Setauket Harbor Day highlights local waterfront’s beauty

Setauket Harbor Day highlights local waterfront’s beauty

By Aidan Johnson

The Setauket Harbor Task Force held its annual Setauket Harbor Day under sunny skies last Sunday, Sept. 17, despite initial concerns over bad weather.

The event included live music, environmental lessons and free boat rides at the hamlet’s dock and beach on Shore Road.

“The purpose of the event is to show people how beautiful the harbor is and the different activities that can happen along the harbor,” said Laurie Vetere, a Setauket Harbor Task Force co-founder with George Hoffman. “We also have a lot of environmental groups, so it [has an] educational purpose as well — to try and get the kids involved and just make everybody aware of the natural beauty.”

Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) attended the event, remarking upon Setauket Harbor Day as a way to help people learn how to preserve Long Island’s waterfronts.

“I think that for waterfront communities like ours, it’s one thing to enjoy it, and it’s another thing to be educated on how to preserve and improve it,” he said.

“This is basically an opportunity for us to get a lot of these educational groups out here and get them to interface with the public so that people … can get on board with some of the initiatives that we’re trying to do to protect the water quality,” he added.

Kornreich also doubled as one of the live music performers during the festivities.