Brookhaven's fire marshal shows what could happen if a tree isn't properly taken care of. Photo by Kyle Barr
The Village of Port Jefferson signed an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Brookhaven to ensure that if the village is in need of fire marshal services, the town’s marshal can step in instead.
Mayor Margot Garant mentioned there was an issue the weekend of Dec. 5 with needing immediate inspections from the fire marshal, in this case an inspection for the new Port Jeff Lobster House location.
“We had a shortage of staff this past weekend, which was bad timing with important inspections needed from the fire marshal,” Garant said.
Village Attorney Brian Egan said the language would allow the town fire marshals to step in when their own is shorthanded or short scheduled, effectively cross designating them as village fire marshal under village code.
Egan added that the town did not ask for a reciprocal agreement with village fire marshals designated for work within the wider Brookhaven town.
“That would never realistically occur they’re so small we’re so big — they have no jurisdiction inside village without board approval,” he said.
The Suffolk Plaza shopping center that once housed a Waldbaum’s in South Setauket sits half empty, a far cry from where it was just a decade ago. Photo by Kyle Barr
The Town of Brookhaven has proposed a new zoning that officials said could revitalize vacant or underutilized shopping centers or other structures throughout the town.
At their Dec. 3 meeting, the town voted unanimously to adopt a new floating zoning code called Commercial Redevelopment District, which would allow developers to apply for permission to redevelop aging property into a combination of retail and apartment space.
The old section of the Mt. Sinai Shopping Center that housed the King Kullen has sat empty for months, and is just one of several empty former big box stores on the North Shore. Photo by Kyle Barr
“What we’re looking to do is to stimulate the revitalization of abandoned vacant and underutilized commercial shopping centers, bowling alleys and health clubs,” said town Planning Commissioner Beth Reilly.
She added that this new zoning will “encourage flexibility in sight and architectural design, encourage redevelopment that blends residential, commercial, cultural and institutional uses, and encourage redevelopment that’s walkable, affordable, accessible and distinctive in the town.”
Site requirements would be a 5-acre minimum for such commercial centers and sites that have been previously used but then demolished. It permits uses for all zonings except such things as heavy industrial and auto uses. There would be no setbacks for nonresidential uses, but a 25-foot minimum setback for residential use and 50-foot maximum height.
The special zoning is meant to be kept free of big-box stores and is restricted to anything less than 40,000 square feet of space for commercial properties. Also, the zoning incentivizes certain kinds of development through allowing for increases in density, such as being near the Long Island Rail Road or if a business owneruses green technology.
Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) restated that Long Island does not need new development “as much as we need to develop what we have that has fallen into disrepair.”
The proposal did receive a letter of support from the Port Jefferson Station hub study committee. President of the PJS/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer Dzvonar, said she was in support, and that she thinks it will create downtown-type areas in places that might not have that sort of downtown already.
“It will encourage commercial property owners to update and revitalize their establishments, which will entice additional local businesses … instead of leaving their locations vacant to become blighted,” she said.
Mitch Pally, a Stony Brook resident and CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, said the new zoning should benefit developers.
“Long Islanders no longer have large tracts of land,” he said. “We must now redevelop — reuse what we already used, whether it’s been a good way or a bad way. The ability to know from the code what you can do, and what you’re going to be able to get, allows for better financing opportunities.”
The Town Board left the issue open for comment until Dec. 17. The Three Village Civic Association sent the town a letter Dec. 12 signed by the civic’s land use chair, Herb Mones, with some critiques of the proposed law, saying the language of what was considered vacant or underutilized was unclear, and that the CRD will incentivize some property owners to neglect their structures to get access to the new “generous terms afforded by the new zoning.”
“We must now redevelop — reuse what we already used, whether it’s been a good way or a bad way.”
— Mitch Pally
The letter also criticized the height allowance under the code, calling it “too high for most hamlets” in the town. The letter also shared the civic’s anxieties of increased density.
“Considering that there were only two speakers at the public hearing on Dec 3, both representing commercial interests, and no community leaders or members of the civic community participating on such an important proposal, we believe that this new zoning legislation to create a new zoning code for commercial property in the Town of Brookhaven would benefit from more input of Brookhaven’s civic community,” Mones wrote in his letter.
The change also repeals the town’s previous Blight to Light code. That code was passed in 2010 under previous Supervisor Mark Lesko (D), which in a similar vein to the current code was designed to remediate blighted properties by incentivizing development through a scoring system. Based on how a developer scored, they could receive incentives such as building permit refunds and an expedited review process.
Officials said that system had issues, and that the code had only been used twice, once in a Coram redevelopment project, and again with Jefferson Meadows, a project designed for Port Jefferson Station that was never built. That planned 96-apartment building met opposition from residents almost a decade ago. The Port Times Record reported at the time that residents disapproved of Blight to Light’s self-scoring system and that such projects did not conform to the Port Jefferson Station hamlet study.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station). “Port Jeff Station has a number of abandoned vacant and underutilized properties, and the Blight to Light code was not necessarily addressing that, so we’re hoping that this code can now create a different mechanism to address these types of properties.”
Unlike Blight to Light, there is not a special permit, but applicants would have to come to the Town Board to seek approval. There is also a time limit on these approvals, and they are taken away if the developer does not make good on trying to build.
“This puts the power in the Town Board level,” Reilly said.
The town is holding its next meeting Dec. 17 where a follow-up public hearing is scheduled.
Chamber President Jennifer Dzvonar, left, and Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, right, stand alongside Suffolk Legislator Kara Hahn and family. Photo by Kyle Barr
By Joan Nickeson
I am shining the local spotlight on Bass Electric and more importantly, its President and CEO, Jennifer Dzvonar. The hardest working community activist in Port Jefferson Station is the person we know as the can-do president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce. Under Jennifer’s guidance the PJS/T Chamber represents the businesses in our community. Bass Electric puts in an inordinate amount of time and treasure maintaining the antique train car at the Train Car Park. Last year the plumbing pipes froze and Jennifer’s crew was there on the double. Additionally, the door locks, the electric needs, the critter removal and ongoing incidentals are all reviewed, repaired or replaced by Bass Electric. The Train Car would not be in as good condition as it is, were it not for Jennifer.
She is a dynamo. We chatted over a hard cider recently at Po Boy Brewery in Port Jefferson Station. Jennifer does so much but she is humble. She is an activist of sorts, constantly advocating on behalf of not only the chamber members, but for families, students and job seekers in our district. She devises virtual and social gatherings connecting folks to business, and putting people in touch with each other. From Family Fun Days, to Summer Concerts, BMX demonstrations, school aged dance troops, musicians, and singers, to menorah and tree lighting gatherings at the Train Car Park, to outreach through her work on the Town Quality of Life Task force, trying to get help for the homeless, Jen doesn’t quit.
Sincerity, a strong work ethic and patience. These tools enable her to motivate all strata of our social and political networks to successfully promote main street, side street, and home-based businesses. This extends to chamber of commerce support of Port Jefferson Station’s exceptional nonprofits like Sensory Solutions and The Social Brain and scouts. She is eloquent, she is woke and works day in and day out to benefit others.
Who is the leader of Suffolk County Girl Scout Troop #3067. That’s Jennifer. She is also a member of our school district PTA; she served as secretary and often chaired the committee for Mother’s Day Plant Sales and Family Fun Nights. If you’ve ever “chaired” a PTA committee, suffice to say is usually a committee of one.
Have you heard of ‘LeTip’ business network support organization? Jennifer serves as president of the LeTip Suffolk North Shore chapter. She is a member of Decision Women and the Rotary. These are business and philanthropic organizations where she has served on various fundraising, food collection and holiday gift programs.
In her capacity on board of the Brookhaven Town Business Recovery Task Force, she advocated for restaurant COVID relief, encouraging the use of square footage to allow for increased customer capacity. She also supported extending outdoor dining permits. And she is quick to give thanks and show her appreciation.
The Train Car would not be in as good condition as it is, were it not for Jennifer. Contact for Bass Electric is 631-807-4438.
“It is important to have an independent perspective and do everything you can to remain fair,” Jen said while we were discussing the December Drive Through Letter to Santa event, and the Harvest Basket fundraiser, which will allow the chamber to add dozens of daffodil bulbs to the Train Car Park. I could easily go on about Jennifer Dzvonar, but I’ll leave it here with a heartfelt, Thank You.
Joan Nickeson is an active member of the PJS/Terryville community and community liaison to the PJS/T Chamber of Commerce.
Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright and her aide Jenn Martin were at Saturday’s PJS/T Chamber Santa event handing out hot chocolate packets and hand sanitizer. Photo by Kyle Barr
Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) could be seen as the maverick of the Town Board. Of the five other councilmembers and the supervisor, she is the only Democrat. Beyond that, she was the first Black person elected to the board in the town’s history.
And by next year, Cartright will move on to the New York State Supreme Court. In a Zoom interview with TBR News Media, the councilwoman said that while she will try to remain involved in the community, it will no longer be in an official capacity.
“It has really given me a different perspective on what governance of a municipality truly means.”
— Valerie Cartright
Cartright said she was tapped to run for Supreme Court justice this year after the results of the state Senate District 1 primary. After she was asked, she took some time to think about the move.
“It was clear to me that, you know, based on all of my experience as an attorney — I’ve been a civil rights attorney for 17 years or so now — and I’ve been fighting for fairness and equity within our judicial system during that time,” she said. “Those have always been paramount concerns for me. So it was a natural progression to some degree.”
Based on all counted ballots, Cartright received the most votes of all Suffolk supreme court candidates, though voters did have little choice to which justices were on the ballot due to cross party endorsements. Justices serve for 14-year terms, and though she still intends to live in Port Jefferson Station, by the nature of her office, she will have little to no involvement in politics. Instead, she said her focus on the bench will be toward justice within the legal system.
“When you’re in court, it’s the last-mile marker of the justice system — you’ve tried everything else,” she said. “I’ve found some of the judges that I’ve sat before or have come before that they were not listening to both sides of the argument — they were not giving people their day in court as I would have liked.”
It’s been an interesting seven years on the Town Board, ones which included initiatives to revitalize Port Jefferson Station and combat homelessness in the area, environmental issues and water-quality issues with local bays and harbors, and the ever-present contest between developers and those looking to preserve land. And then 2020 came along with all the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the spark of protests that ran all across the country plus the backlash to those protests. Council District 1 has been home to a multitude of rallies and protests from both sides.
Cartright said the key has been to listen and become intimate with the various local groups in her area. CD 1 is home to a diverse population in areas like Port Jefferson Station and Terryville, as well as the more opulent areas on the North Shore. It maintains several unique historic areas in Setauket and Stony Brook, various civic groups and chambers of commerce. It also contains four independent incorporated villages, all with their own small forms of government.
Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, right. File photo by Elana Glowatz
The varying levels of municipal and civic groups make it a challenge for anybody looking to get their feet wet in governing, but Cartright called it “a pleasure” getting to know all the different organizations and governing bodies. Being able to see things from both a macro and micro level, one thing she looked toward was taking small ideas and introducing them to the town on a wider basis.
“It has really given me a different perspective on what governance of a municipality truly means,” she said.
As the lone Democrat on the board, Cartright has had no other option than work with her Republican counterparts. While she said that the board has frequently worked together despite politics, Cartright has often enough been a lone voice of dissent on several issues. Just recently, at a December Town Board meeting, she and Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) went back and forth over plans to add parking meters at several town parks and beaches. The board passed that impending change, where Cartright also voted “yes.”
The upcoming Supreme Court justice said it has long been an effort to increase transparency. Such efforts include a community connection campaign, where she pulls information relevant to the district and sends it in an email blast to community members. She also lauded her roundtable discussions she’s had with civic and chamber leaders, as well as the town planning and law departments, as well as her own office to discuss pending applications for new development.
“I know there are times when I don’t vote the way that some of my community wants me to vote, but all of those votes, all those decisions that I make, are informed decisions,” she said. “And they’re done based on all of the community input that I can receive.”
It is something she hopes the next person to represent CD1 will continue. She said the three biggest issues coming up for whomever takes over the seat are going to maintain diversity representation so that “the board has a diverse body representing the community itself, the town itself.”
The second big issue would be the landfill, which the town plans to close by 2024. Capping the landfill will represent a big blow to town finances and will likely mean a new kind of waste crisis for the entirety of Long Island. The other aspect to that is the environmental impact, as the town is now considering putting in a new ashfill site at the landfill, which some groups have opposed. Whoever takes over her seat, she said, will need to consider all sides and help build consensus.
“We need to push outside of what is customary, so that we can actually help those that are being impacted by these things like food insecurity and homelessness.”
— Valerie Cartright
The third issue, she said, is going to be quality of life. Especially because of the pandemic, more and more people are experiencing food insecurity. Lines at food pantries and soup kitchens are increasing, which are only exacerbated by an ongoing homelessness crisis in the area.
“I think that we need to do more and we need to be creative,” she said. “And we need to push outside of what is customary, so that we can actually help those that are being impacted by these things like food insecurity and homelessness.”
What happens now, she said, is a transition phase for her office. She is developing a comprehensive list of what’s going on with her staff, while bringing in all the local civic, chamber and governing groups to compile that info on all large projects.
“What is going to happen is when the new elected official steps into office, there’s going to be community organizations and individuals that are already going to be armed with what needs to move forward — so the community will be able to hold [the new councilperson] accountable as to some of these initiatives,” she said.
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Jeff Kito
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Chamber President Jennifer Dzvonar, left, and Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, right, stand alongside Suffolk Legislator Kara Hahn and family. Photo by Kyle Barr
Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright and other helpers hand out hand sanitizer to passing cars Dec. 5. Photo by Kyle Barr
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Kyle Barr
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Kyle Barr
People also donated toys and food for the town’s INTERFACE program and St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church, repsectively. Photo by Kyle Barr
Children dropped off letters to santa Dec. 5 at the PJS/T Chamber's drive-thru Santa event. Photo by Kyle Barr
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Kyle Barr
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Kyle Barr
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Jeff Kito
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Jeff Kito
Santa leaves some lasting impressions at the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber's drive-thru Santa event Dec. 5. Photo by Kyle Barr
It might have been as cold as the North Pole last Saturday, but local chamber and civic volunteers still managed to put on a night full of true holiday spirit.
Over 100 cars packed tight with families and children circled around the parking lot to the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber-owned train car Dec. 5 for a magical night of a visit to Santa, where kids also had the opportunity to their present wishlists to the big man in red, all postmarked for the North Pole.
Chamber members and other community volunteers struggled in the cold rain throughout the day to put together the nighttime event, but both leaders and volunteers said on seeing the expression on childrens’ faces, the effort was well worth it.
The event also contained both a food and toy drive. Multiple bags stuffed with food were donated to St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church’s food pantry, while a large box full of toys was given to the Town of Brookhaven INTERFACE program.
Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) announced the town has issued a request for proposal for a natural gas supplier for the town’s new Community Choice Aggregation program, an energy program that allows local governments to buy electricity and gas on behalf of its residents.
Brookhaven officials outlined such a program to the town board back in October, 2019. CCA is a municipal energy procurement model that replaces the utility as the default supplier for virtually all homes and small businesses with your jurisdiction. The utility remains responsible for energy delivery and billing. By pooling demand, communities build clout necessary to negotiate lower rates with private suppliers and are able to choose cleaner energy. CCA allows for the bulk purchasing of electricity and/or gas and, if all goes according to plan, provides the ability to obtain more competitive rates from energy suppliers, ultimately saving money for residents and commercial properties.
“Community Choice Aggregation could result in cheaper, cleaner energy use for all of our residents and businesses in Brookhaven and would give them the opportunity to seek an alternative utility provider for the first time,” Romaine said in a release.“Issuing this RFP for a natural gas provider brings us one step closer to putting in place the first CCA on Long Island.”
After receiving bids for potential CCA electrical/gas rates, officials said the town will examine if there is a cost savings benefit to residents and small businesses and choose whether to sign the contract to begin CCA.If approved, residents and businesses currently served by the local utility company do not need to do anything in order to be included within the CCA — they will automatically be included, unless they affirmatively opt-out. There is no contract for the resident or small business to sign or enter into. If a resident or business wishes to leave the CCA program, they may terminate at any time with no early termination or exit fee. No taxpayer or public funding is used to run a CCA Program.
The CCA program was created by the New York State Public Service Commission in April 2016. Westchester was the first New York county, through the Sustainable Westchester consortium, to launch the CCA program under Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
Other municipalities on Long Island that are in the process of establishing CCA programs include Hempstead, Southampton, and East Hampton Towns. More than 80 municipalities across New York State have enacted legislation to begin the process to adopt CCA.
Contractors recently finished reconstruction of the Mount Sinai Jetty, and now Suffolk County plans to dredge the inlet, giving all sand to Port Jefferson. Photo by Kyle Barr
It’s finally happening.
Suffolk County now has all it needs to start dredging the mouth of Mount Sinai Harbor between the two newly reconstructed jetties. It is the last piece of the puzzle before the decade-long, multimillion dollar project to repair the beleaguered inlet can be finalized.
Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) asked for a drum roll over Zoom at the online town meeting Nov. 19, saying she is finally able to exhale as the dredging should mean the finale to an extended saga. The harbor dredging will impact how well the Mount Sinai Harbor flushes, which is a big boon to the marine life inside, including the town’s oysters and clams at its mariculture facility.
“It’s hard to fight Mother Nature,” she said. “Frankly, I’m just happy that
it’s over.”
The town is permitting Suffolk County to complete the dredging with a total cost of $2 million. Because an increased amount of sand will be dredged than originally anticipated, the cost jumped by an additional $1 million compared to before.
“Sand is very valuable,” the councilwoman said.
The project is planned to go from December through January, according to Bonner.
Though the councilwoman said the town was originally set to receive half the dredged sand, a recent decision by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has mandated all the sand will be going to the Village of Port Jefferson to replenish its East Beach. Village Clerk Barbara Sakovich said that the amount of sand will be close to 80,000 cubic yards, provided by the county. In addition, the village is also set to receive hundreds of cubic yards a week from the Stony Brook dredging project, which has already started and is estimated to take five weeks.
Bonner expressed some disappointment that the dredging will not provide some additional sand on the marina side of the Cedar Beach peninsula.
“We’re resourceful, we’ll figure something out,” the councilwoman said, adding she wanted to thank state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) who managed to give the town a $3 million grant toward the jetty reconstruction.
The Village of Port Jefferson has long said much of the sand that ended up on the bottom of the inlet was from East Beach, which slipped through the broken jetty. Satellite images from the 1990s until now show a dramatic decrease of beachfront lost to storms and erosion over time.
“The dredging is great news,” PJ village Mayor Margot Garant said. “I can’t confirm it replaces all the sand [East Beach has lost], but it will certainly be a substantial renourishment.”
The jetty project was finally completed in May this year after several months of construction and many years of planning. For close to a decade, both the east and west jetty in Mount Sinai have been largely submerged at high tide, with both water and sand leaking through breaks in the stones and settling into the mouth of Mount Sinai Harbor. Contractors were awarded an $8.3 million agreement in total to reconstruct both jetties.
From left, Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner, Suffolk Legislator Sarah Anker and Town Supervisor Ed Romaine join together Nov. 23 announcing the purchase of property for open space in Mount Sinai. Photo by Kyle Barr
Town of Brookhaven and Suffolk County officials are combining efforts and funds to protect 15 acres of wooded property in Mount Sinai. The land combines with previous purchases to save a total of nearly 60 acres of land from any potential development now or in the future.
The $1,653,300, 15 acres purchase, which was formerly owned by the Little Portion Friary in Mount Sinai, is in addition to 44.3 acres that had been acquired by both parties in 2014. The purchase was made based on a county bill passed in 2017.
“My hope is that purchasing this parcel will help protect the environmental integrity of the area and provide our community residents with another county park to visit and enjoy the natural beauty of Long Island,” Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said at a Nov. 23 press conference announcing the purchase. “We’re happy to see government at different levels working together — this is how you get things done.”
The county is picking up 75%, or $1,239,975 of the cost, while the town is covering 25%, or $413,325 of the total. The money used to purchase the land was taken from accounts meant to preserve open space. Officials said the property was at risk of being bought and developed on.
Anker added that with the current pandemic, the county has seen a rise in the number of people visiting parks and adding more land will only increase residents’ options.
The now fully acquired 59.3 wooded acre lies over a groundwater aquifer and is within the watershed of the Long Island Sound national estuary, serving as a source of freshwater for the estuary system.
Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said he was also happy to partner with Suffolk in such land preservation deals, as with the combined funds they have “the financial resources to ensure this happens.” The deal also means nobody can come in to develop on the property.
“We want Brookhaven town to look like Brookhaven town, and not like Queens,” he said. “The way we do that is by saving our groundwater, preserving our open spaces and having habitats for animals — along with all the things that are important to protecting our shoreline.”
Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) said the land holds a unique significance to her family. Her husband, John Sandusky, grew up in Mount Sinai and traveled those woods as a young man.
“We’ve seen a whole lot of development,” Bonner said. “Some of it good — most of it bad … the last thing Long Island needs is another housing development and more traffic.”
The Little Portion Friary, bordering the new land purchase, was bought by Hope House Ministries back in 2015 and is now being used to help people fight addiction.
Both county and town reps touted open space purchased using joint ventures between the two municipalities, including Cordwood Landing County Park in Miller Place and Heritage Park in Mount Sinai. The county has recently purchased other parkland in the local area, including Pine Lake in Middle Island and Chandler Estate in Mount Sinai.
The next step, Anker said, is to clean up some of the trails in the newly purchased parkland.
The West Meadow Beach parking lot might soon see parking meters as part of Brookhaven’s plans to recoup $2 million in annual revenue. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Amongst the hard decisions stemming from approving its 2021 budget during the pandemic-induced economic downturn, the Town of Brookhaven has included a somewhat controversial change to how it will process parking at several town beaches and marinas.
As an offset to pandemic induced losses, the town voted unanimously Thursday, Nov. 19, to no longer have seasonal employees sitting in booths at town beaches. Instead officials are opting for a meter system, though residents who pay for a town parking sticker will be able to park freely.
The 2021 town budget was also approved Nov. 19 without discussion from the board.
The biggest increases to the $307 million budget are in the form of a $2.34 million general fund property tax increase. This is being offset slightly by highway taxes, leading to an annual tax increase of a little under $9 for the average homeowner. It also remains under the 1.56% New York State tax levy cap. Garbage pickup will be set at $1 a day for a single-family home, or $365 a year.
In addition to the 2021 budget, the board opted to amend the current year’s capital budget to the tune of $900,000 for the new parking system. The town voted to issue new bonds worth $1 million in total to pay to acquire and install the new parking meters.
Meters are expected to be placed at the Holtsville Park, Sandspit Marina in Patchogue, Port Jeff Marina, Corey Beach in Blue Point, West Meadow Beach and Shoreham Beach. Anyone with a parking sticker will not have to pay into the meters. The meters, which aesthetically appear like those in Port Jeff village, are going to be active between May 1 and Oct. 15.
The town is discussing a $25 parking sticker fee per vehicle with a reduced price for additional vehicles in the household. Reduced fees for seniors and veterans parking stickers will still be available.
Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said the town is paying millions of dollars for its part-time workers at these parks and beaches to monitor people coming in. Currently people without parking stickers pay $5 for the day at these beaches, but under the new system will only need to pay for the time spent at 50 cents an hour.
Officials said the new meters will work like they do in places like Port Jefferson, though the town did not discuss what the hourly rates will be.
During the afternoon meeting, Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) called for discussion on the parking issue which created a few tense moments between the councilwoman and supervisor. Cartright said she was given very little time to present information about the parking system to her constituents, though she did receive some comments and questions from community members that did require some kind of presentation about the proposal.
“This discussion of having a parking meter system put in place has been a point of discussion over the past few years,” Cartright said. “Every time it’s been brought up, I’ve had my community members … [registering] objections to having parking meters there.”
Cartright did vote “yes” for the parking change, later citing in a letter to constituents that the added revenue from such a parking system will help the town as COVID has played havoc with its finances.
“It is our understanding from Parks Commissioner [Edward] Morris that this system will produce approximately $2 million in revenue annually,” Cartright wrote. “It is anticipated that there will be significant savings in eliminating the need for attendants to take payments and check stickers once this project is implemented. … Additionally, the potential health benefits of no longer exchanging cash for parking fees were also part of my consideration in light of the ongoing COVID pandemic.”
Herb Mones, the land-use chairman of the Three Village Civic Association, wrote a letter on behalf of the civic to Cartright and the Town Board arguing that it is the wrong time to start changing the parking system during a pandemic, especially when more people are seeking places like West Meadow Beach for some respite.
In a phone interview, Mones argued there had been effectively no public debate about the parking change and no notice, save for the letter Cartright sent to civic groups and constituents a few days before the Nov. 19 meeting.
As a longtime resident and supporter of West Meadow Beach, he said that changing the parking system will affect the character of these parks and beaches. He added that staff manning the booths add a “ruralesque” charm to a public place, and that it also takes away the opportunity for the people at booths to screen incoming cars for things that might not be allowed at a beach or park, such as pets.
“People in attendance at the beach have been a staple of the rural or suburban ideal,” he said. “The town doesn’t respect the right for easy public access to facilities that we have paid for over generations. … For someone like me, it makes me very weary when the town makes a proposal that impacts one of the services we’ve come to understand and love.”
The Brookhaven Landfill is set to close in 2024, but while the town has put aside money towards that end, a concrete plan has yet to materialize. Photo from Google maps
Brookhaven Town is planning for a potentially long-term project that could have Islandwide impact on residents’ waste.
Advocates protested in front of the landfill Oct. 31. Photo from Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group
On Thursday, Nov. 19, the town announced it has issued a request for proposal for a regional ash processing and recycling facility. The town has two alternatives on the RFP, one that includes an ashfill component and the other a standalone ash-recycling facility without the ashfill. The site would be located just east of the current landfill site at 350 Horseblock Road in Yaphank.
Such a facility would not accept solid waste or construction debris. No full decision has technically been made on constructing any new ashfill, as the town is still awaiting the word on an environmental review.
The town has planned to close and cap the current landfill in 2024 and has been raising millions of dollars in a special fund for that date when it’s finally capped. Officials and experts have said the closing of the Island’s last landfill, combined with the potential closing of twin ashfills in the Town of Babylon, could create a garbage crisis on Long Island. The only options left for solid waste could be trucking it off Long Island, a costly proposition for towns that are likely to be suffering from pandemic-related expenses for years.
Currently, the Brookhaven landfill handles over 350,000 tons of ash annually from energy-from-waste facilities, in addition to handling 720,000 tons of solid waste. Each day 2,000 trucks transport waste off the Island.
Still, murmurs of the prospective ashfill site have led to controversy over the past year. Some residents and advocates have petitioned and publicly protested against the creation of any new place to dump ash, saying it will cause health issues for residents who live near the landfill.
On Oct. 31, residents and advocates protested in front of the landfill against such a new ashfill. Activists for the protest organizer, Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group, said the location of this new ashfill was especially concerning with more than half the residents of the surrounding community are Black or Latino, according to census data. Those residents have complained about odor and health issues, pointing to the landfill as the culprit.
The group called for a “regional solution” to the solid waste issue.
“We stand with the African American, Latinx, Indigenous, and working-class communities of North Bellport who refuse to continue bearing the brunt of the Town of Brookhaven’s fiscal mismanagement and lack of environmental planning,” said Monique Fitzgerald, a Bellport activist and leader of the landfill action group, in a release.
Still, Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) has also sought such regional efforts, though there is not much in the way of any one person or group stepping up to the plate.
At a Feb. 27 meeting of the Long Island Regional Planning Council about the impending solid waste crisis, business leaders, officials and regional leaders called for potentially finding other ways to ship trash off Long Island. Romaine suggested innovation in ways for residents to dispose of garbage rather than just burning or storing in landfills.
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