The August 2025 Sands Point Report

Dear Residents, August, 2025

Welcome to the August 2025 report.  As there is always a lot going on in the Village, this report will cover an overview and update on some of the issues we have been focused on over the past few months.  In short, I am excited to report we continue to run  “full speed ahead”, and we are prepared for every challenge or issue we The Village may face to keep our positive momentum.

It (the GAC) is alive!

• The GAC (granulated activated carbon water filtration plant) behind Village Hall on Tibbits and Round Hill Lanes is now operational.  Our PFAS levels have now been lowered from the upper limits of acceptable to now undetectable.   This is a major accomplishment. Congrats to the many team members whose efforts have helped make this the success it is.  We are now beginning to focus on the restoration of the site to its formerly natural and “wild” state.  This is a big, big win! We are now working on the next needed GAC on Thayer Lane.

  
  

PFAS Settlement:

• I am very pleased to report that we have settled the Village’s claims in a class-action lawsuit against 3M and other manufacturers of PFAS for approximately $1.2mm.

• We have already begun to receive installment payments on this settlement.  While our costs of installing granulated activated carbon (“GAC”) filtration systems will far exceed this amount, this was our share of the class-action settlement based on the more limited chemical infiltration that we have experienced.  Bottom line, it is more than we would have gotten had we not participated.

• And, nonetheless, there are still other potential amounts which we will be able to recover depending on future court rulings.

  
  

Change in member of Board of Trustee:

• I am pleased to report that David Schamis has been appointed to the open seat on the Board of Trustees resulting from Danny Khazai’s recent resignation, which, as he has shared, was needed due to “personal and business time commitments”.  We express our appreciation to Danny Khazai for his service on the Board.

• David Schamis has formerly served as Deputy Chair of the Village Club Committee. He and his wife, Becky (who chairs our Ethics Committee and previously served on the Board), have lived in the Village for 19 years.  David additionally brings his experience from his extensive career in finance to this position, as well.

  
  

Other appointees:

• We would like to welcome Steven Posner as an appointee to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Steve Zalben to the Planning Board.  Our thanks to Zadia Feliciano Schaub and Karen Fagelman, who have stepped down, for their service!

  
  

Good News and Bad News…Some car thefts, yet Nassau County ranked as the safest county in the United States:

• Car thefts: Even though we have had an uptick in car thefts recently (and a break-in to get the car keys), we did want to share some perspective on our overall state of our safety.

• Firstly, car thefts are unacceptable, and we are looking at additional countermeasures.  We have asked the Chief and Lt to prepare a comprehensive report for BOT review of what additionally the police can do.  Some aspects of the report will be able to be shared. Some confidential steps we may not be able to share.

• Although uncomfortable to hear or discuss, NYS bail laws tilt the landscape away from us.  It is not unheard of for arrested car thieves to be released from jail and committing new car thefts within 6 hours of the original arrests.

• The car thief gangs are increasingly using juveniles who have much more limited consequences and therefore, limited deterrence.

• The thieves know that if they speed away, it has become the policy of almost all police departments to NOT pursue if the officer deems the pursuit is “reasonably unsafe”.  This is on the theory that an innocent person injured is worse than the property theft of a car.

• Let’s note, while still unacceptable, here in Sands Point, our levels of car thefts are materially below other communities on Long Island.

• In VSP in the last 4 years, we have had a total of 5 vehicle theft “events” with 8 cars stolen in those events.

• According to the Chief, in a very similar nearby village, they have had a total of 25 cars stolen in the same period of time.

• In another comparable village nearby, they have had 20 thefts over the last four years.

• This is NOT to say that we are ok with any thefts but just to share that all of the local communities are dealing with this. And, with revised patrol and “field” tactics and new data analysis that we are asking the SPPD to use, we are aiming to further limit our thefts.  More to come….

• LPRs:  Over the few years we have installed and expanded the number of License Plate Readers (“LPR”)s around the Village to 10 units.  They alert the police desk officer when vehicles (stolen, registrations, and other issues) come into the Village.  And while car thieves often come INTO the Village with stolen vehicles to commit their crimes, those stolen cars are not yet reported as stolen and, therefore, don’t trigger any alerts.  Nevertheless, the LPRs add real value to our awareness and contribute to solving crimes.

• Now a bit of good news--safest county in country: Although this was reported last summer, we want to share that Nassau County was reported as the safest county in the country by US News and World Report.  

• The top five in the country were:

  • Nassau County, New York

  • Alexandria, Virginia

  • Rockland County, New York

  • Rio Blanco County, Colorado

  • Arlington County, Virginia

• In summary, we are a very, very safe community.  And we are increasing efforts, including some innovative ones, to further improve our safety.

  
  

Offshore Marine Signage and Double-crested cormorant:

• As we have shared with you in the past, the Village has redeployed its offshore noise signage around the perimeter of the Village.  So far, this year, we have had very few violations of our marine noise ordinances, which prohibit all of the following within 1000 feet of shore: “amplified sound”, wakes, “tying boats together”, and speeds greater than 5mph.

• We thank our newest board member and hobbyist photographer, David Schamis, for this photo of Double-crested cormorants taking a sun-break on one of the rafts.

  

Village Code Enforcement has requested that we remind you of the following:

• Overgrown intersections:

  • There are a number of intersections in the Village in which properties are overgrown--forcing drivers to pull the nose of their car into the oncoming traffic to see whether it is safe to turn.  Under Village Code, residents must keep this foliage cut back.  This is your responsibility, even if it is your side yard and even if on the other side of your fence. Please be diligent to trim your shrubs so that the Village will not need to issue citations and/or charge you back for handling this.

• Noise reminders:

  • Please remember that landscaping work may be performed any day of the week, including holidays and weekends, SO LONG AS THE noise cannot be heard beyond your property line.

• Litter on Middle Neck Rd and all streets:

  • As a reminder to all, it is your responsibility to maintain your property all the way to the curb.  This includes excess weeds and especially litter.  We ask you to be especially mindful of areas on “the other side of your fence” 

  • A big shout-out and thanks to our resident Chip Welsh, who requested permission to maintain Middle Neck Road on his own. In his first venture out, he picked up one and a half bags of litter.  Thank you, Chip!

    

AutoPay:

• The Village now has a payment option available, which allows residents to set up automatic payments for water bills, alarm bills, and Village property taxes.  To sign up for autopay, residents can do the following:

  • Go to https://www.sandspoint.gov/ and click on the “Make Tax & Utility Payments” button.

  • Sign in to your registered account, or create and register your account if you have not done so already.

  • Once your account is registered and logged in, click on AutoPay Enrollment and opt into Auto Pay. From there you can select what bills you wish to pay via Auto Pay and your preferred payment method.

  • When bills are available, you will receive an email prior to the payments being processed. At that point, if you wish to cancel that scheduled payment, you can do so using the reference number in the confirmation email.

  • Please note that the same convenience fees ($1.95 for e-check, 2.95% for credit card) that apply to manual online payments still apply with AutoPay.

  • If you have any questions regarding the Auto Pay feature, please email or call Paul Zuppello (paul@sandspoint.gov or 883-3044 ext. 106) at Village Hall.

Fireworks:  

• Save the date:  Sunday night of Labor Day weekend for our annual fireworks event at the Club.  The best fireworks anywhere!  And fun with friends and neighbors.  Tickets can be purchased by residents even if they are not members of the Club.

• https://villageclub.org/web/pages/2025-vcsp-fireworks or just go to villageclub.org and click on FIREWORKS on the top right.

  
  

Sands Point Garden Club:

• We would like to recognize the Sands Point Garden Club, which just celebrated its “Diamond” Anniversary. The Garden Club has been serving the community for 75 years and we helped recognize some of its members, including our very own resident Elise Tepper. Thank you, Elise! And thank you Garden Club!

  

Summary:

In summary, as your Mayor, along with the entire Board of Trustees, we continue to work hard and thoughtfully for the Village and are pleased to continue to report that by all important financial metrics and governance standards, the Village has never been stronger. We are honored to continue to represent this special community and humbled by the confidence you place in us.  We will do our best every day to keep this exceptional momentum for our Village.

On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, that is all for now.

Mayor Peter A. Forman