Port Jefferson Village Center. Photo by Heidi Sutton
By Samantha Rutt
On the evening of May 29, a crime occurred near the village center, shedding light on gaps in the village hall’s communication protocols. The incident has raised questions and concerns among residents and officials about the effectiveness of current systems for public safety notifications.
Incident details
Between 6 and 6:30 p.m., a man who had been stabbed or slashed sought help at the Village Center near Harborfront Park. Covered in blood, the victim’s appearance alarmed bystanders. The assailants were reportedly still at large, fleeing in a white SUV. Suffolk County Police responded with several police cars and retrieved camera footage from the area to aid their investigation.
Compounding the situation, a senior awards ceremony and several sporting events were taking place at the nearby school. Despite the proximity of these events to the crime scene, school leadership was not informed about the incident, raising concerns about the safety and well-being of students and attendees.
Response timeline
Seeking clarity and answers, an email was sent to village officials on May 31. The email was addressed to Mayor Sheprow and trustees Loucks, Juliano, Kassay, and Biondo. All below events are reported from Traci Donnelly’s Facebook page.
May 31, 6:25 p.m.: Initial inquiry sent to village officials.
May 31, 8:26 p.m.: Trustee Loucks responded, indicating he was unaware of any official communication from the village. He learned about the incident from the manager of the village center and noted that more than 50 hours after the incident, trustees had still not been provided with any updates or information.
May 31, 9:11 p.m.: A follow-up email was sent, questioning the lack of community notification.
May 31, 9:32 p.m.: Trustee Biondo responded, suggesting that if the incident were serious enough, the Suffolk County Police Department would have notified the community.
June 1, 7:02 a.m.: A request was made for clear communication protocols and criteria for alert systems.
June 1, 1:51 p.m.: Trustee Biondo advised attending the next public meeting for discussions and deliberation with the trustees. It was reiterated that, according to the village attorney and mayor, public comments are not meant for deliberations.
Several concerns have emerged in the wake of this incident. No public alert was issued, despite the severity of the incident and its proximity to community events, no alert was sent to residents. A lack of real-time information as schools and trustees were not informed in real time. Trustee Loucks learned about the incident from the village center manager and other trustees were also uninformed prior to the email. Additionally, it was made evident there are communication gaps as the current strategy for notifying residents about serious incidents is unclear.
The incident has prompted several questions from concerned residents, in Donnelly’s post she asks “Why wasn’t the incident on May 29 considered a public safety issue warranting a Code Red alert? Who decides when these alerts are issued and who is on the village’s emergency response team? Were all trustees informed of the incident in real time?”
The community is calling for increased transparency and the development of a comprehensive communication plan with public input. Residents are encouraged to email trustees directly for accurate information and to avoid relying on social media for critical updates.
“It is important to have communication between village officials and residents. We are looking to wirk alongside residents to have an effective emergency response system in place,” village trustee Rebecca Kassay said.
The email exchange regarding this incident is available upon request for anyone interested in complete transparency.
Port Jefferson village trustee candidate Kyle Hill. Photo courtesy Kyle Hill
By Aidan Johnson
Port Jefferson resident Kyle Hill has entered the race for village trustee.
Hill, who announced his bid on June 16, was originally a Democratic candidate for the 1st Congressional District, but suspended his campaign on Feb. 28, stating, “I will never be able to fully put into words my sincere gratitude and appreciation for the warm reception and excitement I received all across the district.”
After attending graduate school at Stony Brook University, he worked for Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY 2/3) on Capitol Hill. Hill has a background in public policy, with many of his projects extending across the aisle. He is also a volunteer EMT with the Port Jefferson EMS.
He decided to run for trustee after being encouraged to do so by Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay in order to “carry on her environmental legacy,” he said.
He stressed flooding as one of his major issues, describing how it is more than just an inconvenience.
“The fire department floods a lot … and it’s wild that we are just letting this happen without a solution coming to the forefront, because if the firehouse is flooded out how can they respond to emergencies, ” Hill said in an interview.
While Hill was open to considering moving the firehouse, he noted that since the fire station has special district status the village could not tell them to move, and he also stated the importance of acknowledging what the firehouse members wanted.
However, he said that it was important to focus on alleviating the flooding itself, including by preserving open space in the village.
“I think it would be really great if we had a true census on what’s left of open space because if you hardscape everything, the water can’t seep back into the soil — and that’s what causes flooding because the water has no place to go,” Hill said.
Hill is joined by two other candidates, Xena Ugrinsky and Marie Parziale, for the two trustee seats, meaning that two out of the three candidates will be elected. He did not offer an opinion on Parziale as he had not yet met her, but said that he and Ugrinsky had a good working history together as they both worked on the elections task force.
He also advocates for keeping the school district open, adding that it is important for everyone to focus on solutions instead of arguments.
Hill believes that he could give a “young voice perspective” on the board of trustees.
“I think me being on there would be an important perspective for the future of the village, and just being able to bring folks together and focus on the problems,” he said.
Front, left to right, Chief Deputy to the President and Senior VP for Government and Community Relations Judy Greiman, Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron, President Maurie McInnis, Mayor Lauren Sheprow, CEO and COO of Stony Brook University Hospital Carol Gomes, VP for Student Affairs Rick Gatteau. Back, left to right, Trustees Drew Biondo, Robert Juliano, Stan Loucks and Rebecca Kassay.
Photo by John Griffin.
By Nistha Boghra
The Village of Port Jefferson has officially become “Seawolves Country.”
“In Port Jefferson, we are so lucky to be here as a resource and respite to the 40,000-plus people who work and study on the beautiful and amazing campus 6 miles down the road,” said Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow at the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, April 24.
Sheprow and the Board of Trustees presented the declaration to prominent representatives from Stony Brook University, including President Maurie McInnis, Vice President for Student Affairs Rick Gatteau, CEO of Stony Brook University Hospital Carol Gomes and Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron.
“We are thrilled that the village has named Port Jeff as Seawolves Country,” Gatteau said. “It speaks to the wonderful partnership with our student body and student affairs team, including opportunities for student employment and internships, and to enjoy entertainment, restaurants and shopping in the downtown area.”
The redesignation of Port Jefferson as Seawolves Country follows a similar 2012 announcement. Signage and banners are to be featured around the village, to the shared sense of Stony Brook pride and reinforce the close relationship between the university and the local community.
Heather Banoub, assistant vice president of community relations at Stony Brook University, expressed similar enthusiasm about the benefits of this proclamation.
“Declaring Port Jefferson as Seawolves Country will foster the creation of new partnerships and opportunities for Stony Brook students, faculty and staff to enjoy the village,” Banoub said. “It will likewise encourage our neighbors in Port Jefferson to enjoy all the resources offered on our campus — from continuing education to exceptional health care and from athletics to performing arts.”
The decision to declare Port Jefferson as Seawolves Country was made with consideration of the significant presence of the Stony Brook community in the village. More than 500 faculty and staff, along with nearly 250 students, call Port Jefferson home. The relationship between the village and Stony Brook University extends into various areas, including the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, which conducts a majority of its research in Port Jefferson.
The Port Jefferson Emergency Medical Service is another example of collaboration, where dozens of Stony Brook students volunteer to serve the local community. Additionally, Stony Brook University programs like the Seawolves Outdoor Adventure Program and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes often host activities in Port Jefferson
“The proclamation celebrates the close connection that has developed and flourished between the Village of Port Jefferson, Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine,” McInnis said. “Port Jefferson is home to a large portion of our Stony Brook community, welcoming them to live, learn and discover this special place.”
Nistha Boghra is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.
From left, Judy Greiman, Chief Deputy to the President and Senior VP for Government and Community Relations, Shawn Heilbron, Director of Athletics, President Maurie McInnis, Mayor Lauren Sheprow, Carol Gomes, CEO, COO of Stony Brook University Hospital, Rick Gatteau, VP for Student Affairs (L-R Rear) Trustees Drew Biondo, Robert Juliano, Stan Loucks, and Rebecca Kassay. Photo by John Griffin/SBU
From left, Judy Greiman, Chief Deputy to the President and Senior VP for Government and Community Relations, Shawn Heilbron, Director of Athletics, President Maurie McInnis, Mayor Lauren Sheprow, Carol Gomes, CEO, COO of Stony Brook University Hospital, Rick Gatteau, VP for Student Affairs (L-R Rear) Trustees Drew Biondo, Robert Juliano, Stan Loucks, and Rebecca Kassay. Photo by John Griffin/SBU
On April 24, at the Port Jefferson Board of Trustees Regular Board Meeting, Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis and members of the university’s leadership team were presented with a proclamation by Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow declaring Port Jefferson as “Seawolves Country.”
In addition to President McInnis, the other university leaders in attendance included Chief Operating Officer of Stony Brook University Hospital, Carol Gomes; Vice President for Student Affairs, Rick Gatteau; Director of Athletics, Shawn Helibron; and Chief Deputy to the President and the Senior Vice President for Government and Community Relations Judy Greiman.
“In Port Jefferson, we are so lucky to be here as a resource and a respite for the 40,000 plus…people who live, work, and study on that beautiful, amazing [Stony Brook University] campus six miles down the road from us,” said Mayor Sheprow, who worked for the university for sixteen years.
Highlighting the time honored relationship between the Village of Port Jefferson and Stony Brook, the proclamation formally presented a step forward in identifying the Village as a welcoming place for students, faculty and staff to “enjoy all that the Village of Port Jefferson has to offer.”
“On behalf of everybody who is here, our students, but really the entire Stony Brook community, I could not be more excited to accept, on behalf of Stony Brook University, this great proclamation, and, Go Seawolves!” said President McInnis.
The Village is home to the Port Jefferson EMS, which provides a residential paramedic training program available to Stony Brook students. Also nestled in the Port Jefferson Harbor is the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences’ Research Vessel, the Seawolf, which provides research capabilities through large-scale oceanographic sampling and trawling. Approximately 250 students and 500 faculty and staff also live in Port Jefferson.
PJV Arbor Day 2024 Flyer. Photo courtesy Rebecca Kassay
The Village of Port Jefferson’s Tree Committee – freshly sprouted in 2023 – invites one and all to the village’s first annual Arbor Day Celebration this coming Wednesday, April 24, from 5-6 p.m.
Held in the Maple Parking Lot, behind Old Fields and Billie’s restaurants, attendees will hear from Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright, Port Jefferson Village Mayor Lauren Sheprow and the Village’s Deputy Mayor and Commissioner of Environmental Sustainability, Rebecca Kassay.
A local student from Port Jefferson will delight the crowd with a topical reading before the group ceremoniously plants two new native trees. Finally, all attendees will all be given a native tree or shrub sapling to plant in their own yards.
By hosting this event, which is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, the village will be one step closer to their Tree City USA designation.
Sights from the 15th annual Health & Wellness Fest at the Meadow Club on April 13. Photo by Serena Carpino
By Serena Carpino
The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted its 15th annual Health & Wellness Fest at The Meadow Club in Port Jefferson Station on Saturday, April 13. Dozens of businesses — ranging from local clinics to internationally recognized organizations — attended the event to spread awareness of their efforts to help people create healthy habits and promote a wellness lifestyle.
Both returning and new businesses set up booths around the club. Some had attended for 15 years. For most, it was their first time at the Health & Wellness Fest.
Many of the booths were centered around heart and mental health, but there were also representatives from therapy groups, local gyms and several other related programs. However, there was one main theme across the board: preventative care. Officials spread awareness about early screenings for different illnesses, regular doctor checkups and healthy eating to prevent chronic diseases.
For example, the Fortunato Breast Health Center at Mather Hospital is promoting breast health through early mammograms — around age 40 for all women and earlier for those with a family history of breast cancer — as well as breast self-examinations. According to Maureen Burke, an employee at the center, they have many resources for women who have been diagnosed with cancer and are encouraging them to utilize these opportunities.
“We’re just making them aware of different programs that we have,” Burke said. One such program is a navigation system in which nurses follow patients through their cancer journey and are always available via phone to help schedule appointments or answer any other questions. In addition, they educate people on lymphedema and offer different blood tests through their oncology department.
Other programs, such as the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, focused on nutritious eating habits to promote longevity. This organization is advocating for the MyPlate meal plan, which stipulates that half of our plates should be filled with fruits and vegetables. In addition, Cornell encourages making better beverage choices and remaining physically active.
Linda Altenburger, a registered dietitian and the program manager for the organization’s diabetes team, said that Cornell has also partnered with WIC and SNAP-Ed populations and has offered many free resources to the community.
“We’re an outreach, you know, to the community … [we have] a lot of hands-on programs for children and adults, and overall just provide great resources so the community knows where to turn,” she explained. “We’re trying to reduce the incidence of diabetes and help those that are trying to lose weight and just how to cook healthy with more fruits and vegetables.”
Cornell Cooperative has also partnered with local farmers markets and Sun River Health to further their efforts for the community.
There were representatives at the fest from mental health groups such as LightPath Counseling Group and Youth Enrichment Services.
LightPath has 20 therapists that have various focuses. Janice Martin, director of LightPath and a clinical social therapist for over 20 years said, “We do anxiety, depression, relievement, pretty much everything. Each therapist specializes in something different.”
Youth Enrichment Services was founded in 1987, but recently added its Community Mental Health Promotion and Support division. The organization is mainly located in Brentwood and Islip, with several school programs focused on mental health and community drug misuse awareness. This is the first year YES has attended the Health & Wellness Fest. Fernando Hurtado, a member of the COMHPS division, explained that it “is a good opportunity because it gives everybody a way to bolster everybody’s mental health outreach.”
Other groups present at the event included Redefine Fitness, Stony Brook University Heart Institute, New York Blood Center, Port Jefferson Free Library, Countryside Animal Hospital and more.
Port Jefferson Village trustees meeting. File photo
By Lynn Hallarman
During the April 10 Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees workgroup meeting, Treasurer Stephen Gaffga presented the modified tentative budget for fiscal year 2024-25, highlighting the steps the new administration is taking to stay within the New York State 2% tax cap.
Gaffga divided the presentation into four sections:
• Overview of operational challenges and strategic initiatives
• Breakdown of the village’s funding sources
• Allocation of taxpayer dollars across services and obligations
• Explanation of the impact on resident taxes.
Operational challenges and strategic initiatives
Gaffga provided a detailed breakdown of a $541,000 rise in nondiscretionary spending for fiscal year 2024-25. This increase in spending is mostly due to contractual obligations, including employee health insurance, dental insurance, retirement and workers compensation. Notably, there is a large uptick in municipal insurance costs amounting to $131,000, signifying a 50% increase over the previous year.
Another challenge area is the gradual reduction over time in taxes collected from the Long Island Power Authority under the “glide path” agreement. This year, the village saw a decrease in LIPA’s tax contribution to the property tax base by $135,990. Gaffga noted a roughly $570,000 decline in the assessed valuation of LIPA properties, reflecting their reduced worth. “That decrease has an effect on the tax rate ultimately down the road,” he said.
Gaffga indicated that the village exceeded the state tax cap eight times in the last nine years. However, he asserted that will not be the case this year.
According to him, “spending under our control” — or discretionary spending — will decrease in the 2024-25 budget “by more than $260,000.” This decrease is due mainly to eliminating the managerial parking position and redistributing those duties over several departments.
“This operational change will result in a $190,000 decrease in spending, which will be passed on to the taxpayer,” he said.
Gaffga reported that the “deep dive” into the capital fund audit by specialized CPA firm PKF O’Connor Davies of Hauppauge continues. “They’re getting far along in that process. By the end of the fiscal year, we’ll have some idea of the results of that deep dive,” he said.
The treasurer stressed, “It is important that any changes made to this budget are made by the board and they’re done in full view of the public so that everybody understands that the board controls this budget.”
Funding sources
Property taxes account for 60% of the total revenues collected for the village’s general fund, which supports the operational aspects of the village’s budget. Other significant funding comes from managed parking, tax agreements with utilities and recreation fees.
Expenses
Employee benefits are the most significant expenditure at 23%, or $2.6 million, of the general fund. General governmental support, which includes funding the treasurer’s office, attorney support, the clerk’s office and the justice court, amounts to roughly $2.4 million.
Other village services funded by the general fund include public safety — fire marshals, building inspectors and code enforcement; culture, parks and recreation, including the Village Center programs; transportation, including sidewalk repaving; and home community services such as the building and planning department and street cleaning.
“The large majority of our spending [nondiscretionary] we do not have control over,” Gaffga said. There is a total village spending increase of 5%.
Tax impacts
The general fund appropriations in the modified tentative 2024-25 budget are projected at $11,458,475 ($11,371,826), an increase of 0.76%. In addition, the Port Jefferson Country Club budget is shown at $3,550,000 ($2,904,882), an increase of 22.21% that is paid for by raising dues and fees according to Gaffga.
Total amount of taxes levied by the village for the fiscal year are shown at roughly $6.8 million, about a 2% increase from last year. “New York State establishes the 2% tax cap to ensure local governments don’t grow their tax base beyond what is necessary. The village is coming under what the New York State allows,” Gaffga confirmed.
Residential individual taxpayers could see a tax increase of $1.45 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Residents can view the modified tentative budget on the village website. Public comments are open until 5 p.m. April 20. Comments should be directed to Sylvia Pirillo, the village clerk, at [email protected].
The Board of Trustees will meet again on Wednesday, April 24, at 6 p.m.
Further destruction of terracing and plantings on the East Beach bluff after recent rainstorms. Photo by Lynn Hallarman
Recent setbacks in East Beach bluff stabilization project have officials and residents on edge
By Lynn Hallarman
East Beach is a village-owned strip of sandy shoreline situated between the northern front of the Long Island Sound and the base — or toe — of a steeply set bluff, roughly 100 feet high.
A jetty opens into Mount Sinai Harbor eastward of the bluff. To the west, the shore stretches past a series of private properties, then past the village of Belle Terre, and finally curves inward, reconfiguring as Port Jefferson Harbor.
For decades, the village-owned Port Jefferson Country Club, perched near the crest of the bluff, was invisible to beachgoers below, shielded by a thick tangle of greenery clinging to the bluff’s north front.
But in recent years, a series of intense rainstorms, combined with sea rise and pressures from human-made alterations in the landscape above the bluff, have set in motion deforestation and scouring, denuding the bluff of vegetation and accelerating erosion in the direction of the country club’s foundation. The club has become precariously close to the bluff’s edge. Without a plan, there was no doubt it would slide down the bluff onto the shoreline below within a few years.
To make matters worse, the bluff stabilization project, whose aim is to stabilize the position of the club, has been beset with complications in the wake of a series of recent storms unraveling costly work completed just last summer as part of Phase I of the project.
As communities across Long Island are confronting relentless coastal erosion, TBR News Media focuses on the obstacles facing the bluff stabilization project at East Beach, exploring the complexities, costs and alternative solutions to rescuing the country club.
The big picture
Bluffs change naturally over time, feeding sand to the beach and replenishing the shoreline. They respond to the force of winds, waves and tides, creating new states of equilibrium with the beach below and the landscapes above. The Long Island shoreline has been reshaping for thousands of years, sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes in dramatic fits of landslip — that is, chunks of shoreline abruptly falling into the sea.
East Beach and its bluff are inseparable from the adjacent coastline — they move as the coastline moves. When humans make changes in the shorelines by adding bulkheads, jetties and other rigid structures, the effects resonate laterally, affecting the movement of sand and ocean from beach to beach along the shoreline.
“Port Jefferson’s experience with bluff restoration is a microcosm of what has been happening all over Long Island,” said Chuck Hamilton, a marine biologist and former regional natural resource supervisor for the state Department of Environmental Conservation for some 33 years.
“For a long time, farmers on Long Island had their farms right on top of the bluff, and shoreline erosion happened naturally,” he said. But now those same areas are being subdivided and developed, adding weight and impermeable surfaces abutting the shoreline. “And guess what? Now we need to stabilize.”
For decades, Port Jefferson Country Club was invisible to the beachgoers, shielded by a thick tangle of greenery clinging to the bluff. Undated photo courtesy Port Jeff historian Chris Ryon
The project
When Port Jefferson’s mayor, Lauren Sheprow, took office in July 2023, the bluff stabilization project was already in motion. Sheprow, a former public relations professional, had campaigned on a platform of two core values: financial transparency and safeguarding of village assets. However, the realities of rescuing the country club — purchased in 1978 when her father, Harold Sheprow, was village mayor — while keeping project costs under control have proven to be complex and demanding.
Most of Phase I of the project happened before the current mayor took office. This work included the installation of a 454-foot rigid wall at the base, terracing and native grass plantings on the bluff face. With Phase II now under her purview, Sheprow believes it is her responsibility to see the project to completion: the installation of a wall system along the bluff’s crest, directly seaward of the imperiled country club.
“I swore to protect and preserve the property owned by the Village of Port Jefferson, and therefore the residents. Preserving and protecting is not ignoring an erosion issue,” the mayor said.
Phase I, costing approximately $5 million, relied on local taxpayer dollars financed through a bond repayable over time. Phase II, estimated at $4.8 million, will be financed mostly by federal taxpayer dollars by a FEMA grant of $3.75 million.
Financing the endeavor has been rife with holdups and stymied by a six-year-long permitting process. It has been almost a year since Phase I was completed. Final signoffs related to the FEMA funding for Phase II are still pending, preventing the village from seeking bids for construction of the upper wall. However, the village treasurer, Stephen Gaffga, said he hopes to see the signoffs come through this month.
By many accounts, questions about the project’s funding have rankled residents for years. The prevailing sentiment is that the village pushed through a $10 million bond for the stabilization project (phases I and II combined) without a community vote through a bond resolution.
“When I am asked about my position about the bluff restoration, I never saw the arguments on all sides of the project flushed out,” said Ana Hozyainova, president of Port Jefferson Civic Association. “Village officials took the position from the beginning that the building must be saved, no matter what. That imperative has limited the discussions about options.”
Complications
The uncertainty surrounding the cost and timing of needed repairs because of winter storm damage to the bluff faces further complications in Phase II. “Negotiations are ongoing” between the village and the contractor about who is responsible for absorbing these additional expenses, Gaffga said.
Drainage issues at the bluff’s crest are also hampering progress, and likely contributed to the recent collapse of the newly-installed terracing along the western part of the bluff, below the tennis courts. “There are huge puddles sitting at the crest, after heavy [recent] rainstorms,” Sheprow said. The strategy and cost related to addressing the drainage issues have not yet been determined, she added.
Although the project was divided into two phases because of funding constraints, “its ultimate success,” according to Laura Schwanof, senior ecologist at GEI Consultants of Huntington Station, “hinges on both walls working together to curtail erosion and prevent the club slipping down the slope.”
GEI has been involved with village erosion mitigation projects since 2009. The two-wall system for the bluff stabilization was their design. “The problem with this project is protection number two — the upper wall — has not been installed,” Schwanof said. When asked how long the wall system might hold up, she couldn’t say.
“What does happen, and has been seen across the Northeast, is that as we get more frequent storms, higher wave energy, higher rainfall events, rigid wall structures may work in the short term. But if you look 50 years down the road, they may not be as effective,” she said.
“Hard erosion protection structures such as revetments or bulkheads can be costly, only partially effective over time and may even deflect wave energy onto adjacent properties.” Jeff Wernick, a DEC representative, wrote in an email.The DEC, he said, permitted the East Beach project based solely on “the immediate threat to significant infrastructure.”
Completion of Phase I in spring 2023, before winter storms unravel work on the bluff face. Photo from the PJ Village website
Retreat?
When Steve Englebright, 5th District county legislator (D-Setauket) and geologist, was asked about the stabilization project, he started with a lesson about glacial formations dating back 17,000 years. Englebright scrutinized photographs of the bluff during an interview with TBR News conducted after the recent storms.
“When the bluff, which is partially made of clay, is overweighted it behaves like squeezed toothpaste,” he said. “You can see toothpaste-like extrusions on the beach.”
Missing from the conversation, according to Englebright, is a reckoning of what is happening along the entire Long Island coast. “People don’t understand the overall dynamics,” he said. “That’s why I’m trying to give you the big picture — that the entire North Shore is unstable.”
“Trying to defend a single property is human folly,” he added. “You can buy some time, but how much are we paying? I don’t believe it’s realistic because you can’t stop the overall dynamic. The village should celebrate the fact that they have the ability to retreat and use that ability. Right? The bind is if you don’t have land, but they have the land. Strategically retreat, rebuild the building.”
Stan Loucks, a village trustee and a former country club liaison, was asked to put together a retreat plan by former Mayor Margot Garant — confirmed by her to TBR News. “I did a plan A — proceed with the restoration project — or plan B, retreat —about three years ago,” Loucks said. “I got prices for the demolition of the country club, moving the tennis courts and an architectural rendering of a new club further inland.”
“The drawings had a huge deck on this side overlooking the Sound, and the huge deck on this side overlooking the golf course. I would have loved to take that plan to the end,” he added.
Loucks’s retreat plan was never vetted publicly. Sheprow told TBR she never saw a retreat plan.
Loucks remembers when tennis court No. 5 went in a landslide a few years ago. “It was massive and happened overnight,” he said. “And the slide took the gazebo, too.”
The Port Jefferson Civic Association meets inside the Port Jefferson Free Library on April 8. Photo by Samantha Rutt
By Samantha Rutt
At the Monday, April 8, Port Jefferson civic meeting, residents congregated to tackle one of the community’s most pressing issues: the fate of the Port Jefferson power plant. As the world pivots toward renewable energy and sustainable practices, the discussion revolved around embracing new energy sources while addressing the environmental and financial concerns associated with the current plant.
Xena Ugrinsky, a member of the Village of Port Jefferson Budget and Finance Committee, urged the need for a collective community conversation stating, “Everything is in motion. All we can do is ensure that we’re a part of the conversation and do our best to guide them to the right decisions.”
The conversation highlighted two essential work streams: Exploring new energy possibilities and navigating the political landscape in order to best incorporate the voice of the civic and community more broadly. Residents recognized the political sensitivity surrounding the issue and emphasized the importance of engaging local leaders to facilitate meaningful dialogue and action.
Ugrinsky and other affiliates have organized a committee to gather thoughts, concerns and invite further conversation on this issue.
“This is kind of a second run at this problem,” Ugrinsky remarked about the formation of the committee. “We’re going to do a bunch of research and we’re going to engage all the stakeholders. We’re not solutioning — we’re trying to gather the data, create a common conversation about what’s going to happen to the power plant and ensure that Port Jeff village has a voice in that conversation.”
“We’ve got the right people on board and we’re gathering more people. If you know of anybody who has either the background or the willingness to roll up their sleeves and participate let me know and we’ll get them engaged,” Ugrinsky said of the committee. “Our charter is to explore forward-looking and innovative possibilities for the future of the power plant, be a catalyst for positive change, while fostering a transparent and inclusive decision-making process.”
During the previous civic meeting, on March 11, Bob Nicols, a resident, shed light on the financial implications, emphasizing the need for strategic decision-making. With potential tax increases looming, residents expressed concerns about the economic impact on the community and the desirability of living in Port Jefferson.
As discussions delved deeper, the focus shifted toward finding productive solutions that align with the community’s values. In conversation, residents explored the possibility of repurposing the existing infrastructure to support new energy endeavors, such as hydrogen or battery storage, thereby maintaining the plant’s value to the community.
The urgency of the matter was brought to light by the recognition that delaying action could lead to missed opportunities and increased financial burdens. As Ugrinsky remarked, “If we don’t do this now, 20 years from now, tons of places will have done it, and we’ll think, ‘You should have done something about that when you had the opportunity.’”
The meeting also served as a platform to address broader community concerns, such as waste collection costs and upcoming events like the village’s first Arbor Day celebration.
The Arbor Day event will take place on Wednesday, April 24, at 5 p.m. in the parking lot behind Old Fields, Billie’s and The Pie where county Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R) will hold ceremonial plantings of two trees.
Looking ahead, the path forward for Port Jefferson’s power plant remains uncertain, but the commitment to engagement and collaboration remains. At the next meeting, the civic plans to invite candidates for the Port Jefferson school board.
“The next meeting will be May 13 and we hope that we will be able to invite the school board candidates to come and present their platforms, and have a discussion about their vision for their role,” said civic President Ana Hozyainova.
Port Jefferson resident Xena Ugrinsky has announced her bid for the village board of trustees.
Ugrinsky served as the head of financial reporting, budgeting and planning at Young & Rubicam, a New York advertising agency/public relations firm. After becoming involved in the software and technology fields, she worked with clients in the utility industry. She moved into management consulting with national companies including Arizona Power, PG&E, Con Edison and National Grid.
She described her background in a letter to The Port Times Record editor on June 29 last year: “The proudest day of my life was when my parents and I took the oath to become citizens of the United States. I was 8 years old. As a Russian emigrant, my father applied for and received a Tolstoy grant, which sponsored our family’s journey to America. They arrived on these shores with a baby, a box of books and dreams for a brighter future.”
In an interview, Ugrinsky, who currently sits on the village’s Budget and Finance Committee, said that she was running for trustee because “I’ve reached a point in my career where I want to give back to the community I live in.”
One of her major issues is figuring out the future of the Port Jefferson power plant.
“My goal was to figure out a way that I could help the village be involved in the broader conversation, and I believe we have a moment in time where we have the opportunity to be in the forefront of what is happening in energy,” said Ugrinsky, who also sits on the village’s Power Plant Working Group. She suggested the plant could be used to start producing “green hydrogen.”
Ugrinsky said that while she may not have the solution for how to handle the power plant’s future, she is trying to “create a collective conversation among all of the stakeholders so that Port Jeff has a voice, has visibility into what’s happening and, in a best case scenario, can become a beacon to the rest of the United States for innovative power.”
“Let’s collectively figure out what we need to build so that Port Jefferson has a future with this power plant,” she said.
Ugrinsky’s other key issues include fiscal responsibility and transparency. She believes that Mayor Lauren Sheprow has increased transparency, including establishing an ethics board, along with other volunteer committees.
The election for the trustees is on Tuesday, June 18.
Prev
