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Village of Port Jefferson

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Scene from the Port Jefferson Yacht Club’s Village Cup Regatta. Photos coutesy Port Jefferson Yacht Club
Scene from the Port Jefferson Yacht Club’s Village Cup Regatta. Photos coutesy Port Jefferson Yacht Club
Scene from the Port Jefferson Yacht Club’s Village Cup Regatta. Photos coutesy Port Jefferson Yacht Club
Scene from the Port Jefferson Yacht Club’s Village Cup Regatta. Photos coutesy Port Jefferson Yacht Club

By Ava Himmelsbach

This past Saturday, Sept. 7, the Port Jefferson Yacht Club and Village of Port Jefferson held their annual Village Cup Regatta to raise money and awareness for Mather’s Palliative Medicine Program and the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Anyone interested was allowed to be a crew member on the sailboats, with no experience required.

The event included multiple activities throughout the day, with two main parts: a parade followed by a race. The parade ran from the outer harbor on the west across to the waterfront on the east. In the race, participants from the Village of Port Jefferson and Mather Hospital competed as part of the Village Cup Charity Fundraiser.

The parade allowed teams to circle the port on their boats, all of which were decorated with flags and banners, and wave to the large crowd of guests as a prelude to the race. Families gathered on the docks to view the parade, which was managed by Port Jefferson Yacht Club staff and accompanied by bagpiper Marty Sexton. The parade lasted about 45 minutes and helped the sailors adjust to sporadic wind patterns throughout the day.

Despite overcast weather and sudden rain, sailors and guests had a great time, creating memories of a lasting tradition likely to continue in years to come. Rain began shortly after the parade and continued lightly for a couple of hours. Fortunately, the showers did not interfere with the race, and sailors proceeded as planned.

Port Jefferson Yacht Club Village Cup Regatta Committee member Dianna Stackow managed the setup process for the post-race gathering. “We are here to set up for the party that happens after the race,” she said. “They have speeches, raffles, food, wine, beer; Ralph Macchio will be here, and some government representation.” The party began around 3:30 p.m., welcoming guests and participants as they finished the race and celebrated another year of the tradition. “This is our 15th year, and we are going to break $1 million [in donations]. We’re very proud because we’re such a small club, so it’s such a large thing for us to do. It’s just such a good feeling, all around, everyone, our little club, you know, close together, and it’s nice to see what we accomplish.”

After an exhilarating race, participants, families, and guests gathered at a party in the Port Jefferson Village Center to celebrate their efforts and the successful fundraising brought by this year’s regatta. Celebrity ambassador Ralph Macchio has supported the regatta — along with the two programs funded by it — for the last 10 years. He was present at the event this weekend, along with many returnees who have helped uphold this tradition for the past decade and a half.

The friendly competition ended with the Village of Port Jefferson team winning.

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The Memorial Parade of Boats can be viewed from Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson. File photo by Bob Savage
View Memorial Parade of Boats at Harborfront Park prior to race

It’s time once again to sail for a cure as the 15th annual Village Cup Regatta, a friendly competition between Mather Hospital and the Village of Port Jefferson, returns on Saturday, Sept. 7. 

Presented by the Port Jefferson Yacht Club in partnership with the Village of Port Jefferson, the Regatta raises funds for Mather Hospital’s Palliative Medicine Program and the Lustgarten Foundation, the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research in the world. Last year’s Regatta raised more than $100,000, which was divided between Mather Hospital and the Lustgarten Foundation. The event has raised almost $960,000 over 14 years and is poised to reach $1 million in donations this year.

The Regatta consists of Yacht Club-skippered sailboats divided into two teams representing Mather Hospital and the Village of Port Jefferson. Employees from the Hospital and Village, along with  village residents, help crew the boats, which race in one of three classes based on boat size. The festivities begin in Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson Village at 10 a.m., where you can purchase shirts,  commemorative hats, nautical bags and mugs. The Memorial Parade of Boats begins at 11 a.m. at the Port Jefferson Village dock. All sailboats participating in the Regatta will pass by the park dressed in banners and nautical flags on their way out to the racecourse on Long Island Sound.

Actor, director and local resident Ralph Macchio will once again serve as Village Cup Regatta Celebrity Ambassador for the event. Macchio has helped to publicize the important work of the two programs funded by the Regatta for the past 11 years. Macchio’s wife, Phyllis, is a nurse practitioner in Mather Hospital’s Palliative Medicine Program.

Following the Regatta, a celebratory Skipper’s Reception and presentation of the Village Cup will take place in a restored 1917 shipyard building that today serves as the Port Jefferson Village Center.

To sign up as a crew member for the Mather Hospital team, contact Cindy Court at 631-476-2723 or [email protected]

To sign up as a crew member for the Port Jefferson Village team, contact Sylvia at 631-473-4724, ext. 219 or email [email protected].

Businesses, organizations and individuals can support the Regatta and the programs it funds by sponsoring, donating, or purchasing tickets to attend the Skipper’s Reception or view the Regatta on a spectator boat. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit http://portjeffersonyachtclub.com/community/village-cup/ or www.facebook.com/villagecupregatta.

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Former Port Jefferson Village Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden. File photo

By  Aidan Johnson

Former Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden has announced her candidacy for the village mayor position in 2025.

In a July 8 press release, Snaden stated that “with a year of extensive reflection and growth behind me, I return to the political arena with renewed vigor, authenticity and a stronger connection to the community I love.”

Snaden first ran for trustee in 2018, losing by just four votes. She then went on to be elected in 2019, reelected in 2021 and was appointed as deputy mayor by Mayor Margot Garant.

After Garant did not seek reelection in 2023, Snaden had an unsuccessful bid for the mayoral position, losing to current Mayor Lauren Sheprow.

Snaden’s announcement comes early, with the mayoral election being nearly a year away.

“The reason I decided to announce now is because I want the time … to be able to build relationships with people that I might not otherwise have that opportunity later on as we get closer to election time,” she said in a phone interview, specifying that she is not yet campaigning but has instead only announced her intention to run.

Snaden also discussed why she’s running, along with the issues facing the village.

“The main reason I’m running again is because I feel like my goal in running initially and being involved in politics in the village has never gone away, which is to be the voice of the community for the people who feel they don’t have a voice,” she said.

She further explained that she is running to represent the people and “not because I have my own agenda,” adding, “It’s always to listen to what the community wants and represent them in Village Hall.”

She sees the East Beach bluff and uptown revitalization as major issues, along with public safety as a more recent concern.

“Residents have been discussing different incidents that have not been brought out in the news or by the government, that are happening but aren’t being discussed publicly … and people are not feeling safe,” she said.

Snaden specified that she will no longer be running on the Unity Party line, which was created by Garant and shared with village trustee Stan Loucks, saying that the line “became something that people gave a tag to, that it represented the old guard, it represented the Garant administration, that it was Mayor Margot’s way of thinking,” but it’s “not how I do things.”

“Was I her deputy mayor for two years? I was. That doesn’t mean that Mayor Garant and I thought the same on many issues. It doesn’t mean that we agreed on many issues,” she said, elaborating that her voting record shows her differing views from Garant. However, she said that they still had a mutual respect for each other and a good relationship.

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Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2sbdtzM4DGXutANVleYdS7?si=ai8VPxiXQ3G7e9E2YgLevQ

Join us as Governor Kathy Hochul brings big bucks for clean water initiatives, tackling outdated septic systems in Suffolk County. Port Jefferson celebrates 60 years as an incorporated village, and we explore the grand opening of a regional veterans museum in Rocky Point. Turn the page with us for a quick dive into the week’s top stories on The Pressroom Afterhour: Keeping it Local with TBR.

Visit tbrnewsmedia.com to read these stories and more. Follow us on:

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Conversations over ethics are ramping up in Port Jefferson, where the village board of trustees is nearing sweeping changes to its Code of Ethics.

A public hearing on the code changes took place on Nov. 20, with the village’s ethics counsel, Steven Leventhal, presenting a draft code that would repeal and replace the existing ethics standards within the Village Code. The proposed code changes include three main categories: a code of conduct, disclosure requirements and administration. [See story, “Port Jeff village board, residents mull over ethics code revamp,” Nov. 25, TBR News Media.]

The board reconvened Tuesday night, Dec. 5, for a work session spanning over four hours.

“The primary purpose of tonight’s meeting is to give you, the board, the opportunity to address any questions that you might have to me and to have a discussion and deliberation on any points that need to be resolved,” Leventhal said.

Leventhal and the trustees walked through the code line by line, clarifying and amending various sections of text along the way.

The board will meet again Monday, Dec. 11, for its monthly general meeting. Leventhal pledged to supply the board with a revised version of the draft code, along with a redline version of the text, before the meeting begins.

Residents can continue submitting written testimony to the village clerk until Thursday, Dec. 7.

To view the entire work session, see the above video.

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Photo courtesy David Warren

Prepared by David Warren

Barry L. Warren, age 79, of Port Jefferson, former village attorney, passed away on Friday, Nov. 17.

Barry was born in Brooklyn and grew up in a close-knit, loving and gossipy family with a flair for melodrama that both adored and annoyed him. He was a die-hard New York Yankees fan as a kid and worshiped the dirt that Mickey Mantle kicked up with his cleats.

He was voted “Most Sophisticated” during his senior year of high school and claimed to have been on every other page of his yearbook (unverified as of this writing).

Barry came into his own during his college and law school days at Dickinson College, where he met the closest and longest standing friends he would have in his life. Most importantly, it is where he met his wife of 54 years, Laura, with whom he traveled the world, ate their way through the Zagat’s guide, golfed (she was better), shopped for antiques and spent hours in the garden finding new and innovative ways to kill thousands of innocent plants. He completely adored her.

He practiced law at his namesake firm, Cohen & Warren, for over 40 years, served as president of the Suffolk County Bar Association, was a member of the Ethics Committee, taught classes at Touro Law Center, was a member of the Port Jefferson Royal Educational Foundation, served as village attorney and was a former president of the Port Jefferson Historical Society (sometimes referred to as the Hysterical Society).

He is survived by two children, one brilliant, one good-looking, David (married to Beth) and Abigail (married to David Gutierrez). He was a very much adored grandfather — “Pop” — to two granddaughters, Shelby and Adelaide. He was also the cherished brother of Linda Grodin (late husband Jay) and brother-in-law of Marty VanderLind.

Memorial services were held Nov. 21, at O.B. Davis Funeral Home. Donations may be made in Barry’s memory to the Port Jefferson Historical Society, 115 Prospect Street, Port Jefferson, NY 11777.

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Steven Leventhal, the Village of Port Jefferson’s ethics counsel, presents proposed ethics code changes during a public hearing Monday night, Nov. 20. Photo by Raymond Janis

Discussions centered around ethics at Village Hall Monday night, Nov. 20.

The Port Jefferson Board of Trustees held a public hearing to consider repealing and replacing Chapter 41 of the Village Code, its Code of Ethics. This ethics code was first adopted by the village board in 1970, according to ecode360, and has seen few amendments since.

Steven Leventhal, the village’s ethics counsel, delivered a lengthy presentation detailing the proposed code changes to the board.

“The primary purpose of the ethics program is not enforcement — it’s not rooting out evildoers,” he said. “Our primary goal is offering guidance to the honest officers and employees of the village.”

Leventhal said that the draft proposal before the board is roughly the same code of ethics adopted by various other municipalities across Long Island and New York state, with some minor local variations.

The proposed code includes three principal categories: a code of conduct, disclosure requirements and administration.

The code of conduct would establish standards for officials and employees, offering guidelines for using public office for private gain, types of prohibited contracts, grounds for recusal, conflicts of interest and investments, gifts and favors.

The section on disclosure requirements outlined how village officials must recuse themselves from particular decisions. Applicants in land use, such as before the zoning and planning boards or Building Department, “must disclose at the time of application the identity of any state or municipal officer or employee that has an interest in the applicant,” the ethics counsel noted.

The section also requires disclosure of clients and customers doing business with the village, with some exceptions to protect confidentiality.

The final section would establish a board of ethics to administer the new code. Leventhal said an effective ethics board must convene at least quarterly, maintaining independence from the appointing authority — namely, the Board of Trustees — and an apolitical nature.

Under the proposed code, ethics board members must be village residents appointed to fixed, staggered terms of service. Under the current language, the board would have enforcement powers to fine up to $10,000 for violations.

During the public comment period, resident Arthur Epp scrutinized the $10,000 figure and questioned the board membership process. He asked the Board of Trustees for a 30-day review period to allow for necessary public input.

Responding, Leventhal advised the village board against overdefining membership criteria to the ethics board, given the village’s relatively low population compared to other municipalities.

Resident Xena Ugrinsky inquired about the process for whistleblowers to submit complaints to the ethics board. Leventhal advised that the board would ideally have counsel or a secretary to receive and process such complaints.

Following these comments, the village board agreed to leave the public comment period open for written testimony to the village clerk until Thursday, Dec. 7.

To read the complete draft of the proposed guidelines, visit portjeff.com/proposedethicscode. To watch the entire meeting, including trustee reports and board resolutions, see the video above.

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Students in Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s AP Environmental Science class and the Environmental Club with teacher Jonathan Maletta, left. Photo courtesy PJSD

Students in Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s AP Environmental Science class and the Environmental Club took a trip to Rocketship Park in Port Jefferson on Thursday, Nov. 16, as part of a collaborative beautification project between Port Jefferson School District and the Village of Port Jefferson Parks Department.

The district’s athletic director, Adam Sherrard, and the village’s superintendent of parks, Dave Melious, had discussed how Port Jefferson students could give back to the community and promote Port Jefferson pride within the village.

The duo came up with a plan to plant 200 purple and white tulips in front of the basketball courts at Rocketship Park. They were joined by science teacher Jonathan Maletta.

Students in attendance were Olivia Bianco, Anneliese Byrne, Katie Chambers, Eric Chen, Thalia Dorsett, Kyle Erickson, Savannah Florio, Jadie Hernandez, Michael Lipskiy, Madeline Matvya, Noah Mimarbasi, Myeda Nawaz, Gavin Onghai, Alyssa Passarella, Ottilie Philbrick, Brielle Procaccini, Cooper Reale, Mia Savino, Nicholas Smirnov, Carman Stanton, Charlotte Tishim and Julia Weinstein.

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The above photos were taken before the ongoing walkway renovation project at Harborfront Park. Village officials say the preexisting walkways presented a public safety hazard. Photo courtesy PJV
Photo courtesy PJV
Photo courtesy PJV
Photo courtesy PJV
Photo courtesy PJV
Photo courtesy PJV

Due to walkway reconstruction, Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson is currently closed to the public.

In an exclusive interview, Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow offered updates on the park project, outlining the motivations guiding this initiative.

“We wanted to make sure that we could do the whole park with whatever solution we came up with,” she said. “The priority was safety, and then fiscal responsibility was the second responsibility,” leading to the choice of asphalt.

Roger Corcella, project manager for the park, said the preexisting walkways were not adequately maintained, prompting safety concerns from village officials.

He said the walkways were “in desperate need of repair,” noting, “It wasn’t safe to walk anymore, especially if you had any physical issues. It wasn’t [Americans with Disabilities Act]-compliant.”

Corcella added that the village considered various factors before deciding on asphalt for the walkways. He said the village required a material that would be cost-effective, durable, eco-friendly, customizable, ADA-compliant and require minimal maintenance.

He pointed to other municipalities, such as Brookhaven and Babylon, which use asphalt on park surfaces. “This is a very common practice to use this,” he said.

Further defending the choice of material, Corcella noted that asphalt enables Harborfront Park to serve residents as “a 12-month park” due to simple snow removal service.

During the November general meeting of the village board of trustees, former Mayor Margot Garant objected to the use of asphalt over stamped concrete due to environmental and permeability concerns [See story, “Harborfront Park walkways spark debate, former and current Port Jeff officials clash over materials,” Nov. 9, TBR News Media]. Responding to the objections, Sheprow reiterated her public safety concerns.

“We get way too many reports of trips and falls in the community and didn’t want Harborfront Park to be one of those locations,” the mayor said. “Therefore, we had to look at the whole entire park and look at resurfacing the walkways around the entire park.”

“We want to make the park accessible to everybody, and if we put in stamped concrete, we wouldn’t be able to do the whole park,” she added.

To finance the costs associated with the walkway reconstruction project, which totals $248,907, the village board is making use of grants from Suffolk County and the Town of Brookhaven that will subsidize over a third of the overall expense.

“We were looking at $90,000 that would help us pay for this project,” Sheprow said. “Had we not acted immediately, we wouldn’t have received it,” adding, “In order to be eligible for those grants, the understanding was that [the project] would have to be for the entire park. … We needed to be compliant with the requirements of the grants.”

During the interview, Sheprow referred to the practice of “deferred maintenance.” Given the safety concerns identified with the walkways, she concluded that the administration had to act.

“If you don’t address a situation when it first becomes an issue, it becomes an even bigger issue,” she said, adding, “My goal was not to defer the maintenance of the park any longer — to let it become a bigger issue — but to address it immediately.”

Corcella said he aims to complete the walkway reconstruction project by mid-December. To view the village’s full Q&A page on the Harborfront Park project, visit portjeff.com/harborfrontparkconstruction.

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Village of Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay is a declared candidate for New York State’s 4th Assembly District. Photo by Jen Romonoyske, courtesy Rebecca Kassay

Just over a week after Election Day, the 2024 election season is already underway.

Village of Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay has exclusively announced her campaign for New York State’s 4th Assembly District. She is running as a Democrat.

The 4th District seat is currently held by New York State Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson), who unseated former Assemblyman — and Suffolk County Legislator-elect — Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) in 2022, who had occupied the seat since 1992.

Kassay entered the Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees in 2020 and was appointed deputy mayor earlier this year. During her tenure in village government, she has served as trustee liaison to the Building Department and Planning Board; the Conservation Advisory, Six-Acre Park and Tree committees; and was appointed the village’s inaugural sustainability commissioner.

Before entering public life, she worked as a youth environmental volunteer program director at Avalon Park and Preserve in Stony Brook. She is also a small business owner, operating The Fox and Owl Inn bed-and-breakfast on Main Street in Port Jefferson with her husband Andrew Thomas since 2014.

Kassay outlined the motivations guiding her campaign.

“I’m running for the New York State Assembly because we need leaders who understand that governance which truly reflects the voices, needs and concerns of their constituents starts with listening,” Kassay said in a statement. “In the village government, there are no national political party affiliations. I am practiced in working with anybody who is interested in pursuing commonsense, balanced solutions to ongoing challenges.”

Kassay described several quality-of-life concerns as “screaming for representation” in Albany, such as housing scarcity and the unaffordable standard of living in District 4. She said the state government must help create housing opportunities while conforming to the existing suburban character of local communities.

“I know that one-size-fits-all plans and mandates have tried to come down from the state, and while they try to address problems, they’re not suitable for the variety of unique communities within our area,” she said in an interview. “We need to find ways that we can support the creation of more housing opportunities for the middle class while preserving that suburban lifestyle.”

The Port Jeff deputy mayor identified various environmental challenges facing the 4th District, offering to leverage her environmental advocacy background toward climate-resilient policies.

“I really look at climate resilience as something that’s part of almost every dynamic conversation that government is having at this point,” she indicated.

Kassay referred to health care as another policy concern, citing soaring health care expenses as a barrier to entrepreneurship and economic development. “A lot of folks here who might set out as entrepreneurs or small business owners might be held back by health insurance as a barrier, so I really want to work to address that and make that more affordable for small business owners and entrepreneurs, specifically, but also for everyone else who is interacting with the state health insurance market,” she said.

Among other ideas, Kassay said she would use the office to pursue greater public investment in mental health services, target the opioid crisis, apply pressure on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for improved services along the Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road and expand coordination between the state and local levels of government.

Kassay’s current term as village trustee expires in July 2024. She stated she will not seek reelection for village office.

“I really look forward to serving not only Port Jefferson village residents but the residents throughout the district of AD4 from Stony Brook and all the way down to Gordon Heights, using the skills and relationships I’ve built at the village level and leveraging those skills all throughout the district,” she said.

To read Kassay’s entire statement, click here.

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