle Barr
By Kyle Barr, Rita J. Egan and Liam Cooper
Stony Brook University is one of the biggest driving economic engines of the North Shore. Not only does it offer a major learning institution for students all over Long Island, but it has facilitated a large number of housing possibilities for both faculty and students. Those students, meanwhile, are a live force generating sales for local restaurants, bars and shops.
When SBU students left in campus in March, many didn’t know what would happen in the future. Now that the campus nears the start of the semester, many students have decided they will not be returning. Photo by Kyle Barr
SBU’s announcement that it is facing at least a $109 million hole has sent a shudder through the residential and business side of the surrounding community. It has put yet another stake through the heart of so many economic centers that are already struggling from their own pandemic-related hurt.
Three Village Expects Hardship
Gloria Rocchio, president of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, recognized the effect Stony Brook University’s financial woes would have not only on Stony Brook Village Center, which WMHO oversees, but also a broader region extending beyond the Three Village area. The shops in Stony Brook are less than five miles from the university.
SBU “is the largest employer on Long Island and that needs to be addressed,” she said. “The fact is the impact is not only going to affect the local community but the Long Island community. The ripple effect will be extraordinary.”
George Hoffman, 1st vice president of the Three Village Civic Association, echoed Rocchio’s sentiments.
“Unfortunately, I do think we will see some painful impacts in the community from the university’s dire fiscal situation,” he said. “The hiring freeze will reduce the pool of people buying homes in the area. Canceling the athletic season will hurt the restaurants and pubs. And having three-quarters of the students take courses online instead of on campus, will hurt restaurants and local shops that count on student customers. Stony Brook University has such a regional multiplier effect that their cuts and loss of revenue will reverberate through our area and through the entire Long Island community.”
Jane Taylor, executive director of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, said the hope is that any effect on the community would be short lived.
“We’re grateful for the faculty and staff who support our local businesses,” she said. “This is definitely going to have an impact.”
Impact on Port Jefferson Village
It’s hard to gauge how much business Port Jefferson generates from Stony Brook, though recent efforts to increase the number of students and staff into the village has already been squashed due to COVID-19. The village has been funding everything but the campus-side advertising for the PJ-SBU Shuttle for the past two years. The village was putting up around $20,000 of its funds for the project, while the Port Jeff Business Improvement District also put up $10,000 of its funds to help support the shuttle program.
The shuttle program was canceled due to COVID-19 March 15. Kevin Wood, the village’s parking and mobility administrator, said the shuttle was averaging about 150 riders a weekend before being canceled.
The Port Jefferson, Stony Brook University Shuttle was cancelled this March, though the village hopes to start it up again next year. Photo from Kevin Wood
“We will look to restart it for the spring 2021 semester depending on the state of the COVID-19 and restrictions,” he said in an email. “We will also look to share the expense equally between the village, the BID and SBU.”
Barbara Ransome, Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce director of operations, said the pandemic has already done such a number on local businesses. She said village businesses are open and are being “respectful and careful” in compliance with New York State regulations, and she hopes those shops that stayed strong will survive, barring another shutdown.
“My gut would say sure, it’s going to affect us,” she said. “The Port Jefferson Village is going to have a deficit — everyone is going to have a deficit. Everything’s going to have a trickle-down effect.”
Impact on Real Estate
Multiple local realtors in the surrounding community said the effect on the housing market surrounding the university is still uncertain, though a loss of students and faculty because of enrollment declines and a hiring freeze could put a damper on the industry.
“The surrounding real estate is yet to be determined,” Port Jefferson-based American Way Real Estate’s David Guzzetta said.
The number of campus residents has declined by 40%, which could potentially tank the market, he added.
“If demand went down 40%, it would affect local housing by 5 to 10%, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is,” he said. “Anything more than that would be devastating. It sounds like a recession.”
Though there is still time before the school year starts, the Port Jefferson realtor said the deficit could actually be good for the real estate market.
“It could be the complete opposite,” Guzzetta said. “We won’t know until the semester starts, but students may not feel safe staying in a dorm and therefore want to live in off-campus housing by themselves to feel safer, which would actually boost the local real estate market.”
Frank Edwards, a realtor from Douglas Elliman Real Estate located in East Setauket, said he believes that students will choose to stay on campus.
“These kids aren’t going to be renting homes,” he said.
Whether it be positive or negative, the East Setauket realtor said students will be the main driver in the market.
“I don’t think it’s going to really affect staff as much,” Edwards said. “It’s really going to be driven by the college students. They’re going to take up the on-housing campus too, but COVID may change that.”
Edwards said he believes the market will continue to be sustainable.
“I don’t think it’s going to really affect the real estate market,” he said. “I believe the market will be fine, when houses come up they go quickly in this area. I think we’re in a strong area. I think Three Village is a strong area.”
The uncertainty surrounding the market may come as a result of COVID-19. When the pandemic began, it seemed that the market was going to decline on Long Island, but realtors in the area have actually seen the pandemic being a positive force in the market.
“If you asked me four months ago, I would say we were going into a housing crisis but, believe it or not, Long Island is in a little spike because everyone from Manhattan with income is coming out to Long Island.” Guzzetta said.
This sign outside of Bakewicz Farms caused some concern in the past month, though the planning board meeting was delayed. However property owners said they wouldn't move on any new development just yet. Photo by Kyle Barr
Landowners were unanimously granted approval of plans Aug. 17 by the Brookhaven Planning Board for a housing development on land in Wading River currently in use by the local Bakewicz Farms.
The preliminary plans revolve around 13 subdivisions for homes at the corner of Route 25A and Randall Road in Wading River. This is in addition to a recharge basin to be located at the westmost corner between the two roads.
The Rocky Point-based Manzi family owns the property but is being represented by Rocky Point-based attorney Steven Losquadro.
Losquadro said in a phone interview that the family is not immediately going with the housing development, but is instead “keeping their options open” regarding any future plans, whether or not it becomes a new housing development or something else. He did not wish to comment on the record about what future plans could be.
The site is currently being leased by Justin Bakewicz and his mother Marianne of Bakewicz Farms. The small 11-acre farm is active in the summer and autumn months supplying local produce, giving a place for children to pet a few farm animals and allowing children into their corn maze filled with cut out wood characters from pop culture such as Harry Potter and Buzz and Woody from “Toy Story.”
Losquadro said the property owners are not at all immune to calls from the community for the farm’s preservation. Nothing has been officially determined yet.
“Many people in the community would like to see it preserved as a farm,” the attorney said.
Bakewicz did not wish to comment fully on the record about what could be happening in the future, but did mention there could be positive news coming down the pike.
“This is what I’ve been hoping for,” he said.
Last year property owners proposed putting down a large solar storage battery on an unused portion of the property. Those plans were opposed by the local civic groups, and Losquadro said at the time that without the solar battery the land could instead turn into a residential development.
The preliminary plans themselves call for the creation of a new street that ends in a court called Dante Way. The road allows both a left and right turn onto Randall Road but no access onto Route 25A. Plans show the land redesigned for 13 single family homes, which would be located in the Shoreham-Wading River school district. The development also abuts the ongoing construction of the North Shore Rail Trail projects which when finished will create a 10-mile walking and bicycle path from Wading River to Mount Sinai.
Revised plans after comments from the planning board also maintain a 40-foot proposed buffer on the north end of the proposed development and a 75-foot buffer on the southern end. Both buffers would be granted to the town for open space purposes. In the proposed development, 10 feet off the western end would be left to the town for adding a real shoulder to the side of Randall Road.
1. Items 1a, 1b,and 1c require the assistance of the Suffolk County Board of Elections. It is suggested that you contact them by email so you spend time on a long phone hold:
Prev
