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Mayor Margot Garant

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Port Jeff resident Dom Famularo and Mayor Margot Garant discuss important issues to the village during its new video series. Image from PJV Facebook

Port Jefferson Village is facing an array of issues threatening to upset the status quo in both the near and long term. To help in keeping taxpayers informed on the important set of circumstances likely to impact property taxes and other aspects of daily life in Port Jeff, village Mayor Margot Garant will appear in a series of videos to be released on the village’s website and Facebook account called “Port Jeff Update with Mayor Garant.”

The conversations feature Garant and village resident Dom Famularo in a one-on-one setting responding to questions sent in by members of the public. The first video, released Oct. 16, tackled the village’s tax certiorari legal battle with Long Island Power Authority and the impact an impending settlement will have on villagers’ property taxes going forward, which the mayor dubbed “LIPA 101.”

Garant said the goal of the new communications was to provide her the chance to address the community directly in an uninterrupted fashion, giving her the ability to inform the public on the issues and address misconceptions she said she regularly sees on social media and in conversations.

“The internet right now doesn’t give you the opportunity to have that sort of exchange and people were asking lots of questions,” she said in an interview. “I was trying to figure out, do I like a town hall setting? And I was like, the town hall setting is still not going to give me the opportunity to control the conversation. And I think that might sound egotistical to a certain extent, but the issue is I just want the whole thing on the table.”

In the video, Garant said the village entered into a settlement agreement with LIPA in April to establish a gradual reduction of the amount of money the utility pays in property taxes based on the assessed value of its Port Jeff based plant. The legal cases are based on LIPA’s contention its plants are over-assessed based on decreasing energy demand. Garant said the village is essentially waiting to sign the paperwork to finalize the settlement, as LIPA continues analogous cases with the Town of Huntington and Northport-East Northport School District which is holding up the official completion of the village and Brookhaven Town’s agreed-in-principle settlements.

The Mayor added that about $3.2 million of its roughly $10 million annual operating budget comes from LIPA, and as part of the agreement that number will be cut in half gradually over an eight-year span. As a result, village residents should expect their Port Jefferson Village property tax bill to increase incrementally during that span. Garant said the village is planning to establish a calculator tool for residents to enter in their own pertinent property tax information which will illustrate how much individuals should expect their taxes to go up.

The first video is about 11 minutes long and as of Tuesday afternoon had nearly 2,000 views on Facebook. Garant said Famularo was selected as the other party for the conversations because of his personality, presence and grasp of the issues.

“I decided to get involved so I could assist with clarifying information and prevent social media rumors,” Famularo said in an email, adding he has been a member of the village’s parking committee for eight years and has never shied away from getting involved. “I did not want to just be that person that is not involved and complains … I am honored to sit with the mayor and have time to ask pertinent questions so all PJ residents can hear and be educated in the tasks at hand. We all need to be involved and take an active role.”

Garant said the next video will address efforts to revitalize upper Port Jeff Village and will be released in the coming days. The videos can be accessed by visiting www.portjeff.com or by typing “Port Jefferson, NY” into the search bar on Facebook.

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The Port Jefferson Power Station may soon be repurposed. Photo by Alex Petroski

The Village of Port Jefferson is soon putting a lengthy legal battle with Long Island Power Authority in its rearview mirror, though the future of the property that houses Port Jefferson Power Station is still on the road ahead.

Bob Foxen, chief executive officer of Global Common LLC, a company dedicated to establishing energy partnerships and projects beneficial to its clients, was contracted by the village to study alternative future uses for the site. He presented options to the village board of trustees during a brainstorming session at a public meeting Sept. 17.

“I guess the goal is to try, to the degree possible, to make the people of Port Jefferson whole, or close to whole, assuming they lose some tax revenue,” Foxen said during his presentation.

Village Mayor Margot Garant expressed an interest for the village to formulate a plan of action for the site.

“Once we have our tax grievance settlement behind us, or we know that we’re at kind of a pause, the next question is ‘Now what?’” she said. “We want to advocate for a repurposing of the site to keep us viable on the grid.”

The village is among the municipalities preparing to imminently announce settlement terms with LIPA to resolve near-decade-long litigation regarding the property tax assessment of the plant, which the utility has argued is too high based on decreasing energy demand. Port Jeff has advocated for the refurbishment and repowering of its baseload plant to update its decades-old technology and to justify the property’s tax assessment.

By 2027, the power purchase agreement between LIPA and National Grid expires, and to resolve the tax certiorari challenges, LIPA negotiated with the village a nine-year “glide path” for tax revenue reductions to coincide with the agreement expiration, according to village attorney Brian Egan. The glide path includes gradual percentage reductions in assessed valuation on the property, deeming baseload repowering an unlikely future outcome. In addition, Caithness Energy LLC’s 2014 plans to construct a new 600-megawatt plant in Yaphank were revived temporarily by Town of Brookhaven’s town board this past summer, though the expiration of the company’s special-use permit for the site has put the plans back in doubt. If constructed, the Yaphank plant would further cloud the future of the Port Jeff plant.

Foxen admitted the options he brought ready to present during the meeting were dependent on Caithness II never getting off the ground, an outcome that is very much in doubt. The options also consider New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) stated goal from 2016 that 50 percent of the state’s power come from renewable sources by 2030.

The consultant suggested turning the site into a 200- to 300-megawatt plant powered by peaking units or smaller energy generation systems capable of firing up only in times of high demand, as its best option. The units operate using gas or liquid fuel, though they are viewed as efficient supplements to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which can’t handle demand on their own.

“I think it does help support renewables,” Foxen said of peaking unit plants, adding that financing the work needed to repurpose the site in this way would be hard to establish without a new power purchasing agreement with LIPA. Village officials are set to meet Sept. 20 with representatives from private Finnish company Wartsila to discuss the feasibility of installing peaking unit technology at the Port Jeff plant.

Foxen’s other brainstormed options included establishing the village as a municipal electrical utility, meaning it would assume control of energy distribution from the plant to customers to power homes, though he called the option costly and time consuming; and taking over energy distribution and limiting it to private customers at a reduced rate for businesses in specific industries that have high-energy demand, like data storage centers, for example, which could even be housed on the vacant site.

“It would be kind of an interesting magnet for a data center or somebody like that — saving money on energy might be a draw,” Foxen said.

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A pop-up wedding chapel will be at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson June 26, the third anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States. Stock photo

By Anthony Petriello

Wedding bells will be in the air at a Port Jeff park to commemorate a groundbreaking day in American history.

Reverend Gary Gudzik officiates a wedding. Photo from Gudzik

Reverend Gary Gudzik of the Chapel of St. Valentine and Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant will be hosting a marriage event at Harborfront Park in Port Jeff June 26 from 4 to 8 p.m. The date was chosen to honor the third anniversary of the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states, although the event will be open to all interested couples. Gudzik will be officiating and Garant will be co-officiating the ceremonies for any couples that choose to attend.

“It was a no brainer,” Garant said of her interest in participating. “I feel like we need some good news in this world and Port Jefferson is a place where everyone can come and celebrate.”

The event will feature individual ceremonies by appointment as well as group vow renewals. All ceremonies will be open to the public.

Gudzik is an ordained Christian minister who grew up in Port Jefferson and graduated from Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in 1989. He is the vicar, or bishop’s deputy, of the Chapel of St. Valentine in Mount Sinai. He was ordained in 2014 and has officiated nearly 100 ceremonies.

The Chapel of St. Valentine is LGBTQ friendly “because we believe that ALL people have the right to marry the person they love. Period,” according to its website.

“I love being a part of the happiest day in someone’s life,” Gudzik said. “It’s a special moment when you can pronounce two people married.”

“I feel like we need some good news in this world and Port Jefferson is a place where everyone can come and celebrate.”

— Margot Garant

The 2015 decision produced strong reactions on both sides of the ideological spectrum.

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family,” Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote on the historic decision. “In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were . . . It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. . . . They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”

The decision was passed in a 5-4 ruling, and established the rights of same sex couples in the United States, though many states had passed laws prior to 2015.

Anyone who is interested in reserving an individual ceremony can contact Gudzik at 631-406-9757, or visit www.chapelofsaintvalentine.org, though they do anticipate to be able to accommodate walk-ups as well.

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From left, Leg. Kara Hahn and Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant check out the selection of books in the new Little Free Library at Rocketship Park with a young reader. Photo by Kevin Redding

‘Today a reader, tomorrow a leader’ — Margaret Fuller

By Kevin Redding

Port Jefferson’s newest minilibrary has liftoff at Rocketship Park. In a partnership between the Port Jefferson Free Library and the village board, a Little Free Library was recently installed at the family-friendly park, where adults, teens and children alike can reach into the purple-painted wooden box to pick up or drop off a wide array of books. An official ribbon cutting was held last Thursday, Sept. 28.

The library, shaped like a tiny schoolhouse and currently stocked with children’s titles like “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” was built from a kit and installed by Stonegate Landscape. It stands as Port Jefferson Free Library’s second book exchange program, with the other unveiled in front of the William Miller House on North Country Road in Miller Place last month.

From left, PJFL Director Tom Donlon, Leg. Kara Hahn, Mayor Margot Garant and Chris Graf, president, Stonegate Landscape in East Setauket. Photo by Kevin Redding

Director of Port Jefferson Free Library Tom Donlon led elected officials, including Mayor Margot Garant and Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for what the mayor called a fantastic addition to the town.

“I’m so happy that we can provide some reading for our young children because I think reading a book goes a long way to helping educate them and bring them into the world,” Garant said with giant scissors in hand. “[It’ll make for] a true sense of community, and that’s what makes our village great.”

Donlon said when the park reopened in June, he and the library’s board members knew it was a perfect spot for book-sharing for all ages. “We have families that come here and while the kids are running around, mom or dad or the adult with them might want something to read,” he said. “Giving back to the community is our goal. And you never know what you’re going to find in there … and what adventures await.”

Rocketship Park is located in the Village of Port Jefferson on Maple Place between Mill Creek Road and Barnum Avenue, across from the tennis courts. For more information, call 631-473-0022.

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The Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills will soon have a new name and new sign. File photo by Alex Petroski

A decade of hard work by a former mayor, and plenty of pavement-pounding by his two daughters, will result in a lasting memorial. The Port Jefferson Village board of trustees unanimously voted to approve a proposal brought forth by Lauren and Maddy Sheprow to rename the Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills after their father Hal Sheprow, who was elected mayor in 1977.

“The Village of Port Jefferson wishes to memorialize Mayor Sheprow’s pivotal role in acquiring the Harbor Hills Country Club … positively impacting village property values and improving quality of life through his actions taken to acquire a recreational asset for current and future generations, by officially renaming the Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills to The Harold J. Sheprow Port Jefferson Country Club,” the resolution from a May 1 board meeting reads.

The original check from the $2.2 million sale of the Port Jefferson Country Club. Photo from Lauren Sheprow

During the meeting, Sheprow’s daughters made a presentation to the board which included the steps their father had taken to ultimately purchase the then-privately owned golf course from Norman Winston, a real estate developer with properties around the world.

In 1969, Sheprow was a village resident who wanted a private beach for himself and his neighbors to enjoy other than the one owned by the country club, which was only accessible after payment of a $90 annual fee. That year, according to the Sheprows, the fee tripled, making it very difficult for working families to afford. That was his first foray into local politics.

In 1970, Sheprow joined the planning board and began looking into acquiring a beach for the village. He ran for mayor the next year, but was defeated. In 1974, he was elected to the board of trustees, and eventually became mayor in 1977. In July he was sworn in, and in October Winston died. Throughout his time working for the village in various capacities, he never gave up his goal of securing a private beach for Port Jeff residents.

After Winston’s death, according to the Sheprow daughters, the golf club fell into disrepair and became a blight on the vast Winston estate, which included the 128-acre golf course and a mile and a half of beachfront property. Sheprow saw it as a perfect opportunity to achieve his nearly decade-long goal.

“He didn’t want developers coming in and just reusing the land and building condominiums or whatever,” Maddy Sheprow said during the presentation. She said her father tried repeatedly to get a meeting with Morgan Stanley, the bank in charge of the Winston estate, but was unsuccessful.

By February 1978, Sheprow had reached “his wit’s end,” according to his daughters.

“My mom, Peggy Sheprow, had come to him and said, ‘Shep, we’re going to a party — it’s in New Jersey,’” Lauren Sheprow said. “And he said ‘I’m not going to any party. I’m trying to get this done and I can’t even think about anything else. I can’t entertain the idea of being entertained. I’m not going to a party.’ She said, ‘no, you’re coming. My cousin Dolly is having a party and we’re going.’”

At the party, Sheprow was introduced by chance to the vice president of real estate development at Morgan Guaranteed Trust, one of the trustees of the Winston Estate. The two set up a meeting, and eventually agreed to a one-year lease for $1 between the estate and the village, so that Sheprow could take all of the necessary steps to get the purchase of the property, valued at about $2.3 million at the time, to a community vote. The contract was written up on a $1 bill and remains in Sheprow’s possession until this day.

At the first public meeting, more than 200 village residents showed up to weigh in.

“One of the big parts of their plan was to make sure that they communicated the value, the benefit, the ongoing need for this village to acquire this property and an understanding of what that meant,” Maddy Sheprow said. “That communication was a hallmark of what allowed this to move forward.”

The $1 contract signed by the village and a trustee of the Winston estate. Photo from Lauren Sheprow

The plan wasn’t without its share of dissenters. Current village trustee Bruce Miller who lived in the village at the time — and voted yes on the purchase — said there were some who believed the land wasn’t worth its sticker price, and thought the abundance of available land in Port Jeff would mean the price would drop in time.

On May 2, 1978, 1,508 of the approximately 2,400 village residents participated in the historic vote, which passed by a 3-2 margin.

“It wasn’t a slam-dunk — there was a lot of unhappy residents arguing about taxes being raised and arguing about the lack of need for this in the country club,” Maddy Sheprow said.

About nine years from when he had originally set out to explore the possibility of Port Jeff Village owning a private beach, Sheprow had achieved his goal and then some.

“Unfortunately most of the people that were involved in this at the time are gone,” Hal Sheprow said in a phone interview. “I don’t really even know how to express it. I’m so proud of my daughters … they did it on their own. I couldn’t be prouder of them for what they’re doing. What they’re doing — I absolutely never thought about it and never expected anything like this.”

Maddy Sheprow explained the thinking behind her and her sister’s efforts.

“We really felt that we were the only people that knew all of these details,” she said. “We felt like it was really important to somehow solidify that history and the legacy of my father’s administration and the work it put in to maintain the amazing and pristine property for the betterment of life for Port Jeff Village residents.”

The resolution was passed unanimously, and the Sheprows thanked the trustees and Mayor Margot Garant for their interest and enthusiasm in honoring their father. A ceremony will be held in July to make the change official.

Hal Sheprow offered some advice to future visitors of the newly renamed club.

“To those people who go to the club, hit them straight,” he said. “I hope they enjoy it after I’m gone.”

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Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone presents a $250,000 check to officials from Port Jefferson Village for a revitilization project at the railroad station. Photo by Alex Petroski

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) stopped by Port Jefferson Station Jan. 19 to drop off a very generous gift. As part of the county’s Jumpstart program, an initiative established to fund infrastructure improvements for transit-oriented areas, Bellone presented a check for $250,000 to Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant for renovations slated for the Port Jefferson Long Island Rail Road station.

“We have to make our region more attractive [to young people],” Bellone said in an interview. “If we’re going to bring young people back to this region, we have to deliver the things that they need and want.”

The plan for the Jumpstart money is to redevelop parking lots around the train station to increase spots and improve safety in the area. To receive the actual grant money the village must first spend $250,000 on the project before receiving a full reimbursement, according to Nicole Christian who is responsible for writing and obtaining grants for the village. Port Jefferson Village is also in the process of an urban renewal project that would address vacant and blighted buildings on Main Street in Port Jefferson Station. Both projects are part of Garant and the village’s master plan to revitalize upper Port Jefferson and turn it into a more appealing “gateway” for the harborfront village.

Bellone and Mayor Margot Garant look over the area set for improvements. Photo by Alex Petroski

“We’re working with all of these different agencies — largely state agencies — but to have the county executive and the county behind us giving us this kind of money, they’re investing in what we’re doing here,” Garant said in an interview. “They see the big picture and I think that’s one of the things that made Steve a little unique in his role as county executive. He’s done this before in other areas and he knows what needs to be done. This isn’t a lot of money coming from the county level, but it’s a lot. Every little bit helps us. Just getting this is extremely important.”

Bellone commended Garant for her leadership and vision in Port Jefferson Station.

“I think, clearly this is a model and every time you see a project like this it is [the] local leadership driving it forward that is indispensible to making it happen and making it a success,” he said. “Local leadership is indispensible and partnerships between different levels of government, the private sector, universities — coming together and working together to do something that’s important for the local community and for the region.”

Fifth District Leg. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) also praised Garant’s dedication to the revitalization of Port Jefferson Station.

“She’s been working a long time to make this happen,” Hahn said. “To have the dedication and commitment to work on a project for the amount of time and to keep at it, to see it through to now at a point where things are going up, things are getting built, we’re breaking ground on the whole vision and it takes someone special to see something through to the end.”

Hahn said she is also excited for the progress being made within her district.

“I think it’s critically important the county is investing in these types of projects, especially a transit-oriented development where we are focusing our redevelopment in an area that has access to public transportation, that makes much needed housing available for the university one stop away, that supports economic development on a number of levels,” she said.

Garant said the plan is to put the project out for bid and to begin work in the coming months.

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Far left, historian Georgette Grier-Key; second from left, teacher Monica Consalvo; second from right, alum Michael Tessler; and, far right, Mayor Margot Garant with seventh-grade students from the Port Jefferson Middle School. Photo from Monica Consalvo

​MAKING HISTORY: On Dec. 22, seventh-grade students of the Port Jefferson Middle School attended an assembly that focused on how the village’s residents aided the efforts of the Patriots in winning the Revolutionary War. Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, historian Georgette Grier-Key and alum Michael Tessler engaged the students in a fascinating display of how the Culper Spy Ring operated as well as having the opportunity to view Loyalist soldier Nehemiah Marks’ letter informing his comrades that Phillips and Nathaniel Roe, among others, helped supply Setauket-based spy Caleb Brewster with information to pass on to the Patriots.

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Drivers slow down for rumble strips on East Broadway heading into Port Jefferson Village. Photo by Alex Petroski

By Alex Petroski

Drivers in Port Jefferson might think the little drummer boy has taken up residence in the village for the holiday season, but in reality the rumbling they’re hearing under their tires is a new initiative to get them to reduce their speed.

Rumble strips and speed tables were installed by the village in December in strategic areas to alert drivers to slow down on roads frequently used to enter Port Jefferson, following a study by an engineering firm which suggested motorists were traveling too fast.

Speed tables are on some village roads to curtail drivers’ speeds. Photo by Alex Petroski

Upon the recommendation of the firm, the strips were placed in the westbound lane of East Broadway between the Village Center and Belle Terre Village on Cliff Road. They were also added to both sides of Myrtle Avenue near Infant Jesus Roman Catholic Church. The speed tables are located on Brook Road near Caroline Avenue on the western side of the Port Jefferson high school campus. More speed tables and rumble strips may still be added to other areas in the village.

“I think the resident community was a little off put when they first hit them, but now they’re slowing down,” Mayor Margot Garant said in an interview. “Most of the local people in the neighborhood get it — you can’t just fly through the neighborhoods. I’ll put the rumble strips in just about anywhere people want.”

The village board of trustees passed a motion Nov. 28 approving spending for the project up to about $5,800, though the actual cost is not yet clear.

Garant and village Code Chief Wally Tomaszewski each referenced deadly crashes in recent years at the sites of the new speed reduction measures as evidence that something needed to be done to curtail speeds in the village.

In December last year, 48-year-old Belle Terre resident Glen Nelson was killed while driving on East Broadway after his car crashed into a telephone pole near High Street.

“Everything is done to exercise as much notice and caution to the general public utilizing the roadways.”

— Wally Tomaszewski

“On East Broadway the rumble strips were necessary because the cars that are coming down the hill, there are many that were speeding both going down and up the hill,” Tomaszewski said in a phone interview. The strips, which are painted white and cause a rumbling sound inside the car when tires roll over them, are spaced a few hundred yards apart over a half-mile stretch on East Broadway.

The code chief also said the measures are having the desired effect.

“Absolutely they’ve worked so far,” Tomaszewski said. “Everything is done to exercise as much notice and caution to the general public utilizing the roadways.”

Garant said she received some push back initially because the speed tables were not adequately identified according to some users of the village roadways, though the mayor said the plan is for the tables to be painted in the near future for better visibility. She added that other measures were considered, like narrowing roadways in some spots, but ultimately the strips and tables made the most sense.

The speed tables are elevated speed bumps that are wider than typical ones and can do damage to the bottom of a car if drivers go over them too fast.

“I’m sorry that people in the first week got caught off guard, but I think the long-term intent is to slow everybody down,” she said.

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Meters in Port Jefferson. File photo by Elana Glowatz

The holidays have come early for anyone who has experienced the frustration of circling Main Street, to Arden Place, to East Main Street, to East Broadway and back to Main Street countless times in search of Port Jefferson’s most sought-after natural resource — a free parking space.

In keeping with annual tradition, Mayor Margot Garant announced the suspension of metered parking in village lots effective Dec. 5 through March 15, 2017, in a video posted on Port Jeff’s website, which had more than 27,000 views at the time of publication. Parking in a village-metered lot ordinarily costs 25 cents per half hour and is enforced from 10 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Parking on village streets is free, though there are varying time restrictions in most areas. Port Jeff Village residents always park for free in metered lots with special stickers on their cars, and for the time being, non-residents are afforded the same luxury.

Garant said, at a board meeting earlier in December, the idea behind suspending metered parking is to encourage visitors in the winter months to shop at and patronize Port Jeff businesses in the traditionally warm-weather destination. She added that in previous years the suspension of metered parking has extended into April if the weather in the area is particularly damaging for businesses in a given winter season.

Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant announces the suspension of metered parking through March 15 in village lots. Photo from Port Jeff Village website

In the video, Garant watches kids ice skate at The Rinx located outside the Village Center. She then slides a blue cover over the meter in the parking lot adjacent to the ice rink.

“During the holiday season and during the winter months, come on down to the Village of Port Jefferson, come visit us, park for free, visit our restaurants and please support our local merchants,” Garant says in the video.

Revenue raised from metered parking is reinvested into various village projects, according to Garant. Deputy Mayor Larry LaPointe, who is also the board’s liaison to the parking committee, estimated the fund from parking meters has about $900,000 in it currently.

If it were unclear how big an issue parking is in Port Jefferson, on the village’s Port Jefferson Facebook page, the pinned post featuring the video had 480 shares and more than three times as many likes as any other post on the page in December. Comments on the post indicate most visitors to the village wish parking were free year-round, and others are more likely to visit because of the suspension.

“Love being down Port in the off season,” Yvette Ortiz-Baugh said.

One commenter suggested the difficult parking deters her from visiting the area.

“Parking has become a big nuisance and we go less often to shop there now,” Sue Korpus Ditkowsky said.

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Village kayak racks at Centennial Park beach don't provide enough space to meet demand. Photo by Elana Glowatz

By Alex Petroski

Many kayak users in Port Jefferson Village were left without a paddle during the summer of 2016, and as a result, the board of trustees is examining ways to accommodate more aquatically inclined residents.

Signs detailing the Village's kayak policy are visible year round. Photo by
Signs detailing the Village’s kayak policy are visible year round. Photo by

The village currently supplies four wooden racks, which hold six kayaks each at two different beaches. Use of the racks is determined after applications are submitted and a lottery is held in April each year. About half of the applicants were not granted permits because of limited space for the 2016 season, according to Village Clerk Bob Juliano at a recent board meeting. Storage is provided so that kayakers can safely and conveniently leave their vessels near the water, rather than having to transport them every time they are to be used.

The lack of available storage resulted in about two-dozen vessels being left locked to trees or simply strewn across the beach without permission this past summer. There is no cost to obtain a permit if a resident is selected in the lottery.

“My goal is to expand the number of people able to store kayaks,” Trustee Stanley Loucks, who also serves as the board’s liaison to the recreation department, said in a phone interview. He said the village is actively working on changes to improve policies for the 2017 boating season. “What I want to do is put enough racks in for any Port Jeff resident who wants to have a kayak.”

Permanent signs have been in place warning beachgoers to remove kayaks and other small boats from the racks, and by extension, the surrounding areas, by Nov. 1 or be subject to fines. The signs also warn those without permits to refrain from leaving vessels altogether. Juliano said stickers were placed on the remaining boats Nov. 2, warning the owners to remove them within a five-day period, though the village didn’t act until about two weeks later. To retrieve their kayaks, owners are required to visit the Port Jefferson Department of Public Works and pay a $100 fee.

Loucks said kayak storage and the dumping of vessels without permits got “out of control” this year.

Port Jefferson residents Lois O’Donnell Kilkenny and Jodi Casciano said in Facebook messages that they would like permits to store their vessels, but they avoid the lottery altogether because they don’t think the chances of being selected are great. Demand for spaces may be greater than the village realizes.

“We sure would enjoy having more of them, so those of us who don’t have could obtain one,” O’Donnell Kilkenny said. “It gets harder to transport them as we get older! I know I would use it a lot more if we only had to pull it off the rack and go.”

“I have, like, a boatyard in front of my house.”
—Dorothy Court

Dorothy Court, Waterview Drive resident, which is adjacent to the Crystal Brook Hollow Road beach, said, at a public hearing on the matter in June, that she supported tougher rules.

“I have to deal with these kayaks every single day,” Court said. “I have, like, a boatyard in front of my house.”

Loucks said he is sympathetic to village residents who get shut out by the application process. “It’s a shame we have to limit the number of people,” he said.

According to Juliano, a Port Jefferson family had five kayaks tied together and locked around a tree that were seized by village personnel in November. They submitted a letter asking for leniency from the village when they learned of the $500 in fees required to retrieve the boats. The board approved a motion Nov. 28 to cut the fees in half.

Village Mayor Margot Garant was in favor of reducing the fine for the family, though she said at a recent board meeting that the fees are in place to discourage the practice of abandoning kayaks.

“It’s not really about the money, it’s about cleaning up the area,” she said.

Loucks said the board of trustees is considering moving existing racks to East Beach and removing them from the beach at the end of Crystal Brook Hollow Road, while also adding more to comply with demand. He said an experimental contraption was used on East Beach this year, though moving the racks there and adding more would be ideal. Garant added she would like to see the existing racks moved because of a lack of parking in the area.

The village provides racks with space for 24 kayaks at the beach at the end of Crystal Brook Hollow Road in Mount Sinai Harbor, and the same amount of spaces at the beach near the Village Center in Port Jefferson Harbor.

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