The Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway Newsletter

Volume 2, Issue 8

September 2022

The Trail Mix is the monthly newsletter of The Friends of the Greenway. We established this bulletin to keep the Friends and users of the Greenway 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 help to enlighten, inform, and entertain our readers. The Friends of the Greenway is a committee of our parent organization – The Three Village Community Trust.

West Meadow Beach – Trouble in Paradise

West Meadow Beach is one of our community’s most treasured sites. Not only is the public beach a perfect family-friendly site, but the nearby mile-and-a-quarter peninsula is also a preserve perfect for viewing the natural world – filled with birds, turtles, rabbits, and a unique variety of native plants.

With the creek on one side and the Sound on the other, a stroll down the peninsula – and back – on the paved greenway is a fun and relaxing experience for so many residents. Since there is no vehicular traffic on Trustees Road, parents feel comfortable letting their children practice riding their first bicycles with training wheels on the pathway.

But over the years, there have been growing complaints at West Meadow involving ‘sprint racing’ by bicyclists on the paved pathway. Some bicyclists are speeding on the flat, level, and straight road from the public beach to the Gamecock Cottage, and back. The result has been a number of injuries to walkers that ‘get in the way’ and are victims of these irresponsible bicyclists.

The Town, with the input of an advisory committee of citizens, business leaders, government officials, and local organizations has discussed this issue over the past several years. The Town Parks Department, to its credit, has posted signage for bicyclists to use caution and courtesy when using the path. However, the problem persists.

At this time the Town is considering installing ‘speed bumps’ along the roadway to slow down bicyclists, skateboarders, and rollerbladers. It may not be the most elegant of solutions, but it could have a positive impact on slowing down and discouraging some troubling behaviors.

The Setauket to Port Jefferson Station Greenway has not experienced the same problem as found at West Meadow. That may be due to the fact that the Greenway does not have as many concentrated walkers and bikers at any one time.

Whatever the case, it is important to get everyone to understand they need to “Share the Road.”

Above: Signage at West Meadow installed to slow bicyclists

 

Michael Furio, Troop 204 Miller Place – 2019
Bench Project by the Setauket Trailhead, road crossing Signage & Clean-up as part of Eagle Scout Project.

Jared Sayler, Troop 204 Miller Place – 2019
Bench Project & Clean-up as part of Eagle Scout Project.

Cole Swensen, Troop 204 Miller Place – 2020
Bench Project and three ADA accessible concrete pads for access to benches, Clean-up of the trail, as part of Eagle Scout Project.

Kyle Rosenzweig, Troop 204 Miller Place – 2020
Two benches installed with ADA accessible concrete pads as part of Eagle Scout Project.

John Heraghty, Troop 70 East Setauket – 2020
Handcrafted and installed six bat houses and one ADA accessible concrete pad for a bench as part of Eagle Scout Project.

Other Projects:

Three Village Community Trust planted the cherry tree located at the Setauket Trailhead in memory of the Michael Cosel – the co-founder of the Friends of the Greenway.

Our Monthly Cleanup: August

Yes, the Greenway Crew was out again in August. Lots to do – litter, fallen branches, graffiti removal. The crew got it all done on a hot, steamy morning. Thank you!!

Seen below: Dennis Brennan, Charlie McAteer, and Aaron Hoffman

Seen below: Charlie McAteer, Dennis Brennan, Dave Wang

 

Why not join the Greenway Team? Email Herb or Charlie:
HJMones@gmail.com
cfmcateer@gmail.com

Missed the July cleanup? Well, we have one more coming up this season:

Saturday, September 17th at 9am, Starting location: The Port Jefferson Station Trailhead

The Annual Chicken Hill Country Picnic and BBQ on Saturday, August 20th – A great day!

Many thanks to those attending this event that supports the Friends of the Greenway and our parent organization – the Three Village Community Trust. And…

Kudos to Dave Prestia for his sponsorship of the food, drinks, supplies, service workers, – everything.  It was a true Summer BBQ/Picnic – from the corn on the cob to the burgers and dogs.  And – there were those great chicken dogs!

And a ‘magical setting‘ was crafted by the artistry of Michael Rosengard, with assists by Deb, Lily and Eve Rosengard! How they do it – I don’t know! (Michael also used dirt to fill in holes and low points on the property.). The Factory Houses interiors were beautiful, and educational!!

Charlie McAteer, Hope Kinney and Ann Robisek were a big, big help coming two hours before the event to get things set up – and Greg de Bruin had put the party tent up even earlier.

Opening their wallets and pocketbooks for the sponsorship of the entertainer/music was Robert Reuter, Sandra Krolik, and Gretchen Oldrin Mones.

The Raffle Baskets were a hit.  Thanks go to Hope Kinney for organizing this and getting the basket donations – some which came from The Three Village Dads/Dave Tracy, Investors Bank/Hope Kinney, Gretchen Mones, Alice D’Amico, Robert Reuter and Michael Rosengard.

Check in/Sign in, raffle basket sales, and art raffle sales  – all of this was a seamless process due to the precision of Greg de Bruin, Laura Rotondi, and Gretchen Mones working together. 

And thanks go to Robert Reuter and Greg de Bruin – our Factory House tour pros!  The Merchandise Table would not have been made possible without the help of Emily and Lily Rosengard!!

Yes! For the first time there was an Old-Time Whisky Bar! A really special feature brought to us by Michael Rosengard.

Many thanks to Greg de Bruin and Michael Rosengard, and a host of others (A Kinney family and future in-laws effort) helping to take down the tables, chairs, etc.  A big job!!!!

It was great that Emily Murphy from Assemblyman Englebright’s office could attend, as well as the Assemblyman and Councilman Kornreich!

A great day for everyone, and the Trust and the Friends of the Greenway!

Above: Chicken Hill BBQ, and an interior photo of the Immigrant Factory House

 

Remember This: The Three Village Community Trust is our parent organization and is now holding its Annual Membership Drive! Without the Trust, the Friends of the Greenway would not have the needed financial support and the organizational capacity to effectively maintain our stewardship of the trail.

So, if you are a Greenway user, a trail advocate, or simply someone committed to the community, please consider joining the Trust today to “Protect the Places You Love.”

Click here to become a member!

Wow, it was a great idea!

If you remember, back in the Fall of 2021, we announced we are running advertisements and messages to fund Greenway projects. We wrote:

Want to advertise your business or service, and at the same time help the Greenway?

With the wild popularity of The Trail Mix (or at least we’d like to think so), we have decided to give businesses and individuals an opportunity to advertise in our newsletter. At the end of The Trail Mix, we’ll post advertisements and personal messages for the whooping sum of $25 per issue. All proceeds will go to the care and maintenance of the Greenway – gloves, tools, trash bags, cleaning supplies, and other basic necessities for the Trail Stewards and volunteers.
Interested in advertising: Contact hjmones@gmail.com with your content, and the payment method and other details will be emailed back to you!
TRAIL BLING !!!!
Well, here are some of our advertisements:
…………………………….

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 second year in a row, The Trail Mix has voted Bagel Express #1 for breakfast and lunch, and all of your catering needs. Thanks, Dave. Also – Dave was THE generous sponsor for the Chicken Hill BBQ. He provided the food and refreshments, as well as the wait staff! We appreciate all of his contributions to the Trust!

A Big Friend of the Trust is Swan Cove Landscaping (631-689-8089). Swan Cove does a whole line of services – lawn maintenance, pruning, stone walls, firewood. Dave Fortuna, owner/operator, donates many, many of his services to the Trust. The result – our properties always look great! Thank you, Dave!
And of note: Not only did Dave get the lawn mowed and looking great for the recent Chicken Hill event, he also took down a dangerous, leaning tree on the property. We are highly appreciative of his generous work for the Friends of the Greenway and the Trust!

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn is our Trail booster! Kara can be found running on the Greenway, picking up litter on the Greenway, and ‘talking up’ the Greenway with her constituents. We thank Kara for her support!

And, we would like to recognize a special donor to the Greenway:

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. And, Craig was a driving force behind the recent Great Daffodil Dash benefiting the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville community! Why not support Emerald Magic who supports us!
www.EmeraldMagic.com
631-286-4600
631-804-9205
194-4 Morris Ave
Holtsville, NY 11742

Want to help the Friends of the Greenway? Here are three ways:

A. Become a member of the Three Village Community Trust! Click Here!

B. Click here to donate! Our parent organization’s $50,000 Challenge Grant, still in effect, though we have broken the 50K mark!!!

C. This really Helps: Please consider the “Care to Share Program” at Investors Bank on Route 25A in Setauket.  If you have an existing or newly established account at Investors Bank, simply by designating the Three Village Community Trust as your favorite not-for-profit, we will receive regular donations by Investors Bank to our organization!

Editor-in-Chief: Herb Mones