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Gitto Group

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The PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson has a new location and a new look after a few months of furious work. Photo by Julianne Mosher

It was an intense few months of renovation, but PJ Lobster House has a new home Down Port. 

Formerly located on the corner of Main Street and North Country Road in Upper Port, owner James Luciano had to move when The Gitto Group purchased the property for a planned apartment complex. 

The new space, located at 134 Main St., in the former Ocean 88 restaurant location, needed to be completely redone, Luciano said. But the outcome is a good one. 

“It feels more like a restaurant now,” he said. 

Luciano has owned PJ Lobster House for 20 years, after taking over the space from its original owner. 

And he wanted to homage to him in the new location, according to local artist Linda Alfin. She, alongside fellow Port Jeff artist Jennifer Hannaford, were asked to paint a large mural inside the seating area. 

Luciano “asked me to paint a specific type of fishing boat the old owner used,” Alfin said. 

The detail on the scene is impeccable. Hannaford, known for her water imagery, detailed the waves where the boat floats. 

“We painted the numbers on the boat to symbolize when the restaurant first opened,” Hannaford said. 

Both artists were thrilled to help decorate the new space. 

“We’re not just local artists, we’re neighbors,” Hannaford said. “We’re so grateful to be a part of it. It’s nice when people in the village see and care about local art.”

Alfin agreed. “We both live in this town, so to help out in any way we can is great,” she said.

But the painting is just part of the renovation. Luciano said they had to gut the space, but in doing so added a bar — something they didn’t have at the former spot — and moved the beloved fish market to the front of the restaurant, detached from the dining areas. 

Overall, the restaurant can hold more than 50 more customers than the old location did, going from 90 people to about 140.

“The kitchen is doubled in size,” Luciano added. “Because of the pandemic, we were getting hit with a lot of takeout orders, so it will better equip us for that.”

The new PJ Lobster House is open every day from 12 until 9 p.m.

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Long Island started its reopening process Wednesday, May 27, with construction projects like Overbay getting back to work immediately. Photo by Kyle Barr

With construction sites in Port Jeff put on pause due to the pandemic, Main Street has seen and heard a significant lack of hammers and power tools. But as Long Island begins the reopening process, with Phase 1 allowing for construction to start again, local projects are planning their restarts, though this time with additional precautions.

With its skeleton left exposed for the past two months, the Overbay Apartment Complex is now once again set for continued construction. Located along West Broadway next to the Shipyard complex, Overbay started its construction again Wednesday morning.

Overbay LLC, a subsidiary of Hauppauge-based The Northwind Group, has been in front of the project since the land was first purchased in 2013 for $1.8 million. 

Jim Tsunis, managing member of Northwind, said there are no site plan changes from what was finalized several months ago, though it will be some time before he can relate the new timeline for when construction will finish and for people to start moving in.

“It feels great to be back up and running — I’m hoping all other businesses will reopen soon,” Tsunis said. “It’s been an extremely tough time for all residents over the last couple of months.”

Otherwise, in terms of safety, he said his office has received reopening affirmation from the state and workers would adhere to the New York COVID-19 construction safety guidelines, where construction workers try to maintain some distance during operations.

The 54,000-square-foot “nautical style” apartment building will be on the now-vacant site of the former Islander Boat Center building, which was demolished in 2017. 

The complex is set to consist of 52 rentals with each expected to be 1,000 square feet each. Amenities include an 800-square-foot common room and a fitness facility. The complex will also contain an office area. 

Parking will consist of 83 parking stalls for residents of Overbay and their guests. Parking is expected to be located on the exterior of the facility to the side and rear. The property borders a small creek on its southern end.

Another site, the Brookport apartments, is going where once sat Cappy’s Carpets. The area has remained cleared for weeks despite the original building being demolished and pilings already installed. 

Brooks Partners LLC, the company name attached to the project, is a subsidiary of Port Jefferson-based The Gitto Group. Rob Gitto, vice president of the group, did not respond to email and phone requests for comment by press time.

The apartment complex will include 46 units and a set of retail shops underneath. Designs intend it to fit in amongst surrounding stores including the neighboring CVS, whose property is also owned by The Gitto Group. The project is set to have 78 spaces of parking for its residents and for those working in the retail stores. 

Both apartment complexes have received a payment in lieu of tax agreement from the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency. 

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Some residents and village officials object to a reduced recreation fee for private facilities at The Shipyard, here seen originally in construction. File photo by Alex Petroski

The Village of Port Jefferson has a lot of apartments on its plate, both those developments already settled into their foundations and those still in the hopper. 

So far, the experience for Port Jeff community members and officials alike has not left the greatest impressions.

Some points have become so contested that village officials voted to change the code to prevent similar experiences in the future.

The village held three public hearings Sept. 3 to propose changes to the village code. Two code changes were in direct response to complaints of the development of separate apartment complexes. One code change was for payment in lieu of parking and the other on what counts for reducing the recreational space fee owed to the village.

In the latter case, the village has moved to excise rooftop decks, patios and other common areas not accessible to the general public from being considered park or recreational facilities for the purposes of developers reducing the parkland fee paid to the village.

Mayor Margot Garant said the change has come after review of comments from the community, especially in regard to the fee paid by Tritec Real Estate Company, of which the mayor said is over $50,000, is still owed to the village.

“As we cannot enjoy the rooftop deck at Shipyard, we don’t think that should be taken into consideration when taking a calculation of the fee,” she said.

In August 2018, the village passed a resolution reducing the fee levied on Tritec for not including sufficient public green space, with the mayor arguing at the time the desire to have developers build amenities and green space for use by their tenants. At that time, Trustee Bruce Miller vehemently disagreed with the decision.

Just over a year since then, at the Sept. 3 meeting, Garant argued for a “bright line” code for the planning board to take into account in future developments, this time specifically pointing to the Tritec development for the code change.

Not all Port Jeff residents saw this as a complete victory. Michael Mart, a longtime Port Jefferson resident and regular watchdog, said he applauded the change, but argued the code as it previously stood could have been interpreted to prevent developments like Shipyard from getting recreation fees lowered for private amenities. 

“The planning board members shouldn’t make the difference because the code governs what the planning board does,” Mart said.

Garant disagreed. 

“[The recreation fee] was meant to make sure the village was getting an appropriate recreation fee for the stress that it puts on our public amenities,” she said. “Not to subtract the private amenities. I don’t think the language is strong enough as it exists to make that a protocol.”

Barbara Sabatino, a member of the planning board, said it had been informed the facilities would not be off limits to nonresidents.

“At the time we made that decision we were informed by Tritec that those outside decks that have view of the harbor could be accessed by the public, that it wasn’t Tritec residents only,” she said.

Representatives of Tritec did not answer multiple phone calls for comment.

Mart said the onus should not be just on Tritec for “pulling the wool,” but on the village and planning boards for not enforcing their vision of the code. 

The mayor said the village is still owed the fee from The Shipyard, which she added they can only pursue after the developer files the deeds with the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office. 

“I can’t really say when those deeds are recorded, but as far as I’m concerned, I want my money,” she said.

Also discussed in the meeting was a change to the code on payment in lieu of parking, citing another apartment development in the space that Cappy’s Carpets once occupied.

In a March public meeting, attorney’s representing Brooks Partners LLC, a subsidiary of Port Jefferson-based Gitto Group, said the Cappy’s Carpets project, known as Brockport, would have to pay for four spaces in payment in lieu of parking. The project is set to have 78 spaces of parking for its residents and for those working in the retail stores set to be located under the new apartments. 

The New York State Department of Transportation recommended removing two on-street parking stalls along Main Street for safer access to the property on Main Street. This did not sit well with some community members who saw it as a loss of parking spots in a village desperate for more lot space.

Garant attended that March meeting and agreed with those who criticized the project for the loss.

“But for that project we would still have two on-street parking spaces,” she said.

Bruce D’Abramo, the only board member to vote “no” on this code change, said it was out of the developers’ hands, having been ordered through the state DOT.

“In the case we are talking about the applicant who had no choice in this matter, it was the DOT who removed two on-street parking spaces on a state road that the village has no real control over anyway,” he said.

Mart, again, asked why the planning board did not make it a condition of their approval of the building’s site plans to mandate paying for the loss of the on-street spots.

“The planning board had the opportunity to make it a condition on the approval,” he said.

Chris Bianco, an attorney working on behalf of the village alongside Village Attorney Brian Egan, said the planning board would be on shaky ground if it made that a condition under the current code.

Garant acknowledged the change in code could present legal trouble down the road.

“I know everybody’s hands are kinda tied,” she said. “Somebody can certainly challenge me on that and take me to court, but I would rather be on the upside of that than downside of that.”

 

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Construction on the new Overbay apartments started Aug. 1. Photo by Courtney Biondo

On Thursday, Aug. 1, village residents noticed construction vehicles on the lot located on 217 West Broadway. Suspicions turned out to be correct, as development has finally started on the long-awaited apartment complex.

Construction on the new Overbay apartments started Aug. 1. Photo by Courtney Biondo

Overbay LLC has been in front of the project since it was first purchased in 2013 for $1.8 million. The company is a subsidiary of the Hauppauge-based Northwind Group, which does developments all along the north shore.

Jim Tsunis, the CEO of the Northwind Group, confirmed the start of construction, saying they received their final building permit from the village last week.

“Overbay will consist of 52 apartments with a fitness center and community gathering area,” Tsunis said in an email statement. “There are plans for outdoor balconies and upscale appointments to each apartment.”

The 54,000-square-foot “nautical-style” apartment building will be on the now-vacant site of the former Islander Boat Center building, which was demolished in 2017. Each apartment is expected to be 1,000 square feet each, and a common room area is expected to be approximately 800 square feet.

The start of construction was acknowledged by village officials at the Aug. 5 board meeting. Some in the public offered their concerns over a payment in lieu of taxes agreement between the development and the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency. That agreement would mean the property would be paying taxes on the assessed undeveloped property during construction and would pay only $28,000 for the first year. The PILOT payment would rise over 15 years to $184,015 before paying the full taxes on its assessed value. The total payment for the PILOT will be $1,590,115.

According to previous reporting by TBR News Media, the complex is also expected to create two permanent jobs and 150 temporary construction jobs over a two-year period.

This PILOT payment is the second in tax agreements between apartment complexes in the village and IDAs. The Shipyard apartments received a similar 15-year PILOT from the Suffolk County IDA, but that agreement was more generous than received by Overbay.

Community members argued that the development would be excused from paying the lion’s share of its taxes, but the mayor argued it was more taxes than a vacant lot.

Still, Mayor Margot Garant argued that while the village has sent letters of disagreement with the IDA decisions for both apartment complexes, they do not have control of how or when those decisions are made.

“We sent a letter saying we were largely concerned on the impact of the schools and our local services,” she said. “The Town IDA and County IDA are really looking to give construction jobs, that’s how they see these developments. We’re more concerned about long-term jobs in terms of IDA relief.”

In January 2018, Tsunis said the agreement would help in offsetting the cost of demolishing the original boat seller building.

Trustee Bruce D’Abramo, the liaison to the planning and building department, said the developer is looking into helical pilings, which screw into the ground instead of being hammered in, which he said should help reduce noise, such as had been residents’ complaints when pilings were being hammered in during the Shipyard apartments construction.

The $10.8 million project was put on hold for years due to financing difficulties relating to the death of a business partner, Garant said at the Aug. 5 meeting.

“That project’s been in the works pre-Garant — 10-plus years,” the mayor said.

The Overbay development is just one of several apartment developments within village limits, with apartments expected to be developed over the now vacated Cappy’s Carpets building, with storefronts underneath. Uptown, Port Jefferson is looking to Conifer Realty LLC, a real estate development firm with projects across New York State and south into Maryland, for “affordable” apartments in what was once the Bada Bing structure, and another project dubbed Walnut Hills located north of Bada Bing in the quadrant before Perry Street. The last project is being developed by the Gitto Group, who were also behind The Hills apartment complex in Upper Port.

In his statement, Tsunis said more information will be available on Northwind Group’s website after Labor Day, Sept. 2.