The Long Island Seaport and Eco Center in Port Jefferson held its 7th annual “Quick ‘n’ Dirty” boat build and race Aug. 12 and Aug. 13 at Harborfront Park. The competition allows five hours for teams of two to build boats out of wood on Saturday, which are then painted for three hours Sunday and raced around Port Jefferson Harbor. Port Jeff residents Ken Callirgos and Matthew Deveau came out on top in the field of eight boats, and raced their UFO-themed boat to victory.
By Kevin Redding
The pier in Harborfront Park will remain open, with restrictions, through the summer.
The Port Jefferson Village board of trustees decided during a public board meeting July 17 to hold off on several significant repairs to the pier until after Sept. 16. On that day, the annual Dragon Boat Race Festival sponsored by the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce is set to take place. The 2016 version of the event prompted a field assessment of the pier last fall following reports of the 337-foot-long by 12-feet-wide timber structure “shifting” and “swaying” while packed with people waiting to board boats and compete in the event.
Mayor Margot Garant said during the July 17 village board meeting that while Port Jefferson’s Seven Seas Construction, Co., could potentially begin work on the pier in two weeks, she could not “in good conscience” allow the pier to be closed to the public during its prime season for use.
“I’d hate to have my pier closed for two months in the summertime,” Garant said, estimating the repairs will now take place during the fall or winter.
According to the evaluation reports of the Bohemia-based engineering firm P.W. Grosser Consulting Inc., the group commissioned by the village in Oct. 2016 to assess the pier, there was “severe section loss” to pilings or columns driven into the sediment that serve as a foundation for the platform; a missing nut and washer for one beam-to-piling connection; rusted connections between pieces of wood; and a split in at least one cross-bracing beam.
The pier, which was originally built in 1996, was last modified in 2004, according to the firm’s report.
All findings were referred to as “significant structural deficiencies” and it was advised they be addressed immediately. During an Oct. 20, 2016, meeting, Village Trustee Bruce D’Abramo said he was in favor of doing just that.
“They’ve called the village’s attention to a couple of issues [with the pier], I think that if we ignored it, it would not be good,” D’Abramo said.
P.W. Grosser at that time also recommended the enforcement of a maximum occupancy of 180 people for the pier, which was estimated to hold up to 200 during last year’s festival.
At the recent meeting, Garant said the occupancy restriction will be implemented for this year’s event.
“During the Dragon Boat Race there would be absolutely no more than 150 people at a time on that pier,” Garant said. She added that the pier would no longer be open to spectators, only race participants.
When asked how members of P.W. Grosser felt about the delay in repairs, Senior Vice President Paul Boyce said he was unable to speak on the matter until getting the village’s consent. The village board did not respond to requests to interview Boyce nor inquiries as to how it plans to fund the eventual repairs.
The October report stated the “overall structural condition of the pier was considered good to fair.
Alex Petroski contributed reporting
On a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon, members of the community young and old had the chance to get outside and exercise their imagination at the third Eastern Long Island Mini Maker Faire. The popular event, hosted by the Port Jefferson Maritime Explorium June 10, saw demonstrations using robots, interactive activities, exhibits and performances from various “makers” at the Village Center and outside at Harborfront Park.
The Port Jeff maker faire is a scaled down version of the larger Maker Faire brand, which hosts worldwide events similar to the one in Port Jeff. According to the Maritime Explorium’s website, more than 100 makers and 2,000 participants attended the 2016 Mini Maker Faire, and even more were projected to show up this year, although final totals were not readily available.
Some of the makers on display included Funtown Studios, which brought an interactive fireball sculpture; robotics teams from the Sachem and Smithtown school districts; electricity and magnetism demonstrations by representatives from the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in Shoreham; an underwater robotic demonstration by SeaPerch; representatives from Stony Brook iCREATE, an innovation facility designed to encourage “innovation and entrepreneurial nature” of the Stony Brook University campus community; and many more.
Before the 2016 faire, Stephanie Buffa, a volunteer board member at the Explorium, explained the importance of the message of the event and the museum as a whole.
“Everything is at our fingertips,” she said in a phone interview. “If you’re sitting at the dinner table and somebody asks a question, you ‘Google’ it. It’s so easy to get answers that way…it’s so easy to get caught up in all of these pre-packaged things that we forget to sort of, do it yourself. You can be creative in so many ways. You don’t have to be a good artist and be able to draw beautiful pictures to be creative and to make things.”
Lauren Hubbard, founding president and former executive director of The Maritime Explorium, who is listed as a producer of the faire, said the day was a success, though attendance numbers are not available as of yet. She said in a phone interview the goal of the event is to show local people of all ages they have the creativity to be makers.
“It’s really about highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for young people to see how that process happens, how to create something completely new.”
SMOOTH SAILING Using a Nikon D7100 with an 18-200 telephoto lens, Gerard Romano of Port Jefferson Station took this image of students from the Stony Brook School sailing in Port Jefferson Harbor near Harborfront Park on March 26. James Smith’s sculpture depicting the village’s shipbuilding history is in the foreground.
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected].
After recent accounts of “shifting” and “swaying” of the pier in Harborfront Park, the Port Jefferson Village board of trustees commissioned a field assessment of the pier.
The Bohemia-based engineering firm P.W. Grosser Consulting Inc. conducted the assessment, made several recommendations — including instituting a maximum occupancy for the pier of 180 people — and noted several deficiencies that may need to be addressed.
The Village hosted its annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival Sept. 16 at Harborfront Park, which drew participants and spectators totaling in the hundreds. During the event, the pier was frequently packed with people, and according to the report, it could be felt swaying and shifting at various points throughout the day.
The assessment in part found “severe section loss” to pilings, or columns driven into the sediment that serve as a foundation for the platform, a missing washer and nut for one beam-to-piling connection, rusted connections between pieces of wood and a split in at least one cross-bracing. The report recommended that section loss to pilings and the missing washer and nut be addressed immediately, and called them “significant structural deficiencies.”
Village Mayor Margot Garant said in an email the issues will be addressed as a matter of “when” and not “if,” and the job will be put out for bid. Garant said the maximum occupancy recommendation would be increased when the improvements are completed. At a village board meeting Oct. 20, Garant estimated that, at any given point, there might have been as many as 200 people on the pier.
“We immediately asked everybody other than the boaters to get off the pier,” Garant said after accounts of swaying and shifting circulated Sept. 16. She added the assessment was ordered as an emergency. “It’s obviously showing some age and some wear and tear. … It’s something we’ll need to have addressed.”
Village Trustee Bruce D’Abramo was in favor of a proactive approach regarding the recommendations.
“They’ve called the village’s attention to a couple of issues [with the pier], I think that if we ignored it, it would not be good,” he said during the meeting on the Oct. 20.
The 337-feet long by 12-feet wide pier is made entirely of timber and was originally built in 1996. It was last modified in 2004, according to the report. The pier remains open for use, with the maximum occupancy restrictions in place.
The third annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival took place Sept. 17 in Harborfront Park and Port Jefferson Harbor. FDNY United won the competition, though more than 300 total medals were awarded to various participants according to the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, who organized the event. Hundreds came out to enjoy the races and festivities, which included performances, food vendors, music and more.
The Long Island Seaport and Eco Center in Port Jefferson held its sixth annual “Quick ‘n’ Dirty” boat build on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 at the Village Center. The competition allows four hours for teams of two to build boats out of wood on Saturday, which are then painted and raced around Port Jefferson Harbor on Sunday. John and Stephanie Marino came out on top in the field of eight boats, and raced their “Popeye” themed boat to victory.
By Joseph Wolkin
Thursday nights in July are for music, beautiful sunsets and good times in Port Jefferson.
The Harborside Concert Series hosted its second of four installments July 21 at Harborfront Park outside of the Village Center.
Amid the warm temperature and radient sky, the Cold Spring Harbor Band took to the stage to perform a Billy Joel tribute concert.
Led by Pat Farrell, known as “Piano Man Pat,” the band played chronologically according to Joel’s career. Starting with his first album, “Cold Spring Harbor,” the band played covers of the singer’s most popular songs.
“This is a fantastic venue,” Farrell said after the concert. “We play at a lot of places, but we’re playing right by the water. It’s just incredible and we had a great turnout. It’s beautiful here at Port Jefferson.”
Husband and wife Bill and Margie Recco attended the concert as part of a relaxing evening by the water with their friends. Margie Recco attended high school with Joel at Hicksville High School, ut the two never met.
“I think it’s great,” she said about the concert series.
Her husband agreed.
“It’s lovely here,” he said. “It has a breeze. It’s a wonderful night. There’s a free concert and it’s just really nice.”
“Every venue is different,” Farrell said. “You have great weather. It’s right on the water. Port Jefferson is world-renowned. It’s right up there.”
The Cold Spring Harbor Band ended the evening by singing “I’m Proud to Be an American,” with the crowd getting to their feet and singing along to the patriotic song.
Next up in the Harborside Concert Series is an Aug. 4 performance with Six Gun & DJ Neil Wrangler, featuring country music.
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