‘We’re making great progress’ on climate goals

A meeting of the Climate Smart Communities Task Force was held at Patchogue Village town hall on Monday, Sept. 21.

Chairperson Jonathan Keyes was happy to announce that measures taken had been estimated to bring the village to “bronze” status as a CSC.

“I believe we are very comfortably above the bronze threshold once we button up a few outstanding items,” said Keyes. He went on to thank and praise task force member Lori Devlin, who also serves the village as clerk.“Lori’s been tremendously helpful in tracking down additional documentation… and some resolutions with policies over the years,” said Keyes.

Keyes alluded to a possible “priority action point” that the village may not have met, but assured the other members that there were plans of actions that could be taken to complete the point.

“Big picture, we’re making great progress,” said Keyes. “It’s a shame silver is so much higher than bronze because I think we’re going to be well comfortable past the 120 points for bronze, but silver is 300. So it’s a big leap; maybe we’ll land in the middle.”

Suffolk County had previously held a designation, but it has since expired and the county in the process of re-attaining.

The village had actually taken some measures that still stand, mostly in land use and zoning initiatives, towards the climate preparedness, but as they were carried out over 10 years ago, were ineligible to count towards the bronze points.

A year ago, the village expressed interest to New York State from monies set aside for coastal towns in a blue buffer program, similar to the one established after Superstorm Sandy, where properties that were damaged beyond rebuilding or flood prone were taken over my municipalities.

The voluntary private property buyout program is funded with $250 million from the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act and is run by the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities (RHC), part of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), alongside partners like the Center for NYC Neighborhoods and Enterprise Community Partners.

After negotiating a mutually acceptable price point between the state and the property owner, the state will buy the property, thus making it property of the village.

The state replied last month and were interested in Patchogue after successful partnerships in the Mastic-Shirley area.

On the village board meeting on Monday, Sept. 14, a memorandum of understanding was passed confirming participation in the program. Approximately 50 properties have been identified as eligible for the blue buffer program.

“Obviously, the properties we’re most focused on are the properties that are contiguous with our parks and our parklands… we’ve identified some property along the bayfront, particularly west of Cedar and west of the Patchogue River as properties we’d be interested in,” said David Kennedy.

Of particular interest are properties in the Little Creek area, where in the 1960s, the upper portion of the area was turned into ponds.

“We’re entertaining a proposal of what VHB [engineering and consulting firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc.] did. It’s kind of an offshoot of our living shoreline. It’s kind of almost the next step now that we’ve done the living shoreline and we’ve done a lot of great things with the lower portion of Little Creek where it meets the bay,” said David Kennedy.

The Village of Patchogue is creating a Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan (CCARP), a comprehensive roadmap to address the local impacts of climate change.

This initiative will help the village identify climate vulnerabilities, assess risks, and implement strategies to enhance community resilience and prepare for local impacts of extreme weather. Through the CCARP, the village will strengthen its commitment to the New York State Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program by pursuing Bronze Certification, as well as unlock access to new resources and grants to protect the community from climate threats.

The village created the Climate Smart Task Force in 2022, composed of local community leaders, officials, village staff and residents with specialized knowledge of environmental concerns.

Previously, The Long Island Advance quoted member Devlin’s thoughts on the importance of the task force.

“As a Long Island coastal community, the Village of Patchogue is on the front line in absorbing the effects of climate change, particularly with sea-level rise. As such, we have a responsibility to provide a long-term resiliency plan, not only for our residents and community, but also as a road map for other communities to follow.”