Shortly after the festivities of the Port Jefferson Fire Department Independence Day Parade, residents and visitors gathered near the front steps of Village Hall to watch the swearing in of Team Unity on July 5.
Village clerk Barbara Sakovich kicked off the oath of office by thanking the fire department for hosting the event.
“Thank you to the Port Jefferson Fire Department for always putting on a fabulous parade and incredible display of patriotism,” she said. “And of course, we thank them for their service to the Village of Port Jefferson by keeping all of us safe.”
Sakovich welcomed the three incumbents and their families to the podium, thanking them for their work “for a common good.”
Photo by Julianne Mosher
Trustee Stanley Loucks was the first up.
“Stan works tirelessly every day and is the perfectly liaison to the recreation department, as he has a passion for all things recreation, as well as to the Port Jefferson Country Club, which is our treasure here in the village,” Sakovich said. “He works around the clock for us, and he is always the first to volunteer to get the job done.”
Loucks thanked his wife, Peggy, for all of her support, and the community for allowing him to do this all again.
“It’s great to be back up here,” he said. “I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to continue to make this village better than it is now — that’s our goal. We have a lot of unfinished business to do, and I thank you again for allowing me to come back and stand here … and then after I stand here, go back to work.”
Trustee Kathianne Snaden won her second term last month due to her close work with the school district, parking committee, BID and as the commissioner of public safety.
“She listens closely to our residents and works to bridge communication and cooperation within our community,” Sakovich said.
With her husband and three daughters by her side, she was filled with gratitude to be standing at the podium.
“Thank you for the opportunity to be up here again and to serve all of you,” she said. “I often get asked, why do you do this thankless job? And to me it’s not thankless. This is the thanks. And this is why I do it — because of all of you. So, thank you for having me here yet again to serve you for two more years. It’s my honor and my pleasure.”
Photo by Julianne Mosher
Sakovich concluded the ceremony with Mayor Margot Garant, who now begins her seventh term.
“I tell her all the time that she runs a small country,” she said.
Emotionally taking the oath alongside her father and mother, former Mayor Jeanne Garant, she addressed the crowd with a smile.
Garant said she is now the longest running village mayor, officially surpassing former Mayor Harold Sheprow — who served 12 terms and sat in the crowd — while thanking her supporters for allowing her to do this once again.
“We’re family. We stick together. We work hard, and we support one another,” she said. “I want to thank my core supporters, many of who are lifelong friends, who’ve worked hard to support this administration, and who value, respect, and appreciate the work we do.”
Garant added she couldn’t do this without her team.
“We are here to work for you to protect and preserve our quality of life,” she said. “And when making a decision, we will always do our best to make sure that decisions bring us closer together in unity, and make us a stronger community.”
Sometimes there are other events that happen Down Port that require assistance.
Along with the car accidents, fires, and animal rescues, the Port Jefferson Fire Department had to get innovative last week when a 14-year-old girl accidentally got locked in a dressing room.
At approximately 1 p.m. on June 22, Suffolk County Police 6th Precinct officers responded to Kate and Hale, located at 227 Main Street, to help Giavanna Diesso, of Hauppauge, get out of an unusual situation.
Diesso’s mother, Danielle, said that while she was checking out at the counter, Giavanna was finishing inside the dressing room — which nearly a century ago was the First National Bank of Port Jefferson bank vault.
Giavanna Diesso after being saved. Photo from PJFD
When her friend, Ava, 14, left the dressing room, the group joked that they should lock Giavanna in — and her 7-year-old brother Vincent took it literally, giving the door a shove.
“The door shut, and I was terrified,” Danielle said. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get her out. I wasn’t sure of the measure they would need to go in order to get her out. I was concerned about air, concerned about her feeling safe, but she maintained such composure. It’s unbelievable.”
The teen stayed cool and collected while the fire department headed inside to assess.
“I was just wondering how long it might take before someone would come to get me out,” Giavanna said.
The department headed into the store, where her family and friends were frantically worried.
“The first arriving rig was our rescue seven, and obviously as soon as they walked in, they realized something was going on,” said third assistant chief Steve Erland.
The team assessed that Giavanna was safe inside and had plenty of oxygen. Then, they got to work.
“Once we knew she had air, we were able to step back and kind of reevaluate, and take the time, to come up with a plan,” he said.
Photo from PJFD
Through the metal door, firefighter Tom Meehan asked the girl to record her surroundings with her iPhone to see how much room they had as they planned a way out.
“She was great,” Meehan said. “She followed directions.”
Ex-chief Brennan Holmes got the air chisel off from the rescue truck to work on the 100-year-old wall. When the first hole was made, he was able to see Giavanna inside, where he was able to assess how big the next opening should be. Through the hole, they handed her a bottle of water and an N95 mask.
With some more chiseling, Holmes and Captain Christian Neubert were able to pull her out — which was caught on film and has since gone viral online.
“This is not something anybody does every day,” Homes said. “But once that first hole was through, and we were able to see her and realize everything was going to work out, it was a great feeling.”
Joined with help from the Terryville Fire Department, Erland said the whole rescue took about 90 minutes.
And considering this type of event is not something firefighters are typically trained for; they were proud of how it all ended up.
“What makes it odd or challenging is this is not something we’ve ever practiced or talked about,” Neubert said. “We’ve never talked about, like, all right … what do we do if we get a girl locked up in a dressing room?”
But with teamwork, the whole procedure went smoothly.
Holmes said the closest training they would typically get in a similar nature would be for a building collapse — so that’s why a plan was needed from the start.
“Having a plan was the big step one because we don’t normally do that,” he said. “But then when it was breaking concrete, we knew that we could do this.”
Cookies sent to the PJFD as a thank you from the Diesso family . Photo by Julianne Mosher
Danielle was happy to have her daughter out and said she will forever be grateful to the Port Jefferson Fire Department.
“First responders certainly are not given the credit and gratitude that they really deserve,” she said. “They leave their families to come across a situation. They’re not even probably 100% sure what they’re getting into so, it’s incredible.”
While the tale of Giavanna and the vault has made national headlines since her Tuesday rescue, Holmes said it was a happy ending.
“It worked out,” he said. “And that’s the best part of the whole story.”
The Port Jefferson Fire Department is always looking for volunteers. If interested, visit them on Facebook or call 631-473-8910.
An inside look at the PJ Lobster House. Photo by Julianne Mosher
What turned out to be a stressful summer has ended up working out.
James Luciano spent half his life working at the PJ Lobster House in Port Jefferson. Originally located on the corner of Main Street and North Country Road in Upper Port, the business was forced to move into the former Ocean 88 space at 134 Main St.
Luciano started working at the original location in March 2000. A friend at the time asked him to help in the kitchen.
“I was in high school at the time,” he said. “I started working in a kitchen, and then I just slowly worked my way up.”
At only 18, during his first year of college, Luciano began managing the restaurant. He said that at the time the Lobster House’s original owners — a lobsterman and his wife — didn’t have anyone who could do the day-to-day chores. That’s when he stepped up and the rest is history.
“I kind of took over at that point, and then slowly evolved it from being a fast-food fish market into a full-scale restaurant. I oversaw the whole operation,” he said.
While being a student by day, he helped change the shape of the spot. He separated the fish market and the dining room into what its layout has been known for since. He got real plates, china and alcohol — not just beer and wine. He helped expand the menu from two pages to 10.
When Luciano finished school, he decided it was time to either move on or take full charge. That’s when he officially purchased the restaurant.
“The original landlord actually gave me the loan to buy the Lobster House from the previous owner because he wanted a long-term tenant,” he said. “He gave me a 14-year lease and the loan to buy them out. Then we just expanded over the time.”
According to Luciano, that lease was up last July. For more than a year before that, he started sending the landlord letters and making phone calls to find out what the next steps were in the terms of their agreement.
Luciano said the landlord was short, and then eventually stopped answering his inquiries altogether.
“I was getting kind of nervous,” he said. “What’s going to happen? What are we going to do?”
He said he met with developers from The Gitto Group. Then he found out that they were in talks to buy the property, where his location sat, for a new planned apartment complex. The group already owns The Hills at Port Jefferson Village, across from Port Jefferson train station, and The Barnum House at the corner of Barnum Avenue and Main Street. The group is also in the middle of creating The Brookport, an apartment complex going up where the old Cappy’s Carpets building once stood.
With the cost of the property being too much for Luciano to buy back on such short notice, he and his team began scrambling to find a new home for the Lobster House. As a member of the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District, he was able to talk to the owner of the mall on Main Street who gave the idea to move into the former hibachi space in the back.
“We talked some numbers, we made a deal and it worked out very beneficial,” Luciano said. “And then we got hit with a pandemic, so then we were like, ‘Well now, what?’”
The cost to move was expensive and with capacity limits, indoor dining restrictions and PPP loan confusions, the COVID-19 crisis made the situation harder.
“It was a rollercoaster ride, for sure,” he said.
But as usual, Luciano made the best of the situation. He began the buildout of the new location throughout the summer with a skeleton staff due to COVID restrictions.
“That being said, I’ve been going 24/7 since the pandemic,” he said. “My last day off was March 23 last year, other than Christmas.”
With the help of the village, local fire department and the Town of Brookhaven, the new PJ Lobster House was able to open the first week of December 2020.
“As soon as we unlocked the door, we’ve been busy ever since,” Luciano said.
The move allowed the restaurant to have lunch specials and more dining space. He brought in a sushi chef and a big bar for quick bites and a drink.
Luciano said that at first he was angry, stressed and betrayed. But six months later, it’s all water under the bridge.
James Luciano. Photo by Julianne Mosher
“You know, like the old saying goes, you make lemonade out of lemons,” he said. “That’s pretty much what we did here, and I think having to be pushed to move was really beneficial because we really evolved into this animal.”
And while business is better than ever, new struggles ensued in light of the pandemic. Hiring a kitchen staff has become near to impossible and the state Liquor Authority often made threatening visits to Luciano’s business. Parking has been “a nightmare,” and even swayed him to purchase a parking kiosk from the village where older clientele can pay for parking without using the QR reader meters in the back lot.
“We get a huge amount of people that complain on a daily basis about the parking and how to pay for the parking,” he said.
The new kiosk, which personally costed him $2,500 to obtain, now helps visitors pay with a card rather than their phone.
But he continues to power through.
“Overall, I’m extremely happy with the location,” he said. “The clientele is much different, the relationships we’re developing with the people now is much different than what we had uptown.”
The fish market has now gained regular customers, who have started bringing their friends.
“We’ve developed that hometown restaurant the village was kind of lacking where everybody’s going to,” he said.
While Luciano spent his entire career, from teenage busboy to owner, in Port Jefferson, the Coram native and resident said he’d eventually want to settle down here, full time.
“I told the Gittos that I’m waiting for my penthouse on the top from the building that you took from me,” he joked.
Trustee Kathianne Snaden with her three daughters at the Unity Party victory party June 15. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Over the last few weeks of covering the Port Jefferson Village election, we’ve been fortunate enough to see things in person again.
Restrictions have been lifted and people are vaccinated — the world is slowly getting back to normal.
Last week, we attended the candidates’ debate at the Village Center. While sitting in the front row of the packed-out venue, we looked around at the people in the crowd.
Sitting a few seats away were trustee Kathianne Snaden’s children — three girls, ages 11, 12 and 18.
As their mother debated, answering tough and controversial questions village residents asked, they looked at her with awe. That was their mom up there, taking the initiative to try and make a difference in their community.
It was inspiring. Sure, we see strong women everywhere nowadays. There are doctors, lawyers, politicians, business owners, inventors — women do great things. But what we don’t always see is the impact this is leaving on our children. Young girls looking up to superstars who have multiple jobs — that include packing their lunches, driving them to school and doing their laundry.
And it isn’t just that trustee. Candidate Suzanne Velazquez has a daughter who’s graduating high school. That’s another young person with an idol right in her own home.
A few days later, the Unity Party held an election-result event at Saghar restaurant. Music was playing, food was being served and people danced together to celebrate another two years of the current administration.
Mayor Margot Garant’s mother, Jeanne Garant, was there. She, too, was mayor of our village years ago, and during her acceptance speech, Margot thanked — and jokingly blamed— her mom for her inspiration to become mayor. Now seven terms later, that family name is a staple in the village, and it all started with Jeanne putting her name on the ballot.
What if Jeanne hadn’t run for mayor all those moons ago? Would Margot have decided to run? Maybe having that strong matriarch setting an example to her as a kid is what planted the seed in having her eventually try it out.
Maybe Velazquez’s daughter will run one day. Maybe Snaden’s will, too.
But the fact that four out of five candidates this year were all women is spectacular and should be applauded.
Stan Loucks, Margot Garant, Kathianne Snaden, Barbara Ransome and Suzanne Velazquez at Tuesday’s debate.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
For two hours on Tuesday night, dozens of people sat inside the Port Jefferson Village Center to watch the highly anticipated election debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Incumbents trustee Kathianne Snaden, trustee Stan Loucks and Mayor Margot Garant sat alongside Barbara Ransome and Suzanne Velazquez to answer questions from the audience surrounding village issues and how they will work toward them if elected.
Two trustee seats are up, with the two incumbents and Velazquez vying for the spots. Ransome, the director of operations with the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and a past village trustee, is looking to take over Garant’s seat as mayor.
After opening remarks, the first question up was regarding uptown revitalization. Garant said, “Everyone knows uptown is a very challenged business improvement district.” With a master plan in place, she and her team have helped initiate the start of building mixed-use spaces as of three months ago — bulldozing the vacant Bada Bing location to start construction with the Conifer Realty apartments. More plans are being implemented to continue the growth and revitalization of Upper Port, which will continue to take time and planning.
Ransome added that during her tenure with the chamber, membership has increased by 50%. By working with landowners, landlords and closely with Stony Brook University, she said the village is a vital place to conduct business.
“There has always been a line of communication to try to encourage businesses to come down into the village as well in Upper Port,” she said.
The topic of cannabis became heated when all five participants had different views on smoking or ingesting the plant within the village. Garant noted that under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) legislation, cannabis can be ingested or smoked and for dispensaries to operate, but the village has until the end of the year to opt out. As of right now, Garant has not made a decision because she said it is a “tough decision.”
“Cannabis dispensaries are clean and safe,” she said. “People will want to go to other places and purchase it and come back, but I think it might be an incentive for uptown redevelopment. So, I’ve not closed the door on this. I’d like to hear from my community before I make that kind of decision.”
The village currently has a code which prohibits the use or smoking of tobacco or cannabis products on any village-owned property, which includes village parks but excludes the golf course at the country club.
“We know when we’re on a golf course in the open space, some of the ladies and gentlemen like to enjoy a smoke,” she said. “If we cannot enforce one type of tobacco, it’s difficult to enforce another type of tobacco. So, we’re looking to make it the policy of membership — when you join the country club to prohibit the use of cannabis as a policy when you become a member.”
Ransome said that is called “privilege.”
“It should be an even-lane regulation,” she added.
Loucks believes there should be absolutely no use of cannabis anywhere within the village, while Snaden looked at the issue from both a financial and public safety point of view.
“It could be an opportunity for our town,” she said. “There are tax implications there where we would receive tax revenue but, as the commissioner of public safety, I have a lot of concerns.”
Velazquez, too, was concerned about the close vicinity of the middle and high schools, but also as a health care professional who acknowledges the positives medicinal marijuana could have on a person.
Things got heated again when the discussion of bus shelters and the future of transportation came up. Garant said previously there were issues with graffiti and homeless people using the shelters as a home, along with the loss of the Stony Brook shuttle during COVID. However, she said the shuttle is coming back with the university sporting 50 percent of the bill.
Snaden, who is also the liaison to the village parking and transportation departments, said that the bus will help continue to bring business back.
“I think it’s very important for businesses to have students and staff and anybody else on that shuttle route come into the village to patronize the businesses and the restaurants without their vehicles,” she said.
Velazquez agreed, but was upset by the lack of places for people to sit while they waited for their buses, and that Port Jefferson is the only train station on Long Island that has removed its benches.
“I think that we should make sure that we have places for people to sit,” she said. “Seniors, the disabled or just people wanting to enjoy. I think we should have bus shelters and benches at the train station for everybody to use — not just select who should be allowed to rest.”
Snaden rebutted, noting the reason benches were removed at the train station was because of the multitude of complaints that they received of criminal activity going on around the benches.
“It’s not about selectivity,” she argued. “We do not discriminate as to who can sit and who can rest. We welcome everyone to this village, and we help them in any way that we can. We cannot have crime, we cannot have drug deals, we cannot have what was going on at the train station.”
For public safety concerns, Loucks started off with how proud he was that the Suffolk County Police Department Whiskey Tour would be patrolling the village at night, afterhours.
“They have a little bit more clout than our code officers,” he said. “Our code officers are somewhat restricted with what they can do but are always the first ones there.”
Snaden, who throughout her two years as trustee has implemented several different policies for public safety including the “See Something — Say Something” campaign, as well as a new kiosk for code enforcement to be readily available during their tour.
Ransome argued that when the officers are off duty is when trouble arrives, especially when the bars are let out. She said she would prefer officers to be touring during later hours.
“I think that we need to change our shifts on our codes so that they are working in conjunction with Suffolk County,” she said.
Snaden responded that she is working on making the now part-time officers full time.
“So that would help with those hours, and for them to work closer with Suffolk County later hours into the evening,” she said.
The LIPA power plant and water quality in the harbor were also discussed, with everyone equally acknowledging the importance fiscally of the plant and of renewable green energy. Loud music was asked about, and what the village can do to better control noise after dark, as well as political signs outside of businesses in the village.
When the conversation about the Port Jefferson Country Club came up again, Loucks noted that as of that day, the club had 700 new members.
“I believe the country club is the crown jewel,” he said. “If you’ve not gone up to the country club and walked around the facilities, you really don’t know what you’re missing.”
Ransome agreed, but argued about the senior citizen discount that was taken away, as well as allowing more walkers on the property.
“I think we need to do a better job with our contract we have with our current vendor there, which is The Crest Group, because right now we’re only getting $20,000 a month from the rental of that facility, which is extraordinarily less than what happened when Lombardi’s was there,” she said.
Loucks argued back that when the Lombardi Group left, the space was empty.
“No one wanted to go up there,” he said. “$20,000 per month goes directly to the village — the village residents pay absolutely no tax money to support the club. Zero. It is a self-sustaining country club.”
Other topics included the marrying of Upper Port and downtown, planning committee critiques, the Gap store vacancy and its parking, also the continuous Lawrence Aviation impact and its future.
Progress is being made at the Beach Street community garden in Port Jefferson. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Nearly three-dozen volunteers spent their Saturday building metal beds that will soon be home to veggies and other plants at Port Jefferson’s new community garden.
On May 22, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., 32 volunteers contributed between one to nine hours of volunteer work toward the building of the Beach Street Community Garden.
The build comes after months of planning, spearheaded by trustee Rebecca Kassay and the PJV Community Garden Committee — a group of volunteers who helped scout out a location that would be beneficial to gardeners young and old.
“While I planted the seed, it could not have sprouted, thrived and borne fruit like this without the time, efforts and support of so many individuals and groups,” she said.
Kassay said the garden will be able to give residents an opportunity to grow local, organic food and enjoy outdoor recreation together, while creating learning opportunities for its villagers and maintaining parkland.
The pilot project was approved unanimously by the village during its March 15 board meeting, and $4,000 of village beautification funds was contributed specifically for irrigation and raised-bed materials.
Volunteers putting the garden beds together. Photo by Julianne Mosher
“Looking at how far this project has come in such a short span of time — only five months — I am overwhelmed by gratitude for this community, the passionate individuals who stepped up to the Community Garden Committee, and community stakeholders who didn’t hesitate to ask how they could help make it happen,” Kassay said. “On Saturday, we kept saying ‘many hands make light work,’ and that was true for the day as well as the project at large.”
While Saturday saw hot temperatures and slight humidity, that didn’t stop the group from prepping the land for its new life. For years, the space on Beach Street was home to a playground that eventually fell into disrepair. As of late, it was an empty lot.
According to Kassay, the volunteers assembled 24 raised-bed kits — each with about 150 pieces in the kit; lined the bottoms of each bed with cardboard; installed 25 fence posts; dug a 12-inch trench around the perimeter of the garden; stapled up deer fencing; installed a poultry netting rodent guard; and moved about 9 cubic yards of topsoil into the raised beds — thanks to Holmes Irrigation which donated company time to help.
“I think it’s an excellent use of property that has sat vacant for too many years with really not a good function,” said Barbara Ransome, director of operations with the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce. “I think this will add another dimension to our community. It’ll engage our residents … maybe assist with businesses that want to do organic gardening. It’s really a win-win.”
Resident Kelly DeVine came down to help out because she was excited for the cause.
“I’ve watched this piece of property go from a playground to this disused lot,” she said. “And when I heard about the community garden, I was really thrilled because I like the environmental aspect of it and the opportunity to start encouraging people to compost, but also the community building. I’m meeting so many of my neighbors out here on this beautiful day and that’s what is so special about living in Port Jeff.”
If the pilot garden project is successful, the committee expects to expand with more raised beds at the Beach Street site in 2022, and in subsequent years create a second garden site at the Highlands parkland uptown.
In order to become a part of the garden’s community, there is a lottery system to obtain a raised bed. There are 20 total raised beds available for rent, with four communal herb/flower beds for registered gardeners. Four of the raised beds have higher sides for gardeners with different abilities.
Submissions are due to Village Hall by June 4 and recipients will be notified via email by June 10.
Those interested can apply at portjeff.com/communitygarden, or may drop off the lottery form to Port Jefferson Village Hall, Raised Bed Lottery, 121 W. Broadway, Port Jefferson, NY 11777.
Port Jefferson Village Hall. File photo by Heidi Sutton
Port Jefferson Village residents have the opportunity to vote on Tuesday, June 15, from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the Village Center, located at 101 E. Broadway. Two village trustee positions will be accounted for, as well as the mayor’s position.
On the ballot are five residents: incumbents Mayor Margot Garant, trustees Kathianne Snaden and Stan Loucks; newcomer Barbara Ransome will be up against Garant, with running-mate Suzanne Velazquez vying for trustee.
Alliance for All
Suzanne Velazquez, who’s running for trustee, and Barbara Ransome, vying for the mayor spot. Photos by Julianne Mosher
While new on the ballot, Ransome and Velazquez aren’t new to the area. Running under the Alliance for All party, the duo believes new leadership is needed.
As a member of the Port Jefferson community for 37 years, Ransome previously held trustee and deputy mayor positions under former Mayor Jeanne Garant. She said she decided to run because she believes there needs to be change.
“We have had an administration now that’s been in for six terms, and it’s long enough,” Ransome said. “We feel that there is sometimes a level of complacency that can happen when you have someone in for too long of a time. So, we feel that we could bring fresh eyes, and new perspectives.”
Ransome was in village government from 1995 to 2008. She was owner of a flower shop in East Main Street for 13 years, and now owns and operates a bed and breakfast, The Ransome Inn.
For the last decade, she has held the title of director of operations for the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce.
“What I bring to the table is not only my commitment of service over self, but my experience,” she said. “I’ve never wavered in my experience and working with the village.”
She added that there is an “atmosphere in the village, that there is privilege with certain situations, and we just want to be able to evaluate and reassess the operational departments in the village to make some positive changes.”
Ransome said that since beginning her professional career in the village in the early ’90s, there are still problems people are complaining about.
“So, I believe when we’re elected, we can kind of go through some of this and explore why these things haven’t been done differently, or better,” she said.
One of Ransome’s biggest criticisms is of village code enforcement.
“I think we can be a lot better with our ambassadors, that the code enforcement officers should be stronger ambassadors,” she said. “There should be a stronger presence. In the morning, when the bars are let out, where we have a lot of mischievous activities, we shouldn’t have to tell our code people to be more visible, they should be more visible. They shouldn’t have to be directed to see things if they’re so well trained.”
If elected, Ransome would leave the chamber to be a “full-time” mayor.
“I certainly feel I have the energy to take on this position,” she said. “I am in a very unique and good position where I can do this.”
As part of the Alliance for All campaign, Ransome and Velazquez created flyers in three languages prominent in the village — English, Spanish and Chinese.
“We got a very positive response, people are looking for change,” Ransome said. “I think it’s past due. I just felt now that this is my time, and I didn’t want to wait another two more years.”
A horticulturist by trade, she said her running is like a winning plant which grew in great conditions.
“In the realm of that industry, there are things that are there are plants that are called proven winners,” she said. “That’s why I’m a proven winner. You can plant me, and I grow really well. This plant does very well in this in this area.”
Velazquez is a clinical associate professor at Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare, an administrator and village business owner. A mom of a senior in the Port Jefferson School District, she said she was raised by the mantra: “Service to humanity is the greatest work of life.”
“I’ve always been invested in community service and public service,” she said.
She said her skills in social work make her a great candidate for the ballot.
“That’s where I’m bringing the experience of skills to help improve the health of our community,” she said. “Looking at how can we improve, how can we move forward, and continue to move forward and make positive changes for everybody.”
Velazquez is a former president of the chamber, a member of the Port Jefferson Historical Society, a member of the PTA and is involved with the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
A child from a military family, she said she moved around a lot growing up. But when she married her husband, they knew Port Jefferson was where they wanted to stay.
“Port Jefferson is really where I’ve laid my roots,” she said. “Because I’ve been here for the longest I have ever been in one place in my whole life.”
Velazquez said listening to people, building relationships and engaging in the community are skills that she uses in her daily life that can be used in problem-solving crisis situations in local government.
“I’m lending my ear and my voice right to the residents,” she said. “If they’re going to entrust me with the village, you have a professional ear and voice.”
Velazquez, if elected, wants to dedicate her platform to the “three e’s”: economic health, emotional and physical health, and environmental health.
The village should be fiscally responsible in strengthening Port Jeff as a place of opportunity and prosperity for all members, residents and businesses; improve public safety; foster a sense of belonging and inclusion of all voices; create recreation opportunities and quality of life programs; and protect and enhance natural resources — redevelop resources to better serve the needs of its community members.
The Unity Party
Above: Trustee Kathianne Snaden, Mayor Margot Garant and Trustee Stan Loucks, incumbents. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Incumbent Mayor Margot Garant would be heading into her seventh term if reelected. She said that having someone take over right now wouldn’t make sense because there would be a lot they need to catch up on.
“It would take somebody new literally two years just to catch up,” she said.
Mayor for 12 years, she said that the projects she has helped with do not happen overnight.And while the Alliance for All party demands change, Garant said the Unity Party is the change.
“There’s a lot on the horizon. In my opinion, the consistency or the continuity is really important because these are not small issues,” she said.
Projects like the Ørsted wind power, National Grid and LIPA, and the electrification of the LIRR and Upper Port’s revitalization have been decades in the making.
“That doesn’t happen overnight — that’s 12 years of being in front of them,” she said. “It’s our job to listen. I think we do a great job. We don’t always agree with you, but we will never ostracize you. We will always try and bring your viewpoint to the table and incorporate it as best we can.”
Garant said she chose to run again because she felt it was important to continue getting the village through the pandemic.
“The executive team that we have in place is exceptional,” she said. “People should be really proud of what we have here, we have something very special. I’m committed to keeping everything moving forward to large projects.”
Garant said the last time a Garant — her mother and former mayor Jeanne — left office, the village’s taxes went up 70%. And with over a decade under her belt, the daughter doesn’t want to leave anytime soon.
“We have a lot going on here, and I love what I do,” she said. “And I want to just keep on doing it.”
Trustee Kathianne Snaden moved to the village 16 years ago and became involved with the local government because she wanted answers to a problem she saw in the school district. She began attending every board meeting she could get to, work sessions and joined the parking committee. She studied the village inside and out.
She ran and won her current trustee position in 2019, but COVID-19 happened right in the middle of her term. Snaden decided to run again to continue the work she is proud to have accomplished and continue moving forward.
“I’ve made great strides with public safety and the relationship with the Suffolk County Police Department, and went through a year of a pandemic,” she said. “So, I’ve really only had one year in to actually be able to do things in a normal way. I’m not done. I want to continue to improve and learn.”
As liaison to public safety, parking committee and zombie house task force, she thinks that the last two years have been successful.
“I am proud of the work that I’ve done addressing the public safety issues. We see fast results because of the team that we have in place,” she said.
Snaden said that when calls were coming in about troublesome zombie homes in the village, she immersed herself into the situation, visited the spaces, took notes and took action. She worked with Pax Christi Hospitality Center when homelessness was a problem near the train station.
“I want to continue doing that to be the voice, to be an open line of communication with the residents and the school district for public safety purposes and for the families,” she said.
With Snaden’s public safety initiatives, including the “See Something, Say Something” campaign, the crime rate in the village has remained low.
“We have a vibrant business community, which brings people from all over from all walks of life, and all behavior statuses,” she said.
Snaden also helped implement code officers on bike patrol, a walking code ambassador dedicated solely to Main Street and a “whiskey tour” of officers at night.
“I think that’s a huge accomplishment on the part of code and public safety,” she said. “And I’m proud of that.”
Trustee Stanley Loucks has been a resident of Port Jefferson for 41 years. For 23 of those years, he worked in the village one way or another.
With the country club, for four years he served on the tennis board, five on the board of governors and eight on the management advisory committee. The last six years, he has served as village trustee and is currently deputy mayor.
Retired after decades in education, he has devoted his life now to serving his community in the village and as liaison to the country club and parks department.
“I’m proud of my accomplishments up at the country club,” he said. “ I introduced the bond to build a new maintenance facility up at the country club, we put in a new irrigation system, we created a new fitness center, renovated the locker rooms, increased our membership twofold. Over the years, I just want to continue to improve. I’ve got ideas about going forward with pickleball up at the country club and many more ideas to come down the road.”
He said that changing the current administration now could halt these plans, especially after having successful programs down at the Village Center.
“We don’t run a single recreation program that’s not filled with a waiting list,” he said. “We use every facility we could possibly use — our beach camp programs are stuffed, our tennis programs, golf programs are up.”
An earlier mayoral candidate, Melissa Paulson, a small-business owner, has recently dropped out of the race and said she supports the mayor’s Unity Party now.
There will be a meet-the-candidates night on Tuesday, June 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Center.
The print version of this story said Suzanne Velazquez is a clinical assistant professor at Stony Brook, but she is a clinical associate professor. This article has been updated.
Two Porter-Knight racers are parked on Port Jefferson’s Main Street in front of the Ardencraig Inn. The establishment courted car aficionados. Photo by Arthur S. Greene. Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive
Smith’s Hotel was established in 1870 and located in Port Jefferson on the east side of Main Street, a short distance from the waterfront.
William R. Thompson began leasing the venerable hotel in 1908 from its longtime proprietor Lizzie Smith before actually buying the establishment in 1910.
Besides renaming the hotel the Ardencraig Inn, Thompson made other changes at the premises, adding guest rooms, enlarging the dining room, installing Blau-Gas lighting and introducing sanitary plumbing.
More important, Thompson recognized how automobiles were revolutionizing travel, giving people the freedom to explore the open road, and creating a new class of tourists no longer dependent on ships and trains.
To tap into this burgeoning market and popularize the Ardencraig, Thompson geared his publicity toward motorists.
The inn was featured in travel guides favored by car aficionados such as The American Motorist and The Automobile Blue Book.
With the ferry Park City running between Bridgeport and Port Jefferson, the Ardencraig was described in the Connecticut press as being ideally located to host “automobile parties” from New England.
A car enthusiast himself, Thompson was a member of the Automobile Club of Port Jefferson, which sponsored both the 1910 and 1911 Hill Climbs on the village’s East Broadway.
As a service for the motorists who were registered at the Ardencraig, Thompson had a garage constructed behind the inn. Besides providing accommodations for chauffeurs, the garage was manned day and night.
Lizzie Smith’s Hotel, later the Ardencraig Inn, was located on the east side of Port Jefferson’s Main Street, a short distance from the waterfront. Photo by George Brainerd. Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive
While welcoming motorists to his hotel, Thompson did not neglect tourists who had arrived in Port Jefferson by rail or yacht. Events such as Old Home Week in 1911 brought thousands to the village, numbers of whom stayed at the Ardencraig.
Advertised in Port Jefferson’s newspapers as a “popular place for particular people,” the inn was also known among villagers for family gatherings, wedding receptions, card parties and balls.
After years of success, the Ardencraig’s run of good luck ended on March 2, 1920, when the inn was destroyed by a fire that purportedly originated with a defective flue. The hotel’s staff and guests, as well as Thompson and his wife, all escaped the burning building.
Following the blaze, Thompson presented plans to replace the Ardencraig with a 75-room hotel and an adjoining 1,300-seat theater, but without a sufficient number of investors, the project died.
Undaunted, Thompson built a new business on the site of his former hotel. Opening in 1920, the Ardencraig Bowling Alleys and Billiard Parlor was located on the north side of Arden Place. Known as the “Annex,” the structure featured three Brunswick alleys and four billiard tables on the first floor and a rooming house on the second.
The Ardencraig Alleys flouted the prohibition laws, leading to Thompson’s arrest in both 1922 and 1923 for illegally selling alcoholic beverages. After more violations of the Volstead Act, a judge granted a padlock injunction closing the business for one year.
The Ardencraig Alleys reopened in 1924, but without Thompson as the proprietor. He had leased the establishment to managers who had pledged to respect the dry laws.
Thompson left Port Jefferson in 1926 and became the treasurer of the Long Island Association. His move triggered more talks about building a hotel on the Ardencraig site, but again nothing materialized.
Meanwhile, the renamed Ardencraig Bowling and Billiard Academy operated under a succession of managers but closed because of lagging business. There was a call to purchase the property and use the building as a community center, but the proposal fell on deaf ears.
Although there was little interest in developing a hotel or community center on the Ardencraig site, the land was valued for other purposes.
The Port Jefferson Fire Department often used the empty Ardencraig property to hold its annual summer carnivals.
Because of its prized location in downtown Port Jefferson, the vacant Ardencraig space was also seen as an ideal location for a public parking lot.
Wells Oldsmobile is pictured on the northeast corner of Port Jefferson’s Main Street and Arden Place, the site once occupied by the Ardencraig Inn. Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive
In 1937, the Port Jefferson Merchants Association leased the Ardencraig site from its owner, Mary Thompson, the widow of William R. Thompson.
A portion of the Ardencraig property was quickly transformed into a parking lot, which opened in 1937 to applause from shoppers and shopkeepers alike.
Following Mary Thompson’s death in 1942, the Ardencraig property was sold at auction with the winning bid going to Port Jefferson’s First National Bank.
Under the Bank’s direction, the dilapidated “Annex” was demolished. The east end of the Ardencraig property was then graded and opened for free parking in 1943.
In 1948, Robert F. Wells purchased the Ardencraig property, where he built an Oldsmobile showroom and service center. Opening in 1949, the dealership itself was located on the corner of Main Street and Arden Place. A parking area for customers and a used car lot was to its rear.
With the closing of the Oldsmobile agency, the space was home to a Gristede’s supermarket and later The GAP. As of this writing, the building is unoccupied. The balance of the former Ardencraig property is now the site of a Port Jefferson Village parking lot.
Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson Village Historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.
Nicole Hoefler, director for cardiac cath services at Mather Hospital in the new cardiac catheterization lab.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
It’s finally here.
Mather Hospital announced this week its new cardiac catheterization lab is completed and is ready to serve patients — as soon as it receives its final Department of Health inspection and approval in the upcoming weeks.
According to Nursing Director for Cardiac Cath Services Nicole Hoefler, Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson is joining the few places on Long Island in hosting a cardiac catheterization lab to provide less invasive heart-related services to patients who need it.
“We’re here to basically help prevent serious heart attacks,” Hoefler said. “And prevent heart attacks that might be evolving.”
The labs specialize in using X-ray guided catheters to help open blockages in coronary arteries or repair the heart in minimally invasive procedures. These range from stenting to angioplasty and bypass surgery — that are less traumatic to the body and speed recovery.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
“Sometimes, if a patient had a positive stress test, they’ll come in here so we can see what’s causing that pain they might have been having,” she noted. “Sometimes they need to have it for surgery clearance, like if they saw something on their EKG.”
The two new state-of-the-art rooms were approved by Northwell Health last year, alongside three other Northwell facilities. Construction began on the new spaces in August 2020, completing and turning over to the clinical staff on April 19.
By adding the two labs into Mather, Hoefler said they can help save a life.
“Every minute that passes when you’re having a heart attack slows your heart muscle,” she said. “So not having to transfer the patient out, and just bring them in from upstairs will be life changing.”
Both rooms will be able to accommodate approximately 20 patients per day with the 12 hours the labs are open.
The addition of the more than 3,000 square foot space is just another space that Mather can now provide patients better.
“I think the community just loves Mather,” Hoefler said. “Having this service
is just another reason to come here.”
Aidan Malinowski and Jordan Suarez before their fundraising cross-country trip. Photo by Julianne Mosher
They’re using CrossFit to go cross-country.
Jordan Suarez and his friend Aidan Malinowski, both SUNY Cortland students who are avid CrossFit participants, are planning to visit a gym in each state starting May 17.
The reasoning isn’t a vacation by any means — they’re hosting a fundraiser that will help raise money to go towards the Wounded Warrior Project.
“We both have veterans in our family,” Malinowski said. “And we both are into CrossFit — it’s been a huge part of our lives, especially this past year with the pandemic and quarantine.”
The plan is starting this week, the duo will be going to one CrossFit affiliate gym in every state in the U.S. (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). By doing workouts at each place, they will ask fellow CrossFit members for donations and plan on spreading awareness about the nonprofit that has helped saved thousands of lives.
In just two months leading up to their travels, they have already raised almost $6,000.
“We really just want to spread the awareness,” Malinowski said. “One big thing that stood out to me is that a $20 donation to Wounded Warriors gets them a one-hour session of PTSD treatment, which I think is amazing.”
Suarez said they will kick off their trip at the Port Jefferson Station location and then take the ferry up to Connecticut. The goal is to be back home by June 14.
“Wounded Warriors helps out any veterans that have been hurt, whether it’s physically or mentally during their time in the military,” he said. “It’s just a great organization that gets them the necessary resources to help them recover.”
The two Port Jefferson locals teamed up with the foundation about three months ago. That’s when they were introduced to Jeremiah Pauley, currently in California, who is a spokesperson for WWP.
Jeremiah Pauley
Pauley deployed to Iraq in 2006 as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army. Four months into the deployment, his team had cleared a house in the city of Tal Afar, and just as they left the house to go back outside enemy forces detonated an improvised explosive device. Shrapnel shredded through Pauley’s right arm, and if it weren’t for the immediate treatment he received from his team’s medic, he may not have survived.
Later on, he found out that one of his soldiers died in the attack. Pauley was overcome with survivors’ guilt and PTSD.
For years, he struggled with depression and he almost took his own life as a result. He received a call from WWP who invited him to a multi-day cycling event, Soldier Ride.
Utilizing the services from WWP, his recovery progressed, and he eventually took a job working with the nonprofit.
Pauley said he, too, is an avid CrossFit enthusiast, so when he got a call from two young men on the East coast looking to fundraise using the gyms, he was completely on board.
“They submitted a request to do a fundraiser with the organization so that the money can be tracked,” he said. “And they had this crazy idea that they wanted to go to all the 48 lower states and visit a CrossFit box in each state.”
Pauley said he thought it was the “perfect trifecta of ideas” combining working out, friends and family and a good cause.
The money that Suarez and Malinowski will raise will help go to services to help veterans like Pauley.
“All of our programs and services that we offer to warriors and their family members are absolutely free,” he said. “We never ask a warrior for a penny — ever — and we have a variety of programs and services that we offer.”
Pauley said he is excited to meet the guys from Port Jefferson when they hit the gym by him in a few weeks.
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