Mattituck’s Katie Hoeg, wrestling for the ball with a Center Moriches player last season, is an all-league forward heading into her fourth varsity season. (Credit: Garret Meade file)

PREVIEW

This may be Steve Van Dood’s favorite time of the year. When November comes around and it’s time to roll the basketballs out of the equipment room, Van Dood is in his element.

“I love it,” the Mattituck High School girls basketball coach said while his players ran drills during a recent practice. “It’s like Christmas. This is great. The most wonderful time of the year, as the song goes.”

Just how wonderful Mattituck’s season will be remains to be seen. The Tuckers (13-7 last season), who lost to Hampton Bays in the Suffolk County Class B final in February, have to compensate for a couple of big losses. Those would be all-conference players Shannon Dwyer and Tiana Baker. Dwyer graduated and Baker, a sophomore shooting guard, transferred to St. Anthony’s High School.

Those two and another graduated player, Christine Bieber, amount to the loss of 38 of the 64 points per game that the team averaged. That’s a huge chunk of offense.

“We lost a lot,” said Van Dood.

Van Dood said his biggest concern is replacing those lost points, but he has faith that the Tuckers will be able to do it.

It’s not like the Tuckers are bereft of talent. Far from it. They have an all-league junior forward in Katie Hoeg and freshman forward Liz Dwyer was the League VII rookie of the year last season.

The team is short on varsity experience, though. Its only two seniors, Lisa Angell and Courtney Murphy, are the only other two returning players.

Hoeg, who was the team’s most valuable player, and Murphy are entering their fourth varsity season.

Four juniors from last season’s junior varsity team — Courtney Penny, Hannah Fitzgerald, Phurlamu Sherpa and Brianna Perino — have made the big team along with a sophomore, Alya Ayoub. Freshmen Chelsea Marlborough, McKenzie Daly and Alex Beebe are making the jump from junior high school basketball to varsity.

Van Dood enters his ninth season coaching the Tuckers with an 89-81 record. They have made the playoffs in seven of the past eight years, reaching two county finals during that time.

“There’s a lot of good athletes on the floor right now, and that’s going to be the future of our team,” Van Dood said. He continued: “I think our strength is we really don’t have one player and we do get a lot out of being a team, playing as five girls instead of one, and I think that’s going to be our strength.”

Southold/Greenport has a tough non-league schedule, and it’s not by accident. The Clippers’ new coach, Howie Geismar, purposefully set up non-league games against Mattituck, Comsewogue, Hampton Bays, Southampton and East Hampton.

“It can only help,” he said. “You got to play [good teams] to get better.”

The Clippers (5-13) are clearly in the rebuilding stage, and the job of putting the pieces of the puzzle together falls to Geismer, who succeeds Joe Read. Read went 15-20 in his two seasons with the Clippers, twice taking them to Suffolk Class C finals.

Last season’s championship-game loss was particularly tough for the Clippers to take. Although they led by as many as 12 points on three occasions, they missed their final 19 field-goal attempts, made some costly turnovers down the stretch and watched Pierson/Bridgehampton walk away a 54-49 winner.

The Clippers are starting fresh, with Geismar, their fifth coach in five years. He had coached Shoreham-Wading River middle school and junior varsity teams before, but this is his first varsity girls basketball team.

With his team light on experience, Geismar is looking at multiple sophomores in his starting lineup. Forward Angelica Klavas, center Jamie Molnar, forward Grace Syron, guard Madison Tabor and guard Toni Esposito are all expected to see a good deal of playing time along with senior center Kenya Sanders.

Tabor was the League VIII rookie of the year last season. “She’s a good player and she really sparks the team with her speed and her toughness,” Geismar said. “She works. She can run all the time.”

One of the team’s few returning players, sophomore forward Katie Tuthill, has been sidelined since September with a concussion.

Geismar has other players to choose from as well: Nicole McDaniels, Raeann Berry, Angela Bucci, Masha Winkler, Rosario Rodriguez and Ali Cardi.

“It’s going to take some time, but I think we’ll be O.K.,” Geismar said. “I think we got to get some leadership and some good play out of a couple of seniors that we have, and a couple of juniors. I’m looking for somebody to step up.”

Geismar likes his team’s speed and attitude, which he said is “very upbeat. They’re looking to go out there and compete. I have some athletes. I have some decent athletes, they’re just young and inexperienced.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Southold Town’s zoning variances now have an expiration date.

The Town Board approved a new law Tuesday night that sets limits on the duration of variances granted by the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. 

Under the new law, applicants who receive a variance for construction work would have no more than six years to complete the work until the variance expires.

After three years, applicants who received a variance can apply for up to three one-year extensions. After the third one-year extension runs out, the applicant would need to start the process over and get a new variance.

The variance section of the town’s zoning ordinance, which was adopted in April 1957, had allowed variances to last in perpetuity with the land and had never been amended. Southold was the first East End town to approve zoning laws.

Only board member Jim Dinizio voted against the change to the zoning law at the board’s meeting Tuesday night, saying it “gives too much discretion to the zoning board.”

Mr. Dinizio had expressed his opposition to the amendment at a work session earlier that morning.

“I disagree with it altogether,” he said, adding that he didn’t agree with a future ZBA having the discretion to deny an extension on a variance approved by a prior board. “I don’t like the idea of government getting a second bite at the apple.”

Supervisor Scott Russell disagreed, arguing that the law, as previously written, made it so a prior ZBA can tie the hands of a future ZBA.

Town board members had also said that previously granted variances may become obsolete due to changes in the community over the years.

psquire@timesreview.com

With Grant Parpan

Officers arrested a Riverhead driver and his teen passenger late Tuesday night after the driver was caught driving drunk in Southold, police said.

Police received reports of an erratic driver at around 10:20 p.m. and they stopped Jose Avelar, 48, for failing to maintain his lane of travel on Main Road. Mr. Avelar was found to be intoxicated and was arrested, police said.

A further search revealed Mr. Avelar’s passenger Elmer Quesada, 19, of Riverhead was in possession of marijuana, police said Mr. Quesada was placed under arrested for the drug offense and later charged with false personation for giving a different name to a law enforcement official, police said.

Both subjects were held for arraignment.

The Fishers Island Theater is set to be renovated using $50,000 in federal funding. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

With federal funding for community projects dwindling again this year, the Southold Town Board is setting aside most of the money it receives for renovations at the Fishers Island Theater, according to town documents. 

A breakdown of the $74,310 the town will earn through the Community Development Block Grant shows $50,000 of the money will go towards the renovation project on Fishers Island.

The historic theater was temporarily closed over the summer after it was labeled a “danger.” Southold Town workers made quick repairs to make the building safe again, but a full renovation is still needed, town employees said last month.

Supervisor Scott Russell said a full renovation would cost millions, but added the town would only spend enough to make it “safe and serviceable.”

“It’s a community asset that’s heavily used,” he said. The remainder of the renovation costs — which will likely total in the hundreds of thousands — will be paid for by the town using public works funds, he said.

Of the remaining Community Development Block Grant money, more than $11,000 will go to fund public services, more than $9,400 will be used for landscaping and irrigation at the Peconic Lane Community Center, and about $3,700 will pay for administration costs, according to the breakdown.

The document also shows that Community Action Southold Town and Maureen’s Haven will each receive $5,573 in funding.

Last year, the town received $79,915 through the grants, Mr. Russell said. The year before, the town had won $163,334 — more than double what the town was awarded this year.

Town special projects coordinator Phillip Beltz said the decrease in funding forced the town to “get creative” with how the money is dispersed next year.

The Town Board approved the resolution to assign the community grant funds at its meeting Tuesday night, with Councilman Bill Ruland abstaining, since his wife is poised to become the next executive director of CAST.

psquire@timesreview.com

With Grant Parpan

Ethel S. Grigonis of Southold died at her home Dec. 1, 2014.  She was 87. 

The family will receive visitors on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 3 to 6 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold.  The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. at St. Agnes R.C. Church in Greenport.  Interment will follow at the church cemetery.

Memorial donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation would be appreciated.

A complete obituary will follow.

Jewelry designer Katelyn Nolan shows off one of her designs made from an antique key. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

For teen jewelry designer Katelyn Nolan, sewing bracelets from designer brand labels like Coach and Chanel was an empowering act during a tumultuous period in her life. 

The Cutchogue resident, who struggled to fit in during her high school years, was hospitalized for cutting at the age of 15. To heal emotionally, she needed a way to show the world she refused to let others judge her.

Read more on northforker.

The area that will be restored at Indian Island County Park. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)

Suffolk County is moving forward with a million-dollar plan to restore seven acres of land at Indian Island County Park in Riverhead that once served as a dumping ground for the county’s dredging projects. The measure is expected to improve the surrounding ecosystem by re-opening proper tidal flow to the area. 

From the 1940s to the 1970s, the area, which was once a wetland, was where the county dumped spoils that were clogging area waterways. Eventually, buildup at Indian Island piled up to the point that the seven acres no longer resembled a wetland but an elevated marsh.

Restoration of the land has been targeted by the county for a few years and is on the Peconic Estuary Program’s priority list.

“This has been bubbling on the stove for quite some time,” said county Legislator Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue).

The project is expected to cost $1.08 million. Of that, $788,000 will be reimbursed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and $300,000 has been allocated from the county’s quarter-percent tax earmarked for preserving drinking water quality in Suffolk County.

Long Island Pine Barrens president Dick Amper, who has twice taken the county to court over what he perceived as the misappropriation of those funds, said this week that using those monies for this project will benefit Long Island’s aquifer.

“This particular use will contribute to water quality, principally because water bodies function better and improve when they’re contaminated if you can increase the circulation of water due to the flushing of tidal systems,” Mr. Amper said. “So by clearing obstructions — that is, buildups of sediments in the creek — the water quality there and in the Peconic Bay can be expected to improve.”

But questions about the project remain.

For instance, relocating the spoils accounts for much of the cost. To save money, Mr. Krupski said he could cut the cost of the project by about a third if the material is simply moved around on the site. The county’s Council on Environmental Quality said the plan could move forward if the material isn’t moved off-site, he said.

“The contaminated material is at a low level — the same contamination as the sediment at the creek bottom,” Mr. Krupski said. “So if we can recreate as much of the marsh as we can, but leave the dredged spoil on site, that would save significant costs to the whole project.”

He proposed sending some of the state funds back to Albany and saving some of the $300,000 the county is investing in the project and taking that route. Which path the county decides to take, however, remains uncertain. Mr. Krupski said the planning department will likely make the final decision, although the project also involves the department of public works, vector control and the county health department.

In addition, it remains unclear at this point exactly how the county will engineer the tidal flushing. The seven-acre area eyed for restoration is currently separated by a car trail that follows the coastline, so either culverts must be installed connecting the restored area to Terrys Creek, or bridges must be constructed along the trail to allow water to get in and out.

Alison Branco, director of the nonprofit Peconic Estuary Program, said the area has  a “pretty degraded system in there right now.”

Restoring it to health will require less mosquito spraying by the county, she said, as proper flushing will result in less stagnant water — breeding grounds for mosquito larvae.

Ms. Branco said the project still requires DEC approval. County legislators approved funding for the plans on Tuesday.

jpinciaro@timesreview.com

Small planes parked at the New Suffolk Avenue airbase. (Credit: Carrie Miller, file)

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has removed Mattituck Airbase from New York’s Superfund site program.

The department notified the public of its intent to remove the New Suffolk Avenue site in August, saying it no longer poses a threat to public health or the environment.

The property, which currently operates as an informal airbase used by a few area pilots, was on the state’s Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site list, which identifies properties being investigated for potential hazardous wasteand outlines any cleanup efforts taking place.

The 12-acre site included a half-acre parcel where chemicals — including fuels, oils and cleaners — were once used for maintenance and repair work, according to state DEC officials. Solvent rinses and wastewater used on the property were discharged to leaching pools in the area from 1946 to 1979, leaving elevated levels of copper, iron, nickel, zinc, lead and cadmium in nearby soils, as well as several pesticide ingredients, according to the previous DEC listing.

Soil testing conducted in November 2013 found no lingering impact from the contaminants in question and it was determined that no public or environmental threats exist at the site, according to DEC officials.

The base was created in 1946, when Parker Wickham of Mattituck, who overhauled airplane engines during World War II, converted part of his family’s New Suffolk Avenue potato farm into a small airport and plane engine rebuilding shop under the name Mattituck Services, according to previous Suffolk Times coverage. The property is currently owned by Jay Parker Wickham of Mattituck.

A  family spokesperson said the announcement “is very exciting. We’ve been working for this, to get it done for a long time. We are glad that it is now complete.”

The removal of the airbase leaves 10 properties currently being investigated across Riverhead and Southold towns.

cmiller@timesreview.com

(Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)

The recount results are in for the Mattituck Park District’s commissioner election, and the outcome is the same as it was originally, with longtime incumbent commissioner Gerard Goehringer defeating challenger Nick Deegan by a 215 to 214 vote margin. 

The original Nov. 20 vote was challenged by Mr. Deegan, who asked for a recount that was previously scheduled for Nov. 25 but moved to Dec. 2.

District clerk Lydia Tortora said the 429 ballots were recounted twice on Tuesday night, and that both times they came up with the same numbers as those the night of the election.

As a result of his one-vote victory, Mr. Goehringer will add another three years to the 33 he’s already spent on the Park District’s commission.

Mr. Goehringer said in a Nov. 20 letter to The Suffolk Tomes that he’s “proud of what [the board] has accomplished” in his most recent term.

The vote was nearly as close in Orient-East Marion, where challenger Don Rose defeated incumbent Jay McKasty by six votes. Ms. McKasty had served on the board since 2010. A total of 83 residents cast votes — including three write-ins — with Mr. Rose winning the three-year term 43-37-3.

Mr. Rose, who previously served on the board at Island’s End Golf and Country Club, said he’s most looking forward to working to protect Truman’s Beach.

“It’s a glorious place,” he said. “I want to be involved in making it as accessible as can be.”

The Cutchogue New-Suffolk Park District election will be held this Tuesday, Dec. 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cutchogue East Elementary School.

tgannon@timesreview.com

Joe Tardif and Will Gildersleeve (21) are both all-league senior guards for Mattituck. (Credit: Garret Meade file)

PREVIEW

It may not exactly be all defense all the time, but defense surely is on the Mattituck Tuckers’ minds a lot these days.

If it sounds as if coach Paul Ellwood is playing the same record over and over again during his high school boys basketball team’s preseason practices, there’s a reason for it. He is emphasizing defense perhaps more than ever.

“I told the guys, ‘You’re pretty much only going to hear me talk about defense until our first game because it’s just going to be a team effort,’ ” he said.

Defense and rebounding will be critical to how well Mattituck does this season. No surprises there.

The Tuckers, who went 10-9 last season, losing to Wyandanch in a Suffolk County Class B outbracket game, have already shown that they can shoot. As a team they averaged 68 points per game last season with their uptempo style. They were a genuine threat from beyond the perimeter. Chris Dwyer and Will Gildersleeve led League VII in 3-point baskets last season with 40 each. Joe Tardif (27) and Parker Tuthill (25) were also among the league’s top seven in that category.

What the Tuckers lost in Gene Allen, a two-time all-conference player, they hope to make up for in their guard play. With Allen’s graduation, the Tuckers say goodbye to 15.8 points and 13 rebounds per game. He was League VII’s top rebounder.

Ellwood said, “I’m going to miss Gene’s leadership, his defense and his rebounds, but I think everyone understands … what they have to do to make up for what Gene did last year.”

Look at who the Tuckers still have. Gildersleeve, an all-league senior guard, averaged 14.6 points a game. Dwyer, a senior forward, was good for 12 points a game and Tardif, an all-league senior guard, averaged 9. Four players had 20-point games for the Tuckers last season.

Tuthill, a junior point guard, was the league’s rookie of the year.

James Nish, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, started a bunch of games. He brings the team height along with the 6-4 Josh Conklin and the 6-3 Ryan Mowdy.

Then again, Ellwood said size shouldn’t be much of an issue. “This is basically a guard league,” he said.

The Tuckers have plenty of depth in the back court, with Marcos Perivolaris, Auggie Knuth and Jon Dwyer, Chris’ younger brother. Dan Fedun, a junior forward, is a new addition to the team.

Altogether, it amounts to what Ellwood said is “probably my deepest team, probably my best offensive team.” Because of that depth, Ellwood, who takes a 74-140 record into his 11th season with the team, said he may go deeper into his bench to rest some legs.

With Mattituck’s speed, skill and savvy, Ellwood believes the Tuckers have closed the gap on League VII’s Babylon and Southampton; both of those teams each lost two all-county players.

Asked following a four-way scrimmage Saturday if he was ready for the new season, Ellwood replied: “You never feel like you’re ready. Right now I’m just thinking about getting through the next week.”

Southold coach Phil Reed also understands the value of defense. His First Settlers (8-10) have made gradual progress in that area over the past couple of seasons, but Reed says they need more improvement. Last season the First Settlers gave up an average of 53 points per game. Reed would like to see that figure dropped down to the 40s.

“Defense has to come from the heart, man,” he said. “It can’t come from just talking.”

So far Reed likes what he has seen. Preseason practices, he said, have been intense and three of his top players — seniors Liam Walker, Shayne Johnson and Alex Poliwoda — look like they are in the best shape of their lives.

Walker, an all-conference shooting guard, averaged 26 points a game last season. He enters his fourth varsity season about 150 points shy of 1,000 career points.

“If Liam sets the tone early, we’re going to be tough to beat,” said Reed.

Poliwoda is a long-range shooter, having knocked down 43 3-point shots last season.

If that isn’t enough, the First Settlers also have Greg Gehring, a junior point guard who transferred from Bishop McGann-Mercy. He will be a starter, said Reed.

The First Settlers are rich in seniors. Also among the team’s eight 12th graders are Matt McCarthy, Patrick Mejsak, Ryan DiGregorio, Anthony Siracusano and Jon Rempe.

The junior class is well represented on the team, with Noah Mina, Dominick Panetta, Michael DiCandia, Joe Worysz, Dylan Van Gordon, Aidan Vandenburgh and Aidan Walker, Liam’s brother. Another player, Patrick McFarland, is a sophomore.

Reed said he can see all the pieces coming together. He said the team is reminiscent of the 2004-5 Southold team that won a Suffolk Class C championship.

“They were special,” Reed said. “This is the same kind of group.”

Last season Southold missed making it into the playoffs by one game. Reed said his team is driven to reach the postseason for the first time in four years.

He said, “I always tell the kids the train is pulling out of the station and we’re not stopping until we’re there.”

Expect Greenport (9-11) to be energetic and intense. Really, the Porters have no other choice but to play that way.

Coach Ev Corwin is expecting tough competition from all the teams he faces in League VIII. Shelter Island. Stony Brook. Southold. Bridgehampton. Pierson. Smithtown Christian. Ross. He doesn’t see any easy games on the schedule.

“There’s no layups any more,” he said. “In this league there used to be a couple. Not any more.”

That means effort will be of paramount importance. The Porters, who lost to Shelter Island in last season’s Suffolk Class D final, are going to have to work for everything they get on both ends of the floor.

Every game, Corwin believes, will present a challenge.

“If we don’t play defense, we’re doomed,” he said. He continued: “We’re not the type of team that can go out there and just skill-wise just beat you. The second we let down a little bit, we’ll be done.”

The Porters must overcome the loss of two graduated players, all-conference guard Gavin Dibble and all-league forward Austin Hooks.

What the Porters do have is a healthy Tim Stevens. The senior guard, a 3-point threat, has fully recovered from a broken fibula that he suffered in his right leg this past football season.

Two other seniors, forward Alex Perez and guard Angel Colon, were starters last season. Tyshe Williams, Darius Strickland, Willie Riggins and twins Matt and John Drinkwater also offer varsity experience.

Darius Bolling, a sophomore brought up from the junior varsity team, will be the starting point guard. “If you got a guy that really leads from that position, it makes everybody else comfortable,” said Corwin.

Corwin said selfish behavior is not tolerated on his team. It’s something the Porters cannot afford. A team-first mentality is essential, he said.

“It’s the only way that we’re going to be able to win,” he said. “We don’t have the seven-footer coming in here. … We’re just really stressing the fact that it’s going to take every single guy.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Here are the classifieds for Dec. 4, 2014. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Times Review classifieds: Dec. 4, 2014

Here is the Suffolk Times Service Directory for Dec. 4, 2014. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Suffolk Times Service Directory: Dec. 4, 2014

To the editor:

I was driving on Route 25 the other day, a few hundred yards east of the Southold police station, when I observed three young white boys playing alongside the road with what looked like rifles. I assumed they were toy guns, although I could not tell as I drove past. 

Since they were walking near the station, police cars had to have passed them, and certainly dozens of passing cars like mine. My immediate thought was, “Thank God they were not black boys playing with toy guns, because they might have been shot dead by police.”

Recently, two young men brandishing toy guns were killed by police. In one case, the video recording of the murder of a 12-year-old was chilling, as the police car roared up right to him and immediately shot him dead. In the other video, a young man was walking around a department store with the toy gun. In each case, police claim they ordered the boys to drop the gun, and in each case it appeared that they had little time to do so before the shots were fired.

I wonder whether or not these young men would have been shot so quickly had they been white? Would the police have spent a few more minutes establishing whether or not these boys were a threat? Or, like the boys on the road in Peconic, would everyone just assume that the guns were not real and they were just playing around?

I recognize that police have to make life and death decisions, sometimes in a matter of seconds, but judgment is exactly what is needed, not immediate reactions when the threat is not clear. If we gave young black boys a few more moments of consideration, there would not be as many dead today.

Lonnie Soury, Southold

Although the holidays can create stress, the joys that accompany them are abundant. It had been many years since I attended the MCTA Turkey Trot, so I was pleasantly surprised to see participants and spectators filling the gym Thanksgiving morning. The teachers union spent hours planning, publicizing, collecting raffle prizes, registering runners and tending to the many details that make this day a success. The best part was seeing familiar faces and families bonding for a good cause. Proceeds will benefit Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a senior scholarship in memory of Kaitlin Doorhy and scholarships to be awarded at graduation. Bravo to all involved! What a great way to kick off the holiday season.

Ho, ho, ho! Santa is coming to Mattituck by fire truck this Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m. The event includes our students singing carols, complimentary hot chocolate and cookies, and the Christmas tree lighting at 4:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Last Saturday was Small Business Saturday, which emphasizes supporting local businesses during this time of gift-giving. Our first stop was the North Fork Designer Christmas Show House. The care given to creating a unique experience in each room was evident. We ran into Julie Lisewski and Terry Hofer, whose friendly faces encourage you to return for another visit, and I left wanting to re-create every room in my own home. Admission is $10, with proceeds benefiting local charities and the Wounded Warrior Project. A stop here is a great way to experience the traditions of the upcoming season.

My daughter and I also visited several local businesses, picked up some great gifts and enjoyed seeing many familiar faces, including Laura Woodhull and her daughter, Stacey; Jackie Wilsberg and her daughters Chelsea and Ashley; and Greg Ammirati. In front of the post office, the Boy Scouts were selling their wreaths and Luke Wojtas and Chris Merz were among the busy young men working hard to help us all decorate for Christmas. It was a rather fun and productive afternoon. ‘Tis the season to shop local at the places we know and love!

Congratulations to the November students of the month at Mattituck High School: Trevor Poole, John Tardiff, Jason Scalia, Alissa Dabrowski, Daniel Folk, Adam Webb, Joseph Stuckart, Sam Shaffrey, Colin Kaminsky, Joseph Considine and Dennis O’Rourke.

Kristen Ulmet celebrated her birthday Nov. 15 in a very special way: She gave birth to a baby girl, McKenzie Irene, with her husband, Brady, by her side. McKenzie weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and was 21 inches long. May God bless McKenzie today and always.

Others blowing out their candles during the next two weeks will be Ryan Strong, James Sheppard, Danny Letteriello, Matt Ianno, Jack DiGregorio, Samantha Kowalsick and Gabriella Finora.

Once again, the Mattituck girls basketball team, under the guidance of Steve Van Dood, will be welcoming players from Hjemely High School in Denmark. If you see any of our girls hosting these young ladies, show them some Mattituck hospitality.

Toys are still being collected for the Lions Club by Judy Tilberg at Wendy’s Deli. Please drop off unwrapped toys to help local children enjoy a merry Christmas.

Contact Mattituck columnist Pat Arslanian at Pat5543782@aol.com or 298-8489.

Angela DeVito, president of the South Jamesport Civic Association, outside the Bayview Inn & Restaurant. The group has yet to take an official on a plan to convert the building to apartments, and split the parcel into two separate lots. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

The new owners of the former Bayview Inn and Restaurant in South Jamesport are seeking a variance from the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals to convert the property’s main building into five apartment units.

Gattofreddo, Ltd., — which is headed by Southampton attorney Richard Mathew — wants to subdivide the 20,000-square-foot property into two separate lots, said Adam Grossman, the attorney representing Mr. Mathew. The Bayview Inn and Restaurant closed a few months ago.

The first proposed lot would measure around 14,000 square feet and include the property’s main building, Mr. Grossman said. A second 6,000-square-foot lot would include an existing cottage east of the inn that currently has two efficiency units.

The property’s main building dates back to 1860. Before it became a restaurant and seven-room inn a decade ago, it operated for many years as a veterans home.

Mr. Grossman said the ZBA variance his client is requesting essentially proposes “to have a use that’s closer to what the current zoning allows.”

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Angela DeVito, president of the Jamesport-South Jamesport Civic Association, said her organization has not officially taken a position on the application, but it does have questions.

“I’ve been researching this,” Ms. DeVito said. “The question is, if the pre-existing uses run with the land and the land gets subdivided into two parcels, which parcel gets the pre-existing use? This is a question that needs to be raised. I will be intrigued by their presentation.”

The property’s current zoning is RB-80, which essentially calls for minimum residential lot sizes of two acres.

“There’s nothing in [South Jamesport] that conforms to zoning,” Mr. Grossman said Monday, indicating that none of the hamlet’s homes include two acres of property despite what the zoning calls for.

“The inn has been in existence well before zoning, dating back to the 1800s, and my client is proposing to have a use that’s closer to what the current zoning allows,” he continued. “We’re hoping the ZBA appreciates that and sees it as a benefit to the community.”

Mr. Grossman explained that Gattofreddo wants to swap a use that doesn’t conform with zoning — the hotel and restaurant — for apartments.

The company’s application on the matter was adjourned at last month’s ZBA meeting and is scheduled to be heard again Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. In addition to relief from the minimum lot size rule, Gattofreddo is asking for several variances on the amount of distance required between neighboring properties. They’re also requesting a variance for a 100 percent impervious surface — instead of the maximum of 15 percent — and no landscape buffer instead of the required 10 feet.

Mr. Mathew originally proposed seven apartments in the main building but later reduced it to five, Mr. Grossman said. If Mr. Mathew’s request for five apartments is granted by the ZBA, the property’s adjacent cottage will go back to being a single-family home, he said. The proposal does not involve the expansion of either building and all work being proposed is interior.

Mr. Grossman said Mr. Mathew was the private mortgage lender to the property’s previous owner, Front and Center, which was headed by Bob Patchell.

BARBARAELLEN KOCH | The Long Island Science Center would move if apartments get built.

A five-story apartment building planned for the Long Island Science Center site went from market-rate “luxury” apartments to “workforce housing” affordable apartments earlier this year.

The plans have now seen another change.

“The latest breaking news is that we intend for this to be housing for the artist community,” said Marianne Garvin, the president and chief executive officer of the non-profit Community Development Corporation of Long Island.

She was speaking to members of the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency Monday night, during a public hearing on proposed tax incentives for the project, which is a joint venture between the CDC and Rochester-based, for-profit developer Conifer Realty.

The project is being called Peconic Crossing.

The building would still contain 48 affordable rental units. In order to win a lease, proposed tenants would have to meet income guidelines based on the area median income for Suffolk County, which is $73,600, according to the CDC.

However, it will give a preference to prospective tenants who are artists and can document that, Ms. Garvin said.

The project would have a common area for arts and a balcony overlooking the Peconic River that could be used for art events, she said.

The project would be modeled after the 45-unit Artspace apartment complex in Patchogue, according to Allen Handelman, Conifer’s vice president of development.

“Artspace Patchogue has been very successful in bringing artists to downtown Patchogue,” he said.

Conifer is also building artist housing in Rochester, Mr. Handelman said. Artspace, a Minnesota-based nonprofit, had actually considered building a project in Riverhead in 2005 before eventually choosing Patchogue.

Six of the proposed units in Peconic Crossing would be for households with incomes at or below 50 percent of the  county median income, while 33 units will be for households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the county median income, and nine units will be targeted for incomes at about 120 percent of the county median income.

For a one-person household, that works out to an annual income of $36,800 at 50 percent of the AMI, $44,160 at 60 percent of AMI, and $88,320 at 120 percent.

For a two-person household, those numbers are $42,050, $50,460 and $100,920 respectively.

The projected rents for the apartments are between $952 and $1,133 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, and between $1,141 and $1,528 for a two-person apartment. Heat and hot water would be included in that rent, but electric would be paid by the tenant, Mr. Handelman said.

The application calls for 32 two-bedroom units and 16 one-bedroom units.

Mr. Handelman said the project would create about 60 construction jobs but would have only two part-time permanent positions at the apartments.

The CDC would not be giving preferences to Riverhead Town residents in terms of being selected for the units, because residency preferences are now “problematic” under federal fair housing regulations, Ms. Garvin said.

Peconic Crossing is seeking IDA tax breaks on sales taxes on building supplies used in the construction, county mortgage recording taxes, and a partial tax abatement on property taxes.

The IDA can provide tax exemptions only on the value of the improvements made by a development, and not on the existing land value.

Their “uniform” property tax abatement starts at 50 percent and decreases by five percent each year over 10 years, until the project is paying 100 percent of its property taxes, although the IDA can grant different tax abatements and has given 100 percent tax abatements to some projects, such as the Long Island Aquarium on East Main Street.

In this case, the applicants plan to demolish the existing Long Island Science Center building and build a new structure, while the Science Center plans to move into the former West Marine building on East Main Street.

The applicants did not ask for a specific exemption at Monday’s hearing and have said in the past that the amount of the tax incentives would be subject to negotiation.

Former Riverhead Supervisor Jim Stark voiced opposition to giving tax breaks for the project at Monday’s public hearing.

“As a resident taxpayer of the Town of Riverhead, I am totally against the taxpayer footing the bill for any development,” Mr. Stark said. ”They have the right to come to Riverhead. If under the zoning it is (permitted) they can build.

“But I don’t think we have to subsidize it.”

Pat Snyder, the executive director of the East End Arts Council, voiced support for the project and the tax incentives..

“East End Arts is ready and willing to support the marketing and research of artists in the area,” she said. “This is an endorsement for the fact that Riverhead is on the brink of being a creative community and is really bursting as a creative community and this will only add to that.”

Asked if she feels there is a need for artist housing in Riverhead, Ms. Snyder said she has not had artists come to her, but based on the fact that the Patchogue Artspace project is full, she feels it’s is a good indication of the demand for artist housing.

“Because of the projects coming into town, I think Riverhead will be very attractive to artists in the near future,” Ms. Snyder said.

The 48-unit apartment project was originally proposed as a for-profit luxury apartment complex under a prior developer, Simshabs X, which also had an application for IDA tax breaks, but subsequently pulled out of the project.

While Peconic Crossing is basically the same project, they have made some changes to their application, which were not reflected in the application on file with the IDA. So IDA members said that means they could not approve the project’s tax incentive request on Monday, and will need a new public hearing notice for the continuation of the hearing on Jan. 5.

These hearings include the change in use to artist housing, as well as an increase in the anticipated cost of the project, from $16.7 million to $17.3 million.

Mr. Handelman said they also are proposing to pull the footprint of the project back off the Peconic River slightly, and they have reduced the number of parking spaces proposed on the ground floor of the building from 48 to 40. They also would eliminate the existing roadway behind the building and make it into parkland, Mr. Handelman said.

The project is in the public parking district, meaning it can use town parking lots for its parking.

The proposal calls for both an entrance and exit on Peconic Avenue but only an entrance from West Main Street.

The applicants also plan to seek other financing for the project, specifically federal Low Income housing Tax Credits which are allocated by the state on a completive basis, and other funding from the county and state.

tgannon@timesreview.com

A helicopter at East Hampton Airport. (Credit: Kyril Bromley/The East Hampton Press, file)

New battle lines have been drawn in the fight over aircraft noise buzzing through East End communities.

Peter Wolf, an author and expert on land uses, along with Kenneth Lipper, a former deputy mayor of New York City, have hired a top Manhattan law firm to make a case for banning all helicopters and seaplanes from the East Hampton Airport. 

They have more than 500 East Hampton residents pledged to support their plans.

“We’re spending our time, effort and money to work on noise mitigation,” Mr. Wolf said.

He and Mr. Lipper have been paying Cravath, Swaine & Moore, an international law firm with more than 100 attorneys, to make the case that East Hampton, once it gains control of airport operations on Jan. 1, can ban the choppers and seaplanes; require all aircraft to meet an established noise level standard; restrict operations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and restrict takeoffs and landings to four hours a day.

In a six-page opinion citing legal precedents, attorney David Greenwald of CS&M concluded last week that the restrictions “reflect[s] a reasonable and non-arbitrary approach to the reduction of noise pollution and do[es] not improperly discriminate against aircraft or aircraft operators …”

The volume of traffic to and from New York City to East Hampton increased dramatically last summer because of an improving economy and also through phone apps and ride sharing, providing cheaper flights to and from the Hamptons.

East Hampton lost some control over its airport policy several years ago when the town took Federal Aviation Administration grants, mostly to upgrade infrastructure. The town signed “grant assurances” with the FAA, and part of that agreement was keeping the airport open to traffic around the clock throughout the year, and not discriminating against the types of aircraft using the facility.

Asked if banning certain aircraft would negatively affect the economy of the East End, Mr. Wolf said no.

“We’re not trying to close the airport,” he said. “We’re not affecting any local jobs. The only thing that banning helicopters does is make it difficult for some commercial operators to ferry people to the South Fork.”

But an organization called the Friends of East Hampton Airport Coalition disagrees. The FEHAC, which includes the Eastern Region Helicopter Council — a pilot’s organization — along with aviation companies and others, is taking an active role to keep the status quo at the airport.

Mr. Wolf’s economic forecast if helicopters are banned along with other restrictions is short-sighted, said Loren Riegelhaupt, a spokesman for the FEHAC.

“Facts are stubborn things,” said Mr. Riegelhaupt, who works for SKDKnickerbocker, an international public relations firm, citing an economic study done last year by New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation and Policy Management that found airport users spent $48 million in 2013 on local businesses.

a.clancy@sireporter.com

The incoming Southold Town Justice Court director, Leanne Reilly, will take over on Jan. 5. She currently serves as director of the Westhampton Beach Justice Court, which she has helped run for the past 10 years. (Credit: Paul Squire)

It’s no surprise that newly hired Southold Town Justice Court director Leanne Reilly has already heard of the controversy surrounding a previous town court clerk accused of stealing thousands from bail funds. Suffolk County court clerks are a pretty tight community, she said. They share training and best practices constantly and word travels fast.

But Ms. Reilly — a current justice court director in the Village of Westhampton Beach who has more than a decade of experience — is making one thing clear: She knows how to run a court. 

“You put different procedures in place to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” she said.

Ms. Reilly, a resident of Manorville, said she’s excited about the change of scenery to a bigger court.

“I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge,” she said. “The busier the better.”

Ms. Reilly’s hiring was one of three additions made to the town court system Tuesday night by the Southold Town Board after several months of discussions about changes to the courtroom.

The town created the new justice court director position in April following the resignation of senior court clerk Christine Stulsky, who was arraigned on grand larceny charges in March after she allegedly stole “a substantial amount of money” from the court. A criminal court case against her is still pending.

Ms. Stulsky’s duties have since been taken over by other employees of the justice court, town officials have said.

Ms. Reilly will begin her new role Jan. 5. In addition to the Westhampton Beach court, she’s also served as the justice court director in the villages of West Hampton Dunes and Mastic Beach.

“She comes highly recommended by the mayor [of Westhampton Beach],” said Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell. “She was interviewed by the [Southold Town] Board and Justice [Bill] Price and was found to be an excellent, take-charge individual with a background in justice court operations.”

A job description shows the justice court director is responsible for collecting, depositing and recording all justice court fines, fees and bail payments. They will also supervise the maintenance of court records, prepare monthly reports to the state comptroller and assist the town justices in helping the town supervisor prepare his proposed annual budget. Ms. Reilly told The Suffolk Times that her court in Westhampton Beach uses the same software as Southold’s court, making the transition easier.

The job comes with an $80,000 salary, which was increased from $63,000 in July to attract interest among “more qualified candidates,” Mr. Russell said.

Prior to Tuesday night’s meeting during which members approved Ms. Reilly’s hiring, one resident wrote to object to the move, suggesting the board should have hired one of its current justice court clerks at a lower salary. The letter claimed the board was being “unfair” to the employee and questioned the number of diverse employees the town hires.

But Town Board member Bill Ruland, who also serves as deputy supervisor and sat in on all interviews with board member Jim Dinizio, said Ms. Reilly is extremely well-qualified.

“I know she’ll hit the ground running,” he said. During Tuesday meeting, Mr. Ruland added, “There’s no question in my mind that in this case it’s the right decision and the right candidate for Southold.”

The new part-time court officers hired Tuesday — former New York Police Department officer George Gross and recent seasonal Southold police officer Steven Ficner — will serve under Ms. Reilly in her role as justice court director. They will be paid $29.22 per hour and work no more than 17.5 hours per week, according to the resolution appointing them. Mr. Ficner’s appointment becomes effective Friday, Dec. 5. Mr. Gross will start Friday, Dec. 12.

Southold Town’s only current court officer, Donato Cappabianca, previously announced his intention to resign but said he would remain on the job until a replacement was found. Weeks before telling the Town Board he would be leaving his part-time civil service post, Mr. Cappabianca wrote a letter to members about security concerns in the courtroom. In it, he described situations in which he needed to take knives away from defendants since there are no security checks or a metal detector prior to them entering the courtroom.

A committee of town employees has been working in recent months on restructuring the court and improving safety there.

One of the committee’s first actions was to apply for a grant from the New York State Unified Court System requesting up to $30,000 to purchase safety equipment, including a metal detector, Councilwoman Jill Doherty, who serves as the committee’s liaison to the Town Board along with Town Councilman Jim Dinizo, previously told The Suffolk Times. The committee is also entertaining the idea of moving the justice court into a separate building from Town Hall, Mr. Russell has said.

Mr. Dinizio said at Tuesday’s Town Board work session that the men hired to replace Mr. Cappabianca both have proper training and law enforcement experience.

“They have the command,” he said. “They have the experience we’re looking for.”

psquire@timesreview.com

It’s Sept. 12, 1957, and a Mattituck resident is appearing before the newly created Southold Town Zoning Board of Appeals. He wants to add an enclosed porch to his home on Bray Avenue. His is the 22nd appeal ever filed with the ZBA, which was established April 9, 1957, and approved its first variance that June.

The building department had denied the Mattituck man’s application to build the porch, records show, because the alteration would have extended beyond his property’s building line.

So the man applied for the variance. He said it was in the spirit of the law and that the porch wouldn’t change the character of the district because there were “mostly summer dwellings on this street.”

The variance was approved.

Fifty-seven years later, the man’s home appears to have been replaced by a newer, larger house — and the portion of the town’s zoning ordinance that pertains to variance powers has just been amended for the first time. The amendment, approved Tuesday night, dictates that any project requiring a variance must be completed within three years or else the homeowner will need to seek an extension.

The measure was approved 5-1 Tuesday with only board member Jim Dinizio, a former ZBA chairman, voting against it. His argument, which he strongly voiced at a Town Board work session Tuesday morning, is that government should not get a “second bite at the apple.” If a variance is approved, it should remain in perpetuity, he said.

We disagree.

More from our opinion section: 

• Featured Letter: The benefit of the doubt

• Suffolk Closeup: Twomey was never, ever giving up

• Guest Spot: How deer have decimated our woodlands

The amendment is certainly within the spirit of what the town set out to do when it formed the East End’s first ZBA in 1957. As quoted from the April 12, 1957, issue of The Suffolk Times: “The sole purpose of zoning and planning is not to work a hardship on any individual, but to ensure residents of the Town of Southold that their homes and businesses will be protected against undesirable ventures.” The very section of the zoning ordinance amended Tuesday states that it exists, in part, to protect public welfare.

We recognize that it’s a reach to say the addition of an enclosed porch would be an undesirable venture today. But we couldn’t help but notice that the man’s argument in 1957 about why the variance wouldn’t change the character of the district would no longer be accurate. While Bray Avenue, like many other streets in Southold Town, was once filled mostly with summer homes, that’s not exactly the case today.

Communities change. Houses change. People change. Why should a variance be the one thing to remain constant?

East Marioneer Heather Walker is doing her annual Warm Hands Warm Hearts holiday clothing drive and collecting scarves, gloves and warm hats. Adult items will be distributed to John’s Place and children’s items to local children in need. Drop donations off at Oysterponds School; the Walker residence, 2530 Gillette Drive, East Marion; or in Greenport at the Hampton Jitney or McMann Price offices. It’s hard to believe that this effort is in its fifth year; it was launched as an act of thanksgiving by Heather after she survived her catastrophic accident and the multi surgeries and long recovery that followed. WTG, Heather.

The East Marion Community Association invites you to join them this Saturday for their Holiday Benefit from 4 to 7 p.m. at the historic East Marion life-saving station, now a private residence at 5795 Rocky Point Road. Tickets are $35 in advance; $45 at the door. Call 477-2819 to reserve or email event@emca.us. Tickets are limited so act fast. Proceeds will benefit EMCA.

The OHS Beach Plum Shop will be open this weekend from noon to 4 p.m. and on the following two weekends. Stop in and pick up that special, locally created gift.

The OHS winter benefit is this Saturday at the Webb House. Please call OHS and check if you can still sign up. Tickets are $100. While on the phone, sign up for the annual House Tour Dec. 13.

Under the direction of Oysterponds art teacher Catherine Brigham, students are creating ornaments and decorating one of the “famous” trees that will be auctioned off at the winter benefit. Many thanks to the Oysterponds students.

The North Fork Chorale winter concert will be held at Orient Congregational Church this Sunday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m. Find a member to purchase a ticket from, or some may still be left at the door.

I had one of my fun ‘small worlds’ last week. I volunteered for the soup kitchen at St. Martin dePorres Church in Jensen Beach. Since I was new, the where-are-you-froms were abundant. Pat, who runs the kitchen, was from Brentwood, and I thought that was a small world until she said, “Peg is a snowbird from somewhere on the island.” When I asked Peg Bendicksen where she hailed from, I was astounded when she said Greenport and that she attends St. Agnes. As you know, I thought I knew everyone in both those places. When we started chatting, there was not one person in a list of dozens we mentioned whom we didn’t both know. And when I went to send her an email, she was already in my saved emails, so we must have belonged to the same group at some time. I can’t make this stuff up.

It’s been a bittersweet month for East Marion native Alice Jester. On Nov. 1, she lost her beloved brother, Dick (Greenport High School Class of ’54), who died at Westchester Medical Center. Then, on Nov. 24, she lost her former sister-in-law and dear friend Jeanne Manna Feiman. However, on the flip and joyous side, on Nov. 28, Alice and her husband, Tee, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. So Oysterponds extends sympathy to Alice; Dick’s wife, Mary Ellis; his children, Richard Jr., Janet and Robert; and his nephew, Mattituck’s Steven Jester. We also wish Alice and Tee a happy 50th and wishes for health and happiness in the years ahead.

Back here on Dec. 18. The deadline will be the 15th. Until then, try to enjoy the season.

Contact Oysterponds columnist Carol Gillooly at medinnov@aol.com or 323-3899.