After hearing about 90 minutes worth of comments both for and against limiting short-term rentals, the Greenport Village Board closed the public hearing on its latest version of the law Thursday night and will likely make some changes to it.

“We have a lot of input on it, and we’ll have discussions and see where we’re going,” Mayor George Hubbard Jr. said.

He said one likely change is removing a requirement that some proposed short-term rentals that are not owner-occupied go before the Village Planning Board for a public hearing before getting approved.

Some speakers said that would likely lead to lawsuits if the Planning Board approves one short-term rental but not another.

“We’ve been talking about this for five or six years,” Mr. Hubbard said.

The village does have a law requiring all residential rental units to obtain a permit and pass inspection, but it has yet to agree on a law specifically targeting short-term rentals.

The village is one of the few East End municipalities without a law on short-term rentals.

The proposal discussed at Thursday’s public hearing defines short-term rental as fewer than 14 days, and long-term rental at least one year. The short-term rental of a residential property will be considered a conditional use, which requires approval by the Village Planning Board, as well as a public notice and public hearing, according to the proposal.

The exception, which would not be a conditional use, would be a two-family house in which one of the dwelling units is being rented by either the owner of the home, or is occupied long-term. They would only need the regular rental permit.

Among the arguments frequently made against short-term rentals were they use up the available housing stock in the village, and eliminate potentially affordable homes; they are a commercial use in a residential area; and they are not required to undergo the same safety standards or to pay the same sales tax and occupancy taxes as hotels and bed-and-breakfasts; and they will fill the village with mostly tourists instead of year-round residents.

Those in support of short-term rentals argued they help the economy by bringing people to the village who might not be able to afford a longer stay; and that renting a second room in a two-family house often is the only way some owners can afford their house.

Devin McMahon, a former Village Planning Board member and chair, said he’s seen a rise in investors who are buying a large percentage of the housing stock in the village, which he feels has had a negative impact on the community.

But he said the proposal put forward in the hearing “is not the answer,” and will worsen the situation.

“This proposal will codify approvals for short-term rentals,” he said. “It says it is an acceptable use.”

He also opposed the section requiring Planning Board approval.

“You’re just shifting the angry mob from one meeting to another,” he said.

Julia Moran of Main Street, who owns two houses in the village, said they bought the first one in 2007 and the second one five years later.

Instead of selling one, they decided to keep it, fix it up, and use it for short-term rentals at times.

The house they fixed up had been used for long-term rentals and had been neglected for 16 years, she said.

“We rescued the house,” she said. “We think we have certainly shown our investment in the community and we don’t think we should be restricted.”

She feels a 14-day requirement will put an end to the majority of short-term rentals in the village.

Tricia Hammes of Main Street said the village’s proposal should be at least as restrictive as Southold Town’s short-term rental law, which prohibits rentals of less than 14 days. She said she’d prefer a 28-day requirement but realizes that might be unrealistic.

“I believe the village character has been altered” since Southold passed its law in 2015, she said.

That made Greenport a target for people buying investment homes for use as short-term rentals, she said.

“It’s changing Greenport from a community people come to visit to a vacation weekend designation,” Ms. Hammes said.

Chet Milot, in a letter read aloud at Thursday’s meeting by his mother, Alix, said he bought and restored an 1820 house on Carpenter Street after his grandparents moved to Peconic Landing.

He said renting the house for a total of about three months a year allowed him financially to keep the property so that his family can enjoy it the other nine months.

The average stay was about six days, he said, but he added that he has spent “countless hours” fixing and restoring the property.

Mr. Milot estimated 80 percent of the people who rent from him do so in order to bring their children and dogs on vacation.

tgannon@timesreview.com

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Town & Country Real Estate has a new location in the heart of Greenport.

Real estate agents along with members of the community celebrated the grand opening of the newly renovated Front Street office Wednesday evening.

Established in 2005, the independently owned Town & Country now has eight offices and more than 160 agents across the North Fork, South Fork and Shelter Island.

“When CEO Judi Desiderio started Town & Country she always wanted to be in Greenport,” said executive sales manager Joan Bischoff van Heemskerck. “It’s a phenomenal opportunity to be here in the center of it all.”

The newly staffed team of brokers working at the Greenport office has specialized in real estate for decades.

“We’re ready to list and sell, plant our feet in the ground and do business,” real estate agent Jeanmarie Bay said. “We have to work hard so people get to know us better.”

The team said they are ready to dive into Greenport’s growing market.

“Business is brisk and the prices have really progressed,” said Lori Feilen, a veteran real estate agent and new member of the Greenport team. “It’s very strong market and North Fork real estate is a great investment. It’s probably the preferred Fork now because it’s much more rural and people are getting back to doing the simpler things in life.”

Photo caption: The Town & Country team celebrated the opening of its eight office with community members at Olive Branch Restaurant & Cafe in Greenport. (Tara Smith photo) 

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Greenport’s 5th Street Beach and park will be the site for “Sam’s Celebration” Aug. 20.

Sam is 7-year-old Sam Duffy of Southold, and formerly of Greenport, who just successfully completed 3 1/2 years of treatment for leukemia, according to his mother, Holly Lanzetta.

She was given permission to hold the party at last Thursday’s Greenport Village board meeting.

“It was kind of a big deal,” Ms. Lanzetta said of her son beating cancer. “We would like to celebrate. There’s so many members of this community that have come out and helped.

“It’s important to me that this is a community event and we want to celebrate by having a Pot Luck celebration to bring awareness to the good things and also things that need more attention.”

She said September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

“I just want to have a party, that’s the bottom line,” she said.

The public assembly permit application for the event was submitted by Trustee Doug Roberts on behalf of his business, Educational Solutions Consulting. The event will run from 5 to 9 p.m., according to the resolution.

Photo caption: Sam Duffy with his mother Holly Lanzetta at last Thursday’s Greenport Village Board meeting. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

tgannon@timesreview.com

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I’ve had the privilege of growing up on the East End and I am sad to say that I no longer recognize my home. Over the course of my life, the East End has become an increasingly popular tourist destination. While I am aware this trend has been beneficial for local businesses, I believe we are reaching a tipping point. These past two years I have been away at college and the shock wave that hits me each time I come home for the summer has left me wondering what happened.

When I left for college two years ago the East End was still relatively intact. I could clearly see the stars at night, I could take my bike into the Village of Greenport or to my job, and I could read a book on my front porch and watch the world go by. For those who did not grow up on the North Fork these things are staples of summer living on this beautiful coastline.

Now two years later, I can’t do these things anymore. My dark, quiet neighborhood is currently lit up like a Christmas tree, the brightest lights coming from the homes that sit unoccupied during the week. These floodlights dampen the stars that used to light the late hours of the evening and I fear it won’t be long until we can’t see the stars at all.

Biking has always been my primary mode of transportation in the summer. It’s so beautiful out here — how could anyone sit in a car? I have come to the difficult realization that I may not be able to ride my bike beyond the confines of my subdivision anymore. The exponential increase in traffic has caused the Main and North roads to become so dangerous that riding my bike on either has caused me to pray for my life! 

Lastly, reading a book on my porch. It would seem surprising that I couldn’t do this, right? Well, right now as I am writing this from inside my house, I am listening to the roar of chain saws as my neighbor chops down all the trees on their property, and this has become the new normal. All week long I hear lawn mowers, weed wackers, leaf blowers (yes, in the middle of summer) and chain saws until Friday afternoon, when the weekenders make their trip to the North Fork.

The community I remember was a quiet, coastal one — you could see the stars at night, you could ride your bike to the farm stand, and you could read a book and hear the call of seagulls from your front porch. Trees were abundant, but now every time I come home I see the woods where my brother and I played in as children cleared out and a new house standing in its place. You could run through the farm fields and look at the otherworldly night sky, but now the farm fields are gated and even have cameras. Who puts cameras on their farm field? Is someone going to steal your cabbage? 

I have also noticed that more and more local businesses are solely dependent on tourism. This is quite different than when I left for school, as many local shops have shut down because they could no longer afford the rising local rents. 

I want to be clear that I do support tourism in this area, as many of my summer jobs were dependent on this, but we are all too rapidly taking a good thing too far and we will surely suffer the consequences of our indifference. If we obliterate the unique rural atmosphere and vulnerable resources we all depend upon for little things like our drinking water, how long will it be until this special place becomes just anyplace and the North Fork becomes indistinguishable from places the tourists are trying to escape? Have you been to the South Fork lately? That community was once very much like ours, but today has become a shadow of itself. 

I believe Southold Town and Greenport Village have a duty to the people who live here full time to prevent the North Fork from becoming the next Jersey Shore. I, too, would like to blame the tourists, that’s the easy thing to do, but the fact is many of them come from urban areas and just don’t know anything about living in a more rural environment.

They don’t know that chopping down all the trees in their yard doesn’t get rid of the tick problem, or that when they flush their toilet that waste will soon end up in Long Island Sound or Peconic Bay and cause pollution. Landscapers are not biologists and yet new homeowners rely on them for information on property management. These new owners need help, as they do not realize the fragility of the East End, and the town should be provided with information on how to manage their property sustainably. We need stricter zoning regulations to protect the land that has yet to be developed and proper enforcement of the regulations in place, such as the Southold Town lighting code. This code was designed to stop the urban light pollution that blocks the view of stars and is getting worse in my neighborhood every day. 

So here’s looking at you, and to you — it’s time to take some serious action otherwise. As a wise man and Bridgehampton farmer, Richard Hendrickson, once said, “You won’t have what you came for.”

The author is a Greenport High School graduate who currently attends Union College, where she is pursuing a double major in biology and music.

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Rona Smith of Greenport will challenge Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo in November’s election.

Ms. Smith, 73, who chairs the Southold Town Housing Advisory Commission, said local Democratic party leaders asked her to run because of her history of volunteerism and activism.

She said she doesn’t know Mr. Palumbo, a Republican, and has been told he’s a nice person. But, she said, his voting record is what she opposes, including his opposition to the single-payer health care program “which might save us from fear of being sick.”

Ms. Smith said her son and her husband died of different types of cancer about five years ago — just 12 days apart.

Her son, who was a triathlete, avoided going to the doctor because he couldn’t afford insurance, she said.

Mr. Palumbo, of New Suffolk, said the New York Health Care Act is too expensive and is estimated to cost more than the entire state budget. He said he voted for legalizing medical marijuana but opposes legalizing recreational marijuana.

“Marijuana is a drug and to legalize it is a bad idea,” he said. “There’s a gateway aspect to it.”

Ms. Smith’s background includes teaching English in a junior high school. She has also been involved in real estate and has written about real estate theory and practice at Columbia University’s Columbia Caseworks, which develops case studies and materials for use in Columbia Business School classrooms. In addition, she taught real estate finance at New York University.

She has a degree from Queens College, a master’s and a Ph.D. from New York University and an MBA from Columbia.

For the past 15 years, she has done volunteer work, including the Housing Advisory Commission.

She feels student loans are another huge issue, because college graduates end up owing an average of $39,000, which most will never be able to pay back.

Mr. Palumbo considers his primary accomplishments to include passing the first-time homeowner exemption from the East End’s 2 percent land transfer tax, getting a mental health initiative on the North Fork and getting the state to preserve almost 900 acres near the former Shoreham nuclear plant.

“Taxes, jobs, water quality and environment are the four main issues,” he said.

Michael Yacubich of Shoreham had hopes to run against state Mr. Palumbo in a primary for the Republican line, but has had his petitions invalidated by the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Mr. Yacubich plans to challenge the ruling in court.

“We had 850 signatures and we needed 500,” he said.

Mr. Palumbo also has the Conservative and Independence party nominations, so his name will be on the November ballot regardless of who might win a primary.

Mr. Yacubich is an accountant and financial adviser, chief of the Rocky Point Fire Department and a former Shoreham-Wading River Board of Education member.

“The main reason I chose to get involved is that I have listened for the last 25 years on how we need to control the cost of living on Long Island so that our seniors and our kids can afford to live here,” Mr. Yacubich said in an interview. “I haven’t really seen much progress in that area. My kids are in college, starting to graduate and figure out where they are going to end up, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to be able to stay on the island.

“If things don’t turn around, I probably won’t be able to stay here myself,” he added.

tgannon@timesreview.com

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Three armed suspects wearing masks broke into a Greenport home in a Friday morning home invasion that Southold police say is “believed to be a targeted crime.” 

In a Saturday afternoon press release, Southold police said that the suspects “did assault the two occupants of the apartment, who were injured and treated and released at local hospitals.”

The release said it has not been determined what, if anything, was stolen from the apartment, and that the town police are working with the Suffolk County Crime Lab and county police on “this very active investigation.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 631 765 2600.

Police cordoned off a portion of Center Street in front of the home Friday morning and officers were stationed outside. The home, at 225 Center St., is at the corner of Third Street.

Members of the Suffolk County Crime Lab and the Suffolk County ID Section were on scene to investigate in what was described as the early stages of an active investigation. The armed invasion occurred shortly before 5 a.m., police said.

Southold police at the scene declined comment.

Police outside the Center Street home. (Credit: Tara Smith)

Suffolk police deferred comment to Southold.

Neighbors outside the home Friday morning said they were unsure what had happened.

The Center Street home is located just around the block from the Second Street house where a Greenport woman was killed last year.

Top photo caption: Crime scene investigators outside the Center Street home Friday. (Credit: Tara Smith)

tsmith@timesreview.com

Multiple crime scene markings were placed on the street outside the home during the investigation. (Credit: Tara Smith)

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A 115-foot-long Viking ship is set to dock in Greenport Wednesday.

A welcome party will be thrown at 4 p.m. to celebrate the arrival of the Draken Harald Hårfagre, its captain, Björn Ahlander, and his crew. The event is free and open to the public.

Numerous events are planned for the weekend of Aug. 16-18, including a Draken exhibit, deck tours, a lecture with Capt. Björn Ahlander and a screening of the documentary “Expedition America — a Modern Viking Adventure” followed by a Q&A session with the crew.

Deck tours cost $6 for children ages 5 to 15 (children ages 4 and under are free) and $12 for adults and can be purchased online or on-site. The 30-minute tours begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Tickets for the lecture with Capt. Björn Ahlander and the documentary screening are each $20.

There will also be land-side views of the ship, Draken merchandise, a Highland Park Whisky hospitality tent, local food and beverage vendors and more as part of the Draken Village, which is free and open to the public.

More information on the events is available here. The ship will be docked at S.T. Preston’s dock at 102 Main St. It’s planning to leave at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Draken Harald Hårfagre hails from Norway and calls itself the “largest Viking ship sailing in modern times.” An open boat with 50 oars and an engine, it has sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

The crew consists of 35 men and women from all over the world and is currently accepting applications for public volunteer crew positions.

Greenport is the seventh official stop on the ship’s Expedition America: East Coast Tour 2018. Its next stop will be in Ocean City, Md. It launched the tour in July.

Photo caption: The Draken Harald Hårfagre is set to arrive Wednesday in Greenport. (Courtesy photo)

nsmith@timesreview.com

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A Greenport man was arrested Tuesday evening for masturbating on a bluff overlooking 67 Steps Beach on Sound Road, Southold Town police said.

Timothy Webb Clark, 53, was arrested shortly after two women called police to report the incident about 7:20 p.m. He was located in a car that matched a description given by the women and found to be driving drunk.

Mr. Clark was charged with misdemeanor DWI as well as a public lewdness charge.

He was held overnight at police headquarters for a Wednesday morning arraignment.

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Three armed suspects wearing masks broke into a Greenport home and assaulted two occupants during an early morning home invasion Friday, according to Southold Town police. 

The break-in on Center Street occurred just before 5 a.m. in what police described as a “targeted crime.”

The injured residents were treated at local hospitals and released, police said. The suspects remain at large.

Police Chief Martin Flatley said it was unclear how long the suspects were inside, but he believed it was a relatively quick crime.

“We think they were in and out of there in a short amount of time,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

Police have not released descriptions of any suspects and await processing of fingerprints and DNA found at the scene.

“Anything to run in the database to see if there are any hits,” Chief Flatley said.

The home, at the corner of Third Street, has an upstairs apartment, where the break-in occurred, and a downstairs apartment. The chief said he believed the downstairs apartment was occupied at the time but couldn’t comment further.

The Suffolk County Police Department is assisting in the investigation and its crime lab spent about eight hours processing the scene, Chief Flatley said. Police cordoned off the street in front of the home, where investigators were seen marking evidence in the street.

Police said it has not been determined what, if anything, was stolen from the apartment.

“Usually there’s a vendetta or settling a score, and the suspect can be identified almost right away,” Chief Flatley said. “I don’t think that’s the case here.”

No drugs were recovered at the home, he added. While the suspects were armed, there was no gunfire.

Neighbors outside the home Friday morning said they were unsure what had happened.

While some Greenport residents said they were shocked to hear about the crime, many others in community said they do not feel threatened.

“It doesn’t make me feel any less safe,” said a Greenport Village man Tuesday.

He said that, in general, the summer season calls for a heightened police presence in the area.

“Most of these situations tend to be people known to each other,” he added. “[Greenport] isn’t a place with some kind of prevailing crime problem.”

As detectives continue to conduct interviews, Chief Flatley reiterated that residents should not be alarmed.

“We don’t have a lot of home invasions,” he said, adding that the crime is inconsistent with typical incidents in Greenport.

“You usually don’t see this kind of violence,” he said, noting that most burglaries target in vacant or summer homes.

The Center Street home is located just around the block from the Second Street house where a Greenport woman was killed in July 2017.

Anyone with information on the home invasion is asked to call 631-765-2600.

tsmith@timesreview.com

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Walking through the upstairs lounge at Green Hill Kitchen, Christoph and Robin Mueller are quick to point out the sound system over the stage. 

The speakers, the father and son say, were purchased from The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, a music venue so iconic it sometimes transcends the local music scene and books popular recording artists like Paul McCartney and Coldplay to perform intimate sold-out shows.

“It’s got a real history to it,” son Robin says of the system, which now resides at the former home of The Loft on Front Street. “Some real legends played through those speakers.”

Dad Christoph closed on the Greenport building, which also previously housed the Harbourfront Deli, for $2.25 million in June. Within five weeks of the closing date, their new farm-to-table restaurant and live music venue was open for business.

It’s not exactly The Stephen Talkhouse today, but the two men, Sagaponack residents by way of Switzerland, point to the South Fork nightspot as inspiration for what their business could one day be.

Their plans for the village, however, don’t end with their restaurant. Christoph, who sold his tech company last year after 35 years in business, has also purchased the building across Front Street that’s currently occupied by Deep Water Bar and Grille and is in contract to buy the adjacent Industry Standard building and business.

The purchase of three restaurant properties at the same intersection by one previously unknown individual is enough to get the Greenport rumor mill churning. But the fact that the Muellers have expressed interest in several additional buildings as well has it spinning fast enough to power the entire village.

At least two other Front Street business owners, Rena Wilhelm of the Weathered Barn and Ian Wile of Little Creek Oyster Farm & Market, said Mr. Mueller has expressed an interest in purchasing the buildings they currently rent. The Weathered Barn property is also the home to Burton’s Bookstore.

Greenport Mayor George Hubbard Jr. said he’d heard rumors of someone buying up several buildings along Front Street, but no plans have been filed with the village.

“He hasn’t applied for anything with the zoning or planning boards or reached out to the Village Board or myself,” the mayor said.

Christoph said it’s true he’s in the market to purchase more real estate.

“I’ve looked at a lot of buildings,” he said from an eight-seat table on the first floor of his new restaurant. “I’m interested in all of Greenport.”

But Christoph, former CEO of Cosa Xentaur Corporation, a company specializing in industrial measurement instrumentation for everything from aerospace to agriculture, doesn’t want the community and other business owners to panic over his sudden interest in Front Street real estate.

A table setting on the first floor of the Front Street restaurant. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

He says his purchase of two commercial buildings — and the pending transfer of another — are simply statements of the value he sees in investing in Greenport. He has no plan to drive out tenants or to explore new uses for any nearby buildings, he assures.

“We’re not house-flippers,” he said. “I want to buy stuff then keep it. Greenport has a great future.”

To that end, the Muellers and co-owner/chef Wolfgang Ban said they hope to keep Industry Standard’s staff in place after they close on the building and business, both of which are owned by Bryan Villanti, who recently opened Rocco’s Caddyshack east of the village. “If nothing’s broken, why fix it?” Mr. Ban said.

The future of Deep Water Bar and Grille, where the Muellers only own the real estate, is more complicated. Owner Beth Pike has a lease that runs through the end of the year. Robin Mueller said it would ultimately be Ms. Pike’s decision whether to continue in the space where she’s run her first restaurant in since 2015.

“I’m not really sure what I’m doing,” she said, when asked about her plans beyond December. She declined to comment further until she has a better understanding of the new arrangement.

For now, she’s operating her restaurant and bar with live music and second-level outdoor seating across the street from where her landlord has a similar setup.

But Mr. Ban, a native of Austria who earned a Michelin star at his former Manhattan restaurant, Seasonal, said the two neighboring restaurants are ultimately offering different dining experiences.

“I don’t think you can compare the two places,” he said. “These are two very different menus.”

Green Hill Kitchen is emphasizing its use of local ingredients and its plans for live music in its branding. The top of the menu features a logo with a guitar and fork and the bottom includes the hashtag #foodfarmmusic. In between is a list of dishes that includes comfort fare like a pork belly BLT and a burger made from beef ground on premises to a sandwich made with local sea bass and a schnitzel dish no doubt inspired by the chef’s heritage.

Mr. Ban brims with excitement when talking about the possibilities of cooking in a region known for its farming and fishing heritage. The local vineyards, he said, remind him of growing up in Burgenland, a wine region in Austria.

“The seafood here is the best you can get,” he said of the North Fork. “I bought sea bass from Southold Fish Market caught so fresh it was so stiff it didn’t move.”

The Muellers said that while they’ve certainly heard the concerns of neighboring business owners, they want to assimilate to the village as smoothly as possible. Robin, who previously worked as a director of photography in television, said part of his role in the new restaurant is community outreach.

“The people we have met have greeted us with open arms,” he said.

For Christoph, who said he made the recent investments with his children’s future in mind, owning a restaurant and, more specifically, a live music venue, fulfills a lifelong fantasy.

“For me, this is a passion,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Green Hill Kitchen posted to social media Wednesday evening that all upcoming live music shows have been canceled. No explanation was given.

Top Caption: Christoph Mueller, left, Chef Wolfgang Ban and Robin Mueller in front of the bar at the new restaurant. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

gparpan@timesreview.com

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Following a 90-minute public hearing last month, the Greenport Village Board is making changes to its proposed short-term rental law before bringing it to a vote. 

The proposal, which defines a short-term rental as fewer than 14 days, had a provision that non-owner-occupied rentals be subject to Village Planning Board approval.

Some speakers during the hearing felt that requirement could lead to lawsuits if some proposed rentals are approved and some are denied.

The updated version discussed at a Village Board work session Thursday would not require planning board approval, but would mandate that rentals 14-days or less must be owner-occupied.

“We’re going with the owner-occupied, this was the general consensus,” Village Mayor George Hubbard Jr. said of the board after the public hearing last month. “We’re trying to stop the influx from places being bought up just to become businesses.”

Unlike other municipalities in the five East End towns, Greenport Village currently has no law relating to short-term rentals on the books. It does have a law requiring all residential rentals obtain necessary permits and pass inspection, which would also apply to short-term rentals.

During the discussion, village trustee Mary Bess Phillips wondered if short-term rentals should be considered a business use, like regular bed-and-breakfasts. “They all collect money. They’re making an income,” she said.

Trustee Douglas Roberts agreed, adding that codifying requirements could set ground rules for homeowners planning to rent out their homes. Mr. Roberts said that language used in the B&B code could be mimicked to fit short-term rentals, including guidelines for parking spaces and occupancy limits. “I think some teeth in this so the short-term rental people have similar requirements as the B & B people would go a long way,” he said.

In June, B&B owners pleaded with village officials to take action on the rentals, which they say hurt their businesses. Clayton Sauer of the Stirling House B&B pointed out a discrepancy in per-night rates since they are subject to sales and hospitality tax, unlike short-term rentals. Bridget Elkin, who owns the Morning Glory B&B, suggested the village either ease up on restrictions for business owners or force short-term rental properties to play by the same rules.

“I think neighbors would appreciate that. We just want to be fair in the code,” Ms. Phillips said.

Mr. Hubbard disagreed on parking.

“If we’re going to start doing that, then we’d need to do it for every rental,” he said. “When you have a family in a four-bedroom upstairs apartment and they’ve got three teenagers that all drive, they’d need to have five parking spots. And we don’t enforce that.”

They agreed that occupancy was a key safety issue.

Two residents attended the work session and voiced support for the updated changes.

“There’s so many people looking for a place to live and I think this will curb a lot of these investors from buying up all these houses,” resident Chatty Allen said. “To me, it’s sad. I grew up here, and you knew where everyone lived.”

Ms. Allen hoped the board would enact impactful fines for those who do not comply. “You need to make a heavy fine for those who don’t follow the rules, because a lot of these investors don’t care,” she said. “They can make it up in a weekend.”

John Saladino, who chairs the zoning board, applauded the changes.

“Owner-occupied should be a no-brainer,” he said.

Mr. Roberts called the changes simple.

“It doesn’t require lots of process and it’s easy to enforce,” he said.

A public hearing on the revised law will be set for a future date at the board’s meeting next Thursday.

tsmith@timesreview.com

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Kofi Annan, former United Nations secretary-general, co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize and one-time Greenport resident, died in Switzerland Saturday at the age of 80.

Mr. Annan was born in Ghana and served two terms as secretary-general, from December 1996 to January 2007.

Before being named to that position, the diplomat, who spent much of his life working for the U.N., lived on Bay Avenue in Greenport in a house he purchased in 1987 and sold to comedy writer Tom Leopold in early 1996. The real estate agent on that sale was former Greenport mayor Dave Kapell.

In a 2013 column, former Suffolk Times publisher Troy Gustavson recalled that Mr. Annan called Mr. Leopold to ask how he liked the house. Mr. Leopold thought he was being pranked by a friend and “almost blurted out something most unfortunate. But he hesitated just long enough to realize that it really was the secretary-general of the United Nations calling to see how he was doing.”

Local residents recall that Mr. Annan didn’t draw attention to himself.

Mary Foster Morgan of Orient said she met Mr. Annan when she rented the Bay Avenue house.

“He was a reserved, calm man and, as some of his friends have pointed out, he also had a playful streak, which came across as tremendous kindness,” she wrote in an email. “In his summer house there was a room he called the Ghana Room, with artwork from Ghana, low tables and very low chairs. I would sometimes go in and sit on one of those low seats, and compare how different daily life must be in Ghana.”

Dorothy “Tod” Berks of Orient said Mr. Annan and his wife “lived quietly in Greenport.”

“We would just see them walking around,” she said. “They were a nice couple.”

Ms. Berks’ husband, sculptor Robert Berks, was commissioned in 1997 to do a bronze portrait sculpture of Mr. Annan for the United Nations International School.

Mr. Berks, who died in 2011, created hundreds of bronze portrait sculptures, including John F. Kennedy, Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln.

The bronze portrait of Mr. Annan still resides at the United Nations, Ms. Berks said.

In October 2001, the United Nations and Mr. Annan were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Kofi Annan has devoted almost his entire working life to the U.N.,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee wrote at the time. “As Secretary-General, he has been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organization. While clearly underlining the U.N.’s traditional responsibility for peace and security, he has also emphasized its obligations with regard to human rights.”

Photo caption: Kofi Annan (right) at the dedication of a sculpture depicting him at the United Nations International School in November 1997. The bronze bust was sculpted by the late Robert Berks of Orient (left). Robert Howard, a friend and benefactor of the UNIS, shakes Mr. Annan’s hand. (Credit: Robert Berks Studio Courtesy photo)

tgannon@timesreview.com

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Greenport’s Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum turned 80 years old this month.

The boat, which put out fires for the New York City Fire Department from 1938 to 2010 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, arrived in Greenport in 2012 after being retired by the FDNY in 2010.

Over the weekend, a rechristening of Fire Fighter by Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of the vessel’s architect, William Francis Gibbs, was held. There was also a water display. 

During its heyday, Fire Fighter was involved in a number of high-profile incidents. It responded on 9/11 after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center; fought the 1942 fire aboard the French ocean liner SS Normandie, which then capsized while docked in the Hudson River; and responded to a 1973 crash in New York Harbor involving a Belgian oil tanker and an American container ship.

See photos from Jeremy Garretson below:

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For the first time in the program’s 82-year history, the Mattituck High School boys soccer team finished below .500 last year.

The Tuckers completed a disappointing 6-12 season after falling to eventual state champion Center Moriches in the Suffolk County Class B final, 6-0.

Head coach Will Hayes hopes not to finish under water again. Mattituck, which endured an injury-riddled season, has seven starters returning who played in that championship game.

“We were forced to throw our younger players in the cauldron and see how they turned out,” Hayes said. “We became a battle-scarred squad.”

Still, Hayes will rely on three seniors who have fought a few battles themselves — goalkeeper James Jacobs, center back-central midfielder Bryce Grathwohl and midfielder-forward Alp Kilinic.

Jacobs has started virtually every Tuckers match — he’s at 52 and counting — since the first game of his freshman year. “I don’t know what the record is for games in goal at Mattituck, but he probably has it,” Hayes said.

They’ll get support from junior midfielder-forward Jack Burkhardt, the younger brother of David Burkhardt, who once tallied 25 goals in a season for Mattituck, senior central midfielder Charles Bordsen, who can play several positions, and center back Chris Nicholson. Nicholson missed eight games last year with an injury before emerging as an impact player down the stretch.

The Tuckers were placed in League VII with Class C and D teams. For the first time in years, they won’t tussle with their eternal rival, Center Moriches (League VI), for league supremacy. They will meet in a non-league road encounter on Sept. 17.

“It will be a good barometer for both schools,” Hayes said.

Andrew Sadowski, the dean of Suffolk boys soccer coaches, enters his 25th year as Southold head coach (277-128-21) cautiously optimistic. As coach of a perennial playoff team that has won nine county titles since he took over in 1994, Sadowski’s goals are modest.

“My first goal is to be competitive and qualify for the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t want the boys to look too far ahead. You have to earn it.”

Sadowski’s main concern is finding someone who can find the back of the net on a regular basis to replace the graduated Ryan Hermann (21 goals). One leading candidate is junior forward Joe Silvestro (nine goals).

Perhaps Sadowski will find some goals from senior midfielders Joe Hayes, Joe Baumann and Von Carsten. His defense is well fortified with junior goalkeeper Cole Brigham, who started as a sophomore, and junior defenders Tyler Woodhull and Stephen Schill.

The First Settlers (14-3-1), who will call a new artificial turf field home this season, should be bolstered by the return of senior defender Devin Quinones, who had put his energy toward playing tennis last year, and junior midfielder-forward Max Pasko.

“I think he missed playing with his friends,” Sadowski said of Quinones. “Glad to have him back.”

As they have in recent years, the Settlers have used dancing in their preseason routine, which could help them in the long run. “A tremendous amount of cardio work goes into it,” Sadowski said, adding that it helps with the players’ agility as well. “We try to keep it fun for them.”

Greenport (10-7) is primed for a big season as the Porters lost only one starter from its Suffolk Class C semifinal side.

“The program is ready to take off,” head coach Sean Charters said.

Three impact players returning for their senior season as captains are expected to be role models and leaders — striker William Chapeton (18 goals, two assists), defender Jason Cruz and midfielder Jacob Kahn.

Junior midfielder David Pineda (12 goals), senior midfielder Mateo Arias (four goals), senior forward-midfielder Jaxan Swann (three goals) and sophomore forward-midfielder Kevin Azama (three goals) should add to what could become a potent attack.

Midfielder Chris Kucynski, a transfer from Bishop McGann-Mercy, is versatile; he can play anywhere.

“We played really well,” Charters said of last season. “Our record needs to improve. Last year we made the playoffs. We need to grind out a couple of more wins. The intensity needs to come up in games a little more.”

Before his team tackles League VII foes, Charters has decided to challenge the Porters against larger schools. After scrimmaging at Riverhead (Class AA) yesterday, Greenport will meet Westhampton Beach (Class A) in a scrimmage today and host Rocky Point (Class A) in a non-league season opener Friday at 10 a.m. The Porters visit Class AA state finalist Half Hollow Hills West on Monday at 10 a.m.

“I told the guys I wanted to get them a pretty good match,” Charters said of Hills West. “Go out there, give it all you’ve got. Learn how these guys play. They’ve been to the championship game before.”

Photo caption: Senior goalkeeper James Jacobs has started virtually every match for Mattituck — 52 — since the first game of his freshman year. (Credit: Garret Meade)

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The 29th annual East End Maritime Festival drew big crowds to Greenport this past weekend. The three-day event began with the Land and Sea Gala Friday night. On Saturday, the festivities began with the opening Maritime Festival Parade under sunny skies as the Merry Merfolk made their way along Main and Front Streets.

The festival concluded Sunday night.

See more photos from the parade below:

Photos by Jeremy Garretson

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The Greenport Village Board drew another big crowd on the topic of regulating short-term rentals during a two-hour public hearing last Thursday.

This time, the comments were about even pro and con — and the cons came armed with two attorneys representing people who own short-term rental properties in the village.

Both attorneys, Salem Katsh of Orient and Pat Moore of Mattituck, said they were representing several people who lease their homes short-term.

Both also claimed that short-term rentals have occurred in the village for many years and that people who have done so in the past should be allowed to continue as a “grandfathered” use under zoning.

Both also said their research indicates that only 30 homes in Greenport are being advertised as short-term rentals, which is a small percentage of the rental pool in Greenport. Trustee Doug Roberts said research he did showed there are about 60 short-term rentals in the village. Mr. Katsh said even that’s only about 5 percent of the housing in the village.

Mayor George Hubbard Jr. said he board will discuss the current proposal at its Oct. 17 work session before deciding how to vote.

“There was a lot of information and a lot people were adamant both ways, so we’ll see what the board feels like doing,” he said.

The proposal currently under consideration defines short-term rentals as 14 days or less and long-term rentals as those made for a term of at least a year under a written lease.

The revised proposal would permit short-term rentals in two-family homes provided one of the units is occupied by either the owner or a long-term tenant. It would also permit the owners of single-family houses to rent out portions of a house on a short-term basis provided they also live there themselves or have a long-term tenant in residence.

Ms. Moore said she’s talked to people and businesses in Southold Town, which adopted short-term rental restrictions in 2016, who feel it has hurt the restaurants and retail businesses in the town.

People who had been offering short-term rentals in Southold Town were forced to sell their homes after the town law was passed, she said.

“It has had a negative effect,” she said.

Colin Ratsey of Greenport said the village is being inundated with tourists, and there are fewer young people living there because of short-term rentals. Soon, he said, there will be no one left to work or volunteer for things like the fire department.

“The problem with the town is that we’re losing the kids,” Mr. Ratsey said.

The village now has residents who complain about things like fishing boats and leaf blowers, he said.

Without the homeowner being in the house, Mr. Ratsey added, “you’ll have a two-family house with one party upstairs and one party downstairs.”

Some places, he noted, “are just a party all night long. It’s getting out of control.”

Madison Fender of Greenport said she’s lived there for six years and is involved in a lot of community activities and charities.

“I’ve been looking for a year-round rental and it’s nearly impossible,” she said.

“Airbnb is out of control,” Ms. Fender said, alluding to one of the popular short-term rental web sites.

Joe Flotteron of Peconic Water Sports said he wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the village if the didn’t have a short-term rental in his house.

Many of last week’s speakers also commented during a July 26 public hearing.

One argument that came up a few times is whether a short-term rentals are permitted or not under current village law.

Ms. Moore said it’s clear from the six years the board has been considering short-term rental regulations that it is “not considered illegal. It is presently a permitted use under zoning.”

Village attorney Joe Prokop has said, however, that while short-term rentals are not “expressly prohibited” currently, they constitute a commercial use of property, which is illegal in residential zones in the village.

Ms. Moore also questioned why the proposed law would allow part of a single-family dwelling occupied by either an owner or long-term tenant to be offered as a short-term rental.

“That’s called a bed and breakfast,” she said, adding that B&Bs are limited to three rooms and have to “go through hurdles” to get approved.

Arguments against short-term rentals asserted that they use up available housing stock in the village and eliminate potentially affordable homes, leaving the village filled with tourists and out-of-towners and making it hard for year-round residents to find housing.

Supporters say people who rent out their homes will often take better care of them and that short-term rentals help the economy by bringing in people who would otherwise not be able to afford to stay in the village for two weeks.

Another frequently heard argument in favor of short-term rentals is that it provides a rental income for homeowners who otherwise might not be able to afford to stay in Greenport.

Ian Wile, who lives in Greenport and owns a restaurant in the village, said the board needs to get something on the books regarding short-term rents.

“Any direction is good,” he said. “Just get something on the books.”

The board took no formal action on the proposal following the hearing and will discuss it further next month.

“It’s great to see a lot of people here to get input back to us,” Mr. Hubbard said. “This has been talked about for over six years. It’s gone back and forth for a long time.”

Photo caption: Thursday’s hearing drew another big crowd. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

tgannon@timesreview.com

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With no prior discussion or warning, the position change was made. Jason Cruz suddenly became a forward for the Greenport High School boys soccer team during a preseason scrimmage against Riverhead.

Since then, he has been on Cruz control, leading the Porters in goal scoring.

“Jason’s always been an outside midfielder and an outside back for me, and then this year, I didn’t tell him that I was going to put him up top once, and then came the first scrimmage,” coach Sean Charters said. “I threw him right in there and he’s been invaluable to us ever since. He’s our leading goal scorer and he’s proven himself to be a threat up top.”

Cruz, a four-year varsity player playing on the front line for the first time since he was in junior high school, recalled that scrimmage. “The first five minutes I gave an assist and that’s when I started looking [to make] chances for my teammates and looking for those balls,” he said.

No question about it, with his great speed, Cruz is a good fit at forward.

“All you need to do is put the ball in the back of the net and that’s what he does,” Charters said. “He’s the fastest guy on my team, without a doubt. He’s getting behind guys and then he’s making a good touch. He’s giving himself an opportunity to put it home.”

The pairing of Cruz with fellow senior forward William Chapeton has been a success. Greenport has what Charters believes to be the best team the Porters have had in 13 years, since his older brother, Kyle, played for the team.

So, what has changed?

“The culture within the team,” Charters said. “Everybody wants to work hard. Everybody wants to be there every day … Guys want to be there. They want to learn and they want to play and they want to excel. That’s what a program needs to be to be successful.”

And this has been a successful season for the Porters. Credit is also due to the young man guarding the goal at the other end of the field, Miguel Torres. Torres had missed the last two seasons with a torn ACL in his left knee. Last year he served as a team manager.

A sign that Torres was to play a much bigger role came this summer during a workout when Charters presented the senior goalkeeper with a gift: a multi-colored goalkeeper jersey that Charters wore when he played for the Porters before graduating in 2012.

Torres recalled: “He said, ‘Here, take it, and good luck.’ I love it.”

Charters said: “So far he’s been playing awesome this year. That’s cool, seeing him wearing that jersey but, you know, I trust him in the net, and that’s why I put him back there.”

Cruz scored Greenport’s only goal and Torres made nine saves Tuesday in a 3-1 non-league loss at Southampton’s Richard H. Smith Field. The Class B Mariners (3-7-1, 2-6 Suffolk County League VI) presented a tough test for Class C Greenport (7-5, 5-3 League VIII).

Of course, Southampton had someone on their side that Greenport didn’t have: Diego Trujillo. The junior had a hat trick.

“He was incredibly fast, incredibly strong,” said Charters.

Trujillo, assisted by Benjamin Luss, made it 1-0, sending a shot in off the left goalpost 12 minutes and 32 seconds into the match.

A little over three minutes later, he won possession and fired a shot off the right post, but it didn’t go in.

Greenport’s first shot of the game was on the mark. Cruz equalized for the Porters at 21:26. His well-taken, right-footed blast from just outside the penalty area beat goalkeeper Antonny Lezama-Medel to the right corner for his eighth goal of the season. Jaxan Swann assisted.

But with 8:11 left in the half, Trujillo struck again, nudging the ball past Torres after a pass from Parker West.

Trujillo tucked in a rebound of a Torres save 9:18 into the second half for an insurance goal.

Southampton had the better of the play, as evidenced by a 22-7 shots advantage.

Torres did well to keep Southampton from scoring more. He stuffed a breakaway by Joseph Avallone and somehow got a hand on a blistering drive by Logan Whitall.

Cruz sustained a cut on his left eyelid during the game. “I was going to fight for the ball and I just got elbowed in the face,” he said.

Call it an occupational hazard for a soccer player.

With nine seniors on the roster, Greenport is built to win now. The Porters are one league win away from clinching a playoff berth, and beyond that, who knows?

“We have to take advantage of what we have,” Cruz said. “Our team has so much potential and I know we have great skill.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Greenport senior Miguel Torres, wearing the same goalkeeper jersey that coach Sean Charters wore when he played for the Porters, has been a big part of the team’s resurgence. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

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Looking out into the distance during the overnight hours from the 68-foot yacht Prospector is to see nothing but black. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there is no ambient light. Just darkness — until a brilliant bolt of lightning brightens the sky for miles.

“Lightning storms were pretty crazy,” said Drew Wolf, a Greenport High School junior.

There’s no better vantage point to view a lightning storm than the middle of an ocean. In one second, darkness, and in the next “you can see everything for 20 miles,” Drew said.

The lightning storms were just one of the unique sights Drew witnessed this summer during an adventure as a member of Prospector’s crew.

Prospector, as he joined the yacht as a crew member when it was delivered from Hawaii to Australia.

There were the “absolutely beautiful” sunsets and sunrises and the green flashes, a common phenomenon sailors see just after sunset or right before sunrise, when a green spot appears above the sun’s upper rim. And then the dolphins that sounded like torpedoes racing alongside the yacht.

During August, Drew spent 22 days at sea aboard Prospector, helping to delivering it from Hawaii to Sydney in advance of the Sydney-Hobart Race in December. The yacht had arrived in Hawaii after racing from San Francisco in the Pacific Cup race in late July, which it won.

The opportunity for Drew, 16, to join the crew on the most recent journey began much earlier. Tery Glackin, captain of Prospector, brought the idea to Drew’s parents, Heather and Andrew Wolf. Mr. Glackin said Drew had been crewing on other smaller boats since he was about 10 years old and had done some racing locally. Mr. Wolf, who co-chairs the Shelter Island Yacht Club’s junior sailing program, had sailed in the 2015 Transatlantic Race as part of the company known as the Shelter Island Transatlantic Partners. The company was set up in advance of the 2015 Transatlantic Race and has continued since with additional races.

Drew, who has been sailing all his life, said the opportunity to join the crew on a boat like Prospector on a trip across the Pacific was a dream come true. He was part of a 10-person crew, smaller than the usual 18 or 19 when racing, and was responsible for multiple jobs, just like everyone else, during the approximately 5,000-mile journey.

“He far surpassed my expectations,” said Mr. Glackin, noting that it was unusual to have someone as young as Drew on board. “He was great helming and driving on his watch. He was a great help in every aspect.”

For all the beauty of sailing on the ocean, the long trips can be a grind, Mr. Glackin said.

“He had a phenomenal attitude the entire time and he was great to have,” Mr. Glackin said.

Drew said it was a more a relaxed environment with lower stakes compared to when the yacht is racing, but at the same time, with a smaller than normal crew, the work could still get intense. Mr. Glackin described the yacht’s speed and the crew’s pace in terms of percentages. While racing, the crew sails the yacht in the upper 90s. On delivery runs,that percentage dips only to the high 80s.

A view of Prospector. (Credit: Courtesy photo)

The first leg of the journey took the crew from Hawaii to Port Denarau, on the main island of Fiji. On the second leg, the crew was worried about a front coming through and bringing poor weather, so they stepped up their effort. The boat began cruising at near race speed.

“The guys are kind of funny. They stopped calling it just a delivery; it’s a performance delivery,” Mr. Glackin said. “We were probably averaging the mid-90s, not too far below the race performance.”

One of the thrills for Drew was crossing the equator on Aug. 8. Tradition has it that sailors celebrate their first crossing of that line. In keeping with that tradition, Drew’s head was shaved into a Mohawk and he got to call himself a “time traveler” for that moment, when he essentially gained a day.

Drew now has his sights set on joining the crew of Prospector for future races. His father is already set to be part of its crew for the Sydney-Hobart Race. Drew will travel with him, and will help during sail testing and training in the days leading up to the competition.

“My goal is to work [Drew] into the race crew in 2019 because he’s a valuable asset and he’s real good on the boat,” the captain said.

Drew said Prospector’s owners and his fellow crew members were “the most generous people you could meet.” He also thanked his parents for the opportunity and said they “were amazing throughout the process.”

When he arrived back to Greenport, Drew had little time to recover from his jet-lag before reporting for soccer practice and catching up on his summer school assignments in preparation for his junior year of high school .

“I got it done,” he said.

Top photo caption: Drew sails Prospector in the Pacific Ocean in August. (Credit: Courtesy photo) 

joew@timesreview.com

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Midway through the opening half, Mattituck High School boys soccer coach Will Hayes looked down at the grass on the field.

“Gee, a penny,” he said, pocketing it.

Up until then Hayes did not need much luck — his team had rolled to a three-goal advantage over Greenport — but perhaps he could have used a little later Tuesday afternoon. The Tuckers lost senior goalkeeper James Jacobs to a sprained right ankle early in the second half of their 3-0 Suffolk County League VII victory.

Junior Emmett Ryan, who had seen little playing time as a backup, did well, making three saves after Jack Burkhardt, Alp Kilinic and Dane Reda had given the hosts a sizable cushion.

After a mediocre 3-4 start, Mattituck (9-5, 8-3) has been on a roll of late, winning six of seven games. The Tuckers’ lone defeat was a 1-0 loss at Babylon in which the hosts scored the game-winner with four minutes remaining.

“I thought we played a lot better this time than last time,” Burkhardt said about the 1-0 loss at Greenport (8-6, 6-4) on Sept. 20. “We’re a lot better squad now. We’ve recovered since the last time we played them. I think we’re going good places now.”

Porters coach Sean Charters thought so.

“Mattituck came to play,” he said. “They came strong. I knew they would come strong. They’re a good group of guys. I think they’re starting to get their ball rolling. I think they’re going to hit their peak and hopefully they make a run in the postseason.”

Jacobs, who needed one crutch to walk after the game, hoped that he will be back by then, specifically for the Suffolk Class B semifinals on Oct. 24.

“I’m happy we got the win, happy we kept the shutout,” he said. “I’m upset that I had to go down like that. I wish I stayed in. It’s not looking too bad, but it’s not looking too good. Hopefully I’ll be back for the playoffs. Hopefully.”

Jacobs incurred his injury when Jason Cruz collided with him while going for the ball in the penalty area as the Greenport midfielder’s studs went into his foot 1 minute and 58 seconds into the second half. Jacobs tore ankle ligaments while playing for the varsity baseball team two years ago.

Hayes was more optimistic.

“He was on his feet after the game,” he said. “He will be fine for Friday. He’ll be fine for Monday when we play against Wheatley. So, it’ll be nice. For the guys to band together and to play their hearts out to get him that shutout [was good].”

Jacobs has 19 career shutouts and is one shy of the school record set by Cody Huntley from 2009-10.

The Tuckers could not have asked any more of Ryan, who did not miss a beat in the net. He caught Drew Wolf’s long, high shot from just about the center line with 3:02 remaining in the match.

“He did amazing,” center back Bryce Grathwohl said. “He was very good at communicating. When they played a through ball … he came out and dove on it. He made a nice save on his line.”

“He came into a situation where he’s behind a goalkeeper who has been starting for four years,” Hayes said. “In order to take your chance, you have to be mentally strong and he’s done that. Today was his moment, to get into a game and prove what he could do. He acquitted himself really well. He caught all his balls, he distributed well. His goal kicks were fine. Everything you look for in a goalkeeper.”

The Tuckers made quick work of the Porters (8-6, 6-4), scoring twice in the opening four minutes. Only 61 seconds into the game, Burkhardt scored straight off a corner kick — an Olimpico goal — that hit the far right post and bounded into the net for his 14th goal.

“I was trying to hit a teammate,” Burkhardt said. “I guess it was a gust of wind that kind of pushed it in or something. Got a little lucky.”

Added Hayes: “We work very hard on set pieces. We expect to score off of them, but not directly from them, from the corners.”

Kilinic put home a rebound past goalkeeper Miguel Torres with 36:16 left in the first half before Reda tallied with 20:15 remaining in the half after Berkan Ilgin won the ball with Burkhardt making the last pass.

“They grew into the game after we scored,” Hayes said. “By then they were chasing the game.”

The Porters clinched a playoff spot last week so there is a good chance there could be another Class C showdown against Southold in two weeks.

“So far, this year’s been great,” Charters said. “We’re having a great season. I think we’re still putting our pieces together right now … I think we have a good shot at going into the county playoff game and hopefully making some noise.”

Photo caption: Mattituck junior goalkeeper Emmett Ryan covers up a loose ball in the vicinity of Greenport’s Josue Gomez (14) and Mattituck’s Josh Starzee. (Credit: Garret Meade)

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TIM GANNON PHOTO The Greenport Village Board discussed short term rentals at its Oct. 18 work session, above, and decided to adopt the new law Thursday, Oct. 25.

It’s official.

After about six years of discussions and draft proposals, Greenport now has a law regulating short-term rentals.

The Village Board unanimously approved the version of the law that was the subject of the most recent public hearing on the measure.

Trustee Doug Roberts said the discussion was largely respectful, and he commended residents for their public participation and input in the process.

“If anyone feels like going to these meetings doesn’t do anything, it does,” he said.

“And I think the people that came to these hearings let us known that they needed us to do something.”

Prior to Thursday’s vote, Greenport was one of the only municipalities on the East End that didn’t have a law on the books regulating short-term rentals, which have become a controversial issue nationwide. Opponents say they often constitute a commercial use in resident neighborhoods while supporters say they allow people to make enough income to be able to afford to stay in a particular area.

The adopted law defines a short-term rental as less than 14 days and a long-term rental as a period of at least one year.

Short-term rentals of less than 14 days would be permitted only in one- or two-family homes that are either owner-occupied or occupied by a long-term tenant.

The board also voted unanimously to adopt a State Environmental Quality Review Act resolution defining the adoption of the new law as being a “type one” action, which means that it will not have a significant negative impact on the environment.

tgannon@timesreview.com

Photo Caption: The Greenport Village Board discussed short term rentals at its Oct. 18 work session, above, and decided to adopt the new law Thursday, Oct. 25. (Tim Gannon photo)

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