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John Borrero

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Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden presenting Mark Sternberg, Culper Spy Ring historian at the Drowned Meadow Cottage, with a village proclamation. Photo by Raymond Janis

The Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees met on Monday, March 6, with a public meeting covering the East Beach bluff, youth programs, irrigation systems and public safety.

The board continued planning for the phase II upland wall project between the East Beach bluff and the restaurant facility at Port Jefferson Country Club, approving a modification to its drainage plan to accommodate racket sports facilities for $5,500.

Approaching its budget season, the board adopted a local law to enable it to approve a budget with a tax levy that exceeds the default tax levy under New York’s General Municipal Law. The local law passed 3-1, with Mayor Margot Garant absent and trustee Lauren Sheprow voting against it.

The board deliberated with Lisa Perry, president of the village-based nonprofit Long Island Foundation for Education & Sports, a children and family services group which rents a room in the Village Center.

The village lowered the room’s rental rate from $42 to $35 per hour following the COVID-19 pandemic to assist LIFFES with its expenses. Perry emphasized the program is a service to the community.

Following some back-and-forth, the board passed a resolution to continue billing the nonprofit at a $35 per hour rate for the remainder of LIFFES’ spring season. The two parties would revisit the rates for its fall season by May.

Suffolk County police officer John Efstathiou delivered the department’s report on public safety, noting the problem of vehicular theft throughout the area.

“Let’s lock our cars,” he said. “Let’s keep our cars locked in our driveways. Let’s lock them when you park in a parking lot because people are out here stealing many items from people’s vehicles.” He added, “Do not leave your keys in the car.”

Resident Arthur Epp inquired about xylazine — also known as tranq — an animal tranquilizer appearing in fentanyl supplies throughout the country. 

Efstathiou said the 6th Precinct “has not seen that yet.” Because Narcan does not help in instances of xylazine overdose, he suggested the substance would remain on the department’s radar.

Acting code enforcement chief John Borrero during the code department’s monthly public safety report on Monday, March 6. Photo by Raymond Janis

Acting code enforcement chief John Borrero delivered the code department’s report. He took over as acting chief following the suspension with pay of Fred Leute last month. 

Borrero reported a recent incident of two Rottweilers attacking a small dog. “They tore him up pretty good,” the acting chief said, adding that the owner received two citations. 

Borrero urged, “Please keep your dogs tied up.”

Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden reported that the Jericho-based Beechwood Organization is in its final stages of closing on the Maryhaven property, with plans to convert that area to residential housing.

“Their plan is to build condos on that site,” Snaden said. “We have a lot of apartments being built uptown. We had some apartment buildings down here, but these will be owner-owned condos.” The deputy mayor added that Beechwood would soon submit its application to the zoning and planning departments.

Trustee Rebecca Kassay reported that the village is exploring potential solutions to the drought problem on Long Island, considering irrigating the golf course at PJCC using rainwater.

“This is the direction everyone seems to be going in,” she said. “The water situation has been serious.”

Trustee Stan Loucks reported that permits are now available for kayak racks. “If you have a kayak, canoe or vessel, you can pick up your applications right now,” he said. “The lottery for those racks will take place on April 3.” He added, “Hopefully, we have enough racks this year, so we don’t really freeze anyone out.”

He also reported that the walkways at Harborfront Park would be renovated in the coming weeks, with discussions in the works for rerouting some.

Trustee Sheprow said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council approved the date of Aug. 17 for the village’s annual community golf outing at a rate of $75 per player.

“Whoever wants to play who lives or works [in the village], volunteers for the fire department, working in the school district, works at the hospitals is welcome to participate in that golf outing,” she said, adding, “It was very successful last year.”  

During the meeting, Snaden presented Drowned Meadow Cottage historian Mark Sternberg with a village proclamation for his research connecting Port Jefferson to the Culper Spy Ring.

Following the presentation, Sternberg delivered a brief address thanking those for supporting him in his historical endeavors and discussing the momentum behind the village’s local history.

“The energy with the cottage is so incredible, and I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t see smiles on so many people’s faces that are coming through,” he said. “It’s been an incredible ride, and I can’t wait to continue it.”

During the public comments, resident Myrna Gordon petitioned the village board to consider banning single-use plastic containers, particularly for village-sponsored events. 

“I would hope that an ordinance or request can be made that the only kind of containers that can be used are environmentally friendly or paper products,” Gordon said. “We have to do away with the plastic.”

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Fred Leute (right) presented certificates of commendation to code officers during a general meeting of the Port Jefferson Board of Trustees on Monday, Feb. 6. File photo by Raymond Janis

Fred Leute, the code enforcement chief in the Village of Port Jefferson, has been suspended with pay.

In an email, Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden, the village’s public safety commissioner, confirmed Leute’s suspension. 

“Chief Leute has been suspended with pay until further notice,” Snaden said. “The department is running smoothly, and the village is safe and in good hands.”

The news comes just days after Leute delivered the department’s monthly report on public safety during a Board of Trustees meeting held Monday, Feb. 6. 

Mayor Margot Garant said in an interview that Leute “had the opportunity to resign, and if he didn’t resign, then he has been informed that he will be brought up on the [New York Civil Service Law Section] 75 disciplinary charges and potentially have a hearing.” 

When asked whether any particular incident precipitated the suspension, Garant declined to provide further details. “I cannot disclose anything that’s led up to this,” the mayor said. “He has rights. There’s a procedure to follow — being brought up on charges and having the hearing that he’s entitled to.”

Asked whether she or the village board had decided to suspend, Garant said, “The Board of Trustees was fully informed in exec session — and the labor attorney as well. There is no technical vote that has to happen until a hearing officer, after the hearing, makes a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.” She added, “Based on that recommendation, we will then take further action.”

Section 75

Village residents ‘have to assume that the person being charged is not guilty, and they shouldn’t expect any details until the hearing process has proven otherwise.’

— Ken Girardin

The state law requires that an employee covered under Section 75 “may not be removed or otherwise subjected to disciplinary penalty except for incompetency or misconduct shown after a hearing upon stated charges.” 

Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Albany-based Empire Center for Public Policy, has extensively researched the Section 75 disciplinary review process. In an interview, he said the guidelines have been in place for nearly a century, laying out the ground rules by which a public employee can be charged and disciplined.

Section 75 “sets a process where those charges can be laid out and answered in a court-like setting, where an employee can bring witnesses in his or her defense,” he said, offering elected officials “an opportunity to decide whether that discipline should be meted out.”

Girardin suggested a degree of confidentiality is embedded within the review process to protect the due process rights of public employees.

“With respect to the public, there’s always a tough balance between keeping the public apprised of what’s going on and respecting employees when charges have not yet been substantiated,” he said. “But with respect to transparency, the public has an absolute right to know whenever an employee is disciplined” following a Section 75 hearing.

Along with transparency is the matter of cost, which Girardin stated can quickly add up. Between the expense of paying a hearing officer, prosecutor, stenographer, potential witnesses and the suspended employee, he said municipalities must weigh the costs of going through with a hearing.

“The cost becomes a part of the calculation with employee discipline,” Girardin said, adding that mounting costs often increase the likelihood of a settlement, “the terms of which the public should know.”

Given the sensitive nature of the dispute, Girardin maintains that village officials are in a difficult bind, simultaneously weighing competing values of promoting transparency while respecting due process.

“To be fair, it puts them in a really weird spot,” he said. “Because it is a personnel matter, where someone is potentially still without fault here, it’s really hard for them to talk about it.”

For village residents who may wish to stay informed about a potential disciplinary proceeding, Girardin implored them to wait patiently and to respect the procedures put in place.

“They have to assume that the person being charged is not guilty, and they shouldn’t expect any details until the hearing process has proven otherwise,” he said.

A moment in village history

In Leute’s absence, deputy chief John Borrero has assumed the role of acting chief. Garant ensured that the transition within the code department was relatively smooth.

“Everything is pretty automated up there,” she said. “We’re… assuring the ladies and gentlemen of the code bureau that they’re going to continue to get the support that they have always gotten from the administration and from the executive team here.” 

Leute’s suspension also came shortly after Garant announced her retirement from public service. When asked if there was any connection between the two matters, she said they were unrelated.

“Unfortunately, this is the way the timing worked out,” the mayor said. “It is just a coincidence,” adding, “I wish that the timing had been altogether different.”

 

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Port Jefferson Trustee Larry LaPointe stands with code officers, from left, James Murdocco, John Vinicombe, Paul Barbato and Gina Savoie as they pose with their proclamations. Photo by Elana Glowatz

Port Jefferson Village honored five code enforcement officers on Monday night who officials say went above the call of duty to serve the community.

Two helped save an overdosing man’s life, one attempted to revive a car crash victim, another thwarted a burglary and a lieutenant protected the village during the recent heavy snowstorm. The board of trustees presented them with proclamations for their service to cheers from the audience at Village Hall.

Gina Savoie was commended for preventing a break-in at a home in the Harbor Hills area earlier this month after she saw suspicious activity and called for police assistance. According to code bureau Chief Wally Tomaszewski, two Coram residents were arrested for loitering as a result.

Paul Barbato, who received a proclamation last year for reviving a man in cardiac arrest at a Port Jefferson restaurant, was honored again Monday for attempting to save a Belle Terre man trapped inside a Lamborghini that had crashed into a pole on East Broadway. Barbato, the first on the scene of the mid-December crash near High Street, got inside the car and performed CPR.

Lt. John Borrero is honored. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Lt. John Borrero is honored. Photo by Elana Glowatz

Although his attempt ultimately proved unsuccessful, he “tried desperately to save his life,” Tomaszewski said in a previous interview. “Believe me, his boots were filled with blood.”

A couple of weeks later, James Murdocco and John Vinicombe responded to an opioid overdose at the Islandwide Taxi stand near the Port Jefferson Long Island Rail Road station. Mayor Margot Garant said Monday that the officers were told the young victim was dead, and they found no pulse or respiration. Murdocco and Vinicombe each administered the anti-overdose medication Narcan and Murdocco performed CPR.

The man regained consciousness and “became violent,” she said, and had to be restrained.

Garant added an unplanned honor to Monday night’s affair, commending Lt. John Borrero for his work during the blizzard, commonly dubbed Winter Storm Jonas, that hit Long Island hard on Jan. 23.

“I cannot tell you what this one gentleman did, on tour all day, making sure our streets are safe, shutting down roads, calling other code enforcement officers in during a massive blizzard — he’s out there helping employees get to work at St. Charles Hospital,” the mayor said. “Your service to this community is just invaluable, John. I cannot tell you the amount of respect you earned that night.”

She told the audience that there is more to the code enforcement bureau than meets the eye.

“These officers are not merely giving out tickets,” Garant said, “but they’re saving lives.”

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