Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
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Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
Volunteers help the Coastal Steward clean up Centennial Beach Oct. 10. Photo by Kyle Barr
At regular beach cleanups hosted at both Centennial Beach and the Port Jeff side of Mount Sinai Harbor over the past two weeks, volunteers picked up over 4,000 pounds of trash and debris.
The Coastal Steward, based in Mount Sinai, has for years hosted beach cleanups in Port Jefferson and many other parts of Long Island. Pat Kuchicki, who heads up the Steward’s beach cleanup efforts, said the 1347 pounds from Centennial and 2,720 pounds from the edge of Mount Sinai harbor is actually a moderate number compared to some previous years.
Normally, the Coastal Steward hosts their beach cleanups after winter, to get all the debris washed up by fall and winter storms, but because of the pandemic the dates were pushed back.
The reason why there were less this year than last could be because of COVID-19, less people were going down to the beach or taking out their boats with friends and family, but Kuchicki said she thinks it may be more people are simply better aware of the need to keep beaches clean. In the intervening months, more people could have been stopping to pick up trash.
“I know definitely in Port Jeff the people are very good up there wanting to keep the beach clean,” she said.
Kuchicki said they saw a total of 60 volunteers come down to both cleanups. Both young and old, locals and people from miles away came down to lend a hand. Bill Negra, a volunteer with the Coastal Steward, said there were even a number of young women from a Hofstra University sorority who came down for one of the early October cleanups.
The Steward doesn’t just pick up loose straws and bottle caps, but anything not natural, including treated lumber or other construction debris.
The Village of Port Jefferson unanimously voted at its Sept. 8 meeting to pay the Coastal Steward $1,000 each for the costs of the beach cleanups at both the Port Jeff side of Mount Sinai harbor and at Centennial Beach.
Setauket Patriots Plan Caravan Despite Village Summons for Previous March. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Coming to a town near you: another Trump caravan.
The Setauket Patriots announced they would be hosting a Trumpalozza Road Rally event starting and eventually ending in Port Jefferson Saturday, Oct. 17.
A copy of the summons received by Setauket Patriots, posted to Facebook.
Setauket Patriots organizer James Robitsek said he expects 800 to 1,000 participants. On the group’s Facebook page, a little over 400 say they will be attending, with more indicating they possibly may.
The car caravan is just the third event hosted by Setauket Patriots, an online right-wing group that often posts in support of President Donald Trump (R), among other conservative and far-right messaging. Previous events have been based on Fourth of July and Veterans Day celebrations, though each has carried a strong political tinge in support of Trump. Out of these other past events, this one is the most explicit in its support.
The caravan is to start in the parking lot of the Port Jefferson LIRR train station before moving down Main Street then turning left onto West Broadway. Cars are set to move onto Route 25A in Setauket, down into St. James along Lake Avenue, past the Smith Haven Mall. The caravan will move through Centereach and Selden before turning onto County Road 83 and back onto Route 112 to finish back at the Port Jeff train station.
Robitsek said he has been in contact with Suffolk County police about the event, and though they might be around to facilitate cars leaving the parking lot, they will not be there for the entire run of the car parade.
Other car caravans in support of Trump have passed through the North Shore in the past month. Several went from Huntington out to the North Fork, where people hung out sunroofs and stood in the back of pickup trucks. Pictures also show people in the caravan had placed tape to obscure their license plates, which is against the law.
Robitsek said he has not advocated that drivers use tape on their license plates, but participants in other pro-Trump events have been outed online by people tracking their license numbers.
Despite this, police report nobody in the caravans has been arrested to date, though one resident from Northport was arrested by Northport police for alleged menacing and disorderly conduct involving a caravanner’s truck, something he has reportedly heavily disputed.
The planned caravan is only three days before Robitsek and the Setauket Patriots are set to be in village traffic court, Oct. 20, over their previous Veterans Day event, which drew hundreds down through the village without a permit. Most marching that day did so without masks.
Village of Port Jefferson had issued an executive order signed July 6 by Mayor Margot Garant effectively stopping the village from signing any new permits for marches or protests. This was in response to the Patriots’ July 4 car parade as well as a Black Lives Matter march hosted in Port Jeff in June. The order was enabled by the village’s previous declaration of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Garant has said the issue is with how many people these events bring together during a pandemic.
On Facebook, Robitsek said they were issued a summons on Oct. 5, and claimed local officials from village, county and state were targeting him and his group.
“I’m being unfairly targeted because I’m a pro-Trump group in an all-Democrat town,” he said, adding the reason they chose Port Jeff as their starting point was “its high visibility, it’s a Democrat-run village, so why not show support for the silent majority that does support President Trump.”
Village officials have previously said the Patriots submitted a permit application for the July 4 event, but that they failed to file it correctly, and that they did not pay fees attached to the permit process.
The Setauket Patriots organizer posted the summons online, which said the offense was because they “led a procession/parade down a public sidewalk without a permit” in violation of village code. The Setauket Patriots have also planned a rally in front of Village Hall Oct. 20 in protest of receiving the summons.
Deputy Village Attorney Rich Harris said the summons was only for the violation of the village code, which depending on a plea or a court ruling could result in a 0 to $2,000 fine or up to 15 days in jail. On its face, the violation does not have anything to do with recouping losses from either police or constable’s overtime.
“It’s a violation of the village code for operating a parade or procession without permit,” Harris said.
Whether this event could also be in violation of village code depends on how the event proceeds, Harris said. It could be different, especially as most people will be in vehicles and that the caravan will not be exclusive to Port Jeff.
The car caravan is scheduled for the same day and time as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce’s Pumpkinmania, that’s set to bring in professional pumpkin carvers to do live demonstrations as well as host a pumpkin carving contest.
Barbara Ransome, executive director of the chamber, said she is not worried that the caravan would impact the chamber’s event. Pumpkinmania will be held 12 to 7 p.m. and will be located at 138 E. Main St. in the small brick patio area. There will also be a set of pumpkin carving contests for Port Jefferson residents, one for children and one for adults, that will be judged by the professionals. There is a $5 entrance fee for each participant.
Ransome said the caravan of cars will likely have already moved on, and there will be plenty of time afterward for people to come down. The chamber event is also designed to promote the small businesses on East Main Street.
Cindy Court (left) from Mather and Susanne Igneri (right) from Lustgarten accepted the donations from Yacht Club members Gary Passavia, Chuck Chiaramonte and Karl Janhsen. Photo from Mather Hospital
The Port Jefferson Yacht Club, just by the nature of their craft, know how to navigate turbulent times.
It’s why even despite the pandemic and setbacks to its 11th annual Village Cup Regatta, the group still managed to raise $40,000 which is split between Mather Hospital and the Lustgarten Foundation, which funds pancreatic cancer research.
Normally held in September, the regatta is a competition between teams for the Village of Port Jefferson and Mather Hospital. Whichever team wins gains the coveted trophy and bragging rights for the year, but the real purpose is to generate funds for pancreatic cancer research and cancer treatment. Last year the function raised $91,000
Chuck Chiaramonte, a past commodore for the yacht club who helps head the annual regatta, said they were pleasantly surprised to see just how many people still donated even in a time where many are experiencing financial hardship.
While the event is two-fold, one being the club’s outreach to the community to share their love of sailing and the other being its fundraising efforts, only one of those could be focused on this year because of the pandemic, Chiaramonte said.
“When COVID hit, there was no way we could ask club members to have a lot of people crammed into the cockpit of their boats, and so we thought we would have to cancel,” Chiaramonte said. “But then later on we were thinking, pancreatic cancer is as bad as ever, we thought we could still hold the charitable portion.”
The regatta still happened this year, but in a smaller capacity. Instead of boats crowded with people, each sailing craft was only allowed a max of two persons. Normally the event has Mather racing against the village, just using club members’ boats. Calling it the Village Cup “COVID Race” this year, club members still raced carrying banners of sponsors and others who donated to the event, though the village/hospital competition was dropped.
Though it may have raised less than previous years, and even in the midst of so much tragedy due to the pandemic, cancer and specifically pancreatic cancer still weighs heavy on so many club members’ minds, with so many friends and family having been lost to the disease. And this year, with COVID-19, club members knew they had to do as much as they could to help the hospital that went through hell during the pandemic’s height.
Kenneth Roberts, the president of Mather Hospital, thanked the yacht club for its support.
“We are grateful to the Port Jefferson Yacht Club and their continuing commitment to Mather Hospital, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Roberts said in a statement. “This is a wonderful example of how we will get through this, together.”
Chiaramonte said the yacht club plans to return for the 12th annual regatta in 2021, this time, hopefully, back to its normal self.
Residents were concerned to see vape and hookah merch being set up in an empty store in Chandler Square, but both the village and shop owner say the new location will focus on tobacco product. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Questions over Port Jeff’s handling of hookah and vape products has become inflamed once again, though the outcome might just be the loss of one vape shop and the opening of a new smoke store.
Locals have noticed smoke and hookah products moving into a space in Chandler Square next to where The Soap Box resides. Officials said Sanjay Bakshi, the owner of Hookah City, which was located on Main Street, had planned to move from its space there to that new spot but, upon learning of the move, village officials quickly moved in to explain current code requirements.
Village trustee Kathianne Snaden said the village was alerted after residents spotted vaping paraphernalia in the front window. Deputy village attorney, Richard Harris, spoke to owner and is working on getting the issue resolved.
Village code restricts any new vaping stores from opening up in anything but light industrial zoning. All new vape shops or hookah parlors must also be granted a special-use permit by the board of trustees.
Snaden said Bakshi, has agreed to comply with village code and is continuing his work opening in the new space, though now as a smoke shop selling cigars, pipes, tobacco and other products. Harris said the owner understands the code and has moved about 90% of all the vape or hookah-type products from the premises. The Port Jeff fire marshal, Ryan Klimar, has also been to the location and has recommended a few minor changes to the sprinklers and fire extinguisher placements.
“He understands very clearly what he needs to do,” Harris said.
Bakshi said the owner of the previous location did not renew his Main Street lease, requiring the move. The new space, he said, is going to be part smoke shop, part “convenience store” that sells candies and soda. He is getting rid of the name Hookah City and is just going with Smoke Shop, displayed in small letters on the front window.
Bakshi confirmed he does not plan to display any smoking product in the window and that he doesn’t plan to sell any kind of electronic tobacco products like the old vapes and hookahs.
Before the move Hookah City had been able to continue despite the code change, having been grandfathered in under old requirements. In 2019, when the shop was cited by Suffolk County police for allegedly selling a vape product to a minor, village trustees openly talked about what could be done to the shop but village attorney, Brian Egan, said that officials could not impact a business in any major way unless the code was violated.
In the past, Port Jeff constables have sent Suffolk police details of what they said were examples of the store allegedly selling to minors, according to past interviews with Fred Leute, code enforcement chief.
Though more and more smoke and vape shops have reported an incredible decline in sales since New York State officially banned the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes back in May, and that’s in addition to the wider economic impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Schools in recent years have complained about the number of vape products getting into minors’ hands, despite age restrictions. Though the science is not conclusive, studies have shown the harmful and addictive nature of nicotine-based products. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration guidelines are still evolving, but the FDA considers vaping medically unsafe for young people, pregnant women and adult smokers who are not using it to quit the habit.
Still, for village officials like Snaden, seeing the last remaining vape shop go is a clear victory for the local community.
“Anything keeping vape products out of the hands of our children is better for our schools, parents and kids,” she said.
Port Jefferson hosted its 24th annual Charles Dickens Festival In 2019. It won't be back until 2021. File photo by Kyle Barr
The 25th annual Charles Dickens Festival may be quarantined until next year, but Santa himself may be coming down from the North Pole for some socially distanced festivities come December.
Village and chamber officials both confirmed the annual Dickens fest is moving to next year, skipping this year to host their quarter-century event. Though Charles Dickens won’t appear on any of the taglines or advertising, there will still be holiday-based events.
The village is hosting what’s been dubbed A Touch of Holiday Cheer on the three Saturdays before Christmas.
“What we really would like to see happen is on the Saturday’s through December, we can find some small ways for having people come down and celebrate the holiday season,” Mayor Margot Garant said.
Although Garant said that not hosting the festival’s 25th anniversary is “gut-wrenching,” they do not want to create an atmosphere that could become unsafe, since the festival normally brings in thousands of people Down Port.
“We want to give reasons for people to come down here, celebrate the day, do some local shopping, support our local markets,” she said. “That’s the underlying reason we do Dickens, after all, to be together and hopefully we have something to celebrate come December.”
A full list of happenings are still being determined, but the chamber has set several events already for the three December Saturdays before Christmas. Barbara Ransome, the executive director of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, said they still plan to do Cookie Land for kids to decorate cookies by appointment at the Village Center. The chamber will host a photo opportunity with Santa on his big red sleigh from 1 to 4 p.m. Children will be staged in front of the sleigh instead of their usual position on his lap so there will be no direct contact. People are also asked for a $5 donation to the chamber.
Garant added the Festival of Tress – with social distancing – is planned on the third floor of the village center, some outdoor concert and plays, as well as a performance from Setauket resident and singer Carolyn Benson. A belle choir is also scheduled for Dec. 5.
“It’s going to be an interesting season,” Garant said. “But I think the one thing that brings everyone together is the holidays, and I think we can all agree on that.”
More information on chamber events can be found at portjeffchamber.com
MTA: All Projects on Standby, All Contracts in Jeopardy Without Federal Aid
Morning commuters at the Huntington station where many switch trains to go both east and west. Photo by Donna Deedy
As the MTA prepares its budget for the next few years, potentially reducing a massive amount of service due to the pandemic, local officials are saying some of that money earmarked for the Port Jefferson Branch line can get put to better use.
Though the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has a $12 billion cash shortfall in its 2021 budget, its 2020-24 capital plan still includes plans to purchase new dual-mode (electric/diesel) trains for $150 million to replace older locomotives on several Long Island Rail Road lines, including Port Jeff.
PJ Village Trustee Bruce Miller says commuters to NYC have stayed away from the PJ line without electrification. Photo by Elana Glowatz
A representative of the MTA could not give any fresh updates on these new trains or other initiatives as all of them are on hold due to economic uncertainty, but whether or not the $16.7 billion annual-expenditure entity gets the aid it needs in time, officials are still against any new diesel trains without electrification first.
For years, area officials from all levels of government have been promoting electrifying the Port Jeff rail line, transforming it into a system like that of Ronkonkoma for faster, greener public transport. That initiative has been ongoing for years.
In March this year, the environmental advocacy group Sierra Club Long Island held a kickoff event for its green transportation initiative, holding one of its events at the Stony Brook train station. Village, town and county officials have stood behind them at this and past events.
Sierra Club Green Issues chair, Mayer Horn, is also a Dix Hills-based transportation consultant and has worked with Port Jefferson Village before. He said purchasing new diesel trains was “a very foolish thing to do.”
Back in December of 2018, Horn published a report on behalf of Port Jefferson about the North Shore rail line which described a general lack of full-time direct service between Port Jeff and Penn Station, and how current dual-mode could be used to provide such service now.
Village trustee Bruce Miller, who has also long advocated for electrifying the Port Jeff line, said replacing the diesel engines was “anathema” to what has long been proposed. It would effectively make it that much harder to argue for modern technology if the old line suddenly had new trains.
Miller has often used the refrain that people all across the North Shore, even as far east as Calverton and as west as Greenlawn, take the longer drive to places like Ronkonkoma rather than catch the closer train, only because it is both less reliable and efficient.
“Basically, you’re not entirely eliminating vehicles or cars when you have these two diesel lines on the North Shore and South Shore,” Miller said. “People aren’t factoring in pollution.”
On Sept. 17, the MTA put out a press release saying all its contracts are in jeopardy if it does not receive the $12 billion stimulus from the federal government. Some of these multibillion-dollar contracts are for companies that create and sell train and rail parts.
The September 2019 presentation of the LIRR’s capital improvement plan had included 160 new electric cars, nearly 20 coach cars and over 10 new locomotives.
Plans have changed due to the pandemic, as the MTA looks to close a $5.8 billion budget gap for 2021. Rail lines like Port Jefferson to Huntington will still run hourly at peak periods, but others with lower ridership will not likely be so lucky. Fares are also expected to increase beyond the anticipated 4% for 2021 through 2024, and riders who are taking trips to the city will feel it in their wallets the most.
Yet the new diesel engines remain on the docket, making local advocates and officials severely question if they are still coming when so much service is getting cut.
In the MTA’s July preliminary budget presentation, it stated that a reduction or delay in the 2020-24 capital program will have a limited impact on the operating budget because, for one, the MTA’s portion is back ended, having already been funded from several tax sources. Using those sources to fund the operating budget instead would “consume cash and reduce liquidity.”
Still, there has been talk of removing some parts of the capital plan. Newsday has reported the MTA has plans to put the $230 million north/south link between the Ronkonkoma and Babylon branches on pause.
There is no money in that capital plan for Port Jeff electrification either.
The 2018 Port Jeff report by Horn notes that the Ronkonkoma line, once the LIRR expanded electrification from Hicksville to Ronkonkoma in 1987, jumped daily trips from 6,200 to 16,000 by 2007, a result of people no longer taking the Port Jeff or Montauk branches to both north and south. Less local traffic also meant a decline in the economic vitality of Upper Port.
These new diesel trains are just another factor of what Horn calls “a real lack of planning.” He lamented why the MTA, or America in general, doesn’t try to learn from countries with much better, faster and more efficient train systems like South Korea or Japan.
The greatest need, however, has been the addition of a third rail for the Port Jeff line, something that has been trumpeted and sometimes praised to be coming soon.
“It looks to me like LIRR is basically telling us that they are going to proceed as if exempt from CLCPA, which is outrageous.”
— Steve Englebright
State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) has long been a proponent of electrification. As the chair of the Assembly environmental conservation committee, he said he, along with his state Senate counterpart Todd Kaminsky (D-Rockville Centre), met with Phil Eng, the head of the LIRR, late last year to talk about these new trains.
“Quite frankly, he was not able to give us any assurance he was going to do anything but plow ahead,” Englebright said. “That was a couple months before COVID crisis basically created a whole new set of distractions.”
New York State, in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, has set the lofty goal to limit statewide greenhouse gases to 40% of 1990 levels by 2030, and 85% by 2050.
“It looks to me like LIRR is basically telling us that they are going to proceed as if exempt from CLCPA, which is outrageous,” the local assemblyman said. He added these trains could have a lifespan of 50 years.
In a letter sent to Englebright in March 2019, MTA president, Patrick Foye, said that the LIRR had been reviewing proposals for a $4 million study on Port Jeff electrification and other projects, and that it could be awarding a contract for the electrification study in early summer 2019. That study has not yet materialized and, with the MTA saying it has no updates, it’s likely it won’t any time soon.
This empty building located at 22 Research Way in East Setauket could be Sunrise Wind’s new office site, as well as a training center for those meant to go out on boats to work on the offshore wind project. Photo by Kyle Barr
A potentially huge economic boost for Port Jefferson, Setauket and the whole North Shore could soon be down the pike as more details of a regional wind-power project takes shape.
Sunrise Wind, a combined venture with U.S.-based Eversource and Denmark-based Ørsted, plans to create a 110-turbine, 880-megawatt wind farm 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. Announced back in 2019, project managers and local officials touted Port Jefferson as the new home base for the project, with offices located nearby and a repair ship to be stationed within the harbor itself.
The more than 260-foot service operation vessel will operate out of Port Jefferson Harbor.
Things are moving forward in a big way, according to Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), who confirmed in a phone interview that Eversource has landed a new office space, specifically at a 59,525-square-foot office/warehouse located at 22 Research Way in East Setauket.
Romaine, who recently was on a Zoom call with company representatives, said while the front part of the space is likely to be an office, the back portion of the property is to be a training center for the people who will go out on the ship to work on and repair the massive turbines in the ocean. What’s more, since these offshore wind projects are still progressing with an ever-increasing demand for renewable energy, the supervisor suggested such a facility could gain national significance.
“You’re seeing offshore wind energy far more accepted, particularly with this crisis of climate change,” Romaine said. “This is a shot in the arm to the area, and wind energy will benefit the economics of all northern Brookhaven.”
Sunrise Wind reps have previously talked about their plans to work with Suffolk County Community College for a training program, but in response to questions Eversource and Ørsted reps said in a statement they will have more details in the coming weeks about this new property.
“This facility will serve a major role in our plans to make New York a leader in the U.S. offshore wind industry,” the statement read.
What those in the facility would be training for is to go out on a new 260-plus foot service operations vessel. The ship is planned to hold 60 passengers, and then take trained technicians back and forth to take care of the turbines on the basis of two weeks on and two weeks off.
Sunrise Wind is also boasting that the chartered vessel is Jones Act compliant, a law that mandates new ships be manufactured in the U.S. The point, company reps said in an email to Romaine, is that offshore wind projects “can drive domestic jobs, manufacturing and investment growth.”
Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant said she has a meeting scheduled with Sunrise Wind representatives Thursday, but that the idea of the area becoming a nationally recognized hub for such technology would be a “home run.”
To help operate this vessel, Eversource and Ørsted reps have previously stated they would come into Port Jefferson Harbor for a 24-hour period in order to take on crew and resupply.
The Town of Brookhaven has also sent a letter of support for both the facility improvements in Port Jefferson Harbor.In a letter to Doreen Harris, the acting president of the state Energy Research and Development Authority, Romaine supported the Ørsted/Eversource grant application for a custom pier in Port Jeff Harbor in connection with NYSERDA’s 2020 Offshore Wind Solicitation.
“The arrival of the [Service Operation Vessel] in the harbor, together with the use of the training facility both inland and on the pier, would bring a unique spectacle and new commerce to the area that will have positive ripple effects throughout the community,” Romaine wrote in the letter dated Oct. 7.
Garant said there are multiple benefits for some kind of update to the pier, which is owned by the town. Such improvements could also, in effect, make the Port Jeff power plant property more valuable, something village officials have been aggressively arguing with the Long Island Power Authority, which buys the plants power under contract with plant owners National Grid.
She said project managers of Sunrise Wind have already done work to try and minimize the impact to the surrounding community, as the vessel will only be offloading people and resources once every two weeks.
“It’s a win-win for so many reasons: Our harbor is being utilized, and wind power is where I think we have to go on a global national scale,” the mayor said.
The project was originally slated to finish in 2024, but company reps have experienced some degree of opposition from those on the South Fork regarding, among other things, where the company can place the high-voltage cables. Instead of having the cables come in through that area, Romaine has proposed the cables come in at Smith Point, come up through Shirley and north up William Floyd Parkway. The town, he said, wouldn’t have the same hiccups as the South Fork had since major cables already run underneath the length of William Floyd, and there are existing buildings that Sunrise Wind can use as substations.
Negotiations are still ongoing, though the Brookhaven supervisor said there will be a hosting fee that will go toward benefiting the local community.
This version of the article corrects the ownership of the Port Jefferson power plant and adds information of the letter Romaine sent to NYSERDA.
The building at 116 West Broadway was once used by the SCWA and by a bank. Photo by Kyle Barr
The new planned ferry building in Port Jefferson was granted slight height variances by the village zoning board of appeals for an additional 2 and a half feet on top its roof. Representatives of the ferry company said the variances are needed so it can retain an elevator in its design.
Site plans for the new ferry company office building at 116 West Broadway. Photo by Kyle Barr
The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company is planning to create new offices for its staff at 116 West Broadway in an old building that had once been used by the Suffolk County Water Authority and had previously been a bank.
Lisa Rickmers, the planner for Village of Port Jefferson, said that the applicant had tried to get the two story building with an elevator in it while complying with restrictions, but that it was impossible without raising the height by two feet.
“They’re working between the [Federal Emergency Management Agency] guidelines that raise the floor and our own height restrictions that lower the roofline,” she said. “The architect worked with the mechanicals, but he could not get the elevator shaft to stay below the 30 foot.”
Rickmers said the height restrictions were originally designed to preserve sightlines to the water. Though because of FEMA height restrictions, the building must start at least 12 feet up higher than adjacent buildings. The existing building is sitting at 8 feet and must be raised an additional 4.
Though the property is not required to have an elevator because of its overall size, the ferry company said it’s still something they want to include. The property could in theory stay below the required height by making it a flat roof, but Rickmers said the applicant did not think that would be attractive.
The building is located on the side of the village in the MW-2 zone, which has certain restrictions other buildings across the street do not, especially because its located in a spot that has seen major flooding in the past.
Cindy Ingraselino, a project manager for architectural firm EAB and a representative for the ferry company, said they are keeping the building at the same footprint of approximately 22,090 square feet per floor on a two story building.
Ingraselino said the elevator is planned to be centrally located within the building.
PJ Lobster House is just one of several local businesses whose owners say inspectors have repeatedly shown up to the restaurant around dinner time in a small, two-week period. Photo by Kyle Barr
Port Jefferson’s Uptown could soon be losing one of its premier restaurants, though one won’t have to look far for that seafood dinner experience.
The PJ Lobster House is moving from its spot on the corner of Main Street and North Country Road and will be moving downtown into the location that used to be Ocean 88, a Japanese restaurant, just east of the Mill Creek Road parking lot across from Rocketship Park.
Rob Gitto of The Gitto Group. Photo from Gitto
In its place, local developer The Gitto Group is planning to add another apartment complex to a growing slate of living spaces both uptown and downtown.
Discussions on the new property have been going on for about a year. James Luciano, owner of the PJ Lobster House, said he had originally proposed to landlords for the property about purchasing it, but was rebuffed. As time went on, he inquired with The Gitto Group about potentially moving into alocation in one of the company’s new spots downtown, and was told that the local developer was buying the uptown property. He said he wasn’t given the option to purchase the land, and that the decision was made before his lease was up.
“I have all my money invested into this place, everything was paid here, and now I have to start over,” Luciano said.
The developer 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 Gitto Group is also in the middle of creating The Brookport, an apartment complex going up where the old Cappy’s Carpets building once stood.
Both Rob Gitto, vice president of The Gitto Group, and Luciano are members and officers of the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District board. Gitto said in a phone interview that he has tried being “upfront and transparent” with Luciano since the property was purchased. Though he attempted to find a way to fit him into the upcoming Brookport site, the space simply wouldn’t work for him.
“It ended up working out, and its great to have him downtown,” he said.
Though Luciano said Gitto had been considerate in helping him find a new space, the move has been financially and physically costly to both him and his business, as he has to pick up everything that isn’t nailed down and transport it downtown. Work has already started at the Ocean 88 site, where he has to do some major renovations, including replacing the wood on the outside porch and the tiling on the inside, also removing the entire Japanese hibachi area.
“I had to take all kinds of loans out to do this,” Luciano said. “I would have never done that during this situation [with the pandemic], but it’s either that or close up shop — it was move or you’re done.”
Things are not all bad. Overall the PJ Lobster House owner said he is optimistic for the future, especially as the number of seats goes from 90 at the uptown location to around 140. He is keeping the current fish market at the front of the house in his new space, and now has plans for a bar to add a liquor selection to the current slate of beer and wine. There may be an opportunity in the future for an oyster bar.
The move downtown will likely bring his current regulars into the downtown portion of the village.
“I think with our following, we’ll do just fine,” he said.
Gitto said the new uptown building will likely be slightly smaller than the 46-unit Brookport site, and plans have the new space at three stories. Like other local apartment developments, parking is planned to be on-site with a retail component on the ground floor.
The Hills at Port Jefferson opened in upper Port in 2018. Other Uptown projects include the Port Jefferson Crossing and now a new project at the corner of North Country Road and Main Street. Photo from Rob Gitto
Gitto considers the corner of North Country onto Main “one of the entrances into the village,” adding they are working to make sure it fits into that space without being an impediment.
The new development would be located on the Port Jefferson side of the school district line with Comsewogue. In terms of adding children to the school district, the Port Jeff developer said so far none of theirs or other projects have added more than one family each with school-aged children. It’s likely this one won’t make a dent in local enrollment either.
“I think it’s going to make our community stronger,” The Gitto Group vice president said. “The schools as well as the village are going to need to lean on new projects to help out with the loss of the [Port Jefferson power plant tax revenue] to help keep our uptown vibrant.”
Plans are still early, and Gitto said they are waiting to submit their formal application within the next few months.
Luciano added that while it’s a shame to see the loss of retail uptown, he still thinks The Gitto Group will do a good job.
“They do good work, this building is going to be beautiful,” he said. “They maintain all their properties really well, and it’s going to be a good look for the corner.”
Conifer’s revised design plans for the Port Jefferson Crossing apartment complex were approved Sept. 17 after multiple design changes over the past several months. Photo from planning board meeting
Port Jeff’s latest apartment complex has the green light to proceed.
The Port Jefferson planning board unanimously agreed to conditionally approve site plans for Port Jefferson Crossing, a new apartment complex developed by regional affordable housing developer Conifer Realty just north of the Port Jeff railroad station along Main Street.
Jen Sigler, PJ village site plan reviewer, showed off the new renderings in the planning board’s Sept. 17 meeting, where designs have changed somewhat from their original June, July and August presentations. Gone are the red facades on the easternmost portion of the planned building, and overall the color is more continuous. The structure will have one type of external brick and windowed element on the first floor facing Main Street, and a second structure that is connected internally strikes out into the sidewalk slightly with so-called “bump outs.” The bottom brick portion on the eastern-most structure has changed to a grey color as well.
Some planning board members still felt lukewarm about some facade changes. Planning board member Laura Zimmerman was especially miffed, saying that the developer’s incremental changes have not done enough to change the overall cold and barren look of the building toward the southeast corner.
“This is a building that’s going to be there for 50 years, or however long it’s going to last,” Zimmerman said.
Kenneth Garvin, an architect for the developer, suggested they could add more character to the southeast tower on the wraparound.
Current plans cite the three-story complex will have 45 units in total, 37 one-bedroom apartments and eight two-bedroom apartments. The complex will also offer over 3,100 square feet of retail space. There are plans for a covered parking garage of 48 stalls for residents, a community room, laundry facilities and a gym.
The board has also asked that the developer give the planning board greater detail and a better price-by-price point for specific costs on the project, though they did approve the developer’s bond amount at the estimated $1,177,947. The board will need to amend the application approval at a later date figure if additional budgetary details are later considered.
The developer had originally asked for a waiver on a payment in lieu of parking and a parkland fee, but the planning board has kicked the decision over to the board of trustees who will make that determination.
Alison LaPointe, the special village attorney for the Building and Planning Department, said the normal PILOP fee is set at $4,000 per space in the C-2 district thanks to a village resolution in 2018, though the parkland fee is set on a case-by-case basis.
“It is common procedure for the planning board to request a proposed fee amount from the applicant and then upon review the planning board either asks for adjustments to the amount or approves,” she clarified in an email.
Once the number is approved the owner then has to secure bond documents, which are then reviewed by the village attorney, where upon approval the bond documents are executed.
Mayor Margot Garant confirmed in the village board’s Sept. 21 meeting that the board and developer would need to discuss a recreation fee in short order, which depends on the number of apartments and scope of the overall project.
The village still has to work with PSEG on the location of a utility box and utility lines. Port Jefferson has worked with the developer in establishing the creation of Station Street, which is planned to be a one-way road that provides entry to the adjacent parking lots just north of the train station parking lot and just before the initial footprint for the proposed development.
LaPointe said the costs for Station Street are being shared between the village and developer. The Villages portion of Station street is funded with Restore NY grant funds at a 50-50 match. Certain contributions such as curbing from the applicant are to be partially financed by a state grant received in 2016.
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