Dragon boats were back in the water during the 8th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 17.
Sponsored by The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, this event is a way to foster community togetherness. It also serves to promote Asian and Asian American culture and customs.
Barbara Ransome, the chamber director of operations, said dozens of community organizations and business groups participated during the event, bringing together hundreds more community members.
“This is six months in the making,” Ransome said. “It’s a tremendous amount of organizing, not only with the teams … but all of this entertainment. It’s wonderful to see this all going well, flawlessly and without a hitch.”
A total of 23 teams participated in the boat races. Among the organizations represented in the dragon boat competition were Stony Brook University, Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society, Mather and St. Charles hospitals, and club teams from as far as New York City, among others.
The day kicked off with the ceremonial “Dotting of the Eyes.” During this ritual, team captains and local officials painted a dragon head. Among them was Port Jeff village trustee Rebecca Kassay, who described the rush of this ceremonial gesture.
“It was a beautiful moment to dot the eyes and tongue and forehead of the dragon,” she said. “You feel connected with the people around you, and I think that’s something we’re missing these days. To be a part of something where you’re connecting with others is really special.”
This year was Kassay’s first dragon boat festival. For her, the event was an opportunity to celebrate the community’s rich culture and diverse people. “I am so delighted to see so many people come out, the diversity of people here, and the enthusiasm of everyone here for this cultural event on Port Jefferson Harbor,” Kassay said.
Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) also made an appearance. He seemed overjoyed by the festival’s sizable turnout and the many people he encountered throughout the day.
“I’m excited to see our friends here, especially my friends from Long Island Youth Development and the Chinese School at Stony Brook,” he said. “We are excited to enjoy the awakened spirit of Port Jeff Harbor for another year.”
Kornreich also recognized the festival as a cause for celebration. He described the invaluable contributions of Asian Americans and their steadfast commitment to building a stronger community.
“The Asian American population here in our area is growing,” he said. “They have a huge presence and enrich our community so much with their culture and with their friendship, as with their dedication to the community.” He added, “They’re an amazing group of people, and we’re just excited to enjoy this day with them.”
The East Setauket-based LI Youth Development Inc., or LIYD, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2021. The organization is dedicated to supporting the community youth through extracurricular programs. LIYD instructors host weekly sessions to reinforce these skills regularly.
“We started as a way to help teach kids around our communities about different topics and subjects,” said LIYD member Luke Hou. “For example, we have a bunch of different clubs inside of LIYD that each teach their own thing, like tennis club, art club, music club and so on.”
David Wu, one of Hou’s team members, discussed how the lessons of teamwork and cooperation learned from the dragon boat competition harmonize with LIYD’s organizational principles. “Although this is our first year competing, through the practices it has been pretty fun,” he said.
Several dance and choral groups gave moving performances throughout the day. These often paid homage to the cultural and linguistic traditions of the performers.
While boating alone just outside of Port Jefferson Harbor over the Labor Day holiday, South Setauket resident Bill Doherty had what he called a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. First, a big splash caught his eye. Then, another.
Humpbacks, above, devour sea life during a recent whale watching expedition. Researchers attribute more whale sightings to a thriving menhaden or bunker fish population. Photo by Artie Raslich/Gotham Whale
“I kept my eye on the water thinking it could be a boat accident or something,” he said. “I undid the anchor to get a little closer — but not too close — and realized it was a whale.”
For 15 to 20 minutes, Doherty watched in amazement as the whale put on a show spouting and breaching in the water about a mile off Old Field Point. He recorded it on a cellphone video just so he could prove to his friends this was no joke.
A big yacht and another passing boat, he said, cut their engines nearby so the passengers could enjoy the spectacle.
Whale sightings, as unlikely as it might seem, are becoming more regular events in the New York area, including the Long Island Sound.
Barrett Christie is director of animal husbandry at The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Conn. His team has been tracking whale activity in the Sound since the museum opened in 1988.
Almost every year since 2009, Christie said, more and more yachters and fishermen are seeing marine mammals in local waters.
Since 2015 whale counts, predominantly humpbacks but also minke whales, have been ramping up. The aquarium’s annual whale counts range from no sightings at all, to one per year, up to as many as a half dozen or more.
The aquarium’s observations, he noted, are consistent with the findings of other researchers. A Staten Island-based research organization Gotham Whale, for instance, documented in 2011 three whales and five sightings. Recently, the number was up to more than 260. The whale population has become so bountiful around the mouth of New York Harbor, Gotham Whale now coordinates research expeditions with the public in conjunction with five commercial whale watching vessels.
Healthier ecosystems
Scientists praise the Clean Water Act for improving water quality to protect marine habitats. The landmark environmental law, passed in 1972, regulates pollutants from agriculture, industry and wastewater to prevent or limit discharges into waterways.
“It’s taken fish populations more than 30 and up to 50 years to rebound,” Christie said. “We’re seeing not only more whales, but also more Atlantic white-sided dolphin, more seals, more sharks and further down the food chain more sand eels and herring.”
After a long history of decline, Christie explained that forage fish such as menhaden or bunker and alewife, both in the herring family, have returned to spawn in the many freshwater tributaries that flow into the Sound.
“The turnaround is miraculous,” Christie said.
Maxine Montello is a wildlife ecologist and the rescue program director at the New York Marine Rescue Center. She teaches a marine mammal and sea turtle course at Stony Brook University.
After viewing Doherty’s cellphone video, she quickly identified that whale as a humpback. It’s huge pectoral fins, visible as the creature leaped out of the sea, made it easy to distinguish.
Humpbacks, she said, are baleen whales — they have no teeth. To capture its prey, it swallows and strains seawater through the long and narrow strips of fingernail-like material called baleen that grows out of its jaw. Through this feeding process, it consumes krill, plankton and small fish, such as menhaden.
A flourishing menhaden population in the food chain, researchers are noticing, attracts whales.
In fact, researchers from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, when conducting aerial surveys, track whales by following menhaden movement.
Some 15 years ago, they saw few clusters or bait balls of menhaden along Long Island’s southern coastline. Today, Rob DiGiovanni, the society’s chief scientist, said a continuous stream of bunker stretches from Montauk to the New York Bight. Consequently, whales are more abundant there and traveling closer to shore and staying in the area longer.
Montello and DiGiovanni also praise the Clean Water Act for improving marine habitats. But, with humpbacks near extinction in 1972, another bold act of Congress that year also deserves credit for reviving the whale population.
“I would say that the Marine Mammal Protection Act has really changed the game for marine mammals,” Montello said. “This act has provided great protection and awareness of these charismatic species.”
This law prohibits hunting, capturing, collecting, harassing or killing marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals and manatees.
Whaling once was one of Long Island’s most important commercial industries, according to the Cold Spring Harbor-based Whaling Museum with Cold Spring Harbor, Greenport and Sag Harbor serving as the Island’s three whaling ports.
Today, people are armed with cameras and spreadsheets instead of harpoons, and more interested in spearheading marine restoration projects that aim to protect rather than slaughter these giant marine mammals.
If you are lucky enough to spot a whale, scientists want to hear from you with photos. Like human fingerprints, whales bear distinct characteristics on their tails. Gotham Whale has an extensive and growing archive of these tail shots. Through such photos, researchers there have been able to identify and track the activities of 269 individual whales, according to Paul Sieswerda, Gotham Whale’s executive director.
“It would be interesting to find out if whales — our New York City whales — are the same ones traveling through the Sound,” he said.
To report whale sightings, contact: Atlantic Marine Conservation Society at www.amseas.org/reportsighting; Gotham Whale at www.gothamwhale.org/citizen-science; The Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk at 203-852-0700.
Ava Stecker was in the right place at the right time when she snapped this cool photo of storm clouds rolling in over Port Jefferson Harbor on July 16.
This Fourth of July, Long Islanders continue to grapple with the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. Pixabay photo
Independence Day is upon us.
As we prepare for Fourth of July festivities, it is important that we keep in mind what this day celebrates: The signing of the Declaration of Independence, primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, whose legacy continually evolves.
Jefferson was born April 13, 1743, in Shadwell in the Colony of Virginia into a privileged family supported by the labor of slaves.
His father was a planter and a surveyor. Jefferson later inherited his father’s land and slaves and began a lifelong project to construct his well-known estate, Monticello. But Jefferson was destined for a higher calling and was thrust into public life, where he would shape the course of American history.
The American revolutionary penman
Jefferson was a tall young man, but also awkward and reserved. He demonstrated, however, an early penchant for writing, a skill that served him well as he climbed the ranks of the Virginia House of Burgesses and later the Continental Congress.
Colonial leaders quickly grasped Jefferson’s compositional brilliance, but also observed he said very little. John Adams, who had worked closely with Jefferson in the Continental Congress, once said, “During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three sentences together.” Jefferson was a man of the written — not spoken — word.
While serving in Congress in 1776, Jefferson captured the spirit of his era and produced the Declaration of Independence, a radical pronouncement of America’s uniqueness from the rest of the world, justifying why it was necessary for the 13 American colonies to break off from Great Britain.
Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Millennia of human conflict and conquest had emphasized man’s separateness in the eyes of his fellow man. America is the only society in history predicated on the notion of human equality, the only place on Earth that had the audacity to proclaim that humans can harmoniously coexist regardless of their religion or race or ethnic background or any other criterion.
While Jefferson presented Americans this challenge, it is worth noting that he did not embody the ideals of the Declaration in his own life. Jefferson was a slaveholder, his place in society secured by the labor of slaves.
As we reflect upon the Declaration, it is questionable whether its author even believed in its principles. Despite the conflict between his head and his heart, Jefferson’s words impact us to this day.
Inspiring generations on Long Island
Jefferson’s patriotic fervor was felt undoubtedly here on Long Island. Most notably, the great Long Island patriot William Floyd had joined the revolutionary cause, becoming the only Suffolk County resident to sign the Declaration of Independence. Floyd served in the Suffolk County Militia and was a representative to the Continental Congress. He risked his life and property to resist British authority.
Setauket native Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge is another local hero of the American Revolution. Tallmadge is best known for his reconnaissance efforts, collecting information from the Setauket Culper Spy Ring.
During a daring raid in 1780, Tallmadge landed near Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai with a contingent of American soldiers. Undetected, they marched to Smith’s Point, attacked, and took this British supply base at Carmans River and the Great South Bay. Under orders from Gen. George Washington, Tallmadge destroyed large quantities of hay that was stored in Coram.
Floyd and Tallmadge are just two of the many local examples of service and sacrifice that occurred on Long Island during the revolutionary period. These figures fought to form a new nation, a nation that was first articulated by Jefferson.
Tour of Long Island
The first administration of the United States was headquartered in New York City, not far from Long Island. For this reason Jefferson, Washington and James Madison all visited the local area, a place that had sacrificed much and contributed greatly to the independence movement.
Jefferson and Madison traveled extensively throughout New York state and New England, eager to meet their new countrymen. Both leaders stayed in Center Moriches, where they met with Floyd near his estate. All his life, Jefferson had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Intrigued by the various Native American dialects and cultures, he met with several tribes in eastern Long Island.
Jefferson notably encountered the Unkechaug [Patchogue] Indian Nation. Because most of this tribe spoke English, Jefferson successfully transcribed many parts of their language. His research has helped keep alive cultural studies into one of the two remaining Native American groups here on Long Island today.
From Drowned Meadow to Port Jefferson
Jefferson’s influence can also be felt through the history of Port Jefferson, formerly known as Drowned Meadow. This now-bustling village was first settled in 1682, located within the heart of Suffolk County and the Town of Brookhaven. In 1836, the people of Drowned Meadow renamed their community in Jefferson’s honor.
During his address to Congress in 1806, Jefferson highlighted the importance of connecting the United States through infrastructure programs. He said that “new channels of communication will be opened between the States; the lines of separation will disappear, their interests will be identified, and their union cemented by new and indissoluble ties.”
Port Jefferson has always been known for the industriousness of its people, as a productive and forward-looking community. Look no further than its shipbuilding history or The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry to see how infrastructure investments from the past keep us connected to this day.
Port Jefferson is one of 30 towns and counties across the United States that have been named in Jefferson’s honor. Jefferson surely appreciated Long Island — its natural beauty, its indigenous cultures and the local patriots who provided necessary intelligence to gain tactical advantages over the British forces.
This Fourth of July, as residents and visitors enjoy fireworks shooting above Port Jefferson Harbor, they should remember their own place in history and the figure in history whose name their community bears today.
Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.
Port Jeff village trustee on her environmental role in crafting village policies
Rebecca Kassay introducing a youth committee at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy, 2016. Photo courtesy of Kassay
Village of Port Jefferson trustee Rebecca Kassay is at the forefront of several environmental initiatives. TBR News Media caught up with her for an exclusive interview to discuss these matters in depth. In this interview, Kassay addresses her early involvement in community organizing, her first term as trustee and her vision for the village and its environment.
What is your background and why did you get involved in local government?
I went to SUNY New Paltz for a degree in environmental studies and a minor in communications and media. During the summers between my semesters there, I interned at Avalon Nature Preserve in Stony Brook. I worked with their three week teen program and, in working with these young people, I saw how excited they became and how engaged they were with their local community and their environment.
Interning over the summers, I began a dialogue with the park director to say, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if there was a year-round program to engage the youth in this area to do things like habitat restoration, species studies and beach cleanups?” When I graduated from New Paltz, I got a call from the director and she said, “That idea that we’ve been talking about, do you want to give that a shot? Do you want to try to start that program?”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the first of four Relic beach cleanup stations in Port Jeff village. Photo courtesy of Kassay
At 21 I was starting my own program at a nonprofit. It was very overwhelming, but we started off strong and just kept building. I ended up working with hundreds of teenagers over the course of seven years at Avalon, engaging with dozens of nonprofits in the area and seeing what their environmental goals were. After working there for seven years, I began asking myself: “What’s next? What is it that I want to continue doing to build upon this experience?”
In 2013 I started a bed and breakfast at my home and it opened in 2014. I essentially had two full-time jobs — one as a Port Jefferson business owner and one working at Avalon Park and Preserve. I decided to hand the program off to someone else at Avalon and just run the bed and breakfast while I figured out where I wanted to take my skill set.
When COVID hit, I coordinated over 40,000 pieces of homemade PPE and comfort care items to frontline workers during the height of the pandemic. Through that, I began talking to local politicians about this effort and in Port Jefferson, someone said, “Hey, why don’t you consider running for office?” That sounded like a pretty cool way to get involved, so I started collecting my signatures. I ran unopposed and have had a really interesting first term.
What ignited your interest in environmental issues?
Back in the 12th grade [at Smithtown High School], I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I took Advanced Placement Environmental Science. It was the first course that I took that seemed to be very practicable. I felt that everybody should be taking this course because it has to do with how we interact with what’s around us. If you are humble enough and you’re willing to frighten yourself with the facts of where we might be going if we just continue on the path of neglecting our relationship with the environment, then it’s something scary to think about.
It’s very apparent to me and others that we need to start making some changes. We need to figure out which changes to make in order to help the Earth continue to exist in a meaningful way.
Climate change is a lens through which we have to view pretty much all of our problems, especially being a portside village. —Rebecca Kassay
What are some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the village of Port Jefferson?
In my view, many of the environmental hazards facing the village stem from climate change, which is something that a lot of people don’t want to talk about. The impacts of climate change are relatively new. It’s really in the past decade or so that we’re starting to see these more frequent and intense storms and more rain from these storms. What everyone has always done in the past is not working anymore. The types of decisions that are being made, the ways decisions are being made — they need to take climate change into account. It’s not going to get any better, it’s just going to continue getting worse.
Climate change is a lens through which we have to view pretty much all of our problems, especially being a portside village. We have a very tight relationship with the water — the harbor and the Long Island Sound. If we don’t start looking at the facts that are being given to us by engineers and scientists, we’re not going to be making the best decisions for Port Jefferson residents, not just today but Port Jefferson residents 20 or 50 years from now.
What are your thoughts on the state of Port Jefferson Harbor?
I know that the Setauket Harbor Task Force does a wonderful job. It may sound like they’re just in Setauket, but they also steward the Port Jefferson Harbor. They do a wonderful job monitoring the harbor’s water quality and make great efforts to identify solutions and put them into place. I think that the harbor itself is doing fairly well thanks to these environmental groups.
There are some issues. I myself have a sailboat and I’ve become more acquainted over the past few years in how boaters can affect the water. I’m really glad that we have a free pump-out boat in our harbor that will empty your boat’s sewage tanks for free. You just have to call them and the boat will come over because boaters’ sewage can have a very negative effect on our harbor. However, the water quality itself seems to be quite good.
What is the village doing to comply with new DEC guidelines regulating stormwater runoff into harbors and bays?
I can’t speak to the absolute current status of them, but I know that the village is very aware of the upcoming regulations and is looking closely to see what is the best pathway forward to meeting them.
Has the village considered adding rain gardens?
The village was granted funding for three rain gardens and those rain gardens are in front of village hall, the village center and the DPW planning department uptown. Those are great examples of the types of plants you would put in rain gardens. I personally think they are very beautiful and they can really help to retain stormwater, especially on individuals’ properties. It’s a beautiful addition, as opposed to this very expensive cistern in the ground that you might have to put in to retain your stormwater. And it’s also great for the environment.
You have prioritized planting trees throughout the village. What will these new trees do for overall environmental quality?
Trustee Rebecca Kassay holding 300 tree and shrub saplings from the Saratoga Tree Nursery, which were distributed and planted as part of the village’s Arbor Day celebration. Photo courtesy of Kassay
There are so many reasons we are pushing to plant more trees. The presence of trees helps in the absorption of stormwater. Large trees will lower the general temperatures in the area where you have a critical mass of trees, so homeowners will spend less fuel and less money on air conditioning in the summer and even heating in the winter because trees can block wind coming off the harbor.
For folks who are not as in love with the environment as myself and many others, they should know that planting more trees statistically increases property values. To have these larger legacy trees on your property gives the property itself and the neighborhood a greater sense of being established.
Trees are a staple in the ecosystem, providing a habitat for birds, pollinators and critters of all sorts, and these species are beautiful. I joke and say that the reason I bought my house in particular is because it has a beautiful oak on the front corner. I really love being the steward of that oak. It was there way before I was born and I think it will be there after I pass. It’s an honor to have the responsibility of taking care of the property that it lives on.
This month, the Six Acre Park Committee will present to the Board of Trustees. Can you provide readers a preview of that?
Absolutely. The committee has found consensus in agreeing on a mini arboretum-like park [at Highlands Boulevard], planted a bit more densely and focusing mainly on native species of trees. These are the species of trees and shrubs that have been evolving in this area for eons, so the local and migratory wildlife rely on these species. These are our oaks, these are our tulip poplars, these are the species that were here before people started moving in, harvesting timber and building homes and roads.
The concept is to give back to nature. Instead of taking trees down to build a parking lot or a development project, we’re actually putting the forest back. Not only is it going to be aesthetically beautiful, it will also be something valuable for wildlife and for wildlife lovers. If you go for a walk through this park, there will be a walking path throughout it. It’s a chance to bathe in nature and observe the beauty of what’s around you.
What can residents do to help improve environmental quality?
Trustee Rebecca Kassay (bottom-left) with a group of gardeners and volunteers at the newly established Beach Street Community Garden. Photo courtesy of Kassay
I think the village government has a great opportunity to set the precedent for our residents and say, “This is a village that prioritizes environmental efforts.” I am working to be a strong voice to keep that in the conversation so that whatever we’re looking at, we’re considering how this may affect the environment and to see if there are any opportunities to have a positive effect on the environment.
As far as residents go, I’m delighted in starting our first community garden in Port Jefferson village. I’ve also been working on these Arbor Day efforts. I pushed to start the committee on the Six Acre Park. Through creating all of these venues, I’m looking to tap back into my community organizing background and have it not just be the government taking action, but the government engaging its residents in being a part of that action. When someone feels that they are a part of something, they’re much more likely to follow through, to feel proud of it and talk to other people about it.
Do you believe the village is on the right track in terms of environmental quality?
I think that the village and the Town [of Brookhaven] and Long Island and the nation and the world still have a lot of work to be done. As far as getting closer to considering the environment in every decision-making process, I don’t think the village is any more ahead or behind any of our neighboring municipalities. I would love to help the Village of Port Jeff get put on the map as an environmentally minded village, a village that takes this into account.
Again, every decision has to be a balance, but I think the environment has to be a higher priority in most decision-making processes because I see the window of opportunity closing to start pulling ourselves out of a direction that will negatively affect Port Jefferson residents, Long Islanders and people across the globe. It’s these local actions that can have a big impact.
Trustee Rebecca Kassay with the members of the Six Acre Park Committee at their first meeting in 2021. Photo courtesy of Kassay
Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
I am very cognizant of the fact that we are not the only ones experiencing flooding or a decrease in tree coverage or any other environmental issue. I’ve started reaching out to nonprofits, to other villages, to people at different levels of government, asking to learn from their experiences so that we can move more efficiently in our local efforts here. To me, it’s very important to not try to reinvent the wheel every time you want to do something.
This networking has been very helpful both in refining concepts that we might want to put into place in Port Jefferson and also in bringing funding into the village so that these aren’t taxpayer-supported projects but grant-supported projects. If we can start a great project and bring in a lot of grant money, then it’s just a win-win across the board.
Also, one of my goals is to open peoples’ eyes to the miracles of nature on their own streets and in their own yards. We often think of nature as something to visit in state or national parklands, when in reality a relationship with, and a stewardship of, urban and suburban nature is equally profound and important. Far beyond the increasingly evident practicality of environmentalism, there’s a great joy to be embraced.
I work to help folks see nature as an asset, as something to enjoy and protect, instead of the current narrative that often paints nature as inconvenient or consciously in opposition to humanity.
Ironically, despite the narrative that environmentally minded actions or solutions are burdensome, there are often significant taxpayer cost savings in the long run. Taxpayers benefit when inevitable environmental issues are initially addressed with a long-term solution, instead of a series of Band-Aids which eventually fail and must be replaced by that same long-term solution.
A view of Port Jefferson Harbor from Harborfront Park. File photo by Elana Glowatz
On Wednesday, April 13, two guest speakers presented to the Port Jefferson Harbor Commission on the state of Port Jeff Harbor and its future.
George Hoffman, co-founder of the Setauket Harbor Task Force, shared the history of the harbor commission over the last two decades.
“Up until 2000, the commission hadn’t been created and every village kind of did its own thing and the [Town of Brookhaven] did its own thing,” he said. “You had overlapping regulations in terms of boat speeds and where you could clam and where you could moor.”
This changed after the 2000 Port Jefferson Harbor Management Plan, which directed the various coastal municipalities in the area on how to best manage the harbor. Today, the villages and the town coordinate their efforts through the harbor commission, which harmonizes laws to monitor boating safety, establish mooring fields and regulate maritime traffic. While the villages have succeeded in these areas, Hoffman suggests the commission now has the experience and know-how to devote greater attention to water quality.
“Now that you have all of the other issues kind of resolved, I think now it’s time to consider how this commission can start to help manage the harbor itself as an environmental entity,” Hoffman said.
MS4 regulations
During the first hour of a storm event, rain often carries harmful contaminants from lawns, roads and sidewalks, discharging oils, bacteria and particulate metals into nearby surface waters. This phenomenon poses a hazard to marine life.
In an effort to reduce contamination of surface waters during storm events, new state regulations will require coastal municipalities to develop a more comprehensive stormwater management program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released guidelines regulating small municipal stormwater sewer systems, known as MS4s.
“I actually think that the Port Jeff Harbor Commission could be a great vehicle to help all the municipalities comply.”
— George Hoffman
Under the existing policy, local governments are given wide latitude over the maintenance of their MS4s. “In the ’50s and ’60s, we never really gave a thought about stormwater — we just figured if it goes into the harbor, then it will dilute and everything will be fine,” Hoffman said. “We found out that that’s just not the way to go. This really has significant impacts.”
With stricter directives and harsher penalties under these new regulations, Hoffman noted the need for personnel: “That’s never a good thing for municipalities because you have to fund those positions and budgets are always tough no matter where you are.” He added that the Port Jefferson Harbor Commission — which includes officials from the town as well as the villages of Port Jefferson, Belle Terre, Poquott and Old Field — already have the infrastructure in place through the commission to coordinate their efforts in complying with these directives.
“I actually think that the Port Jeff Harbor Commission could be a great vehicle to help all the municipalities comply,” Hoffman said. “If every village has to go out and hire its own computer programmer to do the mapping of the stormwater, and has to hire somebody to run the public meetings and has to identify all the groups that are interested — it seems to me that it would be better if we all pulled together through this commission and handle all of our MS4 responsibilities together.”
Acknowledging the limitations of an all-volunteer commission, Hoffman’s plan would have the various villages appropriate funds to hire part-time personnel to oversee MS4 regulatory compliance: “This can actually save your villages money because if everybody pools their resources together, you can probably just get one person in here — and it wouldn’t even have to be a full-time position — to help manage the MS4 regulations.”
Public outreach is also a major component of these new guidelines. Hoffman said that under the current policy, public hearings are not mandated. Now, municipalities must hold public hearings to identify the stakeholders in their areas and report on the quality of their surface waters. Again, Hoffman said the commission can make it easier to satisfy this condition.
With greater emphasis on water quality, he said the commission can also tap into the Long Island Sound Study, a program that offers grants to protect and restore the Sound.
“The Long Island Sound Study has been in existence now for 20 years,” Hoffman said. “It’s a pact between Connecticut and New York and all of the federal monies for the Long Island Sound go through it.” Referring to the Setauket Harbor Task Force, he added, “Our group is part of the Citizens Advisory Committee and we’re very active members of that group — that’s the one that gives out the grants for $10 million.”
Planting oysters and clams
Alan Duckworth, environmental analyst with the Town of Brookhaven, also addressed the commission during the meeting. His presentation highlighted a recent undertaking by the town to improve water quality of its harbors through the planting of large numbers of oysters and clams.
In recent years, the town has attempted to strengthen its understanding of the quality of its harbors and bays, and also the pathogens and contaminants that pollute them. While traditional testing indicates that the quality of Port Jeff Harbor has improved, Duckworth notes some notable deficiencies in these testing schemes.
“There are so many pathogens in Port Jeff Harbor and elsewhere,” he said. “Some of them are from humans, but a lot of them are from water fowl. DEC does checks for pathogens and uses E. coli as a marker.” However, acknowledging the limitations of these tests, he added, “They don’t separate human E. coli from avian E. coli. Obviously some of the pathogens are coming from human waste, but a lot of it could be coming from birds.”
The town grows approximately 1.5 million oysters and another 1.5 million clams every year that it puts out into various harbors and bays. The addition of these shellfish populations aids the local fishing industry as well as recreational shellfishing.
The oyster and clam populations serve as “filter feeders,” flushing harmful contaminants from the waters and spitting out filtered water. These shellfish have a beneficial impact on water quality, according to Duckworth.
The town’s planting activities also attempt to restore the natural populations that once flourished along the Island coastline. “What we see today is only a fragment of what used to occur around Long Island in the bays and harbors,” Duckworth said, adding, “Through disease and through overfishing, in some areas the natural populations are 1% of what they used to be. We put out oysters and clams to hopefully kickstart the next generation.”
“About 100,000 oysters are removing about 50% of the microalgae, which is a fantastic result.”
— Alan Duckworth
With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund, the town has been able to track the effects of these shellfish populations on the quality of its surface waters. Measuring water quality with an instrument called a sonde, researchers performed two experiments — one within an area of 100,000 oysters in Port Jeff Harbor and another approximately 60 feet away from the oysters, which served as the control. Measuring the removal of microalgae by the oysters, the researchers found “about 100,000 oysters are removing about 50% of the microalgae, which is a fantastic result,” Duckworth said.
In a separate test for turbidity, a measure of the number of sediments floating around in the water, he said, “They also remove about 50% of these sediments, which improves water clarity. That’s really important for photosynthetic organisms and things that require sunlight.” Duckworth added, “If you have 10 feet of dirty water, all of the things that live on the bottom and require sunlight can’t photosynthesize. When you clean that water, it’s really important for the animals and plants that live there.”
A final experiment tested whether these plantings have any effect on restoring the natural populations of shellfish in the harbor. The researchers put out bags of empty oysters shells and found that baby oysters began to move into those shells, an indicator that the planted oysters are adapting to their new environment.
“The oysters that we put out are now adults, they’re now producing larvae, and those larvae are actually finding places to settle, in this case the oyster shells,” Hoffman said. “They‘re actually reseeding Port Jeff Harbor.”
Reflecting upon these studies, Hoffman concluded that the work being done is having a positive effect on water quality and points to an optimistic future of the harbor. “This is a good story,” he said. “We’re showing that, yes, the oysters that we put out are cleaning the water, but they’re also helping to reseed and restock the natural populations that we all want to bring back.”
On Monday, April 18, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Port Jefferson gathered for an afternoon business meeting.
Mayor Margot Garant announced the withdrawal of a scheduled public hearing regarding the revocation of the operating license of the Curry Club at SaGhar. The mayor cited a recent development between the village and the proprietor, mentioning that the two parties have come to terms.
“The Curry Club at SaGhar is coming into compliance,” the mayor said. “They complied with all of our requests not to apply for nightclub status and … pretty much everything we asked for.”
In her report, Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden said the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Class of 1982 has applied to use the Village Center for its upcoming class reunion, requesting a reduced rate. The board moved to accept this request, contending that the measure will promote greater use of the facility and will set a precedent for future classes to book their reunions locally. A graduate of the Class of ’82, Garant recused herself from this vote.
The board also announced that both Texaco Park and the village basketball courts will now accommodate pickleball instruction. Garant considered this a “wildly popular program” throughout the village. Snaden concurred, and also reported that the Texaco program will provide a free clinic for incoming picklers that is designed to introduce village residents to the sport.
Trustee Stan Loucks announced that lines will soon be put down at Texaco Park to support the planned pickleball campus. He added, “Hopefully, down the road, pickleball will be someplace else,” leaving open the possibility that pickleball at Texaco Park will be only a temporary measure.
Trustee Bruce Miller shared his notes from two guest presentations delivered during an April 13 meeting of the Port Jefferson Harbor Commission.
During Trustee Rebecca Kassay’s report, a robust debate ensued on the future of short-term versus long-term rental property codes. The subject was tabled for a later time as more information will be necessary for the board to settle the matter.
Correction: On April 21, The Port Times Record stated, “Trustee Rebecca Kassay reported that the village’s Arbor Day festivities are scheduled for Friday, April 29, when free saplings from the Saratoga Tree Nursery will be made available.” In an email, Kassay clarified this: “We indeed confirmed that Arbor Day is April 29th, but I stated that the saplings are not yet ready from the DEC nursery. I reported that as soon as I have a pick-up date for the saplings, I’d let everyone know … Additionally, the saplings will only be free to the first grade class; we will be selling them for $1 at the Farmer’s Market, date TBA.”
On Oct. 28, at approximately 7:05 p.m., Port Jefferson Fire Department rescue personnel joined Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers to respond to a report of two kayakers in distress in Port Jefferson Harbor.
According to PJFD, the department was alerted initially by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound of a possible kayaker in distress.
With help from the Grand Republic — of the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry — two victims were located on the west side of the inlet at the entrance of the harbor clinging to the jetty.
Fred Hall, vice president and general manager of the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, said that when two victims were spotted, the ferry captain moved the boat to where a rescue swimmer from Marine 6 entered the water and made contact with a man and woman on the jetty.
“We used the searchlights on the boat and were able to spot them,” Hall said. “We were happy to come on the scene and help out at the appropriate time.”
Photo from PJFD
Hall said that the boats captain, Michael Purce, helped keep the boat steady as the roughly 30-minute rescue went on.
PJFD 1st Assistant Chief Soeren Lygum said that when the Coast Guard put out the alert, all three agencies sprang into action within seconds apart.
Captain Christian Neubert was one of nearly a dozen first responders who helped rescue the duo in the inlet.
“It was a dangerous situation out there because of the strong current,” he said, adding that it was also high tide, so visibility was difficult because of rocks below the waterline.
Due to those jetty rocks, PJFD Inflatable 14 was deployed from Anchorage Road and used to transport the victims from the jetty to Marine 6.
Neubert swam into the cold waters to help pull them into the department’s inflatable rescue boat manned by Ex-Chief Brennan Holmes and firefighter Joe Pisciotta. Ex-Chief Charlie Russo operated Marine 6 alongside Lieutenant Geoffrey Markson.
The victims were brought to the boat ramp by Russo and Markson where they were evaluated by Port Jefferson EMS.
Although exhausted, both individuals refused medical attention and ultimately were uninjured.
“This is a scenario we practice so our rescue personnel are well trained for it,” Lygum said. “Everyone involved did a great job and it’s always a good day when everyone goes home safe.”
The Sikaflex “Quick and Dirty” Boat Building Competition and Race finally came back to Port Jefferson after a long-awaited year.
Hosted by the Long Island Seaport and Eco Center, the 10th annual competition took off this past weekend on Aug. 28 and 29. Originally scheduled for the previous weekend, it was postponed due to rain and winds caused by Tropical Storm Henri. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsored by the Sika Corporation, a supplier of marine adhesives and sealants, the event provides would-be boat designers and builders a chance to showcase their creative skills and talents.
Throughout the weekend, visitors could watch two-member teams, working under a time limit of five hours, build their boats in the parking lot of Harborfront Park next to Bayles Boat Shop.
Not only did the contestants have to finish constructing their makeshift boat within a few hours, but they were also expected to assemble it using a meager supply of plywood, plastic cable ties and Sikaflex sealant — no nails or screws allowed — and make sure the boat wouldn’t sink in Port Jefferson Harbor.
Len Carolan, the event’s coordinator, said during the boat race at 2 p.m. that it had been “a wonderful weekend.”
“Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves,” he said. “The weather’s been great for us, and we’ve had a lot of newcomers. Everyone’s having fun.”
Two of those newcomers were Allyson and Richard Nuss, who just moved to Port Jefferson village from Setauket this summer. The duo decorated their blue cardboard boat with paw prints to give a shout-out to their small business, The Social Hound Dog Park and Hotel located on Belle Mead Road.
Richard said that while walking past the Bayles Boat Shop every other night over the last few weeks, they have gotten to know the workers there. The shop encouraged the couple to build their own boat for the race and they immediately said ‘yes.’
“We’re trying to be part of everything,” Allyson said. “We thought it would be like a cool thing to do.”
Not the competitive types, they had just two goals.
“All we wanted was 1, not to sink; and 2, not to come in last,” Allyson said.
And while seven boats raced around the pier, dozens upon dozens of spectators cheered the teams on from the beach.
“It’s getting bigger every year,” Carolan said. “And having it around the dock, it’s a perfect spot.”
Originally, he added, three more teams were set to build, but could not make the new date after the storm last weekend.
“Seven teams are usually the average,” he said. “And I think we’ll have at least a dozen next year.”
The event ended with an awards ceremony, where guest judge Mayor Margot Garant helped announce first, second and third place winners, as well as best design.
“The Sikaflex boat build and race is a great day to raise awareness about the LISEC organization, which is one of our founding partners down here at the maritime campus at Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park,” the mayor said. “They do wondrous things in that boat shed building, and it’s a great way to see the community connect with them, and the contributions they make.”
Garant said the turnout of viewers was “phenomenal.”
“I think this was the biggest turnout I’ve seen,” she said.
Following the award ceremony, LISEC raffled off a special item made at the Bayles Boat Shop — a 14-foot stand-up paddle board.
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