Greenport graduate looks to give back by getting involved in local policy

Though Greenport graduate Yan Abaladejo wasn’t born in the village, he’s looking for ways to give back to the community where he grew up.

Now in his junior year at New York University, Mr. Abaladejo was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Greenport when he was 4 years old.

“I guess coming here is a very big part of my personality and a formative experience,” he said, “especially because after I left Greenport, I came to New York City, and this just seems like such a big contrast.”

He is currently pursuing a double major in public policy and history at the Manhattan university, but while on summer break he interns at local organizations such as the North Fork Environmental Council.

“I like public policy a lot because it’s more of the bread and butter,” he said. “When you study Poli-Sci, it’s a lot of theory and I kind of like to trim the fat and get straight to the point.”

For that reason, from the second he walked in the door at North Fork Environmental Council, he knew it was the great fit. Mr. Abaladejo has accompanied Anne Murray, Southold Town’s land-use coordinator, at multiple Town Board meetings and has learned important lessons both about environmental policy and “the way to get things done out here.” he said.

“It was very straight on the environmentalism, there was no fluff or fat on it. Just getting involved with Anne, I’ve been able to see grassroots policy play out,” he said. “That gives me lessons on how grassroots and activism work that I can then take as I move on to the next thing in my life.”

Mr. Abaladejo was also one of four NYU students to earn a prestigious Congressional internship in Washington D.C. earlier this year, working for Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk County) from January through May.

“I liked being there because it’s more of a public policy thing,” he said of his time working in the capital. “I could see the laws happen and I could see how they’re written.”

This summer he has moderated the North Fork Environmental Council’s various forums on a diverse range of topics. 

On Tuesday Aug. 8 he moderated a panel on battery energy storage systems which featured council member Mark Haubner and Nick Petrakis, a safety consultant, at the Peconic Landing.

Most recently he participated in a forum on zoning and affordable housing in Southold Town that included Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Steussi, Assistant Town Planning Director Mark Terry and Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation’s Support Coordinator, Daniella Menjivar. 

Mr. Abaladejo already has an internship set up with the Southold Town Planning Department for this year’s winter break.

“I’d like to see a push towards mixed-use zoning,” he said. “I want to see if I can get as many people to go over there to the zoning department and let them know, ‘hey, we want something different with this update. We want affordable housing out here. We want to keep living in the North Fork.’”

Mr. Abaladejo is on track to graduate in 2026 and is planning to either pursue a masters in public policy and work for a think tank or go to law school and look to focus on civil rights.

“I want to [bring] those lessons back here. I love Greenport very dearly; it’s where I’m from and I see a lot of change going on,” he said. “It’s going to be a very important period coming up, and I just want to make sure that Greenporters are prepared for that.”