The Trail Mix
The Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway
Volume 6, Issue 7
July 2026
The Trail Mix is the monthly newsletter of The Friends of the Greenway. We established this bulletin to keep you current on some of the “goings-on” regarding our Trail and to dispense a mix of bits and bytes of flavorful information. Hopefully, The Trail Mix will enlighten, inform, and entertain our readers.
The Friends of the Greenway is part of The Three Village Community Trust. The Trust was established more than twenty-two years ago to “Protect the Places You Love.” Support the Greenway by joining the Trust today! Visit: threevillagecommunitytrust.org
The Three Village Community Trust invites you to a very special event!
Another Great Day on the Trail
It was another great day on the Greenway. Our June 20th cleanup participants included Trail Stewards and community volunteers clearing branches, removing litter, weeding landscaped areas, and adding plantings to the Port Jefferson Trailhead. A super team effort!
Our June Green Team
- Larry Drosin
- Charlie McAteer
- Stephanie Alwais
- Rob Alwais,
- Matthew Alwais.
- Steven Alwais
- Holden Cone
- Chauncy Cone
- Christina Cone
- Susan Colatosti,
- Ben Brehl
- Norm Samuels
Big News! – Congratulations to All!
You heard it here first.
New York State Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay has selected the Greenway as the focus of her Monthly Community Outreach Project.
As many of you know, each month the Assemblywoman promotes a specific cause or project to engage the wider community. The Assemblywoman has announced that the July 18th cleanup on the Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway will be her next outreach project. This will encourage residents to participate in our efforts to maintain and enhance the trail. July 18th should be a big day, with lots of volunteers working to keep the Greenway great!
We will be sending out more information about this partnership between the Assemblywoman’s office and the Friends of the Greenway in a week or two. Stay tuned!
Yes, that’s the Greenway is on an album cover!
Michael John Hall enjoys bicycling on the Greenway. He is a talented musician and creative record producer. He recently wrote to us the following:
I want to share with you that I have incorporated a photo I took of our beloved Greenway Trail onto my new single of “The Long and Winding Road”. This is part of my new album “Songs in the Key of Sleep Volume 2, Night Vigil.” This is my ninth album. The single will go live on all streaming sites by the end of next week, around May 30. The album goes live June 19.
Congratulations Michael on your new album
As promised in our last issue of the Trail Mix, here is the full newspaper article that appeared in the Three Village Times Herald about the extraordinary Holden Cone.
There’s No Holden Him Back
Eagle Scout candidate Holden Cone’s project improves the Greenway
By Charlie Zeeve
By any measure, the Setauket—Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail is one of the North Shore’s most beloved community assets. Over the past several months, that experience has quietly gotten safer, smarter, and more welcoming thanks to a comprehensive Eagle Scout service project led by Troop 427’s Holden Cone. What began as a simple plan to “do something useful for the trail,” according to Cone, became a coordinated, four-stage effort that blended hands-on craftsmanship, fundraising, and environmental stewardship.
The Ward Melville sophomore’s work rolled out week by week, each phase building on the last. He and his dad started at a workbench, precutting and assembling Eastern screechowl nesting boxes. Then, with a few younger Scouts, they installed three boxes at carefully chosen sites along the Greenway: near the Renaissance Technologies entrance by the Setauket trailhead, within the more interior, wooded Gnarled Hollow Preserve, and near the Old Town Road crossing, set back to minimize road noise and predator exposure. To help the public understand what they were seeing, Cone created an educational flyer for the Greenway’s kiosks explaining the role of native owls and the importance of minimizing disturbance.
Next came the project’s marquee feature: a public bicycle repair station installed at the kiosk off Limroy Lane in Setauket. For riders, it’s an immediate upgrade to the trail experience. Flats and squeaky brakes don’t keep office hours, and the station’s integrated pump and tools let cyclists handle onthespot fixes, from inflating tires to adjusting seatpost height. Cone led the fundraising for what turned out to be the most expensive element of the project. When the unit finally arrived at his family’s home, the assembly turned into a kitchentabletotrailhead operation. “It wasn’t too bad — just drill bits and stuff,” he said, with the understated pride of a builder whose work speaks for itself. He especially appreciated the QR code on the side: a quick scan pulls up clear instructions and tool guides, easing firsttime use and keeping the station accessible for everyone.
Infrastructure and comfort rounded out the plan. About a mile west of the Port Jefferson Station trailhead, an existing wooden bench now sits on a newly poured concrete pad, keeping the area cleaner, more stable, and easier to access after rain. Another bench near Old Town Road received a careful repair and fresh paint, extending its life and improving safety. The concrete pour happened earlier than some expected — a practical decision that hinged on when Scouts from Cone’s troop could be on site. It’s a good snapshot of how community projects really get done: coordinated around volunteer schedules, spurred by momentum, and finished by teams who show up when the window opens.
If you ask the adults who steward the Greenway, the scale and thoughtfulness of Cone’s work stands out. “In all the 17 years of Scouting projects along our Setauket to Port Jeff Station Greenway Trail, the Friends of the Greenway has never had one individual contribute as many different enhancements to the trail,” said Friends chair Charles McAteer. Three Village Community Trust board member Herb Mones has long championed the Scouts’ role in keeping the Greenway vibrant, and Cone’s project fits squarely in that tradition: tangible upgrades paired with stewardship that will matter season after season.
Scouting, Cone says, has been part of his life since sixth grade. Campouts and merit badges blossomed into strong leadership and public speaking. He’s active with the Three Village Historical Society, and he recalls giving a twominute speech for a merit badge as the kind of challenge that turned into a new comfort zone. Now, he’s the one showing new Scouts the ropes. “I’m stepping up and helping them learn, as older Scouts did for me,” he said. “It’s kind of filling the shoes of the people who helped me.”
That mentorship is visible in the fingerprints on the project: younger Scouts helped assemble boxes, families pitched in at the installation, and a troop crew learned how to form and pour a small slab the right way. Whether his future leans toward the trades, environmental work, or any path that blends people and projects, he’s already fluent in a language communities trust: show up, be prepared, leave things better than you found them.
The Greenway feels a little more cared for because, in concrete ways, it is.
Cleanup Schedule –
Spring/Summer/Fall 2026
Spring
Saturday, April 18th at 9am, As part of the Earth Day Celebrations– Starting location: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead.
Saturday, Tentatively May 16th at 9am , To be held in conjunction with the Town of Brookhaven’s 2022 Great Annual Clean Up – Starting location: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead. Refreshments will be served.
Summer/Fall
Saturday, June 20th at 9am, Starting Location: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead. (Trail Stewards Breakfast Meet Up at 8:30pm)
Saturday, July 18th at 8:30am, Starting location: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead
Saturday, August 15th at 8:30am, Starting locations: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead.
Saturday, September 19th at 9am, Starting location: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead. (Trail Stewards Breakfast Meet Up at 8:30pm)
Need more information? Want to become a Trail Steward? Wish to Donate to the Greenway? Want to be on the Friends of the Greenway’s email list? Email Herb at HJMones@gmail.com or Charlie at cfmcateer@gmail.com
Our Special Friends
Keep in mind, these special friends of the Greenway who support our efforts throughout the year! Please consider giving them your business, and mention you saw them in The Trail Mix.
Shown above is Dave Prestia, owner/operator, of Bagel Express
Bagel Express at 15-5 Bennetts Road in Setauket. Owned and operated by David Prestia, Bagel Express generously donates the catering of our Trail Steward breakfasts. Delicious bagels, hot, steaming coffee – sooo good! For the third year in a row, The Trail Mix has voted Bagel Express #1 for breakfast and lunch, and all of your catering needs. Call 631-675-2770 or check website at Bagel Express – New York | View our menu, reviews & Order food online (bagelexpressli.com)
Emily Riley Design631-512-3330 emilyrileydesign.com
Emily Riley of Emily Riley Design knows plants and landscaping. Using the latest understanding of natural, native and sustainable landscaping methods, Emily can transform your yard into a magical setting that lasts for years and years. As a landscape designer, Emily has been a generous donor of both time, energy and materials to a host of Trust projects!
A Big Friend of the Trust is Swan Cove Landscaping. Swan Cove does a whole line of services – lawn maintenance, pruning, stone walls, firewood. Dave Fortuna has recently retired, but his longtime employee Wander Aleman is now the new and capable owner/operator. Swan Cove donates many, many of services to the Trust. The result – our properties always look great! Thank you, Dave! Call 631-689-8089.
Emerald Magic Lawn Care’s horticultural consultant, Craig den Hartog has been providing flower bulbs for the Greenway over many years at “no cost.” We planted a big bulk of these bulbs at the kiosk on Gnarled Hollow Road, Setauket. Craig generosity is part of his beautification effort known as Old Town Blooms.Why not support Emerald Magic, who supports us! Call 631-286-4600, 631-804-9205.
Steve Antos – He can do it all!
For your yard’s beautification look to Setauket Landscape and Design. Steve Antos can help you plan and design the unique surroundings to make your property the envy of your neighborhood. His company has helped us with many large and small projects on the Trust’s historic properties. Call 631-882-7190.
And lots of thanks to Bove Industries and Skyline Industries for their generous support of the Trust’s projects – they have been instrumental in our grounds restorations at the Smith/deZafra House! Bove Industries and Skyline Industries are leaders in producing materials for roads and construction products.
Randall Brothers Tree Service is always a big help and big hearted in helping the Trust! Call 631-862-9291. Marty is the Man!
Northville Industries
We are appreciative of Northville Industries’ big, big help in mowing the Greenway throughout the past year. Their partnership with the Three Village community helps make the Greenway a special place for all!
Jos. M. Troffa Materials Corporation at 70 Comsewogue Road in Setauket is a very special friend. The company has every conceivable item to beautify your yard. Mulch – they got it. Grass seed – yes! Soil, gravel, shovel, – everything. Forget the big box stores – You gotta go to Troffa!
Maeder Landscaping and Snow, Ltd. is a really great choice for your all of your yard’s needs. Rest your back, spend more time with your friends and family – give them a call at 631-988-9211.
The Three Village Community Trust
A community of volunteers working to “Protect the Places You Love.”
Trust properties and stewardships include: The Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway, Patriots Rock Historic Site, The Immigrant Factory Worker Houses, the Hawkins Homestead, the Smith/de Zafra House, the Bruce House, the Steven D. Mathews Preserve, The Little Red House, the Dr. Robert and Julia de Zafra Estate, and the Tyler House.
Trust programs and outreaches include: The Trail Steward Program, The Little Food Pantry, Chicken Hill Country Picnic, Annual Winter Coat Drive, Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, Patriots Rock Program – Culper Spy Day, Maria’s No Mow May, Simply De-Vine Awareness Program, Annual Ukrainian Relief Drive, The Trail Mix Newsletter, monthly Greenway Cleanups, Earth Day Celebration, The Trust’s Photo Letter, and the Stony Brook Train Station Beautification Project.
The Trust is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization of all volunteers dedicated to Protecting the Places You Love.
PO Box 2596, Setauket, New York 11733
