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Elizabeth Hornstein

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Sketch by Kyle Horne: @kylehorneart kylehorneart.com

The Village of Port Jefferson will host community members for the Climate Resilience Plan workshop on Wednesday, April 5, at Village Hall from 6:30 to 8 p.m. During this meeting, residents will learn about the climate phenomena impacting the area, such as rising tides and intensifying flooding.

In an exclusive interview, trustee Rebecca Kassay, who also serves as the village’s sustainability commissioner, offered a preview of the meeting, detailing challenges associated with worsening flooding, accelerated erosion and the need to plan accordingly.

What are your expectations for the April 5 meeting?

The upcoming meeting is funded by the [New York State] Department of State under a grant that helps Port Jefferson Village plan to be a climate-resilience community. This information is pertinent to every community, but especially in a village like Port Jefferson, where we have such an intimate relationship with the harbor.

In our history, the village was named Drowned Meadow because it was a marshland. No one needs to be told that we’ve been experiencing increasing frequency, and the amount of flooding has increased greatly. We’re looking at this very seriously as a village on how to mitigate the flooding as climate change continues to increase in its impacts.

What is climate-resilience community planning?

A climate-resilience plan is planning to undertake both green and gray infrastructural projects as well as shifting planning and expectations in the community regarding the facts of climate change.

One of these for us is sea-level rise, the water level in the harbor being higher. Another notable one for us is the increased frequency of heavy rainfall, which causes flooding. In a climate-resilience community, we are planning to mitigate the flooding results from the effects of the climate.

Unfortunately — and I always feel like the bearer of bad news — flooding will affect almost every shoreline community on Long Island in an increasingly drastic way. As a community, we need to digest this future, start planning to protect the community assets that are most important to us and make the best planning and fiscal decisions for our future as a village.

Do you foresee coastal erosion mitigation as part of this equation for developing climate-resilience community planning?

Coastal erosion definitely falls under the umbrella of the results of climate change. We’ve been seeing this problem increase, especially in the last 10 to 20 years. Erosion is a natural process. It does happen over time. We’ve just seen a huge increase in the rate of coastal erosion.

Looking at coastal erosion and what our community plans to do regarding coastal erosion is part of climate resilience planning. Sometimes planning means building an infrastructure project, and sometimes it means a strategic retreat from an area that we, as a community, believe floods too frequently or is eroding at such a rate that the assets within that zone are very difficult and costly to protect.

One of the most difficult things about climate planning is that you have to realize that what’s been working for the last 50 to 100 years will not necessarily work in the near future.

What are some distinguishing characteristics between sustainable planning and the kind of planning that has existed up to this point?

The difference actually starts with being able to humble ourselves enough to realize that human-made solutions will not always solve the problem of climate change.

In the past 50-plus years, if there’s an issue with flooding or erosion — all these different problems that now fall into the realm of climate change — we as governments and communities have said, “Let’s build a project to fix it.” But the scale at which we are looking at climate issues is so vast that the thinking has to shift.

We have to realize that the environment is shifting around us, and our built environment is butting up against it in a way that we might have to change what we’re doing. It’s more working with nature as opposed to continually trying to work against it.

What role can residents play in this effort, and how critical is it for residents to educate themselves about the climate issues at stake?

The best way to fight fear is with action. I acknowledge completely that hearing and internalizing climate change data and projections is a very scary process.

I am currently working with [New York] Sea Grant and their local representative, Elizabeth Hornstein. We’ve recently discussed creating a workshop aimed not just at governments and nonprofits but at individual landowners, businesses and residents to empower them on what they can do with their properties to help mitigate climate change issues.

I’m hoping that within the next few months, we might be able to come up with a date for a workshop like this where residents can tune in and see if there are actions they can take to help. The Conservation Advisory Council in Port Jefferson has been working on some strategies [as a village advisory body].

We’ve designed this workshop so that it will be recorded in a high-quality fashion, just like the Board of Trustees meetings, so that residents who cannot or choose not to attend can view the meeting indefinitely on the village’s YouTube page.

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File photo by Carolyn Sackstein

The Port Jefferson Village Board of Trustees is approaching a meaningful vote to decide the future of the Port Jefferson Country Club.

PJCC is a village-owned property. In a two-phased initiative, the board is actively responding to the harmful effects of coastal erosion at East Beach. Construction of a lower retaining wall is ongoing after a 4-1 vote under a previous composition of the board of trustees. 

Now the board is looking upland, where erosion has encroached dangerously upon the PJCC clubhouse. Without remediation, the clubhouse could fall off the cliff within years. 

Weighing its options, the board must soon decide whether to invest in preserving the existing clubhouse by adding a steel wall or retreating inland.

‘We’re already at a point where we’re playing beat the clock. We’ve lost a tremendous amount of material, and that is something we have to take into consideration.’ — Margot Garant

A battle against time and nature

In an exclusive interview with Mayor Margot Garant, she provided her initial estimates for the cost of the upper wall. 

“We’re estimating approximately another $3 million for that upper wall project,” she said. “The lower wall was a more complicated project because of the steel, rock and revegetation of the entire slope. The upper wall is really only steel and vegetation.” Bids for this project are still out but are due by Oct. 7, when the village will receive its final estimate.

Garant acknowledged the severe economic and environmental constraints working against the village. The construction cost index is forecast to see a 14.1% year-to-year increase by Dec. 31. While the cost of building materials skyrockets, inflation is at its highest point in four decades. 

Meanwhile, the cliff erosion is rapidly closing in on the clubhouse. For these reasons, Garant feels a sense of urgency to approve the upper wall if the village board favors that option.

“I think economic factors … plus Mother Nature are all kind of not working to our advantage at this point in time,” she said. “We’re already at a point where we’re playing beat the clock. We’ve lost a tremendous amount of material, and that is something we have to take into consideration — the pros and cons and the risk factors.”

‘As community leaders, it’s our duty to look at the realities in front of us and serve the community accordingly.’ — Rebecca Kassay

While the mayor appears committed to quick remediation, the board has no unanimous consensus. Trustee Rebecca Kassay was the lone dissenter on the lower wall vote, citing a lack of public input into the final determination.

If presented with a similar vote on the upper wall, Kassay said she would vote “no” again. “My position is still the same,” she said. “I cannot, in good conscience, vote for another multimillion dollar project without having the residents of Port Jefferson show their support or rejection for it.”

Drawing from her background in environmental advocacy, Kassay believes there are viable alternatives to the upper wall. While the burgeoning science of coastal erosion mitigation may be daunting, according to her, exploring these options may be in the village’s long-term interest.

“Adopting new strategies and technologies can be very nerve-racking,” the trustee said. “It’s quite upsetting but, as community leaders, it’s our duty to look at the realities in front of us and serve the community accordingly.”

Elizabeth Hornstein, above, delivered a presentation to the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Sept. 27, regarding the impending threat of sea-level rise and coastal erosion to the area. Photo by Raymond Janis

This week, a local climate expert presented some of her findings to the Port Jeff community. During a Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce meeting Tuesday, Sept. 27, Elizabeth Hornstein, a New York State Sea Grant sustainable and resilient communities specialist for Suffolk County, explained the pending threat of sea-level rise and intensifying storms on coastal communities. 

Hornstein’s presentation stressed the need for community planning and resiliency. She advised that addressing the issue of erosion near the country club would require a communitywide assessment of its environmental priorities.

“I think the community as a whole has to decide what is most important,” she said. “Is the country club an asset that is very important to the community? What else in the community, though, is also very important that you may want to protect?” She added, “I think it’s a tricky situation, and it’s hard to make those calls.”

‘I would like to see more of a country club atmosphere up there, and I’m not sure we’re getting it with the existing building.’

— Stan Loucks

Reimagining PJCC

Trustee Stan Loucks remains undecided whether he will support the upper wall. Like Kassay, Loucks has expressed support for putting the matter out for a public referendum. However, he suggests the board should tie an upper wall proposal to a plan for reinvigorating the country club.

Critics of saving the clubhouse have cited examples of village officials referring to the clubhouse as “underutilized.” Joining these detractors, Loucks hopes for greater use of the country club’s available amenities.

“I would like to see more of a country club atmosphere up there, and I’m not sure we’re getting it with the existing building,” he said. “I want to see what it’s going to cost to put an upper wall in there, and I want to see what it would cost to perhaps build a new building.”

‘I would also like to hear how this would factor into a more comprehensive long-term strategy for the country club campus.’

— Lauren Sheprow

Trustee Lauren Sheprow campaigned earlier this year on a platform of protecting the clubhouse. In an email statement, she referred to the facility as “one of Port Jefferson’s finest assets.” 

In her short tenure on the village board, Sheprow has already resurrected the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council. The newly elected trustee said this council will work to bolster recreational activities at the clubhouse.

“I am hopeful that our new Parks and Recreation Advisory Council will help to build and cultivate a concept, which will be on the agenda for our first meeting in October,” Sheprow said. “We would also like to create more recreational opportunities over the winter months.” She added that new racket sports amenities might provide even more avenues for recreational use.

As the board awaits cost estimates for the upland projects, Sheprow intends to evaluate both options thoroughly before making a final judgment. “I would like to be able to do a walkthrough of the proposed solutions and hear from those who have designed them,” she said, adding, “I would also like to hear how this would factor into a more comprehensive long-term strategy for the country club campus.”

Garant said residents could expect at least one more work session in the coming weeks for the upland proposals. After that, it remains unclear whether these projects will go out for a public vote. 

“I think the Board of Trustees will make that decision as soon as possible if we’re moving forward [with the upper wall],” the mayor said. “And if we’re not moving forward, some of the other retreat plans will take time because the retreat plan means that we’re abandoning the facility.” 

With respect to a possible referendum, she added, “When we have that price point, we can have that discussion as a board. I’m not sure I’m in agreement with that as that was something we should have discussed when we passed the resolution for the $10 million bond.”

Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden could not be reached for comment on this story.

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File photo by Heidi Sutton/TBR News Media

The Village of Port Jeff Board of Trustees held its monthly public meeting on Monday, June 6, addressing a number of issues.

Public safety

Chief of Code Enforcement Fred Leute reported that while the village has not noticed a recent spike in automobile break-ins, this is a crime trend occurring in other nearby areas. He reminded villagers of the importance of locking their cars and not leaving key fobs inside the car when they are away.

“If you lock your car, there’s no incidents of anyone breaking into the cars,” he said. “It’s not worth it to them … If you lock your stuff, lock your windows and lock your cars, you’ll be safe.”

Suffolk County police will conduct training programs for village constables, “and that includes an active shooter certification for all of our employees,” Leute said.

He also highlighted his office’s ongoing efforts to monitor speeding through radar enforcement and officers posted near stop signs. Through these activities, he noticed a startling phenomenon.

“The interesting thing that came from that is that once they did that for the past week and a half, they’re finding that it’s mostly village residents that are speeding,” he said. 

Leute stressed the importance of calling his office rather than reporting incidents on social media. “If you’re of good heart and you want to help this village, call us,” he said. “Don’t go on Facebook, call my guys. We will listen, we will figure out what the problem is and we will fix it.” He added, “Going on Facebook and demeaning either the village or the constables or the highway department … whoever, it’s not productive.”

Trustee reports

Trustee Rebecca Kassay announced she had a productive meeting last weekend with the Beach Street Community Garden, a group of gardeners and community volunteers. She said that she also hopes to have a meeting with Elizabeth Hornstein, of the Long Island Sound Study, to explore ways in which the village can secure possible funding for certain projects.

Kassay said Hornstein specializes in assisting “villages like ours, municipalities who have goals concerning flooding and other environmental issues, to connect us with grant money that is available on the state and federal levels.”

Trustee Stan Loucks said there are still available job openings within the recreations department. 

“We’re looking for junior counselors, senior counselors, lifeguards — these positions are still open, so you can apply through the Village Center,” he said. 

Loucks also reported positive news on the country club, whose membership this season has exceeded 600 members. “This certainly indicates that we have an exceptional facility,” the trustee said. “However, golf courses can only handle so many golfers. We may be having discussions in the very near future about putting a cap on our membership.”

Loucks concluded his report by reminding residents that the restaurants at the country club are open to the public, not requiring a membership to eat at them. “The eating facilities up at the country club, they’re not private,” he said. “They’re public places — The Turn as well as The Waterview. These are public restaurants and many people are not aware that they can go up there and go to these places.”

Trustee Bruce Miller provided an update on his recent deliberations with the executive staff of planning and training at Long Island Rail Road. Miller said there was “a lot of movement, but I don’t know if you would call it in a positive direction.”

During the conference, the LIRR presented several alternatives to the village. The parties discussed the idea of having two tracks, that is, a second track between Port Jefferson and Huntington stations. LIRR also proposed fixing the bridges. When the idea was pitched for electrification of the line, LIRR responded with the need to purchase more land to accommodate the two tracks. 

Miller questioned if LIRR’s numerous alternatives may overcomplicate the planning of this project, dooming it to failure from the start.

“I’m just thinking to myself, have they put so many bells and whistles onto this project that they then can say, ‘Well, we’d like to do all of this but we just can’t. It’s just not economically feasible,’” Miller said. “Part of my issue is the fact that we have a lot of residents who live in Port Jefferson … but commute to the Ronkonkoma line. That to me is very ‘ungreen.’”

Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden announced a number of upcoming events in the village, including the upcoming Maker Faire on Saturday, June 11, at the Village Center.

“I’ve been working with the museum about coordinating with our code department for security, for road closures, for parking,” she said. “That’s shaping up to be a great event, as it always is. We’re glad to have it back after the COVID years and get back to the fun with the kids.”

Mayor report

Mayor Margot Garant reported that a fireworks display will be held on Sunday, July 3, at East Beach with a rain date of July 8. 

The mayor also congratulated the high school baseball team and girls lacrosse team on their successful seasons. 

To watch the full meeting, click here.

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