By Sabrina Artusa
Incumbents Jeremy Flint and Raymond Graham were reelected as trustees for the Village of Poquott, filling the two open seats. Flint had 61 votes and Graham had 60.
Having just completed their first two-year terms in the village, both candidates decided to run again, happy to work for the village they love.
Flint moved to Poquott from his native Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2021 in an interesting reversal of recent trends. “When I first moved up, people asked me why. I told them ‘to get away from all the New Yorkers because so many move in the other direction,’” he said.
He and his wife toured houses during COVID-19, when suburban homes were getting bought quickly as people emigrated from the city. When he and his wife toured their current home, they “immediately fell in love.” “It felt like home,” Flint said, and they put an offer in that very evening.
Flint owns his own business working in insurance, construction and consulting.
Galvanized to run after noticing how homes in his village were being utilized as rental properties, Flint ran for trustee in 2023, won and was appointed deputy mayor. Now, there are stipulations preventing residents or property owners from renting out their homes for short intervals. The village enforces a 30-day-stay minimum for rentals.
Additionally, Flint is eager to continue working on improving the safety of Poquott roads, expanding community events, advancing village technology to “improve interaction with residents” and refreshing the 10-year master plan.
He said his focus as trustee is respecting the balance of his unique community. “It is a combination of the inevitable moving into the future and working on the village and the upkeep,” he said
Graham is also entering his second term. He works in the Kings Park Central School District as a middle school librarian.
A Kings Park native, he moved to Poquott in 2019 and quickly became involved in the community volunteering, putting on fundraisers and embracing the community he called a “little slice of paradise.”
It felt like a natural transition, then, when he ran for trustee in 2023 after the previous trustee moved. Like Flint, Graham is concerned about safety.
“I want my roads to be safe,” he said. “I want my neighbors to be safe living here so I have been focusing my time on that aspect.”
Indeed, the village has experimented with movable speed bumps as part of a PILOT program, which allowed the village to both gauge resident reaction and test where they would be more efficient.
Graham also said he is eager to continue fostering community unity through events like the annual summer barbeque. He is also floating the idea for a 5k run through the village as, he said, the local running community is growing. The scenic views and hilly roads provide a good combination of pleasurable views and a tough workout.
Poquott beaches and infrastructures suffered damage in last year’s storm; Graham is eager to continue working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency “to try and restore the beautification of our village.”
One beach particularly suffered from the 100-year storm, Walnut Beach. “At high tide you can’t even walk down the beach in that area because of the erosion,” Graham said.
For more information visit the village website: www.villageofpoquott.com.
Graham and Flint’s term will be three years as the village transitions to four year terms for trustees.
